A combustor assembly for a gas turbine engine includes a dome and a deflector positioned adjacent to the dome. One or both of the dome and the deflector define an opening, a component axis extending through the opening, and a radial direction relative to the component axis. The combustor assembly also includes a retainer having an outer member contacting the dome, the deflector or both. The outer member of the retainer defines at least in part a retainer cavity inward of the outer member along the radial direction. The dome, the deflector, or both define a plurality of cooling holes for providing a cooling airflow from the retainer cavity to the opening.

A gas turbine engine generally includes a fan and a core arranged in flow communication with one another. Additionally, the core of the gas turbine engine generally includes, in serial flow order, a compressor section, a combustion section, a turbine section, and an exhaust section. In operation, air is provided from the fan to an inlet of the compressor section where one or more axial compressors progressively compress the air until it reaches the combustion section. Fuel is mixed with the compressed air and burned within the combustion section to provide combustion gases. The combustion gases are routed from the combustion section to the turbine section. The flow of combustion gases through the turbine section drives the turbine section and is then routed through the exhaust section, e.g., to atmosphere.
The combustion section of the gas turbine engine must withstand extremely high operating temperatures. Due to these high temperatures, a heat shield (e.g., a deflector plate) may be placed around a dome of the combustor assembly. Deflector plates may be fabricated from various materials that are preferably characterized by mechanical and environmental properties that are particularly well suited for its use as a heat shield in the combustor environment of a gas turbine engine.
Even with the advance of high temperature materials, combustor components that are closest in proximity to the combustion flame are still at risk of premature degradation. For example, the inventors of the present disclosure have discovered an area surrounding, or proximate to, the mixers and nozzles of the combustor assembly that are particularly susceptible to damage. Accordingly, a combustor assembly for a gas turbine engine capable of preventing damage to the discovered area surrounding, or proximate to, the mixers and nozzles of the combustor assembly during operation of the gas turbine engine would be useful.

Combustor assembly for a gas turbine engine


The invention relates to a system for acquiring discontinuous emission spectra data, whereby the data is analyzed by a multivariate statistic model or equivalent model, such as principal component analysis and the use of the system for flow cytometry.

Cytometers are known in the art that are equipped with up to 7 lasers, which will allow the detection of up to 49 parameters. Independent of these impressive hardware developments, the detection is still based on fluorochromes and is therefore restricted by the need of optical bandpass filters collecting only a small, but characteristic part of a particular emission spectrum. As a consequence, limitations arise in the sensitivity and resolution of partially overlapping fluorescence signals. Moreover, analysis of those high-dimensional datasets, especially in a non-hypothesis driven manner, will be a challenge of future software developments.
Flow cytometry describes a technique where a beam of light (usually laser light) of a single wavelength is directed onto a hydrodynamically-focused stream of fluid. Flow cytometers are frequently used for the analysis of particles such as biological cells or beads in a number of different applications. Such systems allow for determination of both particle morphology and evaluation of particle features by detection of optical labels. The ability to distinguish multiple particles sizes and colors allows multiplex application providing higher capacity of this technology to obtain information from analyzed targets.
The term "particle" as used herein means any discrete target that may be optically analyzed, enumerated or sorted by a flow cytometer. The particles of the present invention include cells, cell fragments and beads. In flow cytometer systems liquid containing target particles are fed from a container into a flow cell. The flow cells separate particles into a stream of individual particles that flow past a detection location. The particles may flow as individual droplets, but to reduce optical noise from refraction it is often preferred to have the particle stream flow through a cuvette where particles in the flow stream are analyzed. At the detection location a beam of focused illumination light (often a laser beam) illuminates the passing particles. Light scattered by the passing particles is detected by forward and side scatter detectors allowing determination of particle morphology. Light emitted from particles is collected and transmitted to detection optics. The particle (generally a cell or bead) may be labelled with one or more dyes having a characteristic excitation and fluorescent emission wavelength. The dye may be conjugated to a binding agent (e.g. a monoclonal antibody) allowing targeting of specific antigen associated with the bead or cell.
Each suspended particle (from especially 0.2 to 150 micrometers) passing through the beam scatters the ray, and fluorescent chemicals found in the particle or attached to the particle may be excited into emitting light at a longer wavelength than the light source. Light beam splitters separate the collected light into component wavelengths. These beams are directed through a bandpass filter to a light detector (e.g. photomultiplier tube). A specific wavelength associated with each dye is individually detected by at least one detector. The combination of scattered and fluorescent light is picked up by the detectors, and, by analysing fluctuations in brightness at each detector (one for each fluorescent emission peak), it is then possible to derive various types of information about the physical and chemical structure of each individual particle. Forward scatter (FSC) correlates especially with the cell volume and side scatter (SSC) depends on the inner complexity of the particle (i.e., shape of the nucleus, the amount and type of cytoplasmic granules or the membrane roughness). Some flow cytometers on the market have eliminated the need for fluorescence and use only light scatter for measurement. Other flow cytometers form images of each cell's fluorescence, scattered light, and transmitted light.
The data generated by flow-cytometers can be plotted in a single dimension, to produce a histogram, or in two-dimensional dot plots or even in three dimensions. The regions on these plots can be sequentially separated, based on fluorescence intensity, by creating a series of subset extractions, termed "gates." Specific gating protocols exist for diagnostic and clinical purposes especially in relation to hematology.
The plots are often made on logarithmic scales. Because different fluorescent dyes' emission spectra overlap, signals at the detectors have to be compensated electronically as well as computationally. Data accumulated using the flow cytometer can be analyzed using software, e.g., WinMDI (deprecated), Flowjo, or CellQuest Pro. Once the data is collected, there is no need to stay connected to the flow cytometer. For this reason, analysis is most often done on a separate computer. This is especially necessary in core facilities where usage of these machines is in high demand.
Recent progress on automated population identification using computational methods has offered an alternative to traditional gating strategies. Automated identification systems could potentially help findings of rare and hidden populations. Representative automated methods include FLOCK in Immunology Database and Analysis Portal (ImmPort), FLAME in GenePattern and flowClust in Bioconductor. Collaborative efforts have resulted in an open project called FlowCAP (Flow Cytometry: Critical Assessment of Population Identification Methods) to provide an objective way to compare and evaluate the flow cytometry data clustering methods, and also to establish guidance about appropriate use and application of these methods.
In a conventional flow cytometer a combination of optical filters and dichroics is used in order to detect a specific fluorescence emission range of a single dye. In a multicolour experiment the spill over needs to be compensated and it has to be carefully analysed by sequential gating strategies. Therefore, actually multi-dimensional experiments, are still a time-consuming procedure including cytometer setup, sample collection and manual data analysis. Moreover, multidimensionality is restricted by the availability of appropriate fluorochromes that can be combined according to their unique emission spectra characteristics.

Principle component analysis (PCA)-based analysis of discontinuous emission spectra in multichromatic flow cytometry


The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for requesting and receiving print jobs over a communications network. In particular, the present invention enables a user to obtain print jobs at a location which may be unspecified, and which may be remote from the source of the print job. A spooling server is used to store a print job received via the network from a print job source. A printer polling device, which may be used at a location remote from the client device, is capable of polling the spooling server via the network to identify whether any print jobs associated with the printer polling device are available for printing at a printer currently associated with the polling device. The spooling server need not initiate contact with the printer through a firewall, since it is polled by the printer polling device. Thus, network security is maintained.

The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for requesting and receiving print jobs over a communications network. In particular, the present invention enables a user to obtain print jobs at a location which may be unspecified, and which may be remote from the source of the print job. A spooling server is used to store a print job received via the network from a print job source. A printer polling device, which may be used at a location remote from the client device, is capable of polling the spooling server via the network to identify whether any print jobs associated with the printer polling device are available for printing at one or more printers associated with the polling device.
As computer networks become more complex, the rate at which network configurations change continues to increase. Also, the increasingly frantic pace of the typical business traveler who juggles documents on multiple computers and is required to configure a traveling laptop computer to integrate into various changing networks makes it increasingly difficult to reliably and efficiently print even a simple document.
For example, a business traveler in a hotel may wish to print to a printer that the hotel provides for such purposes. Under the current state of the art, the user must first obtain the network ID of the printer along with some information about the type of printer. Then, a print driver for that specific printer must be installed on the user""s computer, and the computer must be configured to connect to the printer. This may additionally involve configuring the computer to connect to the host network.
Further, in many cases, it is desirable to be able to prepare a document for printing prior to having the information concerning the destination printer. For example, it may be desirable to print a document from a mobile laptop connected via a wireless data connection while in transit to a meeting at a site the user has never visited before. Obtaining the information and configuring the laptop to be able to print to the printer becomes logistically infeasible.
These problems have typically been solved in the past by one of the following methods:
1. The document is e-mailed or otherwise transferred over a network to a computer already configured to print to the desired printer;
2. A portable computer is connected directly to the printer via a cable or infra-red, bypassing many of the difficulties of configuring the computer to print to a network computer;
3. A portable printer is transported to the desired location; or
4. The document is faxed to a fax machine.
Printing methods relating to network and distributed printing are known in the prior art. Such systems require either a private network or foreknowledge of the destination of a print job. These prior art methods comprise what is typically referred to as xe2x80x9cpushxe2x80x9d technology (i.e. technology in which a print job is directed to a specific known destination or printer).
In addition to the need for efficiency and ease of use is the need for security when sending, storing, or printing print jobs. Early in the life of the Internet, the need for securing an organization""s local network from tampering, stealing, or vandalism by outsiders became very obvious. A type of gateway called a firewall was developed to meet this need. The firewall is designed to be a single, well-controlled access point between the outside, global, or wide-area network and the inside, local-area network. By carefully restricting the types of network traffic and the destinations where that traffic can flow, the firewall can provide effective protection.
Specific xe2x80x9cholesxe2x80x9d in the firewall are created for each type of traffic that is allowed through the gateway in each direction. Most organizations, for example, allow e-mail traffic in and out from their e-mail server, as well as web page client access from inside the firewall to servers located outside of it.
Many types of access between machines commonly used on a local network are normally prevented from going through the firewall. Specifically, file sharing, remote log-in, printing, and various other network-administration types of protocols are typically not allowed to be transported outside the firewall.
Another aspect of the firewall is that it is almost always administratively controlled by a centralized authority for the organization that owns the local area networkxe2x80x94commonly the management information services (MIS) department of a company. Normal users generally have to make special requests that are approved at the upper levels of management to get configuration changes in the firewall. In the interest of maintaining security, these changes are often limited to specific point-to-point exceptions or xe2x80x9cholesxe2x80x9d in the firewall.
It is desirable by many users to be able to print from a machine on one local area network to a printer located on a different local area network with the data being transferred over a global network (e.g., the Internet) outside of the firewall of both local networks. The current state of the art does have solutions for this problem. However, almost all of these solutions require the intervention of the firewall administrator. One example of a solution is the IPPxe2x80x94Internet Printing Protocol standard being promulgated by various vendors. This standard allows IPP-equipped printers to receive print jobs from remote clients over the Internet. However, the installation and use of IPP requires that a specific IPP hole be opened in the firewall by the network administrator.
It would be advantageous to be able to provide methods and apparatus that allow a user to print to a perhaps yet unknown destination printer or printer pool in a reliable, efficient and secure manner without the disadvantages of the above-mentioned techniques.
It would be further advantageous to provide a printing system based on xe2x80x9cpullxe2x80x9d technology (i.e. technology which enables a print job to be printed upon request, where the print file is only delivered in response to said request). Such technology would enable a system that allows a user to print to a destination printer or printer pool that may be located anywhere, in a reliable, efficient, and secure manner without the disadvantages of the above-mentioned techniques.
It would be further advantageous to have a solution that allows secure, efficient and easy-to-configure inter-network printing through a gateway firewall without the intervention of the network administrator.
The methods and apparatus of the present invention provide the foregoing and other advantages.
The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for requesting and receiving print jobs over a communications network. In particular, the present invention enables a user to obtain print jobs at a location which may be unspecified, and which may be remote from the source of the print job. A spooling server is used to store a print job received via the network from a print job source. A printer polling device, which may be used at a location remote from the source of the print job, is capable of polling the spooling server via the network to identify whether any print jobs associated with the printer polling device are available for printing at one or more printers associated with the polling device.
In an illustrative embodiment, a printer polling device is provided which is capable of requesting and receiving print jobs over a network. The printer polling device is capable of polling a spooling server over a network to identify a print job stored at the spooling server (e.g., via a transmitter). The identified print job is transmitted from the spooling server and received at the printer polling device (e.g., at a receiver).
The spooling server receives and stores said print job from a print job source via the network. The print job can originate from any suitable print job source, such as a client device with an associated print driver, a web browser, a facsimile machine, a scanner, a telephone, an Internet appliance, a personal digital assistant, or the like. A print job can also originate on the spooling server itself or be obtained from another server. The client device may be a computer, a telephone, a personal digital assistant, an Internet appliance, or the like.
The identified print job can be received at the printer polling device and printed at one or more printers coupled to the printer polling device. The printer polling device may periodically poll the spooling server to identify a print job associated with the printer polling device.
The network may comprise at least one of a local area network, a wide area network, a global network, the Internet, and any other type of network. The network may consist of multiple interconnected networks having multiple gateways and other features as is well known in the art.
In an alternate embodiment, the printer polling device may be located within a gateway firewall and the spooling server may be located outside the gateway firewall. The print job may be forwarded from the spooling server to the printer polling device such that reconfiguration of the gateway firewall is not required. For example, the print job may be forwarded to the spooling server as web-style traffic and received at the printer polling device as web-style traffic.
The print job source may be located at and in communication with a first local area network and the printer polling device may be located at and in communication with a second local area network. The spooling server may be located outside of the first and second local area networks. The print job source may communicate with the spooling server via a first gateway firewall which controls access to the first local area network and the printer polling device may communicate with the spooling server via a second gateway firewall which controls access to the second local area network.
The printer polling device may be: (i) a stand-alone device connected to one or more printers via a standard printer port, (ii) integrated into the firmware of a printer, (iii) integrated into the software of a network print server, or (iv) of any other suitable configuration.
The print job may be encrypted at the print job source and decrypted at the printer polling device.
The print job may comprise a document provided by a content provider. The content provider may be one of a newspaper, a magazine, a periodical, a document provider, a graphic arts provider, a notification service, an Internet content provider, a merchant, a financial institution, a government agency, a shipping company, or the like.
The print job may be provided by the content provider on a subscription basis. A single print job may be provided by the content provider for printing by multiple users.
The printer polling device may comprise a user interface, a connection to the network, and a connection to one or more printers.
In a further embodiment, each print job may be stored on the spooling server according to a personal identification number (PIN). The spooling server may communicate to the printer polling device a list of print jobs associated with the PIN which are stored at the spooling server. The selection of a print job from the list may be provided for (e.g., via a user interface).
A plurality of print jobs may be stored on the spooling server according to the PIN. The PIN may be provided to the spooling server via one of a user interface associated with the printer polling device, a telephone, a computer, an Internet appliance, a facsimile machine, a scanner, a personal digital assistant device, a dedicated terminal, or the like. The list of available print jobs may be displayed on one of a user interface associated with the printer polling device, a telephone, a computer, an Internet appliance, a facsimile machine, a scanner, a personal digital assistant device, a dedicated terminal, or the like. Selection of an available print job may be made via a user interface associated with the printer polling device, a telephone, a computer, an Internet appliance, a facsimile machine, a scanner, a,personal digital assistant device, a dedicated terminal, or the like.
The printer polling device may be a portable device. The printer polling device may be operably associated with a variety of printer types.
In a further embodiment, the print job may be provided to the spooling server without a pre-determined print destination. Alternatively, a desired print location for the print job may be designated at the print job source. The designated print location may be communicated to the spooling server with the print job. The print job may be printed at the desired print location when the printer polling device at the desired print location polls the spooling server and identifies the print job.
Further, a substantially specific time for printing a print job may be designated such that the print job is only available for printing from the spooling server at the designated substantially specific time.
In addition, a lifetime of the print job may be designated, wherein said print job will be stored on the spooling server only for the designated lifetime.
A number of printings of the print job may be designated, wherein the print job can only be printed the designated number of times.
A list of recipients authorized to retrieve a print job may be designated, wherein the print job may only be printed by the designated recipients.
The print job may be one of a negotiable instrument, a stamp, a coupon, a certificate, a check, a unit of currency, a token, a receipt, or the like.
The printer polling device may be connected to the network using DHCP protocol, or any other suitable network configuration protocol.
In a preferred embodiment, the printer polling device is capable of communicating printer status to the spooling server. The printer status may comprise at least one of a printer ready indication, an on-line indication, toner level information, paper supply information, error information, or other appropriate status information.
A printer operator can be notified when the printer status indicates that a printer requires attention. The operator can also be provided with vendor contact information to facilitate obtaining printer supplies or service. Automatic on-line ordering of printer supplies as required by printer status can be provided (e.g., by the spooling sever contacting predetermined preferred vendors).
The print job may include at least one of a document, a poster, an image, a coupon, a ticket, a certificate, a check, a list, a schedule, a periodical, a unit of currency, a negotiable instrument, postage, a bill of lading, a lottery or gaming ticket, a token, food stamps, a license, a permit, a pass, a passport, a ballot, a citation, identification, a copy-protection key, a proof-of-purchase, a warranty, a receipt, a transcript, a library card, or any other printable subject matter.
In an alternate embodiment, an agent program provides a directory of documents to the spooling server. The agent program enables a client device associated with the print job source to poll the spooling server to determine whether the spooling server requires a document identified in the directory to complete a print job. If so, the can be uploaded from the client device to the spooling server.
The directory can be communicated to the printer polling device and presented at the printer polling device. Selection of a print job from the directory can be made (e.g., via a user interface).
The directory may be presented via a visual presentation or an audio presentation. The client device may periodically poll the spooling server to determine whether the spooling server requires a document identified in the directory to complete a print job.
A communication device for providing status of the print job stored on the spooling server may be provided. The status of the print job may comprise at least one of filename, file size, author, creation date, print job lifetime, image, title, contents, personal identification number, recipient, job number, or reference number. The communication device may be a telephone, a computer, an Internet appliance, a personal digital assistant device, a dedicated terminal, or any other suitable wireless or wired communication device.
The printer polling device may be capable of polling multiple spooling servers.
The spooling server may be capable of communicating with other servers and receiving a print job from at least one of the other servers.

Methods and apparatus for requesting and receiving a print job via a printer polling device associated with a printer


A cartridge bearing assembly for rotatably coupling a shaft with a housing includes a bearing having a central axis and opposing axial ends. The bearing includes first and second, axially spaced inner rings disposeable upon the shaft, at least one outer ring disposed circumferentially about the two inner rings, and first and second sets of rolling elements disposed between the inner and outer rings. A carrier includes a first tubular portion disposed generally about the bearing first axial end and a second tubular portion disposed generally about the bearing second axial end. The first and second tubular portions are coupled together to enclose the bearing, the carrier being at least partially disposeable within the housing bore so as to couple the bearing with the housing. Preferably, a coupler is provided to connect the first and second inner rings so as to establish preload within the bearing.

The present invention relates to bearings, and more particularly to rolling element bearings for transmissions and gearboxes.
Bearing assemblies for rotatably coupling a gear shaft with the housing of a transmission or other gearbox typically include two separate bearings installed within a cylindrical or tubular carrier. As such carriers are typically formed of aluminum, the two bearings have to be provided with a relatively high preload to ensure that contact of all the bearing components is maintained at the elevated temperatures generally present during normal operation of the transmission or gearbox. That is, because the aluminum carrier expands at greater rate than the steel bearing rings, thereby reducing preloading in the bearings, a greater initial preload is necessary to offset the reduction at higher temperatures. This increased preloading results in energy losses and a reduction of the operating life of the bearings.


An electronic current transformer (ECT) based on complete self-excitation power supply is provided. The ECT includes an energy-obtaining coil, a rapid voltage-stabilizing circuit and an Analog/Digital (A/D) converting circuit. The output of the energy-obtaining coil is connected with the input of the voltage-stabilizing circuit. The output of the voltage-stabilizing circuit is connected with the control end of the A/D converting circuit. The ECT uses two branch circuits to obtain energy directly from the magnetic field of a bus bar to be measured respectively, synthesizes two output waveforms to fill the wave trough of each other, and reduces the pulse of direct current. In this way, the trough voltage of the synthesized wave is higher than the required stabilizing value of direct voltage and it directly meets the input requirement of the stabilizing module of the voltage-stabilizing circuit. As a result, the ECT can activate the A/D converting circuit rapidly. The present invention has solved the delay problem caused by using a single coil to obtain energy, and has characteristics of small wake-up current, rapid activation and wide application. The ECT can omit additional laser power supply device, simplify the architecture, improve the reliability of operation and service life, and reduce the cost.

In recent years, the oil-gas insulation system has been replaced by optical isolation technologies in high voltage and extra-high voltage electronic current transformers, so that the insulation technology of new type transformer has achieved a substantial development. The key for implementing such technology development is that, there are optical fiber communications between the high voltage side and low voltage side, and a power supply for a digital circuit is required to be set at the high voltage side, so as to digitize the magnitude of current; this is the biggest technical problem confronted during the manufacturing of the electronic transformer. At present, the method of transporting laser energy from the low voltage side to the high voltage side via the optic cable is generally adopted by domestic and foreign researchers and developers. The disadvantages for such method include: {circle around (1)} the life period of the laser source is short with about only 8000-10000 hours; {circle around (2)} the cost is expensive at about 12,000¥, which is more than half of the cost of a whole 110 kv transformer; {circle around (3)} the environmental condition required by the laser is strict, as a result, it is difficult to conduct the on-site operation and maintenance. Therefore, researchers hope to obtain energy serving as the high voltage side power supply directly from the magnetic field of high voltage bus bar which is to be measured, via electromagnetic induction. There are already some domestic patents and technical literatures in the field of energy supply depending on the self-excitation power supply, for example, a paper titled "research for the energy supplying method of self-excitation power supply at the high voltage side of the electronic current transformer" was published in High-voltage Electrical, 2006, Issue 1, and a patent titled "a self-excitation power supply apparatus obtaining energy from the power line magnetic field (ZL2005100430602)". At that time, the wake-up current is reduced to less than 800 mA with the use of the technical measure, but the problem of wake-up time for the transformer has not resolved completely yet. The startup time is postponed for more than 50 mS since the output voltage of the energy-obtaining coil is required to be rectified and filtered after each switching on. To overcome this shortcoming and reduce the startup time, an external laser power supply is still required at the startup time (i.e. the time of each switching on) of the transformer, which is a big disadvantage and hampers the usage of transformer.

Electronic current transformer based on complete self-excitation power supply

Xi'an Hwell Optic-Electric Tech Co., Ltd


A stabilizer bar system includes a stabilizer bar connected to a support by a hydraulic actuator. A pump forces fluid into conduits connected to upper and lower chambers of the actuator. A check valve is provided between the pump and the actuator. A pressure control valve, provided between the check valve and the actuator, is controlled by an electronic controller to vary pressure in the actuator chambers.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to vehicular suspension systems and, in particular, is concerned with a hydraulically controlled stabilizer bar system.
2. Description of the Related Art
A vehicular suspension system typically consists of springs and dampers connecting the wheels to a body. These components support the mass of the vehicle and isolate the unevenness of the road surface from the passengers. The suspension system is also responsible for controlling the relative motion of the body to the wheels when actions such as braking pitch, turning roll and vertical road displacements heave create forces to the body.
For additional resistance to the lateral roll of the body that occurs during turning, a torsional spring known as a stabilizer bar is connected between the left and right corner suspensions of the car body. The stabilizer bar reduces the total roll angle while only moderately increasing the stiffness of the suspension system in heave or pitch directions. A stabilizer bar adds to the comfort of the passengers and improves the lateral stability and handling of the vehicle, and can be applied to either the front or the rear of the vehicle. When smaller roll angles and better handling are desired for a sporting type vehicle, the stiffness of the stabilizer bar can be increased such that the ride is significantly affected as a trade-off for handling.
Many stabilizer bars are U-shaped members having a central, transversely-mounted section and a pair of longitudinally-projecting arms connected to respective wheel supports, usually a control arm pivotally connected to a chassis rail. Oftentimes, either a rigid or flexible end link is connected between a control arm and a stabilizer bar. When the control arm moves as a result of a road input, the end link transmits all or part of the movement to the stabilizer bar. The spring effect of the stabilizer bar is then transmitted through an opposite end link to a control arm on the other side of the vehicle to resist the rolling motion of the vehicle.
The art continues to seek improvements. It is desirable to provide a stabilizer bar system having controllable hydraulic actuator connecting a stabilizer bar to a support to vary the roll resistance provided by the system.

Hydraulically controlled stabilizer bar system


The present invention relates to a method for three-dimensional measurement and calculation of the geographic position and height of a target object based on street view images. The method comprises: selecting a target object in a street view map at first and then selecting two appropriate viewpoints according to the target object and obtaining the longitudes and latitudes of the two viewpoints; obtaining three street view images at different viewing angles under the viewpoints respectively; calculating the horizontal angles and pitch angles of the target object under the viewpoints according to the three street view images; determining two spatial straight lines according to the longitudes and latitudes of the viewpoints and the viewing angles from the viewpoints to the bottom of the target object, which intersect forward, and calculating the intersection of the two straight lines, which is the geographic position of the target object.

Street view map is a live map service. It provides users with street panorama of cities, streets or other environments in a range of 360° in the horizontal direction and 180° in the vertical direction so that the users can view scenes in different positions of and on the two sides of each street on the ground of the selected city. It is a three-dimensional virtual display technology, which uses a plurality of cameras to conduct multi-angle surrounding image acquisition of real scenes and then uses a computer to conduct post fusion processing and loads a player.
In recent years, following the rapid development of Internet technology, more and more application services on the basis of panorama image information, such as three-dimensional panorama and virtual tour, have entered people's daily life. Street view map achieves the scenes of virtual reality that are in combination of 2D and 3D, making users as if personally on the scenes.
Currently, IT and Internet companies like foreign Google and domestic Baidu and Tencent all have launched map service of city street view. However, these street view maps are mainly for exhibition and display, seriously wasting the enormous information contained in street view images. Compared with conventional 2D maps, street view maps are unable to achieve positioning and measurement of surface features in street view images, significantly limiting the extensive application of panoramic technique.
To tackle the defect that existing street view maps can be used for exhibition and display only, the present invention provides a three-dimensional measurement and calculation method based on a street view map to achieve fast acquisition of actual geographic coordinates and heights of surface features in street view images.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method for three-dimensional measurement and calculation of the geographic position and height of a target object based on street view images


A seating device (20) includes a fixed seat (24) and a moveable arm (40) pivotally connected at its lower end (44) to a support structure (26). A document shelf (22) is carried on an upper end (42) of the moveable arm (40). In an inactive stowed condition, the document shelf (22) innocuously lays over the fixed seat (24). The document shelf (22) is movable to a deployed condition extending laterally outwardly and upwardly relative to the fixed seat (24) where documents may be held at a convenient reading distance to a person seated on the fixed seat (24). The moveable arm (40) is telescopically extendable. A stop cord (92) limits outward rotation of the moveable arm (40). A recessable joint (46) connects the document shelf (22) to the moveable arm (40). In the stowed condition, the recessable joint (46) tucks below the fixed seat surface. The document shelf (22) includes a back plate (56) and a perpendicular ledge (58). The document shelf (22) has two alternative modes in the deployed condition: a lectern mode and a side table mode. A table bracket (106) supports the document shelf (22) in the side table mode.

1. Field of the Invention
A seating device that may be partially reconfigured in use to present a previously inaccessible non-occupant supporting surface, and more particularly a seating device with an integrated, selectively deployable document shelf.
2. Related Art
People often need to see written materials while seated. In circumstances where the seated person is simultaneously engaged in another activity that makes holding the reading materials difficult, they may require a nearby stand or elevated shelf to support their reading materials. Situations in which a nearby stand or shelf is needed to hold reading materials might include activities where the person's hands are otherwise occupied, such as with musicians and artists, or activities that require the person to frequently leave and return to their seat, as with teachers. In such cases a combined seat and document shelf assembly, integrated together as a multi-function unit, could be preferred over two disconnected pieces of furniture.
Some examples of combined seat and shelf assemblies are found in the prior art. U.S. Pat. No. 876,023 to Schurger, issued Jan. 7, 1908, discloses a stool for musicians. The Schurger stool includes a support structure in the form of three extendable legs cooperating with a central vertical shaft that extends downwardly from a seat surface. A multi-linked arm is moveably connected to the support structure. The moveable arm has an upper end that extends laterally outwardly and upwardly to hold a document shelf at a convenient reading distance laterally elevated relative to the seat surface for a seated user. For storage or transport, however, the document shelf is removed completely from the assembly. Thus, one shortcoming of the Schurger stool concept is the inability to collapse its document shelf in a self-contained stowed condition integral with the seating device so that the seat surface remains fully functional as a body support.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,614,378 to Picou, issued Sep. 30, 1986, discloses a chair that can be reconfigured to support a human body in either a traditional sitting posture or a kneeling posture. A support structure, in the form of interconnected links and legs, extends downwardly from a seat surface. In Picou's preferred embodiment (FIG. 10), an adjustable arm is moveably connected to the support structure. The moveable arm has an upper end that extends laterally outwardly and upwardly to hold a document shelf at a convenient reading distance laterally elevated relative to the seat surface for a seated musician. The document shelf is affixed to the support structure by a nut and bolt arrangement. Picou's document shelf, like Schurger's, is intended to be removed completely from the seat portion for storage or transport. In neither case can the document shelf be innocuously stowed as part of an integral assembly when it is not needed.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,314,248 to Mabon, issued Jan. 1, 2008, discloses a wheeled seat device having a collapsible support structure to facilitate portability. A document shelf is supported at the upper end of a telescopic arm that is, in turn, moveably connected to the support structure. When the seating device is in use, the document shelf may be positioned to extend laterally outwardly and upwardly to hold documents and other articles at a convenient distance laterally elevated relative to the seat surface. However, for transport, the document shelf collapses together with the seat and support structure into a wheeled pull cart. Mabon's seat device therefore is not capable of collapsing its integrated document shelf in a stowed condition adjacent to the seat surface while the seat surface remains functional as a body support.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a seating device having an integrated document shelf that can be deployed for use or alternatively stowed unobtrusively without compromising the normal seating functionality of the device in either condition.

Reconfigurable seating device with integral document shelf


A method, and the resulting structure, of making a CMOS device from carbon nanotube substrate, where a carbide contact is formed in a source drain region. The carbide is formed prior to the gate structure by reacting a glassy carbon and a metal.

The present invention relates to a semiconductor structure and a method of fabricating the same. More particularly, the present invention relates to a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) device, e.g., a field effect transistor (FET).
Besides exhibiting intriguing quantum behaviors even at room temperature, carbon-based nanotubes exhibit at least two important characteristics, a nanotube may be either metallic or semiconducting depending on its chirality, i.e., conformational geometry. Metallic nanotubes may carry an extremely large current density with constant resistivity. Semiconducting nanotubes may be electrically switched "on" or "off" as field effect transistors (FETs). The two types may be covalently joined (sharing electrons). These characteristics point to nanotubes as excellent materials for making nanometer-sized semiconductor circuits. Similar properties exist for other one-dimensional nanostructures.
Carbon-based nanotubes and other like one-dimensional nanostructures are thus becoming strategically important for post-Si FET scaling. However, there is no known self-aligned process comparable to conventional CMOS technology. A self-aligned process for a CMOS device including one-dimensional nanostructures would provide a simpler sequence of processing steps as compared to a non-self-aligned process and it reduces processing error that typically occurs when a non-self-aligned process is used. Moreover, a self-aligned process provides a structure having reduced parasitics as compared to a non-self-aligned structure.

International Business Machines Corporation


A polypeptide having an amino acid sequence in which the number of RGD sequences contained per molecular weight of 10 kDa is not less than 0.30; the number of GFPGER sequences contained per molecular weight of 10 kDa is not less than 0.15; and the number of GVMGFP sequences contained per molecular weight of 10 kDa is less than 0.30; is provided. A scaffold composition, a composition for repairing a cartilage tissue, a composition for culturing cartilage cells, and a composition for promoting glycosaminoglycan production, which compositions contain the above polypeptide, are also provided.

Currently, practical use of regenerative medicine, in which attempts are made to regenerate a body tissue or organ whose function is deteriorated or impaired, is being promoted. Regenerative medicine is a new medical technology in which a body tissue that cannot be recovered by the self-healing ability is reconstructed using three factors, that is, cells, scaffolds and growth factors, such that the tissue has a morphology and/or function similar to those of the original tissue.
In the field of regenerative medicine, collagen or gelatin, which has high biocompatibility, is used in some cases for the purpose of, for example, helping tissue repair or regeneration by cells. In particular, collagen or gelatin is sometimes used for regeneration of a tissue having a three-dimensional structure such as bone or skin, and, for the purpose of achieving better tissue regeneration, various modifications are being made for collagen and gelatin.
Cartilage, for example, articular cartilage, is a tissue composed of a very small amount (about 2%) of cartilage cells together with an extracellular matrix, and the extracellular matrix is known to contain about 70% water, about 20% collagen and about 10% proteoglycan. The proteoglycan in the extracellular matrix is a glycoprotein containing a polysaccharide called glycosaminoglycan (GAG) in an amount of about 95%, and about 5% protein. In a cartilage, cartilage cells are supported by being surrounded by collagen or proteoglycan produced by the cartilage cells themselves. In particular, glycosaminoglycan is thought to be a substance playing a role in keeping water in the cartilage matrix and involved in suppression of deterioration of, or in repair of, cartilage. Thus, studies are being carried out to develop a scaffold material for cartilage cells, which scaffold material allows favorable matrix production by the cartilage cells.
As a scaffold material for cartilage cells, natural form of type II collagen is conventionally used.
Japanese National-Phase Publication (JP-A) No. 2007-528699 discloses a cell support coated with an RGD-enriched gelatin-like protein with enhanced cell binding capacity, and describes that such a cell support can be used for skin grafting, wound healing, or enhancement of the growth (regeneration) of bone or cartilage.
WO 2008/133196 discloses a recombinant gelatin having an RGD sequence as a cell adhesion signal, and describes that such a gelatin can be used as a cell-adhesive matrix. WO 2008/133196 also describes that, in cases of cell therapy, a cell-adhesive matrix material that can be used as a scaffold for cells is generally preferred, and that, in cases of cartilage regeneration, a high-strength matrix is desirable.

Polypeptide, scaffold composition, composition for cartilage tissue restoration, composition for cartilage cell culture, and composition for promoting glycosaminoglycan production


The biometric system disclosed herein comprises device for providing a pattern; the device having a source of light and a source for providing a pattern. The source of light is operative to illuminate an object with light. An imaging device is disposed at a different location from the source of light to capture an image from the object. The system further comprises a pattern comparison device; the pattern comparison device being operative to compare details of the pattern disposed upon the object and details of a reference pattern; the pattern comparison device rejecting the object if the pattern disposed upon the object does not match the reference pattern.

This disclosure relates the projection of patterns for liveness verification of biometrics.
Biometrics includes the study of methods for uniquely recognizing humans based upon one or more intrinsic physical or behavioral traits. Many biometric identification methods already exist for face recognition and for iris prints. Some systems even have liveness checks such as watching for eyeblinks in a face or for the pulsation of the pupil in an iris image. However, these methods do not try to recover the 3-dimensional geometry of the object that is being imaged.
The 3-dimensional geometry of an object, such as, for example, a human face may however be determined in a number of different ways. One method of doing so involves taking images of a human face with a pair of offset cameras and using the images to perform a stereo depth computation. This method has the advantage of being passive, i.e., no energy is emitted. However, it is expensive because of the use of two cameras. It is also expensive computationally.
It is therefore desirable to have an inexpensive method by which the 3-dimensional shape of a characteristic portion of a face or any other feature of the human body can be imaged and determined.

Projection of light patterns for liveness verification of biometrics


Embodiments of the present disclosure provide devices and systems including a material including a halide perovskite and/or phosphor to produce and/or communicate using visible light, and the like.

The annual report of the Directorate General for Energy of the European Commission estimated a 30% increase of the global energy demand by 2030. Out of all the current building electricity consumption, 20% goes for lighting. Thus, it became of paramount importance to find innovative lighting solutions that are multifunctional and more efficient. In the area of multifunctional devices, especially promising those that can combine lighting and data transfer. The demand for communication systems and data transfer, especially wireless technologies, is expected to grow at an exponential rate over the next decade. Existing technologies cannot keep up with the surging demand because of their crowded spectra and limited bandwidth.

Multifunctional light, data device, or combination and systems

KING ABDULLAH UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY


Implantable devices for placement at a cavity or opening such as an aneurysm are disclosed. The implantable devices, in a deployed condition, have a generally inverted U-shaped profile with a curved or angled framework support structure sized and configured for placement in proximity to tissue surrounding the opening and anchoring legs extending proximally from the framework structure sized and configured to contact the wall of a neighboring lumen at opposed locations. Occlusive and semi-occlusive membranes may be associated with the framework support structure and deployed over the opening to provide exclusion of the opening and flow diversion. Proximal anchoring segments providing additional lumen wall surface area contact for the implantable device following deployment may be incorporated.

Surgical techniques for closing openings and repairing defects in anatomical lumens and tissues, such as blood vessels, septal defects and other types of physiological irregularities and defects, are highly invasive. Surgical methods for clipping aneurysms, for example, require opening the skull, cutting or removing overlying brain tissue, clipping and repairing the aneurysm from outside the blood vessel, and then reassembling tissue and closing the skull. Surgical techniques for repairing septal defects are also highly invasive. The risks associated with anesthesia, bleeding and infection during and following these types of procedure are high, and tissue that is affected during the procedure may or may not survive and continue functioning.
Minimally invasive surgical techniques may alternatively be used to place occlusive devices within or across an opening or cavity in the body, such as in the vasculature, spinal column, fallopian tubes, bile ducts, bronchial and other air passageways, and the like. In general, an implantable device is guided to a desired site through a delivery catheter and may be pushed through an opening at the distal end of the delivery catheter by a pusher mechanism, such as a pusher or delivery wire, thereby deploying the device at the desired site of intervention. Once the occlusive device has been placed at the desired location, it is detached from the pusher mechanism without disturbing placement of the occlusive device or damaging surrounding structures.
Aneurysms are bulges in an artery wall, generally caused by a weakening in the artery wall, that form an opening or cavity and are often the site of internal bleeding and stroke. In general, the minimally invasive therapeutic objective is to prevent material that collects or forms in the cavity from entering the bloodstream, and to prevent blood from entering and collecting in the aneurysm. This is often accomplished by introducing various materials and devices into the aneurysm.
Various types of embolic agents and devices are used to reduce risks to a patient associated with the presence of an aneurysm. One class of embolic agents includes injectable fluids or suspensions, such as microfibrillar collagen, various polymeric beads and polyvinylalcohol foam. These polymeric agents may be cross-linked (sometimes in vivo) to extend the persistence of the agent at the vascular site. These agents are often introduced into the vasculature through a catheter. After introduction and at the site, the introduced materials form a solid space-filling mass. Although some of these agents provide for excellent short term occlusion, many are thought to allow vessel recanalization due to absorption into the blood. Other materials, such as hog hair and suspensions of metal particles, have also been proposed and used to promote occlusion of aneurysms. Polymer resins, such as cyanoacrylates, are also employed as injectable vaso-occlusive materials. These resins are typically mixed with a radiopaque contrast material or are made radiopaque by the addition of a tantalum powder. Accurate and timely placement of these mixtures is crucial and very difficult. These materials are difficult or impossible to retrieve once they have been placed in the vasculature.
Implantable vaso-occlusive metallic structures are also well known and commonly used. Many vaso-occlusive devices are provided in the configuration of helical coils and are constructed from a shape memory material that forms a desired coil configuration upon exiting the distal end of a delivery catheter. The purpose of the coil is to fill the space formed by a defect or injury and facilitate formation of an embolus with the associated allied tissue. Multiple coils of the same or different structures may be implanted serially in a single aneurysm or other vessel defect during a procedure. Implantable framework structures are also used in an attempt to stabilize the wall of the aneurysm or defect prior to insertion of filling material such as coils.
Techniques for delivering a vaso-occlusive device to a target site generally involve a delivery catheter and a detachment mechanism that detaches the device, such as a coil, from a delivery mechanism after placement at the target site. A microcatheter is initially steered through the delivery catheter into or adjacent to the entrance of an aneurysm, typically aided by the use of a steerable guidewire. The guidewire is then withdrawn from the microcatheter lumen and replaced by the implantable vaso-occlusive coil. The vaso-occlusive coil is advanced through and out of the microcatheter and thus deposited within the aneurysm or other vessel abnormality. Implantation of the vaso-occlusive device within the internal volume of a cavity and maintenance of the device within the internal volume of the aneurysm is crucial. Migration or projection of a vaso-occlusive device from the cavity may interfere with blood flow or nearby physiological structures and poses a serious health risk.
One type of aneurysm, commonly known as a "wide neck aneurysm" is known to present particular difficulty in the placement and retention of vaso-occlusive coils. Wide neck aneurysms are generally referred to as aneurysms of vessel walls having a neck or an entrance zone from the adjacent vessel that is large compared to the diameter of the aneurysm or that is clinically observed to be too wide to effectively retain vaso-occlusive coils deployed using the techniques discussed above.
The placement of coils, or other structures or materials, in the internal space of an aneurysm or other defect has not been entirely successful. The placement procedure may be arduous and lengthy, requiring the placement of multiple devices, such as coils, serially in the internal space of the aneurysm. Longer procedures, in general, involve higher risks of complication from anesthesia, bleeding, infection, and the like. Moreover, because placement of structures in the internal space of an aneurysm doesn't generally completely occlude the opening, recanalization of the original aneurysm is more likely to occur, debris and occlusive material may escape from within the aneurysm and present a risk of stroke, vessel blockage or other undesirable complications. Blood may also flow into aneurysm and other blood vessel irregularities after the placement of embolic devices, which increases the risks of complication and further enlargement of the aneurysm. Furthermore, some aneurysms, vessels and other passageway defects are not well-suited to placement of coils or other conventional occlusive devices.
Devices for maintaining vaso-occlusive coils within an aneurysm have been proposed. One such device is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,980,514, which discloses devices that are placed within the lumen of a feed vessel exterior to the aneurysm to retain coils within the aneurysm cavity. The device is held in place by means of radial pressure of the vessel wall. After the device is released and set in an appropriate place, a microcatheter is inserted into the lumen behind the retainer device and the distal end of the catheter is inserted into the aneurysm cavity for placement of one or more vaso-occlusive devices. The retainer device prevents migration of occlusive devices from the cavity. A removable occlusion system for covering the neck of an aneurysm while embolic material is delivered to the aneurysm is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,928,260.
Another methodology for closing an aneurysm is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,749,894, in which a vaso-occlusive device, such as a coil or braid, has on its outer surface a polymeric composition that reforms or solidifies in situ to provide a barrier. The polymer may be activated, e.g. by the application of light, to melt or otherwise to reform the polymer exterior to the vaso-occlusive device. The vaso-occlusive device then sticks to itself at its various sites of contact and forms a rigid whole mass within the aneurysm.
Devices for bridging the neck of an aneurysm have also been proposed. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2003/0171739 A1, for example, discloses a neck bridge having one or more array elements attached to a junction region and a cover attached to the junction region and/or the array elements. The array elements may comprise Nitinol alloy loops and the cover may comprise a fabric, mesh or other sheeting structure.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0087998 A1 discloses a device and method for treatment of a vascular defect in which two sheets, or a sheet and a strut structure function to secure the vaso-occlusive device and to occlude an opening. This patent publication lists numerous biocompatible compositions and materials that may be used in connection with the device to promote adhesion, fibrosis, tissue growth, endothelialization or cell growth.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0193206 A1 discloses another device for at least partially occluding an aneurysm including a plurality of elongate members configured to move relative to one another to transform the bridge between the delivery and deployed configurations. A two array bridge, in which a first array is deployed inside the aneurysm and a second array is deployed outside the aneurysm is also disclosed.
U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 2007/0088387 A1 and 2007/01918844 A1 disclose methods and systems for repairing defects in physiological lumens, such as aneurysms by placing occlusive devices having closure structures covering the opening, when deployed, and anchoring structures contacting the inner aneurysm wall, or the parent vessel, or both.
Septal defect closure devices are also well known. Such devices occlude openings, or septal defects, in the heart or the vascular system. Septal closure devices are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,077,291 and 6,911,037. Bronchial flow control devices that seal or partially seal a bronchial lumen are also known, see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 7,011,094.
Systems currently used for the detachment of implantable devices after placement include mechanical systems, electrolytic systems and hydraulic systems. In mechanical systems, the occlusive device and the pusher wire are linked by means of a mechanical joint, or inter-locking linkage, which separates once the device exits the delivery catheter, thereby releasing the device. Examples of mechanical systems include those taught in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,263,964, 5,304,195, 5,350,397, and 5,261,916. In electrolytic systems, a constructed joint (generally either fiber- or glue-based) connects the pusher wire to the occlusive device and, once the device has been placed in the desired position, the joint is electrolytically disintegrated by the application of a current or heat. An example of an electrolytic system is provided in U.S. Pat. No. 5,624,449. In hydraulic systems, the pushing wire is connected to the occlusive device by means of a polymer coupling. The pushing wire contains a micro-lumen to which the physician attaches a hydraulic syringe and, upon the application of pressure using the syringe plunger, the hydraulic pressure forces the polymer joint to swell and break, thereby releasing the device. An example of a hydraulic system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,689,141.
Despite the numerous devices and systems available for placing embolic materials in an aneurysm and for occluding physiological defects using minimally invasive techniques, these procedures remain risky and the results rarely restore the physiological structure to its normal, healthy condition. Challenges also remain in accurate positioning of implantable devices during deployment, preventing shifting or migration of implantable devices following deployment, and preserving flow in neighboring vessels following placement of implantable devices. Methods and systems of the present invention are directed, among other things, to reducing the length and complexity of minimally invasive procedures for supporting and occluding openings and repairing a lumen or tissue defect, and to restoring a physiological structure, such as a blood vessel, to its normal, healthy condition. Methods and systems of the present invention are additionally directed to providing implantable devices for supporting and/or at least partially occluding an opening or cavity, such as an aneurysm, that are safely and conveniently deployable using minimally invasive techniques, that reduce shifting and migration following placement, and that do not restrict blood flow in neighboring vessels following deployment.

Systems and methods for supporting or occluding a physiological opening or cavity


A turbofan gas turbine propulsion engine includes a multi-speed transmission between the high pressure and low pressure turbines and associated high pressure and low pressure starter-generators. The multi-speed transmission reduces the operating speed range from the low pressure turbine to its associated starter-generator, and is configurable to allow the starter-generator associated with the low pressure turbine to supply starting torque to the engine.

Aircraft main propulsion engines not only generate propulsion thrust for the aircraft, but in many instances may also be used to drive various other rotating components such as, for example, generators, compressors, and pumps, to thereby supply electrical, pneumatic, and/or hydraulic power. In multi-spool turbofan gas turbine engines, this is accomplished via a plurality of turbines. In particular, each turbine receives a flow of combusted gas from a combustor and, in response, generates shaft power that is used to drive one or more of these rotational components, via a plurality of concentric shafts. Thus, a portion of the shaft power that each turbine generates is used to provide propulsion thrust, while another portion of the generated shaft power is extracted and used to drive these other rotational components.
In recent years, aircraft architectures are being provided that rely more and more on electrical power, and less on pneumatic (e.g., bleed air) and/or hydraulic power. In such architectures, shaft power extraction demand can increase significantly. For example, shaft power extraction demand can be as much as 200% to 300% more than traditional solutions such as bleed air and/or hydraulic power. Although these architectures are generally safe, robust, and reliable, the architectures may suffer certain drawbacks. For example, high shaft power extraction demand can negatively impact engine compressor surge margin. A relatively straightforward technique to mitigate this drawback is to increase the engine speed and bleed during high shaft power extraction demands. This solution, however, can increase both the fuel burn rate and the residual thrust that the engine generates, most notably during flight and ground idle conditions, as well as during transients. The increased residual thrust can result in increased brake usage on the ground and/or increased airbrake usage in flight.
In order to meet the above-described needs of the more electric aircraft, architectures have been proposed that use the low pressure turbine to drive one or more generators. However, because the low pressure turbine operational speed range is, in many instances, significantly greater than the operational speed range of the high pressure turbine, the operating speed range from the low pressure turbine to an associated generator may need to be reduced. Moreover, it is further desirable that the low pressure turbine-driven generators, if included, are operable as starter-generators that can be used to provide starting torque to the gas turbine engine, if needed or desired.
Hence, there is a need for a system for a more electric aircraft architecture that improves the surge margin of the propulsion engine compressors and/or improves engine operability and/or, at least during high power extraction demands, reduces fuel burn rate and/or reduces the residual thrust that the engines generate, and/or reduces the operating speed range from the low pressure turbine to an associated generator and/or allows a starter-generator that is normally driven by the low pressure turbine to supply starting torque to the engine. The present invention addresses one or more of these needs.

More electric aircraft starter-generator multi-speed transmission system


The present invention relates to a method for obtaining adult stem cells, which have a surface antigen of CD49f, excellent formation of spheres due to sphere formation and high expression of OCT4 and SOX2, from a cell source including stem cells, and a cell therapeutic agent containing adult stem cells obtained by the method or cells differentiated therefrom as an active ingredient.

Embryonic stem cells, as cells which can be generated from all of tridermic-derived cells and tissues, are obtained from inner cell mass (ICM) of blastocyst formed after about 4-5 days from fertilization, and therefore involve ethical problems. Further, because of their pluripotency, they can be highly proliferated and variously differentiated, but have problems that they are hard to control and may be converted into cancer cells.
On the other hand, adult stem cells can be obtained from bone marrow, umbilical cord blood, adipose tissues, etc., and thus, may avoid any ethical problem. Furthermore, it has been demonstrated that although adult stem cells have a plasticity inferior to embryonic stem cells, they have a multipotency, which allows them to differentiate into various cells including endothelium, bone, muscle, nerve cells.
Mesenchymal stem cells are a kind of adult stem cells, i.e. stem cells having a multipotency, which allows them to differentiate into hematopoietic system cells as well as tissues including muscle, nerve, bone, adipose tissue, etc. In general, they can be obtained through isolation from bone marrow, and in addition, can be obtained from various areas in the adult body. Adult stem cells derived from bone marrow have disadvantages in that their plasticity and proliferation potency are much poor as compared to other stem cells and the procedures for extracting them are invasive. Therefore, recently umbilical cord blood has come into notice as the alternative source of adult stem cells which can be used instead of bone marrow. Although the characteristics of umbilical cord blood-derived stem cells are substantially similar to those of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells, umbilical cord blood-derived stem cells have the characteristic properties which are superior to bone marrow-derived stem cells in view of the plasticity and proliferation potency.
Meanwhile, mesenchymal stem cells are adult stem cells characterized in that they are adhered and grown on the surface of cell culture plate, and have been demonstrated that they can be differentiated into adipocytes, chondrocyte, osteocytes, etc. under appropriate culture conditions (Erickson et al., Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun., 290: 763, 2002; Halvorsen et al., Tissue Eng., 7:729, 2001; Wickham et al., Clin. Orthop. Relat. Res., 412:196, 2003; Dragoo et al., J. Bone Joint Surg., Br., 85:740, 2003). In addition, it has been reported that mesenchymal stem cells not only have an ability to differentiate into mesodermic cells including adipocytes, muscle cells, osteocytes, chondrocyte, etc., but also can be differentiated into non-mesodermic cells including pancreatic endocrine cells, liver cells, vascular endothelial cells and myocardial cells, and thus, an effort to use mesenchymal stem cells as a tool of cell therapeutic agents or gene therapeutic agents via self-transplantation has been actively made (Chung Jin Sup, J Korean Soc Transplant, 22:183-196, 2008).
At the present technical level, to use adult stem cells as the cell therapeutic agent it is required to standardize the culture conditions under which undifferentiated state can be maintained. In addition, since adult stem cells isolated from tissues are present in the mixed state of various kinds of cells, the technology capable of culturing homogeneous adult stem cells in a mass scale is also one of the problems sought to be solved.
In particular, the method for isolating adult stem cells from tissues or blood can generally include, for example, cell sorting utilizing antibodies for numerous surface antigens. However, said method has the limitation that the surface antigens for adult stem cells should be understood, and further, its use is greatly restricted by the problems that the common surface antigen (hereinafter, referred to as "marker") for adult stem cells has not been known; and markers for adult stem cells are not variously developed, and further, even the known markers show different degrees of expression depending on the differentiation state; and particularly, the sorting equipment is expensive.
In order to obtain adult stem cells in a large quantity, while maintaining a multipotent property, in vitro culture technologies have generally utilized the characteristic feature that said cells adhere to the cell culture plate.
Said method is accomplished by removing mononuclear cells from bone marrow or blood with density gradient centrifugation using Ficoll-Pague, and selectively culturing the adult stem cells adhered to the culture plate in the serum-containing culture solution. The cells obtained from the above procedures comprise adult stem cells, which may possibly be mixed with other mononuclear cells and other stem cells. However, such mixed cell culture conditions may result in differing the distribution degree of nutrients, thereby leading to the heterogeneity of cell differentiation state. In the end, the problem that said cells cannot be produced as the homogeneous cell population serves as the fatal disadvantage that when they are used as the therapeutic agent, the actual effect may be different from the intended effect. Therefore, there is an urgent need for development of the effective culture technology which can provide homogeneous adult stem cells in a large quantity.

CD49F promoting proliferation, multipotency and reprogramming of adult stem cells through PI3K/AKT/GSK3 pathway

Abstract: According to the present invention, adult stem cells derived from spheres are suitable for mass culture of adult stem cells because of more rapid growth thereof compared with stem cells obtained by a known adhesive culture method, have a specific surface antigen so as to be homogeneously obtained by using the specific surface antigen, and are useful for preparing a cell therapeutic agent using the same because of excellent differentiation thereof.


The medical handpiece of the present invention includes a cutting tool having a flexible shank and a cutting bur, a plastically deformable tubular casing for the cutting tool, a handpiece body detachably holding the cutting tool, bearing members disposed in the casing, an inner intervening member for receiving the shank, and an outer intervening member arranged around the inner intervening member. The inner and outer intervening members are composed of a plurality of segments, and each segment is arranged between or on distal or proximal side of the bearing members. Each segment of the outer intervening member is further composed of a plurality of sub-segments. Annular members having the outer diameter that is larger than that of the outer intervening member are arranged between the sub-segments of the outer intervening member. The present handpiece provides improved operationality since shaking is hardly generated even when the casing is flexed.

Medical handpieces having a cutting tool that is rotatably driven by power from a drive source, such as a motor, to cut a treatment site, is disclosed, for example, in JP-2004-97790-A.
The medical handpiece disclosed in this publication has a cutting tool which has a bur provided at the tip of a flexible shank, and is inserted and placed in a tubular casing. The cutting tool is detachably held in a handpiece body, and rotatably driven by power transmitted from a drive source. Between the casing and the shank is disposed a tubular intervening member. This medical handpiece is designed such that the casing, the intervening member, and the cutting tool may be flexed for a predetermined angular range, where the intervening member prevents the shank from contacting the inner surface of the casing in the curved portion.
Further, there is disclosed in JP-2005-328971-A a medical handpiece wherein inner and outer intervening members are arranged one in another between a plurality of bearings for inhibiting shaking and deterioration of durability by friction heat, which are caused by contact between the shank and the intervening members.
In the prior art medical handpiece discussed above, the deterioration of durability by friction heat generated by the contact between the shank and the inner intervening member could be inhibited. However, when the casing is flexed for a relatively large angle from its axis, the inner intervening member is pressed by the outer intervening member to be brought into contact with the shank, which is loaded accordingly. It is found that this causes new problems to be solved, i.e., rattling, increased shaking during rotation, and deterioration of operationality of the medical handpiece.


State-of-the-art portable Raman spectrometers use discrete free-space optical components that must be aligned well and that don't tolerate vibrations well. Conversely, the inventive spectrometers are made with monolithic photonic integration to fabricate some or all optical components on one or more planar substrates. Photonic integration enables dense integration of components, eliminates manual alignment and individual component assembly, and yields superior mechanical stability and resistance to shock or vibration. These features make inventive spectrometers especially suitable for use in high-performance portable or wearable sensors. They also yield significant performance advantages, including a large (e.g., 10,000-fold) increase in Raman scattering efficiency resulting from on-chip interaction of the tightly localized optical mode and the analyte and a large enhancement in spectral resolution and sensitivity resulting from the integration of an on-chip Fourier-transform spectrometer.

A Raman spectrometer or Raman spectrophotometer is a device that optically probes the vibrational, rotational, and low-frequency modes of a solid, liquid, or gaseous chemical or material. It can accurately quantify the chemical structure of an unknown substance. A Raman spectrometer typically operates by first illuminating a sample with a single frequency laser in the visible or near-infrared wavelength region. A fraction of the light that scatters from the sample is converted to a higher optical frequency (anti-Stokes shifted), and another fraction is converted to a lower optical frequency (Stokes shifted). The new frequencies of this Stokes and anti-Stokes shifted light (also referred to as Raman-shifted light) correspond to the intrinsic energy levels of the substance being sensed, and they can be used to uniquely identify the chemical or material, as shown in FIG. 1.
Conventional Raman spectrometer systems usually include several distinct sub-systems: (1) a single-frequency excitation source, such as a laser; (2) an optical probe or region where the light interacts with the analyte or unknown chemical of interest; (3) a dichroic mirror or optical filter that blocks the light from the excitation source, letting only the Stokes or anti-Stokes scattered light pass; and (4) a spectrum analyzer or spectrometer that measures the intensity of the Raman shifted light as a function of frequency or wavelength.
The spectrum analyzer typically includes a dispersive element, such as a grating or prism, that disperses the Raman scattered light for detection by a detector array. The measured Raman spectrum typically contains several peaks, the frequency and intensity of which serve as a unique 'optical fingerprint' of the chemical being identified. By comparing this spectrum to a database of known Raman spectra, the composition of single chemicals or mixtures of chemicals in the gas, liquid, or solid phase can be determined with high precision.
In biomedical sensing, Raman spectroscopy is also a promising approach for non-invasively detecting critical physiological and biochemical parameters, such as blood glucose, lactate, blood oxygen saturation levels, etc., owing to its superior chemical selectivity and availability of near-infrared light sources with sufficient penetration depth into biological tissues. Wearable non-invasive blood glucose monitoring promises great relief to diabetes patients for glucose control but remains an outstanding challenge despite the development of commercial glucose meters in the past few decades.
Conventional Raman spectroscopy systems are usually benchtop laboratory equipment with large size and high cost. Portable Raman spectrometers have slowly begun to enter the market in the last five years, though their size reduction has relied primarily upon direct miniaturization of discretely-assembled free-space optical components that need to be manually aligned, such as mirrors, beam-splitters, free-space lenses, and free-space grating spectrometers. These discrete optical components typically do not withstand physical shock or vibrations without requiring realignment or recalibration. In addition, these grating spectrometers suffer from poor sensitivity (which is related to the signal-to-noise ratio), have limited spectral resolution (typically to no more than 1024 channels), and are relatively large and heavy.

Miniaturized Fourier-transform Raman spectrometer systems and methods


A digital camera that includes: a storage section, a frame image obtaining section, and a characterizing point extracting section for extracting tracking-purpose characteristic information from the frame image and storing the tracking-purpose characteristic information into the storage section. The tracking-purpose characteristic information being information for tracking and characterizing a target object included in a moving image. The digital camera also includes a tracked object area calculating section, a detective feature extracting section, and a registration section for registering a part or all of the detective characteristic information.

In recent years, in an image pickup device such as a digital steel camera or a digital video camera, needs for automatic recognition of an object whose image is to be captured are increasing. Such needs are for obtaining an optimum image. For example, there is a digital camera that has a function to automatically detect a human face and adjust a focus and/or exposure so that the focus and/or exposure is optimum for the detected human face.
Further, in capturing an image by a camera, there are many chances in which an animal such as a pet is an object whose image is to be captured. Accordingly, as in detection of a human face, a function to automatically detect an animal whose image is to be captured and to correct a focus and/or exposure is required.
Though the current technique has reached a practical level in a technique for detection of a human face, a technique for detecting an animal other than a human being is limited. The following appears to be one reason for this situation. That is, in a case where some object whose image is to be captured is to be detected, first, it is required to define characteristics of the object in advance. In regard to this point, human faces have many common characteristics and therefore are easily defined. On the other hand, as compared to human beings, animals are diverse, and it is difficult to define characteristics of animals in advance. For example, a case where a dog is to be defined is considered here. Though classified into one kind, i.e., "dog", dogs differ from one another in shapes of faces and bodies, colors, lengths of hairs, shapes of ears depending on kinds. The difference between dogs is greater than difference between human beings. Therefore, it is difficult to define characteristics of dogs in advance. Consequently, it is difficult to automatically detect dogs that cannot be defined in advance. Further, in consideration of a situation in which an image is captured, unlike human beings, animals do not always face front toward a person who is to capture the image. Animals may face in various directions and take various poses. This point also makes automatic recognition of animals technically more difficult.
The followings are techniques for automatic recognition of an object. Patent Literature 1 discloses a technique to perform various processes based on information of a recognized object whose image is to be captured, in an electronic camera including a function of face recognition.
Patent Literature 2 discloses a technique to detect a position at which an object is present, a type of the object, and a rough distance to the object. The detection is carried out by inputting images captured by a plurality of cameras into one common image processing device and checking the images captured by the cameras with model data registered in a database in the image processing device.
Further, Patent Literature 3 describes a technique according to which a change in appearance of an object is predicted so that a model is formed, and input image information is checked with model data.
Patent Literature 4 discloses a technique in an image recognition device that detects a detection object that is present in an observation space according to which technique, in a case where a change occurs in a background image and an input image, it is determined whether or not the change is caused by a small animal by use of a small animal indicator.
Patent Literature 5 discloses a technique according to which a car is recognized by thermal imaging and a type of the car is determined/classified.
Patent Literature 6 discloses a technique for creating information for identifying an animal by extracting an outline of a nose and respective outlines of two nostrils from an image of a whole nose of the animal.

Detective information registration device and target object detection device for detecting an object in an image


Methods, systems, and computer program products for the fenceline monitoring of air contaminants. More particularly, methods, systems, and computer program products for correlating temporal variations between simultaneous measurements of at least one point monitor and an optical remote sensing (ORS) monitor to estimate the peak concentration of one or more air contaminants along a line of measurement, e.g., a fenceline.

The fenceline monitoring of air contaminants is applicable to, but not limited to, the monitoring of toxic chemicals emitted from industrial facilities, the potential release of chemical warfare agents from chemical weapon stockpiles, and the monitoring of particulate matter (PM), such as dust. One approach to the fenceline monitoring of such air contaminants involves the installation of individual monitoring stations, i.e., point monitors, around the perimeter of the facility of interest at a predetermined distance from each other with the hope that the emission plumes will impact the point monitors. Another approach, which provides better coverage of the fenceline and increases the likelihood of capturing the emission plume, uses a monitor, such as an optical remote sensing (ORS) monitor, which is capable of measuring the path-integrated or path-averaged concentration of one or more target species along a monitoring path. These approaches, however, have limitations in determining the peak or maximum concentrations of such emissions along a line of measurement, such as a fenceline.
Primarily due to cost considerations, point monitors typically are sparsely positioned along the fenceline. In such a monitoring configuration, the point monitors randomly detect point concentrations that only rarely coincide with the peak or maximum concentration of the passing plume. Furthermore, plumes, or a substantial portion of a plume, can be totally ignored if the plume or a substantial portion of the plume passes between two point monitors.
On the other hand, ORS methods, or equivalent methods, capture all plumes that cross the beam path, i.e., a beam path along a fenceline, but only provide path-averaged or path-integrated concentrations. When assessing potential human exposure along a beam path, however, the path-averaged concentration is not always informative because concentrations along the path can vary substantially from the beam average. For example, the path-averaged concentration can underestimate the peak concentration by an order of magnitude for a plume width corresponding to one tenth of the beam's physical path-length.
Accordingly, point monitoring and ORS separately provide only partial solutions for complete fenceline protection and estimation of maximum concentrations. Yost et al., J. Air & Waste Manage. Assoc., 49, 424-433 (1999), which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, have reported a method that uses a combination of several point monitors concurrently deployed with a single-path ORS monitor for estimating the maximum concentration along a line of measurement. The method described by Yost et al., however, requires several point monitors (at least three) along the line of measurement. This requirement makes this method complex and expensive. Another drawback to this method is that it overlooks an advantage of ORS instrumentation—high temporal resolution.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for providing an estimate of the peak or maximum concentration of all plumes crossing the fenceline of a facility, not merely those plumes which by chance impact the point monitors.

Fenceline monitoring of air contaminants


An optical-inclusive, dWDM local area network and the accompanying signaling protocol necessary to facilitate communication between nodes in a network. This network architecture provides for a packet-oriented network, independent of the number of nodes and the number of supported wavelengths, and provides for scheduled access to the medium, which guarantees higher utilization.

Optical networks employing wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) are now a viable technology for implementing a next-generation network infrastructure that will support a diverse set of existing, emerging, and future applications. WDM bridges the gap between the lower electronic switching speeds and the ultra high transmission speeds achievable within the optical medium. WDM divides the enormous information carrying capacity of a single mode fiber into a number of channels, each on a different wavelength and operating at the peak electronic speed, making it possible to deliver an aggregate throughput on the order of terabits per second. As such, WDM is the solution of choice for providing a faster networking infrastructure that can meet the explosive growth of networking, and in particular, the Internet, in the near future.
WDM technology initially was deployed in point-to-point links and has also been extensively studied, both theoretically and experimentally, in wide area or metropolitan area distances. A number of WDM local area testbeds have also been implemented or are currently under development.
While optical communication links are common in core and metropolitan networks, the progress has been slower in the area of access and especially local area networks (LANs). The telecom industry, in general, prefers to accept traditional LAN concepts. In this regard the industry is more likely to expand on the success of a bus-based broadcast network, such as Ethernet by adopting new standards thereof, for example GigE (Gigabit Ethernet) and 10 GigE (10 Gigabit Ethernet) standards.
Industry reluctance has been fueled by many factors, including the reality that an all-optical LAN requires a completely new set of components, such as tunable lasers, tunable filters, passive star couplers and the like. These devices have only recently matured, in terms of technological advancement and cost effectiveness, to the point where implementation of such devices at the LAN level can be effectively and cost-efficiently realized. Thus, the need exists to develop a dense WDM (dWDM), all-optical architecture for a local area network and an accompanying signaling protocol to facilitate communications between nodes in the all-optical local area network.

Optical-inclusive dWDM local area network


A medical imaging data processing apparatus comprises a receiving unit configured to receive first medical imaging data that represents a region of a subject at a first time, and second medical imaging data that represents the region of the subject at a second, later time, a registration unit configured to perform a registration procedure to obtain registration data representative of a registration between the first medical imaging data and the second medical imaging data, an evaluation unit configured to process the registration data to determine, for each of a plurality of positions in the region, a value of a registration measure, the registration measure representing at least one feature of the registration as a function of position, wherein the evaluation unit is configured to, for at least some of the plurality of positions in the region, determine whether an abnormality is present by comparing the value of the registration measure to a statistical atlas.

A variety of medical imaging modalities, for example computerized tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET) and ultrasound, have become well-known techniques for obtaining medical imaging data representative of a patient or other subject for diagnostic or other purposes.
It is known to obtain multiple medical imaging data sets of the same patient or other subject by performing measurements at different times, under different conditions or using different modalities. Such multiple medical imaging data sets often have different co-ordinate systems, such that the same anatomical feature of the subject will appear at positions having different co-ordinates in the different medical imaging data sets (for example, in a simple case, due to the patient or other subject having a different relative position within the scanner when the different imaging data sets were obtained).
It is known to register different medical imaging data sets, for example different medical imaging data sets for the same patient or other subject obtained at different times, to obtain registration data that comprises or represents a transformation of co-ordinates for one or both of the medical imaging data sets. By transforming the co-ordinates of one or both medical imaging data sets it can be provided that the medical imaging data sets are aligned such that the same anatomical features from the medical imaging data sets appear at substantially the same, or corresponding, positions in a common co-ordinate system.
It is known to perform registrations manually or automatically using known analysis techniques. Different types of registration transformation may be used, for example (in order of increasing degrees of freedom) rigid body, affine, or non-rigid.
A rigid body registration in this context may comprise a registration in which the co-ordinates of data points in one data set are subject to rotation and/or translation in order to register the data set to another data set. An affine registration in this context may comprise a registration in which the coordinates of data points in one dataset are subject to rotation, and/or translation, and/or scaling and/or shearing in order to register the dataset to another dataset. Thus, a rigid registration may be considered to be a particular type of affine registration.
Non-rigid registrations can provide different displacements for each voxel of the data set to be registered and can, for example, use non-linear transformations, in which the coordinates of data points in one dataset are subject to flexible deformations in order to register the data set to another data set. Non-linear transformations may in some cases be defined using vector fields such as warp fields, or other fields or functions, such as B-splines, defining an individual displacement for each voxel in a three-dimensional data set.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) was the fourth leading cause of death in 2011, responsible for an estimated 3 million deaths worldwide. Currently, diagnosis is made primarily using non-imaging methods, with severity rated using a single measure for both lungs known as the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) severity score. Although there is currently no cure for COPD, appropriate early treatment can slow progression and improve the patient's quality of life. COPD can include one or more of a variety symptoms and conditions, for example emphysema, bronchitis, and functional small airways disease (fSAD).
It has been suggested to use imaging methods to diagnose or monitor COPD. In particular, it has been suggested to diagnose COPD based on two lung CT scans: one acquired at full inspiration, the other at full expiration. Inspiration scan voxels with CT intensity values less than a first threshold are identified as representing emphysema tissue. Expiration scan voxels with CT intensity values less than a second threshold are considered to indicate gas trapping. Using those thresholds and a parametric response map that represents the combinations of CT intensity values from both the expiration and inspiration scans, normal tissue, emphysema, and a category of functional small airways disease (fSAD) for tissue where there is gas trapping but not emphysema, are determined based on the CT intensity values. The known method is based on comparisons of the CT intensity values to thresholds.

Medical image data processing apparatus and method for determining the presence of an abnormality