A method of separating solid waste materials, in the form of dried particles of substantially uniform size, into constituent materials on the basis of density, with primary stage processing utilizing a series of fluidized bed and cyclonic separator assemblies to separate materials on the basis of density, followed by secondary stage processing utilizing combinations of vibratory conveyors, melt separation assemblies, and the like, is provided by the present invention. As the waste materials move through the separator assemblies the initial stream is further refined into a plurality of streams of increasingly specific densities as a result of air flow separation of lighter particles from heavier particles in each assembly. Further refined separation may be achieved through the use of vibratory conveyors, melt separation, and the like.

Recovery of materials from municipal and other solid waste for recycling and reuse is of increasing importance in modern society, and increasing attention has been given to efforts to devise efficient, economical, and workable approaches to recovery of recyclable and reusable materials from the waste stream. In the past, the most commonly used approach has been source separation, in which the generator of the waste materials separates useable or recyclable materials from other wastes before any of the waste materials are removed from the generation site. The reusable or recyclable materials are then further separated to a degree determined by the use or uses to which those materials may be put, or by the willingness of the waste generator to engage in increasingly detailed separation efforts.
In the particular case of municipal wastes, source separation of wastes must be done by each waste generating household, and the willingness of the waste generators to participate in detailed separation programs is often a significant determining factor in the effectiveness of the separation, or recycling program. In even the most effective voluntary recycling programs, participation by household waste generators in source separation of wastes at all is not universal, and participation tends to drop as the complexity of separation increases. Problems also arise from errors made by municipal waste generators in identifying materials, resulting in commingling of recovered materials and reduction in the efficiency of separation. In response to the commingling problem, and often in an effort to increase participation, some recycling programs have provided for a combination of source separation and collection separation approaches. In the combined programs reusable materials are separated from other wastes and initially commingled, with additional separation performed as the wastes are collected from each generator. However, combined programs tend to slow waste collection and often require additional manpower, and any improvement in efficiency has been marginal at best.
Another approach that has been used in municipal recycling programs, either along or in conjunction with separation by each waste generator, is post-collection separation, in which at least some part of the separation process is carried out after collection of wastes from individual households. Post-collection separation techniques range from simple and incomplete manual separation, based upon visual inspection of the waste stream and identification of recyclable materials, to more complex automatic systems utilizing techniques such as magnetic separation of ferrous metals, induction current separation of non-ferrous metals, and density separation in, e.g. water tanks. The effectiveness and efficiency of such separation techniques varies widely, and has proved to be only partially successful as an overall approach.
There remains a need in the field for a broadly applicable, effective, and economically efficient method of separating reusable and recyclable materials from solid wastes, especially but not necessarily limited to municipal wastes.

Method of separating resource materials from solid waste


An endoscopic probe suitable for use as a TEE-probe, comprising a flexible tube having at one end a probe head which is provided with a phased array type ultrasonic transducer comprising a number of elongated transducer elements which elements can be individually electrically controlled by means of cables connected to the individual elements and extending through the flexible tube. The transducer is fitted in an essentially cylindrical transducer housing which is mounted in the probe head with its longitudinal axis extending perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis of the probe head. The transducer housing is fitted rotatable in the probe head in such a way that the transducer is rotatable in the plane of the array by a driver cooperating with the transducer housing. By means of at least on flexible printed circuit board the elongated transducer elements are connected to cables extending through the flexible tube. The at least one flexible printed circuit board extends through an opening into the transducer housing, is present in the transducer housing in a loop shape and ends at least at a number of connecting electrodes of transducer elements.

(1) Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an endoscopic probe, in particular suitable for use as a TEE probe.
(2) Brief Description of the Prior Art
An endoscopic probe is known from the article "An endoscopic micromanipulator for multiplanar transesophageal imaging" by Roy W. Martin et al. in Ultrasound in Med & Biol., Vol. 12, No. 12, pp. 965-975, 1986. The known device has a probe head with a slightly flattened part containing an essentially flat transducer made up of a number of individual adjacent elongated elements of piezoelectric material which can be excited individually, and which together form a phased array. By exciting the strip-type elements in a suitable sequence, it is possible to obtain a beam which scans the environment to be examined and produces reflections in a plane lying at right angles to the elongated elements, as described in greater detail by J. C. Somer in "Echocardiography", N. Bom, published by Martinus Nijhof in The Hague, 1977. Rotating the flexible tube, and thus the probe head, about the longitudinal axis means that the environment around the probe head can be scanned by an ultrasonic beam. Pulling cables also extend through the flexible tube, by means of which said head can be pulled forwards or backwards.
In the medical world there is a need for an endoscopic probe with which more information can be obtained. In the past is was proposed that a biplane TEE probe should be used for this purpose. Such a probe head has two transducer arrays lying one after the other In the lengthwise direction of the flexible tube and the head, and again composed of adjacent elongated elements. The elements of one transducer extend at right angles relative to the elements of the other transducer. With this head it is therefore possible to obtain two scanning beans which can carry out a scanning movement in directions extending at right angles to each other.
A disadvantage of this known probe is that the scanning beams originate in two different points. Another disadvantage is that the rigid head is relatively long, which can lead to problems in practical use. Two separate transducer arrays with the same definition per array also require twice the number of control cables, which all have to be conveyed through the flexible tube. However, the flexible tube has little or no space for these. In order to overcome these disadvantages the U.S. Pat. No. 4,543,960 proposes to mount the transducer array in the probe head rotatable about an axis extending perpendicularly with respect to the plane of the array. For that purpose a transducer housing carrying the transducer array has been mounted in a cavity in the probe head, which housing is rotatable about a top provided at the side of the transducer housing facing away from the array. Via conductors formed on two flexible printed circuit boards the elements of the transducer array are connected to the conductors of one or more electrical cables extending through the flexible tube. The flexible printed circuit boards are present in a spiral shape around the transducer housing.


A nozzle assembly includes a fuel distributor for issuing a spray of fuel. A fuel conduit is in fluid communication with the fuel distributor and has a first end and a second end. The first end and/or the second end of the fuel conduit is operatively connected to the fuel distributor. The fuel conduit is configured to allow relative movement between the first end and the second end to accommodate dimensional variations of at least one of the nozzle assembly or a combustor. A nozzle system includes the nozzle assembly and a combustor wall having a nozzle inlet. The nozzle assembly is positioned adjacent to the nozzle inlet.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to fuel nozzles, and more particularly to fuel nozzles such as in gas turbine engines.
2. Description of Related Art
The development of Ceramic Matrix Composite (CMC) combustors presents new considerations when designing fuel nozzles that interface with the combustor. For example, thermal expansion and contraction differences between the combustors and the fuel nozzles may require a new approach to ensure these thermal differences are accommodated.
Conventional methods and systems have generally been considered satisfactory for their intended purpose. However, there is still a need in the art for fuel nozzles that allow for improved performance at high temperatures while significantly reducing NOx emissions. There also remains a need in the art for such nozzle assemblies that are easy to make and use. This disclosure provides a solution for these needs.


A control device for a vehicle continuously variable transmission 4 comprises: inertia phase processing completing means for completing an instruction relating to inertia phase processing before an input rotation speed of the subtransmission mechanism 30 actually reaches an input rotation speed of the second gear position; and torque phase processing starting means for starting an instruction relating to torque phase processing, in which reception of an input torque of the subtransmission mechanism 30 is shifted from a disengagement side frictional engagement element to an engagement side frictional engagement element before the input rotation speed of the subtransmission mechanism 30 actually reaches the input rotation speed of the second gear position, after completing the instruction relating to the inertia phase processing.

JPH5-79554A, published by the Japan Patent Office in 2002, discloses a control device for a vehicle continuously variable transmission that includes, in addition to a continuously variable transmission mechanism, a subtransmission mechanism which can be switched between a plurality of gear positions, in which the continuously variable transmission mechanism is downshifted when the gear position of the subtransmission mechanism is upshifted.

Control of and control method for vehicle continuously variable transmission


Provided are electrokinetically-altered fluids (e.g., gas-enriched electrokinetic fluids) comprising an ionic aqueous solution of charge-stabilized oxygen-containing nanostructures in an amount sufficient to provide modulation of at least one of cellular membrane potential and cellular membrane conductivity, and therapeutic compositions and methods for use in treating a wound to a surface tissue or a symptom thereof. The electrokinetically-altered fluids or therapeutic compositions and methods include electrokinetically-altered ionic aqueous fluids optionally in combination with other therapeutic agents. Particular aspects provide for regulating or modulating intracellular signal transduction associated with said inflammatory responses by modulation of at least one of cellular membranes, membrane potential, membrane proteins such as membrane receptors, including but not limited to G-Protein Coupled Receptors (GPCR), and intercellular junctions (e.g., tight junctions, gap junctions, zona adherins and desmasomes). Other embodiments include particular routes of administration or formulations for the electrokinetically-altered fluids (e.g., electrokinetically-altered gas-enriched fluids and solutions) and therapeutic compositions.

Wound care is desirable in order to improve health and appearance of the outer epidermis, as well as underlying dermal and other tissues. Wounds, either injury induced (such as cuts, abrasions, blisters, etc.), or surgically induced (such as surgical incisions, astomies, etc.) require localized treatment to remedy the affected area and prevent further dermal damage. If wounds are not properly treated, further dermal irritation can result, including secondary infections and further discomfort to the subject.
Improper wound care and/or wound healing result in greater than 100 billion dollars per year, and may require antibiotic use, hospitalizations, and great pain or discomfort to the subject. Present methods of therapeutic wound care are inadequate and routinely include washing with soap and water and/or applying an antiseptic, but still may lead to infection and/or improper wound healing and repair. Thus, novel therapeutic methods and compositions for wound care and wound healing are needed.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


The present invention relates to a rubber-based adhesive composition and a rubber-based adhesive using the same, the composition including: a rubber-based resin; and a rosin-based resin having at least one hydrophilic group.

It is well known in the art that touch materials including a variety of packed electronic devices, a transparent conductive film, or the like require moisture prevention to maintain an excellent operation or a predetermined shelf-life. Furthermore, a lot of interests have been recently focused on the development of an adhesive composition for increasing a service life of a next generation device such as an OLED or a touch screen panel.
An adhesive attaches two or more products having completely different physical properties and the component of the adhesive does not change unless the products are artificially moved. That is, the adhesive is a material having viscoelastic characteristics capable of being bonded firmly even under a low pressure for a short period of time.
Examples of a general adhesive composition include rubber-based, acrylic, silicone-based adhesive compositions, and the like, and among them, the rubber-based adhesive composition has been widely applied to next generation devices such as an OLED or a touch screen panel, which are vulnerable to moisture, due to the excellent effect of preventing water vapor transmission. However, there is a need for developing a rubber-based adhesive having an even better effect of preventing water vapor transmission in order to further increase the service life of the OLED.

Rubber-based adhesive composition and rubber-based adhesive using same


An integrated circuit for controlling an alternator circuit in an alternator regulator charging system. The integrated circuit includes a first circuit for performing core regulation functions; a second circuit having a mask selectable operation circuit that allows the integrated circuit to select an operational mode thereof, the mode being selectable from one of a stand-alone mode, a remote controlled mode wherein the first circuit is controlled by an external circuit, and a combination of the stand-alone mode and the remote controlled mode; and a third circuit having an output driver circuit for controlling a field winding of the alternator circuit.

The present invention relates to an alternator regulator and more particularly to an alternator regulator that can be configured to operate in configurable regulation modes.
Automotive alternator regulators incorporate several requirements and features that are customized for specific applications. Because of the high cost and concerns about robustness of a more flexible solution, such as a microprocessor design, the design architecture of the automotive alternator regulators typically utilizes an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC).
Typically, to reduce integrated circuit cost and complexity, certain ASIC features are excluded from specific design types. This results in the problem of development of distinct IC designs intended to target specific automotive charging system applications. Those applications may include separate stand-alone or remotely controlled operation instead of one IC solution covering both types of applications and possibly even a combination of the two. In a remotely controlled alternator regulator, typically control is performed by a separate module, e.g., the powertrain control module (PCM).
Prior art methods use distinct stand-alone and remote controlled alternator regulators that do not provide the capability to configure/combine the features of the two systems into a single solution. The disadvantages of this approach include separate development and qualification of each system and associated components as well as higher overall manufacturing cost.

Monolithic alternator regulator with configurable regulation modes


In an image forming apparatus including a door 10 openable with respect to a main assembly of the image forming apparatus, a drum cartridge 8 detachably mountable to the image forming apparatus main assembly, and detachably mountable developing cartridges 4k-4y provided above the drum cartridge 8, wherein the door 10 includes a positioning urging portion 26 contacting the developing cartridges in a state in which the door 10 is closed, the door 10 includes drum cartridge mounting and demounting guides 28R and 28L for regulating the drum cartridge 8 so as to pass along a non-interference path with the positioning urging portion 26 in contact to the drum cartridge 8 when the drum cartridge 8 is demounted from the image forming apparatus.

Heretofore, there has been an image forming apparatus of a process cartridge type in which a cartridge such as a drum cartridge provided with a photosensitive drum or a developing cartridge provided with a developing roller. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 7,813,670, a door provided to an apparatus main assembly is opened and then the cartridge can be demounted. Further, the door is provided with a positioning urging portion for urging the cartridge in a closed state to position the cartridge in the apparatus main assembly. Such an image forming apparatus is capable of individually replacing (exchanging) the photosensitive drum and the developing roller and therefore is effective in such a case where a product lifetime is different between the photosensitive drum and the developing roller.
However, with downsizing of the image forming apparatus in recent years, there arises a need to suppress a height of the apparatus main assembly or a size of the image forming apparatus with respect to a widthwise direction. With the need, a path along which the cartridge is demounted from the apparatus main assembly is being narrowed.
In the U.S. Pat. No. 7,813,670, the cartridge demounting path become narrow with the downsizing of the apparatus, so that when the cartridge was demounted, the cartridge contacted the positioning urging portion of the door and thus there was a possibility that damage or breakage of the positioning urging portion was caused.

Image forming apparatus having a door path regulating member


A file folder having a tab capable of rotation is disclosed for displaying file identification and content information dependent upon the orientation of the file during storage. In the preferred embodiment, a rectilinear file having major and minor edges is utilized. The rotatable tab is placed at the corner remote from the major and minor edges on which the file is designed to rest. Dependent upon file storage, rotation of the tab occurs to display file identification and content information most conveniently. Provision is made to notch the file side to which the rotating tab is attached to positively lock the rotating tab in the desired orientation with respect to the file.

File folders are well known. Specifically, such folders at a minimum include front and rear folder sides and are hinged--typically by a bent paper or cloth hinge--between the front and rear folder sides. It is common for files to have multiple leaves between the front and rear folder sides.
The file folders typically have an information tab protruding upwardly from either the front or rear folder side. This tab is a permanent extension of one of the folder sides and protrudes above the normal height of the remainder of the file. When the files are stacked with their respective contents, side by side, the tabs display identification and content information. The display of this information is above the height of the front and rear sides and any internal multiple leaves.
Files are typically rectilinear--either square or rectangular--as viewed perpendicular to one of their respective front and rear sides. Further, files are typically stacked and stowed serially on edge on side-by-side. In the normal storage regimen, similar files are stored on similar edges. Thus, where the front and rear sides are rectangular and folded along a major edge of the sides, the side-by-side files will be similarly stored. Give a complete shelf of such files, tabs protruding upwardly from sides containing the location and content information are permanently formed into the sides of the panel.
However, when tabs have permanent formation into the sides of the panel, normal file orientation on one or the other of the side edges is fixed. For example, where rectangular files are rested on a folding major side, typically the tab protrudes upward from the front or rear panel major side opposite the folding side.
Sometimes, however, it is desired that file be stowed on either the front or side edges. When this is the case, the protrusion of the tabs remains the same. As the tabs are integral with the front and side panels, their relative position with respect to the file folder remains unchanged. Thus if the file is designed to be stored with one major edge resting on a file retaining shelf, the file tab protrudes upwardly from the opposite major edge. When the same file is stored by resting on a minor edge, the file tab still protrudes from the major edge--whether or not the tab can be conveniently located. Thus, where change of file storage orientation is undertaken, normal files must be completely replaced.

File folder having horizontal and vertical stowage


An improved hot air knife for use in removing excess solder from a circuit board in a mass soldering system of the type described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,410,126 and 4,401,253 is described. In the present invention the hot air knife comprises a commercially available square tube, one of whose edges has been cut to provide the air knife outlet. Inside this tube, there is provided a second round tube for introducing hot air into the space between the round tube and the square tube. This inner round tube has holes facing away from the outlet slit of the square tube, preferably at least 45 degrees on both sides of a plane extending from the outlet of the square tube to the opposite corner of the square tube. In a preferred embodiment of the invention there is also provided at least one baffle in the volume between the outlet holes from the inner tube and the outlet slot for the air knife. In a preferred invention, this baffle is in the form of a fairly fine screen (about 60 mesh) in the volume between the tube and the rear corner of the square tube. Another such wire mesh can be provided on the other side of the space between the round and square tubes.. The "air knife" can also be used as a high pressure water jet for cleaning surface mounted semiconductor elements carried by printed circuit boards.

The present invention is directed to a fluid nozzle for providing a high velocity sheet of fluid of substantially uniform velocity, density and volume extending in a predetermined direction and arranged to impact a substrate to be treated by such sheet of fluid as the substrate is moved past the nozzle. In one form of the invention, it is directed to an improvement in a mass soldering system of the type described in the earlier patents of H.T. O'Rourke, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4410126 and 4401253. This prior patented system involves directing a hot air knife blast onto the bottom surface of a printed component-carrying circuit board, the air blast impinging on the surface immediately after the printed circuit board leaves a wave soldering system. The impinging air blast is reported to reduce the incidence of solder shorts, icicling and/or bridging, and has achieved widespread adoption.
In working with the previously patented system, various efforts have been made to improve the distribution of the air blast across the width of the path of travel of circuit boards through which the boards having the freshly deposited excess solder are passed for treatment by the air blast. In order to improve this uniformity, a modified tube construction has been suggested in the past to change the airflow characteristics. In one of these, a screen mesh baffle tube has been utilized inside of a round tube. While this has given some improvement, it has not given a substantially uniform flow of air across an orifice aimed at the solder to be removed.
In another form of the invention, the fluid knife is used as a cleaning system, particularly for removing soldering flux from surface mounted semiconductor components carried by printed circuit boards.

Mass soldering system providing an improved fluid blast


The presently disclosed subject matter relates to powerline communications (PLC) in an advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) environment. A communications signal is applied to a power line by a PLC transmitting device. A receiver is provided that evaluates communications signals based on the power coupled to the power line by the transmitting device. In one present embodiment, PLC signal voltage and current levels are multiplied together to evaluate signal power to reproduce received PLC signals.

Generally, an automatic meter reading (AMR) installation may contain thousands, and possibly millions of metering devices distributed over a relatively large geographical area. Such devices are in many instances configured to exchange messages including data, for example, utility consumption data, with a cluster of servers including data metering collectors, and network management servers. AMRs are in some configurations organized around autonomous systems headed by cell relays, sometimes referred to as cell routers, where each autonomous system is connected to servers that may be located at the utility home office by way of a backhaul network. In certain such systems, Power Line Communication (PLC) systems may be employed to provide the backhaul network as well as to provide other system communications needs.
Power Line Communication (PLC) systems utilize the electrical infrastructure for carrying data. PLC systems may be used for communications over different segments of an overall power system, e.g., segments including high voltage transmission lines, medium voltage distribution networks, and lower voltages lines such as inside buildings. The ability of a communication system to deliver a certain amount of data per unit of time with limited number of errors is determined, at least in part, by the ratio of the energy contained in a data bit to the spectral density of noise within the channel bandwidth, i.e., the "Eb/No" ratio.
Unlike other communication systems, PLC links are often characterized by the voltage magnitude at the modem side of line couplers instead of being characterized by the power flow in the communication medium. An argument can be made that such approach is adequate, at least in certain instances, since from the transmitter side the highest drive level may be assumed to correspond to the maximum transmitted power while from the receiver side the signal-to-noise ratio seems to be independent from its notation since all signals (interferers and noise) are presented across the same line impedance, which consequently then does not need to be defined.
Alternatively, a counterargument is applicable because the transfer functions of line couplers are strongly affected by their associated complex line impedance. Thus, driving a transmitter to its maximum level may in fact be wasteful due to severe mismatch conditions between the coupler and the line. Considering the receiver side, a voltage-sensing receiver (i.e., a receiver having a high input impedance) may be connected to a long electrical conductor along with multiple mismatched loads and multiple sources of interference. In such a case, the aggregate voltage signal at any location represents a superposition of multiple voltage standing waves. Under such conditions, it is possible that a receiver might by happenstance be located in the minimum of a standing wave created by a strong transmitter while in the maximum of a standing wave created by a weak interference signal. Since the number of interference signals may be quite large, the probability of desired signals being blocked may remain high.
In view of such practical issues, it would be desirable to provide apparatus and methodologies whereby power line communications (PLC) signals may be received even in the presence of high noise levels. Nevertheless, while various aspects and alternative embodiments may be known in the field of power line communications, no one design has emerged that generally encompasses the above-referenced characteristics and other desirable features associated with power line communications technology as herein presented.

Dual-channel receiver for powerline communications


Autophagy inhibitors useful for the treatment of cancer and other diseases are described. The autophagy inhibitors are a compound of formula: I wherein R1 is a group selected from lower alkyl, lower alkyl amide, lower alkyl ester, lower alkyl ketone, and lower alkyl ether; R2 and R3 are H or a group selected from cycloalkyl, lower alkyl, lower alkyl amide, lower alkyl ester, lower alkyl ketone, and lower alkyl ether; R4 is a heteroaryl group; and L is a —(CH2)n—X—(CH2)n— group, wherein n is 1, 2, 3, or 4, X is absent, O, S, or N—R5, wherein R5 is H or a lower alkyl group, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.

Autophagy is an evolutionarily conserved mechanism of lysosomal proteolysis that is characterized by the formation of double-membraned vesicles (autophagosomes) that envelop bulk cellular material and/or organelles. Autophagosomes subsequently fuse with lysosomes and the degradation of their cargo is mediated by lysosomal proteases. Autophagy is used for the turnover of organelles and proteins with long half-lives and also functions to generate alternative sources of metabolic fuel via nutrient recycling under stress conditions. Within the context of cancer, preclinical studies conducted with an Akt-driven tumor model established that autophagy is preferentially activated in malignant cells during the early stages of tumorigenesis. Although multiple subsequent studies have confirmed that autophagy functions as mechanism of tumor suppression via the elimination of defective pre-malignant cells, overwhelming evidence supports a major role for autophagic degradation in the maintenance of bioenergetic homeostasis under stress conditions including hypoxia and nutrient deprivation. Additionally, autophagy has emerged as an important mechanism of resistance to radiation, classical chemotherapy, and targeted anticancer agents due to its ability to augment the survival capacity of malignant cells. Many recent studies have shown that pharmacological or genetic inhibition of autophagy significantly enhances the efficacy of therapeutic agents. Carew et al., Cancer Manag Res.: 4:357-365 (2012). These collective findings demonstrate that inhibition of autophagy is a promising strategy with broad potential applications.
Chloroquine (CQ) and hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) have been used for decades to treat malaria, rheumatoid arthritis, and lupus and represent two of a very small group of FDA-approved drugs that disrupt lysosomal function and consequently inhibit autophagy. Currently, CQ and HCQ are the best studied FDA-approved drugs that are known to inhibit autophagy. More than 30 phase I and II clinical trials utilizing CQ or HCQ in combination with anticancer agents have been initiated during the last 6 years. However; the clinical applications of CQ/HCQ with respect to autophagy inhibition may ultimately be limited due to their known ability to induce ocular toxicity and the possibility that they may not completely disrupt autophagy at doses that are safe and well tolerated. New autophagy inhibitors are desperately needed. LUC (Miracil D) is a thioxanthone drug that crosses the blood-brain barrier and has been extensively used as an anti-schistome agent. Del Rowe et al., Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys.: 43(1): 89-93 (1999). The drug also blocks topoisomerase II activity and has been reported to inhibit AP endonuclease (APE1), an important enzyme in DNA base excision repair. Based on these properties, LUC is currently being investigated as a sensitizer to chemotherapy and radiation. The inventors recently discovered a novel mechanism of action for lucanthone that is characterized by the disruption of lysosomal function, inhibition of autophagy, and induction of apoptosis (U.S. Pat. No. 8,524,762). Similar to CQ, these effects enable LUC to potentiate the efficacy of other standard of care agents. LUC-induced apoptosis occurred through a p53-independent mechanism and notably, LUC displayed more potent anticancer activity (approximately 10× greater) compared to CQ. Carew et al., J Biol Chem.; 286(8): 6602-6613 (2011). Despite these reported properties, to date, no comprehensive structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies have been performed to optimize and illuminate the autophagic inhibition triggered by LUC or CQ/HCQ.

Substituted thioxanthenone autophagy inhibitors


According to one embodiment, an alignment method includes setting a local area from an alignment target area, the local area being an execution target area of local alignment to be performed with precision equal to or higher than required alignment precision; performing the local alignment between a pattern image of an examination target and a reference pattern image of an examination reference, in the local area, to obtain a shift amount that is a result of local alignment; and shifting a whole of the reference pattern image by using the shift amount.

Recently, as a Large Scale Integration (LSI) pattern size is getting finer, a pattern image that is formed on a photomask, such as a reticle, has been getting finer. As a result, the minimum size of a defect that needs to be detected, such as a defect on a pattern image, is getting finer, so that when comparing a pattern image and a reference pattern image to detect a defect on the pattern image, it needs to detect a deviation of pixel position between the pattern image and the reference pattern image, expansion-contraction and waviness of the pattern image, and a defect that may be buried in sensing noise.
For this reason, according to conventional technologies, as preprocessing of comparing a pattern image and a reference image, alignment on a per-pixel basis is performed, and then image corrections, such as resizing correction, expansion-contraction and waviness correction, and noise averaging processing, of the pattern image are performed.
However, according to the alignment on a per-pixel basis as described above according to the conventional technology, there is a possibility that the alignment ends in failure.

Alignment method and examination apparatus


A method and an apparatus serve for visualizing a signature mark on a spectacle lens. In order to identify the signature mark, an illumination light beam is directed onto the spectacle lens, which impinges on the spectacle lens, after impinging on the spectacle lens is reflected at a retroreflector, impinges once again on the spectacle lens, and finally is passed as an observation light beam to a camera. A reflection region of the illumination light beam on the reflector is varied by means of a moved first optical element.

The invention relates to a method for visualizing a mark or signature mark on a spectacle lens, in which, in order to identify the signature mark, an illumination light beam is directed onto the spectacle lens, which impinges on the spectacle lens, after impinging on the spectacle lens is reflected at a reflector embodied as a retroreflector, impinges once again on the spectacle lens, and finally is passed as an observation light beam to a camera.
The invention furthermore relates to an apparatus for visualizing a mark or signature mark on a spectacle lens, comprising an illumination light source arranged on a first side of the spectacle lens and sewing for generating an illumination light beam, for identifying the signature mark, a reflector embodied as a retroreflector and arranged on that side of the spectacle lens which is situated opposite the first side, and a camera for receiving an observation light beam coming from the spectacle lens.
Spectacle lenses, in particular so-called, progressive lenses, are provided with marks or signature marks, the position of which is detected and processed during the production of the spectacle lens in order that the spectacle lens is clamped, processed and stamped in a correct position and is finally introduced into the end customer's spectacles. Signature marks are applied to spectacle lenses in a targeted manner and permanently, to be precise by means of diamond scribing methods, by means of impression during the moulding of plastic spectacle lenses or by means of laser signing. In addition, the term "signature marks" in the context of the present invention also encompasses other irregularities—not applied in a targeted manner—of the spectacle lens, e.g. streaks or striations in the glass material or plastic.
When "spectacle lenses" are mentioned in the context of the present application, they should also be understood to mean contact lenses and other comparable optical components.
In order that the person wearing the spectacles is not disturbed by signature marks applied in a targeted manner during the use of the spectacles, said marks are designed such that they are discernible only under very specific lighting conditions. Therefore, it is difficult to identify the position of a signature mark on a spectacle lens during the production process. An additional complicating factor here is that the spectacle lenses in the production process have very different optical powers on account of the specific requirements of the persons subsequently wearing the spectacles. Within production, therefore, spectacle lenses having these different optical powers closely succeed one another, which therefore have to be taken into consideration in quick succession during the successive processing of individual spectacle lenses.
For monitoring progressive lenses at the distant and near reference points it is necessary to measure the power of the progressive lenses at defined coordinates on the spectacle lens, depending on the applied signature marks. The signature marks therefore have to be visualized for a manual or an automatic measurement. In the case of known methods and apparatuses, this is done by means of rhomboidal gratings or striped patterns which are imaged unsharply and the bright/dark edge transitions of which make the signature mark discernible.
What is disadvantageous about this known procedure, in particular during automatic identification of the signature marks, is that the grating is imaged with different magnifications depending on the power of the spectacle lens examined, namely depending on the respective dioptric power of the spectacle lens. It is therefore necessary, for identifying the signature marks, to implement a considerable complexity with regard to the algorithms used. Known methods hitherto have not led to totally reliable automatic identification. It is therefore necessary in practice nowadays that even in the case of automated test installations, specially trained workers have to intervene manually in the production process and correct erroneous identifications.
However, even when the signature marks are identified by means of a manual test procedure within a production process, the situation is similar. In this case, depending on the signature method used, different illumination is used to visualize the signature marks. In the case of known apparatuses, this is done by rearranging or changing over illumination units or the spectacle lens is led past under suitable illumination conditions, e.g. a remote bright-dark edge, and is observed. However, even with these methods the marks themselves can only be discerned unclearly, with the result that errors are possible in the positioning and orientation of the respective spectacle lens. This holds true also and precisely with regard to the time available for identifying the signature mark. For these reasons, particularly in the conventional procedure for preparing spectacle lenses it is necessary to mark out ("to dot") the spectacle lenses at the location of the signature mark by means of a felt tip pen or the like, which requires additional outlay in terms of labour and time.
Corresponding considerations also hold true for another area within the processing of such spectacle lenses, namely for automatic stamping machines, which, according to the present-day prior art, likewise need the assistance of an operator. Said operator observes the spectacle lenses on a screen in order to correct positions of signature marks that have not been automatically identified manually in the system, for example by means of trackball input. This disadvantage is likewise manifested in a reduction of the productivity of the video-assisted, manually actuated stamping machines.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,892,494 suggests a method and an apparatus for finding optical microeffects on optical components, for example lenses. In this case, a laser beam is directed through a beam splitter, namely a partly transmissive mirror, onto the component to be examined. The laser beam passes through the component and impinges, on the opposite side, on a retroreflector, for example a retroreflective film, from which it is reflected again through the component and returns along the same beam path until it is deflected at the beam splitter and directed onto a camera.
What is disadvantageous about this known procedure is that it can lead to problems in the case of spectacle lenses having very different flexures. This is because, owing to the very different flexures, the observation beam path has to be long and additionally stopped down in order to obtain a sufficient depth of focus. On the other hand, however, the structures of the retroreflector should not be imaged sharply, since it is indeed desirable to have a relatively homogeneous background in order to avoid misinterpretations. Consequently, in these applications the retroreflector has to he situated very far behind the plane of the spectacle lens to be measured and, in addition, it would have to be very large because strongly negative spectacle lenses image the retroreflector in a greatly demagnified fashion, such that the whole lens can no longer be seen over the retroreflector.
An additional factor is that in the context of the present invention it is not just a matter of identifying signature marks and other irregularities on spectacle lenses, but rather integrating this identification process into a measuring apparatus or into a processing process. In that case, however, a sensor is arranged behind the spectacle lens, that is to say on the same side as the retroreflector in the known apparatus, in order to measure physical properties of the spectacle lens. Therefore, for structural reasons it is not possible to arrange the retroreflector very far behind the plane of the spectacle lens in this case.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,310,242 suggests an arrangement for measuring the optical quality of windscreens on site. This also involves using an optical arrangement comprising a light source, a beam splitter, a retroreflector positioned behind the windscreen to be measured, and a camera. In this case, a fine pattern is projected through the beam splitter onto a retroreflective screen, in such a way that a real image of said pattern, which is deformed by the windscreen situated in the beam path, arises on the retroreflective screen. Via the beam splitter, the camera then likewise looks at the retroreflective screen in the protection direction through the windscreen to be tested. Inhomogeneities, stress birefringences, striations, etc. become clearly visible in this way,
DE 43 43 345 A1 suggests methods and apparatuses for measuring the reflective and/or transmissive optical properties of a sample. In this case, measurement radiation is directed on to a sample and is reflected by the sample, such that it passes to a retroreflector, which sends the measurement radiation back again via the object to the light source, where coupling-out to a detector takes place. A further similar procedure is also described in EP 0 169 444 A2.
In a known vertex refractometer "Focovision SPV 1", a light beam is sent from a light source through a green filter and directed via a beam splitter on to the spectacle lens to be tested. The light beam passes through the spectacle lens and passes to a sensor head arranged behind the rear side of the spectacle lens. Physical properties of the spectacle lens can be measured in this way. Furthermore, a plane in which exchangeable illumination ancillary units can be arranged is situated on the rear side. These illumination ancillary units illuminate the spectacle lens from the rear, such that the signature marks become visible. A corresponding observation light beam passes from the spectacle lens to the beam splitter, is reflected there and is then led via further optical means to a camera. In the case of a first illumination ancillary unit, a very sharply delimited bright beam of light is directed onto the spectacle lens at a shallow angle. Signature marks that were produced by scratching then become brightly luminous against a dark background on account of the irregular shape of the scratch mark. By contrast, the second illumination ancillary unit is provided for spectacle lenses whose signature marks were not produced by scratching, but rather by impression or by laser beams. Said second illumination ancillary unit has a bright line grating illuminated from below and a plurality of auxiliary lenses which are arranged alongside one another and with which these luminous gratings are imaged to infinity.
The known apparatus is therefore relatively complex in terms of operating control. Furthermore, the location at which the measurement beam emitted by the light source is incident on the spectacle lens coincides with the location, at which the observation light beam emerges from the spectacle lens. This can lead to disturbances during the evaluation.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,867,259 also suggests an observation apparatus for concealed markings, i.e. signatures. In the case of this apparatus, a lens provided with the concealed marking is illuminated with an illumination light. The concealed marking is then observed as a shadow of the lens formed by the illumination light.
This apparatus has the disadvantage that the marking, depending on the type of lens, is displaced by the local prismatic effect thereof or is demagnified or magnified by the converging or diverging effect of the lens.
Furthermore, the documents U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,728,962 and 7,423,741 suggest an apparatus for visualizing a signature mark on a spectacle lens. Said documents propose moving, e.g. rotating, the retroreflector in order to obtain a background that is as homogeneous as possible and to blur the structures of the retroreflector.
In the case of such a simply rotating retroreflector, its angular velocity near the axis of rotation is very low, with the result that only little blurring of its structures occurs here. Therefore, the retroreflector should perform as far as possible a movement in the manner of a parallel rotary translation, e.g. on a cycloidal path. However, such movements, particularly if they are to be performed with a high frequency, can be balanced only with difficulty, and so the outlay in terms of apparatus is very high.
Therefore, the invention, is based on the problem of developing methods and apparatuses of the type mentioned in the introduction to the effect that the disadvantages mentioned are avoided. In particular, the intention is to make it possible to treat spectacle lenses within a production process in such a way that the signature marks applied thereto are identified in the correct position. All this is to be done with the simplest possible means appertaining to apparatus and method.

Method and apparatus for visualizing a signature mark on a spectacle lens


A system for the monitoring, management, and protection of networks and network-connected devices is described. The system employs an agent configured to run on each network-connected device, as well as a management console in communication with the agent. The management console functions in tandem with the agent(s). The agent(s) broadcasts heartbeat messages to periodically check-in with the management console in order to determine if any changes have been made to any software on the network-connected device. Additionally, challenges, based on complex code, are periodically transmitted between the management console and the agent(s) in order to verify the authenticity of the agent(s).

Networks, regardless of their complexity, can be susceptible to a variety of malicious attacks. Unfortunately, even with a dedicated team of qualified network administrators, a network can become compromised, especially in cases in which a network device's boot software is replaced without an administrator noticing. In such cases, malicious software, often containing backdoors, can be left to run on the network device perpetually, leaving the system open to future attacks at any time.
The current network device security and management systems on the market only verify the integrity of the system software once, on boot-up. While this can ensure the system is in a known good state at boot-up, the device is vulnerable to an attack that happens once the system has completed start-up.
Some devices try to provide a way to verify data after the system has been booted. For example, some manufacturers allow an administrator to copy a memory dump from the device to a remote system for analysis. However, if malicious software is installed, the mechanism that copies the memory dump to a remote system can be modified to provide a copy of what the memory should look like, as opposed to what it really does look like. Command-line tools that report common areas of interest such as memory usage or a process list can be easily modified so that malicious processes and memory usage are hidden.
Thus, there is a need for a software-based system, embodied as an agent, which scans the network device continuously, so that even if it is compromised, the agent can detect changes made to the network device and alert the administrator through a management console. Such a system preferably compares the present state of the agent and device against a known-good backup. The backup may also preferably be used to restore the system in the event of an attack. The management console is preferably configured to alert the administrator(s) remotely in the event of an attack, and may employ email, text, audio, page, or other means to alert the administrator.

Network management security and protection system


A fixture can include a frame having a central portion that is open and unobstructed. Magnets can be coupled to the frame. An adhesive can be configured to bond the frame to a surface. A decoration can have a metal frame that is configured to detachably couple to the magnets of the frame. The decoration can detachably extend from the frame and the surface, such that it is secured to the frame only by magnetic force.

There are many types of decorative assemblies for home furnishings, such as light fixtures. Over time, light fixtures can become outdated, less desirable or can be less than ideal for some forms of home entertainment. In other situations, it can be desirable to enhance or decorate an open space on a surface (e.g., a wall, ceiling, etc.) in a dwelling or business. Adding, updating and/or replacing ornamentations, such as light fixtures, can be costly and laborious. Thus, improvements in decorative assemblies continue to be of interest.

System, method and apparatus for decorative assembly


A navigation system includes: a communication unit configured to receive a vehicle external environment information of a user vehicle; and a control unit, coupled to the communication unit, configured to: identify a sonic event from the vehicle external environment information; calculate an event position information of the sonic event relative to the user vehicle; and generate a vehicle operation instruction based on the sonic event and the event position information for operating the user vehicle.

Modern consumer and industrial electronics, especially devices such as graphical navigation systems, cellular phones, and vehicle integrated navigation and computing systems, are providing increasing levels of functionality to support modem life, including navigation and route guidance services. Research and development in the existing technologies can take a myriad of different directions.
As users become more empowered with the growth of navigation devices and vehicle based navigation services, new and old paradigms begin to take advantage of this new device space. There are many technological solutions to take advantage of this new device capability for autonomous vehicle operation. However, users are often not provided with enhanced auditory or sonic aspects of their surroundings when riding in a vehicle.
Thus, a need still remains for a navigation system with a sonic analysis mechanism for autonomous operation of a vehicle. In view of the ever-increasing commercial competitive pressures, along with growing consumer expectations and the diminishing opportunities for meaningful product differentiation in the marketplace, it is increasingly critical that answers be found to these problems. Additionally, the need to reduce costs, improve efficiencies and performance, and meet competitive pressures adds an even greater urgency to the critical necessity for finding answers to these problems.
Solutions to these problems have been long sought but prior developments have not taught or suggested any solutions and, thus, solutions to these problems have long eluded those skilled in the art.

Navigation system with sonic analysis mechanism and method of operation thereof


An anchoring device for use on the shaft of a beach umbrella or the like, including a conical member that tapers to a rounded point and around which is spirally wound a constant pitch asymmetric buttress-type thread whose upper surface is perpendicular to the long axis of the conical member.

1. Field of the Invention
The ubiquitous beach umbrella has long been an essential part of a day's stay at the beach. This is even more true with the current worries about the deleterious effects of exposure to ultraviolet light. Traditionally, the umbrella was anchored by simply driving the shaft into the sand. For this purpose, the shaft might be equipped with a sharp tip to make insertion easier, but a sharply pointed shaft represents something of a safety hazard. Furthermore, if the substrate is soft, like dry sand, a shaft that is merely pushed into the ground will probably not be inserted deeply enough to withstand the force of prevailing wind on the attached umbrella. On the other hand, if the substrate is more resistant, like wet sand or gravel, it will be very difficult to drive the shaft no a sufficient depth to give adequate support.
2. Description of Related Art
The prior art has attempted to solve this problem by providing a number of different screw-type devices that are attached to the umbrella shaft.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,103,948 to Jones shows a tubular, pointed socket for receiving the end of the umbrella shaft. Around this is a shallow, helical thread. Such a shallow thread provides neither adequate driving force nor sufficient anchoring ability while still having a dangerous point.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,441,109 to Carlson shows a shaft socket which has a pointed "corkscrew" at its lower end and handles to help screw the device into the ground. This unit appears to have the same drawbacks of the prior art, plus the additional complexity of handles.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,832,304 to Morgulis is similar, but the handles are pivotable and form part of the clamping arrangement.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,046,699 to Perreault et al. has fixed handles and a dangerously pointed screw member.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,628,797 uses an eccentric crank, rather like a brace and bit, to drive a twisted screw in a form similar to a wood drill bit.
These inventions all suffer from screw structures that have insufficient surface area on the screw threads to produce adequate force to draw the device deeply into the sand. U.S. Pat. No. 5,122,014 to Genfan attempts to remedy these shortcomings by providing larger driving blades which provide more pull and better anchoring. The device can penetrate the sand despite the large size of the blades because sand is scooped into the hollow shaft. However, such a device is ineffective in gravel or other resistant materials because excessive torque is required to turn the shaft. U.S. Pat. No. 5,088,681 to Procaccianti et al. approaches the problem by providing a broad helical flight attached to a sharply pointed elongate member. The flight would provide sufficient driving force and, area for anchoring, but would require excessive torque in a hard substrate as the broad helical flight must be forced through the resistant material.
Apparently the prior art is not fully effective. Sharply pointed stakes present a hazard to the user. Most of the prior art devices lack spiral threads of sufficient lateral extent to draw the device into a resistant substrate and to provide sufficient anchoring against prevailing winds. Those devices that do have threads of sufficient lateral extent are extremely hard to turn in resistant substrates, even with the additional complexity of special handles for the application of force.


Methods and systems for improved searching are described. In one of the described methods, a user enters a search query, and in response, a search engine receives a substantially complete initial search result set having a plurality of ranked article identifiers. The search engine automatically selects at least one of the article identifiers and provides a final result set in which the selected article identifier is ranked higher than in the initial search result set.

A conventional search engine, such as the Google™ search engine, returns a result set in response to a search query submitted by a user. The search engine performs the search based on a conventional search method. For example, one known method, described in an article entitled "The Anatomy of a Large-Scale Hypertextual Search Engine," by Sergey Brin and Lawrence Page, assigns a degree of importance to a document, such as a web page, based on the link structure of the web page. The search engine ranks or sorts the individual articles or documents in the result set based on a variety of measures. For example, the search engine may rank the results based on a popularity score. The search engine generally places the most popular results at the beginning of the result set.
Unfortunately, many links that the user is not likely to see may be of interest to the user. For example, a user may enter a very broad search term that results in a large number of documents returned by the search engine. The user may examine, for example, the first ten, twenty, or thirty documents, but may be unlikely to examine results occurring after some point in the result set. For this reason, the user is unlikely to ever see a result that appears after a certain point in a result set even though the result may be the most or one of the most useful or relevant for the particular user submitting the search query.
The desired web site may not appear highly ranked in the results due to a variety of factors, such as a poor ranking function or poor or unclear queries entered by the user. For example, the user may enter a query that is unclear, that does not use "good" search terms, or that the search engine has difficulty interpreting and finding results for. Spelling errors are one example of why a search engine may not return the desired result highly ranked in the result set.
Often, when a user does not see results they want, they are able to reformulate the query such as by using a different term to find the web site for which they are searching and do so in a subsequent query. The user may replace a term in the search query with a "good" search term or may, for example, correct the spelling of a term in a subsequent search query. Conventional search engines are unable to relate multiple queries in a way that addresses the problem set out above in an effective manner.
Thus, a need exists for systems and methods for improved searching.

Systems and methods for improved searching


A power source supplier able to change its plug includes a main body and a plug. The main body has a recess provided with a plug engage block and plural elastic conducting strips. The recess has the opposite sides of its lower side bored with two position-limiting notches. The main body is further provided with a press button having its free end disposed with an elastic clasping member in the recess. The plug fitted with the main body has its rear side bored with a plug engage slot and plural connecting slots for receiving the plug engage block and the elastic conducting strips, and its periphery fixed with two engage members matching with the position-limiting notches. The plug is provided with a connecting block having a rear engage groove for receiving the clasping member. Thus, different-structured plugs can be easily and accurately assembled on the main body.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a power source supplier, particularly to one able to assemble and change its plug with easiness.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A conventional power source supplier 10, as shown in FIG. 1, includes a main body 11 and a plug 12 that can be changed according to the various plug specifications of different regions. The main body 11 is provided with a recessed slide groove 111 having two elastic conducting strips 112 oppositely positioned thereon and an elastic clasping member 113 positioned at the lower edge. The plug 12 has its bottom side formed with a slide plate 121 to be fitted in the slide groove 111 of the main body 11. The slide plate 121 has its opposite sides respectively bored with a recessed groove 122 for the two elastic conducting strips 112 of the main body 11 to slide therein. Further, the slide plate 121 of the plug 12 has its rear side provided with a protruding clasping edge 123 to be clasped with the elastic clasping member 113 of the main body 11 for fixing the plug 12 on the main body 11. Furthermore, the plug 12 is fixed thereon with insert pins of different specifications so as to match with various-specification sockets.
However, when assembled on the main body 11, the plug 12 is parallel to the main body 11 to be fitted in the slide groove 111; therefore, the bottom side of the slide plate 121 of the plug 12 is likely to press against the two elastic conducting strips 112 of the main body 12 and make the elastic conducting strips 112 deformed and unable to connect with the insert pins 124 of the plug 12, rendering the power source supplier 10 unable to function. In addition, since the insert pins 124 are directly positioned in the recessed grooves 122 and exposed to the outside; therefore, when inserting the plug 12 in a socket, a user is likely to touch the two insert pins 124 carelessly and cause an accident.


The present invention addresses the problem of providing an endocytosis enhancer comprising associates formed from a fluorescent protein. The fluorescent protein is preferably any one selected from the group consisting of a white fluorescent protein, a red fluorescent protein, a yellow fluorescent protein, a blue fluorescent protein and a green fluorescent protein. The endocytosis enhancer according to the present invention can enhance the cellular uptake of a drug, which is encapsulated in micelles each formed from a fluorescent-protein-supported carbosilane dendrimer, through endocytosis.

It is generally known that the dendrimer having silole (hereinbelow, it is referred to as a "carbosilane dendrimer" in the present specification) emits fluorescence, when they form a micelle. The carbosilane dendrimer supporting hydrophilic compound such as a sugar emits by AIE (aggregation-induced emission). However, the micelle composed of the carbosilane dendrimers has environmental-depending emission, and intensity is low. Here, AIE is the phenomenon caused by irradiating light having particular wave-length to mutually aggregated fluorescent compounds to cause high fluorescent emission (see the non-patent document 1, hereinbelow it is referred to as the "prior art 1").
Also, it is known that the carbosilane dendrimers supporting the sugars (herein below, it is sometimes referred to as "SCD") form solvent-driven micelle in an organic solvent, although they do not from the micelle in the aqueous solution (see FIGS. 1 & 2).
In contrast, the carbosilane dendrimer supporting protein (it is sometimes referred to as "PCD" or "aggregating molecule".) form a liposome (which is sometimes referred to as a "vesicle") wherein the protein faces to outside (See FIG. 3). The vesicle or micelle formed as mentioned above is sometimes referred to as a "PCD micelle".
Then, it is known that strong fluorescence is generated by AIE, when the protein is supported onto the carbosilane dendrimer (See the patent document 1, which is referred to as the "prior art 2" hereinbelow. See FIG. 3). When the protein being supported on the dendrimer is substituted to the fluorescent protein, stronger fluorescence is observed.
At present, a variety of fluorescent protein that emits a variety of fluorescence is used for labelling in a living body. Early stage by using them as the fluorescent label, such fluorescent protein generates undesirable aggregation, and it often causes trouble to desirable observation. For example, when the fluorescent protein which requires tetramer form to emit fluorescence such as dsRED is added to actin, four actin subunits aggregate by using the functions of dsRED, and it prevents the desirable observation in a cell.
Therefore, in order to prevent the aggregation of the fluorescent protein, some contrive has been conducted such that the fluorescent protein which is existed naturally as the tetramer form is modified to emit the fluorescence even if it becomes a monomer, or generate a mutation to prevent the association even if they become dimer. As a result, the commercially available GFP is the dimer form or monomer form (see, the non-patent document 2).
On the other hand, when the pharmaceutical preparation is administered, response rate and occurrence of side effects are affected by the amount of the active ingredients delivered to the target site, although it varies on the disease to be treated and the properties of the pharmaceutical preparation. Therefore, as a means for delivering the pharmaceutical preparation to the target site, a variety of drug delivery system (DDS: Drug Delivery System) is actively developed.
As a carrier for DDS, it is known as, for example, liposomes, synthetic polymer particles, dendrimers and the like. In order to prevent and/or treat the disease caused by virus infection or bacterial infection, for example, the carrier utilized the dendrimer is developed (see, the patent document No. 2).

Endocytosis enhancer for drug delivery system


A composite material is provided including a polymer matrix and undercooled liquid metallic core-shell particles disposed in the matrix, wherein the particles each have an outer shell and a liquid metallic material as a core contained within the outer shell. The outer shell is frangible such that the liquid metallic material is released from at least some of the particles in response to a mechanical load applied to the composite and solidifies in-situ in the polymer matrix. As a result, the composite material can be self-strengthening and self-healing and can be reconfigurable in shape at ambient temperature.

Composite materials have drastically evolved since their first conception, centered on a simple approach of invoking synergy between different materials. The field has since shifted towards creating so called responsive composites, which exhibit tunable properties triggered via an external stimulus. Such materials have been applied as sensors, actuators and platforms for multi-functional devices.[1-9] Mechanically reconfigurable parts are especially desirable in the field of soft robotics, whereby adaptive components are essential for locomotion.[10-12] Several forms of activation have been applied in responsive composites; common examples include temperature, electromagnetic radiation, electric and magnetic field.[13-19] Mechanical stimulus, although scarce could potentially offer important applications such as self-healing, sound engineering and mechanically adaptive materials. White et al. demonstrated autonomic healing capabilities in a polymeric composite by introducing monomer containing microcapsules, which undergoes polymerization upon contact with the catalyst filled matrix. Crack formation in the composite presumably breaks the microcapsules, which allows the monomer to escape into the matrix and concomitantly polymerizes, thus, preventing further propagation by filling the crack.[20] Synthesis of such microcapsules, however, involve time consuming procedures and a variety of reagents. Furthermore, considering that a catalyst must be incorporated into the matrix, the type of polymer applicable to this method might be limited.
Recently, Tevis et al. developed a simple and low cost method known as SLICE for producing undercooled liquid metal core-shell (undercooled LMCS) particles.[21] This method involves shearing liquid metals as an emulsion to produce spherical-like particles wherein separation of the particles is maintained by concomitantly oxidizing the surface of the metal. cinar et al. applied this technique to produce undercooled liquid metal undercooled particles in a metastable state whereby a normally solid metal maintains itself as a liquid below its melting temperature.[22] Interestingly, it was demonstrated that protective oxide is partly elastic, and further deformation will eventually lead to solidification of the undercooled metal. Utilizing this phase transformation phenomena, these investigators showed that such undercooled liquid metal particles can be used as heat-free solders, triggered by mechanical deformation.

Iowa State University Research Foundation, Inc.


The subject matter of this specification can be implemented in, among other things, a method that includes identifying edges of a section of a document in a source image that includes at least one row of text. The method includes identifying characters in the document. The method includes identifying word portions. The method includes generating polynomials that approximate points of the characters within the word portions. The method includes generating a second polynomial that approximates the points of the characters of word portions. The method includes identifying a stretching coefficient of the row of text based on a length of the section between the edges relative to a length of the second polynomial. The method includes mapping portions of the source image along the row of text to new positions in a corrected image based on the second polynomial and the stretching coefficient.

Optical character recognition (OCR) is the electronic conversion of scanned or photographed images of typewritten or printed text into computer-readable text. OCR can be used to digitize printed text so that the text can be electronically edited, searched, displayed on-line, and used in processes such as text-to-speech, data extraction, and text mining. Capturing an image of a document can result in a distorted perspective or other warping in the image of the document. Warping of the image of the document can lead to distortion or deformation of objects or text within the image of the document.

Table data recovering in case of image distortion


In a stereo encoding method and a stereo encoder, a channel combination encoding solution of a current frame is first determined, and then a quantized channel combination ratio factor of the current frame and an encoding index of the quantized channel combination ratio factor are obtained based on the determined channel combination encoding solution, so that an obtained primary channel signal and secondary channel signal of the current frame meet a characteristic of the current frame.

As quality of life is improved, a requirement for high-quality audio is constantly increased. Compared with mono audio, stereo audio has a sense of orientation and a sense of distribution for each acoustic source, and can improve clarity, intelligibility, and a sense of presence of information. Therefore, stereo audio is highly favored by people.
A time domain stereo encoding and decoding technology is a common stereo encoding and decoding technology in the prior art. In the existing time domain stereo encoding technology, an input signal is usually downmixed into two mono signals in time domain, for example, a Mid/Sid (M/S) encoding method. First, a left channel and a right channel are downmixed into a mid channel and a side channel. The mid channel is 0.5*(L+R), and represents information about a correlation between the two channels, and the side channel is 0.5*(L−R), and represents information about a difference between the two channels, where L represents a left channel signal, and R represents a right channel signal. Then, a mid channel signal and a side channel signal are separately encoded using a mono encoding method. The mid channel signal is usually encoded using a relatively large quantity of bits, and the side channel signal is usually encoded using a relatively small quantity of bits.
When a stereo audio signal is encoded using the existing stereo encoding method, a signal type of the stereo audio signal is not considered, and consequently, a sound image of a synthesized stereo audio signal obtained after encoding is unstable, a drift phenomenon occurs, and encoding quality needs to be improved.

Stereo encoding method and stereo encoder


An assembly for thickening hair has a first adhesive tape, apt to be reversibly adhered on hair, having an adhesive face onto which there are arranged connecting elements of hair extensions of a first plurality of the hair extensions at their respective distal end, and a second adhesive tape, apt to be reversibly adhered on hair, having an adhesive face onto which there are arranged connecting elements of hair extensions of a second plurality of the hair extensions at their respective distal end, the tapes having positioning elements such that the connecting elements of the extensions of said first and second plurality of the hair extensions overlap when the positioning elements are in turn overlapped.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for thickening hair, or thickening method, and to a related separator device for receiving hair for the application of a thickening assembly, with hair extensions suitable for use in said method. The invention further relates to an assembly of hair extensions for thickening hair and to an applicator for said assembly, suitable for use according to said method.
For thickening hair hereinafter it is meant the lengthening and/or the increasing of volume of human hair, by the application of hair extensions to the receiving hair. For hair extension it is meant a hair extension consisting of a plurality of human or artificial hairs, apt to be handled as single lengthening unit and to be applied on receiving hair by virtue of a connecting element.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various systems are already known for thickening hair volume and also for lengthening hair. These systems in general use hair extensions or locks, having a natural or artificial origin, which are then fixed to the hair using methods that, based on the proposed application methods, determine the acceptance and satisfaction on the part of the user who has requested such treatment.
Another aspect that helps to increase the satisfaction with this kind of treatment is the speed of implementation.
The known systems include a step wherein the hair extensions are connected to the hair of the user. During this step, the hair extensions can basically be sewn, bonded or knotted to the user's hair but, following these systems, the thickening or the lengthening requires a period of time too long to be carried out, considering that each single hair extension requires a manual and precise operation.
Other methods are known for creating a connection between hair extensions and the hair, requiring the use of external elements such as clasps, combs, grips, etc. These elements can be used to attach hair extensions of large dimensions to the receiving hair of the user, but they have the great inconvenience that the connection is clearly visible and can be felt by the user, who receives an uneasiness feeling from them.
Amongst other known means, there are those that permit size-reduced extensions to be connected to receiving hair. These methods, that require the use of adhesives, small clasping elements, etc., give fairly good results, but in all cases long application sessions are required since the operator must connect each individual hair extension, which cannot be of larger size as otherwise the connection would be visible to the user and to the observers.
Similar difficulties are present with those methods where an adhesive is used, applied to the connection in the method implementation, for example as in the method described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,934,387 (Megna) which is particularly burdensome in terms of time, since the adhesive is dispensed in a liquid and hot state at the end of each hair extension to be fixed. Besides, the operator should manipulate a hot glue with the fingers, with an understandable discomfort. Also U.S. Pat. No. 5,107,867 (Barrington) describes such a kind of method, in which the adhesive is provided on the application site in a predetermined quantity from a gun-shaped dispenser or other applicator. However, in Barrington, the adhesive is confined within a heat shrinkable tubing, allowing setting without its sticking to the other hair.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,982,748 (Trimarchi) proposes the use of a thermocurable adhesive, which accordingly requires a heating after a cold application.
However, these examples of application with adhesives require the complex manipulation of several elements: supplemental hair, adhesive, tubing, gun, entailing also an increase in time.
In addition, the cured adhesive forms a sort of ball or skirt which is distinctly noticeable at the touch, decreasing the easiness degree of the method, and which can also be observed, thwarting the desired aesthetical improvement deriving from the thickening.
Another example of this method, which has gained a hold for the thickening and/or the lengthening extension to extension, is described in JP 03152205 (Aderans Co. Ltd.) and in other subsequent patents referred to improvements of this technique, e.g. the improvement developed by the inventor of the present invention, disclosed in South African Patent ZA 93/5214 or in German Patent DE 196 26 107 C.
These documents describe a thickening element and the related method of application wherein a hair extension is fixed to the hair with the application of a thermoplastic adhesive. In this context, it is clear that the application is manual and that therefore it may not be uniform from extension to extension.
The forcedly manual implementation of these known methods therefore implies a series of drawbacks. First, the operator must have a great experience and practice in this technique, to be able of implementing properly made connections, a condition that obviously is not always possible. In addition, apart from experience, it will be extremely difficult to produce uniform connections: they will vary greatly as they will not be positioned exactly along the lines proposed for the hair thickening, and they will vary in quality and size.
All this means that the quality of the finished work will not be optimal, will be more exposed to wear, with imperfections that cannot be rectified, increased costs due to very long application times and the difficulty in locating experienced operators.
In addition, again the cured adhesive forms a sort of ball or skirt which is distinctly noticeable at the touch, decreasing the easiness degree of the method, and which can also be observed, thwarting the desired aesthetical improvement deriving from the thickening.
A further improvement was described in International application WO 02/098250 in the name of the present Applicant and designating the same inventor of the present invention.
In this document, a method and an assembly of hair extensions is disclosed for increasing hair volume, by means of the application of a set of extensions in one step, exploiting an adhesive tape to arrange the connecting elements in the right position and then activating them simultaneously.
This system, though allowing to greatly speed up the application of hair extensions, does not solve the problem of the imperfect connections resulting of unsatisfactory dimensions and that can also be seen.
Similar remarks may be made on the basis of International application WO 2004/023910 in the name of the present Applicant and designating the same inventor of the present invention.
To this drawback is also related the problem of determining the exact quantity of receiving hair for each adhesive-based connecting element. It is understood that the behaviour of the connecting element will be different according to said quantity, and therefore it is possible that, in the same application, from adjacent connecting elements different effective connections result.


High purity, particulate silica gel is formed by the hydrolysis and condensation of a silicon alkoxide in a non-metal lined tumble dryer. The silica gel is then dried in the tumble dryer, is washed with an aqueous solution to remove trace contaminants, and is dried again to form the particulate product.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process for making high purity, particulate silica gel from a silicon alkoxide starting material.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In general, there are two ways in which silica gel can be manufactured.
The first starts with a naturally occurring inorganic silica source, such as sodium silicate, which is treated with acid in water to precipitate silica as well as certain impurities, e.g., sodium cation, and the anion of the acid. In general, a washing procedure would be used in order to remove such contaminants from the silica gel product. In a recent reference (Chem. Abstr. 108:58828) another procedure was described in which a silica source was dissolved in a mixture of hydrofluoric acid and sulfuric acid, distilled, and the distillate, comprising water and silicon fluoride, was mixed with aqueous ammonia to form silica gel which was filtered, washed with water, dried and then fired to give high purity silica.
An alternative way of forming silica gel relies upon the use of a silicon alkoxide (or organic-containing) starting material. Such a material, if acidified with aqueous acid, forms a gel upon ageing. Treatment of the acidified solution with a base, such as ammonium hydroxide, accelerates formation of the gel, a product which theoretically can have a much higher purity level than silica gel formed from the naturally occurring inorganic sodium silicates, for example. A general article describing such an approach, which does not specifically address how a high purity, particulate product might be obtained, is "Silicon Alkoxides in Glass Technology" by L. C. Klein et al., ACS Symp. Series 194, Chapter 18, pp. 293-304 (1982). In Japanese Patent Publication No. 60/239,329 a sol-gel process for forming high purity silica monoliths (rather than powders) is described in which powdered silica is added with the alkoxide during the hydrolysis step, which is followed by a centrifuging step to remove large silica particles. The slurry is then gelled, and is washed and dried. It appears that the procedure is a bench scale experiment that involves transfer of product between various reaction vessels. In general, persons of ordinary skill in the art who use silicon alkoxides in a sol-gel synthesis route deem that certain precautions are essential if a high purity silica gel is to be formed. The synthesis is, for example, carried out under clean room conditions using either quartz glass or plastic apparatus with highly pure reagents. The use of special quartz glass or plastic in the reactor vessels and related equipment is deemed essential in precluding the presence of trace levels of contaminants such as alkaline metal cations, metallic cations, and the like. For example, R. G. Gossink et al. in Mat. Res. Bull., Vol. 10, pp 35-40 (1975) indicate use of quartz glass and TEFLON fluoropolymer in the apparatus used for hydrolysis of ethyl silicate in a laminar floW box under clean room conditions. Japanese patent publication No. 62/91,428 also mentions use of clean room conditions in conjunction With the sol-gel method to form glass which is apparently in the form of a monolith rather than being in particulate form. Unfortunately, the use of such clean room conditions and specialized equipment can render the synthesis procedure prohibitively expensive. Although it may be possible to use such conditions and specialized equipment for lab scale preparations, the economic cost for using such conditions and equipment largely precludes the scale-up of the procedure to either pilot plant or plant scale.
Japanese Patent Publication No. 62/59,515 indicates hydrolysis of tetramethoxysilane in the presence of membrane filter-purified carbon dioxide in either a stainless steel or glass reactor which does not contaminate the product with any impurities from the reactor.
German Patent Publication No. 3,500,080 avoids hydrolysis of tetraethoxysilane in the production of high purity silica, choosing instead its oxidation in an inert gas stream (e.g., N.sub.2) in a cold plasma which contains oxygen.
Su et al., in Mat. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc., Vol. 73, pp. 237-244 (1986) and in U.S. Pat. No. 4,680,049 describes the synthesis of high purity silica glass (in monolithic form, rather than particulate form) from the metal alkoxide and utilize supercritical drying of the gel produced in their process.

Process for production of high purity silica gel


A splash containment structure for semiconductor structures and associated methods of manufacture are provided. A method includes: forming wire bond pads in an integrated circuit chip and forming at least one passivation layer on the chip. The at least one passivation layer includes first areas having a first thickness and second areas having a second thickness. The second thickness is greater than the first thickness. The first areas having the first thickness extend over a majority of the chip. The second areas having the second thickness are adjacent the wire bond pads.

Many types of integrated circuit chips utilize wire bonding to electrically connect the circuit contained in the chip to the next higher level of packaging. Wire bonding involves forming bond pads at the periphery of the chip, and bonding an end of a respective wire to each one of the bond pads. The other end of each respective wire is connected to a contact on the next higher level of packaging. The bond pads are typically composed of aluminum, and the wires are typically composed of gold or copper.
Gold or copper wire bonding to an aluminum bond pad often creates aluminum 'splash' as a result of the ultrasonic scrubbing operation that is used to form the permanent bond between the wire and the bond pad. Copper wire bonding offers a cost-effective alternative to traditional gold wire bonding, but has an enhanced tendency to splash due to higher forces required during bonding.
Thus, with copper (Cu) wire bonding the splash concern drives the aluminum bond pad size to be larger than it would otherwise be for gold wire bonding. A metal splash defect creates a foreign material defect concern and can, in some cases, result in metal bridging causing electrical shorts between adjacent metal bond pads or between a bond pad and an adjacent wire. Metal splash has been observed on fabricated parts with sufficient size and density to suggest the potential for metal-to-metal shorting (e.g., shorting between adjacent bond pads).
Accordingly, there exists a need in the art to overcome the deficiencies and limitations described hereinabove.

International Business Machines Corporation


A grid-like arrangement of membranes of doped polysilicon are mounted on a substrate but are electrically insulated therefrom each membrane extends over a cavity and is joined to the substrate at at least two supporting locations so that they cavity lies between the membrane and the substrate. Changes in an electrical quantity existing between the membranes and the substrate are measured as forces exerted on the grid-like arrangement of sensor elements so that the ridges in the skin on a finger tip may be sensed for detecting a fingerprint.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related generally to a sensor for digitizing fingerprints and to a method for producing the fingerprint sensor.
2. Description of the Related Art
In order to automate the comparison of fingerprints to one another, it is required that the fingerprints be digitized and the digital image thereof stored.
Up to now, fingerprints have been obtained for automatic comparison by inking the tip of a finger and then applying the inked finger tip to a printing medium such as paper to produce a positive image of the line structure of the fingerprint. The fingerprint is then digitized using an image acquisition apparatus, such as, for example, a CCD camera or a scanner, for storage in memory.

Sensor for sensing fingerpaints and method for producing the sensor


A sheet supply device that is addable to a medium processing device includes a storage part storing a medium and a controller. The controller performs a first operation in which the medium is supplied from the storage part of the sheet supply device, and a second operation in which another medium supplied from an upstream side of a medium path is carried to a downstream side. When the second operation is performed, the controller operates the carrying part by transmitting a drive force to the carrying part via the transmission mechanism without operating the carrying transmission member.

As medium processing devices, there are image recording devices, such as printers, photocopy machines, facsimile machines, MFPs and the like, that include a function to print an image on a sheet. The term, "MFP" stands for a multi function peripheral, which is a printer with a facsimile function, a scanner function, a copy function and the like.
The image recording device generally includes therein a sheet cassette that stores media (hereinafter referred to as "sheets") on which an image is recorded. The sheet cassette is configured to be removable from the image recording device so as to facilitate supplementing of the sheets, switching to a different size of sheets and the like.
For the image recording device, it is preferable that the frequency of supplementing sheets, switching a different size of sheets and the like to the sheet cassette be reduced. Therefore, as a sheet supply device that supplies sheets to the image recording device, multi-level trays have been proposed that include sheet cassettes installed in multi-levels in the image recording device (see Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2006-124058).
Each tray includes a sheet cassette as a storage part that stores sheets, a sheet supply roller as a sheet supply part that supplies sheets from the sheet cassette, a carrying roller as a carrying part that carries the sheets to subsequent parts, a carrying motor as a drive source that drives the sheet supply roller and the carrying roller, a sheet supply clutch as a sheet supply transmission member that selectively transmits a drive force to the sheet supply roller, a carrying clutch as a carrying transmission member that selectively transmits the drive force to the carrying roller, and a controller that selectively operates each of the motor and clutches.
By receiving electricity from the image recording device to drive the carrying motor, each tray selectively performs one of a sheet supply operation (hereinafter referred to as a "first operation") in which the sheets stored in the sheet cassette are separated and in which each sheet is supplied to subsequent mechanisms, and a carrying operation (hereinafter referred to as a "second operation") in which a sheet supplied from another tray is carried to the subsequent parts.
As explained below, the conventional sheet supply devices (multi-level trays) have a problem that entire electricity consumption by the image recording device and all sheet supply devices (multi-level trays) (hereinafter referred to simply as "entire electricity consumption") increases when there is a sheet supply device that performs only the second operation (carrying operation of sheets supplied from another tray) in a state where a plurality of sheet supply devices are installed in the image recording device.
For instance, when multi-level trays with four or more levels are installed, and when a sheet is supplied from the fourth level tray, a sheet supply command is output to the fourth level tray, and a carrying command is output to the first to third level trays. In response, the fourth level tray separates the sheets stored in the sheet cassette piece by piece and feeds each sheet to the subsequent parts (here, the first to third level trays and the image recording device), and the first to third level trays carry the sheet to the subsequent mechanisms.
At this time, the image recording device supplies electricity for supplying and carrying the sheet (i.e., electricity for operating the carrying motor, sheet supply clutch and carrying clutch) to the fourth level tray, and electricity for carrying the sheet (i.e., electricity to operate the carrying motor and carrying clutch) to the first to third level trays.
Therefore, the image recording device needs to supply electricity for operating the carrying clutch to all of the trays, when a plurality of sheet supply devices are installed in the image recording device and when there are sheet supply devices that perform only the second operation. Therefore, the multi-level trays increase the entire electricity consumption.
In addition, the image recording device needs to use a large capacity power source unit to supply electricity for operating the carrying clutch to all sheet supply devices (here, multi-level trays). Therefore, for the conventional sheet supply devices (multi-level trays), it is necessary to increase the size of the power source unit provided in the image recording device. As a result, the conventional sheet supply devices (multi-level trays) have a problem that miniaturization of the image recording device and lowering cost are prevented.
Therefore, the inventors has considered that, when a plurality of sheet supply devices (multi-level trays) are installed in the image recording device, and when there is a sheet supply device that performs only the second operation (operation to carry a medium supplied from another sheet supply device to subsequent mechanisms), the entire electricity consumption is decreased when the sheet supply device that performs only the second operation rotates the carrying roller without receiving a supply of electricity for carrying the sheet (i.e., without operating the carrying clutch).
The present application is provided to solve the above-described problems and has a principle object to provide a supply device that reduces electricity consumption when a medium supplied from another sheet supply device is carried to subsequent mechanisms.

Sheet supply device and medium processing device