The invention describes the integration of polynucleotides into chromosomal DNA of S. spinosa species, which are useful for the production of insecticides, integrants thereof, and also to the use of the integrants. The invention includes the stable integration and expression of an oxygen-binding protein, VHb, which results in increased spinosyn production.

As disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,362,634, fermentation product A83543 is a family of related compounds produced by Saccharopolyspora spinosa. The known members of this family have been referred to as factors or components, and each has been given an identifying letter designation. These compounds are hereinafter referred to as spinosyn A, B, etc. The spinosyn compounds are useful for the control of arachnids, nematodes and insects, in particular, Lepidoptera and Diptera species. The compounds are considered environmentally friendly with an appealing toxicological profile.
The naturally produced spinosyn compounds are macrolides consisting of a 21-carbon tetracyclic lactone, which includes the attachment of two deoxysugars: a neutral sugar (rhamnose) and an amino sugar (forosamine) (see Kirst et al. (1991). If the amino sugar is not present, the compounds have been referred to as the pseudoaglycone of A, D, etc., and if the neutral sugar is not present then the compounds have been referred to as the reverse pseudoaglycone of A, D, etc. A more preferred nomenclature is to refer to the pseudoaglycones as spinosyn A 17-Psa, spinosyn D 17-Psa, etc., and to the reverse pseudoaglycones as spinosyn A 9-Psa, spinosyn D 9-Psa, etc.
The naturally produced spinosyn compounds may be produced via fermentation from S. spinosa strains NRRL 18395, 18537, 18538, 18539, 18719, 18720, 18743 and 18823 and derivatives therefrom. These cultures have been deposited and made part of the stock culture collection of the Midwest Area Northern Regional Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, 1815 North University Street, Peoria, Ill., 61604.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,362,634 and corresponding European Patent No. 0375316 B1 relate to spinosyns A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, and J. These compounds are said to be produced by culturing a strain of the novel microorganism Saccharopolyspora spinosa selected from NRRL 18395, NRRL 18537, NRRL 18538, and NRRL 18539.
WO 93/09126 relates to spinosyns L, M, N, Q, R, S, and T. Also discussed therein are two spinosyn J producing strains: NRRL 18719 and NRRL 18720, and a strain that produces spinosyns Q, R, S, and T: NRRL 18823.
WO 94/20518 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,670,486 relates to spinosyns K, O, P, U, V, W, and Y, and derivatives thereof. Also discussed therein is spinosyn K-producing strain NRRL 18743.
A challenge in producing spinosyn compounds arises from the need to identify and validate neutral sites in the S. spinosa genome, wherein a polynucleotide containing a gene expression cassette could be integrated and stably expressed. The introduced gene expression cassette can contain biosynthetic genes that provide a method for producing new derivatives of the spinosyns which may have a different spectrum of insecticidal activity or a gene expression cassette which can increase the titer levels of spinosyns, in addition to other gene expression cassettes which would impart new beneficial characteristics to the existing spinosyn production strains.
It would be advantageous to identify and introduce genes, which result in increased production of spinosyn compounds.

Enhancing spinosyn production with oxygen binding proteins


The AC motor driving apparatus comprises an inverter for supplying power to an AC motor, current sensors for detecting current that flows in the motor or inverter, a rotation sensor for detecting the rotation of the rotor in the motor, and a control unit for controlling the driving of the inverter. A current detection value detected by the current sensor and a rotor rotational position are used to estimate three-phase motor current values. The estimated motor current values are used to control the inverter. Thereby, an inexpensive, space-saving AC motor driving apparatus as well as an AC motor controller, electric actuator, or vehicle that can perform highly precise torque control from zero speed to high-speed rotation without depending on the PWM pulse pattern are provided.

In conventional methods extensively used for AC motor driving apparatus, motor current is detected so that motor toque is controlled with high precision. For cost reduction and other purposes, however, it is desirable to reduce the number of sensors that detect motor current. There are some known examples of methods of reducing the number of sensors.
In Japanese patent laid-open No. Hei 6 (1994)-153526, a current sensor is provided on a DC line of a pulse width modulation (PWM) inverter. Three-phase currents output from the inverter are estimated from the switching pattern of the inverter and a detected DC current value.
In Japanese patent laid-open No. 2004-297966, a current sensor is provided on a DC line of a PWM inverter and a position detector is also provided that detects the rotor phase of an AC motor. The rotor phase is used to convert a detected DC current value into rotational coordinates.
In Japanese patent laid-open No. 2004-274841, a current sensor is provided on a particular phase of an AC motor. The rotor phase of the AC motor is detected from the pulsation of a detected current value so as to drive the motor.
The rotor position detector of an AC motor used for driving purposes, which is applied to a vehicle or the like, requires highly precise torque control, starting from the state at which the motor is stopping. Therefore, a current sensor is used to detect the motor current of each phase. It is known that a so-called one-pulse mode is used, in which PWM is overmodulation and a rectangular voltage for one pulse is applied in each half a cycle so that high-speed rotation of an AC motor is performed more efficiently and the voltage of an inverter power supply is used more efficiently.

AC motor driving apparatus and method of controlling the same


An improved acoustic instrument is disclosed. The improvement includes a condenser microphone carried within the body of the acoustic instrument so as to primarily detect acoustical vibrations of the interior air column in contradiction to the mechanical vibrations of the instrument itself to generate electrical signals corresponding to the sounds of the instrument. The electrical signals can then be suitably amplified for connection to a conventional speaker to provide sound truly representing the acoustic sound within the instrument.

The present invention relates to an acoustic instrument, and in a preferred embodiment to an acoustic guitar.
Acoustic instruments, such as an acoustic guitar, cello, piano, violin drum, and the like, are of course well known in the art. A problem with presently utilized pick-ups in amplifying the acoustic sound of such instruments is that typically a hollow sound is generated, which is not truly an acoustic sound.
When it is desired to amplify the sound of an instrument such as an acoustic guitar, prior art approaches have been to provide a microphone fixed on a stand and to play the acoustic guitar with the sound hole near the fixed position microphone. This approach restricts movement of the player, as the acoustic guitar must be played usually within twelve inches of the fixed position microphone.
Another prior art approach is to utilize a transducer and magnetic pickup which fit within the body, near the sound hole of the acoustic guitar. However, this approach, while providing mobility for the player, still generates the undesirable hollow sound, or what could be characterized as an electronic sound, and not truly an acoustic sound.
As is known in the art, acoustic guitars improve over the course of time as the guitar wood "mellows." The prior art approaches described above, while providing an amplification of the acoustic sound, generally reflect the sounds of the vibration of the strings and of the wood, but does not provide a true representation of the sound of any harmonics of the acoustic guitar.
A further problem of the prior art approaches above is that microphones located near the sound hole (whether within or without the sound hole) can result in a feedback problem, which can be very annoying and undesirable.

Acoustic instrument with internally positioned microphone means for receiving acoustical vibrations


A self-venting container includes a top section and a bottom section. The top and bottom sections have adjoining side walls. The side walls are formed of a material which exhibits an elongation percentage greater than 100%. The configuration of the container is such that a cantilever-type movement of the side walls occurs when the walls are subjected to excessive pressure on their interior surfaces, resulting in a gap being formed between the top and bottom sections mainly along the side walls. The gap permits the release of excess pressure from within the container.

This invention relates to containers constructed with vents which allow release of pressure from inside the container and more particularly to a battery box which is self-venting.
Containers have been constructed with vents in order to allow the passage of a liquid or gas out of the container when the liquid or gas reaches a pressure level above that which the container can accommodate. The release of the pressure prevents potential rupture of the container and prevents a cover of the container from being ejected during removal. It also prevents injury to anyone in the vicinity of the container when rupture or ejection of the cover occurs.
Vented containers have a number of uses including holding batteries. An example of a battery which can cause a volatile reaction and result in extremely large pressure in a container is a lithium sulfur dioxide battery. These batteries are in use in both commercial and in military applications.
One type of military battery operated radio uses a lithium BA-5513 battery. The battery is typically housed in an aluminum, die-cast container which has a vent. The container is designed to contain the pressure caused by any volatile reaction, and the vent allows air to escape to relieve the pressure.
There are two major shortcomings to these vented containers. The first is the cross-sectional area of the vents, which is relatively small when compared to the volume and the velocity of the air that is attempting to exit. Therefore, during a battery explosion, the air pressure increases due to what is essentially a "log-jam" at the vent opening. The increase in air pressure then creates excessive stress on the walls of the container. Since the vents are unable to perform their intended function adequately, the increased stress on the walls of the container often results in catastrophic failure.
The second shortcoming is the construction and material of the containers. The containers are typically aluminum die castings which are very brittle. The material ruptures violently rather than yielding in a ductile manner.
Lithium batteries are known to produce explosions of as high as 400 psi in a few milliseconds. The vents on the containers currently being used for the military radios are incapable of releasing such a rapid increase in pressure thereby creating a major safety hazard.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a container which is self-venting.
It is an additional object of the invention to provide a container for a lithium battery which is capable of alleviating internal pressures in the container in a reliable manner.
It is still another object of the invention to provide a venting battery container which is more economical and easier to fabricate.


A presentation apparatus which can automatically adjust the total presentation time and presentation time intervals of a video material according to user's desired total presentation time so that the video material necessary for presentation can be screened within the desired total presentation time. The user inputs the desired total presentation time to the presentation apparatus. In the apparatus, the desired total presentation time is compared with a standard total presentation time to find a difference therebetween as an adjustment time. One of adjusting methods is selected on the basis of the found adjustment time. A data indicative of the selected adjusting method is stored in an adjustment memory.

The present invention relates to a presentation apparatus which, when it is desired to finish the presentation of a plurality of all necessary study-material pictures in a limited period of time at such a speaking or lecturing place as a lecture meeting, can automatically adjust the presentation times of the respective material pictures to allow all the necessary pictures to be presented in the given time.
Conventional material presentation apparatuses used in conferences, lecture meetings and so on have been roughly classified into two types, i.e., a type in which respective materials are set and screened automatically in a previously prepared sequence as disclosed in JP-A-63-142386, and a type in which a lecturer or speaker manually presents her or his video material on the screen as in an overhead projector.
However, the prior art method has had such disadvantages that when it is required to change the limit time (which will be sometimes referred to as the presentation limit time, hereinafter) within which the lecturer has to present his video material for some reasons at the speaking or lecturing place, he must change the presentation speed of the video material or must quickly judge the situation on the spot and troublesomely manually set the projector to give up the presentation of part of the video material, and in the worst case, he cannot cope with its quickly.


A portion of an organic polymer article such as a membrane is made hydrophilic by exposing a hydrophobic surface of the article to a depth of about 50 to about 5000 angstroms to atomic oxygen or hydroxyl radicals at a temperature below 100.degree. C., preferably below 40.degree. C., to form a hydrophilic uniform surface layer of hydrophilic hydroxyl groups. The atomic oxygen and hydroxyl radicals are generated by a flowing afterglow microwave discharge, and the surface is outside of a plasma produced by the discharge. A membrane having both hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces can be used in an immunoassay by adhering antibodies to the hydrophobic surface. In another embodiment, the membrane is used in cell culturing where cells adhere to the hydrophilic surface. Prior to adhering cells, the hydrophilic surface may be grafted with a compatibilizing compound. A plurality of hydrophilic regions bounded by adjacent hydrophobic regions can be produced such that a maximum of one cell per each hydrophilic region adheres.

The use of polymeric materials for biomedical implants and in biotechnical manufacture is an advancing art. Plasma discharges have been used to engineer such polymers because surface chemistry can be altered without adversely affecting bulk properties which make polymeric materials useful. However, plasma devices typically do not deliver a uniform concentration of the reactive species. Subject to complex interactions, non-uniform distribution of plasma species may increase manufacturing difficulty and impair quality control.
Silicone rubber has long been used in medical devices such as surgical implants due to desirable properties including gas permeability, pliability, degradation resistance, ease of fabrication and relatively good biocompatibility. However, such materials are not completely inert in the body. Recent methods have been sought to improve its biologic inertness by either surface modification to increase hydrophilicity or bulk modification, i.e. incorporating polar groups into the monomer or prepolymer. Tsai, Chi-Chun et al., in Transactions of the American Society of Artificial Internal Organs (ASAIO), vol. XXXIV, (1988) discloses a method for increasing the albumin affinity of silicone rubber. A vinyl-methyl silicone comonomer was hydroxylated and then film coated on a silicone rubber sheet. The OH-coated sheet was grafted with a C.sub.16 alkyl chain having a terminal acyl group by an esterification reaction catalyzed by 4-dimethylaminopyridine. Albumin adsorption and retention was said to be markedly enhanced for surface OH and C.sub.16 concentrations as low as 5% reaction yield. Tsai, Chi-Chun et al., in ASAIO, vol. XXXVI, (1990) discloses use of the above albumin adsorbed silicone surfaces as thin transparent, biocompatible films for coating the surfaces of blood contacting devices. These films are said to retard undesired responses, e.g. blood coagulation and activation of complement proteins, platelets and white blood cells, triggered by exposure of blood stream macromolecules to a foreign surface.
Polymer prostheses have been considered for vascular applications. C. Stimpson et al., in Biomaterials, Artificial Cells, and Artificial Organs, 17(1), (1989), pp. 31-43 discloses silicone rubber canine aortic prostheses. A uniformly microporous prosthesis is made by molding the polymer in a template taken from the skeletal structure of a marine life form.
Durrani et al., in Polymer Surfaces and Interfaces, chapter 10, J Wiley & Sons, (1987), pages 189-200 discloses modification of polymer surfaces with a phosphorylcholine, for example, to mimic biomembrane surfaces in bioapplications. Modifications of this sort are said to reduce foreign surface induced thromboses associated with the use of blood contacting devices.
Rajender Sipehia in Biomaterials, Artificial Cells, and Artificial Organs, 16(5), (1988-89), pp. 955-966 discloses immobilizing proteins to polymeric surfaces. Polypropylene membranes are treated by gaseous oxygen or ammonia plasma to add hydroxyl or amino groups to the polymer surface. The proteins are then grafted to the surface. Rajender Sipehia in Biomaterials, Artificial Cells, and Artificial Organs, 18(3), (1990), pp. 437-446 discloses ammonia plasma modification of polystyrene petri dishes and poly(tetrafluoroethylene) membranes and grafting of proteins to the surface. The growth of bovine pulmonary artery endothelial cells on the modified surface is enhanced by adherence to the grafted proteins.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,134,949 to Chen, the surface of a contact lens is modified by deposition of a hydrophilic polymer under the influence of plasma glow discharge to integrally bond the coating to the surface of a hydrophobic lens.
Elizabeth G. Nabel et al., in Science, vol. 244, 16 Jun. 1989, pp. 1342-1345 discloses a transplant of endothelial cells expressing a recombinant gene into an arterial wall. The transplanted cells may contribute to altering the thrombic properties of the vessel lumen by inducing smooth muscle cell proliferation and regulating smooth muscle cell tone. In addition, genetically altered cells could transmit recombinant DNA products.
Polymer surfaces have been modified by plasma application to prepare membranes for dialysis and ultrafiltration. Hiroo Iwata et al. in Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 38, (1988), pp. 185-189 discloses a porous poly(vinylidene fluoride) membrane pretreated by air plasma and subsequent graft polymerization of hydrophilic monomers on the treated surface. Such membranes are said to be environment-sensitive and can be used to mimic biological membranes or in a closed-loop drug delivery system. J. Wolff, Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 36, (1988), pp. 207-214; F. Vigo et al., Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 36, (1988), pp. 187-199; F. F. Stengaard, Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 36, (1988) , pp. 257-275; and Fang Yuee et al., Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 39, (1988), pp. 1-9 disclose the preparation of a variety of dialyses and ultrafiltration membranes.
Various polymers have been modified by plasma processes to alter surface chemistry, adhesion properties, and the like. See H. K. Yasuda et al., Polymer Surfaces and Interfaces, chapter 8, J Wiley & Sons, (1987), pages 149-162.

Method of making a membrane having hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces for adhering cells or antibodies by using atomic oxygen or hydroxyl radicals

The United States of America as represented by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration


An engine speed control system for a construction machine is arranged in association with its hydraulic circuit, which has main pumps, a communication line through which input ports of travel-controlling directional control valves are connected with each other, and a travel-controlling communication valve arranged in the communication line. The engine speed control system is provided with pilot valves arranged in a pilot line to control traveling, pilot valves arranged in a pilot line to control booms and the like, pilot valves arranged in a pilot line to control revolving, earth moving and the like, a pressure sensor for detecting pressures in the pilot lines, another pressure sensor for detecting a pressure in the pilot line, an engine controller for performing automatic idling control or its cancellation in accordance with signals from the pressure sensors, and a signal line for changing over the travel-controlling communication line into a communicating position in response to a pressure in the pilot valve.

a) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an engine speed control system for a construction machine such as a hydraulic excavator, which is suitable for arrangement in the construction machine and, when directional control valves for controlling drive of actuators are all held in center valve positions thereof, can perform automatic idling control such that the speed of an engine is maintained at an idling speed of a predetermined low rpm.
b) Description of the Related Art
As prior art of this type, there is one disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication (Kokoku) No. HEI 3-52284. FIG. 3 is a hydraulic circuit diagram illustrating this conventional engine speed control system as arranged in a construction machine.
The conventional engine speed control system is arranged in association with a hydraulic circuit of the construction machine. The hydraulic circuit is provided with an engine 40, plural main hydraulic pumps driven by the engine 40, specifically a first main pump 41 and a second main pump 42, plural actuators driven by pressure fluid supplied from these first main pump 41 and second main pump 42, respectively, specifically hydraulic system actuators 55-58,62,63, directional control valves connected with the first main pump 41 to control flows of pressure fluid to be supplied to their corresponding hydraulic system actuators 55-58 from the first main pump 41, specifically change-over control valves 51-54, directional control valves connected with the second main pump 42 to control flows of pressure fluid to be supplied to the corresponding hydraulic system actuators 62,63,58 from the second main pump 42, specifically change-over control valves 59-61, and a reservoir 77.
Of the above-mentioned hydraulic system actuators 55-58,62,63, the hydraulic system actuator 55 constitutes one of a pair of travel motors, the hydraulic system actuator 62 constitutes the other travel motor, and the hydraulic system actuators 56,57,58,63 constitute actuators other than those mentioned above.
As has been mentioned above, the hydraulic actuator 55 which constitutes the one travel motor is connected with the first main pump 41, while the hydraulic actuator 62 which constitutes the other travel motor is connected with the second main pump 42.
The conventional engine speed control system arranged in association with the hydraulic circuit as described above is provided with an engine control mechanism, which performs automatic idling control to set the speed of the engine 40 at an idling speed of a predetermined low rpm and can also perform control to cancel the above-mentioned automatic idling control. This engine control mechanism comprises, for example, a speed governor 67 which in turn, is equipped inter alia with a governor lever 69 for controlling a quantity of fuel to be injected and a spring 68 by which the governor lever 69 is biased.
The conventional engine speed control system is also provided with a pilot pump 64 capable of supplying a pilot pressure, a pilot line 65 for guiding the pilot pressure supplied from the pilot pump 64, pilot valves 70-76 arranged independently in the pilot line 65 in association with the above-mentioned change-over control valves 51-54,59-61, respectively, such that the pilot valves are operated in association with their corresponding change-over control valves, and a pressure detection device for detecting a pressure developed in the pilot line 65 upon change-over of at least one of these pilot valves 70-76 and then outputting it as a detection signal to the above-mentioned speed governor 67, for example, a line 78.
When the change-over control valves 51-54,59-61 are all held in their center positions, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, the pilot line 65 is in communication with the reservoir 77 so that the pilot line 65 has the reservoir pressure. This reservoir pressure is supplied to the speed governor 67 via the line 78. By the force of the spring 68 which is greater than the force of the reservoir pressure, the governor lever 69 assumes a position "a" in FIG. 3. As a consequence, the speed of the ending 40 is maintained at an idling speed of a predetermined low rpm, thereby realizing a reduction in fuel consumption.
Let's assume that, to drive one of the hydraulic system actuators 55-58,62,63, for example, the corresponding one of the change-over control valves 51-54,59-61 is operated. One of the pilot valves 70-76, said one pilot valve corresponding to the operated change-over control valve, is changed over concurrently and as a consequence, a pressure is developed in the pilot line 65 at a part between the change-over control valve 74, which is arranged on a most upstream side in the pilot line 65, and the pilot pump 64. This pressure is supplied to the governor 67 via the line 78, so that the spring 68 is compressed and the governor lever 69 assumes a position "b" in FIG. 3. Accordingly, control is performed to cancel the control that the engine speed be maintained at the idling speed as mentioned above, namely, the automatic idling control. As a result, the engine 40 can be driven at a desired rpm, for example, a rated rpm or the like.
In the above-described conventional art, the change-over control valve 51 for controlling drive of the hydraulic actuator 55, which constitutes the one travel motor, and the change-over control valves 52-54 for controlling drive of the hydraulic system actuators 56-58, which constitute the plural other actuators, are connected to the first main pump 41, whereas the change-over control valve 59 for controlling drive of the hydraulic system actuator 62, which constitutes the other travel motor, and the change-over control valves 60,61 for controlling drive of the hydraulic system actuators 63,58, which constitute the other actuators, are connected to the second main pump 42.
Accordingly, upon single operation of travelling, the pressure fluid delivered from the first main pump 41 is supplied to the change-over control valve 51 for the hydraulic system actuator 55 and the pressure fluid delivered from the second main pump 42 is supplied to the change-over control valve 59 for the hydraulic system actuator 62, so that the single operation of travelling can be performed as desired.
However, when it is desired to perform, for example, a combined operation of travelling and another operation, which is to be performed by driving the hydraulic system actuator 56, from the state of such a single operation of travelling, the pressure fluid delivered from the first main pump 41 is supplied to both of the change-over control valve 51 for the hydraulic system actuator 55, which constitutes the one travel motor, and the change-over control valve 52 for the hydraulic system actuator 56, while the pressure fluid delivered from the second main pump 42 is supplied only to the change-over control valve 59 for the hydraulic system actuator 62 which constitutes the other travel motor. During such a combined operation of travelling and another operation by another actuator, it is therefore impossible to assure independence for the travelling, leading to a potential problem that the construction machine may be caused to travel in a zigzag.

Engine speed control system for construction machine

Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd.


The disclosed embodiments provide a convenient way for users to access segregated work spaces on mobile devices. A game-like multi-level interactive approach is used to prompt users for input to verify their identity. Multiple identity verification attributes can be collected at each level of interaction. Authentication is achieved when a settable level of user identification confidence is reached. This can potentially reduce the amount of interaction needed as compared to requiring a user to type in a long, cryptic password.

Mobile devices, such as smart phones and tablets, are often shared among several users, especially if they are used in a family setting or owned by a school for general usage. The trend is to have some form of data segregation and a corresponding "log-in" process to confirm user identification to allow access to the correct data. In an environment where some of the users are young, it is hard to train them to use a log-in name and password. Also, a device may just be "lying around" when a young user happens to "find it" and could be allowed to access other people's data. The level of achievable security is usually a tradeoff between the convenience and complexity of data protection process. In many instances it is good to allow a young user, or any other user, to log onto a device but to only have access to what is appropriate to that particular user. Systems and methods providing for different people, including children, to access a device at a level that is appropriate for the user are needed.

Alternate game-like multi-level authentication


Processes for forming low molecular weight (C2-4) olefins from renewable resources, and polyolefins formed from the olefins, are disclosed. The C2-4 olefins are produced by first converting a renewable resource, capable of being converted to syngas, to syngas. The syngas is converted, using Fischer-Tropsch synthesis using a catalyst with low chain growth probabilities, to a composition comprising C2-4 olefins, which are then isolated to form a C2-4 olefin-rich stream. Propylene can be isolated from this stream, and the ethylene and butylene can be subjected to olefin metathesis to produce additional propylene. The propylene, or other olefins, can be subjected to a variety of polymerization conditions and used in a variety of products, to replace the propylene, and polypropylene, produced from crude oil. Thus, the olefins, and polymers, copolymer and terpolymers thereof, can help reduce U.S. dependence on foreign crude oil.

Most of the world's polyolefins, such as polyethylene, polypropylene, and co-polymers thereof, are derived from crude oil. It would be desirable to provide a source of polyolefins from biomass, particularly if the polyolefins can be obtained at a cost approximating that of conventional polyolefin synthesis. The present invention provides such a source of polyolefins, as well as the olefinic starting materials.

Production of polypropylene from renewable resources


A method for use in an access point includes receiving a request for a reselection message from a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU). The reselection message is generated in response to the request and includes: at least one first identifier of one or more candidate basic service sets (BSSs) that may be considered for reselection; a preference indicator associated with each candidate BSS, to indicate the BSS selection preference; an expiration time indicator associated with each candidate BSS, to indicate a time period that the BSS may be considered for reselection; an indication of a measurement to be taken on a BSS and used in a target BSS reselection determination; and a margin by which the measurement must exceed a corresponding value for a currently selected BSS. The reselection message is transmitted to the WTRU. A reselection response message is received from the WTRU, indicating the target BSS reselection determination.

A typical wireless local area network (WLAN) comprises one or more basic service set (BSS). The BSS comprises an AP with at least one WTRU associated to the AP. Typically, in a system with multiple BSSs, (and thus multiple APs), there can be great differences between the quality of the radio connection a WTRU experiences based on which AP the WTRU associates with. Similarly, the radio resources available to a WTRU depend highly on which AP to which the WTRU is associated with. The system capacity can be optimized by managing which AP each WTRU associates and reassociates with during the system operation.
The association of the WTRU and the AP is performed at the instant the WTRU joins the WLAN, (i.e., initial association). AP reselection can take place after the initial association. There are typically two reasons for the AP reselection. First, the WTRU may have moved such that the WTRU can now be better served by another AP. Second, it may be desirable for the WTRU to be served by another AP because the radio resources used by the currently serving AP are strained, (i.e., the channel used by the serving AP is congested), while a neighboring AP has spare radio resources, (i.e., its channel is less congested). It should be understood that the Load Balancing is therefore the management of appropriate points of attachment for WTRUs while roaming inside the WLAN network.
The AP reselection may be driven by either the WTRU or the network. In the WTRU-driven AP reselection, each WTRU is responsible for determining what criteria the WTRU would use for AP reselection. Because different WTRUs may use different policies, and these policies may be geared toward maximizing the quality perceived by only one WTRU rather than the quality perceived by the whole system, WTRU-driven AP reselection is not considered to perform optimally for load balancing. However, because it is the WTRU that first experiences the quality of the radio connection from the candidate APs, WTRU-driven AP reselection allows for minimal signaling and high reaction speed which is useful in cases that the WTRU is moving rapidly or that the conditions of the radio channel vary rapidly.
In the network-driven AP reselection, the AP reselection process is controlled by the AP. This allows for consistent load balancing policies across all WTRUs in the network and theoretically offers the biggest performance gains from load balancing. However, the network-driven AP reselection may require a great amount of signaling overhead and may impair the ability of the WTRU to perform quick AP reselection when needed.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and system for reselecting an access point


A tension member for an elevator system has an aspect ratio of greater than one, where aspect ratio is defined as the ratio of tension member width w to thickness t (w/t). The increase in aspect ratio results in a reduction in the maximum rope pressure and an increased flexibility as compared to conventional elevator ropes. As a result, smaller sheaves may be used with this type of tension member. In a particular embodiment, the tension member includes a plurality of individual load carrying cords encased within a common layer of coating. The coating layer separates the individual cords and defines an engagement surface for engaging a traction sheave.

The present invention relates to elevator systems, and more particularly to tension members for such elevator systems.
A conventional traction elevator system includes a car, a counterweight, two or more ropes interconnecting the car and counterweight, a traction sheave to move the ropes, and a machine to rotate the traction sheave. The ropes are formed from laid or twisted steel wire and the sheave is formed from cast iron. The machine may be either a geared or gearless machine. A geared machine permits the use of higher speed motor, which is more compact and less costly, but requires additional maintenance and space.
Although conventional round steel ropes and cast iron sheaves have proven very reliable and cost effective, there are limitations on their use. One such limitation is the traction forces between the ropes and the sheave. These traction forces may be enhanced by increasing the wrap angle of the ropes or by undercutting the grooves in the sheave. Both techniques reduce the durability of the ropes, however, as a result of the increased wear (wrap angle) or the increased rope pressure (undercutting). Another method to increase the traction forces is to use liners formed from a synthetic material in the grooves of the sheave. The liners increase the coefficient of friction between the ropes and sheave while at the same time minimizing the wear of the ropes and sheave.
Another limitation on the use of round steel ropes is the flexibility and fatigue characteristics of round steel wire ropes. Elevator safety codes today require that each steel rope have a minimum diameter d (dmin=8 mm for CEN; dmin=9.5 mm (xe2x85x9cxe2x80x3) for ANSI) and that the D/d ratio for traction elevators be greater than or equal y (D/dxe2x89xa740), where D is the diameter of the sheave. This results in the diameter D for the sheave being at least 320 mm (380 mm for ANSI). The larger the sheave diameter D, the greater torque required from the machine to drive the elevator system.
Another drawback of conventional round ropes is that the higher the rope pressure, the shorter the life of the rope. Rope pressure (Prope) is generated as the rope travels over the sheave and is directly proportional to the tension (F) in the rope and inversely proportional to the sheave diameter D and the rope diameter d (Propexcx9cF/(Dd). In addition, the shape of the sheave grooves, including such traction enhancing techniques as undercutting the sheave grooves, further increases the maximum rope pressure to which the rope is subjected.
The above art notwithstanding, scientists and engineers under the direction of Applicants"" Assignee are working to develop more efficient and durable methods and apparatus to drive elevator systems.
According to the present invention, a tension member for an elevator has an aspect ratio of greater than one, where aspect ratio is defined as the ratio of tension member width w to thickness t (Aspect Ratioxcx9cw/t).
A principal feature of the present invention is the flatness of the tension member. The increase in aspect ratio results in a tension member that has an engagement surface, defined by the width dimension, that is optimized to distribute the rope pressure. Therefore, the maximum pressure is minimized within the tension member. In addition, by increasing the aspect ratio relative to a round rope, which has an aspect ratio equal to one, the thickness of the tension member may be reduced while maintaining a constant cross-sectional area of the tension member.
According further to the present invention, the tension member includes a plurality of individual load carrying cords encased within a common layer of coating. The coating layer separates the individual cords and defines an engagement surface for engaging a traction sheave.
As a result of the configuration of the tension member, the rope pressure may be distributed more uniformly throughout the tension member. As a result, the maximum rope pressure is significantly reduced as compared to a conventionally roped elevator having a similar load carrying capacity. Furthermore, the effective rope diameter xe2x80x98dxe2x80x99 (measured in the bending direction) is reduced for the equivalent load bearing capacity. Therefore, smaller values for the sheave diameter xe2x80x98Dxe2x80x99 may be attained without a reduction in the D/d ratio. In addition, minimizing the diameter D of the sheave permits the use of less costly, more compact, high speed motors as the drive machine without the need for a gearbox.
In a particular embodiment of the present invention, the individual cords are formed from strands of metallic material. By incorporating cords having the weight, strength, durability and, in particular, the flexibility characteristics of appropriately sized and constructed materials into the tension member of the present invention, the acceptable traction sheave diameter may be further reduced while maintaining the maximum rope pressure within acceptable limits. As stated previously, smaller sheave diameters reduce the required torque of the machine driving the sheave and increase the rotational speed. Therefore, smaller and less costly machines may be used to drive the elevator system.
In a further particular embodiment of the present invention, a traction drive for an elevator system includes a tension member having an aspect ratio greater than one and a traction sheave having a traction surface configured to receive the tension member. The tension member includes an engagement surface defined by the width dimension of the tension member. The traction surface of the sheave and the engagement surface are complementarily contoured to provide traction and to guide the engagement between the tension member and the sheave. In an alternate configuration, the traction drive includes a plurality of tension members engaged with the sheave and the sheave includes a pair of rims disposed on opposite sides of the sheave and one or more dividers disposed between adjacent tension members. The pair of rims and dividers perform the function of guiding the tension member to prevent gross alignment problems in the event of slack rope conditions, etc.
In a still further embodiment, the traction surface of the sheave is defined by a material that optimizes the traction forces between the sheave and the tension member and minimizes the wear of the tension member. In one configuration, the traction surface is integral to a sheave liner that is disposed on the sheave. In another configuration, the traction surface is defined by a coating layer that is bonded to the traction sheave. In a still further configuration, the traction sheave is formed from the material that defines the traction surface.


A seal for a thread drive including several ring parts arranged one within the other, to provide a dependable and compact unit comprised of a few parts. A sealing ring which surrounds and rests against the threaded spindle is comprised of rigid plastic. The sealing ring is a single thread section with axially separated ends which are integrally joined together by a transverse connection which closes the thread gap between the separated ends. A pretensioned tension ring surrounds the sealing ring. A housing ring surrounds both other rings. A wiper or scraper may be located on the sealing ring opposite the transverse connection.

The invention relates to a seal for a ball-thread drive of several parts assembled
Ball-thread drives are employed, in particular, for the adjustment of the landing flaps of aircraft. They must be very dependable in operation. Since these drives are not arranged in enclosed spaces, extremely good seals are required, to prevent both the emergence of lubricant axially along the thread drive seal from the inside toward the outside and the penetration of dirt axially along the seal toward the inside. In addition, the seals are intended to act as ice breakers. Furthermore, they are to be compact in order to achieve the lowest possible weight
A seal which satisfies some of these requirements is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,669,460. There a sealing ring extends over one thread start in a housing ring. The sealing ring is pressed into the thread groove by a circular elastic spring. The thread gap is, in this case, closed by a separate transverse connection. This embodiment includes a great number of separate parts whose assembly is complicated There is furthermore no dependable unit of these parts in disassembled condition. The separate transverse connection, for instance, can fall out. In particular, transverse gaps can arise on the end surfaces of the transverse connection toward the sealing ring. These gaps substantially reduce the sealing action, in particular upon changes in temperature and wear of the sealing ring.


Psoralen compositions for extracorporeal administration to blood prior to reinfusion into a subject comprising a sterile aqueous solution of about 0.005 to about 1 mg/ml of a psoralen ethyl alcohol, propylene glycol and water and having a pH from about 2.0 to about 6.0 are disclosed. These compositions are useful for the therapy of a subject being treated by ultraviolet-A photophoresis.

Psoralen is a linear three ring heterocyclic compound of the general structure ##STR1## It is a bifunctional photoreactive molecule which forms covalent bonds with nucleic acids in the presence of near ultraviolet light. Psoralen's ability to react with DNA has given it clinical importance in the treatment of various skin disorders, and its ability to form interstrand crosslinks in double stranded DNA has made it a useful agent in the study of nucleic acid structure and function.
For over 10 years, patients with psoriasis have been treated with orally administered psoralens and subsequently irradiated with long wave ultraviolet-A radiation (PUVA). Currently, the only psoralen commercially available for oral administration is 8-methoxypsoralen (8-MOP). Since psoralens are lipophilic compounds, poorly soluble in water, one current oral preparation consists of 8-MOP mixed with polyethylene glycols in a soft gelatin capsule. The oral absorption of 8-MOP from this dosage form varies considerably between individuals, so peak serum psoralen levels may occur as early as 1 hour or as late as 4 hours after the capsule is administered. The subject is treated with ultraviolet A irradiation approximately two hours after oral administration of the dosage form. Because the oral absorption of 8-MOP from the capsule is variable, serum levels of 8-MOP at 2 hours post dosing may not be optimal. Since serum levels of 8-MOP and photosensitivity are directly correlated, less than optimal 8-MOP serum levels may be one factor in a poor response to PUVA therapy.
Other routes of administration for 8-MOP have been used. In the United States 8-MOP is available as a topical lotion. In Europe 8-MOP has been applied topically using baths. PUVA baths are effective but inconvenient, and topical absorption of 8-MOP is variable resulting in a lack of predictability of the phototoxic response. PUVA baths have thus not gained wide appeal.
Serum levels and photosensitivity are more predictable with rectally administered 8-MOP resulting in good therapeutic response. However, the inconvenience of rectal administration is likely to deter widespread popularity.
Other oral dosage forms comprise solutions of psoralens dissolved in alcohols and/or polyethylene glycols or are oil-on-water emulsions; or are semi-solid capsule dosage forms wherein the average crystal size of the psoralen is greatly reduced. These dosage forms have improved the consistency of PUVA therapy but the unpredictability of oral administration of psoralens still results in inconsistent responses to photophoresis therapy.
Accordingly, there is still a need for a psoralen dosage form which provides consistent results when psoralens are used in conjunction with ultraviolet-A phototherapy to alleviate disease.

Psoralen reagent compositions for extracorporeal treatment of blood


A method and apparatus for constructing a probe card assembly is provided. A probe pin is inserted into an aperture of an inverted socket enclosure to cause a probe pin shoulder of the probe pin to make contact with an aperture shoulder of the aperture. An upper end of the probe pin protrudes from the aperture after the probe pin shoulder makes contact with the aperture shoulder. A compressible member is inserted into the aperture to position an upper end of the compressible member to make contact with a lower portion of the probe pin. A substrate is aligned over the inverted socket enclosure so that the lower end of the compressible member is in contact with a substrate contact located on the substrate. The substrate is affixed in a non-permanent manner to the inverted socket enclosure.

The approaches described in this section are approaches that could be pursued, but not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated, it should not be assumed that any of the approaches described in this section qualify as prior art merely by virtue of their inclusion in this section.
In the manufacture of certain probe cards and the like, each probe of the probe card is electroformed (e.g., as part of a group of probes), singulated, and then mechanically bonded (e.g., one at a time) onto the probe card. This process is time and resource intensive. Further, often it is necessary to perform additional work to realign any misaligned probes on the probe card before the probe card may be satisfactorily used in testing. Such rework may interfere with the bonds holding the probes to the probe card.


Disclosed is a display apparatus in which peculiar synchronizing signals fed while being accompanied by a video signal to be displayed are recognized, control signals for instructing picture scene size (display size) and picture display position optimum to the recognized synchronizing signals are generated by a digital automatic tracking circuit or the like, and horizontal and vertical deflection circuits are operated by the thus generated control signals so that a picture scene having optimum picture scene size and optimum display position is displayed on a display screen. The display apparatus is provided with: a synchronizing signal processing circuit for processing peculiar synchronizing signals fed thereto while being accompanied by the video signal so as to produce a horizontal synchronizing signal repeatedly occurring with a horizontal period and a vertical synchronizing signal repeatedly occurring with a vertical period; a memory for storing control information in advance; and a control processing circuit for recognizing a horizontal scanning frequency and a vertical scanning frequency on the basis of the horizontal synchronizing signal and the vertical synchronizing signal, and for reading out the control information from the memory on the basis of the result of recognition so as to produce and feed control signals for instructing picture display size and picture display position on the display screen to the horizontal deflection circuit and vertical deflection circuit.

The present invention relates to a display in which when a variety of video signals different in scanning frequency from each other are received in an alternative way, it is possible to automatically determine a suitable picture size and a suitable picture position (display position) corresponding to the scanning frequency to thereby display a picture with the optimum picture size and picture position on a display screen.
A conventional display such as a terminal of a computer, or the like, has no defined standard with respect to a video signal to be displayed thereon, and therefore there exist a variety of video signals to be displayed which are different from each other in horizontal scanning frequency, vertical frequency, timing of display size, etc. Accordingly, a variety of displays having a variety of specifications corresponding to the various video signals are produced. Accordingly, the displays must be manufactured through multi-kind and small-quantity production with extremely poor productivity. Recently, however, there has been proposed a single display capable of accommodating such a variety of video signals to be displayed. This display has been called a multi-scanning display.
As examples of such a conventional multi-scanning display, there are those disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication Nos. 61-199381, 61-108265, etc.
Referring to the drawings, those conventional multi-scanning displays will be described.
FIG. 20A is a block diagram showing the configuration of a horizontal deflection circuit of a first prior art example of such a multi-scanning display. In FIG. 20A, the horizontal deflection circuit includes a horizontal oscillating circuit 181 externally fed with a horizontal synchronizing signal HS, a horizontal driving circuit 182, a horizontal output circuit 183a, a control circuit 184 for controlling the circuits 181, 182, and 183a, and a flyback transformer 185.
The horizontal oscillating circuit 181 changes its oscillation frequency in response to a control signal fed from the control circuit 184. To this end, the control circuit 184 generates a control signal corresponding to the specification such as a scanning frequency of a video signal to be fed to the display so as to be displayed thereon. The control circuit further feeds control signals also to the horizontal output circuit 183a. In the horizontal output circuit 183a, those control signals are used to perform the control of the on/off operation of a characteristic change-over switch SW1 connected in parallel to an additional capacitor C.sub.1 which is in turn connected to a resonance capacitor C.sub.0, and the control of the on/off operation of another characteristic change-over switch SW2 connected in parallel to an additional coil L.sub.1 which is in turn connected to a horizontal deflection coil L.sub.0.
Thus, it is possible to maintain the ratio of a horizontal scanning period T.sub.s to a horizontal blanking period T.sub.r fixed, for example, between the cases where the horizontal oscillation frequency of the horizontal oscillating circuit 181 is selected to be f.sub.1 and f.sub.2 by the control circuit 184. Accordingly, it is possible to make the horizontal raster size fixed. The explanation about the horizontal output circuit 183a applies to another horizontal output circuit 183b shown in FIG. 20B and quite the same operation is performed in this circuit.
The above relationship in the case where the horizontal oscillation frequency is changed over may be expressed by the following equations. That is, with respect to the horizontal oscillation frequency f.sub.1, the relationship among the horizontal scanning period T.sub.sl, the horizontal blanking period T.sub.rl and the deflection current I.sub.pl is expressed as follows. ##EQU1## where +V.sub.B represents the source voltage of the horizontal output circuit.
Similarly to this, with respect to the horizontal oscillation frequency f.sub.2, the relationship among the horizontal scanning period T.sub.s2, the horizontal blanking period T.sub.rl and the deflection current I.sub.p2 is expressed as follows. ##EQU2## where +V.sub.B represents the source voltage of the horizontal output circuit. The respective values of the additional capacitor C.sub.1 and the additional coil L.sub.1 are selected so as to satisfy the above conditions. As the result, it is possible to make the horizontal raster size fixed with respect to video signals having known horizontal oscillation frequencies. In the case where a video signal having an unexpected oscillation frequency is fed, the horizontal raster size changes.
FIG. 21 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a vertical deflection circuit of a second prior art example of the multi-scanning display. In FIG. 21, the vertical deflection circuit includes an input terminal 190 to which a vertical synchronizing signal (VS) is fed, a vertical oscillating circuit (V. OSC) 191 for performing saw-tooth wave oscillation, a capacitor 192, a variable current source 193, comparators (COM) 194 and 195, an exclusive OR gate (hereinafter abbreviated to "EOR") 196, an up/down counter (hereinafter abbreviated to "UDC") 197 for performing counting in response to a vertical synchronizing signal (VS) applied thereto as a clock, a digital-to-analog converter (hereinafter abbreviated to "DAC") 198, a vertical output circuit 199, a deflection yoke 1910, a capacitor 1911, a resistor 1912, variable resistors 1913 and 1914, a change-over switch 1915, a change-over control circuit 1916, and an input terminal 1917 to which a selection signal (SL) is fed.
The operation of the circuit of FIG. 21 is as follows. When the vertical synchronizing signal (VS) is fed to the input terminal 190 of the vertical oscillating circuit 191, the capacitor 192 is discharged by the variable current source 193 so that saw-tooth wave oscillation is carried out. The waveform of the oscillation is controlled so that the amplitude thereof falls within a predetermined range. Assume now that the respective reference levels of the comparators 194 and 195 are selected so that the former is higher than the latter. Then, when the oscillation amplitude is not higher than the reference level of the comparator 195, the UDC 197 is fed with a count-up control signal so as to increase the count data thereof. At this time, the output signal of the DAC 198 increases and the current value of the variable current source 193 increases. As the result, the oscillation amplitude of the saw-tooth wave becomes large. When the oscillation amplitude is not lower than the reference level of the comparator 194, the UDC 197 is set to a down counter so as to decrease the count data thereof. At this time, the output signal of the DAC 198 decreases and the current value of the variable current source 193 decreases. As the result, the oscillation amplitude of the saw-tooth wave becomes small. Further, when the oscillation amplitude takes a value within a range between the respective levels of the comparators 194 and 195, the UDC 197 is fed with the output signal of the EOR 196 so that the counting thereof is inhibited.
In such a manner as described above, a sawtooth wave signal having an amplitude within a predetermined range is fed to one input (positive phase input) of the operational-amplifier type vertical output circuit 199, and vertical raster having a predetermined display size can be obtained from the vertical deflection yoke. The capacitor 1911 and the resistor 1912 are connected in series to the vertical deflection yoke and the variable resistors 1913 and 1914 are connected in parallel to the resistor 1912. One of the variable resistors 1913 and 1914 is selected by the switch 1915 so that the output of the selected one of the variable resistors 1913 and 1914 is fed through the switch 1915 to the other input (reverse phase input) of the vertical output circuit 199. By the variable resistors 1913 and 1914, the vertical size is selectively changed over to either one of the respective preset values of the variable resistors 1913 and 1914 in accordance with the control signal SC from the change-over control circuit 1916. Thus, a desirable effective display rate can be obtained. Further, the change-over control circuit 1916 is controlled by the signal SL fed from a main control circuit (not shown).
However, in actual video signals, not only the vertical frequency of the vertical synchronizing signal (VS) but the vertical display size are diverse. Accordingly, in the case where such a video signal is fed, it is necessary to control the resistance values of the respective variable resistors 1913 and 1914 again so as to obtain a desirable effective display ratio.
Further, there has been proposed a display in which it is not necessary for a user to adjust the display size and display position every time when the video signal to be fed changes. As a third prior art example of such a display, there is that disclosed, for example, in Japanese Utility Model Unexamined Publication No. 62-156990.
FIG. 22 is a block diagram showing a display as the third prior art example. In FIG. 22, the display includes a reception circuit 221 for receiving video signals, a video system circuit 222 for processing a video signal, a cathode ray tube (CRT) 223, a video system circuit 222 having selection switches for selecting the video signals, input ports 225 and input port 227, a control circuit 226, a horizontal and vertical deflection circuit 228, a memory 229, and an output port 2211, a procedure memory 2212 for storing an operation routine, and a DAC 2213.
The operation of the circuit illustrated in FIG. 22 is as follows. Assume that a plurality of video signals are fed to the reception circuit 221. One of those video signals is selected by one of the switches of the first input circuit 224, and the selected video signal is fed to the video system circuit 222. The selection switches of the first input circuit 224 and the video signals have one-to-one correspondency therebetween. More specifically, if a user selects, for example, a first one of the selection switches, a first one of the video signals is selected in the reception circuit 221. The information from the first selection switch is fed to the control circuit 226 through the input port 225. In response to the thus fed information, the control circuit 226 reads out various control signals corresponding to the first video signal from the memory 229 and supplies the readout control signals to the output port 2211 and the DAC 2213.
The output port 2211 feeds the control signal and information to the video system circuit 222 and the horizontal and vertical deflection circuit 228. The DAC 2213 feeds information to the horizontal and vertical deflection circuit 228. In this manner, corresponding to the first video signal, a circuit within the video system circuit 222 and a circuit within the horizontal and vertical deflection circuit 228 are selected and a picture of the first video signal is displayed on the cathode ray tube 223 with desirable horizontal and vertical display sizes and at a desirable display position.
Similarly to the above operation with respect to the first video signal, the second or third selection switch is selected for the second or third video signal and the same operation as in the case of the first video signal is carried out.
Further, a selection signal (SL), a horizontal synchronizing signal (HS) and a vertical synchronizing signal (VS) are fed to the input port 227. The characteristics of those signals may be judged in the control circuit 226 so that this operation is substituted for the above-mentioned selection function.
In such a prior art display as described above, however, unless the selection order in the input portion (the input port 225 and the first input circuit 224) and the video signals to be fed have one-to-one correspondency, erroneous control signals are read out and a desired display picture cannot be obtained. Accordingly, it is necessary to perform the connection necessary for selecting the fed video signals in correct order. Further, in order to obtain a display size and a display position in an optimum manner, it is necessary that all the video signals to be fed have known specifications respectively. Further, since optimum circuits are selected with respect to the horizontal and vertical deflection circuit 228 and the video system circuit 222, there is a possibility that erroneous selecting operation is performed when a video signal having an unknown specification as to a scanning frequency and a synchronizing signal is fed.
Further, in the horizontal and vertical deflection circuit 228, several kinds of circuit constants are selectively changed over. Accordingly, the above horizontal and vertical deflection circuit 228 becomes impossible to cope with a video signal having an unexpected specification, while it can cope with a video signal having a known specification. In order to make the horizontal and vertical deflection circuit 228 cope with such a video signal having an unexpected specification, it is necessary to control the circuit constants of the horizontal and vertical deflection circuit 228 again. Moreover, since change-over operation is performed, the circuit operation is apt to become unstable and the circuit may be damaged in the worst case.


A balloon and method of making a balloon catheter is provided. The balloon for the balloon catheter may be made by slicing through an integral dilation element on a parison (10). The parison may then be stretched to spread the slices to form wider gaps (20). The gaps define separate dilation element segments (14), which may make the balloon more flexible.

The present invention relates generally to medical devices and particularly to a balloon catheter with dilation elements along the exterior surface of the balloon.
Balloon catheters are widely used in the medical profession for various intraluminal procedures. One common procedure involving the use of a balloon catheter relates to angioplasty dilation of coronary or other arteries suffering from stenosis (i.e., a narrowing of the arterial lumen that restricts blood flow).
Although balloon catheters are used in many other procedures as well, vascular angioplasty using a balloon catheter has drawn particular attention from the medical community because of the growing number of people suffering from vascular problems associated with arterial stenosis. This has lead to an increased demand for medical procedures to treat such problems. The widespread frequency of vascular problems may be due to a number of societal changes, including the tendency of people to exercise less while eating greater quantities of unhealthy foods, in conjunction with the fact that people generally now have longer life spans than previous generations. Angioplasty procedures have become a popular alternative for treating arterial stenosis because angioplasty procedures are considerably less invasive than other alternatives. As an example, stenosis of the coronary arteries has traditionally been treated with bypass surgery. In general, bypass surgery involves splitting the chest bone to open the chest cavity and grafting a replacement vessel onto the heart to bypass the blocked, or stenosed, artery. However, coronary bypass surgery is a very invasive procedure that is risky and requires a long recovery time for the patient.
To address the increased need for vascular treatments, the medical community has turned to angioplasty procedures, in combination with stenting and other procedures, to avoid the problems associated with traditional open surgery. Typically, angioplasty procedures are performed using a balloon-tipped catheter that may or may not have a stent mounted on the balloon (also referred to as a stented catheter). The physician performs the angioplasty procedure by introducing the balloon catheter into a peripheral artery (commonly one of the leg arteries) and threading the catheter to the narrowed part of the artery to be treated. During this stage, the balloon is uninflated and collapsed onto the shaft of the catheter in order to present a low profile which may be passed through the vasculature. Once the balloon is positioned at the narrowed part of the artery, the balloon is expanded by pumping a mixture of saline and contrast solution through the catheter to the balloon. As a result, the balloon presses against the inner wall of the artery to dilate it. If a stent is mounted on the balloon, the balloon inflation also serves to expand the stent and implant it within the artery. After the artery is dilated, the balloon is deflated so that it once again collapses onto the shaft of the catheter. The balloon-tipped catheter is then retracted from the body. If a stent is mounted on the balloon of the catheter, the stent is left permanently implanted in its expanded state at the desired location in the artery to provide a support structure that prevents the artery from collapsing back to its pre-dilated condition. On the other hand, if the balloon catheter is not adapted for delivery of a stent, either a balloon-expandable stent or a self-expandable stent may be implanted in the dilated region in a follow-up procedure. Although the treatment of stenosed arteries is one common example where balloon catheters have been used, this is only one example of how balloon catheters may be used and many other uses are also possible.
One problem that may be encountered with conventional angioplasty techniques is the proper dilation of stenosed regions that are hardened and/or have become calcified. Stenosed regions may become hardened for a variety of reasons, such as the buildup of atherosclerotic plaque or other substances. Hardened regions of stenosis can be difficult to completely dilate using conventional balloons because hardened regions tend to resist the expansion pressures applied by conventional balloon catheters. One solution that has been offered for dilating hardened stenoses is special balloon catheters with dilation wires or beads that extend along the length of the balloon. The dilation wires and/or beads focus that dilation pressure of the balloon onto the narrower contact area between the dilation wire or bead and the vessel wall. As a result, the increased, focused pressure may crack and/or break up the hardened stenosis, thereby allowing the vessel lumen to be expanded.
Many balloon catheters with dilation wires or beads are manufactured by attaching a separate wire or other material to the exterior of the balloon. This may be accomplished, for example, by using adhesives to bond the dilation element to the balloon. This approach has several advantages, including being able to use an optimized material and shape for the dilation element and manufacturing processes that are relatively straightforward. However, separate dilation elements can be disadvantageous because there may be concern by physicians that the dilation element could break loose from the surface of the balloon. Thus, dilation elements that are integral with the balloon may be preferable despite some of the advantages of separate dilation elements.
Another concern with balloons that have dilation elements along the exterior of the balloon is that the dilation elements tend to make the balloon less flexible. Flexibility is particularly important for balloon catheters because they are frequently used to traverse narrow passageways with tortuous paths. Accordingly, the inventor believes it would be desirable to provide a balloon catheter with integral dilation elements that are flexible.

Balloon with integral segmented dilation elements


A novel cycloalkene compound represented by the following general formula [1]: ##STR1## wherein each of R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 is a C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkyl group, R.sup.3 is a hydrogen atom , or a C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkyl group, R.sup.4, together with R.sup.5, forms --CH.sub.2 --CH.sub.2 --or --CH.sub.2 --CH.sub.2 --CH.sub.2 --, and R.sup.6 is a C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkyl group.

1 Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a novel cycloalkene compound and a recording material which uses the compound as a color former.
2. Prior Art
Color formers, pale or colorless basic dyes, have been used in various recording materials such as pressure sensitive recording materials, heat sensitive recording materials, electrical heat sensitive recording materials, and photo sensitive recording materials. These recording materials are in great demand these days with the development of the information industry.
Typical color formers which have been used for recording materials such as pressure sensitive recording sheets, heat sensitive recording sheets and photo sensitive recording sheets, include phthalide compounds, fluoran compounds, and triphenyl methane compounds. For example, blue-coloring crystal violet lactone is a typical phthalide compound, black-coloring 2-(2-chloroanilino)-6-dibutylaminofluoran is a typical fluoran compound, and blue-coloring leucocrystal violet is a typical triphenyl methane compound.
Recently, computers have been employed widely for the rationalization of clerical works for office automation, or for the rationalization of various works for factory automation. For the input of information for such computers, various optical character readers or optical bar code readers have been developed in recent years.
With the progress of optical character readers or optical bar code readers where near infrared ray such as semi-conductor laser is used as a light source, recording materials suitable for these readers have been demanded Recording materials using previous color formers, however, were unsuitable for these new readers because the color formers had no light absorption in the near infrared region around 700-900 nm. Accordingly, recording images obtained from the previous recording materials were unsuitable for the recording images for the optical character readers or optical bar code readers which use near infrared ray as their light sources

Cycloalkene compounds useful in recording materials


A spherical aberration compensator for compensating for spherical aberration resulting from a thickness deviation of a recording medium. The spherical aberration compensator includes a central compensation which provides a phase distribution that is effective for compensating for spherical aberration resulting from the thickness deviation and a peripheral compensation portion which surrounds the central compensation portion and provides a phase distribution that is effective for reducing a worsening of the spherical aberration caused by axial displacement of an objective lens from the central compensation portion. The spherical aberration compensator effectively relieves an optical pickup having an objective lens of an NA of 0.7 or greater of worsening of the spherical aberration resulting from thickness deviation of the recording medium.

This application claims the benefit of Korean Application No. 2001-43785 filed Jul. 20, 2001, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a spherical aberration compensator which compensates for spherical aberration resulting from a thickness deviation of a recording medium and an optical pickup using the spherical aberration compensator.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recording/reproduction density of a recording medium increases as a size of a light spot focused on the recording medium by an optical pickup becomes smaller. The size of the light spot is proportional to a wavelength (xcex) of light used by the optical pickup and is inversely proportional to the numerical aperture (NA) of an objective lens. Therefore, to implement a high-density recording medium, there is a need for an optical pickup with a short wavelength light source, such as a blue semiconductor laser, and an objective lens having a larger NA. Recently, there is an increasing interest in a format for increasing recording capacity up to 22.5 GB with a 0.85-NA objective lens and for reducing a thickness of a recording medium to 0.1 mm so as to prevent degradation of performance caused by tilting of the recording medium. Here, the thickness of the recording medium refers to a distance from a light receiving surface of the recording medium to an information recording surface.
As is apparent from equation (1) below, spherical aberration W40d is proportional to the fourth power of the NA of an objective lens, and to a deviation of the thickness of a recording medium xcex94d. For this reason, if an objective lens with an NA of about 0.85 is used, the recording medium must have a uniform thickness with a deviation less than xc2x13 xcexcm. However, it is very difficult to manufacture the recording medium within the above thickness deviation range.                               W                      40                        d                          =                                                            n                2                            -              1                                      8                                            n                3                                                                                (              NA              )                        4                              Δ                                xe2x80x83                              d                                    (        1        )
FIG. 1 is a graph showing a relationship between the thickness deviation of a recording medium and wavefront aberration (optical phase difference (OPD)) caused by the thickness deviation where a 400-nm light source and an objective lens having an NA of 0.85 are used. As shown in FIG. 1, the wavefront aberration increases proportionally to the thickness deviation. Thus, if an objective lens having an NA as large as 0.85 is used, there is a need to compensate for the spherical aberration caused by the thickness deviation of the recording medium.
Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 12-57616 discloses an optical pickup for detecting a thickness deviation of a recording medium. Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 12-30281 describes a technique of compensating for wavefront aberration occurring where a recording medium is tilted with respect to the optical axis, using a liquid crystal compensator.
FIG. 2 shows a principle of compensating for spherical aberration resulting from thickness deviation of a recording medium 10 in a conventional optical pickup. Referring to FIG. 2, an objective lens assembly 20 (hereinafter, simply xe2x80x9cobjective lensxe2x80x9d) is designed with a group of three lens elements 21, 22, and 23 for a larger NA. The three lens elements 21, 22, and 23 are accommodated in a single bobbin 24 and are aligned on the same optical axis Xxe2x80x94X. A phase difference compensator 30 for compensating for spherical aberration is disposed on the optical axis Xxe2x80x94X on a side of the objective lens 20 opposite the recording medium 10.
In FIG. 2, a curve A drawn near the objective lens 20 shows a wavefront due to spherical aberration resulting from manufacturing errors in the recording medium 10 and/or the lens elements 21, 22, and 23. This type of spherical aberration is referred to as xe2x80x9cspherical aberration from an objective lensxe2x80x9d. A curve B drawn to overlap the phase difference corrector 30 shows the wavefront after spherical aberration compensation by the phase difference compensator 30. Another curve A1 drawn near the objective lens 20 shows the wavefront where the optical axis of the objective lens 20 is radially displaced (or shifted) from the optical axis of the phase difference compensator 30.
The phase difference compensator 30 generates an inverse spherical aberration that offsets spherical aberration from the objective lens due to manufacturing errors in the recording medium 10 and/or lens elements 21, 22, and 23. The phase difference compensator 30 uses a liquid crystal as a medium to adjust the degree of phase delay and differentially delays the phase of light by locally working the liquid crystal medium, to generate the inverse spherical aberration. Localized phase delay by the driving of liquid crystals is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 12-30281 which is incorporated herein by reference.
The phase difference compensator 30 is operated by a separate driving circuit 40, and the driving circuit 40 operates according to a recording medium thickness variation signal, which is dynamically detected. The thickness deviation of the recording medium may be calculated from a focus error signal detected by an astigmatic lens disposed on an optical path. As an example, a technique disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 12-57616 may be applied to calculate the thickness deviation.
FIG. 3 is a graph showing a relationship between spherical aberration from an objective lens and inverse spherical aberration offsetting the spherical aberration from the objective lens. FIG. 3 shows theoretical data for a case where the objective lens 20 and the phase difference compensator 30 are coaxially positioned. Accordingly, the aberration B produced by the phase difference compensator 30 has the same magnitude as the corresponding aberration A of the objective lens 20 but has an opposite sign. Therefore, the aberration of the objective lens 20 is completely offset by the inverse aberration of the phase difference compensator 30, thereby eliminating the spherical aberration, as indicated by C in FIG. 3.
In an optical pickup, the relative position of the objective lens 20 with respect to the phase difference compensator 30 varies while the objective lens 20 is driven by an actuator (not shown) to trace a track of the recording medium 10. As a result of the relative displacement of the objective lens 20 from the phase difference compensator 30, wavefront mismatching occurs, as shown in FIG. 4. In particular, where an optical axis X2xe2x80x94X2 of the objective lens 20 is shifted from the optical axis Xxe2x80x94X of the phase difference compensator 30 by a predetermined distance xcex94L, the aberration is abnormally compensated due to the wavefront matching and wavefront degradation results rather than aberration compensation. As shown in FIG. 4, as the optical axis X2xe2x80x94X2 of the objective lens 20 is separated from the optical axis Xxe2x80x94X of the phase difference compensator 30, the spherical aberration is incompletely compensated as indicated by a sum of the curves A1 and B1 which yields the curve C1 as shown in FIG. 4, causing a more serious spherical aberration at the periphery of the objective lens 20. The curves A1 and B1 represent aberration of the objective lens 20 and inverse aberration produced by the phase difference compensator 30, respectively. The worsening of the spherical aberration due to the relative displacement between the optical axes of the objective lens and the phase difference compensator is a problem of conventional compensators designed to compensate only for thickness deviation of the recording medium, without considering a shifting of the objective lens.
To solve the above and other problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a spherical aberration compensator which effectively compensates for spherical aberration caused by relative displacement between an optical axis of an objective lens and an optical axis of the spherical aberration compensator, and an optical pickup using the spherical aberration compensator.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.
To achieve the above and other objects of the present invention, there is provided a spherical aberration compensator for compensating for spherical aberration occurring in an optical pickup, the spherical aberration compensator comprising: a central compensation portion coaxially disposed with an objective lens and which provides a phase distribution that is effective for compensating for spherical aberration resulting from thickness deviation of a recording medium; and a peripheral compensation portion which surrounds the central compensation portion and provides a phase distribution that is effective for reducing worsening of the spherical aberration caused by axial displacement of the objective lens from the central compensation portion.
To achieve the above and other objects of the present invention, there is also provided an optical pickup comprising: an objective lens disposed facing a recording medium; a light source which emits light onto the recording medium through the objective lens; and a spherical aberration compensator disposed between the light source and the objective lens, wherein the spherical aberration compensator comprises: a central compensation portion coaxially disposed with the objective lens and which provides a phase distribution that is effective for compensating for spherical aberration resulting from thickness deviation of a recording medium, and a peripheral compensation portion surrounding the central compensation portion and which provides a phase distribution that is effective for reducing worsening of the spherical aberration caused by axial displacement of the objective lens from the central compensation portion.
In the spherical aberration compensator and the optical pickup according to the present invention, the phase distribution of light transmitted through the peripheral compensation portion may be discontinuous from the phase distribution of light within the central compensation portion so that the central and peripheral compensation portions separately delay the phase of light in response to different compensation requirements.
The phase distribution of light transmitted through the peripheral compensation portion may be flat. In other words, an amount of phase delay by the peripheral compensation portion is equal throughout the peripheral compensation portion. Preferably an amount of phase delay introduced by the peripheral compensation portion is substantially coincident with an amount of phase delay introduced by the central compensation portion at the optical axis of the central compensating portion.
The spherical aberration compensator may comprise liquid crystals and a plurality of electrodes which locally drive the liquid crystals, to compensate for the spherical aberration by phase delay.

Spherical abberation compensator and optical pickup using the same


An apparatus for non-invasive detection and quantitation of analytes in a sample, such as blood glucose, employs a novel amplifier that uses high-gauss permanent magnets to permit an Rf signal to be transmitted through the sample. The concentration of the analyte can be determined from the magnitude of the reduction in the amplitude of the Rf signal at a characteristic frequency.

The present invention relates to an apparatus for noninvasive testing and monitoring of biological molecules such as glucose.
Diabetes mellitus is a medical condition in which the body does not adequately produce the quantity or quality of insulin needed to maintain normal levels of glucose in the circulating blood. The two most common types of diabetes are type I, also known as Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus (IDDM), which accounts for 5-10% of all cases, and type II or Non-Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus (NIDDM), which accounts for 90-95% of all cases. IDDM occurs in childhood, and those suffering from the disease require insulin doses throughout their lives. NIDDM generally occurs in adults and, although insulin may be required, the disease may be controllable with oral medication, weight loss, a nutritious diet and a regular exercise program.
Diabetes affects about 16 million people in the U.S. and over 100 million people worldwide. Diabetes can lead to severe health complications associated with the accumulated affects of poor blood glucose control, including blindness, kidney failure, heart failure, and peripheral neuropathy associated with limb pain, poor circulation, gangrene and subsequent amputation (Davidson, Diabetes Mellitusxe2x80x94Diagnosis and Treatment, 3rd Edition, Churchill Livingstone, N.Y., 1991). As a result, frequent self-monitoring of blood glucose is crucial for effective treatment and for reducing diabetes-associated morbidity and mortality.
Currently glucose measurements are done by pricking a finger and extracting a drop of blood, which is applied to a test strip, causing a color reaction between blood glucose and chemicals on the test strip that can be analyzed by an optical meter (glucometer) to give a numerical glucose reading. However, the current glucose tests are painful, disrupt daily life, and may be difficult to perform in long term diabetic patients due to calluses on the fingers and poor circulation. As a result, the average diabetic patient tests his/her blood glucose levels less than twice a day, far fewer than the recommended 4-7 times a day, leading to poor blood glucose control.
A non-invasive glucose monitoring method that is fast, painless and convenient could provide adequate control and greatly reduce the complications commonly seen in diabetes patients and consequently reduce health care costs.
Several types of non-invasive glucose monitoring techniques have been proposed. These techniques measure glucose levels in blood, interstitial fluid, ocular fluids and sweat and include microdialysis, wick extraction, implanted electrochemical or competitive fluorescence sensors, extraction fluid techniques (iontophoresis, skin suction and suction effusion techniques) and optical techniques, such as near-infrared spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, photoacoustic spectroscopy, scatter and polarization changes.
Currently, the most actively studied non-invasive methods for blood glucose measurement are optical techniques. All are limited by low signal-to-noise ratios and poor reproducibility. Current instrumentation lacks specificity due to substantial chemical and physical interference.
Several patents have discussed the use of magnetic fields for the non-invasive detection of certain substances in the human body systems. In nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), for example, permanent magnets have been used to create a first, or biasing magnetic field to align initially randomly oriented hydrogen protons present in the nuclei of a substance in the sample being tested. A second energy field is applied to increase the energy level of the nuclei. When the second energy field is allowed to collapse, the nuclei return to their original, unaligned state, releasing energy that is detected and analyzed in the form of an image or spectrum. Such spectra are characteristic of individual substances. As a result, NMR may be used to establish the presence and identity of such substances and the concentrations in which such substances are present.
French Patent No. 2,562,785 (Jeandey et al.) discusses a permanent magnet system for NMR imaging medical diagnostics using pole pieces separated by and bridging stacked permanent magnets to form an open examination area and electromagnetic coils to adjust the resulting magnetic field.
Japanese Patent No. 56-14145 (Nippon Denshi K. K.) discusses an arrangement of permanent magnets held within a cylinder. A spacer is placed within the cylinder and sandwiched about the spacer are a pair of cylindrical pole pieces having raised central portions that extend into the air gap between the pole pieces and from which the operative flux emanates.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,875,486 and 5,072,732 (Rappaport et al.) describe nuclear magnetic resonance apparatus for non-invasive blood glucose testing that includes a pair of opposed biasing permanent magnets, a surface coil apparatus mounted adjacent the biasing magnets, and an electronic circuit controlled by a microprocessor. The microprocessor activates an RF generator and a cyclically-operated gate, which excites the surface coil. The surface coil applies a second magnetic field, raising the energy state of glucose molecules in a patients finger and aligning their nuclei. The microprocessor then deactivates the RF generator, permitting the nuclei (dipoles) to relax and return to their original alignment, releasing energy that is detected by the surface coil and analyzed by the microprocessor. The process is repeated with a standard sample and the test results with the patient""s finger are compared with the results obtained with the standard sample to determine the glucose concentration in the patient.
I have discovered a novel amplifier for substantially noise-free transmission of an Rf signal. Such an amplifier has many applications, including its use in apparatus for detection or quantitation of an analyte in a sample, such as a non-invasive glucose test apparatus for diabetic patients.
According to one embodiment of the invention, an amplifier is provided that comprises: (a) a plurality of spaced-apart permanent magnets that generate a magnetic field; (b) at least one transmission node, and at least one reflection node spaced apart from the transmission node with a gap therebetween, that are disposed within the magnetic field, the transmission and reflection nodes comprised of an electrically-conductive material; and (c) a source that generates an Rf signal having a selected frequency spectrum that is connected to the transmission node and reflection node, such that a detectable Rf signal is received by the reflection node. The magnets are preferably high-gauss magnets of grade 26 to grade 60, including but not limited to NdFeB magnets. As described below, permanent magnets of grade 36 to 41 have been used in apparatus for detection of glucose in a biological sample. For use in such apparatus, the transmission node and reflection node are preferably each in close proximity to one of the magnets to improve the Rf signal received by the reflection node. A magnetically permeable and electrically insulating barrier is optionally disposed between each node and said magnet in close proximity thereto to prevent contact between the nodes and magnets. An Rf source producing an Rf signal having a frequency of about 2 GHz to about 3 GHz has been successfully used in apparatus for detection of glucose, although other frequencies, or a broad spectrum of frequencies, may be used for other purposes. In order to analyze the Rf signal received by the reflection node, such an apparatus may further include an analyzer connected to the transmission node and the reflection node.
One embodiment of an apparatus that employs such an amplifier is an apparatus for detection or quantitation of an analyte in a sample, such as, for example, a biological sample such as a bodily fluid, tissue, or body part (e.g., a finger). For such purposes, the apparatus described above includes a space or receptacle between the transmission node and reflection node for receiving such a sample and an analyzer. An Rf signal having a magnitude at a characteristic frequency is detectable by the analyzer when the sample is placed in the space or receptacle, the magnitude at the characteristic frequency is reduced as a function of analyte concentration. Such an apparatus may be used, for example, for detection of a biological molecule, such as glucose, proteinaceous molecules and macromolecules (e.g., hemoglobins, virus particles, etc.), in a sample.
According to another embodiment of the invention, methods are provided for causing an Rf signal to be transmitted between spaced-apart transmission and reflection nodes. Such methods comprise: (a) providing at least one transmission node, and at least one reflection node spaced apart from the transmission node with a gap therebetween, the transmission and reflection nodes comprised of an electrically-conductive material, and, connected to the transmission node and a reflection node, a source that generates an Rf signal having a selected frequency spectrum; and (b) disposing the transmission node and the reflecting node in a magnetic field produced by a plurality of spaced-apart high gauss permanent magnets.
According to another embodiment of the invention, methods are provided for detecting an analyte in a sample comprising: (a) providing an apparatus comprising (i) a plurality of spaced-apart permanent magnets that generate a magnetic field; (ii) at least one transmission node, and at least one reflection node spaced apart from the transmission node with a gap therebetween, that are disposed within the magnetic field, the transmission and reflection nodes comprised of an electrically-conductive material; (iii) a source that generates an Rf signal having a selected frequency spectrum that is connected to the transmission node and reflection node; and (iv) an analyzer connected to the transmission node and reflection node; (b) disposing a sample comprising an analyte between the transmission node and reflection node; and (c) using the analyzer to detect a reduction in the amplitude of the Rf signal at a frequency that is characteristic of the presence of the analyte. In order to quantitate the concentration of the analyte in the sample, the method may further comprise (d) determining the reduction of the amplitude of the Rf signal at the frequency that is characteristic of the presence of the analyte, and (e) determining the concentration of the analyte on the basis of said reduction of the amplitude.
The foregoing and other features and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.

Method and apparatus for non-invasive analysis of blood glucose