The invention relates to an interstitial ultrasound ablation device (5) for being inserted into tissue surrounding, for instance, a tumor. The interstitial ultrasound ablation device comprises an arrangement (7) of ultrasound units (17, 18) for a focal ablation treatment which is modifiable from a folded configuration, to be used while inserting the ultrasound ablation device into the tissue, to an unfolded configuration, to be used after the ultrasound ablation device has been inserted into the tissue, such that the unfolded arrangement of ultrasound units is next to the tumor. This ultrasound ablation device can be easily positioned close to the tumor, where the unfolded arrangement of ultrasound units provides a large ultrasound emission area allowing for a very good focusing of the ultrasound on the tumor. This can lead to a very effective ablation of the tumor with only very few or no unwanted side effects.

WO 2002/096501 A2 discloses an ultrasound medical system comprising an ultrasound transducer assembly insertable into a patient, wherein the ultrasound transducer assembly has a longitudinal axis and a plurality P of ultrasound transducers. Each ultrasound transducer has an ultrasound emission surface oriented at an angle of substantially 360/P degrees apart from the ultrasound emission surface of an adjacent ultrasound transducer when viewed in a cross section of the ultrasound transducer assembly taken by a cutting plane which is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis.
US 2004/0242999 A1 discloses an apparatus for delivering acoustic energy to a target site adjacent a body passage. The apparatus comprises a first member with a proximal end, a distal end having a size and shape for insertion into the body passage, and a first transducer carried on the distal end. The apparatus further comprises a second member with a proximal end, a distal end having a size and shape for insertion into the body passage, and a second transducer carried on the distal end. The first and second transducers are detachably coupled to each other to at least partially form a transducer array for delivering acoustic energy to a target site adjacent the body passage.
US 2014/0330124 A1 discloses a system for providing ultrasound, wherein the system comprises a drive shaft having a proximal end and a distal end, a motor positioned at or near the proximal end of the drive shaft and a pair of jaws mounted on or near the distal end of the drive shaft. The system further comprises ultrasound transducers configured to generate thermal or cavitational lesions with ultrasound, wherein each transducer is mounted to one of the jaws.
US 2007/0239011 A1 discloses an apparatus for delivering high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) energy to a treatment site internal to a patient's body. The apparatus comprises an elongate probe having a proximal end and a distal end, wherein the proximal end has a section adapted for positioning the distal end of the probe at a desired location within the patient's body. The distal end of the probe has a HIFU therapy transducer coupled thereto, wherein the HIFU therapy transducer comprises a plurality of leaves, each leaf having a proximal end, a distal end, and a deployment mechanism, wherein the proximal end of each leaf is coupled to the distal end of the probe. Each leaf further has a front surface adapted to direct HIFU energy to the treatment site when the probe is inserted in the patient's body and the deployment mechanism is activated. The deployment mechanism is configured to deploy the leaves by directing the distal end of the leaves in a radially outward direction, wherein the leaves thus deployed collectively provide a bowl-shaped HIFU therapy transducer having an outer edge with a diameter that is larger than the diameter of the probe and an aperture of a size sufficient to direct therapeutic HIFU energy to the treatment site. In order to facilitate insertion of the probe in the patient's body, the leaves are configured to collapse when the deployment mechanism is not activated, wherein the collapsed leaves occupy a space having a diameter smaller than the diameter of the outer edge of the HIFU therapy transducer.
US 2014/0081301 A1 discloses an intravascular nerve modulation system comprising an elongate shaft having a proximal end region and a distal end region and an array of ultrasound ablation transducers disposed at the distal end region. Each of the ablation transducers in the array is configured to emit acoustic energy directed towards and intersecting at a first focal region.
WO 2004/108214 A1 discloses an ultrasound probe comprising a probe body and a transducer means for generating a focused ultrasound field, wherein the intensity maximum of which is located in an object for heating the same. The transducer means has a central opening formed by one or more holes for reducing the effect of unwanted peaks in the near ultrasound field.
For ablating a tumor in the prostate it is known to use a transrectal HIFU ablation device. Using the transrectal HIFU ablation device for ablating a tumor in the prostate can lead to unwanted side effects like adversely affecting the urethra, the nerves or the rectum. The side effects can lead to incontinence and erectile dysfunction.


A robot includes a robot arm and an inertial sensor provided in the robot arm. The robot arm is controlled using a weighting value for weighting output from the inertial sensor. In at least apart of a range in which the robot arm is movable, the weighting value is a first value when acceleration of the robot arm is first acceleration, and changes from the first value to a second value higher than the first value when the acceleration of the robot arm changes from the first acceleration to second acceleration lower than the first acceleration.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a robot, a control apparatus, and a robot system.
2. Related Art
In related art, a robot including a pedestal (base) and a plurality of links (arms) has been known (for example, see Patent Document 1 (JP-A-2005-242794)). One link of the two adjacent links is rotatably coupled to the other link via a joint part, and the link closest to the base is rotatably coupled to the pedestal via a joint part.
In the robot, the joint part for coupling the pedestal and the link and the joint part for coupling the links have lower rigidity than the base and the links due to influences of their spring elements. Accordingly, there is a problem that vibration is easily caused in the links due to rotation of the links, disturbance on the links, or the like.
In the robot disclosed in Patent Document 1, angular velocity sensors are provided in the links and motors for rotating the links are feedback-controlled using detection values of the angular velocity sensors. Thereby, the vibration of the robot may be suppressed.
However, in the robot disclosed in Patent Document 1, there are following problems.
First, in the robot, when the arm is extended, the moment of inertia is larger and the vibration is larger, and, when the arm is folded, the moment of inertia is smaller and the vibration is smaller.
Further, when the arm is extended, the robot is harder to oscillate even when the feedback gain is raised, however, when the arm is folded, the robot is easier to oscillate.
Accordingly, in single fixed feedback gain, a vibration suppression effect may not sufficiently be obtained or oscillation is easily caused. As described above, in the robot of related art, it is impossible to sufficiently suppress the vibration.

Robot, control apparatus, and robot system


A composite panel assembly including a first panel with a first skin, a second skin, a core, and an assembly flange. A second panel includes a first skin, a second skin, a core, and an assembly flange. A fastening device is adapted to fasten the assembly flange of the first panel to the assembly flange of the second panel, wherein the core of one of the first panel or the second panel includes reinforcing pins and a high-density portion placed along the assembly flange.

Composite panels have the main advantage of being lightweight. Composite called sandwich panels or sandwich construction, having a lightweight core enclosed between two rigid walls or skins are particularly lightweight. They are therefore beneficial in vehicle construction, and particularly in the construction of furniture for vehicles such as galleys for example. Indeed, lightweight equipment onboard a vehicle and more particularly onboard aircraft is a very important factor in reducing the use of fuel in vehicles.
Therefore composite panels assembly has been proposed to create structures and/or furniture for vehicles in general and for aircraft in particular. However composite panels reveal difficult to produce in complex forms and composite panels assemblies often lack the mechanical resistance that the panels have. Given that composite panels are usually produced in generally flat portions, the assembly between two panels happens at a corner or angle between two panels where the transmission of loads is complex. The transmission of loads between two panels assembled together is often not optimal, leading to early fatigue and breakage of the panels or of the assembly. Such mechanical constraints are even more difficult to conciliate with design requirements of the furniture.
WO2005016643 discloses a container comprising a plurality of composite panels assembled together. The panels comprise a thermoplastic core and thermoplastic resin skins. It describes a manufacturing method in which a continuous flat panel is used and thermoformed to create an edge adapted for the attachment of the panel to another panel. The use of thermoplastic reduces greatly the choice of mechanical and chemical properties of the panel. Besides, the connection of the panels reveals to be fragile and subject to rupture under stress and/or repetitive shocks. The container disclose in this document does not have any design requirements and the connection between panels is not adapted to a furniture for receiving clients for example.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,578,526 describes a rotor cap panel of a helicopter with composite panels connected to each other. The panels comprise a honeycomb core contoured by balsa wood, as well as an outer layer to be outside the aircraft and an inner layer. Such panel does not provide optimal mechanical resistance. Besides, such panel connections are not adapted to be used as furniture where design consideration also apply.
These documents do not describe a panel that is lightweight and durable in conditions in which it will be submitted to mechanical stress, shocks, etc. In particular they do not provide a solution that may be used in an assembly for a furniture which also includes design requirements.

Composite panels assembly, furniture comprising such assembly and aircraft comprising such assembly


A system and method for capturing and re-calling an application function. The method of function re-call during anti-virus check includes the following steps: function intercept (capture); anti-virus analysis of the parameters used to call the function; preparing of an application stack for function re-call (when the analysis did not detect any malicious functionality); and calling the function again. The exemplary method can be used with browsers and other applications.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to anti-virus solutions and, in particular, to capturing (intercepting) a function called from a running application, while maintaining the function parameter stack for re-calling the function.
2. Description of the Related Art
Currently, malicious software (malware) has spread on a large scale. In the past, computer viruses were transferred on floppy disks, making it impossible to infect many computers simultaneously. However, with wide accessibility of the Internet, it has become easier to spread malware via malicious scripts on web pages, which often occurs invisibly to a user.
Modern browsers, unlike NCSA Mosaic (the first browser), are capable of displaying not only static pages, but also of providing a full-fledged interface between a user and a modern website. The modern browsers are compliant with various web-standards and technologies, such as CSS3, HTML5, Java, Javascript, RSS, etc. These technologies help browsers display and operate various interactive elements, thus facilitating the data input for the user. This interaction can cause serious flaws in information security.
The problem is that the newly developed standards do not sufficiently address security issues, such as vulnerability to XSS, CSRF and other attacks. One can see this just by typing a search query "html5 security issues." With web languages (such as, for example, Javascript), their creators put most efforts to make it easy to learn by users and to be efficiently interpreted by a browser, leaving the aspect of information security checks to programmers or to the browsers. This is a major reason why malicious scripts are so widespread in the Internet, and there is a need to detect the malware using existing anti-virus technologies.
Currently, the anti-virus (AV) technologies use the following conventional approach: when receiving a response from a web-server, the AV solution captures (intercepts) the web page and scans it for malicious URLs and scripts (e.g., written in Javascript) using the AV own script emulators. The main drawback of the conventional approach is that the anti-virus emulator (e.g., for Javascript) operates differently from the browser interpreters, which, on top of that, are constantly changed.
Another conventional approach is to intercept functions of the application in question (i.e., a browser), which are called when executing the web page scripts, thus capturing the threads of the browser Javascript interpreter. This approach requires application code analysis—in some cases, by disassembling the code when the application or library functions which are not documented, which is typical in proprietary software. After the unsecure functions are detected, the function capture utilities transfers the necessary parameters (i.e., the parameters used to call the initial function) to an anti-virus application for analysis. The conventional function capture utility can produce any of the following results:                the function parameters have been recognized correctly, and the anti-virus software has not detected anything malicious, thus the initial function can be resumed with all recognized parameters;        the function parameters have been recognized correctly, and the anti-virus software has detected malicious functions, thus the initial function needs to be interrupted;        the function parameters have not been recognized correctly.
If the function parameters have not been recognized correctly, there is a need to re-call initial function with initial parameters. FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional function parameter stack for calling the functions of a running application. When a function is called, all necessary parameters (see stack frames 100a, 100b) and the return addresses A, B, etc. are stored in the stack. However, in order to determine the parameters used to call the initial function (whose number is unknown) by the function interceptor, the application must be debugged manually. Thus, the main drawback of the conventional approach is that it cannot be used for automated analysis.
A number of variables (of different types, such as strings, binary, integers or floating point variables) are written into the frame 100b. The parameters can be recognized correctly only through manual analysis. Modern scripting languages, such as Javascript, do not have strict typing of parameter data. Thus, different functions (e.g., document.write or document.eval), when called, can transfer a different number of various parameters. Without a strict definition of the data types, 1 Kb of data can be received and not recognized as integers, floating point variables, strings, or any combination of the above. This fact makes analysis of the transferred function parameters even more difficult.
Another conventional approach is to implement a parameter analyzer for each specific function in the application. However, after an update it could still need manual analysis, which makes this approach very labor intensive. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,500,230 describes a method of statistical code analysis, which converts low-level stack operations into high-level ones by determining the number of transferred parameters and their types.
Thus, the system needs be able to re-call the initial application function with initial parameters, unless the anti-virus analysis has detected malicious activity and the initial function needs to be interrupted. Accordingly, the interceptor function has to call the initial function with an unknown number of parameters, while the interceptor function itself has the unknown number of parameters as well. The main drawback of this approach is that the captured parameters can be transferred correctly only if their data types are identified, which is not always possible. Therefore, the conventional approaches are ineffective and sometimes even unusable, because the re-calling of the captured function generates errors.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a method for re-calling the application captured function while maintaining the function parameter stack.

Method for function capture and maintaining parameter stack


Sauerkraut that is free of added vegetable oil or other lubricant is prepared for packaging in small volumes by substantially continuously delivering a supply of the sauerkraut to a hopper (20) with an open top (22), the sauerkraut being delivered to the hopper at a location between a baffle (24) that periodically reciprocates within the hopper and a plurality of openings (28) at a bottom of the hopper. A tube (26) extends substantially vertically downwardly from each of the openings, and sauerkraut in the hopper is positively caused to flow from each of the openings into and through a tube that is aligned with the opening by rotating a rotatable screw (40) with a larger diameter upper portion (40a) that extends downwardly through the hopper and a smaller diameter lower portion (40b) that extends downwardly from the upper portion into and at least substantially through a tube.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,670,193 (Vreugde) describes a single-serve package of sauerkraut and a method of packaging sauerkraut in single-serve packages. The package of the '193 patent requires the addition of a predetermined quantity of an edible vegetable oil to the sauerkraut, however, to overcome the resistance to flow of sauerkraut due to its fibrous texture. For various dietary reasons, however, it is desirable to package sauerkraut without the need to introduce a vegetable oil or other lubricant in the sauerkraut to permit it to flow properly during packaging.

Method and apparatus for processing sauerkraut for packaging in single-serve packets


Methods and systems that reduce video crosstalk in video streams sent between participants in a video conference are disclosed. In one aspect, a method for reducing video crosstalk in a video stream sent from a local site to a remote site includes projecting a video stream of the remote site onto a screen at the local site. Each image in the video stream is dimmed according to a dimming factor of a dimming sequence. Crosstalk images of the local site are captured through the screen. Each crosstalk image is a blending of the image of the local site captured through the screen with a dimmed image of the remote site projected onto the screen. Images of the local site with reduced crosstalk are computed based on the dimming sequence. A video stream composed of the images of the local site with reduced crosstalk are sent to the remote site.

Video conferencing enables participants located at different sites to simultaneously interact via two-way video and audio transmissions. A video conference can be as simple as a conversation between two participants located at different sites or involve discussions between many participants located at different sites and may include shared content such as a video presentation or slides. As high-speed network connectivity has become more widely available at lower cost and the cost of video capture and display technologies continues to decrease, video conferencing conducted over networks between participants in faraway places is becoming increasing popular.
Video conferencing systems are designed to provide natural interactions between the participants. Desired attributes of these systems include a natural frontal view with correct eye contact and eye gaze and the ability to interact on a shared surface, such as a screen. The video stream of each participant is sent to the other participants so that each participant can view and interact with the images of the other participants. Consider for example a video conference between two participants referred to as a local participant and a remote participant. From the point of view of the local participant, a video conferencing system projects the video stream of the remote participant onto the local participant's screen. A camera located behind the screen captures images of the local participant through the screen while the local participant views the remote participant projected onto the screen. However, the images of the local participant can be corrupted by video crosstalk, which arises when the camera captures not only the images of the local participant through the screen but also the images of the remote participant. As a result, the video stream of the local participant displayed on the remote participant's screen is a combination of the images of the local participant and the remote participant's images projected onto the screen of the local participant. Designers and users of video conference technologies continue to seek improvements to the video-conferencing experience.

Systems and methods for reducing video crosstalk

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


Disclosed is use of a porous membrane and a composite membrane thereof in a redox flow batteries, and in particular the use thereof in a vanadium redox flow battery. The membrane can effectively realize the separation of ions with different valence states, and an ion transfer without any ion exchange group. The pore size and structure of the porous membrane can be controlled by filling an inorganic substance or grafting an ion exchange group in the pore, in order to improve the barrier properties of the porous membrane for vanadium ions and to increase proton conductivity.

Redox flow battery being a new electrochemical energy storage technology exhibits high energy conversion efficiency, flexible design, high energy storage capacity, flexible location, deep discharge, high safety, environmental friendly and low maintenance cost compared with other energy storage techniques. A number of applications have been considered, such as renewable energy storage for wind energy, solar energy etc., Emergency Power Supply, Standby Power System, peaking shaving as well as load leveling. Vanadium flow battery (VFB) has been considered as one of the most compelling electrochemical energy storage techniques due to its features like high safety, good stability, high efficiency, life longer than 15 years and low cost.
A membrane/separator, being one of the key materials of a VFB, is employed to prevent the cross mixing of the positive and negative electrolytes and compete the current circuit by transferring protons. The proton conductivity, chemical stability and ion selectivity of the membrane can directly affect the electrochemical performance and lifetime of VFB. Therefore, the membrane should possess a number of properties, including low active species permeability (high ion selectivity), low membrane area resistance (high ion conductivity), high physicochemical stability and low cost. The membranes most commonly used in VFB are perfluorosulfonic acid polymers such as DuPont Nafion® owing to their high proton conductivity and chemical stability. However, Nafion® membranes suffer from their extremely high cost, especially exhibit the disadvantage like low ion selectivity etc. when used for the VFB, which limits their further commercialization of VFB. Therefore, to develop a membrane with high ion selectivity, high physicochemical stability and low cost is of vital importance.
Currently, the membrane developed and studied for VFB application is ion exchange membrane consisted of the polymer with ion exchange groups. The ion exchange membrane can be divided into perfluorosulfonic ion exchange membrane, fluorosulfonic ion exchange membrane and non-fluorosulfonic ion exchange membrane. Because these membranes containing fluorosulfonic showed some problems such as low ion selectivity on vanadium ions and high cost, considerable effort had been gone into the development and characterization of non-fluorosulfonic ion exchange membrane, including sulfonated polyaryletherketone, polyether sulphone and polyether sulphone etc. The ion exchange groups are to transport protons and provide a bather to vanadium ions, and the main chain of polymer is to keep their mechanical stability. For the most non-fluorosulfonic ion exchange membrane, the induction of ion exchange groups can dramatically lower the chemical stability, which limits the life-time of membrane in VFB.
The membrane separation process is a process that the components of the raw material selectively transport the membrane to separate and refresh the raw material when there is a force difference (i.e. pressure difference, concentration difference and current difference etc.) between two sides of the membrane to achieve the purpose of separation or purification. The structure of the membrane is usually porous structure. The molecules with different size can selectively transport membrane based on the porous size of the membrane to achieve the purpose of separation or purification. The membrane most commonly used in the industry is usually prepared via the phase transition. The basic method is described as follows: the polymer solution is cast on a plate (i.e. glass plate). After evaporation of a moment, if necessary, the cast was immersed into non-solvent for the polymer to form the porous membrane. Various preparation parameters in this invention can affect the morphology and performance of the prepared membranes, such as the evaporation time of solvent, the concentration of the polymer solution and co-solvent etc. Different materials can be selectively separated via controlling the condition of forming the membrane and the pore size of the membranes.
In the case of the all vanadium flow battery, the vanadium ion and proton are both existed in the form of hydrated ion. The stokes radius of the V(VI) ion is about 2.5˜3A° [14]. Based on the formula of Stokes radius, it is concluded that there is an inverse relationship between the Stokes radius and the permeability parameter of the ion. However, the permeability parameter of proton [15] is far more than that of the vanadium. Therefore, the Stokes radius of the vanadium ion is far more than that of the proton.
      R    H    =                    k        B                  T              6                                      π                                      η                                      D
(kB is the Boltzmann constant, T is the Kelvin temperature, D is the ion permeability coefficient and η is the solution viscosity).
Based on the different stokes radius of between vanadium ions and protons, it could be possible to make protons freely transport across membrane and vanadium ions retained, realizing the function of ion exchange membranes for the VFB. This kind of membranes can meet the need of membranes via tuning the pore size without the introduction of the ion exchange groups, giving more choices of the membranes for the VFB application.

Use of porous membrane and composite membrane thereof in redox flow energy storage battery

DALIAN INSTITUTE OF CHEMICAL PHYSICS, CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES


A method for determining the concentration of factor VIIa-antithrombin complexes is disclosed which has application to estimating the level of intravascular exposure of tissue factor, assessing patient risk for hypercoagulation or other coagulopathies, and monitoring patients for factor VIIa-antithrombin complexes over time which can reveal changes in risk for hypercoagulation or other coagulopathies and/or effectiveness of anticoagulant therapy. Antibodies suitable for use in an in vitro assay for determining the concentration of factor VIIa-antithrombin complexes and methods for making the same are also disclosed.

A number of clinical assays have been designed to measure the degree of turnover of the blood clotting system. These assays are routinely used to assess the severity of coagulopathies such as disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). Many of these assays are also being investigated for their utility in predicting hypercoagulable states that may predispose a person to developing deep vein thrombosis (DVT), heart attack, ischemic stroke, or other thrombotic and thromboembolic disorders. Examples of such assays are measurements of the plasma levels of fibrinopeptide A, thrombin-antithrombin complexes, prothrombin fragment 1+2, D-dimer, and factor VIIa (Amiral, J. and Fareed, J. (1966). "Thromboembolic diseases: biochemical mechanisms and new possibilities of biological diagnosis," Semin Thromb Hemost 22 Suppl, 1:41-48; Gouin-Thibault, I. and Samama, M. M. 1999. "Laboratory diagnosis of the thrombophilic state in cancer patients," Semin Thromb Hemost 25: 167-172; Morrissey, J. H. et al. 1993. "Quantitation of activated factor VII levels in plasma using a tissue factor mutant selectively deficient in promoting factor VII activation," Blood 81:734-744; and Morrissey, J. H. 1996. "Plasma factor VIIa: Measurement and potential clinical significance," Haemostasis 26:66-71). These assays permit insights into the degree of ongoing activation of the blood clotting system in vivo. For example, the levels of fibrinopeptide A and D-dimer reflect the degree to which fibrinogen is being converted into fibrin. The levels of thrombin-antithrombin complexes and prothrombin fragment 1+2 reflect the degree to which prothrombin is being converted to thrombin in vivo. One cannot measure thrombin activity levels in plasma directly because the active enzyme has an extremely short plasma half-life (owing to plasma's high content of protease inhibitors). Thus, the levels of thrombin-antithrombin complexes reflect the ongoing rate of thrombin activation in vivo because antithrombin (formerly known as antithrombin III or ATIII) is a major inhibitor of thrombin in plasma, and because these complexes have a much longer half-life in plasma than does thrombin. Similarly, prothrombin fragment 1+2 is released from prothrombin when it is activated to thrombin, and these fragments can circulate at measurable levels in plasma. For these reasons, measurements of either thrombin-antithrombin complexes or prothrombin fragment 1+2 in plasma are thought to reflect the ongoing rate of thrombin generation in vivo.
Assays to measure plasma markers of activation of other blood clotting factors have also been developed, in addition to those specific for the activation of thrombin. In the case of factors IX and X, as with thrombin, the active proteases (factors IXa and Xa) have very short half-lives in plasma, so it is not possible to measure their levels directly. However, as with prothrombin, assays have been developed to indirectly assess the degree of activation of factors IX and X. One set of methods involves measuring the plasma levels of activation peptides released from factors IX or X when they are converted to factors IXa or Xa. These activation peptides circulate with much longer half-lives than do the activated proteases themselves, and assays based on measuring the levels of such activation peptides have been developed and applied in a variety of epidemiologic studies (Bauer, K. A. 1994. "New markers for in vivo coagulation," Curr Opin Hematol 1:341-346; Bauer, K. A. 1999. "Activation markers of coagulation," Baillieres Best Pract Res Clin Haematol 12:387-406; and Cooper, J. A. et al. 2000. "Comparison of novel hemostatic factors and conventional risk factors for prediction of coronary heart disease," Circulation 102:2816-2822).
Another way to assess the ongoing rate of activation of factors IX or X is to measure the levels of circulating complexes of factor IXa or factor Xa with their plasma inhibitors. This has been done for factor IXa-antithrombin complexes (Takahashi, et al. 1991. "Activated factor IX-antithrombin III complexes in human blood: quantification by an enzyme-linked differential antibody immunoassay and determination of the in vivo half-life," J Lab Clin Med 118:317-325) and factor Xa-antithrombin complexes (Gouin-Thibault, I. et al. 1995. "Measurement of factor Xa-antithrombin III in plasma: relationship to prothrombin activation in vivo," Br J Haematol 90:669-680; Bauer, K. A. 1994. "New markers for in vivo coagulation," Curr Opin Hematol 1:341-346; and Bauer, K. A. 1999. "Activation markers of coagulation," Baillieres Best Pract Res Clin Haematol 12:387406). In addition, assays for measuring the circulating levels of complexes between factor Xa and tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI) have also been developed (Okugawa, Y. et al. 2000. "Increased plasma levels of tissue factor pathway inhibitor-activated factor X complex in patients with disseminated intravascular coagulation," Am J Hematol 65:210-214; Iversen, N. et al. 2000. "Tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI) in disseminated intravascular coagulation: low levels of the activated factor X-TFPI complex," Blood Coagul Fibrinolysis 11:591-598; Iversen, N. et al. 2000. "Tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI) in disseminated intravascular coagulation: low levels of the activated factor X-TFPI complex," Blood Coagul Fibrinolysis 11:591-598; and Miller, G. J. 2000. "Haemostatic factors in human peripheral afferent lymph," Thromb Haemost 83:427-432).
Coagulation factor VII is converted to the activated form, factor VIIa, by proteolysis of a single peptide bond, and this is not associated with the release of an activation peptide (Morrissey, J. H. 2001. "Tissue factor and factor VII initiation of coagulation," in Hemostasis and Thrombosis: Basic Principles and Clinical Practice, R. W. Colman et al. eds., Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, pp. 89-101). For this reason, it is not possible to monitor factor VII activation using an activation peptide assay, as has been done with prothrombin or factors IX or X. However, factor VIIa has a relatively long plasma half-life (about 2 hours), and so it has been possible to develop a clotting assay (based on a mutant form of tissue factor) that can specifically measure the levels of active factor VIIa in plasma (Morrissey, J. H. et al. 1993. "Quantitation of activated factor VII levels in plasma using a tissue factor mutant selectively deficient in promoting factor VII activation," Blood 81:734-744).
Measuring the plasma levels of factor VIIa are of interest because the blood clotting system is initiated when factor VII or VIIa binds to tissue factor (an integral membrane protein) on cell surfaces. The resulting membrane-bound complex of factor VIIa and tissue factor is the most potent known initiator of blood clotting. Tissue factor is normally present only on cells outside the vasculature, and it triggers blood clotting in normal hemostasis following vascular injury, thereby allowing blood to come into contact with tissue factor. Tissue factor expression can be induced on monocytes and endothelial cells by inflammatory mediators. Induced expression of tissue factor is thought to be responsible for the pathologic activation of blood clotting that triggers a number of thrombotic disorders (Morrissey, J. H. 2001. "Tissue factor and factor VII initiation of coagulation," in Hemostasis and Thrombosis: Basic Principles and Clinical Practice, R. W. Colman et al. eds., Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, pp. 89-101).
Factor VIIa has a long half-life in plasma because it is essentially unreactive with any of the plasma protease inhibitors in the absence of its cofactor, tissue factor (Morrissey, J. H. 2001. "Tissue factor and factor VII initiation of coagulation," in Hemostasis and Thrombosis: Basic Principles and Clinical Practice, R W. Colman et al. eds., Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, pp. 89-101). However, when factor VIIa binds to tissue factor, it becomes susceptible to inhibition both by antithrombin and TFPI. Interestingly, when factor VIIa bound to tissue factor reacts with antithrombin, the resulting factor VIIa-antithrombin (factor VIIa-AT) complexes lose affinity for tissue factor. Consequently these complexes, once formed, are released into solution (Hamamoto, T. and Kisiel, W. 1998. "The effect of cell surface glycosaminoglycans (GAGS) on the inactivation of factor VIIa-tissue factor activity by antithrombin III," Int J Hematol 68:67-78; Kondo, S. and Kisiel, W. 1987. "Regulation of factor VIIa in plasma: Evidence that antithrombin III is the sole plasma proteinase inhibitor of human factor VIIa," Thromb Res 46:325; Lawson, J. H. et al. 1993. "Complex-dependent inhibition of factor VIIa by antithrombin III and heparin," J Biol Chem 268:767-770; and Rao, L. V. M. et al. 1993. "Binding of factor VIIa to tissue factor permits rapid antithrombin III/heparin inhibition of factor VIIa," Blood 81:2600-2607).
Because factor VIIa is only susceptible to inhibition by antithrombin when it is bound to tissue factor, and because the resulting factor VIIa-AT complexes are released from tissue factor, the circulating levels of factor VIIa-AT reflect the degree of exposure of tissue factor to the blood. Such intravascular exposure of tissue factor is expected to result from inflammatory states and in fact has previously been shown to drive the lethal coagulopathy associated with sepsis (De Boer, J. P. et al. 1993. "Activation patterns of coagulation and fibrinolysis in baboons following infusion with lethal or sublethal dose of Escherichia coli," Circ Shock 39:59-67; Drake, T. A. et al. 1993. "Expression of tissue factor, thrombomodulin, and E-selectin in baboons with lethal Escherichia coli sepsis," Am J Pathol 142:1458-1470b; and Taylor, F. B. et al. 1991. "Lethal E. coli septic shock is prevented by blocking tissue factor with monoclonal antibody," Circ Shock 33:127-134). In addition, ongoing intravascular exposure of tissue factor, possibly due to chronic inflammatory conditions, may contribute to hypercoagulable states that could lead to the development of thrombotic diseases. For these reasons, it is of interest to be able to estimate the level of intravascular exposure of tissue factor.
It has now been found that measurable levels of factor VIIa-AT complexes are found in plasma and can be used to estimate the level of intravascular exposure of tissue factor. An ELISA assay has been developed for measuring the levels of factor VIIa-AT complexes in plasma Antibodies for use in the ELISA and methods of using the assay to assess patient risk or monitor anticoagulant therapy are also disclosed.

Assay for measuring factor viia-antithrombin complexes


In one aspect, a power connect device receives ac line voltage and provides ac load voltage to a load device. In one embodiment, the power connect device includes: a connect panel, a transformer circuit, a high voltage relay, a rectifier, and a voltage protection circuit. In one aspect, the transformer circuit includes first, second, and third transformers each with a primary winding, a high voltage secondary winding, and a low voltage secondary winding. In several embodiments, methods protect the load device from an over or under voltage conditions on the ac load voltage using the power connect device. The power connect device is reconfigurable for three phase and single phase operation. The power connect device is also reconfigurable for multiple line voltage levels.

The exemplary embodiments described herein relate to a power reconnect and voltage protection device that adapts load equipment to multiple types of input power sources. It finds particular application in conjunction with adapting a transportable robotic welding cell to a variety of input power sources, and will be described with particular reference thereto. However, it is to be appreciated that the present exemplary embodiment is also amenable to other like applications.
There are multiple types of electrical power that may be provided by public electrical utilities or locally generated for operating equipment in residential or commercial environments. For example, some exemplary types of three phase electrical power may have nominal voltage levels of 208-240 Vac, 480 Vac, 600 Vac, or some other nominal voltage level. Additionally, single phase electrical power may be provided at a nominal voltage level of 208-240 Vac, 480 Vac, 600 Vac, or some other nominal voltage level.
Load devices may be rated to operate on three phase electrical power at nominal voltage levels of 200 Vac, 208 Vac, 230 Vac, 208-230 Vac, 200-240 Vac, 460 Vac, 575 Vac, or some other nominal voltage level. These load devices may be desired to be located in an environment already having three phase electrical power at some nominal voltage other than the rated voltage. This typically leaves one with two alternatives: 1) providing three phase electrical power at the rated voltage or 2) providing an equivalent load device rated for the three phase electrical power that is currently available.
Additionally, load devices may be rated to operate on single phase electrical power at nominal voltage levels of 200 Vac, 208 Vac, 230 Vac, 208-230 Vac, 200-240 Vac, or some other nominal voltage level. These load devices may be desired to be located in an environment already having single phase electrical power at some nominal voltage other than the rated voltage. This typically leaves one with three alternatives: 1) providing single phase electrical power at the rated voltage, 2) providing an equivalent load device rated for the single phase electrical power that is currently available, or 3) forego using the load device in the desired environment.
For example, commercial equipment, such as a transportable robotic welding cell, may be rated to operate on either three phase or single phase electrical power, for example, using a nominal voltage of 200-240 Vac+10%/−15% or some other nominal voltage level and/or range. If the equipment is rated to operate on three phase electrical power, one may find, for example, that only 480 Vac/3Ø, 600 Vac/3Ø, or some other nominal voltage level outside the rated range is currently available. If the equipment is rated to operate on single phase electrical power, one may find, for example, that only 480 Vac/1Ø, 600 Vac/1Ø, or some other nominal voltage outside the rated range is currently available. Under these circumstances, the commercial equipment owner may have to purchase multiple models of the same equipment just so he/she can operate the equipment in the desired location. Some other alternative are to pay a public electrical utility to install the required electrical power, purchase a generator to provide the required electrical power, or forego using the equipment in desired environment.
Accordingly, there is a need for an adapter that can be reconfigured in order to interface equipment with multiple nominal voltages for input power sources that may be available in residential or commercial environments. This is particularly needed for transportable equipment and other equipment that may be re-located from time to time to different environments that may have different nominal voltages for input power sources.


Cells designed to accommodate metal routing tracks having a pitch that is an odd multiple of a manufacturing grid. The cells includes cell pins that are located within the cell based on the offsets of the routing tracks relative to the cell boundaries. The cell pins are wider than wires that are routed along the metal routing tracks. The standard cell may be placed in a layout in either a normal orientation or in a flipped orientation. In both orientations, the cell pins are aligned with the wires that are routed along the metal routing tracks.

1. Field of Art
The disclosure generally relates to the field of electronic design automation (EDA), and more specifically to routing of pins for a standard cell that is used to design integrated circuits (ICs).
2. Description of the Related Art
Computer-aided cell-based design has been developed for quickly designing large scale ICs such as application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) and gate arrays. The cell is a circuit that has been pre-designed and pre-verified as a building block. Design technologies known as standard cell and gate array use different types of such building blocks. In a standard cell design, each distinct cell in a library may have unique geometries of active, gate, and metal levels. With gate arrays however, each cell shares the same building block, called a core cell that includes fixed active and gate level geometries. Different gate array cells are implemented using only metal interconnections between the active and gate elements of one or more core cells. Examples of a standard cell or gate array cell include an inverter, a NAND gate, a NOR gate, a flip flop, and other similar logic circuits.
During the process of designing an integrated circuit, a designer may select particular cells from a library of cells and use them in a design. The library includes cells that have been designed for a given IC manufacturing process, such as complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) fabrication. The cells generally have a fixed height but a variable width, which enables the cells to be placed in rows. Cells do not change from one design to the next, but the way in which they are interconnected will, to achieve the desired function in a given design. By being able to select the cells from the library for use in the design, the designer can quickly implement a desired functionality without having to custom design the entire integrated circuit from scratch. Thus, the designer will have a certain level of confidence that the integrated circuit will work as intended when manufactured without having to worry about the details of the individual transistors that make up each cell.
Cells are normally designed so that routing connections between cells can be made efficiently. Routing in an IC design is accomplished through routing elements, such as wires in one or more metal layers. Each metal layer is separated from other metal layers by insulating layers, and vias connect one metal layer to another. These routing elements perform at least two functions: they connect individual transistors that make up a standard cell, and they connect cells to each other globally (i.e., on a chip-level) to implement the desired functionality of the integrated circuit. For example, clock signals, reset signals, test signals, and supply voltages may be carried through these routing elements. A well designed standard cell layout minimizes congestion in routing global interconnections, which reduces the number of metal layers in or overall size of an integrated circuit layout.


A method of making a battery cathode includes forming a first layer having a cathode mixture on a substrate, separating, e.g., removing, the substrate from the first layer, and incorporating the first layer into the battery cathode.

Batteries are commonly used electrical energy sources. A battery contains a negative electrode, typically called the anode, and a positive electrode, typically called the cathode. The anode contains an active material that can be oxidized; the cathode contains or consumes an active material that can be reduced. The anode active material is capable of reducing the cathode active material. In order to prevent direct reaction of the anode material and the cathode material, the anode and the cathode are electrically isolated from each other by a separator.
When a battery is used as an electrical energy source in a device, electrical contact is made to the anode and the cathode, allowing electrons to flow through the device and permitting the respective oxidation and reduction reactions to occur to provide electrical power. An electrolyte, for example, potassium hydroxide, in contact with the anode and the cathode contains ions that flow through the separator between the electrodes to maintain charge balance throughout the battery during discharge.
In some cases, the cathode is formed by coating a cathode mixture directly on a current collector, e.g., a conductive mesh. After coating, the cathode mixture is dried. Drying can cause the cathode to shrink, and in some cases, cause excessive stress in the cathode that lead to undesirable defects, such as cracks, and/or loss of adhesion to the current collector. As a result, this method of making a cathode can limit the loading (the amount of active material that can be formed on the cathode) and the performance of the cathode and the battery in which the cathode is used.

Battery electrode and method of making the same


An anti-ringing device for a television signal transmission system in which the frequency band of a luminance component of a video signal from an image device is limited to prevent visible ringing at the receiver. The device includes a signal delay circuit 2 for delaying the video signal obtained by the image device, a low-pass filter 3 capable of changing the frequency band limitation characteristics thereof, a discriminator 4 for providing an output when the luminance component of the video signal contains a source of ringing, and a switch 5 for normally connecting the output of the delay circuit to a signal processor 6. The switch is responsive to the output of the discriminator for connecting the low-pass filter to the signal processor instead of the delay circuit, whose delay time corresponds to the signal processing time required in the discriminator.

The present invention relates to an anti-ringing device for a television signal transmission system and, particularly, to such a device capable of changing the band limiting characteristics thereof with respect to a luminance component of a video signal to prevent ringing from occuring during reception of the video signal.
In a television transmission signal in the NTSC system, a band limitation is performed for a luminance signal. That is, when a video signal obtained by a high resolution camera is received, ringing may be produced in various areas on a screen. Therefore, it is desired to limit the band preliminarily in a transmission system such that the production of such ringing is prevented and to prevent the resolution from being degraded. The term "ringing" used in this description means a local change of an image on a screen caused by an abrupt change of luminance due to the high frequency cutoff characteristics of a transmission line. That is, the ringing on the image screen takes the form of thin white or black contour lines surrounding a portion of a picture on the screen. Therefore, such ringing may or may not be conspicuous depending upon the relation of the picture portion to the background thereof. For example, when the picture portion is a thin tower with a blue sky as the background, the ringing can not be ignored. However, when the background thereof is woods, it may be ignored.
In the NTSC television signal transmission system, the frequency band of the luminance signal is limited to 4.2 MHz, and the color signal frequency bands for the I signal and the Q signal are limited to 1.5 MHz and 0.5 MHz, respectively. Further, a reference sub-carrier frequency of 3.58 MHz is mixed thereto and a resultant signal is fed to a transmitter. Thus, a video signal obtained from an image device is band-limited by passing it through a low-pass filter and then fed to the transmission system which may include a signal recording device such as a VTR.
Conventional low-pass filters used to limit the luminance signal frequency band have such characteristics as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, in which FIG. 3A is a usual low pass filter designed to improve image quality and FIG. 3B is a filter designed to remove ringing. In FIG. 3A, the characteristic is substantially flat up to a frequency of 4.2 MHz which is very close to an upper frequency limitation of the frequency band, and has a sharp cutoff above 4.2 MHz. Therefore, the amplitude limitation of the luminance signal in a high frequency region of the video signal from the image device is small, and thus the image on the screen becomes sharp. When a high resolution camera is used as the image device on the transmission side, signal component up to 6 to 7 MHz can be obtained, and ringing is produced at various points on the screen.
On the other hand, in FIG. 3B, the characteristic slopes down gradually at frequencies higher than, for example, 3 MHz. It has been found that, with such a filter, the production of ringing is minimized. However, since the amplitude of the 4 MHz signal is reduced, blurring of the whole image occurs due to degradation of resolution.
The sharpness of the image on a screen is thus contradictory to the conspicuousness of ringing, and it is very difficult to make both of them optimum.

Anti-ringing device for television transmission system


An electrolyte composition comprising (i) a block copolymer, (ii) an organic electrolyte (e.g. an ionic liquid), and (iii) a lithium salt, wherein the block copolymer comprises a non-ionic block and an ionic block, the non-ionic block comprising polymerised residues of hydrophobic monomers, and the ionic block comprising polymerised monomer residues having covalently coupled thereto (a) a pendant organic ionic liquid cation, the pendant organic ionic liquid cation having a counter anion, (b) a pendant anionic moiety, the pendant anionic moiety having a counter cation, or (c) a combination thereof, and the electrolyte composition has at least two glass transition temperature (Tg) values.

Solid-state polymer electrolytes are a promising substitute to liquid electrolytes for the fabrication of high performance ion conducting electrolytes, and in particular high-performance lithium-ion conducting electrolytes. Polymer electrolytes promise an improvement of the overall electrochemical performance and safety of lithium-based devices due to their good shape flexibility, suppression of dendrite growth, removal of leakage issues and lower flammability relative to liquid electrolytes.
Block copolymer electrolytes form part of a particular class of polymer electrolytes that have recently attracted attention due to their highly customisable chemical nature. However, polymer electrolytes prepared to date have generally been found to be defective in either ionic conductivity and/or mechanical stability. Poor ionic conductivity leads to the production of solid-state devices that suffer from low storage capacity, energy and power. On the other hand, poor mechanical stability adversely affects the electrochemical stability and/or cycleability of the electrolyte.
Accordingly, there remains an opportunity to develop block copolymer electrolytes that can provide ionic conductivities comparable to those of their liquid counterparts, as well as sufficiently good mechanical properties to ensure electrochemical stability and cycleability.

COMMONWEALTH SCIENTIFIC AND INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH ORGANISATION


A method for deploying an endoluminal vascular prosthesis using a deployment catheter that has at least a main graft portion and a first branch graft portion. The deployment catheter preferably comprises an elongate, flexible catheter body having a proximal end and a distal end, and an outer sheath and an inner core that is axially moveable with respect to the outer sheath. The catheter preferably comprises a main graft restraint that has a main graft release mechanism comprising a main graft sheath and a suture threaded through a plurality of the openings in the main graft sheath. The catheter further comprises at least one branch graft restraint comprising at least one branch graft release mechanism.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to endoluminal vascular prosthesis deployment, and in particular, to a deployment system for a bifurcated graft having at least one peelable sheath.
2. Description of the Related Art
An abdominal aortic aneurysm is a sac caused by an abnormal dilation of the wall of the aorta, a major artery of the body, as it passes through the abdomen. The abdomen is that portion of the body which lies between the thorax and the pelvis. It contains a cavity, known as the abdominal cavity, separated by the diaphragm from the thoracic cavity and lined with a serous membrane, the peritoneum. The aorta is the main trunk, or artery, from which the systemic arterial system proceeds. It arises from the left ventricle of the heart, passes upward, bends over and passes down through the thorax and through the abdomen to about the level of the fourth lumbar vertebra, where it divides into the two common iliac arteries.
The aneurysm usually arises in the infrarenal portion of the diseased aorta, for example, below the kidneys. When left untreated, the aneurysm may eventually cause rupture of the sac with ensuing fatal hemorrhaging in a very short time. High mortality associated with the rupture led initially to transabdominal surgical repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms. Surgery involving the abdominal wall, however, is a major undertaking with associated high risks. There is considerable mortality and morbidity associated with this magnitude of surgical intervention, which in essence involves replacing the diseased and aneurysmal segment of blood vessel with a prosthetic device which typically is a synthetic tube, or graft, usually fabricated of Polyester, Urethane, DACRON™, TEFLON™, or other suitable material.
To perform the surgical procedure requires exposure of the aorta through an abdominal incision which can extend from the rib cage to the pubis. The aorta must be closed both above and below the aneurysm, so that the aneurysm can then be opened and the thrombus, or blood clot, and arteriosclerotic debris removed. Small arterial branches from the back wall of the aorta are tied off. The DACRON™ tube, or graft, of approximately the same size of the normal aorta is sutured in place, thereby replacing the aneurysm. Blood flow is then reestablished through the graft. It is necessary to move the intestines in order to get to the back wall of the abdomen prior to clamping off the aorta.
If the surgery is performed prior to rupturing of the abdominal aortic aneurysm, the survival rate of treated patients is markedly higher than if the surgery is performed after the aneurysm ruptures, although the mortality rate is still quite high. If the surgery is performed prior to the aneurysm rupturing, the mortality rate is typically slightly less than 10%. Conventional surgery performed after the rupture of the aneurysm is significantly higher, one study reporting a mortality rate of 66.5%. Although abdominal aortic aneurysms can be detected from routine examinations, the patient may experience any pain from the condition. Thus, if the patient is not receiving routine examinations, it is possible that the aneurysm will progress to the rupture stage, wherein the mortality rates are significantly higher.
Disadvantages associated with the conventional, prior art surgery, in addition to the high mortality rate include the extended recovery period associated with such surgery; difficulties in suturing the graft, or tube, to the aorta; the loss of the existing aorta wall and thrombosis to support and reinforce the graft; the unsuitability of the surgery for many patients having abdominal aortic aneurysms; and the problems associated with performing the surgery on an emergency basis after the aneurysm has ruptured. A patient can expect to spend from one to two weeks in the hospital after the surgery, a major portion of which is spent in the intensive care unit, and a convalescence period at home from two to three months, particularly if the patient has other illnesses such as heart, lung, liver, and/or kidney disease, in which case the hospital stay is also lengthened. The graft must be secured, or sutured, to the remaining portion of the aorta, which may be difficult to perform because of the thrombosis present on the remaining portion of the aorta. Moreover, the remaining portion of the aorta wall is frequently friable, or easily crumbled.
Since many patients having abdominal aortic aneurysms have other chronic illnesses, such as heart, lung, liver, and/or kidney disease, coupled with the fact that many of these patients are older, the average age being approximately 67 years old, these patients are not ideal candidates for such major surgery.
More recently, a significantly less invasive clinical approach to aneurysm repair, known as endovascular grafting, has been developed. Parodi, et al. provide one of the first clinical descriptions of this therapy. Parodi, J. C., et al., "Transfemoral Intraluminal Graft Implantation for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms," 5 Annals of Vascular Surgery 491 (1991). Endovascular grafting involves the transluminal placement of a prosthetic arterial graft within the lumen of the artery. The embodiments disclosed herein relate to the methods and apparatuses for deploying bifurcated and non-bifurcated grafts within the lumen or lumens of the blood vessels of the body.

Bifurcated graft deployment systems and methods


A display device including a frame, a glass light guide plate, an optical film set, a display panel, a reflector, a back plate and an electronic element is provided. The frame has a first connecting surface and a second connecting surface. The glass light guide plate has a first glass surface and a second glass surface opposite to the first glass surface. The first glass surface is connected to the first connecting surface. The optical film set is disposed on the first glass surface. The display panel is disposed on the optical film set. The reflector is disposed under the second glass surface. The back plate is connected to the second connecting surface. The back plate constructs an accommodating space with the frame and the glass light guide plate. The electronic element is connected to the back plate and located in the accommodating space.

Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an electronic device, and particularly relates to a display device.
Description of Related Art
Along with development of display technology, flat panel displays have become a mainstream of the displays. In various flat panel displays, a commonly used one is liquid crystal display (LCD). Due to advances of production technology and reduction of production cost, the LCDs are gradually promoted to various applications to serve as human-machine interfaces between electronic devices and users.
Automobile electronic devices such as satellite navigators and driving recorders also adopt the LCD to serve as an image output medium. However, besides requirements of lightweight and thinness, the automobile electronic devices are faced with a high temperature and high humidity usage environment. Therefore, it is very important for the automobile electronic devices to balance the above requirements.
Taiwan Patent Publication No. TW201405211 discloses a display device, in which a back surface of a light guide plate is adhered to a back plate through a plurality of double-sided adhesive. Taiwan Patent Publication No. TW201217843 discloses a touch device, in which periphery of each two opposite surfaces of a light guide plate thereof is adhered with a double-sided adhesive, such that the light guide plate can be respectively fixed to a touch panel and a touch casing. Taiwan Patent Publication No. TW200923507 discloses a planar light source device including a glass light guide plate.
The information disclosed in this "BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION" section is only for enhancement understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known to a person of ordinary skill in the art. Furthermore, the information disclosed in this "BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION" section does not mean that one or more problems to be solved by one or more embodiments of the invention was acknowledged by a person of ordinary skill in the art.


A tension-based tension leg platform (TBTLP) for use in ultra deepwater applications to support dry-tree oil and gas production utilizes a tension base or artificial seabed that simplifies tendon design at deepwater locations in harsh environment and has a truss pontoon structure that reduces vertical and horizontal wave loadings. The platform may include a riser support tower that makes production risers feasible in 8,000 ft water depths without riser pretension to the hull and reduces or eliminates vortex induced vibration problems.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to offshore floating structures, and, more particularly to a tension-based tension leg platform (TBTLP) for use in ultra deepwater to support dry-tree oil and gas production which utilizes a tension base or artificial seabed to simplify tendon design at deep water locations in harsh environment and a truss pontoon to reduce vertical and horizontal wave loadings.
2. Background Art
Oil and gas companies have used Tension Leg Platforms (TLP) for production in deepwater since 1980 until the alternate Truss-SPAR technology was developed and tested in the Gulf of Mexico. The TLP is an excellent and reliable technology because it has proven behavior in the harsh environment of deepwater. The industry takes no risk in using this technology because several technical issues had been solved in the real world. The TLP is moored to the seabed by high tensile strength steel tubes called tendons which allow very little vertical motion to the platform. There are over twenty TLPs in operation in the Gulf of Mexico, the North Sea, offshore Indonesia and West Africa. Shell Oil Company had developed several of its deepwater oil fields with TLP technology in the Gulf of Mexico and is currently working on MARS TLP phase 2 with TLP concept in 3000 ft water depth. BHP Billiton has the intention to use a TLP for the Shenzi development in 4,300 ft deepwater of the Gulf of Mexico for 100 kBD of oil and 50 million cubic feet per day of gas. Shenzi is located 120 miles off Louisiana shore in Green Canyon Block 653.
The water depth limitation of this TLP technology is less than 5000 ft for several technical reasons that are discussed hereinafter. The engineering and construction companies that serve the oil companies designed several geometric variations to the TLP technology in order to make it cost effective in applications at water depths for the given deck pay load capacity. Of course environmental conditions are also key factors in the design of the TLP like any other offshore platforms.
The oil and gas industry has in-depth knowledge about the TLP design for the given application factors. The regulatory world also has established full depth standards for the classing of the structure. FIG. 1 shows a typical conventional TLP of the prior art with conventional hull, tendons, deck, production risers etc. FIG. 2 shows, schematically, the 2-D geometric displaced position of the conventional TLP in sway with pitch and set-down relationship. The TLP may be used as a processing and/or wellhead platform. Drilling and work-over capability may be provided with the tendon assisted rigs. Storage can be provided with an independent floating storage unit (FSU) vessel or SPAR.
Although the TLP looks like a floating vessel, in the operational mode, it behaves like a fixed structure in the heave, roll and pitch motions and thus enables support of a conventional dry-tree production system. The excess buoyancy designed in the hull with vertical columns and conventional pontoons keeps the tendons in tension to be effective in all wave environments for the given deck load. A TLP tendon requirement to keep the vessel concept effective within the practical cost budget is limited by the water depth. If the TLP's heave or pitch or roll periods become longer than 4-5 seconds, then the dynamic system is susceptible to direct wave energy at resonance. That leads to motions and severe fatigue problems. When the tendons become longer according to the water depth, they are required to be larger in size in cross section to maintain the same stiffness. At water depths close to 5000 ft, the weight of the tendons becomes impractical. The vessel size to always maintain the tendons in tension becomes uneconomically large. Several alternatives had been proposed utilizing composite materials instead of steel for the tendons which may provide weight savings. However, they are not yet practical from the standpoint of cost. The present invention introduces innovative technologies to enhance TLP applications in water depths of over 8000 ft.
Ultra Deepwater Problems
As discussed above, one of the problems in extending TLP technology to ultra deepwater applications is that the TLP is sensitive to topside deck load because it loses its pretension capacity with respect to the topside weight for the given hull buoyancy. The hull weight to total displacement ratio for the given deck load for the range of water depths that is feasible for TLP is almost same as for a semi-submersible structure. The current technology allows the TLP to be designed for water depth of 4500 ft with a topside deck payload of 20,000 tons for the Gulf of Mexico environment. The most attractive feature of the TLP is its application for dry-tree support in the production platform. Subsea well solutions although attractive in deepwater, requires well intervention when the well is not producing as expected and becomes expensive. Many wells have been abandoned because the cost-effectiveness to fix them in the deep water with subsea wells.
Thus, the TLP offers a good option for simplifying well intervention when a well develops problems or needs well enhancement. From the well maintenance cost point of view, the TLP is a better option than a semi-submersible unless it is a dry-tree support semi-submersible. As stated earlier, the TLP has a water depth limitation problem utilizing steel tendons. The vessel size is also large when the water depth increases to over 4000 ft. Consequently, the installation of the vessel becomes difficult as the water depth increases beyond 5000 ft. Stepped tendons and composite materials have been offered as a solution to the tendon engineering problem.
Water depth increases have more serious problems with the TLP applications. One of them is the riser pretension. The increased water depth increases the riser weight and thus increases the pretension. The second effect on the riser is due to the external water pressure in deepwater. This typically results in larger wall thickness for the risers. This solution further increases the riser weight and the riser pretension requirements. Ultra deepwater developments become economic if drilling support is on the deck. Table 1, below, gives a typical load estimation for a TLP in the Gulf of Mexico at an 8000 ft water depth and in drilling and production of 100 (kBD) oil applications. It should be noted that the riser pretension, the SCR and the umbilical down preloads exceed deck payload by 1.6 times in ultra deepwater. The total down load required to be supported by the TLP to work in 8000 water depth is 80,000 short tons. In addition to that, the displacement of the vessel should take care of the tendon preloads. Thus the TLP vessel size becomes unusually large and the tendons design becomes challenging, and development of a new technology is required to use TLP in ultra deepwater fields.
TABLE 1Estimation of Weight, GOM-TLPWater Depth8000 ft100 yr WaveHs = 51.8 ft & Tp = 15.2 sProduction oil, gas100 kBD & 50 mcftpdDeck Pay Load17,000 short tonsDeck Self Weight 7,000 short tonsHull Weight29,000 short tonsRiser Tension21,000 short tonsSCR + Umbilical 6,000 short tonsTotal Down Load80,000 short tons
The Shell Ursa TLP uses 14.0 inch OD and 0.75 inch wall thickness and 10⅞ inch OD and 0.608 inch wall thickness production risers for the Gulf of Mexico 4000 ft water depth. Engineering challenges are being realized for 10,000 ft water depth and 10,000 psi internal pressure for the Gulf of Mexico ultra deepwater applications in the riser design. For this design, significant increase in diameter and wall thickness of the risers is seen. Subsequently, the top tension requirement for the risers also increases. Thus, designing a TLP for ultra deepwater has three basic problems: (1) Vessel Size, (2) Tendon Design, and (3) Riser Design. The present invention meets these challenges to bring the TLP within technical feasibility and cost effectiveness for the ultra deepwater depths.


Methods and apparatus are provided for coupling an earth terminal to a satellite The apparatus comprises multiple inputs of the earth terminal configured to receive multiple digital communication signals, a autoscaling digital multiplexer of the earth terminal configured to digitally multiplex the multiple digital communication signals to produce a digital composite signal, and a digital modulator of the earth terminal configured to digitally modulate the digital composite signal to produce a digitally modulated composite signal. In addition, the apparatus comprises an input of the satellite configured to receive the digitally modulated composite signal, and a digital demodulator of the satellite configured to digitally demodulate the digitally modulated composite signal received by the input of the satellite to produce a second digital composite signal. Furthermore, the apparatus comprises a autoscaling digital demultiplexer of the satellite configured to digitally separate the second digital composite signal into a second plurality of digital communication signals, and a modulator of the satellite configured to modulate the second plurality of digital communications signal to produce multiple modulated analog signals.

The present invention generally relates to satellite communication systems, and more particularly to apparatus and methods for coupling an earth terminal to a satellite.
Satellite-based communication systems have continued to evolve and have become an important component of modern society. Numerous applications are supported by satellite-based communication systems that provide wide area coverage, such as worldwide television, communications to remote areas, wide area data networks, global personal communications to hand-held portable telephones, broadband voice, video, and/or data. As the number of applications supported by satellite-based communication systems has increased and the number of users using the applications has increased, processes have been developed to accommodate the increased number of applications and users.
One process that has been developed to accommodate the increased number of applications and users is multiplexing. The process of multiplexing allows multiple signals to be sent on a single channel, and many forms of multiplexing have been developed to generate a multiplexed communication signal, including, but not limited to time multiplexing, frequency multiplexing, space multiplexing (e.g., Frequency-Division Multiplexing (FDM), Time-Division Multiplexing (TDM), Space-Division Multiplexing (SDM), Orthogonal Frequency Multiplexing (OFM), Code-Division Multiple Access (CDMA) multiplexing, Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) multiplexing, Time-Division Multiple Access multiplexing, Orthogonal Frequency Multiple Access (OFMA) multiplexing, and Frequency Division Multiple Access multiplexing (FDMA)). While multiplexing has increased the number of signals that can be sent on a single channel to accommodate numerous applications and users, additional complications are introduced when multiplexing is utilized in satellite-based communication systems.
For example, existing and proposed satellite-based communication systems (e.g., wideband CDMA Mobile Satellite Systems (MSS)) use an analog, frequency division multiplexed (FDM) channelized approach that maps each downlink beam and carrier, which is typically an L or S band carrier, to a specific gateway uplink frequency, which is typically a C, X or Ka band carrier. This analog FDM channelized approach directly couples the earth terminal uplink to the user downlink, so that fading or other power variation in the earth terminal uplink results in uncontrolled power variations in the user downlink, thereby degrading the ability to accurately set the user downlink power level. In addition, the use of the analog FDM channelized approach introduces nonlinearities, which generally results in an increase in the noise floor due to intermodulation distortion, such that the presence of a few high capacity, and hence high power beams, will undesirably increase the power of other beams and channels. Furthermore, the introduction of nonlinearities will also generally degrade power control as large carrier codes will be affected to a greater extent than small carrier codes due to a tendency for the large carrier codes to become compressed prior to the small carrier codes. As can be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art, the foregoing effects reduce the likelihood of implementing numerous tasks, such as digital beam forming, on the satellite as the relative amplitude and phase characteristics between channels, corresponding to different feed elements, are altered in a unpredictable manner.
To overcome issues such as power control and linearity, processing on-board the satellite has been proposed to generate the multiplexing signal (e.g., CDMA signal). However, increasing the processing on-board the satellite typically increases the cost of the satellite. Furthermore, the initial configuration of the satellite to support a particular multiplexing waveform (e.g., CDMA signal) is generally unalterable during the lifetime of the satellite.
In view of the foregoing, it should be appreciated that it would be desirable to provide apparatus and methods for coupling an earth terminal to a satellite that addresses the foregoing and other deficiencies of satellite-based communication systems that are not specifically or inferentially addressed in this background of the invention. Furthermore, additional desirable features provided by the invention will become apparent to one skilled in the art from the drawings, foregoing background of the invention, following detailed description of the drawings and appended claims.

Methods and apparatus for coupling an earth terminal to a satellite


A method for prolonged delivery of a therapeutic agent to the eye is disclosed. The method provides for the addition of a desired drug to a suitable, preferably non-aqueous, vehicle. An amount of the vehicle containing a therapeutic dose of the drug is placed on the extraocular skin adjacent to the lateral canthus of the eye. Movements of the orbicularis oculi associated with the scissor-like closing of the lids of the eye continuously transport small portions of the drug containing vehicle into the interpalpebral space where the drug is released to the cornea for intraocular penetration and treatment effected. The method of the invention is particularly effective in delivering insoluble calcium salts for the treatment of dry eye.

Treatment of diseases of the human eye is often accomplished through the topical administration of therapeutic agents. Any topical method of drug delivery must take into account and attempt to overcome many inherent physiological systems that operate to protect and maintain the vital front surfaces of the eye. For example, the cornea and conjunctiva are coated with mucin and bathed in a complex aqueous fluid derived mainly from the lacrimal glands. The region between the lids of the normal eye--the interpalpebral space--is covered by the preocular tear film, a very thin (generally less than 40.mu.M) liquid layer covering the cornea and conjunctiva. The preocular tear film is provided on its anterior surface with a thin film of lipids derived from the Meibomian glands that open along the lid margin. Because the tear film is dynamic and subject to contamination, the tear film is continually replaced, the effete tear residues being forced from the eye through the pair of puncta and associated canaliculi at the medial corner of the eye by blinking.
In order to have therapeutic effect, a drug or other compound must generally pass into the eye through the cornea. Problematic to topical delivery of drugs is the fact that the cornea is less permeable than the conjunctiva. Further, the surface area of the conjunctiva is highly vascularized, and in surface area is some 14 times greater than the surface area of the cornea. For these reasons, the transconjunctival loss of instilled drugs is considerable. Further, water soluble drugs are quickly eliminated from the eye surface through tear outflow, a process that is often accelerated in the diseased eye, and topical delivery of drugs to the eye in sufficient quantity and for sufficient periods is often difficult. Thus, the effectiveness of prior art methods of topical drug application is often limited.
The most common known topical delivery of ophthalmic drugs is accomplished using water-based compositions, either as a solution or a suspension. Such compositions are generally delivered as drops or as a wash directly to the eye surface. Because such aqueous compositions are quickly eliminated from the eye, various attempts have been made to enhance the contact time and/or drug delivery characteristics by employing a variety of water-soluble polymers, both synthetic and natural. For stability, these water-polymer preparations must contain a preservation system when intended for a multiple dose use. Further, most compositions must be buffered, usually to an acidic range. Examples of stabilized solutions and tear substitutes are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,407,791 to Stark; 4,409,205 to Shively; and 5,075,104 to Gressel et al. When instilled in the eye, the drug preparation usually overwhelms the resident tear volume, resulting in an initial loss both of some drug and the resident tear constituents. Further, the relatively cool temperature and acidic pH of the drug preparation produces a strong blink reflex coupled with reflex tearing , thereby resulting in further loss of the drug preparation from the eye surface by outflow.
Although the use of aqueous vehicles is a common and widespread means of topical delivery, the use of such a delivery system has resulted in a number of problems. First, the very nature of the delivery system, in particular its aqueous and irritating characteristics, results in a rapid loss of drug from the eye, necessitating frequent and repetitive reintroduction of the drug-bearing composition to the eye. This is not only inconvenient to the patient, but results in less efficacious treatment because of the difficulty in maintaining a more or less continuous delivery of drug through the cornea to the eye. This difficulty of delivery is further compounded by the loss of drug preparation across the larger and more permeable vascular conjunctival surface. Preservatives and stabilizing compounds can also result in tissue damage to the cornea and conjunctiva.
In attempts to avoid the problems associated with aqueous drug delivery, suspensions of insoluble drug preparations have been used, resulting in longer drug action through the slow dissolution of particles trapped in the cul de sacs. However, the use of ophthalmic suspensions has its own set of problems, primarily inaccurate dosages due to inadequate patient resuspension.
Water-insoluble ointments have also been used as vehicles for drug delivery. However, the use of ointments has many attendant problems, not the least of which is discomfort and loss of visual acuity due to the excessively thick and uneven layer produced by the ointment on the cornea. In addition, ointments are difficult to apply since the delivery method requires application of the ointment to the tarsal conjunctiva of the everted lower lid.
In addition to purely fluid vehicles, such as aqueous solutions, suspensions and ointments, solid vehicles in the form of drug-releasing inserts have also been utilized to deliver drugs to the eye surface. Many of these devices and methods are discussed in Pavan-Langston (1973) and Lamberts (1973). Examples of such inserts include the PVA inserts of Maichuk and the Ocuserts1/2 of Alza. Some inserts are hydrophilic contact lenses that have been impregnated with a drug that is released to the corneal surface over time after lens insertion. In other cases, the insert actually dissolves slowly to release the drug. The use of inserts however is problematic. They are cumbersome, increase the risk of eye infection by agents carried into the eye on the insert, and are expensive. Further, it is not clear that inserts actually achieve as high or as prolonged a delivery of drug as is sometimes claimed. For example, much of the drug released from an insert is still likely to be taken up by the conjunctiva and pass thereafter into the general circulation with little or no therapeutic benefit for the eye. Further, the irritation resulting from the use of the insert probably results in increased flow of lacrimal fluid, thereby increasing the likelihood that the drug will be washed out of the eye.
A significant problem associated with all known methods of topical drug delivery stems from the muscular coordination required of the patient for self-application. Both soluble aqueous vehicles and aqueous suspensions are generally delivered through drops to the eye. Ointments require precise delivery to the inside portion on an eyelid, while ocular inserts of various types require finger delivery of an object into the eye. Each of these manipulations can be especially difficult for the elderly and can result in serious injury to the eye when the drug is delivered to the eye with too much force.
One ophthalmological disease that has proved especially susceptible to treatment by the method just described is dry eye, (also known as keratoconjunctivitis sicca), is a common ophthalmological disorder affecting millions of Americans each year. The condition is particularly widespread among post-menopausal women due to hormonal changes following the cessation of fertility. It is one of the most common of human eye diseases and is generally treated through the topical delivery of a variety of therapeutic agents.
Dry eye may afflict an individual in varying severity. In mild cases, a patient may experience burning, a feeling of dryness, and persistent irritation when debris lodge between the eye lid and the eye surface. In severe cases, vision may be substantially impaired. Good reviews of dry eye syndrome and standard methods of treatment may be found in Dohlman (1971) and Lemp (1973).
Although it appears that dry eye may result from a number of unrelated pathogenic causes, all presentations of the syndrome share a common effect, the breakdown of the pre-ocular tear film, which results in dehydration of the exposed outer surface and many of symptoms outlined above.
Practitioners have taken several approaches to the treatment of dry eye. One common approach has been to supplement and stabilize the preocular tear film using so-called artificial tears. Another approach has been the use of ocular inserts that function variously to provide a tear substitute or to stimulate endogenous tears.
Examples of the tear substitution approach include the use of buffered, isotonic saline solutions, aqueous solutions containing water soluble polymers that render the solutions more viscous and thus less easily shed by the eye. Tear reconstitution is also attempted by providing one or more components of the tear film such as phospholipids. Examples of these treatment approaches are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,131,651 to Shah et al.; 4,370,325 to Packman; 4,409,205 to Shively; 4,744,980 and 4,883,658, both to Holly; 4,914,088 to Glonek; and 5,057,104 to Gressel et al.
United States Patents directed to the use of ocular inserts in the treatment of dry eye include U.S. Pat. No. 3,991,759 to Urquhart. The use of ocular inserts is also discussed in detail in Lamberts (1980).
Another recent approach involves the provision of lubricating substances in lieu of artificial tears. U.S. Pat. No. 4,818,537 to Guo discloses the use of a lubricating, liposome-based composition. U.S. Pat. No. 4,966,773 discloses the use of microfine particles of one or more retinoids.
Aside from the above efforts, which are directed primarily to the alleviation of symptoms associated with dry eye, also known are methods and compositions directed to treatment of the dry eye condition. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,041,434 discloses the use of sex steroids, such as conjugated estrogens, to treat dry eye condition in post-menopausal women.
Although these approaches have met with some success, problems in the treatment of dry eye nevertheless remain. The use of tear substitutes, while temporarily effective, generally requires repeated application over the course of a patient's waking hours. It is not uncommon for a patient to have to apply artificial tear solution ten to twenty times over the course of the day. Such an undertaking is cumbersome and time consuming, increases the exposure of the eye to preservative agents and can be very expensive.
The use of ocular inserts is also problematic. Aside from cost, they are often unwieldy and uncomfortable. Further, as foreign bodies, they pose a risk of acting as a vector for infectious organisms. In situations where the insert does not itself produce and deliver a tear film, artificial tears must still be delivered on a regular and frequent basis. Indeed, Pavan-Langston (1973) has concluded that, as a rule, ocular inserts are not very effective in the treatment of many dry eye conditions.
In view of the foregoing, there is a clear need for a reliable, effective, method of topical delivery of a therapeutic agent to the cornea that is both easy to administer and long acting.


Apparatus and methods for automatically recalibrating an output current range of a user output current control encoder of an auto-reconnect welding/cutting device. When an input power type connected to an auto-reconnect device is changed, the calibrated range of the user output current control encoder (e.g., output control knob) is automatically transformed in response to the auto-reconnect device sensing at least one characteristic of the input power type. As a result, when a user adjusts the encoder to its maximum full-scale setting, too much current will not be drawn by the auto-reconnect device which would cause a circuit protection component (e.g., a circuit breaker or a fuse) associated with the input power type to trip. Instead, the current that is drawn when the encoder is set to the maximum full-scale setting is no more than about a rated current of the circuit protection component.

Certain types of multiple input equipment, such as multiple input welding or cutting equipment, employ an auto-reconnect capability. When a different type of input power is connected to the equipment, the auto-reconnect capability automatically reconfigures the circuitry of the equipment to handle the different input power type. However, the output power produced by the equipment will change as well when the input power type is changed. The output control knob of today's auto-reconnect machines have markings which communicate to the end user the output control knob limits compared to the input power connected to the machine. If an end user adjusts the output control knob beyond the limit defined by the connected input power, the machine may draw too much current causing a circuit protection component associated with the input power to trip and cut off the input power to the machine. This can be very frustrating to the user, who has to manually re-adjust the output control knob and reset the circuit protection component in order to continue using the machine.
Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional, traditional, and proposed approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such approaches with embodiments of the present invention as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings.

Output control for auto-reconnect welding/cutting equipment


A dynamic concrete form includes a sleeve defining a passage extending between first and second open ends. A first attachment feature extends outwardly in a first direction from the sleeve at the first open end and a second attachment feature extends outwardly in a second direction that is opposite the first direction at the second open end. In a first position, the passage has a first axial length, the first open end lies in a first plane, and the second open end lies in a second plane. In a second position, the passage has a second axial length that is greater than the first axial length, the first open end lies in the first plane or a first new plane that is parallel to the first plane, and the second open end lies in the second plane or a second new plane that is parallel to the second plane.

Concrete structure forms are molds that are used to hold concrete in place while it hardens, ensuring that the concrete sets in a specific shape. For some typical construction projects, including the construction of buildings and parking garages, concrete structure forms are used to produce standard concrete shapes or pieces, including floors, walls, ceilings, stairs, and the like. The concrete structure forms are used to hold the concrete in place while it is poured and stabilize it as it sets. Once the concrete has set, the concrete structure forms can be removed so that the concrete has a chance to cure. After curing, additional structures can be built on or around the poured concrete and other construction related tasks can be performed.
It is common to provide voids, or passages, through concrete structures or pieces to accommodate the passage of utility wiring, including electrical wiring, and the like. To avoid the time, expense, and liability involved in drilling the voids or passages after the concrete has hardened, current methods of forming voids include positioning a tubular member between parallel concrete structure forms. This current method may be suitable in some instances. However, oftentimes, the tubular member becomes at least partially filled with concrete during pouring. In particular, the poured concrete may enter through opposing ends of the tubular member at the interfaces between the open ends and a respective one of the parallel concrete structure forms. As a result, the hardened concrete within the tubular member must be chiseled out to form an unobstructed void through the concrete structure. This additional step, occurring after the concrete pour, increases the time and expense for the project.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,003,889 to Turcovsky (hereinafter Turcovsky) discloses a conduit sleeve for use in concrete construction that provides a pass through within a concrete structure. The conduit sleeve includes a tubular member having a flange attached at one or both ends. A flexing structure is attached to one or both of the flange and the tubular member for allowing the flange to be angled relative to the tubular member when the flange is installed on a concrete form. The flexing structure allows the conduit to remain horizontal when there are variations in the angle of the form. Although the conduit sleeve of Turcovsky may provide improvements over some conventional methods of forming a concrete void, the Turcovsky conduit sleeve requires an inventory of tubular members of varying lengths and/or the customization of a tubular member at the job site. That is, the flanges are attached to a tubular member having an appropriate size for the particular use.
The present disclosure is directed to one or more of the problems or issues set forth above.


Systems and methods described herein provide redundant functionality for multi-cloud high availability continuous service provisioning. Service rule configuration of regional internet services platforms at different geographical locations are provisioned through a multi-cloud provisioning platform. The systems and methods provide that there is no disruption of service provisioning, in the event of a failure of one cloud provisioning platform, as long as at least one other cloud provisioning platform is available. In the event of a cloud disaster outage at one cloud provisioning platform, a regional internet services platform will automatically register with another active cloud provisioning platform.

Internet services platforms may be provided with both local and geographical high availability redundancy built in. Such platforms may separate data processing and control functionality in both network and service layers. In the network layer, software defined network (SDN) approaches may be used with a centralized control of network configuration. In the service layer, regional internet services platforms are service rule driven, and service rule configuration is also provisioned by a centralized and cloud-based provisioning platform.

High availability internet services provisioning