A ventilation system and the method of its use, the ventilation system is typically, though not exclusively, used with tight houses or buildings in which many of the cracks which can allow air and contaminates to randomly enter and exit have been sealed. The ventilation system allows for a user adjustable minimum flow of outside air volume flow rate into the house or building, and provides for automatic adjustment of the outside air volume flow rate into the house or building to maintain the air pressure inside the house or building at a level which is determined by reference to the relatively constant soil gas pressure beneath the house or building.

The quality of air in houses and buildings is subject in a recently released Environmental Protection Agency Report titled "EPA Report to Congress on Indoor Air Quality", released Aug. 4, 1989. In that report reference is made to the so called "Sick Building Syndrom" and a program of increased research and information dissemination regarding the dangers of poor indoor air quality are recommended. Health effects attributed to poorly ventilated houses and buildings range from eye, ear, nose and throat irritation, to full scale respiratory and neurological diseases, genetic mutations and cancer. Contaminates such as radon, asbestos, tobacco smoke, formaldehyde, volatile organic compounds, chlorinated solvants, biological contaminants and pesticides etc., and the synergistic effects of multiple contaminants are cited as causes of health problems.
The report suggests that controlling the sources of contaminants is the most direct and dependable option in overcomming the problem, and that while air cleaning equipment can compliment air quality improvement, there is no substitute for providing an adequate ventilating outside air volume flow rate through a house or building.
In recent years, the high cost of energy has led many people to strive to make their houses and buildings more tightly sealed, hence, in combination with the use of insulation, more energy efficient. Said efforts have included sealing cracks and other openings in their houses or buildings to prevent heated or cooled air from escaping, and outside air which requires heating or cooling, from randomly entering at an excessive rate. In effect, such houses and buildings become, to various degrees, closed systems. In such structures the inside air turn over rate is often reduced to far below the American Association of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers presently recommended outside air volume flow rate of 15 Cubic Feet per Minute (CFM) per inhabitant, or 35% air change per hour, whichever is greater, (see ASHRAE Standard 62-1989). The result of an insufficient air volume flow rate into, and out of, such tight houses or buildings is that contaminates accumulate inside same to dangerous health affecting levels. The savings in energy costs become less significant, and might be expected to be surpassed, over time, by increased health care costs. To emphasise this point, it is estimated by some health care researchers that presently two non-smoking persons per hour, in the United States alone, contract lung cancer as a result of contact with radon in poorly ventilated houses and buildings.
Given that, aside from the potential health hazards, making houses and buildings more energy efficient is desirable, then it follows that a method which would provide a sufficient health maintaining ventilation air volume flow rate to a tight structure would be of great benefit. A search of existing Patents shows that numerous inventors have realized this and have proposed systems, and methods of their use, which provide controlled ventilation to houses and buildings. The various approaches basically utilize a source of air flow, such as a motor driven blower, to cause air to move into and out of a house or building. The air volume flow rate is typically, but not necessarily in the most basic schemes, controlled based upon signals developed by sensing air pressure differences between the inside and the outside of a house or building, from signals derived from sensed rates of air flows in various parts of a system, or by sensing the velocity of the wind outside the house or building.
The most basic schemes simply provide a large air volume flow rate into a house or building sufficient to raise air the pressure inside the house or building to a large positive value with respect to that outside the house or building. In such a scheme the air volume flow rate must be large enough to maintain the large positive pressure difference no matter what active or passive exhaust air flows develop. As an example, operating a cloths dryer or fireplace will actively force exhaust air from a house, and opening a door to the outside of the house or building can passively increase exhaust air. The problem with such simple large positive pressure systems is that they are wasteful of energy. The large volume of air which is flowed into a house or building equipped with such a system must be heated or cooled continuously. As very large air volume flow rates are not necessary to keep contaminant concentration levels low enough for health maintenance reasons, there is no valid reason to provide them to a tight house or building. Inventors have noted this and responded. For instance, Lorenz, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,611,906 and Van Huis in U.S. Pat. No. 4,043,256 teach systems which sense inside and outside air and from same develop signals which are used to control the amount of air volume flow rate through a house or building, based upon the difference in said signals. That is, the flow of air into and out of a house or building is modified as required, by use of inlet air or exhaust air fans, to dynamically keep the inside air pressure above that outside the house or building. The problem with such schemes is that outside air pressure is used as a reference, and because of quickly occurring wind induced changes, that reference is not particularly constant. A Russian Patent to Slavin et al., No. SU-590-556 teaches a system which goes some distance toward overcoming this defect by sensing wind velocity and combining a wind volocity derived signal with an outside atmospheric pressure derived signal, which combined signal is used as a basis to control air volume flow rates. The problem still remaining is, however, that the wind can change very quickly and control systems tend to become unstable when a reference signal changes quickly. A Patent to Johannsen, U.S. Pat. No. 4,257,318 recognizes that a constant reference signal is necessary to assure stability in a control system, and Johannsen focuses on the use of a user set reference signal level to which are compared numerous air pressure representing signals, which air pressure representing signals are produced by sensors in various locations in air ducts in a house or building. The Johannsen approach selects the lowest such sensed air pressure representing signal and that signal is compared to the user set reference signal. Air volume flow rate is controlled based upon the signal resulting from the comparison. The Johannsen invention also provides for adjustable dead bands in the comparison circuitry to enhance stability. The problem with the Johannsen system is that, just as in the most basic large positive pressure schemes, the selected reference signal has no definite relationship to any relevant reference pressure, hence, the air volume flow rate can be unknowingly set to energy wasting levels which are higher than necessary to provide a healthy environment inside a house or building, over time. A Patent to Haines et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,407,185 teaches the sensing of pressure in a plenum system and controlling air volume flow rates so that said pressure is typically maintained at a negative value with respect to outside air pressure. As a result outside air flows into the plenum. The reference signal is, however, derived from outside air pressure by a sensor which is exposed to wind, and thus the signal can be rapidly changed by wind, as has already been noted. It is added that while retaining a negative pressure in a plenum is an acceptable way to draw air into same, keeping a negative pressure in a house or building can lead to, for instance, flue gases can be trapped in a house or building by air being drawn down through a chimney. The results can be deadly. A Patent to Dean et al. teaches a system for use in hospitals. An air volume flow rate controlling signal is derived from the difference between air pressure signals derived by sensors located in a hospital room and in the hall outside the hospital room. An air volume flow rate is set, based upon the difference in said signals, which is sufficient to keep a positive or negative pressure in the room with respect to the pressure in the hall. While the pressure in the hall of a hospital will be relatively more constant than that outside the hospital, it will still change when doors are opened or closed etc. Again the reference pressure is variable.
It will be appreciated that the systems surveyed above provide air volume flow rate supplies which use reference signals which are simply set arbitrarily, or which are derived based upon references signals which are not relatively constant. As well, the basic approach is to provide air volume flow rates which are sufficient to keep a significant pressure differential in place. In either case the air volume flow rates provided will, over time, be in excess of what is actually needed to provide a "just adequate" ventilation, from a health maintenance perspective.
A need exists for a ventilation control system which identifies and utilizes a relatively constant pressure reference from which a signal can be derived, deviations from which signal can be used to control the air volume flow rate into, and out of, a house or building. Additionally, a need exists for a ventilation control system which does not typically maintain an excessive positive or negative pressure in a house or building, or part thereof, in excess of that which is just necessary to provide an adequate health maintaining, ventilation air volume flow rate into, and out of, the house or building, so that indoor air contaminant concentrations are kept below dangerous levels.

Pressure controlled fresh air supply ventilation system soil gas pressure as a reference, and method of use


In one embodiment, a method includes identifying a current topology associated with a virtual local area network (VLAN) and determining whether the current topology of the VLAN is to be moved to a base topology associated with a Transparent Interconnection of Lots of Links (TRILL) protocol. The method also includes moving the current topology of the VLAN to the base topology if it is determined that the current topology of the VLAN is to be moved to the base topology.

1. Field of Disclosure
The disclosure relates generally to networks and, more specifically, to supporting different topologies in a Transparent Interconnection of Lots of Links (TRILL) network.
2. Description of Related Art
A Transparent Interconnection of Lots of Links (TRILL) protocol provides transparent forwarding by providing the benefits of Layer 3 on a Layer 2 network. The TRILL protocol is often used to effectively replace spanning tree as a mechanism by which to find loop free trees within Layer 2 broadcast domains.
Components in a TRILL network may be provided by different vendors that introduce vendor-specific extensions to the TRILL network. Components, e.g., switches, provided by one vendor may not be able to implement or process extensions associated with another vendor. As a component provided by one vendor may be unable to process vendor-specific extensions associated with another vendor, it is likely that in a mixed-vendor TRILL network, the benefits of vendor-specific extensions of different vendors may not be realized on an end-to-end basis. Vendor-specific extensions may be ignored by components in a mixed-vendor TRILL network and, therefore, the benefits of the extensions may not be realized. Significant issues may arise, however, when components from one vendor in a mixed-vendor TRILL network incorrectly process vendor-specific extensions associated with another vendor. Among issues that may arise are incorrect packet forwarding, packet drops, and loops occurring if vendor-specific extensions are incorrectly processed.

Method and apparatus for preserving extensions in multi-vendor trill networks


A method to program bitcells of a ROM array uses different programming cells for programming the bitcells with a first or second data item. A first bitcell is programmed by means of a selected programming cell, wherein the programming cell is selected in dependence on operating the memory array as a flipped or a non-flipped memory in multi-bank instance. All other bitcells located in the same column as the first bitcell and subsequent rows are programmed by selected programming cells, wherein the selection of the programming cells is dependent on operating the memory array as a flipped or a non-flipped memory in multi-bank instance and the programming state of the programming cells used for the previously programmed bitcells in the same column.

A ROM array is a non-volatile type memory. Any data stored in bitcells of the ROM array are not lost on power down of the memory array and can be retrieved after power up. The bitcells of the ROM array may be programmed by mask programming. In a mask programmed ROM array, the data is physically encoded in the circuit and data is programmed during fabrication only. Thus, it is impossible to change the respective content of the bitcells after fabrication of the ROM array. This leads to a number of serious disadvantages.
Apart from the fact that it is only economical to buy a storage device comprising a mask programmed ROM array in large quantities, one major technical disadvantage is that the turnaround time between completing the design for a mask programmed ROM array and receiving the finished product is long. Furthermore, a storage device comprising a mask programmed ROM array is usually impractical for research and development work since designers frequently need to modify the contents of the bitcells of the ROM array as they refine a design. Another disadvantage is that if a storage device is shipped with a faulty ROM array, the only way to fix it is to recall the product and physically replace the ROM array in every unit shipped.
In spite of the above constraints, a storage device comprising a ROM array is still economical over other ROM technology such as for example designs based on PROM, EPROM or EEPROM technology, as cost per chip is still less.
In the future the semiconductor memory technology will change more and more to smaller structures, for example from 28 nm technology to 16 nm technology.

Method to program bitcells of a ROM array


The disclosure relates to a novel dosage form comprising hard gelatin capsule having granule composition, spray dried or evaporated composition containing tafamidis or its pharmaceutically acceptable salt particularly tafamidis meglumine and tablet comprising tafamidis or its pharmaceutically acceptable salt particularly tafamidis meglumine that would not form a rigid gel upon contacting with water or buffer solution in dissolution specifically pH 6.8 phosphate buffer and that composition is indicated for the treatment of the cardiomyopathy of wild type or hereditary transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis in adults to reduce cardiovascular mortality and cardiovascular-related hospitalization.

Tafamidis is a selective stabilizer of transthyretin. Tafamidis is chemically known as 2-(3,5-dichlorophenyl)-1,3-benzoxazole-6-carboxylic acid with a molecular weight of 308.12 g/mol. Tafamidis meglumine is chemically known as 2-(3, 5-dichlorophenyl)-1,3-benzoxazole-6-carboxylic acid mono (1-deoxy-l-methylamino-D-glucitol) with a molecular weight of 503.33 g/mol.
Tafamidis and tafamidis meglumine are available as soft gelatin capsule form in United States, Europe and other markets. Tafamidis is marketed as Vyndamax®, while tafamidis meglumine is marketed as Vyndaqel®. The Vyndaqel® European Public assessment report states that "[d]uring development it was shown that tafamidis active substance, when formulated in a hard gelatin capsule with standard excipients, formed a rigid gel structure upon contact with aqueous vehicles thereby affecting the dissolution rate from the solid dosage." The Vyndaqel® European Public assessment report also states that "[b]ased on the initial dissolution results, it was decided to further enhance drug dispersibility and the dissolution rate using a soft gelatin capsule dosage form," and that "[b]ased on this the strategy was to prepare a water-dispersible drug suspension that would not form a gel upon contacting with water and encapsulate the suspension in a soft gelatin capsule." The Vyndaqel® European Public assessment report further states that "[a]suspension formulation was required as tafamidis showed poor solubility in many of the vehicles commonly used in formulating soft gelatin capsules and thus eliminated the option of developing the drug in a solution form," and that "selection and optimization of individual components of the proposed commercial formulation were discussed in detail."
According to the Vyndaqel® European Public assessment report "[t]he chosen excipients in the capsule fill solution are: polyethylene glycol (suspending vehicle), sorbitan monoleate (surfactant/wetting agent), polysorbate 80 (surfactant/wetting agent)," while "[t]he excipients in the capsule shell are: gelatin, propylene glycol, purified water, 'Sorbitol special-glycerin blend' (d-sorbitol, 1,4 sorbitan, mannitol and glycerin) and titanium dioxide (E 171) and black printing ink."
WO2021001858A1, WO2021019448A1, and WO2020232325A1, describe processes for the preparation of various polymorphic forms of tafamidis and tafamidis meglumine including an amorphous premix of tafamidis meglumine and spray drying of tafamidis meglumine to obtain amorphous tafamidis meglumine. These patent documents generally describe pharmaceutical compositions for tafamidis and its pharmaceutically acceptable salt, but are silent about manufacturing of particular composition.
WO2020128816A2 describes different conventional formulations of tafamidis and tafamidis meglumine without any information related to the stability challenges associated with a tafamidis-containing formulation.
During extensive investigations, it was discovered that tafamidis-containing dosage forms (e.g., hard-shell capsules and tablets) having acceptable drug dispersibility and dissolution rates may be obtained without using "special" ingredients. The inventors surprisingly found that the formation of rigid gels may be circumvented based on the formulated compositions disclosed herein.

Dosage forms of tafamidis and its pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof


The invention provides a nozzle assembly for spraying a food product. The nozzle assembly includes a first sprayer disposed along an axis defining, at least in part, a path of movement for a food product. The nozzle assembly also includes a second sprayer disposed along the axis. The second sprayer is axially and radially spaced from the first sprayer. The nozzle assembly also includes a cavity operable to receive edible ink. The cavity communicates directly with the first and second sprayers disposed along the axis. The first and second sprayers concurrently spray the edible ink from the cavity to the axis.

Food products can be sprayed with edible ink to enhance the appearance or taste of the food product. For example, the sprayed material can be a different color than the food product so that the resulting food product has a visually stimulating appearance. For example, stripes can be sprayed on a food product. In another example, the sprayed material can taste differently than the food product so that the resulting food product has a combination of flavors.

Nozzle assembly for imprinting patterns on an extruded product


ISDN access to a telecommunications network is provided to customers at different locations by sharing a D-channel controllers (DCC's) positioned within the network in close proximity to the ISDN-capable toll switches serving those customers. The customers provide call set up parameters to a DCC via a user interface system (UIS) at the customers premises that communicates via a dial-up data connection with a respective user support system (USS) connected to the DCC. The DCC in turn formulates ISDN signaling messages that are sent to the switch via a PRI interface and set up an appropriate communications path through the network to a desired destination. Data originating in customer premises equipment is received in the switch via a T1 access line operating in the "non-facility associated signalling" mode. Alternatively, a central USS located in a control center within the telecommunications network, transmits, via dial-up data connections, signalling information to individual USS's supporting associated DCC's.

ACCUNET.RTM. switched 384 and 1536 digital data services available from AT&T, and other similar services available from other inter-exchange telecommunications carriers, are usage-sensitive dial-up digital data services capable of transporting 384 Kbps and 1.536 Mbps rate data between customer presses locations. These offerings are well suited for such dial-up, i.e., on-demand, high speed data transmission applications, as bulk data transfer, computer graphics, enhanced teleconferencing, video communications, computer aided design, image transfer and retrieval, and so on.
Currently, customers obtain access/egress to the above-described transport services by, for example, using private lines between the customer presses and the inter-exchange carrier location. In a common arrangement, access is provided via the ACCUNET.RTM. T1.5 service (also known as T1 service), which includes 1.544 Mbps digital private lines that are available from AT&T, and that use Primary Rate Interface (PRI) signaling. These private lines connect a toll switch (for example, a 4ESS.TM. switch that supports Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) interface standards, with Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) that also supports the ISDN protocol.
While the foregoing arrangement is satisfactory for some customers, it has some drawbacks, notably cost. In particular, in order to advise the ISDN switch of information needed for routing, it is necessary for the customer to have interface equipment, generally known as a D-channel controller (DCC), to generate ISDN signaling messages based upon customer defined call set-up parameters. However, many customers cannot presently afford to obtain the advantages associated with ISDN service, since the cost of a D-channel controller and a D-channel is prohibitively high.
In addition, the present arrangement is inefficient, because, in order to obtain ISDN 1.536 Mbps functionality, a minimum of two 1.544 Mbps T1 transmission lines are presently required. More specifically, a T1 line has, in reality, somewhat less than 1.544 Mbps transmission capability, because of signaling overhead. Even if the full 1.544 Mbps capacity were available, it would not be enough: the ISDN format requires a 1.536 Mbps transmission channel, plus a 64 Kbps signaling channel, adding up to more than the T1 capability. If two T1 lines are used for only one ISDN link, the excess capacity (approximately 1.480 Mbps) is essentially wasted.

Method and apparatus for providing ISDN access


The present invention relates to methods and nutritional compositions for stimulating the immune system, particularly in subjects with an impaired immune system such as 5 infants, said method comprising administering a composition comprising sheep milk and/or short chain oligosaccharides.

A functioning immune system is important for health. Subjects having an impaired immune system due to for example sickness, or subjects wherein the immune system is under development (e.g. infants) can greatly benefit of compositions capable of stimulating the immune system.
WO2005039597 describes a method for enhancing the immune system and the treatment and/or prevention of immune system related disorders in a mammal, particularly newborns, which method comprises the administration of acid oligosaccharide and neutral oligosaccharide.
EP1242436 describes an oligosaccharide mixture based on oligosaccharides produced from one or several animal milks and which are composed of two or more monosaccharide units, wherein the proportion of neutral oligosaccharides to acidic oligosaccharides is 90-60. The oligosaccharide mixture described approximates human milk with respect to its positive properties and in particular its anti-infective activity.

Milk oligosaccharide for stimulating the immune system


A precision micro taxidermy cutting instrument is provided which includes a single hold tailless frame member to which a pivotable body member is attached. The body member can provide a blade element which is concave and through which a lifting edge which cuts and a retention edge which cuts can both combine to provide a centering feature. This centering feature can be enhanced by blade body designs which also center through the use of an offset concave element. A chisel element can separate the hide from the viscera and through the selection of appropriate angles and the like, a continuous and precise cut can be made in taxidermy operations. The frame member can include a thumb rest as well as a rotational restraining element which are diametrically opposed and which can present roughly orthogonal forces. Flared separators can be included on the blade body member to further enhance the operation of the device. The open design, trademark named the xe2x80x9cFlying Eagle(trademark)xe2x80x9d feature is also provided through a variety of releasable locking mechanisms which permit pivoting and locking in place at various locations.

In general, this invention relates to the field of taxidermy cutting instruments, namely, those instruments which are used in the cutting and mounting of animals. Specifically, it relates to such instruments as they can be used for professional taxidermy purposes as well as portable instruments such as may be appropriate for field use. It also provides novel methods through which taxidermy functions can be achieved. These functions can include field dress cutting and actions appropriate to the preparation and preservation of the results of hunting activities.
Taxidermy is a field which likely has been in existence since man first learned how to hunt. Certainly its techniques and instruments have been the subject of improvement for many years. Throughout this century a number of improvements have been created which relate to the specific instruments used in taxidermy-type of applications. Over 40 years ago, M. V. Cromoga invented a skinning knife. This device was designed to address some known problems such as the device becoming fouled with hair, flesh or pieces of skin during the taxidermy process. The Cromoga invention, U.S. Pat. No. 2,906,021 shows that for many years those in the art had known some of the problems unique to and experienced by the taxidermy field.
Similarly, over 25 years ago, improvements were made on even that basic design. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,839,788 to Addis, improvements were addressed. More fundamentally however, as both the Cromoga and Addis inventions demonstrate, a variety of specialized tools may be needed to efficiently achieve the results desired. Perhaps what makes this field somewhat unique with respect to others which require some sort of cutting instrument, is the fact that in taxidermy applications, a variety of specific types of actions are required. These can range from splitting to trimming, to shaping, and the like. Each of these actions, and indeed each animal and location on the animal, can have specific requirements and unique challenges. For instance, in the act of splittingxe2x80x94that is, the separation of the epidermis from the dermis, or perhaps the upper portion of the viscera from the lower portion of the visceraxe2x80x94it can be a challenge to not only cut cleanly and uniformly, but also to be able to avoid damage to the meat or other anatomy below that which is desired to be cut.
This can be particularly challenging in a caping operation. In caping, the hide is desired to be separated from a location such as at the horns of an animal down the back of the neck to a lower location. In this type of operation not only is the need for a uniform and continuous cut desired, but there is the challenge of seemingly inevitable binding and fouling of the instrument as the cut proceeds causing uneven cutting. In spite of the fact that this persistent problem was recognized at least over 40 years ago, and in spite of the fact that this problem might be considered to have been attempted to be addressed in the Cromoga invention, the problem has persisted to this day. Additionally, because an important component of the entire taxidermy operation is proper field dressing and preparation, it has been desired not only to solve these problems but also to address them in a manner which provides an instrument which can be easily transported and which most optimally is a micro cutting-type of tool, that is, one of an extremely compact nature. Interestingly, while each of these problems and issues was well recognized by those skilled in the art for decades, until the present invention, no single tool seemed to optimally combine the appropriate capabilities and functions so that the various problems could be more optimally addressed.
As mentioned, the problems which this unique field has faced range from the practical to the operational. On the practical side it has been a desire to provide a maximally compact instrument which, while extremely small, does not compromise the ability for positive and precise control during its use. These two competing needs are particularly interesting as they may have been viewed (prior to the present invention) as having required a trade off from one to the other. As the present invention shows, this perception was not correct; it is possible to achieve both without an xe2x80x9cinevitablexe2x80x9d tradeoff.
On the operational side, the need for accurate and clean incisions has been somewhat of a challenge because in a taxidermy operation, unlike a medical-type of operation, hair and the like is not to be removed prior to making the incision. Thus, it has been a constant challenge to provide an instrument and a technique whereby the material on the surface of the skin does not obstruct or bind the incision on the hide itself. Interestingly, while this aspect was acknowledged and attempted to be addressed in the Cromoga invention, both it and the subsequent Addis invention each failed to recognize a key component to achieving the desired goals. Thus, while others had considered the problem and even addressed some of the components which now achieve the desired results, until the present invention no one had fully appreciated how the various components could be appropriately combined to achieve as successful a tool as the present invention. Thus, the present invention represents not just a minor advance over the prior art nor a gradual improvement in the prior art but rather, it represents a different approach which can be viewed to some degree as critical to effectively achieving the various goals desired.
The degree to which the taxidermy field has viewed its own problems as unique to it is evidenced to some degree by the fact that a variety of other cutting inventions have been made in other fields and yet their various features have not, to a large degree, been considered fully relevant to the unique challenges and demands of the taxidermy field. There has been over a century of effort for a variety of cutting tools as appropriate to cutting twine and the like. Over 75 years ago Gregory, in U.S. Pat. No. 1,379,864, had invented a twine cutter in the shape of a ring. This was in spite of the fact that prior to and in the early 1900s, other ring based, twine cutters had been invented. These included inventions such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 579,655 to Saladee, U.S. Pat. No. 681,978 to Richardson, and U.S. Pat. No. 647,862 to McLaughlin. These ring-based devices each represented improvement in their specific area, that of twine cutting. None of those various devices, though, apparently were viewed as particularly appropriate to the unique challenges of the taxidermy field. They do, however, seem to represent the small degrees of improvement which those involved in at least one other field have acknowledged.
Similarly, a device designed specifically for cutting plants such as flowers and the like at an appropriate angle was invented by Davis in U.S. Pat. No. 5,038,479. This relatively recent patent (1991) perhaps shows how each field can sometimes be viewed as having its own unique problems for which individual solutions apparently need to be fashioned. The specialization among fields is perhaps most highly shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,014,506 to Crimmins in which a unique device for manipulating bundle straps is shown. As can be readily understood, this specialized device clearly has limited applicability to other fields. The present invention may in hindsight show how beneficial an expanded perspective can be to the taxidermy field. It should be understood, however, that because the taxidermy field has little in common with manipulating a bundling strap or the like, the value of expanding on concepts from other fields was not fully obvious. As the Cromoga invention demonstrates, while there could in hindsight be viewed some degree of similarity between various aspects of the various twine cutting devices and the Cromoga invention, this similarity did not generally appear to have been viewed as applicable to the challenges of a taxidermy-type of operation.
In spite of the fact that the various problems, challenges, and desires had long been known for the taxidermy field, and in spite of the fact that the implementing arts may in hindsight have been considered to be available to some degree, those in this field had not, prior to the present invention, been able to satisfy the needs and appropriately combine elements to achieve an instrument such as that of the present invention. It may even have been that those involved in the taxidermy field did not fully appreciate the nature of the problem or even that a problem existed. For instance, while the Cromoga and Addis inventions had attempted to solve some of the problems inherent in a long, continuous cut, it may be true that those involved in using such instruments simply accepted that problems such as binding and now precision cutting were inevitable, and that they could not be cleanly solved.
The present invention shows that by simply not accepting that the problem was inevitable and by fully appreciating the problem, it was possible to achieve a solution such as now available. Interestingly, even those attempts 25 and 40 year ago had not been expanded upon to solve such problems. To some degree, this may have been a result of a failure to fully understand the nature of the problem or to cope with the difficulties existing with these problems. In fact, as the present invention demonstrates, efforts such as those by Cromoga and Addis may have actually taught away from the direction of the present invention. To some degree it may even be true that the results can be considered unexpected to those skilled in the art who may have been lead to believe that solutions lie in the directions shown in the Addis and Cromoga inventions or who might have been lead to believe that the problem itself had difficulties which were to be considered inevitable. Thus, until the present invention no one had provided a precision micro cutting tool for a taxidermy application which could not only be compact but which could permit precise control throughout the entire operation and achieve the precise cutting desired without binding and with a minimal need for hand applied pressures.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a single hole, tailless frame member with a foldable blade body with a replacement blade to create a foldable cutting surface which is designed to self center the hide after it is separated from the upper viscera and while it is being cut in a taxidermy operation. Through appropriate design the cutting instrument achieves methods of taxidermy operation which not only centers the hide, but also which separates it from the upper viscera and which separates the hide after it has been cut. This permits a clean and continuous incision. The device is designed to be folded and stored in a safe manner as well as to have replaceable blades so that it can be used for long periods of time in a cost effective manner.
Thus it is an object of the invention to provide a compact cutting instrument which can be used both in professional taxidermy as well as field operations. In keeping with this general object, it is a goal to provide a foldable device which appropriately shields the cutting surface so that it not only may be stowed and transported safely, but also so that the cutting surface does not become unnecessarily dulled.
Another object of the invention is to provide an instrument which is highly accurate in its use. In keeping with this object, it is a goal to provide a micro instrument which can be precisely held and used and which cleanly and easily separates the hide from the viscera. Another such goal is to provide a micro instrument which separates the cut portions of the hide and appropriately avoids tendencies to bind as the continuous incision is made.
Yet a further object of the invention is to provide a precision instrument which is both easy to use and which optimally applies and utilizes the various forces. Thus a goal is to minimize the forces needed to be applied by hand so that the taxidermy operation can be more easily and less painfully achieved.
Naturally, further objects of the invention are disclosed throughout other areas of the specification and claims.

Folding precision taxidermy cutting system


Microminiature pressure transducers are formed on semiconductor substrates such as silicon and include a membrane which spans a cavity over the substrate, with the membrane being mounted to and sealed to the substrate at the peripheral edges of the membrane. The bottom of the cavity forms an overpressure stop to prevent over deflections of the membrane toward the substrate. An overpressure stop formed as a bridge of a material such as nickel extends above the membrane and is spaced therefrom to allow the membrane to deflect freely under normal pressure situations but prevent over deflections. The thickness of the polysilicon membrane and the spacing between the membrane and the overpressure stops is preferably in the range of 10 micrometers or less, and typically in the range of one micrometer. The overpressure stop bridge is formed utilizing deep X-ray lithography to form a well-defined bridge structure. The gap between the membrane and the bottom surface of the bridge is established with a sacrificial layer, such as a polyimide film, which dissolves in a solvent. The transducer is formed utilizing processing techniques which do not affect the performance of the membrane as a pressure sensor and which allow the substrate to have further micromechanical or microelectronic devices formed thereon.

Sensors are devices which typically convert physical variables which are to be measured to electronic signals which become part of a control system. They consist of two parts: the sensor structure and the package which protects the device from environments which are often hostile.
Size reductions in the sensor structure are nearly always beneficial. They allow cost reductions via batch fabrication techniques which are borrowed from microelectronics, and are now being carried out at sufficiently small sizes that the production of such devices can appropriately be referred to by the term micromechanics. Micromechanical sensors or microsensors can sometimes be combined with cofabricated microelectronics to yield performance improvements, and can result in structures which are identified as smart sensors. Microminiaturization can expand sensor application areas. This is exemplified by physical sensors for biological systems. Blood pressure and blood gas analysis devices must be small to be effective.
The fabrication techniques which are most directly available for microsensor fabrication have their origins in microelectronics. The central difficulty which one experiences with such techniques is based on the fact that sensors are fundamentally three-dimensional structures whereas integrated circuit construction is based on planar processing which is, of course, two-dimensional. Presently, nearly all microsensor construction techniques are adaptations of planar integrated circuit processing with modest three-dimensional extensions. Thus, in wafer to wafer bonded sensors, IC processing is combined with silicon bulk machining and wafer to wafer bonding to achieve microsensor production. In surface micromachining, planar processing and lateral etching are combined to achieve the necessary three-dimensionality. However, three-dimensional fabrication and non-silicon technologies are becoming more important for microsensor development.
Pressure transducers are the most used and therefore the best understood sensors. They fall into two classes: relative or differential devices, and absolute transducers. The absolute sensor has been more actively investigated for microminiaturization via surface micromachining. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,744,863 and 4,853,669 to Guckel, et al., for a discussion of such sensors and sealing techniques to produce absolute sensors.
Production of a sealed cavity or "pill box" sensor requires vacuum sealing and electronic sensing of the device. Pill box behavior and electronic sensing together contribute to device performance. Thus, very small deformations of a mechanically stiff diaphragm or membrane are acceptable if the sensing scheme is sufficiently sensitive. An overpressure stop which is either provided by the device or the package is necessary because increasing pressures cause increasing deflections and will eventually lead to pill box failure.
Polycrystalline silicon (polysilicon) can be used as the deformable membrane, as described in the foregoing patents and in U.S. Pat No. 4,897,360, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. A typical polysilicon diaphragm film will be able to support a maximum strain of about 1.5% before it fractures. It will also have a built-in strain field. This strain level must either be controllable and therefore becomes a part of the design process, or the film must have the property that processing techniques exist which cause the built-in strain to disappear. For the case of an absolute pressure transducer as exemplified in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,744,863 and 4,853,669, if it is assumed that the transducer is square, the maximum pressure range is defined by a diaphragm deflection at the center of the diaphragm which is equal to the cavity depth under the diaphragm. The deflection of the diaphragm under pressure induces diaphragm strain. The strain field maximizes at the clamped edge midway between the corners. This strain value cannot exceed the maximum allowed strain for the diaphragm material, thus defining and limiting the pressure range of the sensor.
A pressure transducer requires a sensing mechanism. Piezoresistive and capacitive techniques form the most direct approaches. Piezoresistive sensing is the most directly implemented technique and profits from the availability of polysilicon which can be used to produce excellent, stable and dielectrically isolated sensing structures. Such structures can be formed by covering the polysilicon diaphragm with a silicon nitride layer, a patterned and doped polysilicon layer, and a protective nitride layer. The issue becomes then one of performance evaluation for particular resistor doping levels and resistor placements.
Polysilicon resistors are quite different from diffused silicon resistors. The piezoresistive effect in these devices is roughly a factor of five smaller than that of a well designed single crystal counterpart. Longitudinal gage factors are typically slightly above 20 and transverse gage factors are near -8. The temperature coefficient of resistance can be positive or negative and can be close to zero. The noise figure for these devices involves only thermal noise, which is normally only found to be true for very good metal film resistors. Polysilicon resistors are dielectrically isolated which allows for higher temperature applications because junction leakage currents are absent.
The placement issue for these devices is again quite different than for single crystal resistor placement. The general rule is simply to locate the resistors in the maximum stress regions on the diaphragm. This would imply longitudinal sections which enter the diaphragm at the support midway between corners. There is, however, a problem. Diaphragm sizes will typically be less than 100 micrometers on a side. The resistors will therefore be quite small, with typical line widths of 4 micrometers. Thus, alignment tolerances as well as line width shifts during polysilicon etching must be considered. A full transducer may use four devices in a bridge configuration, with two resistors which are pressure sensitive and two resistors which are insensitive to pressure because their pill box oxide has not been removed. With this configuration, the half-active full bridge, the maximum output in millivolt per volt of bridge excitation can be calculated at the touch-down pressure.
The difficulties of piezoresistive sensing can be removed by changing the sensing technique or by converting the device from an absolute pressure sensor to a differential transducer. Both approaches are receiving detailed attention. In the first case the piezoresistor can be replaced by a new type of force sensor: the vacuum sealed resonating beam. It is essentially a pill box which contains a doubly clamped free standing beam which can be excited electrostatically. The transduction mechanism is axially applied force to frequency. Its very high sensitivity allows for simpler and more precise measurements. The draw-back is found in the increased complexity of the necessary construction techniques. The device becomes expensive and is of primary use where low pressure precision measurements are required.

Micromachined differential pressure transducers


The present invention provides a Ni-based single crystal superalloy which has the following composition by weight: 0.1 wt % or more and 9.9 wt % or less of Co, 5.1 wt % or more and 10.0 wt % or less of Cr, 1.0 wt % or more and 4.0 wt % or less of Mo, 8.1 wt % or more and 11.0 wt % or less of W, 4.0 wt % or more and 9.0 wt % or less of Ta, 5.2 wt % or more and 7.0 wt % or less of Al, 0.1 wt % or more and 2.0 wt % or less of Ti, 0.05 wt % or more and 0.3 wt % or less of Hf, 1.0 wt % or less of Nb and less than 3.0 wt % of Re with the remainder including Ni and unavoidable impurities. This Ni-based single crystal superalloy has a low Re content and also has excellent high-temperature strength, mainly creep strength.

Turbine blades (stator blades and rotor blades) used in aircraft engines, industrial gas turbines and other systems are often operated in high-temperature environments for a prolonged time and thus are made of a Ni-based single crystal superalloy that has an excellent heat resistance. The Ni-based single crystal superalloy is produced in the following manner. Al is first added to base Ni to cause Ni3Al to precipitate for precipitation strengthening. High melting point metals, such as Cr, W and Ta, are then added to form an alloy which is formed as a single crystal.
There is known, as such a Ni-based single crystal superalloy, for example, a second generation alloy or the like (for example, CMSX-4 manufactured by Cannon-Muskegon Corporation, PWA1484 manufactured by United Technologies Corporation) in which high-temperature strength, mainly creep strength (also including high-temperature fatigue strength) is enhanced by inclusion of a first generation alloy containing no Re (for example, CMSX-2 manufactured by Cannon-Muskegon Corporation, PWA1480 manufactured by United Technologies Corporation) and 3 wt % of Re. CMSX and PWA are trademarks of alloys.
[Patent Document 1]
U.S. Pat. No. 4,582,548
[Patent Document 2]
U.S. Pat. No. 4,643,782
[Patent Document 3]
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. Sho 53-146223

Method of making a Ni—based single crystal superalloy and turbine blade incorporating same


The present invention relates to a compound of formula (VII)I, or pharmaceutically acceptable salt or ester thereof, wherein: X is NR7; Y is O or N—(CH2)nR19; n is 1, 2 or 3; m is 1 or 2; R1 and R2 are each independently H, alkyl or cycloalkyl; R4 and R4′ are each independently H or alkyl; or R4 and R4′ together form a spiro cycloalkyl group; R19 is H, alkyl, aryl or a cycloalkyl group; R6 is OR8 or halogen; and R7 and R8 are each independently H or alkyl. Further aspects relate to pharmaceutical compositions comprising said compounds and use therefore in the treatment of proliferative disorders and the like.

The Polo-like kinase family consists of key cell cycle regulatory enzymes with integral roles in controlling entry into and progression through mitosis. Many tumour cells express high levels of PLK1 and are responsive to antisense oligonucleotides targeting this protein.
Initiation of mitosis requires activation of M-phase promoting factor (MPF), i.e. the complex between CDK1 and B-type cyclins [Nurse, P. (1990) Nature, 344, 503-508]. The latter accumulate during the S and G2 phases of the cell cycle and promote the inhibitory phosphorylation of the MPF complex by WEE1, MIK1, and MYT1 kinases. At the end of the G2 phase, corresponding dephosphorylation by the dual-specificity phosphatase CDC25C triggers the activation of MPF [Nigg, E. A. (2001) Nat. Rev. Mol. Cell. Biol., 2, 21-32]. In interphase, cyclin B localizes to the cytoplasm and becomes phosphorylated during prophase, followed by nuclear translocation. The nuclear accumulation of active MPF during prophase is thought to be important for initiating M-phase events [Takizawa, C. G. and Morgan, D. O. (2000) Curr. Opin. Cell Biol., 12, 658-665]. However, nuclear MPF is kept inactive by WEE1 unless counteracted by CDC25C. The phosphatase CDC25C itself, localized to the cytoplasm during interphase, accumulates in the nucleus in prophase. The nuclear entry of both cyclin B and CDC25C are promoted through phosphorylation by PLK1 [Roshak, A. K., Capper, E. A., Imburgia, C., Formwald, J., Scott, G. and Marshall, L. A. (2000) Cell. Signalling, 12, 405-411]. This kinase is thus an important regulator of M-phase initiation.
In humans, there exist three closely related polo-like kinases (PLKs) [Glover, D. M., Hagan, I. M. and Tavares, A. A. (1998) Genes Dev., 12, 3777-3787]. They contain a highly homologous N-terminal catalytic kinase domain and their C-termini contain two or three conserved regions, the polo boxes. The function of the polo boxes remains incompletely understood but polo box-dependent PLK1 activity is required for proper metaphase/anaphase transition and cytokinesis [Seong, Y.-S., Kamijo, K., Lee, J.-S., Fernandez, E., Kuriyama, R., Miki, T. and Lee, K. S. (2002) J. Biol. Chem., 277, 32282-32293]. Of the three PLKs, PLK1 is the best characterized; it regulates a number of cell division cycle effects, including the onset of mitosis, DNA-damage checkpoint activation, regulation of the anaphase promoting complex, phosphorylation of the proteasome, and centrosome duplication and maturation. Mammalian PLK2 (also known as SNK) and PLK3 (also known as PRK and FNK) were originally shown to be immediate early gene products. PLK3 kinase activity appears to peak during late S and G2 phase. It is also activated during DNA damage checkpoint activation and severe oxidative stress. PLK3 also plays an important role in the regulation of microtubule dynamics and centrosome function in the cell and deregulated PLK3 expression results in cell cycle arrest and apoptosis [Wang, Q., Xie, S., Chen, J., Fukusawa, K., Naik, U., Traganos, F., Darzynkiewicz, Z., Jhanwar-Uniyal, M. and Dai, W. (2002) Mol. Cell. Biol., 22, 3450-3459]. PLK2 is the least-well understood homologue of the three PLKs. Both PLK2 and PLK3 may have additional important post-mitotic functions [Kauselmann, G., Weiler, M., Wulff, P., Jessberger, S., Konietzko, U., Scafidi, J., Staubli, U., Bereiter-Hahn, J., Strebhardt, K. and Kuhl, D. (1999) EMBO J., 18, 5528-5539].
The fact that human PLKs regulate some fundamental aspects of mitosis was shown by anti-PLK1 antibody microinjection of human tumour cells [Lane, H. A. and Nigg, E. A. (1996) J. Cell. Biol., 135, 1701-1713]. This treatment had no effect on DNA replication but impaired cell division. Cells were arrested in mitosis and showed abnormal distribution of condensed chromatin and monoastral microtubules nucleated from duplicated but unseparated centrosomes. By contrast, non-immortalized human cells arrested as single, mononucleated cells in G2. Moreover, when PLK1 function was blocked through adenovirus-mediated delivery of a dominant-negative gene, tumour-selective apoptosis in many tumour cell lines was observed, whereas again normal epithelial cells, although arrested in mitosis, escaped the mitotic catastrophe seen in tumour cells [Cogswell, J. P., Brown, C. E., Bisi, J. E. and Neill, S. D. (2000) Cell Growth Differ., 11, 615-623]. PLK1 activity is thus necessary for the functional maturation of centrosomes in late G2/early prophase and subsequent establishment of a bipolar spindle. Furthermore, these results suggest the presence in normal cells of a centrosome-maturation checkpoint that is sensitive to PLK1 impairment. Depletion of cellular PLK1 through the small interfering RNA (siRNA) technique also confirmed that this protein is required for multiple mitotic processes and completion of cytokinesis [Liu, X. and Erikson, R. L. (2003) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 100, 5789-5794]. A potential therapeutic rationale for PLK inhibition is also suggested by work with PLK1-specific antisense oligonucleotides, which were shown to induce growth inhibition in cancer cells both in vitro and in vivo [Spankuch-Schmitt, B., Wolf, G., Solbach, C., Loibl, S., Knecht, R., Stegmuller, M., von Minckwitz, G., Kaufmann, M. and Strebhardt, K. (2002) Oncogene, 21, 3162-3171]. Constitutive expression of PLK1 in mammalian cells was shown to lead to malignant transformation [Smith, M. R., Wilson, M. L., Hamanaka, R., Chase, D., Kung, H., Longo, D. L. and Ferris, D. K. (1997) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun., 234, 397-405]. Furthermore, overexpression of PLK1 is frequently observed in human tumours and PLK1 expression is of prognostic value for patients suffering from various types of tumours [Takahashi, T., Sano, B., Nagata, T., Kato, H., Sugiyama, Y., Kunieda, K., Kimura, M., Okano, Y. and Saji, S. (2003) Cancer Science, 94, 148-152; Tokumitsu, Y., Mori, M., Tanaka, S., Akazawa, K., Nakano, S, and Niho, Y. (1999) Int. J. Oncol., 15, 687-692; Wolf, G., Elez, R., Doermer, A., Holtrich, U., Ackermann, H., Stutte, H. J., Altmannsberger, H.-M., Rithsamen-Waigmann, H. and Strebhardt, K. (1997) Oncogene, 14, 543-549].
Although the therapeutic potential of pharmacological PLK inhibition has been appreciated [Kraker, A. J. and Booher, R. N. (1999) In Annual Reports in Medicinal Chemistry (Vol. 34) (Doherty, A. M., ed.), pp. 247-256, Academic Press], very little has been reported to date concerning small molecule PLK inhibitors that may be useful as drugs. One of the few biochemical PLK1 inhibitors characterized to date is scytonemin, a symmetric indolic marine natural product [Stevenson, C. S., Capper, E. A., Roshak, A. K., Marquez, B., Eichman, C., Jackson, J. R., Mattern, M., Gerwick, W. H., Jacobs, R. S, and Marshall, L. A. (2002) J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther., 303, 858-866; Stevenson, C. S., Capper, E. A., Roshak, A. K., Marquez, B., Grace, K., Gerwick, W. H., Jacobs, R. S, and Marshall, L. A. (2002) Inflammation Research, 51, 112-114]. Scytonemin inhibits phosphorylation of CDC25C by recombinant PLK1 with an IC50 value of about 2 μM (at an ATP concentration of 10 μM). Inhibition is apparently reversible and the mechanism with respect to ATP of mixed-competitive mode. Similar potency against other protein serine/threonine- and dual specificity cell-cycle kinases, including MYT1, CHK1, CDK1/cyclin B, and PKC, was observed. Scytonemin showed pronounced anti-proliferative effects on various human cell lines in vitro. Further small molecule PLK inhibitors and their use in the treatment of proliferative disorders are described in International patent application WO2004/067000 in the name of Cyclacel Limited.
The present invention seeks to elucidate new small molecule PLK inhibitors. More specifically, the invention seeks to provide small molecule PLK inhibitors that have therapeutic applications in the treatment of a range of proliferative disorders.

Pyrimidine derivatives as protein kinase inhibitors


A gas chromatograph for operation in split mode is controlled by calculating the column flow rate and the total carrier gas flow rate from the length and inner diameter of the column and specified values for temperature and column inlet pressure, adjusting the split flow rate such that the pressure value measured by a pressure sensor becomes equal to the specified pressure value and control the total carrier flow rate to be equal to the calculated value therefor. In this manner, the split ratio of the gas chromatograph can be maintained easily at a specified value. The amount of carrier gas to be wasted can be significantly reduced by appropriately varying the split ratio with time during the course of an analysis.

This invention relates to a gas chromatograph and a method of using it in a split mode.
In conventional methods of gas chromatographic analysis in a split mode, it was necessary to separately measure the column flow rate, the split flow rate and the purge flow rate in order to adjust the split ratio to a desired value. Conventionally, the column flow rate was measured either directly by using a flow meter or calculated from a measured retention time of methane, and the split and purge flow rates were directly measured by a flow meter. Since the measurements of flow rates by such methods are troublesome, it was time-consuming to adjust the split ratio.
The present invention has been accomplished in view of this problem, and its object is to provide a gas chromatograph which allows the split ratio to be adjusted easily to a desired value.

Gas chromatograph and method of using same


A system and method for determining device attributes using a classifier hierarchy. The method includes: determining at least one exploitation condition for a medical device based on at least one first device attribute of the medical device and a plurality of second device attributes indicated in a vulnerabilities database, wherein the vulnerabilities database further indicates a plurality of known exploits for the plurality of second device attributes; analyzing behavior and configuration of the medical device to detect an exploitable vulnerability for the medical device, wherein the exploitable vulnerability is a behavior or configuration of the medical device which meets the at least one exploitation condition; and performing at least one mitigation action based on the exploitable vulnerability.

Whenever a new device connects to a network of an organization or is activated in a location that is proximate to the organization's physical location, there is a possibility that the new device could be used by a malicious entity to cause harm to the organization, the network, or both. The number of potential cyber harms that may occur due to network access has increased exponentially due to the rapidly increasing number of new devices that are now capable of network connectivity. Further, many of these new devices are not only capable of connecting to networks, but may also be able to create their own networks or hotspots.
Some particular devices that may be targets for malicious entities include devices used in medical applications. As examples, pacemakers, insulin pumps, defibrillators, and other medical devices provide critical health functions that, if disrupted or controlled, could result in death or other significant bodily harm to patients, or could result in leaking or altering protected health information of patients.
Many medical devices are Internet-of-Things devices or otherwise connect to other devices via local or network connections. These connections may leave medical devices exposed to cyber threats through such connections. Additionally, medical devices frequently connect to sensors and monitors on a hospital network. Accordingly, these medical devices provide potential entry points into the hospital network. Thus, preventing exploitation of vulnerabilities in these devices is critical.
It would therefore be advantageous to provide a solution that would overcome the challenges noted above.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Techniques for detecting exploitation of medical device vulnerabilities


A battery vehicle includes a battery configured to supply DC power, and first and second motors configured to drive first and second wheels in response to first and second motor drive powers, respectively. A first inverters generates a first control data and supplies the first motor drive power to the first motor from the DC power while limiting the first motor drive power based on the first control data and a second data. A second inverter generates the second control data and supplies the second motor drive power to the second motor from the DC power while limiting the second motor drive power based on the first and second control data.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a battery vehicle, and more particularly, to a battery vehicle in which wheels are independently driven by separate inverters and motors.
2. Description of the Background Art
In battery vehicles such as a battery folk lift, a drive system may be adopted in which two right and left wheels are independently driven by separate inverters and motors. Such a driving system is effective for simplifying a power transmission mechanism and improving driving efficiency.
It is important for general systems including two or more motors that these motors are cooperatively controlled to improve energy efficiency as a whole. A technique of cooperatively controlling a plurality of motors is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Laid Open Patent Application (JP-A-Heisei 6-326908). According to this conventional technique, optimum current distribution to the plurality of motors is achieved by setting priority levels to a plurality of motors when a driving current is required from the motors.
An important thing in a driving system using a battery as a power source is to make efficient use of the battery. For this purpose, an inverter is preferably controlled to output a closest output voltage to a battery voltage. However, this control sometimes causes problems when variation arises in characteristics of two motors.
Firstly, when there is variation in characteristics of the motors, there is a case where an output voltage necessary for outputting a required torque is lower than the battery voltage in one motor while being higher than the battery voltage in the other motor. In such a case, to protect the latter motor and the inverter connected thereto, the inverter connected to the latter motor must be controlled to output an output voltage smaller than the output voltage necessary for outputting the required torque. However, torques of the right and left wheels does not become same through a simple control of the output voltage so that the battery vehicle moves in an undesirable direction.
Secondly, when regeneration of power to the battery is carried out, there is a case where a regeneration voltage supplied from one motor to the battery through the inverter may be smaller than an allowable maximum voltage while a regeneration voltage supplied from the other motor to the battery through the inverter may be larger than the allowable maximum voltage. In such a case, in order to protect the battery, it is necessary to carry out a weak field control of the latter motor to decrease the regeneration voltage. However, when the field weakening control of the latter motor is carried out, the torques of the right and left wheels are not same so that the battery vehicle moves in an undesirable direction. If a battery having a sufficiently high battery voltage is used in consideration of variation in characteristics of the two motors, the above problems may be avoided. However, the use of such a battery is problematic in terms of economical efficiency.
Therefore, a battery vehicle is demanded which can make best use of capabilities of a battery even when variation arises in characteristics of two motors driving the wheels.

Battery vehicle and method of controlling the same


A cutting device includes a platen, a mounting portion, a first movement mechanism, a second movement mechanism, a detector, a processor, and a memory. The memory is configured to store computer-readable instructions that, when executed by the processor, instruct the processor to perform processes. The processes include acquiring cutting data, acquiring a contact position output by the detector when the cutting blade comes into contact with the holding member, and controlling the first movement mechanism in accordance with the cutting data to move the mounting portion and the holding member to a cutting start position. The processes include controlling the second movement mechanism, at the cutting start position, to move the mounting portion in the third direction to a cutting position set on the basis of the contact position, and controlling the first movement mechanism in accordance with the acquired cutting data to perform cutting processing.

The present disclosure relates to a cutting device configured to cut a sheet-shaped cutting object to be cut in accordance with cutting data.
A method is known in which cutting data is generated of a cutting device that cuts a pattern from a cutting object to be cut by moving the sheet-shaped cutting object and a cutting blade relative to each other in accordance with the cutting data. In the cutting device of the related art, a storage device is provided that individually stores various setting conditions that correspond to a classification indicating a hardness, a thickness, and the like of the cutting object, the setting conditions that correspond to the classification of the cutting object are read out from the above-described storage device, and the cutting object is cut on the basis of the read out setting conditions.


To provide a precipitation particle classification apparatus for obtaining a proper classification result of precipitation particles based on information from a plurality of radar devices. The precipitation particle classification apparatus includes a data processing part, a fuzzy processing part, a coordinate conversion part, an interpolation part, and a classification part. The data processing part acquires polarization parameters obtained by reflection on the precipitation particles from each of the plurality of radar devices which are arranged at different positions and have a part of a scanning area overlapping with each other. The fuzzy processing part obtains a polar coordinate distribution evaluation value indicating the distribution in polar coordinates of an evaluation value indicating the degree of attribution to each type of precipitation particles from polarization parameters by using a fuzzy inference. The coordinate conversion part converts the polar coordinate distribution evaluation value into the Cartesian coordinate distribution evaluation value. The interpolation part integrates the Cartesian coordinate distribution evaluation values whose positions on the coordinates are substantially equal among the Cartesian coordinate distribution evaluation values obtained for each of the plurality of radar devices to obtain a composite evaluation value. The classification part classifies precipitation particle species based on the composite evaluation value.

A technique to classify the type of precipitation particles by using a dual polarization radar device which transmits and receives horizontal polarization and vertical polarization is known. Non-patent document 1 discloses this kind of the precipitation particle classification method.
The precipitation particle classification method of the non-patent document 1 includes classifying the type of the precipitation particles based on a fuzzy inference. In the non-patent document 1, the type of the precipitation particles is classified by applying a membership function to a radar reflectivity Zh, a differential reflectivity Zdr, a correlation coefficient phv, and a specific differential phase Kdp among polarization parameters acquired from scanning of the dual polarization radar device.
As used herein, the non-patent document 1 may be Takeharu Kouketsu, Hiroshi Uyeda, Tadayasu Ohigashi, Mariko Oue, Hiroto Takeuchi, Taro Shinoda, and Kazuhisa Tsuboki, 2015: A Hydrometer or Classification Method for X-Band Polarimetric Radar: Construction and Validation Focusing on Solid Hydrometers under Moist Environments, JOURNAL OF ATMOSPHERIC AND OCEANIC TECHNOLOGY, Vol. 32, 2052-2074.
However, the non-patent document 1 only discloses the classification of the precipitation particles by the observation of one radar device. The non-patent document 1 does not disclose how to obtain a comprehensive classification result when observed by a plurality of radar devices.

Precipitation particle discrimination device, precipitation particle discrimination system, precipitation particle discrimination method and precipitation particle discrimination program


In one aspect, a method comprises the steps of deriving a base point on an elliptic curve in a first processing device, generating authentication information in the first processing device utilizing the base point and a private key of the first processing device, and transmitting the authentication information from the first processing device to a second processing device. The base point on the elliptic curve may be derived, for example, by applying a one-way function to a current time value, or by computation based on a message to be signed.

The growing need for better user authentication is drawing increased attention to technologies such as one-time passwords. In a one-time password system, a user typically carries a device or "token" that generates and displays a series of passwords over time. The user reads the currently displayed password and enters it into a personal computer, e.g., via a Web browser, as part of an authentication operation. Such a system offers a significant improvement over conventional password-based authentication since the password is dynamic and random. Previously misappropriated one-time passwords are of no help to an attacker in determining the current password, which remains hard to guess.
One particular example of a one-time password device of the type described above is the RSA SecurID® user authentication token, commercially available from RSA, The Security Division of EMC Corporation, of Bedford, Mass., U.S.A. For a number of years, SecurID® has been the dominant solution in two factor authentication. Its relative simplicity combined with its independence from client-side software has contributed in no small measure to its success in many large enterprises. In a typical embodiment, a SecurID® authentication token may comprise a small handheld device with an LCD screen that displays a new one-time tokencode consisting of six to eight decimal digits every 60 seconds. An ordinary user would utilize this tokencode, possibly in combination with a personal identification number (PIN) with the resulting combination called a passcode, instead of a static password to access secure resources. Each displayed tokencode is based on a secret seed and the current time of day. Any verifier with access to the seed and a time of day clock can verify that the presented tokencode is valid.
A wireless authentication token, that is, a token that transmits authentication information over the air rather than via the user, can offer many attractions. Such a token can alleviate much of the burden on users in manually entering tokencodes or other authentication information. It can also achieve considerably higher transmission bandwidth, opening up a range of new functions beyond simple authentication, such as encryption. Wireless tokens can offer several other potential advantages as well, such as hands-free authentication for physically demanding environments like hospitals and factory floors, and rapid fire authentication for temporally demanding situations, such as online auctions.
Conventional aspects of wireless authentication tokens are described in, for example, M. Corner, "Transient Authentication for Mobile Devices," PhD Thesis, University of Michigan, 2003. The approach disclosed therein is designed to protect information on mobile devices such as laptops from exposure in the event of theft or loss. Its authentication protocol utilizes bidirectional communication between mobile devices and authentication tokens. Such an approach is problematic, however, in that authentication tokens that accept input in their authentication protocols can be vulnerable to active attacks.
Accordingly, a need exists for improvements in wireless authentication tokens and other processing devices utilized in authentication operations.

Authentication methods and apparatus using base points on an elliptic curve and other techniques


An endoscopic imaging system includes an endoscope, a light source assembly coupled to the endoscope that transmits light to the endoscope for illuminating a region of interest, an imaging unit coupled to the light source assembly that receives light through the endoscope reflected from the region of interest, a first power module coupled to the light source assembly that provides electrical power to the light source assembly, and a second and different power module coupled to the imaging unit that provides electrical power to the imaging unit. Other imaging systems and a method are also disclosed.

1. Field of Technology
The present disclosure relates to endoscopic imaging systems.
2. Related Art
Medical endoscopic imaging systems are used in surgical procedures to inspect regions of interest within a patient's body, such as, for example, cavities and joints, through a small incision. In general, an endoscopic imaging system includes an endoscope, a camera head attached to the endoscope, a remote light source tethered to the endoscope via a fiber optic cable, and a camera control unit coupled to the camera head via a power and data cable.
The endoscope includes a rigid or flexible elongated insertion tube that is inserted into the patient's body such that the distal tip of the insertion tube is positioned at the region of interest. The insertion tube defines one or more illumination channel(s) for transmitting light received from the remote light source to the region of interest to illuminate the region of interest. The insertion tube also defines an imaging channel for relaying an image of the region of interest to an image sensor in the camera head.
Typically, for the rigid insertion tube, the illumination channels contain an incoherent fiber optic bundle that extends through the channels, and the imaging channel contains an objective lens followed by one or more rod lenses positioned adjacent to each other in series or a coherent fiber bundle that relays the image formed by the objective lens to the focusing assembly. For the flexible insertion tube, the tube includes an imaging channel that houses an objective lens and a coherent fiber bundle, and one or more illumination channels located adjacent to the imaging channel that house incoherent optical fiber bundles for illumination.
A focusing assembly housed within the endoscope includes optics that can be manipulated by the surgeon to focus the image on the image sensor located in the camera head.
The camera head receives the image of the region of interest from the focusing assembly of the endoscope, converts the image into electronic data, and transmits the data over the power and data cable to the camera control unit for processing. The image is then transmitted by the camera control unit to a display unit that is coupled to the camera control unit. The camera head uses the power and data cable to both receive power and to communicate with the external camera control unit.


An input control unit that receives first content data from a content delivery apparatus via a communication unit, converts the first content data into first image data before causing a storage unit to store the first image data, receives second content data generated by a portion or all of the first content data being updated from the content delivery apparatus via the communication unit, and converts the second content data into second image data before causing the storage unit to store the second image data, a center of gravity candidate region extraction unit that calculates difference values of color information between corresponding pixels of the first image data and the second image data stored in the storage unit and extracts a center of gravity candidate region, which is a region constituted by pixels the difference values of which exceed a threshold value stored in the storage unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and an information processing program.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a Web technology field of the Internet centered on an information processing apparatus, each version of RSS (RDF (Resource Description Framework) Site Summary) to syndicate latest news or the like and XML (Extensible Markup Language) applied technology such as Atom are beginning to be used more frequently. For example, RSS 1.0 by an RSS-DEV working group is known. Syndication is to deliver update information/summary information or to make a notification thereof.
Moreover, with ever higher performance of mobile devices in recent years, news sites and WEB content such as blogs on the Internet can now be accessed seamlessly from mobile devices. Among others, applications that arrange a plurality of pieces of WEB content as thumbnail images to enable various kinds of processing such as listing, selection/display, copying, deletion, and size change of WEB content are used increasingly widely.
However, the display area of a mobile device is limited and if an attempt is made to display a plurality of such thumbnail images, the display area of each image becomes smaller. Thus, an issue of deterioration of visibility arises with an increasing number of pieces of WEB content to be listed. Therefore, in order to enable a listing without deterioration of visibility, an approach such as detecting an important portion of WEB content and using clipped information around the portion becomes necessary. Here, a challenge is "how to detect an important portion of WEB content".
As a general solution, a technique to efficiently list only differential information of WEB content using image data and text summaries contained in feed information transmitted by syndication technology such RSS can be considered.
However, according to this technique, there is a limitation that to what extent information of WEB content should be incorporated into feed information can freely be decided by the Internet service provider that delivers feed information. Thus, for example, there is an issue that feed information containing advertising image data irrelevant to WEB content may be delivered. Also, there is an issue that feed information containing neither image data nor text summary may be delivered for reasons of copyrights or communication speed.
As another solution, a technique to access URL (Uniform Resource Locator) information of WEB content necessary for feed information to capture the WEB content and to detect an important region based on face information of photos from the captured content before proposing appropriate layout is known (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-180651).
However, in WEB content such as blogs, a title image portion or advertising images frequently use face images and conversely updated information may contain no face information at all, which makes precision insufficient with which to detect an important region of a blog.

Information processing apparatus, information processing method and information processing program


A hollow poppet valve (10) having an improved heat transfer capability is provided. The valve has an internal cavity (S), extending from within a valve head (14) into a stem (12) of the valve, is loaded with a coolant (19) together with an inert gas. The coolant in the valve head (14) is stirred by swirl flows of the coolant generated during reciprocal motions of the valve. A multiplicity of swirl-forming protrusions are formed on at least on one of the bottom and the ceiling of the valve head cavity (S1) in such a way that swirl flows (F20, F30) of coolant are generated by the protrusions in the valve head cavity (S1) during reciprocal motions of the valve to thereby stir the coolant in the circumferential direction of the cavity (S1).

Patent Documents 1 and 2 listed below disclose hollow poppet valves comprising a valve head integrally formed at one end of a valve stem, the poppet valve formed with an internal cavity that extends from within a valve head into the stem and is charged, together with an inert gas, with a coolant that has a higher heat conductivity than the valve material. An example of such coolant is metallic sodium having a melting point of about 98° C.
Since this type of internal cavity extends from within the valve head into the stem and contains a large amount of coolant, it can advantageously enhance the heat conduction ability (hereinafter referred to as heat reduction capability) of the valve.
It is known that if the temperature of a combustion chamber of an engine is heated to an excessively high temperature during an operation, knocking may take place, which lowers the fuel efficiency and outputs, and hence the performance, of the engine. In order to lower the temperature of the combustion chamber, there has been proposed different types of hollow poppet valves which have an internal cavity loaded with a coolant together with an inert gas so as to positively conduct heat from the combustion chamber via such valve (i.e. a method of enhancing heat reduction effect of the valve to remove heat from the combustion chamber by enhanced heat reduction effect of the poppet valves).


A circuit switched optical device includes a first array of intersecting hollow waveguides formed in a first plane of a substrate. A second array of intersecting hollow waveguides is formed in a second plane of the substrate, and the second plane is positioned parallel to the first plane. An optical element within the first array selectively redirects an optical signal from the first array to the second array.

As computer chip speeds on circuit boards increase to ever faster speeds, a communications bottleneck in inter-chip communication is becoming an increasing concern. One solution may be to use fiber optics to interconnect high speed computer chips. However, most circuit boards involve many layers and often involve tolerances in their manufacture of less than a micron. Physically placing fiber optics and connecting the fibers to the chips can be too inaccurate and time consuming to be widely adopted in circuit board manufacturing processes. Furthermore, routing the optical signals around and between circuit boards can add significant additional complexity. Marketable optical interconnects between chips have therefore proven elusive, despite the need for broadband data transfer.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A method of compensating for misalignment between an optical measurement instrument and a model eye includes: receiving a light beam from the model eye at the optical measurement instrument; producing image data, including light spot data for a plurality of light spots, from the received light beam; determining an observed location of a corneal reflex from the model eye within an image representing the image data; and determining an angle of misalignment between an axis normal to the front surface of the model eye and the optical axis of the optical measurement instrument from the observed location of the corneal reflex within the image.

1. Field
This invention pertains to optical measurement instruments, and in particular a method of verifying the correct operation of an optical measurement instrument by using a model eye, and an optical measurement instrument that employs such a method.
2. Description
It is sometimes necessary to be able to verify correct operation and specified performance of an optical measurement instrument such as a wavefront aberrometer in an operational setting. In many instances, this is done by operating the optical measurement instrument to make a measurement of a model eye whose characteristics are known. A common version of a model eye is a solid glass or plastic component with a curved front surface and a flat back surface. The front curve serves the role of a "cornea" for the model eye, and the back surface serves as a "retina" for the model eye. Some model eyes have a limiting aperture that serves as an "iris" for the model eye. The aperture is most commonly located in front of the front surface of the model eye, but it can also be inside the model eye.
To verify correct operation and specified performance of an optical measurement instrument, typically the optical measurement instrument injects a probe beam into a front surface of the model eye. Light scatters from the back surface of the model eye similarly to the way it does with a human eye, and some of the scattered light travels back out of the front surface of the model eye and into the optical measurement instrument. From the received light, the optical measurement instrument makes one or more measurements of the model eye. Typically, the optical measurement instrument measures the sphere and/or cylinder values of the model eye, and compares these measured values with corresponding predetermined calibration data for the model eye to determine whether or not the optical measurement instrument is operating properly. The values must agree within some tolerance for the optical measurement instrument to be considered in good working order.
However, the values for sphere and cylinder that an optical measuring instrument measures will vary depending on the angle that an axis normal to the model eye makes with respect to the optical measurement instrument's optical axis (hereinafter referred to as "the misalignment angle"). The predetermined calibration data assumes a misalignment value of zero degrees. Even when the optical measurement instrument is operating perfectly, when the misalignment angle is not zero degrees then there will be a variance between the measured sphere and cylinder values for the model eye and the predetermined calibration values. This variation in the measured sphere and/or cylinder values that depends on the misalignment angle between the optical measurement instrument and the model eye makes it hard to verify proper operation of the optical measurement instrument. For example, experiments have been performed with an example optical measurement instrument making measurements on a model eye that has a front surface curvature that matches that of a human cornea. With a misalignment angle of only three (3) degrees, the model eye measurements were 0.5 Diopters different from the calibration value for perfect alignment (i.e., zero degree misalignment angle). This variation was far in excess of the maximum tolerable variation of 0.1 Diopters for the example optical measurement instrument.
It should be noted that the problem described here is unique to measuring model eyes. This misalignment does not occur when measuring a human eye, because the patient directs their gaze straight into the optical measurement instrument to view a fixation target of the optical measurement instrument, thus automatically aligning the human eye with the optical axis of the optical measurement instrument.
In contrast to this simple method of aligning a human eye by means of a fixation target, it may be difficult and/or time-consuming for an operator through trial-and-error to achieve a degree of alignment between a model eye and the optical measurement instrument's optical axis that renders insignificant the variation in the measured sphere and/or cylinder. One solution is to constrain the model eye by mechanical means so it points directly toward the optical measurement instrument. However, this approach adds expense to the model eye mount and may not reduce the measurement variation to within a desired tolerance.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a method of verifying proper operation with an optical measurement instrument with a model eye that can address variations in measurements that occur when the model eye is misaligned with respect to the optical measurement instrument. It would also be desirable to provide an optical measurement instrument that can operate with such a method.
In one aspect of the invention, a method comprises: receiving a light beam from a model eye at an optical measurement instrument having an optical axis; producing image data, including light spot data for a plurality of light spots, from the received light beam; determining an observed location of a corneal reflex from the model eye within an image representing the image data; and determining an angle of misalignment between an axis normal to the front surface of the model eye and the optical axis of the optical measurement instrument from the observed location of the corneal reflex within the image.
In another aspect of the invention, a measurement instrument comprises: one or more light sources configured to illuminate a model eye; a light spot generator configured to receive light from the model eye and to generate a plurality of light spots from the light received from the illuminated object; a detector configured to detect the light spots and for outputting image data, including light spot data for the plurality of light spots; and a processor. The processor is configured to process the image data to determine an alignment between the measurement instrument and the model eye by: determining an observed location of a corneal reflex from the model eye within an image representing the light spot data; and determining an angle of misalignment between an axis normal to the front surface of the model eye and an optical axis of the measurement instrument from the observed location of the corneal reflex within the image.
In yet another aspect of the invention, a method is provided for determining a misalignment between a measurement instrument and a model eye used to verify correct operation of the measurement instrument, by determining a difference between: (1) an observed location of a corneal reflex in an image produced by the measurement instrument from the model eye, and (2) an expected location of the corneal reflex.
In still another aspect of the invention, a method comprises: receiving a light beam from a model eye at an optical measurement instrument having an optical axis; producing image data, including light spot data for a plurality of light spots, from the received light beam; determining an observed location of a corneal reflex from the model eye within an image representing the image data; defining an analysis area within an image represented by the image data, wherein the analysis area is centered on the observed location of the corneal reflex; and measuring at least one of a sphere value and a cylinder value for the model eye from a portion of the light spot data corresponding to light spots within the analysis area.

Method of verifying performance of an optical measurement instrument with a model eye and an optical measurement instrument employing such a method


Systems, apparatuses and methods may receive, at a local Internet of Things (IOT) device, a request to deploy an IOT application. Additionally, the IOT application may be partitioned into a plurality of atomic nodes, wherein configuration information for the plurality of atomic nodes may be sent, at runtime, to a plurality of remote IOT devices having abstracted resources that support operation of the first plurality of atomic nodes. In one example, the configuration information is sent via a device independent message protocol having a universal namespace.

Internet of Things (IOT) solutions may enable household devices such as thermostats, washers/dryers, and so forth, to interactively report operational data to homeowners, utility companies and other analytical services. The IOT devices may have fixed roles of either master or slave, with master devices acting as entry points to the IOT service in question. The fixed master-slave model, however, may have a negative impact on scalability. Additionally, certain IOT devices may be designated as global coordinators that manage tasks, namespaces, etc., wherein the global coordinators may represent single points of failure that reduce the resiliency of the overall network. Conventional IOT solutions may also treat the underlying devices as homogeneous components (e.g., each having memory and a central processing unit/CPU), although the devices may in fact be heterogeneous with a diverse set of resources. Moreover, deployment of a typical IOT application may involve installation of a complete copy of the application on each of the IOT devices. Such an approach may incur substantial costs of distribution and may be impractical for certain devices having limited resources.

Heterogeneous distributed runtime code that shares IOT resources


A graphics card, a multi-screen display system and a synchronous display method are disclosed. The disclosed method includes the following steps. Firstly, first clock signals are provided in parallel in response to a first clock signal transferred from a motherboard. A second clock signal is generated according to one of the first clock signals that are provided in parallel, wherein the oscillation frequency of the first clock signals is larger than the oscillating frequency of the second clock signal. Then, a set of display clocks are generated based on the second clock signal. The set of display clocks control the display of a set of screens, for synchronous multi-screen display.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to multi-screen display technology, and in particular relates to a graphics card, a multi-screen display system and a synchronous display method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Because it is difficult to manufacture a large-sized panel, a video wall consisting of a plurality of screens is generally used to display a large picture. FIG. 1A depicts an exemplary embodiment of a video wall. As shown, a video wall 100 consists of multiple screens. The multiple screens may be controlled by a single or multiple graphics cards attached to a computer. In conventional multi-screen display systems, the multiple screens are typically controlled by more than one graphics cards. The graphics cards are connected by cables, as shown in FIG. 1B. When a clock signal Gen_CLK is generated by one of the graphics cards, the cables transfer the generated clock signal Gen_CLK to the remaining graphics cards to synchronously display images on the multiple screens.
The cables, however, occupy considerable space and complicate the overall design of the system. In a case wherein a large number of graphics cards are connected by cables, the clock signal Gen_CLK conveyed on the cables may be degraded, and may be interfered with by noise, and the synchronous display of the multiple screens may be badly affected. When the multiple graphics cards are driven by asynchronous clock signals, unsightly fissure may occur on the displayed image. Therefore, it is important to synchronize the multiple screens of the video wall 100.

Graphics card, multi-screen display system and synchronous display method