A composition comprising from about 40 weight percent to about 99.9 weight percent of at least one C1-C5 hydrofluorocarbon, from about 0.1 weight percent to about 50 weight percent of CF3I, and from about 0.1 weight percent to about 10 weight percent of at least one C1-C6 hydrocarbon and the use of these composition for in methods of the recharging of refrigeration systems.

Field of Invention
The invention relates generally to hydrofluorocarbon compositions. More particularly, the invention relates to blends of one or more hydrofluorocarbons, trifluoroiodomethane (CF3I) and hydrocarbons, as well as methods for using these compositions in applications such as the recharging of refrigeration systems. and for its use in replacing a chlorofluorocarbon or hydrochlorofluorocarbon in a refrigeration system.
Description of the Related Art
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), such as dichlorofluoromethane (R-12), monochlorodifluoromethane (R-22), and azeotropic mixtures of monochlorodifluoromethane and chloropentafluoroethane (R-115) (known as R-502), have conventionally been used as refrigerants in heating and cooling systems. However, the use of chlorine-containing refrigerants, such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFC's), hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFC's) and the like, as refrigerants in air-conditioning and refrigeration systems has become disfavored because of the ozone-depleting properties associated with such compounds.
New compounds have been developed as alternatives to CFCs and HCFCs. Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and hydrofluorocarbon blends are of particular interest as such alternatives because they have properties that are similar to chlorofluorocarbons, including similar refrigeration characteristics, i.e. a vapor pressure that is plus or minus 20 percent of the reference refrigerant at the same temperature, chemical stability, low toxicity, non-flammability, efficiency in-use and low temperature glides. Unlike CFCs and HCFCs, HFCs do not damage the ozone layer, and thus are considered environmentally friendly. Moreover, HFCs generally possess a good efficiency in-use which is important, for example, in air conditioning and refrigeration where a loss in refrigerant thermodynamic performance or energy efficiency may have secondary environmental impacts through increased fossil fuel usage arising from an increased demand for electrical energy.
Some HFCs are known to be exceptional refrigerants, including, but not limited to, difluoromethane (R-32), 1,1,1,2,2-pentafluoroethane (R-125), 1,1,1-trifluoroethane (R-143a), 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane (R-134a), and 1,1-difluoroethane (R-152a). Certain blends of two or more of these HFCs can also be used to achieve particular thermodynamic properties. Common HFC blends include an azeotrope-like blend of R-143a and R-125 (known as R-507A), a non-azeotropic blend of R-125, R-143a, and R-134a (known as R-404A), a non-azeotropic blend of R-32 and R-125 (known as R-410A), and a non-azeotropic blend of R-32, R-125, and R-134a (known as R-407C). These alternative refrigerants are available commercially from various sources including Honeywell, DuPont, Atochem and ICI.
Each of these HFCs or HFC blends can serve as a replacement for one or more CFCs or HCFCs. For example, R-134a can serve as replacement of R-12 in refrigeration and air conditioning applications such as chillers; R-404A and R-507A can serve as replacements for R-502 in most refrigeration applications, including high, medium and low evaporation temperature systems; R410A can serve as replacement of R-22 in new air conditioning and refrigeration equipment: and R-407C can serve as a replacement for R-22 in various air-conditioning applications, as well as in most refrigeration systems including chillers. The use of chlorine-containing refrigerants, such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFC's), hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFC's) and the like, as refrigerants in air-conditioning and refrigeration systems has become disfavored because of the ozone-depleting properties associated with such compounds. As a result, it has become desirable to retrofit chlorine-containing refrigeration systems by replacing chlorine-containing refrigerants with non-chlorine-containing refrigerants that will not deplete the ozone layer, such as hydrofluorocarbons (HFC's). In order for replacement materials to be useful in connection with refrigeration compositions, the materials must be compatible with a lubricant utilized in the compressor.
However, widespread commercial use of these and other HFC refrigerants has been hindered by the lack of commercially adequate lubricants. Refrigeration system designers are interested in how the lubricant behaves in the system so that they can design piping and other components to best manage lubricant return to the compressor. The behavior of a refrigerant on a lubricant entering the system can affect film characteristics on heat transfer surfaces, and thus energy efficiency performance. Generally, the first property considered is miscibility of the lubricant with the liquid refrigerant. Unfortunately, many non-chlorine-containing refrigeration fluids, including HFC's, are relatively insoluble and/or immiscible in the types of lubricants used traditionally with CFC's and HFC's, including mineral oils. In order for a refrigeration fluid-mineral oil combination to work efficiently within a compression refrigeration, air-conditioning or heat pump system, the mineral oil must be sufficiently soluble in the refrigeration liquid over a wide range of operating temperatures. Such solubility lowers the viscosity of the mineral oil and allows it to flow more easily throughout the system. In the absence of such solubility, mineral oils tend to become lodged in the coils of the compression refrigeration, air-conditioning or heat pump system evaporator, as well as other parts of the system, and thus reduce the system efficiency. Fluorocarbon-based fluids have found widespread use in industry for refrigeration system applications, including air-conditioning systems and heat pump applications as well, all of which involve compression refrigeration.
The HFC refrigerants that are replacing HCFC refrigerants have a different influence on lubricants, which affects both compressor durability and system performance. Specifically, mineral oil or alkyl benzenes, which have been used with conventional refrigerants such as R-12, R-502 and R-22, are immiscible with HFCs and must therefore be replaced with polyol ester (POE) or other synthetic lubricants. However, major development considerations for the synthetic lubricants remain, including miscibility, solubility, stability, electrical properties, lubricity and retrofitting requirements.
Since HFC are generally immiscible in conventional lubricants, retrofitting refrigeration or air conditioning systems with HFC refrigerants typically requires the drainage of as much of the lubricant oil as possible before introducing the new refrigerants with synthetic lubricants. This process often involves removing the compressor from the system so that the lubricant can be adequately drained. For these and other reasons, it would be highly desirable to retrofit a CFC or HCFC system with HFC without having to remove the system's lubricant. By not needing to replace the existent oil, such a retrofit would become a simple "drop-in" operation. That is, the existent refrigerant would be replaced with a new refrigerant without any further change in, or disassembly of, the system hardware.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,611,210 teaches fluoroiodocarbon blends with an additive selected from the group consisting of: alcohols, esters, ethers, fluoroethers, hydrocarbons, hydrofluorocarbons, and perfluorocarbons with boiling points between −150° C. and +2000° C. U.S. Pat. No. 7,208,098 discloses a lubricating composition for compression refrigeration containing a blend of a polyol ester and an alkylbenzene, however, CF3I is not taught. U.S. patent application 20050233934 teaches azeotrope-like compositions comprising tetrafluoropropene and trifluoroiodomethane and uses thereof, including use in refrigerant compositions, and refrigeration systems. U.S. 2006/0116310A1, U.S. Pat. No. 7,083,743 and WO 94/20588 show combinations of halocarbons and fluoroiodocarbons. US2003/0062508A1, U.S. Pat. No. 2,004,006, U.S. Pat. No. 2,005,015 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,428,720 show combinations of halocarbons and hydrocarbons.
Accordingly, there exists a need and an opportunity to resolve this solubility problem so that the refrigeration industry may retrofit systems without costly and time-consuming flushing to entirely remove conventional lubricants. Applicants have discovered that the miscibility of HFCs in conventional lubricants can be greatly increased by blending the HFCs with CF3I (trifluoroiodomethane) and hydrocarbons (HC). It has been unexpectedly found that HFCs blended with CF3I and HCs are generally more miscible in common lubricant oils than blends of HFCs alone. By utilizing such HFC/CF3I/HC blends, CFC or HCFC systems can be retrofitted without having to drain or replace the system's lubricants. In addition, it has been found that certain blends of HFCs, CF3I and HCs generally retain the thermodynamic properties that are important for refrigerants.

Hydrofluorocarbon/trifluoroiodomethane/ hydrocarbons refrigerant compositions


Between core and cladding, the side-emitting step index fibers have scattering centers that ensure the coupling out of light from the fiber. The side-emitting step index fibers are produced by preforms that contain inlay rods, in which the scattering centers are embedded and which are applied to the outer region of the fiber core during fiber drawing. Alternatively, at least one inlay tube can be used.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to side-emitting step index fibers, methods for producing such, and their applications.
2. Description of Related Art
Step index fibers are understood as light-guiding fibers, the light being guided in the fiber core by total reflection of the light guided in the core at the cladding enclosing the fiber core along the fiber axis. The total reflection occurs whenever the cladding has a lower refractive index than the fiber core guiding the light. However, the condition of total reflection is possible only up to a limiting angle of the light striking the cladding, which angle is a function of the refractive indices of core and cladding. The limiting angle βMin, that is to say the smallest angle at which total reflection still occurs, can be calculated by sin(βMin)=n2/n1, with βMin being measured from a plane perpendicular to the fiber axis, n1 representing the refractive index of the fiber core, and n2 representing the refractive index of the cladding.
In general, the goal is to guide the light in the fiber as well as possible, that is to say as little light as possible is to be lost during coupling into the fiber and during transport in the fiber. The side-emitting step index fiber is a step index fiber in the case of which light is intentionally coupled out of the fiber core and of the fiber. What is desired in general is a uniform coupling out that, in the ideal case, makes a side-emitting step index fiber appear as a uniformly, luminous band or line. This renders it of interest for multiple applications, particularly in lighting engineering.
In the sense of the invention, side-emitting means that the fiber is capable of emitting light laterally irrespective of whether it is in operation, that is to say whether a light source is actually connected and the light is switched on.
As is generally known, the fibers are produced with the aid of fiber drawing processes in which at least the preform of the fiber core is heated up to or in excess of the softening temperature of material of the preform or the fiber core, and a fiber is drawn out. The principles of the fiber drawing process are described in detail in, for example, German patents DE 103 44 205 B4 and DE 103 44 207 B3.
Various methods are known from the prior art for producing the effect of side emission. One known method is to ensure coupling out of light in the fiber core.
Japanese laid-open application JP 9258028 A2 discloses side-emitting step index fibers in the case of which the light is to be coupled out by a non-round core. The coupling out is performed when light strikes the interface between fiber core and cladding at angles that are smaller than the limiting angle of total reflection βMin. The non-round core geometries described, for example square, triangular or star-shaped, produce in the core geometric regions in which light otherwise guided by total reflection can be coupled out. The production of side-emitting fibers via such core geometries is, however, attended by the problem that coupling out the light is very inefficient in this case. The light is guided in the fiber to the cladding at essentially very flat incident angles, and the described core geometries extend along the fiber axis. Consequently, there are scarcely any areas where βMin is undershot. Furthermore, making use of the core geometries disclosed in JP 9258028 A2 for fibers made from glass is very complex because it is very difficult to produce appropriate preforms such as are required for fiber drawing. Moreover, precisely in the case of glass fibers the ultimate strength of such fibers is greatly reduced with non-round fiber core diameters. Presumably for this reason, this publication also discloses only fibers made from polymers.
A further method for coupling light out of the fiber core is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,466,697, according to which particles that reflect and/or scatter light are mixed in the fiber core. There are difficulties here in producing relatively long fibers with uniformly side-emitting properties, since the guiding of light in the core is reduced by absorption by the added particles in the core, since there are no particles that scatter completely, but only ones that scatter nearly all the incident light. Because in the case of particles distributed uniformly in the core there is a very high probability that the light guided in the core will strike such particles, the probability of absorption is also very high even when the total number of particles is small. The coupling-out effect can therefore be scaled only with great difficulty, and this renders reproducible results in fiber drawing a matter of extreme complexity extending as far as near impossibility at least for fibers over 3 m in length, at least when the aim is to produce glass fibers.
Scalability in the sense of the present disclosure is understood as the capacity for targeted setting of the side-emission effects over the length of the fiber. This is required because fiber lengths can vary very strongly for different applications, whereas the aim is to attain the most uniform intensity possible for the emission of light over the entire fiber length.
As an alternative to coupling the light directly out of the fiber core, side-emitting properties can also be caused in the case of fibers by effects in the interface between fiber core and cladding or in the cladding itself. Thus, it is known from the prior art that crystallization reactions between core glasses and cladding glasses are undesirable, since the crystallites in the interface between core and cladding can serve as scattering centers such that light is coupled out of the fiber and therefore reduces its optical conductivity. This effect is generally undesirable in the case of optical waveguides and, as described in German patent DE 102 45 987 B3, glass fibers are normally developed in a targeted way such that no crystallization takes place between core and cladding. However, it would be conceivable to make targeted use of crystallization between core and cladding so as to produce side-emitting properties. Crystallization occurs during fiber drawing when core and cladding fuse with one another and the fiber cools down again. However, it has emerged in experiments that the crystallization process can be set and controlled during fiber drawing only with difficulty, and so there has so far been no success commercially with a reproducible and scalable production of side-emitting glass fibers whose side-emitting properties are based on the presence of crystallites in the interface between core and cladding.
In order to produce side-emitting properties based on scattering centers in the interface between core and cladding, it is proposed in accordance with patent specification LV 11644 B for silica glass fibers to apply to the drawn out silica glass fiber a coating that contains scattering particles. The outer protective cladding around the silica glass fiber can be applied subsequently. As is customary with silica glass fibers, the coatings both of the scattering layer and of the outer cladding consist of plastics. This has the disadvantage that the drawn out fiber core has to be subjected to further coating steps and is unprotected throughout this. Dirt particles deposited between core and coating lead to possible breaks and/or to points with strong coupling out of light. In any case, silica glass fibers as such are already extremely expensive because of the material, but the complicated fabrication method required in this publication renders them yet more expensive in addition.
US 2005/0074216 A1 discloses a side-emitting fiber having a transparent core made from plastic that firstly has a transparent first cladding and there after a second cladding, the two likewise being made from plastic. Scattering particles are embedded in the second cladding, which is the outer cladding. This method is possible only for fibers with very large fiber diameters of 4 mm or more, because the light guided in the fiber core must be coupled out by the inhomogeneities necessarily present at the very large interface between core and first cladding. The second cladding with the embedded scattering particles serves in this case to homogenize the coupled-out light over all solid angles. However, fibers having such large core diameters are less flexible and can therefore be laid only with difficulty. Such embodiments can be produced from glass only as rigid light-guiding rods and are completely inflexible.
A severe disadvantage of all solutions described that include plastic is, furthermore, that all of the plastic claddings described are flammable. Consequently, such fibers should be generally undesirable. Apart from this, they cannot be allowed at least in areas having more stringent fire protection regulations for example inside aircraft cabins.
Glass fibers as such are not flammable. Side-emitting glass fibers are, however, likewise already known. The established method for producing glass fibers having side-emitting properties provides for the preform of the fiber core to be roughened by grinding or sandblasting. These treatment processes produce structures on the peripheral surface of the fiber core that project into the fiber core and are intended to couple out the guided light. It has emerged here, as well, that the process for producing the side emission is inefficient and also scalable only with difficulty. Moreover, the treatment of preforms, in particular when these consist of glass, is often expensive and complicated. Moreover, the structures projecting into the fiber core constitute instances of damage to the fiber core that can give rise to load peaks and therefore to cracks in the event of bending loads, the result being that such fibers suffer from a reduced ultimate strength. For this reason, as well, this technique seems in need of improvement.


A device for limiting swivel of a wheel includes a fixed seat, a positioning groove, a driving member, and a limiting member. The fixed seat permits a fork to be connected pivotally thereto, and permits a frame to be connected fixedly thereto. The driving member is connected rotatably to the fixed seat. The limiting member is mounted extendably and retractably on the fixed seat. The positioning groove is disposed to the fork. The limiting member is extendable from the fixed seat to engage the positioning groove so as to prevent rotation of the fork, and is retractable into the fixed seat to remove from the positioning groove to allow for rotation of the fork. The driving member has a caroming surface rotatable to drive extension and retraction of the limiting member.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a stroller, and more particularly to a device for limiting swivel of a stroller wheel.
2. Description of the Related Art
For convenience of stroller steering, the wheels of a stroller are typically universal wheels. In such a stroller, one wheel of the stroller is connected pivotally to a fork, which is connected pivotally to a frame, so that the moving direction of the stroller can be changed randomly. However, since the wheels are universal, the stroller is is not convenient to push.
Swivel limiting devices have been proposed to solve this problem, and are operable to limit the moving directions of the strollers. Typically, a conventional swivel limiting device includes an elongate limiting member that can be inserted into a direction limiting hole to prevent a change in the moving direction of the stroller. However, it is necessary to align the limiting member with the direction limiting hole prior to insertion of the limiting member into the direction limiting hole, thereby resulting in an inconvenient operation and a complicated structure.

WONDERLAND NURSERY GOODS COMPANY LIMITED


A server device that provides a client device with one or more data storage locations of one or more sets of information about one or more datasets. The one or more sets of information about the one or more datasets are to be provided by one or more network devices. Each of the sets of information about the datasets is described in a structured format. The server device includes a data storage location acquiring unit that acquires the data storage locations of the sets of information about the datasets from the corresponding network devices, a data storage location management unit that manages the acquired data storage locations of the sets of information about the datasets; and a data storage location providing unit that provides the client device with the acquired data storage locations of the sets of information about the datasets.

1. Technical Field
This disclosure generally relates to a server device, a network device, a method of providing a data providing location, a program for providing a data providing location, and a recording medium, and particularly relates to a server device, a network device, a method of providing a data providing location, a program for providing a data providing location, and a recording medium for use in a system in which a client device acquires a set of information about a dataset from a data storage location.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, RSS (Rich Site Summary) has been used for publishing updated information of Web sites. RSS is an XML (Extensible Markup Language) based format for describing metadata such as title and summary of a Web site in a structured manner.
Updated information written in RSS can contain titles, addresses, headings, summaries, updated time, etc., of Web site pages. RSS makes it possible for RSS subscribers to efficiently handle the updated information on many Web sites in a uniform format.
Some conventional multifunction machines have functions for providing device management information, such as communication histories, in RSS (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2006-54732 (Patent Document 1), also published as U.S. Application Publication No. 2006/0033950 A1). Patent Document 1 discloses an RSS reader that runs on a computer serving as a client device. The RSS reader periodically polls RSS feeds in plural multifunction machines and thus collectively manages plural sets of device management information of the plural multifunction machines.
The term "RSS feed" as used herein may indicate the URL of the RSS source. The RSS source is information described in RSS format.
However, according to Patent Document 1, a user of the RSS reader needs to register RSS feeds of the multifunction machines into the RSS reader. That is, the user needs to find out each of the URLs of the RSS feeds of the multifunction machines. This might be very troublesome if the user needs to register a number of RSS URLs.
Similarly, in the case where an administrator, such as an IT manager, manages a number of network devices and multifunction machines, the administrator needs to find out and register all the RSS feed URLs of the managed network devices and multifunction machines, which might be very troublesome.

Server device, network device, and method of providing data providing location


A removable rigid support brace for supporting a user's limb at a joint thereof comprises a rigid sheath member having an inner surface and sized to extend about and embrace the limb at the joint area. Hinging means disposed centrally in the sheath member enable the ends of the sheath member to pivot relative to each other and in concert with the joint movement. An array of individually adjustable and inflatable fluid filled chambers is mounted upon the inner surface of the sheath member to form a contained volume within said array for receiving the limb. The chambers are operable to customize a secure and comfortable fit of the rigid support brace to the contours of the limb and joint area.

The present invention relates to removable braces for supporting a user's limb at a joint thereof, such as the knee joint of a leg, and specifically to rigid and semi-rigid support braces.
Knee braces and the like are well known in the art for controlling and stabilizing a joint area in the event of an injury or other instability of the limb or the joint. Injuries to a joint area such as the straining or tearing of ligaments, tendons or cartilage occur when a limb becomes twisted, hyperextended or otherwise contorted into unnatural positions. These kinds of injuries are often the result of participation in athletic contests such as football and basketball, but they occur in a variety of ways. Of current interest are devices which can be worn by those who have sustained various knee injuries and which will both protect the knee against further injury, and support the injured or weakened knee sufficiently to allow one to resume activities on the playing field, in the work place, and so forth.
The prior art includes removable rigid support braces worn about the knee area. Such braces typically comprise a rigid sheath member approximately two feet long which conforms generally to the shape of a leg above and below the knee for placement about the knee area. The sheath member usually includes padding such as foam rubber on the inside to size the sheath to the leg and enable a somewhat comfortable fit. Such rigid sheaths are strong enough to resist sudden twisting, bending and so forth and thereby prevent hyperextension and other injurious lateral, fore and aft movement of the knee. Flexible braces have much less structural strength than rigid braces and are thus less effective in preventing hyperextension or other injurious knee movement.
The rigid brace currently available, however, are characterized by various disadvantages. The padding in rigid braces has only a limited capacity for sizing the sheath to the leg because the quantity of such padding is not continuously adjustable. If a user desires additional padding to improve the comfort or fit of the brace, none of the options presently available are very adequate. For example, a user may simply place additional padding, cloth or whatever soft material is readily available, between the brace and the leg. Such additional padding may thereafter fall out or shift about undesirably. It is also difficult to achieve a consistent fit from one use to the next in this manner. Further, rigid braces are unable to provide selectively adjustable stabilizing pressure to the knee, or different pressure to different points on the knee, which would be helpful in correcting knee instabilities and in achieving proper alignment of the knee during healing thereof.
The prior art includes various flexible knee braces which solve some of these problems, but introduce others. These braces typically include a flexible sleeve or sheath made of a suitable flexible fabric or elastic material and are thus much more comfortable and form-fitting than the rigid braces. The flexible fabric or elastic material from which they are made more ably adjusts and conforms to the contours of the limb than the padding in a rigid brace which is restrained by the rigid sheath.
However, although flexible knee braces more ably conform to leg size, they fail to provide the same degree of protection against hyperextension and other abnormal knee movement offered by rigid braces, because a flexible sheath or sleeve has much less strength than a rigid or semi-rigid sheath as discussed above. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,786,804 and 4,938,207 attempt a solution to this problem by teaching a pair of flat vertical support arms, one such arm mounted upon each side of a flexible brace to provide some rigidity to the brace and to thereby protect against abnormal knee movement. However, although this approach does provide some protection against abnormal lateral movement, such protection is vastly inferior to that offered by a rigid or semi-rigid support brace which provides far more rigid structure than the support arms.
Users have thus had to choose between the comfort and adjustable fit offered by the flexible braces, and the superior protection against hyperextension and other abnormal lateral, fore and aft movement offered by the rigid braces.
Although the industry continues to research and develop devices for controlling instabilities in the knee and other joints, none of the braces known to applicant can single-handedly solve the problems discussed above. It is clear that there is a need for a joint-supporting brace which not only provides superior protection against hyperextension and other abnormal joint movement, but which can also customize a secure and comfortable fit to the limb, and which can be adjusted with respect to various leg sizes and contours.

Rigid joint support brace sizing means and method


A new coronavirus is disclosed herein with a tropism that includes humans. Means and methods are provided for diagnosing subjects (previously) infected with the virus. Also provided are among others vaccines, medicaments, nucleic acids and specific binding members.

The invention relates to the fields of virology and medicine. More in particular the invention relates to the identification of a new coronavirus and to means and methods associated with a virus such as means and methods for typing the virus in various samples and diagnosing of disease, means and methods for developing vaccines and medicaments for the treatment of infected subjects or of subjects at risk thereof.
Coronaviruses, a genus in the family of Coronaviridae, are large enveloped plus strand RNA viruses. The genomic RNA is 27 to 32 kb in size, capped and polyadenylated. Three serologically distinct groups of coronaviruses have been identified. Within each group, viruses are identified by hosts range and genome sequence. Coronaviruses have been identified in mice, rats, chickens, turkeys, swine, dogs, cats, rabbits, horses, cattle and humans (39, 40). Most coronaviruses infect only one host species and can cause severe disease including gastroenteritis, and respiratory tract diseases. In humans, 3 coronaviruses have been studied in detail. HCoV-229E and HCoV-OC43 have been identified in the mid sixties and are known to cause common cold (13-17, 19, 41, 42). Besides common cold it has been suggested that the HCoV-229E may cause a more serious disease in infants as HCoV-229E virus has been isolated from infants suffering from lower respiratory tract disease (28). The third and most recently identified coronavirus: SARS-CoV, is, with its ability to cause a life threatening pneumonia (43), the most pathogenic human coronavirus identified thus far. It has been suggested that SARS-CoV is the first member of a fourth group of coronaviruses, or that the virus is an outlier of the group 2 coronaviruses (27, 44).
The genome of coronaviruses encodes four structural proteins: the spike protein, the membrane protein, the envelope protein and the nucleocapsid protein. Several non-structural proteins are involved in replication and transcription, which are encoded by two long overlapping open reading frames (ORFs) at the 5′end of the genome (1A and 1B). These 2 ORFs are connected via a ribosomal frame shift. The polypeptides encoded by ORF 1A and 1B are post-translationally processed by viral encoded proteases. Furthermore, additional non-structural proteins are encoded between the S and E gene, or between the M and N gene or downstream of the N gene. Some of these "accessory non-structural protein genes" have been found to be not essential for virus reproduction (45, 46). The coronavirus gene products of 1A and 1B are translated from the genomic RNA but the remaining viral proteins are translated from subgenomic mRNAs (sg mRNA), each with a 5′end derived from the 5′ part of the genome. The sg mRNA are derived via a discontinuous transcription process that most probably occurs during negative strand synthesis (47). Discontinuous transcription requires base-pairing between cis-acting elements, the transcription associated sequences (TRSs), one located at the 5′ part of the genome (the leader TRS) and others located upstream of the ORFs (the body TRSs)(48)).

Coronavirus, nucleic acid, protein, and methods for the generation of vaccine, medicaments and diagnostics

AMSTERDAM INSTITUTE OF VIRAL GENOMICS B.V.


A steering assembly for steering a vehicle. The steering assembly comprises a first steering knuckle having a first wheel rotatably mounted thereto, a first swing mechanism for enabling displacement of the first steering knuckle along a first arced path and a first guiding mechanism for pivoting the first steering knuckle when the first steering knuckle is displaced along the first arced path in order to maintain the first wheel oriented tangentially relative to the first arced path. The first arced path is concave relative to a central longitudinal axis of the vehicle and spaced from the first frame member, away from a central longitudinal axis of the vehicle, by a distance sufficient to prevent the first wheel from contacting the first frame member when the first steering knuckle is pivoted. There is further provided a method of operating the steering assembly.

Trailers are commonly used for the transportation of goods. A trailer is generally attached to and pulled by a powered vehicle such as a car or, for a larger trailer, a tractor truck.
Typically, the mounting of wheels on a trailer frame can be accomplished by fixing a wheel at each end of a rotating axle which is then mounted under the frame of the trailer, or by mounting each wheel on separate fixed spindles on each side of the vehicle, the wheel rotating around the fixed axle.
In both cases, the wheels are always oriented parallel to the frame. This configuration is adapted to the trailer traveling in a straight line, but is problematic when the trailer is negotiating a curve. In that instance, the wheels become unaligned with the trajectory of the trailer during the turn, resulting in wheels of the trailer slipping on the road.
It is therefore desirable to be able to orient the wheels to keep the wheels aligned (i.e. tangential) with the trajectory of the trailer. Moreover, in a turn, the wheels on each side of a vehicle do not follow the same trajectory. For instance, when negotiating a left turn, the wheels on the right side of the trailer follow a curved trajectory having a radius of curvature greater than the wheels on the left side of the trailer. Therefore, the wheels on either side of the trailer will slip during the turn, causing premature wear to the tires mounted on the wheels and possibly leading to serious accidents.
In hopes of overcoming such drawbacks, some apparatuses for orienting wheels on a trailer have been proposed. In one such apparatus, the wheels are mounted on an axle and are linked using a rack-and-pinion system, which is widely used in modern cars and therefore well-known in the art. Unfortunately, this system does not allow the wheels on the left and right side of the trailer to be turned at different angles and therefore does not solve the wheel slippage problem.
Further, the laws of most jurisdictions define a maximum distance between the wheels on the left side and on the right side of the vehicle. The wheels are therefore required to be positioned relatively close to the frame of the trailer. This configuration thus prevents the wheels from turning to great angles without contacting the trailer frame.
Another apparatus consists of a dolly or bogie system being pivotally mounted under the trailer. A dolly comprises a chassis mounted on a set of wheels, generally linked together by a rigid axle. While the wheels remain parallel to the dolly at all time, the whole dolly can pivot in relation to the trailer when the trailer negotiates a turn. Once again, because this system lacks the ability to orient wheels on the left side and the right side at the vehicle at different angles, the slippage issue is not resolved. Further, the installation of a dolly under the trailer raises the overall center of mass of the trailer, which then increases the risk of the trailer tipping over when turning.
Other apparatuses involving complex hydraulic circuits have been proposed, but are often too complicated, cumbersome and are prone to leaks, which would be most undesirable, especially if the trailer is traveling at great speed.
There is therefore a need for an apparatus that will overcome at least one of the above-identified drawbacks.
Features of the invention will be apparent from review of the disclosure, drawings and description of the invention below.

Steering assembly for a vehicle and method of operating the same


A robot platform is provided, which is intended in particular for remotely controlled and/or autonomous inspection of technical facilities, in particular in power stations, and comprises at least a drive mechanism configured to move the robot platform, an inspection device configured to inspect the technical facility and a communication device for exchanging measurement and/or control data. Particular flexibility in use and extended areas of use are achieved in that the robot platform is modular and the communication device operates in accordance with a uniform standard.

Various inspection and servicing tasks in large technical facilities, such as power stations, require different types of robots if these tasks are intended to be carried out in areas where external access is difficult, the robots must be designed and constructed specifically for the respective purpose, and in very limited numbers. It is therefore highly time-consuming and costly to develop and to construct robots such as these from the start for a specific purpose. When robots such as these are controlled externally, thick and heavy supply cables are required for this purpose, which link the robot to an appropriate external station, in order to transmit control signals and electrical power to the robot, and to transmit position messages from the robot to the external station, for example U.S. Pat. No. 6,104,970 or US 2008148876 A1, which are incorporated by reference.
Although inspection systems are commercially available which allow various sensors for various purposes to be fitted to a platform (for example the "Magman" scanner from Phoenix Inspection Systems Ltd., or the ZR-1 robot system from Zetec, Inc.), a range of use even of such systems which can be used flexibly is, however, restricted. Furthermore, even in the case of these systems, a multiplicity of different cable links are required in order to transmit data, control signals and power between the actual inspection unit and an external control and evaluation unit. In particular, these include separate transmission of various sensor data items from the position determination process from the unit and sensors which are susceptible to defects, and considerably restrict the freedom of movement of the unit, because of the associated cables.

Robot platform for remotely controlled and/or autonomous inspection of technical facilities


Techniques for synchronization control of file folders in computing systems are discloses herein. In one example, a method includes receiving data representing signals indicating an interaction of a user with a file in a first folder or has interreacted with the first folder directly and a failure of performing a synchronization operation between a second folder at the first server and a corresponding folder at the second server. The method can then include increasing a synchronization priority of the first folder relative to that of the second folder according to the received signals and synchronizing the first folder at the first server with another corresponding folder at the second server and the second folder at the first server with the corresponding folder at the second server according to the increased relative synchronization priority of the first folder over the second folder.

Electronic Mail or email is a technique of exchanging messages between users using computers, tablets, smart phones, or other suitable types of electronic devices. Email exchanges operate across computer networks such as the Internet or an intranet. Today's email systems are typically based on a store-and-forward model utilizing email servers to accept, forward, transmit, and store email messages. Users can connect to email servers using computers or mobile devices to access email messages in electronic mailboxes via a computer network.

Synchronization control of file folders in computing systems


An infrastructure for handling the administration of possible and mandatory input arguments at runtime for software program code. A user alterable argument descriptor file (ADF) stores all information related to input and output arguments for a software program and its constituent subpieces. During invocation of a software program, all command line flags and values are validated against the ADF, and valid pairs are stored in a key/value dictionary which is passed to the software program. Each subpiece of the software program may then access its needed arguments from the dictionary independently of other subpieces, thereby allowing modifications to subpieces which require new or changed arguments without the need to recompile the entire software program.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to methods and systems for determining, defining, and controlling input and output arguments for computer programs, and especially to methods for adapting input and output argument definition from one format to another such as during migration of existing programs from one computing environment to another.
2. Background of the Invention
When designing a software program, it is often the case that the program design relies on particular program inputs from the end user to be able to run and execute correctly. One method of obtaining these inputs is to "pass in" arguments to the program when invoking the program from the command line. In some cases, for programs which create output, the output can be redirected or "piped" to a destination indicated by a command line argument, as well.
Often, when there are multiple input arguments, the arguments are prefixed with a unique identifying flag that the program then uses to determine what the input argument should be used for. For example, if there exists a program called "MyProgram" that receives as input a user's first and last name, the program might be invoked from the command line as:Java MyProgram-first Ann-last Black
wherein "-first" is the unique flag identifier for the first name, and "Ann" is the argument value to process as the first name, "-last" is the unique flag identifier for the last name, and "Black" is the value to process as the last name. The flag and argument pair will be referred to as a flag/argument value pair from here forward.
Further, it is often the case that when implementing the design of a software program, or when upgrading a software program to provide additional functionality, it may be determined that additional inputs from the end user are necessary. In such a case, the software program's underlying implementation code may need to be altered in multiple places for administering this new input argument. For example, logic must be added for validating the new input argument, the logic that outputs usage information about how to use the program must be altered to encompass the new input argument, logic must be added to route the new input argument to the appropriate software subpiece (e.g. a module, method, plug-in or subroutine) for processing, the code must then be recompiled and built, etc.
Therefore, there are several risks involved when a software program needs even just a single additional input parameter from the user. These risks include: introducing new software bugs when altering existing code, forgetting to update all the necessary places in the software code to handle the new input parameter, and the additional time and expense incurred by a software developer for making the code changes and updates for just being able to have the existing software code handle the new input parameter. This process has to be repeated every time it is determined that a new input argument is necessary and therefore the risk increases with each additional input argument.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a system a method which allow for the software code that handles the administration of the input and output arguments to be written once, and which allows addition of new input or output arguments without unnecessarily modifying the software program's code, rebuilding or compiling it. This allows the software developer to focus solely on the subpiece of the software that processes the new input or output argument.

Method for runtime determination of available input argument types for a software program

International Business Machines Corporation


A digital pulsed phase locked loop (DPPLL) provides exact measurements of echo phase, time, and/or position delay as well as echo amplitude. These exact measurements provide better and more reliable results that directly benefit the many real world applications for the DPPLL. The DPPLL permits simultaneous tracking of multiple echo pulses and considerably improved echo selection and sampling.

An analog ultrasonic pulsed phase locked loop (PPLL) has demonstrated parts-in-ten million resolution for measuring changes in the time of flight of an ultrasonic tone-burst. Analog ultrasonic pulsed phase locked loops have been used in diverse applications such as determining the load state of a fastener, measuring residual stress and nonlinear elastic constants, measuring intracranial and intramuscular pressure, measuring groundwater flows, measuring changes in the temperature of a water bath, and others.
The analog PPLL (APPLL) achieves its high resolution with a feedback loop architecture that maintains a constant 90° phase difference between a transmitted ultrasonic pulse and a received echo of that pulse from a test sample, sometimes simply referred to as an echo. To maintain this phase difference, the analog PPLL detects the phase of a sampled region of the received echo pulse, and changes the frequency of the next transmitted pulse to maintain phase quadrature (i.e., a 90° phase difference) between that transmitted pulse and the echo sample. Under this quadrature phase difference condition, the frequency of the transmitted pulse must be a harmonic of the fundamental frequency of the transmitted pulse defined by the following relation:fm=mv/2l  (1)where fm is the mth harmonic of the fundamental resonance frequency, v is the speed of sound in the transmitting medium, and l is the one-way propagation distance from the transmitter to sample under test. Equation (1) defines a resonance condition which is used to convert the frequency output of the APPLL into the speed of sound v or the ultrasonic path length l. These two parameters, v and l, may then be used to assess certain material properties of an object under test, such as elasticity, temperature or density.
In an analog PPLL, a phase detector estimates the phase of a received echo pulse, (usually a set of echo pulses), and feeds this received echo signal back to a voltage-controlled signal generator. If the echo signal phase is not in quadrature with the transmitted pulse signal, the signal generator shifts the frequency of the next transmitted pulse so that the resonance condition is met. The "loop" includes the pulse generator/transmitter (e.g., a voltage controlled oscillator), the echo pulse receiver, and the phase comparator or detector with the feedback of the phase difference to the pulse generator/transmitter.
The heart of the analog PPLL is an analog mixer that functions as the phase detector forming the product between the output reference signal V1=A1 sin(ω1+φ1) and the return echoes V2=A2(t)sin(ω2t+φ2), with A2(t) being a time-dependent function depending on the location of the various echoes. The output of the phase detector mixer, VM, is defined below:VM=½A1A2(t){cos [(ω1−ω2)t+(φ1−φ2)]+cos [(ω1−ω2)t+(φ1−φ2)]}  (2)In this application, the two frequencies are the same (ω1=ω2=ω) so equation (2) reduces to:VM=½A1A2(t){cos(Δφ)+cos(2ωt+(Σφ)}  (3)The 2ωt term is eliminated by applying a low-pass filter (coupled to the mixer output) to VM to yield a DC phase signal VP:VP=½A1A2(t)cos(Δφ)  (4)
Thus, the output of the filter depends on the amplitude of the transmitted pulse (i.e., the reference signal) and the received echo pulses as well as on the phase difference between the transmitted pulse and the received echo pulses. A sample-and-hold circuit (coupled to the filter's output) measures VP for a selected echo pulse, A2(t1), and the output of the sample-and-hold circuit is then sent to an integrator (which averages out pulse-to-pulse noise in VP). The integrator output h creates an error signal that is stabilized when Δφ=90°. For other values of Δφ, a "ramp" (either increasing or decreasing) error signal is returned to the VCO control voltage, which forces a frequency shift in the VCO output (the transmit pulse) to the resonance condition of equation (1).
APPLLs rely on analog components and analog-based phase estimation methods. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,363,242; 5,404,743; 5,214,955; and 4,624,142 employ analog signal processing components to measure phase, such as the mixer, low-pass filter, sample and hold circuit, and integrator as described above.
But these components are subject to thermal drift and other noise sources that limit the resolution of the APPLLs or the time over which a measurement must be taken. In addition, analog-based PPLLs can only estimate phase error rather than calculate the actual phase error, and they do not provide an accurate amplitude of the echo being tracked. That echo amplitude information can be very useful information. It is also difficult for APPLLs to accurately select an echo pulse and an optimal sampling region of that pulse.


The present invention refers to an isolated nucleic acid molecule for expression of a gene in seeds, having promoter activity, comprising a nucleotide sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:1, a first sequence at least 70% homologous to SEQ ID NO:1, with the functionality of SEQ ID NO:1, a second sequence at least 70% homologous to the sequence complementary to SEQ ID NO:1, with the functionality of SEQ ID NO:1, and fragments thereof, with the functionality of SEQ ID NO:1; to chimeric genes, constructs, vectors, expression cassettes, host cells and transgenic plants comprising said sequences; as well as to a method for expression of a gene specifically in seeds or seed parts using one of the mentioned sequences or chimeric genes comprising said sequence s and to a method for obtaining substances through the transferring of the mentioned chimeric genes to a plant and expressing said chimeric gene.

Agriculture. The present invention refers to the obtaining of regulatory (xe2x80x9cpromoterxe2x80x9d) DNA sequences and the construction of new chimeric genes, and to the use of these sequences, capable of being specifically expressed in transgenic plant seeds. Ha ds10 G1 gene has the peculiarity of only being expressed in sunflower seeds from the maturation until the desiccation phase, without responding to hormones such as abscicic acid (ABA) or water stress in vegetative tissues. Furthermore, gene Ha ds10 G1 is expressed homogeneously in immature embryos and preferably in the palisade parenchyma of mature embryo cotyledons. These expression patterns, as well as the high activity levels of the gene, suggest that its regulatory sequences are particularly appropriate for the genetic manipulation of storage substances in seeds.
Up to now in order to confer specific expression in transgenic plant seeds, promoters have been isolated, characterised and used, especially belonging to plant genes which code for storage proteins or other products solely expressed in seeds, during different phases of development [see the following references and patents, as well as other documents cited therein Thomas T L, in Plant Cell, vol 5, pp 1401-1410, 1993; Gatehouse J A and Shirsat A H in Control of Plant Gene Expression, pp 357-375, CRC press, 1993; U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,530,192, 5,530,194 and 5,420,034]. For example, this has allowed the obtaining of new transgenic plants with modified fatty acid and storage protein content [see: Voelker T A, Worrell A C, Anderson L, Bleibaum 3, Fan C, Hawkins D J, Radke S E and Davies H M, in Science, vol. 257, pp.72-74, 1992; and Saalbach I, Pickardt T, Machemehl F, Saalbach G, Schieder O, and Muntz K, in Molecular and General Genetics 242: 226-236, 1994]. Other promoters with different tissue specificity in seed and varied temporal expression patterns could be useful for the development of the enormous potential of this technique. Recently the expression in seeds of genes that code for low molecular weight heat shock proteins was described (sHSPs: small heat-shock proteins). One of these genes, Ha hsp17.7 G4, shows in tobacco transgenic plants, expression patterns appropriate for its possible use in the genetically engineered modification of seeds: this gene is expressed from early seed maturation phases, and is specific of cotyledon tissue [Coca M A, Almoguera C, Thomas T L and Jordano J, in: Plant Molecular Biology 31: 863-876, 1996]. However, gene Ha hsp17.7 G4, like other sHSP plant genes expressed in seeds, is also expressed in response to heat (heat shock) in plant vegetative tissues after seed germination. The latter makes its use in genetic engineering impossible in the case that regulatory DNA sequences that guarantee the absence of expression of chimeric genes outside of the seed are required: for example, when the expression elsewhere of these genes may affect the viability, the growth, or the health of the transgenic plants. To solve these problems the Ha hsp17.7 G4 gene regulatory sequences were modified in such a way that the chimeric genes containing these sequences maintain their expression in seeds, and lose their heat induction; a procedure which can be used for the modification and similar use of regulatory sequences of other sHSP genes expressed in seed [Almoguera, Prieto-Dapena and Jordano, patent request #9602746 (Spanish Patent Office)]. Alternatively, a similar use for the promoter and regulatory sequences of the sunflower gene Ha hsp17.6 G1, which is only expressed in seeds, is proposed. This gene does not respond to heat or other types of stress (cold, dehydration, ABA hormone treatment) in vegetative tissues [Carranco, Almoguera and Jordano, Spanish patent application #970121.
Alternative analogous uses for promoter and regulatory sequences of sunflower LEA Ha ds10 G1 gene are proposed. Gene Ha ds10 G1 has been found in a genomic clone corresponding to a previously described cDNA (Ha ds10, access number X506999) whose expression patterns were not totally known [Almoguera and Jordano, Plant Mol. Biol. 19:781-792, 1992]. The promoter and regulatory sequences of this gene (Ha ds10 G1) have been cloned and are described, characterised and used for the first time in the examples of this application. The Ha ds10 G1 gene belongs to the Class I LEA (Late Embryogenesis Abundant) gene family (D-19 or LEA-I type ) These genes code for highly conserved proteins in various plant species, and their expression is usually restricted to seeds and early germination phases [see for example the following reviews: Dure III, L., Structural motifs in Lea proteins, in Plant Responses to Plant Dehydration During Environmental Stress., Close T J and Bray E A Eds., Current Topics in Plant Physiology 10: 91-103, 1993; and Delseny M, Gaubier P, Hull G. Saez-Vasquez J, Gallois P, Raynal M, Cooke R, Grellet F., Nuclear Genes expressed during seed desiccation: relationship with responses to stress, in Stress-induced Gene Expression in Plants (Basra, A. S., ed.), pp. 25-59, Harwood Academic Publishers, Reading, 1994]. LEA gene promoters have not been considered so good candidates for their use in seed storage substance modification projects, since usually their activity is expressed in later seed maturation phases, such as embryo desiccation [Kridls J C, Knauf V C, Thompson G a in Control of Plant Gene Expression. pp. 481-498, CRC press, 1993]. However, LEA genes that are activated in maturation phases prior to desiccation are known, such as the cotton genes denominated LEA-A [Hughes D W and Galau G A, The Plant Cell 3:605-618, 1991]. Examples of activation prior to desiccation are also known in the class I LEA genes, such as in the case of At Em1, emb564 and emb1 genes [in arabidopsis, maize and carrot, respectively: Gaubier P, Raynal M, Hull G, Huestis G M, Grellet F, Arenas C, Pages M, and Delseny M, Mol. Gen. Genet., 238: 409-418, 1993; Williams B, and Tsang A, Plant Mol. Biol., 16: 919-923, 1991; Wurtele E S, Wang H, Durgerian S, Nikolau B J, and Ulrich T H. Plant Physiol. 102:303-312, 1993]. These examples seem to indicate the possible use of regulatory sequences from genes of this family, for the modification of seeds. However, its specific use would be limited both by the expression levels obtained in each case and in each development phase; as well as by the different tissue specificity. Thus, even though in Arabidopsis the At Em1 gene is early activated, its expression is basically restricted to cotyledon provascular tissue and cortical tissue external to the embryonic axis [Gaubier, P., Raynal, M., Hull, G., Huestis, G M., Grellet, F., Arenas, C., Pages, M., and Delseny, M., Mol. Gen. Genet., 238: 409-418, 1993]. In the case of the carrot gene, emb1, its mRNA are preferably localised in the embryonic meristems, especially in the procambium [Wurtele E S, Wang H, Durgerian S, Nikolau B J, and Lylrich T H. Plant Physiol. 102:303-312, 1993]. No gene sequence of the emb564 gene has been published and the exact localisation of its mRNA is unknown [Williams B and Tsang A, Plant Mol. Biol., 16: 919-923, 1991].
The expression of sunflower gene Ha ds10 G1, as well as its promoter and regulatory sequences present unique characteristics among the other members of the LEA-I family, as described below, which means that these sequences may be potentially used for the modification of seeds by genetic engineering.
The present invention refers to the isolation and characterisation of the promoter and regulatory sequences of a sunflower LEA-I gene, Ha ds10 G1, in transgenic tobacco plants. These sequences (Example 1) present highly appropriate characteristics for their use in the modification of seeds (e.g. storage substances). The advantages of their possible use in transgenic plants are demonstrated in other examples: A. Studies of HA ds10 mRNA accumulation and localisation in the homologous system (Example 2). These studies demonstrate both the high expression levels reached during embryogenesis since early maturation phases, as well as the absolute seed specific localisation, accompanied of a homogenous distribution in embryos, which terminates essentially restricted to the cotyledon palisade parenchyma, a tissue specialised in the accumulation of sunflower storage substances. B. In example 3 the possible use of such sequences, via the construction and analysis of various chimeric genes in transgenic plants, is illustrated, using the promoter and combinations of various Ha ds10 G1 regulatory sequences (5xe2x80x2-flanking, coding, intron and 3xe2x80x2-flanking), with the reporter gene of bacterial xcex2-glucuronidase (GUS). These examples demonstrate the usefulness of the different chimeric genes tested in a heterologous model (tobacco): high expression level and seed specificity since early maturation phases, as well as the functional contribution of the various sequences tested. The examples attached demonstrate that the seed specificity is basically conferred by the promoter and the 5xe2x80x2-flanking sequences of Ha ds10G1 (including untranscribed and transcribed sequences, such as the 5xe2x80x2-UTR, and part of the coding sequence). Additionally, the 3xe2x80x2-flanking sequences increase expression levels in seeds, and the intron specifically reduces the expression levels in non-embryonic tissues. Due to the conservation of the regulation of embryonic gene expression in plant seeds, including LEA-I genes [Thomas T L, in I 5:1401-1410, 1993]; these sequences could be used both in the homologous system (sunflower) as in other heterologous systems of great economic importance (for example oilseed rape, soybean, maize, etc).
The practical embodiment of this invention, represented by the attached examples and figures, uses conventional Molecular Biology, Microbiology, recombinant DNA and transgenic plant production techniques that are common practice in laboratories specialised in these fields. These techniques have been explained in sufficient detail in the scientific literature [Sambrok J, Fritsch E F, and Maniatis T, Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, Cold Spring Harbor laboratory Press, 2nd Edition, 1989; Glover D M, DNA Cloning, IRL Press, 1985; Lindsey K., Plant Tissue Culture Manual, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1993; and Gelvin S B, Schilperoort R A, Verma D P S, Plant Molecular Biology Manual, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1992]. For more details, other references are cited in the corresponding section in this application.

Promoter and regulator sequences Ha ds10 G1: a gene lea of sunflower expressed exclusively in seeds from the maturation phase

Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas


Disclosed are a pixel structure, a method for fabricating the same, and a display device, and the pixel structure includes a pixel circuit including a light-emitting area and a non-light-emitting area, wherein the pixel circuit includes one or more storage capacitors, and at least one of the storage capacitors is arranged in the light-emitting area.

As the display technologies are developing constantly, an Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED) display panel, a Quantum dot Light-Emitting Diode (QLED) display panel, and other new display panels have been widely favored due to their characteristics of being anti-impact, high vibration-resistance, a low weight, a small volume, more convenience to carry, etc.

Pixel structure, method for fabricating the same, and display device


The present disclosure provides a method for defending against session hijacking attacks, including: receiving a first access request transmitted from a legal client side and transmitting the first access request to a server; receiving a first response comprising a first authentication token returned from the server; generating a first sequence value according to a network address of the legal client side and an identification code of the legal client side, and recombining the first authentication token and the first sequence value to form a second authentication token; and replacing the first authentication token in the first response with the second authentication token, and transmitting the first response comprising the second authentication token to the legal client side.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to technologies of network telecommunications, and particularly, to a method for defending against session hijacking attacks and a firewall.
2. Description of Related Art
HTTP protocol is stateless and is not provided with a mechanism of connecting different kinds of requests/responses submitted by a user. Each of the requests/responses is an independent affair. In order to provide stateful HTTP, WEB applications need to dynamically interact with the user to maintain interaction state data between HTTP and a legal client side. The dynamic interaction process is called session. At first, the state data is transmitted to the legal client side for storage and then is returned for validation together with the request submitted by the legal client side. The state saving mechanism is based on the premise that the legal client side is authenticated such that the integrity and confidentiality of the state data can be ensured. However, in practical application, an attacker may steal state information through a session hijacking loophole to achieve an illegal access by personating as other authenticated clients. During the login authentication process, after a user name and a password inputted by the user have been validated, the application returns the state information to the legal client side. The state information is returned with the next request from the user, and the application validates the identification of the user according to the information and further returns a correct response page. If the state information is hijacked by the attacker in some way, the attacker may bypass the authorization to perform the illegal assess by personating as other clients. The process of hijacking the state information is called session hijacking. There are more than ten ways that can be used for realizing the session hijacking attack, generally including XSS (also known as CSS, Cross Site Script) session hijacking, CSRF (Cross-site Request Forgery) session hijacking, fixed session attack, session token guessing, session token brute force, log-leaked token, and etc. Currently, an application layer firewall is used as a defense against one kind of the session hijackings mentioned above, such as the XSS session hijacking based on characteristics and the CSRF session hijacking based on tokens. However, defenses based on characteristics are passive defenses which cannot defend against session hijackings beforehand and may cause false reports and missing reports easily. On the other hand, defenses based on tokens have disadvantages including singularity and time dependency. Additionally, if the firewall is configured to defend against one kind of the session hijacking attacks, the session still can be hijacked via other kinds of session hijacking attacks and the firewall still cannot defend against the new kind of session hijacking attack.

Method for defending against session hijacking attacks and firewall


An input stream of events is processed to obtain an output stream of events. Consecutive events are selected from the input stream using a sliding window to obtain sliding window events, then a function is applied thereto to obtain an output result value. Operations of: outputting the output result value in the output stream; splitting the sliding window events into filter-complying events and pending events; applying the function on the pending events to obtain preliminary value(s); selecting, from the input stream, a second plurality of events; adding the second plurality of events to the sliding window events; removing, from the sliding window events, the filter-complying events to obtain a new set of sliding window events; and applying the function to the second plurality of events and the preliminary value(s) to obtain a new output result value, are then iteratively performed.

The term big data is used to refer to a collection of data so large and/or so complex that traditional data processing application software cannot deal with the collection adequately. Among the challenges in dealing with big data is analysis of the large amount of data in the collection. In some systems, the data is an ordered sequence of data instances or events, referred to as a stream of data or a stream of events.
In typical batch processing systems, data may be accessed as many times as needed to perform the required processing. In stream processing systems, data arrives continuously and cannot be stored for future reference. There may be a need to continuously calculate, on the fly, mathematical or statistical analytics within the stream of events. In some systems, there is a need to handle high volumes of data in real time. In addition, there may be a need for the system to be scalable and have a fault tolerant architecture.
Some stream processing systems use window stream operators. A window stream operator is a software object for processing a set of data instances (also referred to as events), selected by applying a filter to some of the events of the stream of events. The set of selected events is called a window of events. After applying the filter, a typical window stream operator discards the remaining events, i.e. events out of the scope of the filter, and stores only events within the scope of the filter. In some systems, the amount of events falling within the scope of the filter is large and beyond the capacity of a single window stream operator's local memory.

Huawei Cloud Computing Technologies Co., Ltd.


An apparatus for facilitating an insertion of a wire surrounded by shielding into an electrical component so as to prevent a dislocation of the shielding during insertion is disclosed. The apparatus includes a wire receiver and one or more conduits within a body. The wire receiver has a cavity including a first end and a second end. A portion of the first end and second end define a wire axis along the cavity through the body and the cavity is configured to receive the wire along the wire axis. The conduits are connected to the cavity between the first end and second end and are configured to direct air flow radially into the cavity and in a direction outward through an air outlet at the first end of the cavity along the wire axis to force the shielding against the wire while the wire is inserted into the electrical component.

High reliability is often needed for wiring harnesses such as those used in aircraft subsystems. The production processes used to fabricate such harnesses utilize high quality components such as high quality wires, connections, and connectors. Assembly of such high quality components are required to be performed in a repeatable manner that minimizes failure. Such high standards have traditionally rendered automated wire assembly systems impractical for fabricating aircraft wiring harnesses.

Apparatus for maintaining wire shielding positioning during electrical component placement


The present invention relates to the regulation of apoptosis and expression of the BH3-only family of genes by miR-29. The invention further relates to the use of miR-29 to protect cells from apoptosis and to treat disorders associated with apoptosis.

In mammalian cells, apoptosis is triggered when cells encounter cytotoxic stresses, such as nutrient withdrawal or DNA damage. These insults initiate signaling cascades that activate pro-apoptotic BH3-only members of the Bcl-2 family of proteins and cause the release of cytochrome c from the mitochondrial intermembrane space into the cytoplasm (Wang, Genes Dev. 15:2922 (2001)). The release of cytochrome c from mitochondria is a key event that triggers the rapid activation of caspases, the key cellular proteases which ultimately execute cell death (Hengartner, Nature 407:770 (2000)).
During normal development of the nervous system, a period of massive neuronal apoptosis occurs to precisely match neurons to their respective target cells (Oppenheim, Annu. Rev. Neurosci. 14:453 (1991)). However, once appropriate neuronal connections are in place, it is imperative that neurons strictly inhibit their apoptotic program since these cells do not divide, have limited capability for regeneration, and must survive for the lifetime of the organism (Benn et al., Nat. Rev. Neurosci. 5:686 (2004)). Although some changes in apoptotic machinery have been identified during neuronal maturation (Putcha et al., J. Cell Biol. 149:1011 (2000); Wright et al., J. Cell Biol. 179:825 (2007); Walsh et al., J. Neurosci. 24:9638 (2004); Tsui-Pierchala et al., J. Neurosci. 19:8207 (1999)), it is unclear whether other mechanisms exist in mature neurons to strictly disable their apoptotic program.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression (Bartel, Cell 116:281 (2004)). While mis-expression of some miRNAs has been linked with apoptosis and cancer (Esquela-Kerscher et al., Nat. Rev. Cancer 6:259 (2006); Kent et al., Oncogene 25:6188 (2006)), very little is known about how miRNAs regulate cell death during normal development.
The present invention addresses previous shortcomings in the art by identifying a regulatory role for miR-29 in the expression of the BH3-only family of genes and control of apoptosis in cells and providing methods for inhibiting apoptosis in cells.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill


The disclosed computer-implemented method for repairing corrupted data segments may include (1) detecting a corrupted data segment in a backup stored in a data storage system, (2) identifying at least one additional backup stored in the data storage system that exceeds a predetermined threshold for probability of comprising an uncorrupted version of the corrupted data segment, (3) matching at least a portion of a data segment in the additional backup with at least a portion of a data segment adjacent to the corrupted data segment in the backup, (4) locating, at least in part by examining data adjacent to the matched data segment in the additional backup, the uncorrupted version of the corrupted data segment, and (5) repairing the corrupted data segment in the backup by using the uncorrupted version of the corrupted data segment located in the additional backup. Various other methods, systems, and computer-readable media are also disclosed.

In an era of constant connectivity, an inability to efficiently create and maintain backups of important data can be a severe liability. Computing devices are prone to a wide variety of both temporary and fatal errors, and even temporary losses of data or services may be devastating to enterprises. The ability to maintain accurate and stable backups is crucial to enterprises that wish to maintain consistent services. While it is also important to have the ability to quickly create and copy backups and to quickly retrieve data from backups, none of that matters if the data within the backup is corrupted and unusable. Many backup systems reduce the problem of corrupted data by keeping multiple copies of each stored item of data. However, one corrupted copy of backup data can still cause trouble if that copy is not quickly repaired.
Many traditional backup systems store data in segments. These traditional backup systems may repair corrupted segments by searching for uncorrupted copies of the corrupted segment and replacing the corrupted data with intact data from the uncorrupted copy. However, many traditional systems may rely on fixed-width deduplication algorithms that have difficulty locating copies of segments that have become offset from their original position and no longer perfectly match other copies of the same segment. Accordingly, the instant disclosure identifies and addresses a need for additional and improved systems and methods for repairing corrupted data segments.

Systems and methods for repairing corrupted data segments


Metallic nanodisks and a method of making them. The metallic nanodisks are wheel-shaped structures that that provide large surface areas for catalytic applications. The metallic nanodisks are grown within bicelles (disk-like micelles) that template the growth of the metal in the form of approximately circular dendritic sheets. The zero-valent metal forming the nanodisks is formed by reduction of a metal ion using a suitable electron donor species.

This invention relates to metallic nanostructures whose structure is controlled during the growth process by controlled reductive deposition of metal within a templating bicelle.
An equimolecular complex between a carboxylic acid and an alkylamine where the number of carbon atoms is greater than or equal to seven is commonly termed a catanionic surfactant. A catanionic surfactant may consist of cationic and anionic surfactants with equal numbers of carbon atoms in their alkyl chains or with unequal numbers of carbon atoms in their alkyl chains. The alkyl portions may be partially or completely fluorinated. In water, these materials can form a variety of phases. A bicelle phase can be formed with an appropriate molar ratio of the anionic and cationic surfactants. More generally, a catanionic surfactant consists of any oppositely charged paired surfactant ions acting as counterions to each other.
An example of a catanionic system is the combination resulting from combining salts of cetyltrimethylammonium (CTA) and perfluorooctanoate (FC7). Jung et al. have discussed the physics determining the equilibrium structural composition of a catanionic solution, "H.-T. Jung, L. Y. Lee, E. W. Kaler, B. Coldren, and J. A. Zasakzinski, "Gaussian curvature and the equilibrium among bilayer cylinders, spheres, and discs," Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. Vol. 99 (2002) pp 15318-15322. The nanodisks (bicelles) formed using the bromide salt of CTA (CTAB) and the sodium salt of FC7 were reported to be quite small and relatively monodisperse (35±4 and 33±6 nm) for the CTAB/FC7 ratios forming appreciably numbers of bicellar disks.

Metal nanodisks using bicellar templates


A method to operate a multi-cylinder direct-injection engine in one of a controlled auto-ignition and a spark-ignition combustion mode is described. Engine operation and an operator torque request are monitored. Fuel delivery to a portion of the cylinders is selectively deactivated and torque output from non-deactivated cylinders is selectively increased to achieve the operator torque request when the monitored engine operation is above a predetermined threshold. An engine operating point at which an engine load demand exceeds an operating capability of the engine in a stoichiometric HCCI mode is identified. The engine is selectively operated in an unthrottled spark-ignition mode with at least one cylinder unfueled and torque output from the remaining cylinders is selectively increased.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Internal combustion engines, especially automotive internal combustion engines, generally fall into one of two categories, spark-ignition engines and compression-ignition engines. Conventional spark-ignition engines, such as gasoline engines, typically function by introducing a fuel/air mixture into the combustion cylinders, which is then compressed in the compression stroke and ignited by a spark plug. Conventional compression-ignition engines, such as diesel engines, typically function by introducing or injecting pressurized fuel into a combustion cylinder near top dead center (TDC) of the compression stroke, which ignites upon injection. Combustion for both conventional gasoline engines and diesel engines involves premixed or diffusion flames that are controlled by fluid mechanics. Each type of engine has advantages and disadvantages. In general, gasoline engines produce fewer emissions but are less efficient, while, in general, diesel engines are more efficient but produce more emissions.
More recently, other types of combustion methodologies have been introduced for internal combustion engines. One such engine system comprises an internal combustion engine designed to operate in a controlled auto-ignition mode under specific engine operating conditions to achieve improved engine fuel efficiency, also referred to as homogeneous charge compression-ignition (HCCI) combustion mode. A spark-ignition system is employed to supplement the auto-ignition combustion process during specific operating conditions.
A typical HCCI engine operates in either the controlled auto-ignition combustion mode or the spark-ignition mode depending upon the engine speed and load. The HCCI combustion mode comprises a distributed, flameless, auto-ignition combustion process that is controlled by oxidation chemistry, rather than by fluid mechanics. Ignition of a cylinder charge is caused by compression of the cylinder charge under specific engine operating conditions. In the typical engine operating in HCCI combustion mode, the cylinder charge is nearly homogeneous in composition, temperature, and residual level at intake valve closing time. The typical engine operating in the HCCI combustion mode can further operate using stratified charge fuel injection to control and modify the combustion process, including using stratified charge combustion to trigger the HCCI combustion. Because auto-ignition is a distributed kinetically-controlled combustion process, the engine operates at a very dilute fuel/air mixture (i.e., lean of a fuel/air stoichiometric point) and has a relatively low peak combustion temperature, thus forming extremely low NOx emissions. The fuel/air mixture for auto-ignition is relatively homogeneous, as compared to the stratified fuel/air combustion mixtures used in diesel engines, and, therefore, the rich zones that form smoke and particulate emissions in diesel engines are substantially eliminated. Because of this very dilute fuel/air mixture, an engine operating in the auto-ignition combustion mode can operate unthrottled to achieve diesel-like fuel economy. Furthermore, the HCCI engine can operate at stoichiometry with substantial amounts of EGR to achieve effective combustion. At medium engine speeds and loads, a combination of engine valve profile and timing (e.g., exhaust recompression and exhaust re-breathing) and fueling strategy has been found to be effective in providing adequate thermal energy to the cylinder charge so that auto-ignition during the compression stroke leads to stable combustion with low noise. One of the main issues in effectively operating an engine in the auto-ignition combustion mode has been to control the combustion process properly so that robust and stable combustion resulting in low emissions, optimal heat release rate, and low noise is achievable over a range of operating conditions. The benefits of auto-ignition combustion have been known for many years.
There is no direct control of start of combustion for an engine operating in the auto-ignition mode, as the chemical kinetics of the cylinder charge determine the start and course of the combustion. At engine operating conditions above certain limits, the HCCI engine transitions to spark-ignition combustion, at stoichiometry, in order to achieve stable combustion, manage emissions, and meet an operator torque request. The typical HCCI engine transitions between HCCI combustion mode and spark-ignition (SI) combustion mode, depending upon precalibrated and predetermined operating conditions. Often, the SI mode includes operating un-throttled at a stoichiometric air/fuel ratio.
The engine operating speed at which transition between HCCI and SI is possible is limited based upon engine hardware, especially the lift and duration of valve openings due to the camshaft profiles. By way of example, when a cam provides a four millimeter peak lift and an opening duration of 120 CA degrees, a transition between HCCI and SI operation has proven unachievable above an engine speed of about 2000 rpm.
It is advantageous to have a control system for a HCCI engine which effectively transitions between the HCCI combustion mode and the spark-ignition combustion mode. Furthermore, there is a need to effectively transition between SI and HCCI operation at higher engine operating speeds.
The invention described hereinafter comprises a method and a control scheme for operating the engine to control and maintain effective combustion during transitions between HCCI and SI combustion modes.

Method and apparatus to control a transition between HCCI and SI combustion in a direct-injection gasoline engine


An optical information recording medium operated by CAV or zone CAV, wherein a groove that wobbles is formed in advance, and information is recorded in the groove and a land adjacent to the groove, an address is recorded by a wobble signal of the groove, the groove is alternately provided with a first section recording an address N by the wobble signal, and a second section recording an address (N−1) or (N+1) by the wobble signal, in two groove tracks sandwiching a land track, the first section of one of the groove tracks matches the second section of the other of the groove tracks, and an address of the groove is read from the first section, and an address of the land is read from the first and the second sections located on both sides of the land track, and recording a same address.

The present disclosure relates to an optical information recording medium applied to a recordable optical disc, for example, and an optical information recording medium playback apparatus.
To date, optical discs for recording information or playing back recorded information using laser light have been put to practical use. For types of optical discs, there are a read-only type, a write-once type, and a rewritable type. In optical discs of the write-once type and the rewritable type, it is necessary for address information indicating a position on an optical disc to be recorded in advance for recording information.
For a method of recording address information, there are two types of methods that are familiar. One of the methods is to record address information as a pre-formatted pit. The other of the methods is to modulate a signal that forms a gutter, which is called a wobble, by address information. Recording a pre-formatted pit has a problem in that this reduces a user-data recording area, and thus decreases the recording capacity of an optical disc. The wobble method has an advantage because of having no such problem. In this regard, a gutter is referred to as a groove, and a track formed by a groove is called a groove track. A groove is defined as a part that is irradiated by laser light at the time of manufacturing an optical disc. An area sandwiched by adjacent grooves is referred to as a land, and a track formed by a land is called a land track.
When an address is recorded by wobbling, in order to further increase a recording capacity, it is desirable to use a method of recording data on both a groove track and a land track (suitably referred to as a land/groove recording method). In the land/groove recording method, it is possible to record address information for a groove track by deflecting laser light at the time of cutting. However, it is difficult to record an address for a land track by wobbling. When a land track is scanned, wobbles on both of the groove tracks are reproduced. Moreover, these wobbles represent information on different groove tracks, and the wobble phases are not aligned so that it is difficult to normally reproduce the wobbles.
Up to now, in the land/groove recording method, a proposal has been made of an optical disc that enables both of the addresses of a groove track and a land track to be reproduced. Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 9-219024 has disclosed a method in which when an address is recorded in a groove track by wobbling, the address is recorded intermittently, and a phase of a recording position of the address is inverted between adjacent groove tracks. In this manner, when a wobble track is reproduced, address information that is originally recorded is intermittently reproduced, and when a land track is reproduced, addresses of the groove tracks that are adjacent on both sides are alternately reproduced. Accordingly, it is possible to obtain wobble information (address information) either at the time of scanning a groove or at the time of scanning a land.
In the techniques described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication Nos. 2003-178464 and 2006-228293, a land track and a groove track are individually wobbled, address information is recorded on one side wall of each track by the wobbling. Further, an address information block in a wobble track and an address information block in a groove track are disposed with being shifted in the track direction.

Optical information recording medium and optical information recording medium playback apparatus


An automatic plug-in connecting unit having small weight, capable of automatically connecting and disconnecting an electric current supply line, and satisfying the conditions for a ventilated type pressurized type explosion-protected construction or a sealed type pressurized type explosion-protected construction includes an automatic plug-in connecting apparatus having a supply side connecting unit provided with an electrically connecting socket contact which is buried in one end portion thereof, and which serves also as an air vent, a reception side connecting unit provided with a pin contact forming a counterpart of the said socket, a means for connecting and disconnecting the socket contact and pin contact to and from each other, and an engagement guide, characterized by a clean gas supply means for turning the atmosphere around the socket contact and pin contact into a clean gas atmosphere when these contacts are connected or disconnected by combining the supply side connecting unit with the reception side connecting unit, a connection detecting means for ascertaining the connection of the supply side connecting unit to the reception side connecting unit, a supplied clean gas detecting means adapted to sense the presence or absence of a clean gas supplied to the interior of the supply side connecting unit, and a current supply control means for controlling the supplying of an electric current from a power source in accordance with the operations of the connection detecting means and supplied clean gas detecting means.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an automatic plug-in connecting apparatus for supplying an electric current from a power source, capable of being used in a hazardous area for explosive gas atmosphere, for example, a combustible and inflammable gas atmosphere.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As the automation of machines and the saving of human power have progressed in the general industrial field, a demand that the connection and disconnection of a power source current supply line be carried out automatically has increased, and various types of automatically detachable plug-in connecting apparatuses have been developed and put to practical use. However, an automatically detachable plug-in connecting apparatus of an explosion-protected construction capable of being used in such a hazardous area as mentioned above is still under development.
Although a plug socket of a flame-proof type explosion-protected construction has heretofore been sold on the market as a device for connecting a machine to a power source current supply line in such an explosive gas atmosphere as mentioned above, it cannot be utilized as an automatic connection and disconnecting device since it carries a high price and large weight, and since it is designed with a dust-proof cap. Additionally, the centering of a plug and socket as well as the fixing of the plug and socket union must be carried out manually.