A composition including 8-hydroxyquinaldine and an N-acyl taurate is useful in compounding elastomer compositions. Compositions are described containing elastomers such as rubbers, metal oxides, plasticizers, fillers, antidioxants and curing agents. Rubber compositions of the invention have utility in a wide variety of applications.

The present invention relates to compositions comprising 8-hydroxyquinaldine and N-acyl taurates. particularly to compositions further comprising a polymer, and more particularly to compositions where the polymer is a rubber.
The present invention, in its most general form, is a composition comprising 8-hydroxyquinaldine and an N-acyl taurate. 8-hydroxyquinaldine is also known as 8-hydroxy-2-methylquinoline. The general formula of the N-acyl taurate may be expressed as
Here, the acyl group may be generally any hydrocarbon or substituted hydrocarbon group. Generally, in the N-acyl taurate, the acyl group will have in the range of 8 to 20 carbon atoms. In formula (1), this would correspond to R1 having 7 to 19 carbon atoms. In the above formula, group R2 may be hydrogen or an alkyl group containing 1 to 20 carbon atoms. If group R2 is an alkyl group, the N-acyl taurate is, more specifically, an N-acyl-N-alkyl taurate.
Generally, the N-acyl taurate will be provided in the composition in the form of a salt, for example, a metal salt, such as the sodium salt. However, the N-acyl taurate may conceivably be provided in the acid form (N-acyl taurine).
N-acyl taurates and, more specifically, N-acyl-N-alkyl taurates are known, and one skilled in the art can make any of a wide variety of these compounds. The Examples to be described use sodium N-lauroyl-N-methyl taurate, which is commercially available, but the invention is not limited to use of this compound. Other compounds consistent with formula (1), include sodium N-oleyl taurate, sodium N-oleyl-N-methyl taurate, sodium N-cocoyl-N-methyl taurate, sodium-N-myristoyl-N-methyl taurate, sodium-N-palmitoyl-N-methyl taurate, and sodium-N-palmitoyl-N-stearyl taurate, as well as the potassium and lithium salts and other salts of these compounds.
Among the utilities of the compositions of the present invention, of particular interest is the use in elastomer compositions. Compositions comprising 8-hydroxyquinaldine and an N-acyl taurate and further comprising a base polymer may be useful elastomer compositions. Here, a base polymer may be generally any polymer, that is a material of relatively high molecular weight which is made of multiple linked units which were derived from a monomer or different monomers.
Among the base polymers which may be part of compositions of the present invention are base rubbers. Among the rubbers to which the invention is applicable are nitrile rubbers, hydrogenated nitrile rubbers, ethylene-propylene rubbers, copolymers of vinyl acetate and ethylene terpolymers of ethylene, propylene and a non-conjugated diene, natural rubbers, polybutadiene, polyisobutylene, butyl rubber, halogenated butyl rubber, copolymers of butadiene with one or more polymerizable ethylenically unsaturated monomers, such as styrene, acrylonitrile, methyl methacrylate, polyacrylates, polyethers and polymers of substituted butadienes, such as chlorobutadiene and isoprene. Mixtures of different rubbers or rubbers and plastics (e.g., nitrile rubber and polyvinyl chloride ) may, of course, also be used.
In the present invention, Examples are presented in which the base rubber is a hydrogenated initrile rubber, but other base rubbers and base polymers or elastomers may also be used in making compositions of the present invention.
In compositions of the invention comprising a base rubber, the 8-hydroxyquinaldine may be present at 0.05 to 100 parts, or more particularly at 0.1 to 30 parts, per 100 parts of base rubber (by weight). The N-acyl taurate compound may be present at 0.05 to 100 parts, or more particularly at 0.1 to 20 parts, per 100 parts of base rubber.
In addition to base polymer, compositions of the present invention may also comprise any of a variety of components commonly used in polymer compositions, as discussed below.
For example, compositions of the present invention may further comprise a metal oxide. This metal oxide may be an alkaline earth metal oxide. for example, magnesium oxide. When present. the metal oxide will generally be used at 2 to 50 parts, or more particularly at 3 to 10 parts, per 100 parts of the base rubber.
Compositions of the present invention may further comprise a filler or more than one filler. The filler may be, for example, a clay, a silica, a high-pH mineral filler. or may be a carbon black. When present, the filler will generally be used at 20 to 200 parts. or more particularly at 40 to 100 parts, per 100 parts of the base rubber.
Compositions of the present invention may further comprise a plasticizer or more than one plasticizer. Many compounds are known in the art to serve as plasticizers, for example trioctyl trimellitate. When present, the plasticizer will generally be used at 2 to 100 parts, or more particularly at 5 to 20 parts, per 100 parts of the base rubber.
Compositions of the present invention may further comprise an antioxidant, or more than one antioxidant. Many compounds are known in the art to serve as antioxidants. Examples include the amine antioxidants, such as 4,4xe2x80x2-bis(xcex1,xcex1-dimethylbenzyl)diphenylamine, and benzimidazoles, such as Zn salt of 2-mercapto 4 (5)-methylbenzimidazole. When present, the antioxidant will generally be used at 0.5 to 5 parts, or more particularly at 1 to 3 parts, per 100 parts of the base rubber.
Compositions of the present invention may also further comprise a curing (vulcanizing) agent or agents. Generally, these agents are added before a heat-treating step to cure (vulcanize) the composition. The vulcanizing agents will be chemically present in the composition before the heat-treating step, but in some cases will chemically react with the composition during the heat-treating step such that the vulcanizing agent might no longer be present after heat-curing (vulcanizing). The present invention is intended to encompass both the compositions before and after the heat-curing (vulcanizing) step. That is, even if a component in the pre-vulcanized composition (that is, before heat-curing) has fully reacted during heat-curing, the cured (vulcanized) composition can be considered to be a composition made by heat-curing the pre-cured (pre-vulcanized) composition.
Examples of curing agents or curatives (vulcanizing agents) which may be added include sulfur, sulfur donors and organic peroxides, such as xcex1,xcex1-bis(t-butyl peroxide) diusopropylbenzene. When present, the curative or curatives will generally be used at 1 to 15 parts, or more particularly at 1.5 to 10 parts, per 100 parts of the base rubber.
In making compositions of the present invention, a polymer composition is admixed using conventional rubber mixing equipment such as an internal mixer, 2-roll mill, extruder or the like. In one embodiment of a formulation method, all ingredients except the curing agent (or agents) are added to the mixture and mixed for several minutes or until the temperature has reached about 110 to 170xc2x0 C. to make a master batch. This masterbatch is the dumped onto a cool 2-roll mill for final mixing and the curing agents are mixed in on the mill.
As an alternative, second embodiment of the formulation method, all ingredients including the curing agent (or agents) are admixed and the mixture is dumped at 90 to 120xc2x0 C.
As an alternative third embodiment of the formulation method, a two-pass mix can be conducted in which the initial mix masterbatch is added back into the mixer, curative is added, and the mixture is mixed for several minutes or until the mixing temperature reaches 90 to 120xc2x0 C., and then dumped to a cool finishing 2-roll mill.
After mixing, the composition may extruded or molded, and is cured by heat-treatment, typically at a temperature or temperatures in the range of 150 to 200xc2x0 C.
In the process of the present invention, it is convenient to add the 8-hydroxyquinaldine to the mixture in the form of a premixture of 8-hydroxyquinaldine on a base rubber. If no other active ingredients are present, such a premixture can be considered to consist essentially of 8-hydroxyquinaldine and the base rubber. It is also possible to prepare a premixture of 8-hydroxyquinaldine and the N-acyl taurate on a base rubber, which can be considered to consist essentially of the 8-hydroxyquinaldine, the N-acyl taurate and the base rubber.

Unique compositions having utility in rubber applications


A device includes a vacuum nozzle, a driver, a measuring unit, and a controller. The nozzle lifts and holds a photoelectric element having a first electrode and a second electrode. The driver drives the nozzle to press the photoelectric element onto a substrate having a soldering pad and a contact, such that the second electrode is electrically connected to the soldering pad via a layer of conductive glue. The measuring unit measures a resistance across the first electrode and the contact of the substrate when the photoelectric element is pressed onto the substrate. The controller controls the driver to drive the nozzle to keep pressing the photoelectric element harder and harder into the substrate until the resistance stops decreasing, that is, when the layer of conductive glue is at its thinnest.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to optical connectors and, more particularly, to a device for assembling a photoelectric element on a substrate.
2. Description of Related Art
Optical connectors include a substrate and a photoelectric element such as a light emitter or a light receiver positioned on and electrically connected to the substrate via conductive glue. In assembly, to reduce insertion loss, the photoelectric element is pressed to the substrate to reduce electrical resistance as far as possible between the photoelectric element and the substrate. However, if the pressure is over heavy, the photoelectric element may be damaged.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a device for assembling a photoelectric element on a substrate, which can overcome the above-mentioned problems.

Device for assembling photoelectric element on substrate


An electronic system is provided that simulates a glucose-insulin metabolic system of a T2DM or prediabetic subject, wherein the system includes a subsystem that models dynamic glucose concentration in a T2DM or prediabetic subject, including an electronic module that models endogenous glucose production (EGP(t)), or meal glucose rate of appearance (Ra(t>>, or glucose utilization (U(t)), or renal excretion of glucose (B(t)), a subsystem that models dynamic insulin concentration in said T2DM or prediabetic subject, including an electronic module that models insulin secretion (S(t)), an electronic database containing a population of virtual T2DM or prediabetic subjects, each virtual subject having a plurality of metabolic parameters, and a processing module that calculates an effect of variation of at least one metabolic parameter value on the glucose insulin metabolic system of a virtual subject by inputting the plurality of metabolic parameter values.

Over 20 million people in the United States alone have Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM)—a complex derangement of the glucose-insulin metabolic system, which results in an increased insulin resistance and inappropriate insulin secretion. However, this pathological state does not appear suddenly, but usually subjects move from a healthy state to a diabetic state passing through an intermediate phase, called prediabetes: e.g. it is well known that individuals with impaired fasting glucose (IFG) have a 20-30% chance of developing diabetes over the following 5-10 years [1-3]. The risk is even greater if they have combined IFG and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT). Furthermore, IFG and IGT are associated with increased risk of cardiovascular events [4, 5]. Therefore, in addition to studies on T2DM, the pathogenesis of IFG alone or in combination with IGT has engendered considerable interest. For instance, recently, it has been shown that postprandial hyperglycemia in individuals with early diabetes is due to lower rates of glucose disappearance rather than increased meal appearance or impaired suppression of endogenous glucose production (EGP), regardless of their fasting glucose. In contrast, insulin secretion, action, and the pattern of postprandial turnover are essentially normal in individuals with isolated IFG [6]. These results suggest that for treatment and prevention of T2DM it is very important to provide drugs with a specific target, e.g. the ability to stimulate secretion instead of increasing insulin secretion, if this is the case.
To this purpose it is essential to investigate the mechanisms of glucose-inulin system derangement and drug pharmacodynamics, with properly designed experimental trials. However, it may not be possible, appropriate, convenient or desirable to perform such evaluation experiments on the diabetic subject in vivo, because some experiments cannot be done at all, or are too difficult, too dangerous, too expensive or not ethical. An in silica simulation environment could offer an alternative tool to test different treatment strategies, e.g. drug, exercise, diet, in prediabetes and diabetes in a cost-effective way. The power of simulation tools has been recently recognized by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) which accepted a simulator of Type 1 Diabetes (T1DM) [7, 8] as an alternative to the animal studies for the validation of control algorithms before their use in human clinical trials [9]. No such simulator of T2DM has existed heretofore.

System, method and computer simulation environment for in silico trials in pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes

University of Virginia Patent Foundation


A telescoping, adjustable length tool basket, particularly suitable for offshore operations in the oil and gas industry. A center section has four elongated, tubular corner members, joined by bottom and side members. At least one, and preferably two, wing sections comprise elongated inner corner members that are slidably disposed within the outer corner members. The wing sections can be moved inwardly and outwardly from the center section to adjust the overall tool basket length to accommodate the tool length. When adjusted to the desired length, a lock pin is inserted through aligned holes in at least one pair of outer and inner corner members, to lock the tool basket at the desired length. Inner and outer bushings are disposed in the annulus between the inner and outer corner members. Preferably the bushings are of a polytetraflouroethylene (PTFE) material such as Teflon®.

1. Field of Art
This invention relates to apparatus and method used in connection with the loading/unloading and transporting of goods. In particular, this invention relates to a telescoping equipment or tool basket adapted to accommodate equipment and tools of differing lengths. The invention has particular, although not exclusive, application to operations connected with the oil and gas exploration, production, development, and transportation industries, especially offshore operations.
2. Related Art
While the present invention has broad and general application to the loading, unloading, and transportation of equipment to and from a variety of locations, as a matter of convenience (and not limitation) the invention and methods of its use will be described in connection with "offshore" operations related to the petroleum industry. Offshore operations, meaning those in ocean or inland waters, have become quite widespread. Drilling, production, development, and transportation operations are all included in offshore operations. Further, while the invention has applicability to both offshore and onshore operations, it has particular applicability to offshore operations, where equipment is transported by a vessel to/from a shore base and offshore work locations, and must be loaded/offloaded at both ends of the journey.
Equipment (commonly referred to as "tools") of various types and dimensions must frequently be transported back and forth from shore bases to offshore platforms, drilling rigs, and other offshore structures. Typically, the equipment is loaded into containers commonly known as "tool baskets," which are then picked up by a crane and placed onto a vessel to be brought offshore or to the shorebase, as the case may be. Tool baskets are typically elongated containers, with at least two sides and a bottom, with padeyes and the like to permit attachment of lift slings. Once the vessel has arrived at the desired location, a crane on the platform, drilling rig, etc. lifts the tool basket onto the offshore structure. Obviously, the procedure is reversed when tools are sent from an offshore location to a shorebase.
Problems arise in providing tool baskets that can accommodate various size (particularly as to length) tools that may be brought offshore. A common situation is the necessity to transport logging tools, which may be of different lengths, and some of which may be very long. While it is recognized that a closed end basket—one comprising not only a bottom and two sides, but also two ends, and of sufficient length that the tools fit entirely within the basket—is desirable, accommodating the differing tool lengths traditionally required an inventory of different length baskets. A solution in the past has been to provide tool baskets comprising a bottom and two sides only, that is to say are "open ended." Such tool baskets can of course accommodate many different lengths of tools, as those longer than the basket simply extend beyond the open ends of the tool basket.
However, potential dangers associated with lifts of loaded, open ended tool baskets can be readily appreciated. Particularly when loading and offloading vessels to/from offshore structures, heavy seas, winds and the like are sometimes experienced, with resulting vessel movement, swaying of loads, etc. For safety reasons, both as to personnel and equipment, it is desired to have closed end baskets in the sense that the baskets have four sides, to reduce the chances of equipment sliding out an open end, even though fastened via tie downs, etc. However, as previously described, that requirement leads to the need for multiple tool baskets of different lengths, so that the user has at his disposal a closed tool basket of an appropriate length for the tools to be placed therein. In addition to safety concerns, it is desirable to have a tool basket that supports the tool, over substantially its entire length. Very long, limber tools extending beyond a tool basket are in danger of being bent, broken, or otherwise damaged.
A solution to the requirement of having multiple fixed length baskets is a tool basket that can be telescoped to a desired length, preferably a length that closely matches the length of the tools. In addition, the telescoping structure must be quite robust, to withstand typically rough treatment in the offshore environment, yet one which is readily adjustable to the desired length.

Telescoping tool basket, especially for offshore operations, and method of using same


An inter-spinous implant includes an approximately conical screw portion, further having a screw thread, which can be screwed between spinous processes; a head portion of an approximate inverted frustum shape of the same axis as the screw portion; a spacer portion that is formed between the screw portion and the head portion in the axial direction; and a through hole that passes through the axial center of the screw portion, the spacer portion, and the head portion. At least one slit is formed in the major axial direction of the total shape of the implant, having at least one-third the length of the total length of the major axial direction, the depth whereof reaching the through hole. Disposing the slit in the major axial direction of the implant proper imparts flexibility and elasticity to the implant overall, simplifies the installation and insertion of the implant.

The spinal canal is a cylindrical space in a vertical direction located in the center of a backbone (corpus vertebrae), and a spinal cord and cauda quine (nerve) are housed therein and protected firmly. Spinal canal stenosis where this spinal canal is stenosed due to various causes such as deformation of a bone, a cartilage or a ligament to press the nerve therein has become a major social problem as the number of patients has exceeded those suffering from a herniated disc.
In particular, lumbar spinal canal stenosis refers to a state where the deformation and thickening of lumbar vertebra and intervertebral joints as well as deformation and bulging of the intervertebral disc which is cartilage tissue, or hypertrophy of a ligament occurs and these make the spinal canal narrow to apply pressure or squeeze the nerves and blood vessels.
As conservative therapeutic methods which improve symptoms in daily life, physical therapies such as drug therapy of administering a drug which is a vasodilator drug or increases blood flow to a nerve root or a periphery of the cauda quine, an epidural block method, a radicular block method, an orthosis therapy of wearing a lumbar vertebra bending position corset to keep the lumbar portion at rest at the bending position, and an ultrasonic therapy and a hot pack therapy for improving pain relief, muscular spasticity and blood circulation are available.
When the conservative therapy is ineffective and severe neurological disorder and intermittent claudication sustain, a surgical therapy is performed. As a conventional surgical therapy, neurological decompression procedures such as laminectomy and expanded fenestration have been performed.
In the laminectomy and expanded fenestration, surgical invasion is applied to the patient to restore the lumbar vertebra stenosis site, and thus it is necessary to give general anesthesia to the patient. In this procedure, the patient is likely to be exposed to the risk of hemorrhaging and serious complications, and hospitalization for several days to several weeks is required for a patient after the operation. Therefore, this procedure heavily burdens the patient, and particularly when the patient is elderly, the symptom is sometimes further worsened.
In recent years, it has been reported that by stationing an interspinous process spacer in a minor surgical method, the effect of local lumbar anteflexion is obtained and satisfactory results are obtained (Patent Document 1,2).
Such a minimally invasive procedure can be performed under a local anesthesia. Thus, a shorter period is needed for recovery, there is almost no hemorrhaging, the risk of serious complications is reduced and therapeutic cost required for the patient is less. Therefore, it has been desired that spinal canal stenosis can be treated using the minimally invasive procedure.
The present inventor has already proposed an interspinous implant for the purpose of realizing a more minimally invasive therapeutic method for spinal canal stenosis, while allowing simply stationing an interspinous spacer without the need for a large skin incision and also without the need for detaching the paraspinal muscle from the spine (Patent Document 3).
It is an unprecedented implant with an advantage such that it can be inserted obliquely instead of exactly from the side surface on the assumption that the spacer is inserted from processus spinosus side. It is therefore possible to insert the implant in the shortest linear route from the outside of the body and further minimize invasion to surrounding tissues.
The proposed interspinous implant includes a substantially conoid screw region to be screwed into a processus spinosus interspace, a spacer region formed in a longitudinal direction of the screw region, a head region which is interlockable with a tool arbitrarily or attachable to a coupling member arbitrarily, and a through-hole in an axial center of the screw region, the spacer region and the head region.
According to the proposed interspinous implant, a processus spinosus interspace can be enlarged smoothly while the screw region is screwed and inserted in the processus spinosus interspace, and the spacer region is pinched by passing the screw region through the processus spinosus interspace. Thus, eventually, the space between adjacent processus spinosus can be enlarged and fixed (a predetermined distance can be maintained) and it also becomes possible to insert and station the interspinous implant percutaneously even under local anesthesia, whereby a minimally invasive operation can be realized.
Moreover, the proposed interspinous implant far exceeds the prior and existing spacer device in that the interspinous implant can be stationed without the need for detaching the paraspinal muscle from the spine, and an early effect after operation can be anticipated with the possibility of an outpatient, making it possible to further reduce temporal, physical and financial burdens on the patient.
[Patent document1]U.S. Patent Publication No. 2005/0165398
[Patent document 2] WO 2004/105656
[Patent document 3] WO 2007/018114
In the above implant stationed in a processus spinosus interspace in lumbar vertebra, presumably a considerable stress is applied to the processus spinosus which comes in contact with the implant. Such a stress may possibly result in bone destruction of the processus spinosus.
The present invention aims at reducing a dynamic stress excessively applied to processus spinosus resulting from insertion of an interspinous implant and also providing an interspinous implant which can be expected to exhibit effects of inserting the implant for a long period of time.
In order to solve the above problems, the interspinous implant according to the present invention comprises:    1) a substantially conoid screw region having screw threads to be screwable into a processus spinosus interspace;    2) a head region of a substantially inverse truncated conoid shape formed coaxially with the screw region;    3) a spacer region formed in an axial direction between the screw region and the head region; and    4) a through-hole penetrating an axial center of the screw region, the spacer region and the head region, wherein
at least one slit or groove is formed in a long axis direction of the entire shape of the implant by occupying more than one third of the full length of the implant in the long axis direction and the slit or groove is deep enough to reach the through-hole.
Owing to at least one slit or groove formed in a long axis direction of the entire shape of the implant with a length which is more than one third of the full length of the implant in the long axis direction and a depth reaching the through-hole, the entire implant is allowed to bend and given elasticity in a direction vertical to the long axis direction. Due to the flexibility and elasticity, it becomes possible to reduce a dynamic stress excessively applied to processus spinosus resulting from insertion of the implant. Accordingly, effects of inserting the implant for a long period of time can be anticipated.
Here, the above slit or groove is preferably formed continuously through the screw region, the spacer region and the head region.
By forming the slit or groove in the screw region, it becomes possible to reduce a dynamic stress applied to processus spinosus when the implant is inserted. Also, by forming the slit or groove in the spacer region, it becomes possible to reduce a dynamic stress applied to processus spinosus resulting from the presence of the implant in the processus spinosus interspace for a long period of time. Further, by forming the slit or groove in the head region, it becomes possible to reduce a dynamic stress applied to processus spinosus when the implant is removed from the processus spinosus interspace.
Moreover, in the event of inserting the implant, owing to a configuration such that the screw region is formed into a substantially conoid shape and a joint portion of the head region to be joined to a driver at insertion is allowed to move to some extent, when the implant is inserted to some extent, the tip end region of the implant comes in contact with an opposed intervertebral joint or other tissues and proceeds therealong while changing its direction toward where there is less resistance, resulting in the implant being fitted in appropriate alignment as a whole and stabilized (referred to as three-dimensional self-alignment function of the implant hereinafter).
More specifically, it is preferable that the slit or groove is formed continuously to cover more than half of a dimension of the substantially conoid shape of the screw region in the axial direction, a dimension of the spacer region in the axial direction and more than half of a dimension of the substantially inverse truncated conoid shape of the head region in the axial direction.
The present implant is made of the substantially conoid screw region, the head region of a substantially inverse truncated conoid shape and the spacer region formed in the axial direction between the screw region and the head region. Therefore, if the slit or groove is formed continuously to cover more than half of a dimension of the substantially conoid shape of the screw region in the axial direction, a dimension of the spacer region in the axial direction and more than half of a dimension of the substantially inverse truncated conoid shape of the head region in the axial direction, the slit or groove will have a length of about half to two thirds of the full length of the implant in the axial direction.
As a result, flexibility and elasticity are improved in the entire implant with better performance of the three-dimensional self-alignment function of the implant and it becomes possible to reduce a dynamic stress excessively applied to processus spinosus resulting from insertion of the implant.
Here, the reason why the slit or groove is to have a partial length of the full length of the screw region and the head region in the axial direction is to ensure the strength of the entire implant.
In addition, even if the above slit or groove is formed only in the spacer region, it can be preferably used.
As stated above, by forming the slit or groove in the spacer region, it becomes possible to reduce a dynamic stress applied to processus spinosus resulting from the presence of the implant interspace for a long period of time. Even with the slit or groove which is formed only in the spacer region, effects of inserting the implant for a longer period of time can be anticipated.
Here, it is preferable that a width of the slit or groove falls in a range of 0.5 to 1.5 mm. The present implant is an interspinous implant for the purpose of performing a minimally invasive operation for lumbar spinal canal stenosis and the implant itself has a diameter of about 10 to 15 mm. Therefore, the width of the slit or groove is adjusted to a range of depth allowing exhibition of flexibility and elasticity of the implant itself and depth which does not impair the strength of the implant itself.
Moreover, the entire shape of the implant is preferably a spindle shape. By forming a three-dimensional shape of the entire implant into a spindle shape and giving some play of about 30 degrees to the driver joint part in the head region or allowing usage of a multi-axial driver, it is made easier to exhibit the three-dimensional self-alignment function of the implant at insertion and extraction of the implant.
Here, a cross section of the spacer region is preferably circular, elliptical, substantially triangular, substantially rectangular or polygonal with a plurality of slits or grooves arranged therein at even intervals.
By arranging a plurality of slits or grooves at even intervals, the strength of the implant itself can be retained and it is possible to reduce a risk of processus spinosus coming in contact with the edge of the slits or grooves.
For instance, if a cross section of the spacer region is circular or elliptical, two slits or grooves are arranged at 180° intervals (diagonally) to be seen from the axial direction, three slits or grooves are arranged at 120° intervals to be seen from the axial direction, and four slits or grooves are arranged at 90° intervals to be seen from the axial direction.
If a cross section of the spacer region is substantially triangular, in order to reduce a risk of processus spinosus coming in contact with the edge of slits or grooves, three slits or grooves are arranged in the vicinity of the center of three flat side surfaces. As a result, three slits or grooves are placed at even intervals.
Similarly, if a cross section of the spacer region is substantially rectangular, in order to reduce a risk of processus spinosus coming in contact with the edge of slits or grooves, four slits or grooves are arranged in the vicinity of the center of four flat side surfaces. As a result, four slits or grooves are placed at even intervals.
Explained next will be a tap for interspinous implant for use in inserting the interspinous implant according to the present invention into a processus spinosus interspace.
The tap for interspinous implant according to the present invention is provided with: 1) a tip end region which is formed into a conoid shape with a more acute angle than the conus of the screw region of the interspinous implant and has screw threads occupying one third to one fifth of the generatrix from the tip end of the conoid shape; 2) an axial center region extending in an axial direction of the tip end region, whose diameter is less than a diameter of the skirts of the tip end region and whose dimension in a longitudinal direction exceeds a length from an incision site to a processus spinosus interspace; 3) a grip region fitted in the axial center region; and 4) a through-hole linearly penetrating a space from the tip end region to the end of the grip region bypassing through the axial center region.
The tap for interspinous implant according to the present invention is used in a pretreatment to allow smooth insertion of the interspinous implant from a small skin incision. The tip end region of the tap for interspinous implant is formed into a more distinct conoid shape than the interspinous implant and screw threads are created therein by occupying one third to one fifth of the generatrix from the tip end of the conoid shape. This tap is used to create a passage in a processus spinosus interspace to some extent so that an interval of the processus spinosus is opened and enlarged slightly. By using the tap for interspinous implant according to the present invention in a pretreatment, there is an advantage that the screw region of the interspinous implant in which similar screw threads have been created can be inserted more easily. The screw threads are created only up to halfway in a range of one third to one fifth of the generatrix from the tip end of the conoid shape, so that opening and enlarging a processus spinosus interspace more than necessary is prevented.
A guide pin is passed through the through-hole which penetrates a space from the tip end region to the end of the grip region by passing through the axial center region so that the tap for interspinous implant can be inserted into the body along the guide pin, whereby the tip end region of the tap can be guided accurately into a processus spinosus interspace.
Using the tap for interspinous implant according to the present invention also has an advantage that the magnitude of resistance felt by the operator on the hand when the tap is inserted can be used as a reference to select an appropriate size of the interspinous implant for the patient.

National University Corporation Kobe University


Surface covering tiles made using synthetic materials employ junction strips which enable the tiles to be connected to one another. The connections can be made with or without adhesive. When the tiles are connected, a space is left between adjacent decorative surfaces to permit the application of grout or simulated grout therein. When the tiles are used as floor covering they can be used to make floating floors. As wall coverings, the tiles are adhered to the walls using conventional means.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention has to do with surface covering tiles that can be connected to one another by means of an edge treatment that allows for grouting after the tiles are assembled. In a preferred embodiment, the invention relates to a flooring tile that can be assembled and grouted without adhesion to a sub-floor. The invention also concerns a process of manufacturing the tile product and a method of installing the product.
2. The Related Art
Various constructions for floating floor coverings and for connecting surface covering tiles to one another have been described in the art.
In Published Patent Application No. US2003/0131549, for example, a tile having a wearing layer and a support layer is described wherein the support layer has projections and mating cutouts. The projections and cutouts are hidden by the wearing layer when the tiles are installed. The installed tiles have narrow joints between individual tiles to allow welding so that dirt cannot adversely affect the flooring.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,791,114 discloses tiles having projections and mating cutouts that are virtually identical to those disclosed in the published application discussed above. A beveled edge is provided on the underside of the projections to facilitate installation. Unlike the published application discussed above, the projections and mating cutouts are not hidden when the tiles are installed.
In U.S. Pat. No. 7,610,731, a snap-together floor structure is described which requires a tray, a flooring material, a rubber grommet and a rubber matrix. The invention provides a floating floor structure that can be assembled without the use of adhesives on the subfloor.
A modular surface for use as a sports deck is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,436,779. Modules for a non-anchored modular surface are described which employ an expansion joint geometry adapted to retain the square shape of each module. This permits a surface including a large number of interlocked modules to remain flat and unbuckled with changing temperature conditions.
Resilient floor tiles having a convex edge are described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,550,192. The objective of the design is to simulate ceramic and natural tile floors. The tiles are installed conventionally by adhering them to a sub-floor. Installed tiles can be spaced from one another to permit installations using grout.

Surface covering tiles having an edge treatment for assembly that allows for grouting


A circuit for testing signatures at a pin in a CMOS device where this device is operable when it is powered by a voltage within the predetermined range. During the test mode, a task voltage whose magnitude is below that of any voltage in the operating range as applied so that parasitic diode turn-on is prevented.

This invention relates in general to circuits for indicating signatures in a device and in particular to a circuit for indicating signature at a pin in the device where the pin is connected in parallel to a p-type diode and an n-type diode.
Due to manufacturing imperfections, integrated circuit dies sometimes contain malfunctioning cells. In anticipation of this, circuit designers have provided redundant cells. The die can then be repaired by programming so that a spare cell is used instead of a malfunctioning cell to carry on the desired functions of the die. The repair is usually carried out by means of lasers. Where certain cells malfunction after usage, cell redundancy allows the die to be repaired in the same manner.
After a die has been repaired, it is frequently important to be able to identify such die as one that has been repaired and distinguish it from one which has not been repaired. For this reason, conventional circuit design for integrated circuits employs signature circuits on the die to provide the means for distinguishing between the two types of dies. A typical signature circuit may include one or more fuses which are broken when the die has been repaired. Thereafter the signature circuit provides an output which is different from that provided by the circuit before the fuse was blown. By detecting the output of the signature circuit, it is possible to detect whether the die has been repaired or not. The fuses can be broken using lasers.
Integrated circuits are normally operated by applying voltages in a certain predetermined voltage range known as the operating range. In NMOS integrated circuits, for example, the circuits are normally tied to VCC and VSS voltage rails, where the voltage VCC of the first rail is within the predetermined voltage range. In NMOS integrated circuits, it is customary to apply a voltage to the circuit which is above that of the rail at VCC in order to detect the output of the signature circuit. The voltage applied to test the output of the signature circuit is much higher than the operating range of the circuit; such high voltages will stress the integrated circuit die and is undesirable.
Furthermore, the above-described method of applying high voltages to detect the signature circuit output is not feasible in CMOS-type integrated circuits. In CMOS-type circuits, the output of the signature circuit is typically connected to the output of complementary pair or pairs of p-type and n-type transistors. As will be explained in more detail below, such diodes may be real diodes or parasitic ones. Therefore, when a high voltage of either polarity is applied to an input/output pin of the signature circuit, the high voltage causes diode (real or parasitic) turn-on between the pin and the VCC power supply for the circuit. Such diode turn-on may cause latch-up which is undesirable.
The conventional systems for testing the signature of integrated circuits are not entirely satisfactory. Therefore, it is desirable to provide an improved signature circuit suitable for CMOS-type integrated circuits or any circuit whose signature testing pin is connected in parallel to a p-type diode and an n-type diode.


A vehicle analysis system including one or more weight sensors positioned to determine a weight of a vehicle within a pre-defined geographic location in the vicinity of a location of interest is described. The vehicle analysis system acquires data related to vehicles visiting the location of interest that may be saved in a database to provide further insight into individual's visiting the location of interest.

Different types of motor vehicles have different physical characteristics and tend to be driven by drivers of different backgrounds. One of these vehicle characteristics is weight. For example, compact cars tend to weigh considerably less than luxury sport utility vehicles (SUVs), and sedans may weigh more than a light pickup truck.

Vehicle analysis system and associated methods


A thermal printer includes a body detachably including a platen roller unit having a platen roller, and a cover element movable relative to the body between an open position and a closed position, detachably including a thermal printhead unit. The cover element further includes a claw protruding backward, a stepped pin extending downward, including a step portion at a bottom end, and a stepped pin adjuster element. The thermal printhead unit includes an exothermic element array, a supported portion to be hooked on the claw, and a notch portion to be hooked on the step portion. The platen roller unit and the thermal printhead unit include respective positioning elements which engage with each other to restrict a relative movement of the exothermic element array and the platen roller while the cover element is in a closed position.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a thermal printer, in particular, to an improvement in the structures of a thermal printhead unit and a platen roller unit.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A thermal printer is configured to include a thermal printhead to print information on a thermal paper. In order to realize high-quality printing, it is essential to tightly place a paper into contact with an exothermic element array of the thermal printhead. A platen roller is provided to press the paper onto the exothermic element array.
Meanwhile, various kinds of papers are available for the thermal printer, and it is well known that the level of contact with the exothermic element array differs depending on the thickness of a paper.
For example, with use of a thin paper, it is possible to bring the paper in close contact with an appropriate portion of the exothermic element array for proper printing. However, with use of a thick paper, it may not be able to bring the paper in close contact with an appropriate portion of the exothermic element array owing to a large rigidity of the thick paper in addition to a displacement of the thermal printhead.
In view of solving the above problem, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2006-315285 and No. 2009-101524 disclose a thermal printer with a thermal printhead whose position is changeable in accordance with the thickness of a paper in use, to be able to adjust a positional relation between the exothermic element array and the paper and properly place the paper in close contact with the exothermic element array even with use of a thick paper.
Specifically, in the thermal printer of the above documents the thermal printhead is configured to be movable relative to the platen roller between two different positions in a circumference direction of the platen roller. With such a configuration, it aims to constantly maintain the position of the exothermic element array relative to the rotary axis of the platen roller irrespective of the thickness of a paper by moving the thermal printhead forward/backward in the paper forwarding direction according to the thickness of the paper.
However, in reality, the position of the exothermic element array tightly contacting with the paper shifts depending on the thickness of the paper due to rigidity of the paper which increases in accordance with the thickness.
Therefore, a problem arises with the thermal printer disclosed in the above documents that the exothermic element array cannot be brought into a close contact with a paper in a large thickness.
Furthermore, the thermal printhead and the platen roller are preferably configured to be manually attachable/detachable easily for replacement without use of any tool, in order to reduce time and labor taken for detaching/attaching them.
Moreover, generally, a body of the thermal printer is provided with a cover element to open/close for the purpose of replenishing or replacing a paper. It is configured that with the cover element open, a paper can be set in a paper container in the body.
The thermal printer is therefore preferably configured to include the platen roller in the body and the thermal printhead on the cover element and to easily complete paper setting to place a top end of the paper between the platen roller and the thermal printhead by simply closing the cover element.


A method is provided for diagnosing a clogging of an injector in an internal combustion engine equipped with a fuel rail and with a plurality of fuel injectors hydraulically connected to the fuel rail. The method includes, but is not limited to determining a value of a pressure drop in the fuel rail due to a quantity of fuel injected by a tested injector, and diagnosing the clogging of the tested injector if the determined pressure drop value is lower than a threshold value of this pressure drop.

It is known that modern engines are provided with a fuel injection system for directly injecting the fuel into the cylinders of the engine. The fuel injection system generally comprises a fuel common rail, which is kept under high pressure by a high pressure pump and electrically controlled fuel injectors, which are individually located in a respective cylinder of the engine and are hydraulically connected to the fuel common rail through dedicated injection lines. Each fuel injector generally comprises a nozzle and a movable needle that repeatedly opens and closes this nozzle; fuel can thus be injected into the cylinder giving rise to single or multi-injection patterns at each engine cycle.
The needle is moved with the aid of a dedicated actuator, typically a solenoidal actuator or a piezoelectric actuator, which is controlled by an engine control unit (ECU). The ECU operates each fuel injection by generating an electric opening command, causing the actuator to open the fuel injector nozzle for a predetermined amount of time, and a subsequent electric closing command, causing the actuator to close the fuel injector nozzle. The time between the electric opening command and the electric closing command is generally referred as energizing time of the fuel injector, and it is determined by the ECU as a function of a desired quantity of fuel to be injected.
During normal use of the vehicle it may happen that the user notices some anomalies in the functioning of the engine, for example an excessively noisy engine or an engine that does not respond adequately to the driver's input, leading to drivability problems, namely to a degrading of the smoothness and steadiness of acceleration of an automotive vehicle or other undesired degradation of engine's performance such as excessive emissions. A possible cause of these phenomena is the clogging of one or more injector in the engine due, for example, to coking presence.
At least one object is to provide a test procedure that can be performed at a vehicle service center to verify if one or more injectors are clogged or partially clogged. At least a further object is to provide an injector clogging detection procedure while avoiding engine shutdown, even in case of big engines having a high number of cylinders. Yet still another object is to provide a procedure that can be used to identify a clogged injector for repair or substitution in order to avoid emission increase due to anomalous engine performance. At least another object is to provide such detection without using complex devices and by taking advantage from the computational capabilities of the Electronic Control Unit (ECU) of the vehicle. In addition, other objects, desirable features, and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent summary and detailed description, and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background.

Method for diagnosing a clogging of an injector in an internal combustion engine


An article of footwear includes a sole, an upper, and a reconfigurable fastening system. The upper is coupled to the sole and includes medial and lateral quarters. Disposed on the medial and lateral quarters are a plurality of eyelets. Each of the eyelets includes a pair of openings disposed in the upper. The plurality of eyelets further includes at least one elongate member threaded through the pair of openings of each eyelet. The elongate member includes a series of first, or unexposed, portions that are disposed on an inner surface of the upper, and a series of second, or exposed, portions that are disposed on the outer surface of the upper. As fastener or lacing may be selectively threaded through an eyelet of the plurality of eyelets, where the fastener may be threaded between the second portion of the elongate member and the outer surface of the upper.

Footwear, particularly athletic footwear, are worn in a variety of activities including running, walking, hiking, team and individual sports, and any other activity where the protection and support of human feet is desired. In one configuration, an article of footwear includes an upper that forms a cavity in which a user places his or her foot. The article of footwear further includes a sole that engages the bottom of the foot and separates the foot from the ground. Uppers in athletic footwear are usually formed from one or more pieces of fabric, leather, and/or plastic that are stitched, bonded, or otherwise attached together. Various fasteners, including laces or strings, are used to secure the foot in the cavity defined by the upper.
Every human foot differs in both shape and size. While conventional articles of footwear are sold in various sizes, these sizes are generalizations and fail to take into consideration the varying shapes between different feet that have the same size. Because conventional articles of footwear are incapable of accommodating varying shapes of feet, an article of footwear is limited to the number of people that find that article of footwear comfortable.
In addition, while conventional articles of footwear contain eyelets configured to receive a string or laces, the eyelets of the conventional articles of footwear are typically only aligned along the medial and lateral sides of the instep (i.e., proximate to a tongue of an article of footwear). Thus, as a wearer of the conventional article of footwear tightens the laces of the article of footwear, the article of footwear may contain portions that are tighter and more uncomfortable than other portions that are looser. The positioning of the eyelets of the conventional article of footwear inhibit the upper of the article of footwear from contouring and conforming to the shape of the foot within the article of footwear, reducing the comfort of the article of footwear. The positioning of the eyelets also prevents the article of footwear from providing proper support to the foot within the article of footwear, especially during athletic events, such as running.
It would be desirable to provide an article of footwear with a plurality of eyelets disposed over the surface of the upper in a variety of locations, where a lacing element or fastener may be selectively threaded through select eyelets along the upper of an article of footwear in a configuration that is most comfortable to a wearer of the article of footwear. Moreover, it would be desirable to provide the plurality of eyelets to further enable the user of the article of footwear to selectively thread the fastener through select eyelets disposed on the upper of the article of footwear to tightly contour and conform the upper to the shape of any foot placed within the article of footwear, or to alter the amount of support provided by the upper based on an intended activity or event (e.g., running, cross-training, etc.).

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Article of footwear with reconfigurable fastening system


A tuner receives service information SI for each of a plurality of channels included in a digital broadcasting signal at one carrier frequency. A service information extraction unit extracts and stores the received service information preset into a memory. The operator selects the service information stored in the memory and acquires a program. The tuner may have a function of automatically scanning the carrier frequency all over the receivable frequency bands and store it. The temporary service information having irregular broadcast time is stored in the memory through an operation of an operation input unit. When the temporary service information is not broadcast, such temporary service information is deleted from the memory.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a digital broadcast receiving apparatus for receiving a digital broadcast signal such as terrestrial broadcasting or satellite broadcasting.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a typical prior technique, service information regarding channels is stored in a unit of channel in the memory, with one channel CH corresponding to a certain carrier frequency, as shown in FIG. 14. By selecting the carrier frequency in a preset form of channel, the channel is determined. Thereby, one can watch or listen to a program on television broadcasting or radio broadcasting through a desired channel.
In such prior technique, since a digital broadcast signal involves a plurality of channels included in one carrier frequency, one cannot watch or listen to a desired channel program by selecting it, even though the channel is preset for the carrier frequency.

Digital broadcast receiving device and digital broadcast receiving method


A mechanism for supporting toilet bowl covering members, comprises a cylinder fixedly mounted on a toilet body and rotatably supporting a toilet seat or a toilet lid, lock plates fitted within the cylinder and connected for rotation with the toilet seat or the toilet lid, and a plurality of sliding rings fitted around the lock plates and held in sliding contact with the inner peripheral surface of the cylinder and having respective arcuate recesses of gradually variable arcuate lengths for controlling rotation of said lock plates. When the toilet seat or the toilet lid is rotated to close the toilet body, the lock plantes are also rotated to successively come into contact with steps in the recesses. As a result, the sliding rings are successively pressed against the inner peripheral surface of the cylinder so that the member closes slowly.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mechanism for slowly closing at least one toilet bowl covering member such as a toilet seat and a toilet lid.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional toilet bowl is provided with a toilet seat on which a user is seated. Typically, a toilet lid overlies on the toilet seat. The toilet seat and the toilet lid are both rotatably mounted to the toilet bowl by means of a pivot connection. If the user releases his hand from the toilet seat or the toilet lid in its vertical or open position, it is rapidly moved to its closed position under the influence of gravity. Contact of the toilet seat with the toilet bowl or contact of the toilet lid with the toilet seat causes substantial noise, and the user may feel uncomfortableness due thereto. Also, such contact may cause damage to the toilet components. In order to solve such problems, there was provided a damper mechanism designed to slowly close a toilet seat or a toilet lid, such as shown in Japanese laid-open patent publication No. Sho 62-261727. The prior art damper mechanisms are, however, complicated in structure, expensive to manufacture, and often subject to mechanical trouble.

Mechanism for supporting toilet bowl covering members


Acidic hard surface cleaners are disclosed having a disinfectant which is a quaternary ammonium biocide and/or a substituted guanidine biocide such as a biguanide biocide. There is also a cationic polymer and a surfactant which does not have an anionic moiety. Water is also included at the time of use.

Not applicable
Not applicable
The present invention relates to cleaners, particularly hard surface cleaners in which the cleaner imparts desired cleaning and surface appearance characteristics to the surface being cleaned while also disinfecting the surface being cleaned.
There are a variety of known hard surface cleaning materials, including a number which are designed for cleaning and otherwise improving the appearance of floors and the like. See e.g. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,976,501, 4,443,363, 4,596,668, 4,880,558, 5,000,867, 5,348,678, 5,811,386, 5,965,514, 6,159,924 and 6,325,862.
There have also been suggestions to include in a hard surface cleaner a quaternary ammonium compound as a germicidal active to disinfect a hard surface while it is being cleaned. See e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 6,268,327. This patent specifically suggests the use of an alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride compound, such as BTC(copyright) 2125M, as a preferred quaternary ammonium germicide.
There has also be some use of biguanide (a/k/a diguanide) antimicrobial compounds in cleaners (e.g. especially skin cleaners) where the cleaner kills bacteria on the surface it is applied to. See U.S. Pat. No. 6,071,866.
Also, it has been suggested to incorporate biguanides and/or ammonium compounds (such as benzylalkyldimethylammonium chloride) in cleaners to act as preservatives while the cleaner is stored. See e.g. European patent application 017,149.
It has been further proposed to included substituted guanidine anti-microbial agents in a sanitizing composition. See U.S. Pat. No. 5,000,867.
Some cationic polymers have also been proposed for incorporation in certain cleaning materials to improve cleaning effectiveness or impart desired attributes to the surface after being cleaned. See e.g. EP 017,149 and 6,251,849.
However, there is a continuing need to develop improved cleaning materials, particularly for floor care cleaners that require a disinfecting capability (e.g. for hospital maintenance). In this regard, formulation components that act as effective cleaners or disinfectants for floors may not be optimal for imparting desired residual characteristics to the surface (e.g. imparting shine; avoiding slippery conditions; avoiding unduly long periods for drying).
In some cases the art has split the cleaning/disinfecting and the surface treating functions into two separate products. It is much more desirable to have a single step (xe2x80x9cone-stepxe2x80x9d) product that addresses the needed cleaning and disinfecting characteristics in a very efficient manner, yet also leaves desired residual properties.
Further complicating matters is that if one tries to simply increase the level of biocide incorporated in the formulation, the cost of the final product can be adversely impacted and the nature of the product can be altered in a way that causes the product to have poor suspension characteristics. It would be particularly desirable to use relatively low levels of a biocide, yet find a way to improve biocidal activity of the existing amount of biocide.
Thus, a need still exists to develop improved hard surface cleaners that also are designed to disinfect floors.
It has been discovered that the combination of cationic polymers, preferably cationic emulsion polymers, even more preferably cationic emulsion polymers having an acrylate monomer moiety, will cause synergistic biocidal activity with quaternary ammonium biocides and/or substituted guanidine biocides, in hard surface cleaner formulations.
In one aspect the invention provides a cleaner having a pH of 7.0 or lower (preferably between 4.0 and 6.0). The cleaner includes (i) a biocidal disinfecting material selected from the group consisting of quaternary ammonium biocides and substituted guanidine biocides, (ii) a cationic polymer, (iii) a surfactant selected from the group consisting of nonionic and cationic surfactants, and (iv) water.
Where the biocidal disinfecting material is a quaternary ammonium biocide, particularly useful quaternary ammonium germicides are those described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,268,327. In this regard, quaternary ammonium biocides of this type have the nitrogen linked to four carbon-containing R groups and there is a salt-forming anionic member, such as a halide. The most preferred R groups are between 6 to 26 carbon atoms.
Particularly preferred exemplary quaternary ammonium salts which are quaternary ammonium biocides are alkyl ammonium halides such as cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide, alkyl aryl ammonium halides such as alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride, N-alkyl pyridinium halides such as N-cetyl pyridinium bromide, and the like. Other suitable types of quaternary ammonium salts may include those in which the molecule contains either amide or ester linkages such as octyl phenoxy ethoxy ethyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride, N-(laurylcocoaminoformylmethyl)-pyridinium chloride, and the like. Other quaternary ammonium germicides are lauryloxyphenyltrimethyl ammonium chloride, cetylaminophenyltrimethyl ammonium methosulfate, dodecylphenyltrimethyl ammonium methosulfate, dodecylbenzyltrimethyl ammonium chloride, and chlorinated dodecylbenzyltrimethyl ammonium chloride.
Examples of such preferred quaternary ammonium biocides are the BTC(copyright), BARDAC(copyright), and HYAMINE(copyright) biocides, such as BTC 2125M. BTC biocides are available from Stepan Co., and BARDAC and HYAMINE biocides are available from Lonza, Inc.
We prefer to use these biocides at under 1 percent to minimize cost and reduce disruption to the other characteristics of the mixture. However, the concentration could be more, albeit the concentration could be as little as 0.001 percent by weight. Most preferably we prefer weight percentages between 0.10 percent and 0.5 percent when this type of germicide is used.
The biocidal disinfecting material can alternatively be a substituted guanidine anti-microbial agent. See generally U.S. Pat. No. 5,000,867 for compounds of this general class.
In the most preferred form the biocidal substituted guanidine compound may be a biguanide. In general, such a biguanide compound may contain one or more monomers of:
In this formula R1 through R4 can be a variety of different moieties. Examples are aryl, alkyl, hydrogen or just bonds. Some of these are where R1 and R2 are alkylene chains optionally substituted by a phenyl radical (which itself optionally may be substituted by alkyl or alkoxy groups), and the other R groups may be hydrogen, C1-12 alkyl or C7-12 aralkyl. It is also possible that some of the R groups may be linked to form cyclic portions. The substituted guanidine (e.g. biguanide) anti-microbial agents also include the acid addition salt variants.
A particularly preferred bisbiguanide is 1,6-bis-(p-chlorophenyldiguanido)hexane in the form of the hydrochloride, acetate or gluconate, this compound is available from Avecia of Manchester, England.
The preferred concentration of the substituted guanide disinfectant in the cleaner is preferably that described above with respect to the quaternary ammonium disinfectants.
In preferred forms the water is at least 50 percent of the weight of the cleaner at the time of use. Of course, the formulation may be prepared as a concentrate, with the consumer diluting the concentrate in a bucket immediately prior to use.
In another preferred form the cleaner has an organic solvent which provides a wider range of cleaning capability to the cleaner (e.g. with respect to hydrophobic soils on the floor). Preferred amounts of organic solvent are between 0.05 percent and 10 of the cleaner, most preferably between 1 and 5 percent of the cleaner, with the solvent being a mixture of such solvents. A particularly preferred mixture of organic solvents is a mixture of two glycol ethers such as a mixture of diethylene glycol butyl ether (a/k/a butyl carbitol) and ethylene glycol hexyl ether (a/k/a hexyl cellosolve).
Further, a third solvent (such as propylene glycol or ethylene glycol) can be used with this preferred mixture. In an especially preferred form at least one of the three solvents has a boiling point of over 100xc2x0 C. so as to provide the final product with optimal visual characteristics on a floor or the like.
Where the product is intended as a floor cleaner, it is desirable to include a wax in the cleaner so as to leave a shine on the floor after the cleaning and disinfecting step has been completed. Preferred waxes are paraffin wax, carnuba wax and synthetic wax, or mixtures thereof. A particularly preferred wax is a nonionic paraffin sold under the name Michem Lube 743 supplied by Michaelman of Cincinnati, Ohio.
Another especially important attribute of the cleaner is the cationic polymer. It is preferably present at between 1 and 20 percent concentration, most preferably at about 6 to 8 weight percent of the cleaner at the time of use. Again, where the cleaner is supplied as a concentrate the percentages can be higher, subject to the dilution prior to use.
A wide variety of cationic polymers should be suitable for use with the present invention. This will normally be achieved by a polymer being functionalized with some nitrogen-containing moiety capable of becoming cationic.
The most preferred polymers are emulsion polymers such as those made from acrylate monomers at least in part. Examples of such polymers are Suretec NS 54, a cationic acrylate emulsion polymer supplied by Suretec, Inc. formed from a monomer mix of styrene, methyl methacrylate, dimethyl amino ethyl methacrylate, and butyl acrylate. Other example polymers are the Neocryl A series polymers from Avecia, Inc.
Preferred aspects of the cationic emulsion polymer are that there be some polymeric portion (e.g. acrylic, urethane, etc.) which is functionalized by a cationic group such as a nitrogen group. Particularly preferred polymers exceed 2000 in molecular weight. This is important because the polymer will then provide sufficient bulk to provide durability under floor use conditions.
The presence of a cationic portion is important. Without wishing to be bound by theory, we believe that polymers used to impart shine contain residual impurities that tend to quench the specific biocidal materials even if the impurities are present in only trace amounts.
As noted above, it is desirable that the cleaner, at the time of use, and preferably during storage, have a pH that is not basic. Moreover, the desirable properties of the cleaner are greatly enhanced if the pH is between 4 and 6. While an even lower pH is possible, that might begin to have adverse effects on the floor or other surface being treated, and/or place undesirable limitations on skin contact.
While a wide variety of nonionic and cationic surfactants are possible to include, we prefer to include only nonionic surfactants given that cationic surfactants sometimes have foaming and other characteristics making them somewhat more difficult to use for standard floor care purposes. The most preferred surfactants are the alkyl polyglucosides. Other nonionic surfactants should prove suitable, such as ethoxylates, pluronics, fatty ester nonionic surfactants, and ethanolamine nonionic surfactants.
Examples of preferred cationic surfactants, when they are used, are the Ammonyx surfactants available from Stepan of Northfield, Ill. However, many other cationic surfactants are believed suitable for use with the present invention.
The formulation optionally may also include a variety of other ingredients conventional in floor care (e.g. a chelating agent such as EDTA, a plasticizer such as tributoxy ethyl phosphate, and fragrance). Further, other ingredients that are not disruptive to the function of the product may also be included. In this regard, in some embodiments we also prefer to include a fluorosurfactant for additional visual effects.
In another aspect the invention provides a method of killing bacteria on a floor surface. One exposes the floor surface to a floor cleaner of the above type, thereby killing the bacteria.
It should be appreciated that the above compositions achieve surprising disinfectant results using relatively small amounts of disinfectant. Most importantly this is achieved without significantly adversely impacting on other desired attributes of the product (e.g. cleaning, shelf stability, residual shine, durability).
Because the amount of disinfectant can be reduced for a given level of disinfecting capability, the cost of the product can be reduced. Further, the product is suitable for long-term inventory and consumer storage.

Disinfecting cationic polymer cleaner comprising an acrylate cationic polymer


The present invention provides a pressure sensitive skin adhesive comprising:. (a) a copolymer of one or more alkyl(meth)acrylates containing 4 to 12 carbon atoms in the alkyl group and one or more hydrophilic monomers; PA1 (b) a mixture of penetration enhancers comprising: PA1 (c) a therapeutically effective amount of diclofenac or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.. (i) an alkyl ester of an aliphatic monocarboxylic acid containing 1 to 5 carbon atoms in the alkyl group PA2 (ii) an alkyl pyrrolidone and PA2 (iii) an alkane polyol. Further provided is a transdermal drug delivery device containing the pressure sensitive skin adhesive.

Ortho-[(2,6-dichlorophenyl)amino]phenylacetic acid (hereinafter referred to as diclofenac) and its pharmaceutically acceptable salts are known compounds useful in the treatment of inflammation. Sodium [ortho[(2,6-dichlorophenyl)amino]phenyl]acetate, also variously known as 2-[2,6-dichlorophenyl)amino]benzeneacetic acid monosodium salt and diclofenac sodium, has been shown, for example, in pharmacological studies to possess potent anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties. See, for example, Riess et al., Scand. J. Rheumatol. Suppl., Vol. 22, pp. 17-29 (1978). The use of diclofenac sodium in the form of an aqueous solution in the treatment of ocular inflammation has also been shown. See, for example, M. Agata et al., Nihon Ganka Gakkai [Acta Soc. Ophthalmol. Japan], Vol. 87, pp. 19-28 (1983), and M. Agata et al., Nihon Ganka Gakkai [Acta Soc. Ophthalmol. Japan], Vol. 88, No. 6, pp. 61-66 (1984).
The transdermal delivery of diclofenac or its pharmaceutically acceptable salts has been described in various publications. For example, EP 524582 discloses a diclofenac sodium plaster. The plaster comprises a paste formulation that contains diclofenac sodium, a water-soluble polymer such as polyacrylic acid and a mixture of propylene glycol and 1-menthol as penetration enhancers.
EP 582727 discloses a transdermal therapeutic formulation that comprises a polymer having lipophilic monomer units and hydrophilic monomer units in a weight ratio of 98:2 to 0:100, a drug, an alcohol and a penetration enhancer. As suitable polymers there are mentioned acrylic adhesives such as copolymers of alkyl acrylates and acrylic acid. Among the list of alcohols there are mentioned polyols such as propylene glycol. EP 582727 further discloses that known penetration enhancers can be used such as isopropyl myristate. Diclofenac is among the list of drugs that can be used in the transdermal therapeutic formulation.
EP 452837 discloses a medical adhesive comprising a plaster layer containing the following ingredients:
(1) a medicinal ingredient; PA1 (2) a hydrophobic polymer having a glass transition temperature of -65.degree. C. to 35.degree. C.; PA1 (3) a percutaneous absorption promoting agent; PA1 (4) water, and PA1 (5) a hydrophilic polymer which is soluble or capable of swelling in water. PA1 (a) a copolymer of one or more alkyl(meth)acrylates containing 4 to 12 carbon atoms in the alkyl group and one or more hydrophilic monomers; PA1 (b) a mixture of penetration enhancers comprising: PA1 (c) a therapeutically effective amount of diclofenac or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.
The hydrophobic polymer is present in larger amounts than the hydrophilic polymer and the layer forms a water-in-oil type emulsion. It is disclosed that diclofenac can be used as the medicinal ingredient.
WO 91/09592 discloses a transdermal system with a reservoir layer that comprises a complex of the drug and a cyclo compound. The release rate of the drug from the system is controlled by the dissociation of the complex. Diclofenac is disclosed as one of the drugs that can be used in such a system.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,505,956 discloses the delivery of a drug such as diclofenac from a transdermal device that has on a backing an adhesive layer that has a laminate structure of 2 to 5 layers and each layer has different water absorption capacity. The adhesive layer contains an adhesive resin such as a polyacrylate, a penetration enhancer, a water adsorptive material such as a polyol and a lenitive agent. Pyrrolidone derivatives and higher fatty acid esters are mentioned as penetration enhancers.

Device for the transdermal delivery of diclofenac


Methods and systems disclosed herein relate generally to systems and methods for transforming document elements in response to modifications to a layout of a document. A layout-modification application identifies, from a first document having a first document layout, a first set of measurements of a document element and a first location of the document element within the first document. Based on an aspect-ratio difference between the first document layout and a second document layout, the layout-modification application selects a set of transformation rules that specify, for the document element, a second set of measurements and a second location within a second document. To select the particular set of transformation rules, the layout-modification application uses the determined aspect-ratio difference. The layout-modification application applies the selected set of transformation rules to the document element.

Content-editing applications are used to enhance or otherwise modify documents and other graphical content. For instance, a content-editing application is used to select a portion of a document, which can be a document element (e.g., an image) depicting a person or other figure. The document element may be modified separately from the remaining portions of the document, such as relocating the document element to another part of the document. Different types of content-editing operations can be performed on the document element, including cropping, reflecting, resizing, and adjusting pixel colors.
In addition to modifying elements within the document, the content-editing applications are used to modify structure and format of the document. For example, the content-editing application performs a layout modification of the document, such that one or more dimension values (e.g., width, height) of the document are modified to have different dimension values. As these dimension values change, the content representing the document element may also be modified, usually in proportion to the modifications applied to document layout. However, the content may unintentionally distorted as a result of modifying the document layout.
Conventional content-processing systems are limited to manually resizing and repositioning document elements when a given document layout is modified. For example, a conventional technique involves inserting images (for example) into a template layout of a particular document format (e.g., HTML/CSS), in which a user may modify the images within the template layout via a user interface. When complete, the modified images are then converted into an output document. In some instances, the conventional technique allows creating user-customization rules that apply repositioning and resizing of document elements as the layout is modified into another aspect ratio. This conventional technique, however, does not support rules that are applicable to all types of layouts and can reliably reposition and resize document elements into when a source layout is modified into various types of layouts. It may be possible to convert the a non-HTML document (e.g., an image) into HTML, modify the document elements, and generate an output document. This largely manual approach, however, becomes increasingly challenging and inefficient to process a number of documents, each requiring generation of several output documents with various document layouts. In addition, the conventional technique becomes ineffective in processing documents that include complex content (e.g., background elements, foreground elements) and pixel patterns (e.g., a gradient pixel pattern of a document element).
Other conventional content-processing systems are also ineffective in transforming document elements as the document layouts are modified. For example, another known conventional technique receives a set of document elements and provides recommendations on how each document element can be positioned within a given template layout. This conventional technique, however, is ineffective in generating documents with differing document layouts based on a single input document that includes sizes and positions of its document elements, such that document elements are appropriately resized and repositioned in response to changes to the dimensions of the input document layout. Further, this conventional technique may be ineffective in processing documents with complex elements, thereby causing distortion of content as the corresponding document element is inappropriately resized and repositioned for a different document layout. Accordingly, conventional techniques are incapable of effectively and efficiently transforming document elements as the document layout is continuously modified while avoiding distortion of element content.

Transforming document elements for modified document layouts


The present invention provides a percutaneously administrable preparation comprising either an aqueous base comprising 1-menthol, a lower alcohol and an acidic buffer or water, or an oily base comprising 1-menthol, a lower alcohol and isopropyl myristate, and a cerebral function activator, for example, 2-(3-isoxazolyl)-3,6,7,9-tetrahydroimidazo[4,5-d]pyrano[4,3-b]pyridine, pharmaceutically acceptable salt or hydrate thereof.

The present invention relates to a percutaneously administrable preparation containing a cerebral function activator, specifically, a percutaneously administrable preparation containing an imidazopyridine derivative as a cerebral function activator.
A compound of the formula (I):
wherein R is optionally substituted aryl or optionally substituted heteroaryl, A ring is a 5- to 9-membered alicyclic group which may contain one or more of O, S, SO, SO2 and/or NR1 wherein R1 is hydrogen, alkyl, esterified carboxy, carbamoyl or acyl, and which may be substituted with alkyl, pharmaceutically acceptable salt or hydrate thereof (hereinafter referred to as Compound (I)) is described in JP 5-286973 A and known to be useful as a psychotropic agent, an antianxiety agent, a narcotic antagonist and a cerebral function activator.
It has been reported that a pharmaceutical activity of a cerebral function activator was enhanced by being administered in a sustained release depot form (European Journal of Pharmacology, 271, 357-366, 1994), but it is not known that the effect of the cerebral function activator can be prolonged by being administered in a percutaneously administrable preparation.
The drug absorption rate from skin is generally slower than that at mucous membrane such as gastrointestinal tract etc., and a large number of studies have been conducted on absorption enhancing agents in order to increase the percutaneous absorption. Absorption enhancing agents, such as DMSO, various surface active agents, 1-dodecylazacycloheptan-2-one, fatty acids, terpenes, alcohols, and mixtures (e.g., 1-menthol-ethanol-water, lactic acid-ethanol-isopropyl myristate and the like), have been studied (Fragrance Journal 1996(4), 17-25). In these studies, however, a preparation containing a cerebral function activator or a condensed imidazopyridine derivative as an active ingredient has not been investigated.
An object of the present invention is to provide a percutaneously administrable preparation which contains a cerebral function activator, specifically, a condensed imidazopyridine derivative as an active ingredient and which can sustain an effective blood concentration and the efficacy of the active ingredient by suppressing an extreme raise of the blood concentration after the administration.
The present invention relates to
1) a percutaneously administrable preparation, which comprises either an aqueous base comprising 1-menthol, a lower alcohol and an acidic buffer or water, or an oily base comprising 1-menthol, a lower alcohol and isopropyl myristate, and a cerebral function activator therein,
2) the percutaneously administrable preparation described in 1) wherein the cerebral function activator is a compound of the formula (I):
xe2x80x83wherein R is optionally substituted aryl or optionally substituted heteroaryl and A ring is a 5- to 9-membered alicyclic group which may contain one or more of O, S, SO, SO2 and/or NR1 wherein R1 is hydrogen, alkyl, esterified carboxy, carbamoyl or acyl, and which may be substituted with alkyl, pharmaceutically acceptable salt or hydrate thereof,
3) the percutaneously administrable preparation described in 1) or 2) wherein the cerebral function activator is 2-(3-isoxazolyl)-3,6,7,9-tetrahydroimidazo[4,5-d]pyrano[4,3-b]pyridine, pharmaceutically acceptable salt or hydrate thereof,
4) the percutaneously administrable preparation described in 3) wherein the cerebral function activator is 2-(3-isoxazolyl)-3,6,7,9-tetrahydroimidazo[4,5-d]pyrano[4,3-b]pyridine phosphate or hydrate thereof,
5) the percutaneously administrable preparation described in 1) to 4) wherein the percentage of 1-menthol to all amount of the base is 1 to 3.5% by weight,
6) the percutaneously administrable preparation described in 1) to 5) wherein the percentage of the lower alcohol to all amount of the base is 10 to 35% by weight,
7) the percutaneously administrable preparation described in 1) to 6) wherein the lower alcohol is a lower alcohol having 1 to 3 carbon atoms,
8) the percutaneously administrable preparation described in 1) to 7) wherein the lower alcohol is ethanol,
9) the percutaneously administrable preparation described in 1) to 8) wherein the percentage of the acidic buffer, water or isopropyl myristate to all amount of the base is 55 to 90% by weight,
10) the percutaneously administrable preparation described in 1) to 9) wherein pH of the acidic buffer is 2 to 6,
11) the percutaneously administrable preparation described in 1) to 10) wherein the acidic buffer is a phosphate buffer,
12) the percutaneously administrable preparation described in 1) to 4), wherein each percentage to all amount of the base: 1-menthol is 2 to 3% by weight, ethanol is 15 to 35% by weight, the phosphate buffer, water or isopropyl myristate is 60 to 80% by weight, and pH of the acidic buffer is 3 to 5, and
13) the percutaneously administrable preparation described in 1) to 12) comprising 1 to 25 mg of the cerebral function activator per 1 g of the base.
An orally administrable preparation generally tends to lack the sustained efficacy due to the extreme raise of blood concentration. A preparation of the present invention overcomes such a problem and has the following advantages. The percutaneously administrable preparation of the present invention can reduce individual differences of the blood concentration by avoiding the hepatic first-pass effect. The preparation shows a continuously pharmacological efficacy because the plasma concentration of the active ingredient can be kept constant for a long duration by the sustained release to whole body blood circulation. Further, the preparation scarcely causes side effects, e.g., a gastrointestinal injury which often occurs upon oral administration.

Percutaneously adminstrable preparations containing cerebral function activators


In various embodiments, a package may be provided. The package may include a chip carrier. The package may further include a chip arranged over the chip carrier. The package may also include encapsulation material encapsulating the chip and partially the chip carrier. A coolant receiving recess may be provided over the chip in the encapsulation material, wherein the coolant receiving recess is configured to receive coolant.

FIG. 1 is a schematic 100 showing a semiconductor package. An example of a semiconductor package is a Power Quad-Flat-Nonleaded (QFN) package or a power Dual-Flat-Nonleaded (DFN) package. A semiconductor package may include a chip 102 mounted on a substrate or carrier such as a leadframe 104. The chip 102 and the carrier 104 may be at least be partially covered by an encapsulant material 106. The thermal resistance of a junction (J) at an ambient (A) temperature, RthJA, of semiconductor packages depend on the cooling performance of the packages. For instance, an application level Power DFN package such as PG-TDSON-8 (Plastic Green Thin Dual Small Outline Non-leaded Package), also known as SuperSO8 or S3O8, may strongly depend on cooling performance.
FR (flame retardant)-4 (or FR4) is a grade designation assigned to glass-reinforced epoxy laminate sheets, tubes, rods and printed circuit boards. For many semiconductor packages using FR4 substrates, the cooling performance is not ideal. The non-ideal cooling performance limits the thermal resistance of the semiconductor packages.

Package and a method of manufacturing the same


In an acoustic wave device, in a rotated Y-cut crystal substrate to which a rotational angle based on a particular Euler angle is added, a vibration mode located farther in a low phase velocity area than the principal vibration has an electromechanical coupling coefficient K2 lower than that of the principal vibration, and the primary and secondary temperature coefficients of the principal vibration are approximately zero. The acoustic wave device includes a crystal substrate cut from a quartz crystal boule cut by a rotational angle specified by a right-handed Euler angle (ϕ, θ, Ψ), and at least one comb-shape excitation electrode to excite the crystal substrate to make a plate waves. The crystal substrate is made by cutting the quartz crystal boule such that the rotational angle is within ranges of ϕ=0±2°, θ=17.5° to 19.5°, and Ψ=0±2°.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and do not necessarily constitute prior art.
Japanese laid-open application publication No. JP57-68925A discloses a piezoelectric device that uses an elastic wave mode occurring in a rotated Y-cut crystal substrate. The piezoelectric device has such a structure that a comb-shaped excitation electrode is formed on the front surface of a crystal substrate and that a thin film used for frequency adjustment purposes is formed on the back surface of the crystal substrate. The crystal substrate is made by cutting a quartz crystal boule by defining a predetermined rotational angle specified by Euler angle.
Japanese laid-open application publication No. JP 2003-258596A and Japanese Patent No. JP 4465464B disclose resonators for making elastic waves oscillate. In those disclosed resonators, the crystal substrate is made by cutting a quartz crystal boule by defining a predetermined rotational angle specified by Euler angle. And the cutting angles of the crystal substrate are specified by two-axis rotational angles. The resonators disclosed in these patent documents have such a structure that a comb-shape excitation electrode is provided on a surface of the piezoelectric substrate, and that in this structure, no thin film and associated elements for adjusting frequency are provided on the back surface of the crystal substrate. The resonator disclosed in Japanese Patent No. JP 4465464B has such a frequency temperature characteristic that draws a cubic curve having an inflection point in the vicinity of 25° C.
Japanese Patent No. JP 4306668B discloses a high-frequency resonator configured by using a rotated Y-cut crystal substrate specified by Euler angle. This resonator has such a structure that a comb-shape excitation electrode is provided on a surface of the piezoelectric substrate, and that in this structure, no thin film and associated elements for adjusting frequency are provided on the back surface of the crystal substrate.
Japanese Patent No. JP 5563378B discloses an acoustic wave device that includes a crystal substrate cut by a predetermined Euler angle. In the acoustic wave device, the thickness of the crystal substrate and the thickness of an electrode film formed on the crystal substrate are specified.