Oiled SIS polymers and processes for their production are disclosed. These processes result in advantages including reduced mixing time and less shear degradation. An adhesive composition comprising the oiled polymer of the invention is also disclosed.

Adhesive compositions are very well known. Generally, these compositions comprise of a thermoplastic elastomer, such as a styrenic block copolymer, a tackifying resin and a processing oil. Adhesives are generally produced either by dissolving all the ingredients in a common solvent capable of dissolving all the ingredients or by a hot melt process where the ingredients are melt processed at an elevated temperature.
During the production of adhesives, the polymer, tackifying resin and oil can be added as separate ingredients or the polymer and oil can be premixed then added together with the resin. When separate addition is utilized, the polymer is referred to as a neat or unoiled polymer. A common problem is that the neat polymer is difficult to mix, resulting in longer mixing times. Long mixing times is a disadvantage in the production of adhesives whether from solvent or hot melt process. In hot melt mixes in particular, if the mixing time is long the copolymer degrades during melt processing to generate lower molecular weight species. This degradation occurs due to the presence of oxygen, and due to shear degradation of the high viscosity copolymers. If the resulting degradation is severe, the resulting adhesive is no longer useful for the intended application.
Presoaking the polymer in oil or premixing the oil and polymer prior to their use in producing adhesives are alternative methods which are known in the art. However, these methods have not been utilized in the production of adhesives based on styrene-isoprene-styrene (SIS) block copolymer. One reason for this is that SIS block copolymers are too soft for handling. Thus, addition of oil prior to processing makes these block copolymer excessively tacky. Another reason is that with presoaking, an extra step is involved or required.
Thus, there continues to exist a need for improved methods of processing oiled SIS polymers in order to facilitate the production of good quality SIS polymer based adhesive compositions.

Oiled polymer and process for the production thereof


The electronic device includes: a display section including a monitor unit having a display panel; a slide unit having a space in which the display section can be accommodated, the slide unit slidably supporting the display section; and a slide piece adjacent to the slide unit in a slide direction of the display section, the slide piece slidably supporting the display section. The display section slides between a retracted position at which the display section is accommodated in the space of the slide unit and an extended position to which the display section is pulled out from the slide unit.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to an electronic device having a monitor unit.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the field of electronic devices, digital still cameras, digital camcorders, portable DVD players, etc., having a monitor unit including a display panel have been widespread. For example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2008-244801 discloses an image capture device having a display section, which can be placed at such a position that the user can easily view the display section when in use and which can be retracted to such a position that it does not interfere with the field of view of the user and does not hinder user operations when not in use.

Electronic device with slidable display section

Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.


Methods, systems, and media for providing content are provided. In some implementations, methods for providing content are provided, the methods comprising: identifying, using a hardware processor, a first content provider; identifying a second content provider affiliated with the first content provider; identifying an item of content associated with the second content provider, and determining that the content item meets one or more parameters of the first content provider and that the content item meets one or more parameters of the second content provider; and in response to determining that the content item meets one or more parameters of the first content provider and that the content item meets one or more parameters of the second content provider, presenting the content item to a user.

Content sharing platforms, such as video sharing web sites, web logs, social networks, etc., have seen explosive growth in recent years. Central to these platforms is the participation of a user, called a content provider (which can be an ordinary user), creating and providing to the platform media content to be shared with other users. Subsequently to the content provider providing the media content to the platform, other users can gain access to the media content for entertainment, education, or business purposes.
In some instances, the other users can gain access to a content provider's media content by accessing a page of the content provider. Also, when a user of some of these platforms is interested in receiving new media content from the content provider in the future, the user can subscribe to the content provider's media content. This subscription can then cause the user to automatically receive new media content in response to it being provided to the platform.
While a content provider may originate media content to be presented to those who visit the content provider's page or to those who subscribe to the content provider's media content, in some instances a content provider may wish to share content that was originated by another content provider. In some instances to facilitate such sharing, a content provider may provide a hyperlink on the content provider's page to another content provider's media content. In many instances, however, such hyperlinking is prohibited on content sharing platforms because content providers do not wish others to share their content without authorization.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide methods, systems, and media for providing content.


The present application relates to the field of communications, and disclosed are a method and device for determining an information domain value in a DCI. The method and device are used for reducing HARQ feedback overheads, and the method comprises during HARQ feedback, determining a value set indicated by a timing relationship in a fallback DCI (equivalent to a format 1_0 of a DCI) according to a value set indicated by a timing relationship in a non-fallback DCI (equivalent to a format 1-1 of a DCI), to overcome the problem of increasing a codebook caused by different value ranges indicated by the timing relationships in the fallback DCI and in the non-fallback DCI, so that the HARQ feedback overheads are effectively reduced, thus the system running load is reduced, and the system performance is effectively ensured.

In the 5G system, the New Radio (NR) supports the flexible timing relationship. For the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), the Downlink Control Information (DCI) carrying its scheduling information is used to indicate the timing relationship between the PDSCH and DCI as well as the timing relationship between the PDSCH and its corresponding Hybrid Automatic Repeat reQuest (HARQ) feedback.
Specifically, the DCI contains two information fields, where one is for time domain resource assignment, and the other is the PDSCH-to-HARQ_feedback timing indicator. As shown in FIG. 1, in practical applications, the field of time domain resource assignment includes the slot offset K0 indicating offset from the slot where the DCI is located to the slot where the PDSCH is located; while the PDSCH-to-HARQ_feedback timing indicator is used to indicate the number K1 of slots between the end of the PDSCH and the beginning of the HARQ feedback.
Currently, there are two formats of DCI for scheduling the PDSCH, where one is DCI format 1_0; and the other is DCI format 1_1. The DCI format 1_0 is fallback DCI, and the number of bits and the value set of each DCI information field are non-configurable for this format. DCI format 1_1 is non-fallback DCI, and the number of bits and/or the value set of each information field in the DCI is/are configurable for this format.
Taking K1 as an example, the value set of K1 supported by the DCI format 1_0 is specified in the protocol, specifically including {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8}; and the value set of K1 supported by the DCI format 1_1 is notified by the network side via the Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, specifically, at most 8 values may be selected from {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8}. After setting the value set of K1, K1 carried in the DCI at each time may be selected from the corresponding value set of K1 for notification.
However, in the prior art, value ranges of the value set of K1 (hereinafter referred to as first set) used for sending the DCI in the DCI format 1_0 by the network side, and the value set of K1 (hereinafter referred to as second set) used for sending the DCI in the DCI format 1_1 may be different. The network side can dynamically select the DCI format 1_0 or DCI format 1_1 to send the DCI to implement the PDSCH scheduling. Then, the terminal needs to comprehensively consider the value set and the maximum value of the above first set and second set to set the size of the codebook used in the feedback process when performing the semi-static HARQ feedback in response to the PDSCH scheduling, thereby causing the unnecessary feedback overhead.
For example, it is assumed that the terminal always determines the size of the codebook used for the HARQ feedback based on the value range of the timing relationship corresponding to the DCI format 1_0. Taking K1 as an example, that is, it is assumed that the terminal always affirms that the value set of K1 is a total of 8 values: 0-7, and sets the codebook size according to 8 K1 values. However, it is assumed that the network side dynamically switches to use the DCI format 1_1 to send the DCI, and the currently configured value set of K1 is a total of 4 values: 0-3. At this time, the terminal will still determine the codebook size used for the HARQ feedback according to 8 K1 values. In one embodiment, this will cause the unnecessary increase in the codebook size, thus increasing the HARQ feedback overhead to a certain extent.

Method and device for determining information domain value in DCI

DATANG MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT CO., LTD.


The present disclosure provides quantum dot organic ligand and preparation method thereof, quantum dot structure material, quantum-dot-containing layer, and quantum-dot-containing light emitting diode. The quantum dot organic ligand have the following structure R1-(R2)n-R3, wherein R1 is a chelating group capable of chelating with a metal; R2 is a group having a conjugated electron pair, and n is a positive integer; and R3 is organic group. The conjugated electron pair structure of R2 facilitates delocalization of electrons, which can improve the transport and conduction of electrons and/or holes, thereby improving the efficiency of quantum dots and lowering the turn-on voltage.

With the development of quantum dot preparation technologies, the stability and luminous efficiency of quantum dots (QDs) have been improved. There have been focuses on applying quantum dots to electroluminescent diodes to obtain quantum-dot-based light-emitting diode (QD-LED).
However, there is a need to provide quantum dot (QD) organic ligand and its preparation method, quantum dot structure material, quantum-dot-containing layer, and QD-based LED with improved efficiency and reduced turn-on voltages.

Organic ligand and preparation method thereof, quantum dot structure material, quantum-dot-containing layer, and light emitting diode


Manganese is added to a combustion fuel, combustion air, or the resulting combustion exhaust gas in order to improve the efficiency of an electrostatic precipitator in collecting the resulting fly ash. Further, manganese or other flame suppressant is added to a fuel, and/or combustion air, or combustion exhaust gas stream in order to reduce back-corona discharge that could otherwise occur in an electrostatic precipitator.

The environmental issues and concerns with respect to smoke stack emissions are well recognized. One of the combustion exhaust gas products that receives considerable attention is fly ash. Much technology and effort has been dedicated to reducing fly ash emissions that are the result of the combustion of hydrocarbonaceous fuel in a combustion unit.
Electrostatic precipitators are one significant type of technology used to reduce fly ash emissions. The basic process used in electrostatic precipitators includes the creation of an electric field in a pipe or passage through which a combustion exhaust gas, including fly ash, flows. When the gas flows through the electric field, particles in the gas (fly ash) pick up a negative charge from the electrons given off by an emitter source. These particles in the gas build up a negative charge and are then attracted to the positive charge on a grounded collector plate. Those particles are then collected there. The fly ash is subsequently collected from the plates by physically rapping the plates and collecting the fly ash that falls off into hoppers where it is then removed.
The efficiency of electrostatic precipitators is affected by several basic factors, one of which is the resistivity of the fly ash particles that the system is trying to collect. For normal operation, the resistivity of the fly ash should lie between about 1×108 and 1×104 Ohm-cm. Values above this range lead to back corona discharge, and below this range lead to re-entrainment of the fly ash back into the exhaust stream because the particles of very low resistivity loose their negative charge very easily. Carbon in the fly ash lowers the resistivity so much that efficient collection in the ESP is impeded. If the particles are highly conductive (i.e., have an excessively low resistivity), then the particles give up there charges very easily and are relatively difficult to retain on a collector plate. An example of this is high carbon content in fly ash, which is known to contribute to electrostatic precipitator inefficiency. On the other hand, very high resistivity particles will retain their charge even after being collected on the collector plates. These high resistivity particles, while initially easy to collect, may form an insulating layer on the collection plates of a system. After a relatively short period of time, the build up of those particles may block the electric flow necessary for the efficient operation of systems.
This build up of high resistivity particles on collector plates also presents other performance problems. One of these problems is referred to as "back-corona" discharge which is a spark or arc across the electric field as a result of the voltage gradient build-up across the collected particle layer on the collector plate. If the electrostatic precipitator voltage becomes too large because of excessively high resistivity of the fly ash (above 109 Ohm cm), gas trapped in this particle layer can ionize and break down, thereby causing a spark or flare that substantially reduces the efficiency of the electrostatic precipitator. Every time this event occurs, there is a "puff" of increased smoke out of the exhaust chimney that is recorded as a transient increase in flue gas opacity. To inhibit this event, ESP controls back off on the potential between the electrodes (reduce the voltage to the electrodes), thereby leading to performance inefficiency and an increase in steady state exhaust opacity.
Particle resistivity can be manipulated and improved by modifying the fuel to be combusted or by modifying the combustion gas before it flows through an electrostatic precipitator. Blending fuels that give off high and low resistivity particles is one way to obtain a desired resistivity in a combustion gas. Alternatively, a combustion gas may be modified or conditioned to make it have the desired resistivity. One of the most recognized methods of modifying or conditioning a combustion exhaust gas is to add sulfur trioxide (SO3) vapor into a combustion exhaust gas stream. The addition of SO3 lowers resistivity. The amount of SO3 can be varied depending on a particular fuel combustion exhaust gas and other operating parameters. Drawbacks of sulfur-type emissions are also recognized, so other types of treatments are desired.

Use of manganese compounds to improve the efficiency of and reduce back-corona discharge on electrostatic precipitators


A tube bending apparatus adapted for the noncircular bending of a tube includes a modified bend die, a modified wiper die, a translatable and pivotable element and an actuator. The bend die presents a noncircular bending profile having a linearly or nonlinearly increasing radius of curvature. The wiper die is configured to accommodate the maximum radius presented by the profile, and the element and actuator present an inclined rack and pinion configuration. The bend die presents an involute of a circle having a radius equal to the product of the radius of the pinion and the sine of the angle of inclination, so that the bend die engages the tube at a fixed point in space during bending.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to tube bending apparatuses, and more particularly to an improved die and tube bending apparatus configured to produce noncircular bends in tubes.
2. Discussion of Prior Art
Conventional tube-bending apparatuses primarily employ compression, press and rotary draw methods to bend tubes along circular arcs. These apparatuses and methods are commonly utilized in various industries, including automobile and aircraft assembly, plumbing and fire protection, and equipment/conduit manufacture. These apparatuses typically include a set of dies and a drive mechanism that cooperate to impart pressure upon the tube, so that the tube bends to a predetermined form. More particularly, a bend die is positioned adjacent to a section of the tube and the apparatus is configured to conform the section to the circular profile defined by the bend die. The engaging surface of the bend die is-formed by a constant radius, and therefore produces a change in radius at the beginning of the bend equal to the difference between the constant radius and the radius of the virtually straight tube prior to the bend. Once released, a minor degree of spring-back occurs to result in the final orientation of the bent tube.
These conventional apparatuses and methods, however, present a plurality of concerns to those ordinarily skilled in the art, as well as the targeted consumer. Of primary concern, is deformation that frequently occurs during the bending process. During these deformed bends, the tube collapses on the outer side, and compresses on the inner side of the tube to produce flat or concave spots and wrinkles respectively; and the likelihood of deformation is based in part on the outer tube diameter, wall thickness, and radius of curvature of the bend. These deformed bends may result in increased costs and inconvenience, both during the fabrication and utilization of the tube. For example, where a mandrel is initially inserted into the tube to facilitate bending, a small degree of deformation may inhibit the removal of the mandrel, and thereby result in inefficiencies to the overall fabrication process, where the tube is utilized as a conduit, the reduced cross sectional area of the deformed bend results in a decreased capacity of flow, and finally, where the bent tube is utilized proximate an operator/end user, as in a bicycle frame, the wrinkles may result in abrasions to the operator or damage to fabric coming in contact therewith.
Even where properly formed, conventionally bent tubes present concerns. During the network installation of a bent tube, for example, the lack of geometric flexibility in the configuration of the produced bends limits the efficient use of space. This can be seen in the congested space of the undercarriage of an automobile, where the limitations to circular and combinations of circular bends of exhaust tubing often limit design configurations. Where utilized as a conduit, the abrupt change in radius caused by conventional apparatuses and methods also results in a greater dissipation of fluid energy.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an improved apparatus for and method of bending tubes that reduces the likelihood of deformation and provides greater geometric flexibility during installation.

Apparatus and method for the noncircular bending of tubes


A system, method and computer program product that allows real-time, secure access to digital multimedia files over a communications network (e.g., the Internet) is provided. The system allows a user to receive large amounts of multimedia data without requiring a high bandwidth data path to an Internet server. The method and computer program product allow the user to employ a selection process from a hypertext data page to obtain and view/play the contents of specific sets of multimedia data which are stored in a storage device local to the user. The files on the local device are unusable without the instructions from the hypertext page. The present invention involves no change to standard WWW protocols, allows the user to interact in a regular-fashion with all other WWW servers and controls the multimedia server over a standard Internet connection.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to systems and methods for accessing digital files over communications networks, and more particularly to systems and methods that provide real-time, secure searching, management and access to multimedia information files over such networks.
2. Related Art
In the World Wide Web (WWW) environment, a set of protocols are used to allow a user to locate specific pieces of information (commonly referred to as "Web pages") and to request their transmission to the user's workstation. A client program executing locally on the user's machine (e.g., a personal computer (PC)) known as a Web browser facilitates such request and allows the requested information to be displayed on the user's screen in a window.
On the WWW, every piece of information (Web pages, files and the like) is uniquely identified by a Universal Resource Locator (URL) which has four main parts: (1) the Internet address of the Web server machine hosting the information (also known as the IP address of the server machine); (2) the port where the Web server software process can be found (the port number usually defaults to the number 80); (3) the name of the directory where the page resides on the Web server machine; and (4) the name and type of the file containing the information.
In the above-described environment, the Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is used during communications between the user and the WWW server. HTTP runs over the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and the Internet Protocol (IP), which are all standard Internet protocols. Typically, the communication model employed in the Internet and the WWW is that the client and server machines use a single full duplex link to exchange data as well as commands and responses necessary to exchange the actual data.
In all cases, the information is transmitted to the client at a data rate which cannot exceed the bandwidth of the full duplex link between the Web server and client machines. Typically, this is limited to a range from a few kilobits per second (kbps) to a few megabits per second (Mbps). In most cases, however, client machines are not connected to Web servers over a high bandwidth link. Therefore, communication of large multimedia (e.g., text, graphics, sound, voice and video) files over the Internet is a time-consuming process. Due to the long transmission times, clients do not typically request that Web servers transmit large files over such slow links. Additionally, control of copyrighted multimedia files (i.e., copyrighted music or movies) when they are allowed to be downloaded over the Internet, is problematic. That is, owners of such copyrighted material are not assured of receiving compensation for their works from the public's Internet downloading activities.
Therefore, given the above, what is needed is a system, method and computer program product for providing real-time, secure access to digital multimedia files over communications networks (e.g., the public Internet or an intranet). The system, method and computer program product should allow text and HTTP screens to be transmitted over any speed link, and a plug-in player on the client side of the link resolves the selection and use of a multimedia file already resident on local storage. The system, method and computer program product should also ensure that, without the plug-in player, the location and use of the multimedia files resident on the local storage is difficult to effect.

System and method for providing access to digital goods over communications networks


An undergarment is provided in the form of a brassiere which includes comfort and stylistic features to assist in post-surgical recovery. In other implementations, a camisole is provided which includes comfort and stylistic features to assist in post-surgical recovery. In one application, the post-surgical undergarment is configured to assist in the recovery of mastectomy patients.

The present invention relates generally to various undergarments and other clothing for patients who have undergone mastectomies to assist in the recovery process. In particular, the present invention relates to multi-purpose undergarments and related products for post-operative recovery of mastectomy procedures to provide versatility and comfort with functionality for the necessary tubing and drainage required for these patients.
Following a mastectomy procedure, the patient may experience pain, discomfort, limited mobility, and self-consciousness. The patient may further require prolonged self care of the surgical site to prevent infection and promote proper healing.
Currently available technologies include brassieres and camisoles which provide compression to reduce and/or prevent swelling at the surgical site. These technologies further include slits or holes though which drainage tubes are passed to assist in draining fluids from the surgical site. The drainage tubes are attached to drainage bulbs or bags which are positioned external to the brassiere or camisole and which collect the fluids for subsequent disposal. These bulbs are commonly pinned to the exterior of the brassiere or camisole and may come loose and pull on the skin or incision site of the drainage tube as the bulbs fill with fluid. Further, these bulbs and drainage tubes are unsightly and may further contribute to the patient's feelings of self-consciousness, depression, and/or post-traumatic stress.
Currently available technologies require that the patient move or position their body into uncomfortable positions to place and remove the brassiere onto their body. Currently available technologies further lack sufficient adjustability whereby the brassiere or camisole is capable of being adjusted to accommodate the physical requirements of the patient.
Thus, while options exist for assisting a patient in post-surgical recovery from a mastectomy procedure, challenges still exist. Accordingly, it would be an improvement in the art to augment or even replace current techniques with newer enhancements and techniques.

Undergarment for post-surgical mastectomy patients


A polishing head of a wafer polishing apparatus is provided with: a membrane head that can independently control a center control pressure pressing a center portion of a wafer, and an outer periphery control pressure pressing an outer peripheral portion of the wafer; an outer ring integrated with the membrane head so as to configure the outer peripheral portion of the membrane head; and a contact type retainer ring provided outside the membrane head. The membrane head has a central pressure chamber of a single compartment structure that controls the center control pressure, and an outer peripheral pressure chamber that is provided above the central pressure chamber, and that controls the outer periphery control pressure. A position of a lower end of the outer ring reaches at least a position of an inner bottom surface of the central pressure chamber.

A silicon wafer is widely used as a substrate material for semiconductor devices. The silicon wafer is manufactured by sequentially applying processes such as outer peripheral grinding, slicing, lapping, etching, double-sided polishing, single-sided polishing, cleaning, etc., to a silicon single crystal ingot. Among the above processes, the single-sided polishing is a process required to remove irregularities or waviness of the wafer surface and thus to enhance flatness, in which mirror finishing by CMP (Chemical Mechanical Polishing) method is performed.
Typically, in the single-sided polishing process for a silicon wafer, a single wafer polishing apparatus (CMP apparatus) is used. This wafer polishing apparatus includes a rotary platen on which a polishing cloth is affixed and a polishing head for holding a wafer on the polishing cloth while pressing the wafer. The apparatus rotates the rotary platen and polishing head while supplying slurry to thereby polish one side of the wafer.
With regard to a wafer polishing apparatus, for example, Patent Literature 1 describes a polishing head configured to hold the back surface of a work such as a silicon wafer against the lower surface part of a rubber membrane and to polish the wafer while bringing the front surface of the wafer into sliding contact with a polishing cloth attached to a surface plate. This polishing head is equipped with a ring-shaped rigid ring, a rubber membrane bonded to the rigid ring with a uniform tension, and a ring-shaped template (retainer ring) installed at the periphery of the rubber membrane undersurface concentrically with the rigid ring and having an outer diameter larger than the inner diameter of the rigid ring. The inner diameter of the template is smaller than that of the rigid ring, and the ratio of the inner diameter difference between the rigid ring and the template to the difference between the template inner diameter and outer diameter is 26% or more and 45% or less, so that the inner peripheral portion of the template can be freely deformed, allowing the rubber membrane to uniformly press the entire surface of the work.
Patent Literature 2 describes a wafer polishing apparatus developed for enhancement of wafer flatness. To this end, the apparatus is provided with a multi-zone pressurizing carrier head having a wafer pressing surface divided into a plurality of pressure zones and capable of performing pressurizing control independently for each pressure zone. A flexible membrane of the carrier head includes a main portion, an annular outer portion, and three annular flaps concentrically defining first to third pressure chambers. The carrier head has a recess formed along an outer wall surface of the annular outer portion of the flexible membrane, an outer ring inserted into the recess, and an inner ring formed along an inner wall surface of the annular inner portion of the flexible membrane to thereby reinforce the annular portion of the flexible membrane.

Polishing head, wafer polishing apparatus using the same, and wafer polishing method using the same


A process for the preparing a compound of the formula ##STR1## wherein R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 are each independently hydrogen, alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, alkoxy of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, halogen, trifluoromethyl or nitro; or R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 taken together with the benzene ring to which they are attached are naphthalene, and Ar is p-lower alkoxy phenyl.. which comprises reacting ##STR2## wherein R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 are as described above with the compound of the formula ##STR3## wherein Ar is as described above, in an aromatic organic compound. The intermediates formed by the process of the invention are useful in the production of thiazepin-4(5H)-ones which have activity as calcium channel blockers and accordingly are useful as agents for lowering blood pressure and agents for treating ischemia.

Diltiazem has the following chemical formula: ##STR4## As can be seen, diltiazem has two asymmetric carbons at the starred positions. Because it has two asymmetric carbons, diltiazem is one of four possible stereoisomers.
Diltiazem is the most useful of the four stereoisomers, and as pictured above, it can be seen that it has the (2S, 3S) configuration at the two asymmetric positions.
Since diltiazem is one of four stereoisomers, in a nonstereospecific syntheses, the desired (2S, 3S) isomer can be obtained in at most a 25% yield.
Known processes for preparing diltiazem which fix the starred positions (the 2- and 3-positions) in the cis relative configuration at an intermediate stage, still prepare intermediates as optically inactive racemates. Accordingly, optical resolution, which can be expensive and time consuming, is still required at some point. Moreover, such optical resolutions can be best give a 50% yield of diltiazem.

Glycidic acid ester and process of preparation


Systems and techniques are disclosed relating to reducing the number of fingers in a rake receiver used for rake finger processing in wireless networks. Determining Ebefore, captured energy of all fingers before increasing transmit power. Increasing transmit power by a delta transmit power. Determining Eafter, captured energy of i fingers. Determining i fingers needed for processing, such that Eafter is essentially greater than or equal to Ebefore.

1. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communications, and more specifically, to various systems and techniques for reducing rake finger processing in wireless networks.
2. Background
Communication systems designed to allow multiple users to access a common communications medium may be based on code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), space division multiple access (SDMA), polarization division multiple access (PDMA), or other modulation techniques known in the art. These modulation techniques demodulate signals received from multiple users of a communication system, thereby enabling an increase in the capacity of the communication system. In connection therewith, various wireless systems have been established including, e.g., Advanced Mobile Phone Service (AMPS), Global System for Mobile communication (GSM), and some other wireless systems.
In conventional wireless communications, an access network is generally employed to support communications for a number of devices. An access network is typically implemented with multiple fixed site base stations dispersed throughout a geographic region. The geographic region is generally subdivided into smaller regions known as cells. Each base station may be configured to serve the devices in its respective cell. An access network may not be easily reconfigured when there are varying traffic demands across different cellular regions.
In contrast to the conventional access network, ad-hoc networks are dynamic. An ad-hoc network may be formed when a number of wireless communication devices, often referred to as terminals, join together to form a network. Terminals in ad-hoc networks can operate as either a host or router. Thus, an ad-hoc network may be easily reconfigured to meet existing traffic demands in a more efficient fashion. Moreover, ad-hoc networks do not require the infrastructure required by conventional access networks, making ad-hoc networks an attractive choice for the future.
In a conventional CDMA communications system, a subscriber station may access a network, or communicate with other subscriber stations, through one or more base stations. A subscriber station can also be called a terminal. Each base station is configured to serve all subscriber stations in a specific geographic region generally referred to as a cell. In some high traffic applications, the cell may be divided into sectors with a base station serving each sector. Each base station transmits a pilot signal which is used by the subscriber stations for synchronizing with a base station and to provide coherent demodulation of the transmitted signal once the subscriber station is synchronized to the base station. The subscriber station generally establishes a communications channel with the base station having the strongest pilot signal.
The subscriber station calculates a signal-to-noise-and-interference ratio C/I for a received forward link signal. The forward link refers to transmission from the base station to a subscriber station and the reverse link refers to transmission from the subscriber station to a base station. The subscriber station's C/I determine the data rate that can be supported for the forward link from the base station to a subscriber station. That is, a given level of performance for the forward link is achieved at a corresponding level of C/I. A method and apparatus for selecting a data rate is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,574,211 entitled "METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR HIGH RATE PACKET TRANSMISSION," issued Jun. 3, 2003, which is assigned to the assignee of the present invention.
The power at which a base station transmits data to a subscriber station is called the forward link transmit power. The forward link transmit power is at a level required for transmitting data over the forward link reliably. Likewise, the power at which a subscriber station transmits data to a base station is called the reverse link transmit power. The reverse link transmit power is at a level required for transmitting data over the reverse link reliably.
Interference to each subscriber station increases as the number of subscriber stations transmitting increases. Thus, it is desirable to control subscriber station transmit power to avoid adverse interference with other subscriber station communications.
Ultra-Wideband (UWB) is an example of a communications technology that may be implemented with ad-hoc networks. UWB provides high speed communications over a wide frequency bandwidth. At the same time, UWB signals are transmitted in very short pulses that consume very little power. The output power of the UWB signal is so low that it looks like noise to other RF technologies, making it less interfering.
In an ad-hoc network, terminals are added dynamically. As more terminals are added, each communicating terminal creates more interference for terminals other than the terminal with which it is communicating. Thus, it is desirable to control terminal transmit power to avoid adverse interference with other terminal communications.
A wireless communication system, whether convention or ad-hoc, that utilizes a rake receiver, diversity combines separable multipaths. In a rake receiver, a demodulation element, or "finger" is assigned to a multipath. When receive power consumption is dominated by the power consumption in the rake fingers, a system and method that reduces rake finger processing also significantly reduces power consumption.
Thus, what is needed is a system and method to reduce rake finger processing to reduce power consumption in the communication system.

System and method for reducing rake finger processing


A nipple drinker particularly adapted for feeding liquid to fowl and/or small animals which includes a passage, a ball valve closing the passage when seated on at least one valve seat, and a ball valve actuating stem having a head and a pin, the head having a concave surface and a through bore opening therethrough, and an exterior surface of the pin having at least one water flow channel whereby both small and large fowl and/or animals can actuate the stem to unseat the ball valve in proportion to the force applied to the stem which not only provides proportional water flow but also assures automatic self-cleaning or flushing of the recess.

The invention is directed to an improvement in a nipple particularly adapted for feeding liquid to fowl and/or small animals, and specifically is an improvement over the nipple disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,606,304 in the name of Frederick W. Steudler, Jr. granted on Aug. 19, 1986. The nipple of the latter-identified patent has proved exceedingly efficient in operation and has found wide acceptance in the poultry industry. However, two problems can occur over extended use of the nipple.
The first problem is that debris can collect in the concave recess of the head of the drinking pin or stem which can prevent the ball valve from seating upon its associated valve seat. This results in erratic ball lifting which, though a major problem, is not as severe as leakage that can occur between the ball and the valve seat as direct accumulates in the concave recess of the drinking pin head. If sufficient dirt/debris accumulates in the concave recess of the drinking pin head, the ball valve will not seat upon its valve seat and such leakage creates a continuous flow of water through associated cages into manure pits therebelow resulting in highly undesired wet manure.
A second problem is that for a predetermined size nipple the tolerances are such as to permit only a predetermined volume of water to be delivered upon full unseating of the ball valve from its valve seats. When the drinkers are associated with day old, week old, or relatively young birds, limited water flow is quite acceptable. However, as the fowl grows and becomes larger there is a proportional demand for more water which reaches a maximum demand with relatively large full-grown birds, particularly turkeys. Obviously, if large drinkers were used maximum water flow would be achieved for large birds, but day old, week old birds simply do not have the strength to lift or actuate larger drinking pins of such large drinkers. An alternative would be to use two different sets of drinkers, one set of drinkers being smaller, lighter and having tolerances providing adequate watering for smaller and younger birds, and other drinkers being larger, heavier and having tolerances for greater water flow for larger birds. The disadvantage in this system is that half the drinkers would be virtually unusable half the time.

Nipple for feeding liquids to fowl and/or small animals


A computerized method and system for designing an aerodynamic focusing lens stack, using input from a designer related to, for example, particle size range to be considered, characteristics of the gas to be flowed through the system, the upstream temperature and pressure at the top of a first focusing lens, the flow rate through the aerodynamic focusing lens stack equivalent at atmosphere pressure; and a Stokes number range. Based on the design parameters, the method and system determines the total number of focusing lenses and their respective orifice diameters required to focus the particle size range to be considered, by first calculating for the orifice diameter of the first focusing lens in the Stokes formula, and then using that value to determine, in iterative fashion, intermediate flow values which are themselves used to determine the orifice diameters of each succeeding focusing lens in the stack design, with the results being output to a designer. In addition, the Reynolds numbers associated with each focusing lens as well as exit nozzle size may also be determined to enhance the stack design.

Aerosol characterizing instruments generally require highly focused particle beams with little or no transmission losses. In addition, they need to interface to the sampling environment with a very high sampling rate so that more aerosol particles can be collected and sensitivity can be improved. Aerodynamic focusing lens stacks have been shown to generate highly focused aerosol particle beam into vacuum, and have been used effectively for various aerosol studies [1]. Current focusing lens stacks, however, operate on small particle diameters [4] and at low pressure and low flow rate. By design, aerodynamic focusing lens stacks for aerosol particles in the range of 0.5 um to 10 um can only operate at low flow rate and low pressure due to the low Reynolds numbers required for each focusing lens in order to maintain laminar flow within the lens stack. And the orifice sizes have to be kept below one centimeter and above 100 um in order to be machined with acceptable tolerances and aligned in an inlet system. As such, the low pressure and low flow rate make it fairly difficult to interface aerodynamic focusing lens stacks with an aerosol source at atmosphere pressure. Traditionally, single critical orifice devices have been used to interface lens stacks to the atmospheric pressure environment, where the dimensions of the orifices are defined by the pressure required by the lens stack. Due to the coupling between pressure and flow rate however, critical orifices yield a very poor sampling efficiency when the sampling flow is less than 0.05 L/min, resulting in a very small number of particles transmitted through the entire system.
What is needed therefore is an aerosol focusing system (AFS) having a large-particle focusing inlet with a high sampling rate that is capable of interfacing between atmosphere pressure and vacuum where aerosol mass-spectrometry analysis may be performed [7]. In particular an aerosol focusing system design is needed that incorporates aerodynamic lens stack focusing technology with high flow atmospheric pressure sampling and delivers a tightly focused particle beam in vacuum within, for example, 300 μm for particles ranging from 1 μm to 10 μm. Furthermore, what is also needed is a design tool for dimensioning and validating the AFS (including various components of the AFS individually, such as the lens stack) so that various interface systems could be designed rapidly for different operating conditions without the need of lengthy computational fluid dynamic and costly bench top experimentation.

Computerized method and system for designing an aerodynamic focusing lens stack

Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC


A method for processing brewery waste that includes receiving spent grain, low strength wastewater and high strength wastewater. The spent grain, low strength wastewater and high strength wastewater is processed with a plug flow anaerobic digester to produce a first output. A portion of the first output is processed with an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket digester to produce a second output. A portion of the second output is processed with a fixed-film anaerobic digester to produce a third output.

Anaerobic digestion is a method used for converting industrial or municipal organic byproducts or substrates into clean and renewable energy in which microorganisms are used to break down biodegradable materials in the absence of oxygen. It is commonly used to treat wastewater and organic waste. Anaerobic digestion produces gases (e.g., methane) and nutrient-rich solids which can be recovered and used. Accordingly, the byproducts of anaerobic digestion are a renewable energy source that can be used, for example, in place of fossil fuels. In addition, the nutrient-rich solids that are a byproduct of the digestion process can be used for soil amendment (e.g., fertilizer).
Commercial anaerobic digesters used at breweries typically do not digest spent grain or high strength wastewater. Digesters used at breweries are limited in application to waste that is substantially liquid with chemical oxygen demand ("COD") levels of about 5,000 ppm. Spent grain and high strength wastewater are typically hauled offsite and used as a feed supplement for hogs and cattle. This limits the renewable energy production to about 5% of the potential renewable energy production that would be achieved if the high strength wastewater and spent grain were also efficiently anaerobically digested.
A need therefore exists for improved systems and methods for processing organic waste, and in particular, brewery waste.

Method and apparatus for processing organic waste


A method is provided for immobilizing a ligand, e.g., a nucleic acid, on a solid support. The method includes providing a solid support containing an immobilized latent thiol group, activating the thiol group, contacting the activated thiol group with a nucleic acid comprising an acrylamide functional group, and forming a covalent bond between the two groups, thereby immobilizing the nucleic acid to the solid support. Kits containing the solid supports and method of utilizing the solid supports are also provided.

A variety of assay systems utilize ligands, e.g., nucleic acids, immobilized on the surface of a solid support. Effective immobilization of the nucleic acids is difficult, both because a range of materials are used to form the solid supports utilized in these assays, and because individual assays have special requirements. Therefore, although a number of attachment mechanisms have been developed, none are universally acceptable and most exhibit notable deficiencies. Among other drawbacks, present methods tend to require large amounts of nucleic acids, have high background noise levels or lack versatility (Duran et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,858,653 issued Jan. 12, 1999).
The reproducible production of solid supports containing immobilized nucleic acids can also be problematic. For example, a convenient method of attachment utilizes nucleic acids with acrylamide functional groups which can be copolymerized to polyacrylamide gel matrices by free radical polymerization. However, oxidation can affect the copolymerization process resulting in variability in the results achieved using different supports, even when prepared using the same materials. Moreover, long-term stability of supports containing immobilized ligands has been difficult to achieve, often limiting the period of use to shortly after preparation.
The present invention is based, at least in part, on the discovery of a novel and convenient method of immobilizing a ligand, e.g., a nucleic acid, on a solid support. The method utilizes a covalent bond formed between a thiol group immobilized on the solid support and an acrylamide functional group contained on the nucleic acid to immobilize the nucleic acid to the support. In a particular embodiment, the covalent bond formed is a sulfide, a thioether, bond. The solid support can contain a polymer layer.
The method and the supports it produces are advantageous in several respects. The method utilizes reagents which are both readily available and compatible with the types of analysis conducted with solid supports. Because the materials can be used in aqueous solutions, the need for special skills and sophisticated chemical apparatus are minimized. In addition, because the materials and the supports they form are quite stable, the reproducibility from support to support which has previously proved so difficult to achieve can be realized. This stability also permits the components forming the bond to be combined at different times. For example, because solid supports containing the latent thiol groups of the invention are extremely stable, they can be produced under consistent conditions for use at a later time. Prior to analysis, the latent thiol groups can be activated and contacted with the acrylamide modified nucleic acids to form a support containing immobilized nucleic acids. In a particular embodiment, the thiol groups are activated by contact with a reducing agent.
In one embodiment, the invention is directed to a method of immobilizing an affinity ligand on a solid support comprising providing a solid support comprising an immobilized thiol group, contacting the thiol group with a nucleic acid comprising an acrylamide functional group, and forming a covalent bond between the two groups, thereby immobilizing the ligand on the solid support.
In a particular embodiment, the ligand is a nucleic acid, a modified nucleic acid or a nucleic acid analog. The solid support can comprise a plurality of thiol groups. A plurality of ligands can be immobilized on the solid support. In alternate embodiments, the solid support is formed from glass, silica, ceramic, plastic or metal compounds. The solid support can comprises two or more spatially distinct regions, each region comprising a plurality of immobilized nucleic acids. The solid support can further comprise a polymer layer. In a particular embodiment, the solid support can comprise a microarray. The thiol groups can comprise disulfide groups.
In another embodiment, the invention is directed to a method of immobilizing an affinity ligand on a solid support comprising the steps of providing a solid support comprising immobilized latent thiol groups, activating the latent thiol groups, and reacting the activated thiol groups with an affinity ligand having at least one acrylamide functional group, thereby immobilizing an affinity ligand on a solid support.
In a particular embodiment, the ligand is selected from the group consisting of a nucleic acid, a modified nucleic acid and a nucleic acid analog. The steps of activating the latent thiol groups and reacting the activated thiol groups can occur essentially simultaneously. In alternate embodiments, the solid support is formed from glass, ceramic, plastic and metal. The solid support can comprise two or more spatially distinct regions, each region comprising a plurality of immobilized nucleic acids. The solid support can further comprises a polymer layer. The solid support can comprise a microarray.
In another aspect, the invention is directed to the product formed by the method of forming a solid support described above.
In another embodiment, the invention is directed to a method of immobilizing an affinity ligand on microarray comprising the steps of providing a solid support comprising immobilized latent thiol groups, activating the latent thiol groups, and reacting the activated thiol groups with an affinity ligand having at least one xcex1,xcex2 unsaturated carbonyl functional group, thereby immobilizing an affinity ligand on a solid support. In a particular embodiment, the ligand is selected from the group consisting of a nucleic acid, a modified nucleic acid and a nucleic acid analog. The steps of activating the latent thiol groups and reacting the activated thiol groups can occur essentially simultaneously.
In another embodiment, the invention is directed to a method of immobilizing an affinity ligand on a microarray comprising the steps of providing a solid support comprising immobilized latent thiol groups, activating the latent thiol groups, and reacting the activated thiol groups with an affinity ligand having at least one xcex1,xcex2 unsaturated carbonyl functional group, thereby immobilizing an affinity ligand on a solid support. In a particular embodiment, the ligand is a nucleic acid, a modified nucleic acid or a nucleic acid analog. The steps of activating the latent thiol groups and reacting the activated thiol groups can occur essentially simultaneously.
The method can additionally include contacting a glass solid support with a silane compound to form a solid support having an unsaturated aliphatic surface. The silane compound can be represented by Structural Formula I:
In Structural Formula I, X is a halogen, and R1, R2 and R3 are each, independently, a halogen, an alkyl group, an alkenyl group or a group having at least one xcex1,xcex2-unsaturated carbonyl, provided that at least one of R1, R2 or R3 is an alkenyl group or a group having at least one xcex1,xcex2-unsaturated carbonyl. The unsaturated aliphatic surface is then contacted with a polymerization solution containing free radical initiator, a disulfide bisacrylamide, and optionally containing an acrylamide to form a solid support comprising immobilized latent thiol groups. Disulfide bisacrylamides can be represented by Structural Formula IIA:
In Structural Formula IIA, n and m are each, independently, a positive integer.
The latent thiol groups can be activated by contacting the solid support with a disulfide reducing agent. When it is desirable to have a crosslinked gel having immobilized thiol groups, the polymerization solution can additionally include alkylene bisacrylamide.
In an alternative embodiment, the unsaturated aliphatic surface is then contacted with a polymerization solution containing free radical initiator, a compound having a xcex1,xcex2-unsaturated carbonyl and a protected thiol group, and optionally containing an acrylamide to form a solid support comprising immobilized latent thiol groups. The compound having an (xcex1,xcex2-unsaturated carbonyl and a protected thiol group preferably can be represented by Structural Formulas IIB-IID:
In Structural Formulas IIB-IID, R11 and R4 are defined as above. R14 is xe2x80x94(CH2)pxe2x80x94 or xe2x80x94(OCH2CH2)pxe2x80x94. In a preferred embodiment, R4 is xe2x80x94SR15, where in R15 is a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group, a substituted or unsubstituted aromatic group or a substituted or unsubstituted aralkyl group.
In several embodiments of the invention, it is useful to provide latent thiol groups through the use of polymerizable disulfide compounds. As indicated in Structures IIB-D, such compounds can be monofunctional or bifunctional with regard to the xcex1,xcex2 unsaturated carbonyl group. A commercially available example of a bifunctional disulfide reagent is BAC. An example of a monofunctional disulfide reagent is AEMA (Schnaar, R. L. et al., 1985, Analytical Biochemistry, 151:268-281). Additional monofunctional acrylamide disulfide derivatives can be generated by reacting BAC with the reducting agents xcex2-mercaptoethanol and thioacetic acid, as shown if FIGS. 8 and 9.
In a particular embodiment, the free radical initiator is added to the polymerization solution after the solution is in contact with the unsaturated aliphatic surface of the solid support.
The method can additionally include derivatizing the solid support with a latent thiol group, thereby forming a solid support having immobilized latent thiol groups. In a particular embodiment, the solid support includes an amine functional group and the solid support is derivatized by contacting the solid support with a compound represented by Structural Formula III:
In Structural Formula III, Y is a leaving group, L is a linking group, and R4 is a thiol protecting group. The derivatized solid support formed has immobilized latent thiol groups.
In a particular embodiment, Y is one of the following:
wherein R6 and R7 are each, independently, a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group, a substituted or unsubstituted alkenyl group, a substituted or unsubstituted aromatic group, a substituted or unsubstituted heteroaromatic group, a substituted or unsubstituted aralkyl, or a substituted or unsubstituted heteroaralkyl group.
In a particular embodiment, R4 is one of the following groups:
wherein R8 is a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group, a substituted or unsubstituted alkenyl group, a substituted or unsubstituted aromatic group, a substituted or unsubstituted heteroaromatic group, a substituted or unsubstituted aralkyl, or a substituted or unsubstituted heteroaralkyl group.
In another aspect, the invention is directed to a method of preparing a solid support having immobilized thiol groups. The method includes contacting a glass solid support with a silane compound represented by Structural Formula I to form a solid support having an unsaturated aliphatic surface. The unsaturated aliphatic surface of the solid support is then contacted with a polymerization solution containing free radical initiator, a disulfide bisacrylamide represented by Structural Formula IIA-D, and optionally containing an acrylamide to form a solid support comprising immobilized latent thiol groups. The latent thiol groups of the solid support are then contacted with a disulfide reducing agent to form a solid support having immobilized thiol groups.
In one embodiment, the solid support is doped or undoped silica, alumina, quartz or glass, and the method further comprises the steps of contacting the solid support with a compound comprising a silane group or a carboxylic acid and a substituted or unsubstituted alkenyl group or a group having at least one xcex1,xcex2-unsaturated carbonyl, thereby forming a solid support having an unsaturated aliphatic surface, and contacting the unsaturated aliphatic surface of the solid support with a polymerization solution containing free radical initiator, a disulfide bisacrylamide and optionally containing an acrylamide, wherein the disulfide bisacrylamide is represented by the following structural formula:
wherein n and m are each, independently, a positive integer, thereby forming a solid support comprising immobilized latent thiol groups.
The compound can be represented by the following structural formula:
wherein X is a halogen, and R1, R2 and R3 are each, independently, a halogen, a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group, a substituted or unsubstituted alkenyl group or a group having at least one (xcex1,xcex2-unsaturated carbonyl, provided that at least one of R1, R2 or R3 is a substituted or unsubstituted alkenyl group or a group having at least one xcex1,xcex2-unsaturated carbonyl.
The latent thiol groups can be activated by contacting the solid support with a disulfide reducing agent. The polymerization solution can further include alkylene bisacrylamide. The free radical initiator can be added to the polymerization solution after the solution is in contact with the unsaturated aliphatic surface of the solid support
The solid support can be gold, silver, copper, cadmium, zinc, palladium, platinum, mercury, lead, iron, chromium, manganese, tungsten, and alloys thereof, and the method can further comprise the steps of contacting the solid support with a compound comprising a thiol group, sulfide or disulfide group and a substituted or unsubstituted alkenyl group or a group having at least one xcex1,xcex2-unsaturated carbonyl, thereby forming a solid support having an unsaturated aliphatic surface, and contacting the unsaturated aliphatic surface of the solid support with a polymerization solution containing free radical initiator, a disulfide bisacrylamide and optionally containing a comonomer, wherein the disulfide bisacrylamide is represented by the following structural formula:
wherein n and m are each, independently, a positive integer, thereby forming a solid support comprising immobilized latent thiol groups.
The solid support can be platinum or palladium, and the method can further comprise the steps of contacting the solid support with a compound comprising a nitrile or isonitrile group and a substituted or unsubstituted alkenyl group or a group having at least one xcex1,xcex2-unsaturated carbonyl, thereby forming a solid support having an unsaturated aliphatic surface, and contacting the unsaturated aliphatic surface of the solid support with a polymerization solution containing free radical initiator, a disulfide bisacrylamide and optionally containing an acrylamide, wherein the disulfide bisacrylamide is represented by the following structural formula:
wherein n and m in are each, independently, a positive integer, thereby forming a solid support comprising immobilized latent thiol groups.
The solid support can be copper, and the method can further comprise the steps of contacting the solid support with a compound comprising a hydroxamic acid group and a substituted or unsubstituted alkenyl group or a group having at least one xcex1,xcex2-unsaturated carbonyl, thereby forming a solid support having an unsaturated aliphatic surface, and contacting the unsaturated aliphatic surface of the solid support with a polymerization solution containing free radical initiator and disulfide bisacrylamide and optionally containing an acrylamide, wherein the disulfide bisacrylamide is represented by the following structural formula:
wherein n and m are each, independently, a positive integer, thereby forming a solid support comprising immobilized latent thiol groups.
The solid support can be a polymer comprising a reactive functional group, and the method can further comprise the steps of contacting the solid support with a compound comprising a functional group which can react to form a bond with the reactive functional group and a substituted or unsubstituted alkenyl group or a group having at least one xcex1,xcex2-unsaturated carbonyl, thereby forming a solid support having immobilized unsaturated aliphatic group, and contacting the unsaturated aliphatic groups of the solid support with a polymerization solution containing free radical initiator, a disulfide bisacrylamide and optionally containing an acrylamide, wherein the disulfide bisacrylamide is represented by the following structural formula:
wherein n and m are each, independently, a positive integer, thereby forming a solid support comprising immobilized latent thiol groups.
The polymeric solid support can be polystyrene. The reactive functional group of the polymeric solid support can be an amine group or a hydroxyl group and the compound is represented by the following structural formula:
wherein Y is a leaving group, L is a linking group, and R10 is a substituted or unsubstituted alkenyl group or a group having at least one xcex1,xcex2-unsaturated carbonyl. Y can be:
wherein R6 and R7 are each, independently, a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group, a substituted or unsubstituted alkenyl group, a substituted or unsubstituted aromatic group, a substituted or unsubstituted heteroaromatic group, a substituted or unsubstituted aralkyl, or a substituted or unsubstituted heteroaralkyl group.
The method can further comprise the step of derivatizing a solid support with a latent thiol group, thereby forming a solid support having immobilized latent thiol groups. The solid support can be doped or undoped silica, alumina, quartz or glass, and the solid support can be derivatized by contacting it with a compound comprising a silane group or a carboxylic acid group and a latent thiol group.
The solid support can be platinum or palladium, and the solid support is derivatized by contacting it with a compound comprising a nitrile or isonitrile group and a latent thiol group.
The solid support can be a polymer comprising reactive functional groups, and the solid support is derivatized by contacting it with a compound comprising a functional group which can react to form a bond with the reactive functional group and a latent thiol group. The polymeric solid support can be polystyrene. The reactive functional group of the polymeric solid support can be an amine or a hydroxyl group and the solid support can be derivatized by contacting the solid support with a compound represented by the following structural formula:
wherein Y is a leaving group, L is a linking group, and R4 is a thiol protecting group, thereby forming a solid support having immobilized latent thiol groups. Y can be:
wherein R6 and R7 are each, independently, a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group, a substituted or unsubstituted alkenyl group, a substituted or unsubstituted aromatic group, a substituted or unsubstituted heteroaromatic group, a substituted or unsubstituted aralkyl, or a substituted or unsubstituted heteroaralkyl group. R4 can be:
wherein R6 is a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group, a substituted or unsubstituted alkenyl group, a substituted or unsubstituted aromatic group, a substituted or unsubstituted heteroaromatic group, a substituted or unsubstituted aralkyl, or a substituted or unsubstituted heteroaralkyl group.
In another embodiment, the invention is directed to a method of making a solid support having immobilized thiol groups, comprising the steps of contacting a glass solid support with a silane compound represented by the following structural formula:
wherein X is a halogen, and R1, R2 and R3 are each, independently, a halogen, an alkyl group, an alkenyl group or a group having at least one xcex1,xcex2-unsaturated carbonyl, provided that at least one of R1, R2 or R3 is an alkenyl group or a group having at least one (xcex1,xcex2-unsaturated carbonyl, thereby forming a solid support having an unsaturated aliphatic surface, contacting the unsaturated aliphatic surface of the solid support with a polymerization solution containing free radical initiator, a disulfide bisacrylamide and optionally containing an acrylamide, wherein the disulfide bisacrylamide is represented by the following structural formula:
wherein n and m are each, independently, a positive integer, thereby forming a solid support comprising immobilized latent thiol groups, and contacting the latent thiol groups with a disulfide reducing agent, thereby forming a solid support having immobilized thiol groups.
In another embodiment, the invention is directed to a method of forming an array of nucleic acids inmmobilized on a solid support including forming an amine-derivatized region on the support, treating the amine-derivatized region with a thiolating agent such that latent thiol groups immobilized on the support are formed, activating the latent thiol groups, contacting the activated thiol groups with a plurality of nucleic acids comprising acrylamide functional groups, and forming a covalent bond between the two groups, thereby forming an array of nucleic acids immobilized on the solid support. In alternate embodiments, each nucleic acid contained in the array includes a nucleotide sequence identical to or substantially identical to, the nucleotide sequence of the other nucleic acids of the array, or nucleic acids with a plurality of nucleotide sequences are contained in the array. The solid support can include a plurality of amine-derivatized regions. The method can further include a step of blocking any unbonded reactive thiol groups remaining following the binding of the nucleic acids to the thiol groups.
In another aspect, the invention is directed to a kit for attaching nucleic acids to a solid support including a solid support component including a plurality of immobilized latent thiol groups and instructions for activating the thiol groups to form covalent bonds with nucleic acids including acrylamide functional groups. Such kits can also include an activator component, an acrylamide functional nucleic acids component, a blocking component and/or a wash buffer.
In an alternate embodiment, the invention is directed to a kit for attaching nucleic acids to a solid support including a solid support component including a plurality of immobilized latent thiol groups and nucleic acids including acrylamide functional groups. In a particular embodiment, the nucleic acids are immobilized on the solid support by a covalent bond between the immobilized thiol groups and the nucleic acids. Such kits can also include an activator component, a blocking component and/or a wash buffer.
In another aspect, the invention is directed to a method for detecting or separating target nucleic acids from other components contained in a sample including providing a solid support comprising a plurality of immobilized nucleic acids comprising nucleotide sequences complementary to a subsequence of the nucleotide sequence of the target nucleic acid, wherein the nucleic acids are immobilized by a covalent bond formed between a thiol group immobilized on the solid support and an acrylamide functional group contained on the nucleic acid, contacting the immobilized nucleic acid with the test sample, and hybridizing target nucleic acids to immobilized nucleic acids with complementary subsequences, thereby separating target nucleic acids from other components contained in the sample. After detection or separation, the target nucleic acids can be amplified. The method can be used in an assay for detecting a contaminant in a sample, for medical diagnosis of a medical condition, for genetic and physical mapping of genomes, for monitoring gene expression and for DNA sequencing.
In another embodiment, the invention is directed to a method for detecting or separating target nucleic acids from other components contained in a sample including providing a solid support comprising a plurality of immobilized thiol groups, contacting the thiol groups with a plurality of nucleic acids comprising nucleotide sequences complementary to a subsequence of the nucleotide sequence of the target nucleic acid and acrylamide functional groups, forming a covalent bond between the two groups, thereby immobilizing the nucleic acids on the solid support, contacting the immobilized nucleic acids with the test sample, and hybridizing target nucleic acids to immobilized nucleic acids with complementary subsequences, thereby detecting or separating target nucleic acids from other components contained in the sample. After detection or separation, the target nucleic acids can be amplified. The method can be used in an assay for detecting a contaminant in a sample, for medical diagnosis of a medical condition, for genetic and physical mapping of genomes, for monitoring gene expression and for DNA sequencing.

Methods of immobilizing ligands on solid supports


Generally, and in one form of the invention, a method is disclosed for terminating third harmonic frequency of a transistor amplifier comprising: determining the magnitude of the susceptance at the third harmonic frequency of initial circuitry, 41, 43, and 45, attached to the output of a transistor 39, wherein the initial circuitry has no third harmonic termination; determining whether the susceptance of the circuitry presented to the output of the transistor 39 is capacitive or inductive at the third harmonic frequency; and adding a compensating parallel susceptance 60 to the output of the transistor 39 that is substantially equal in magnitude to the susceptance of the circuitry attached to the output of the transistor 39, but capacitive if the susceptance of the circuitry presented to the output of the transistor 39 is inductive, or inductive if the susceptance presented to the output of the transistor 39 is capacitive, whereby the imaginary part of the susceptance of the total circuitry attached to the output of the transistor 39 is made small at the third harmonic frequency.

Without limiting the scope of the invention, its background is described in connection with amplifiers constructed of NPN-type bipolar transistors. For normal operation, this implies positive base-emitter voltage, positive current into the base terminal, positive collector-emitter voltage, and positive current into the collector terminal.
Small, light-weight, high-efficiency power amplifiers are essential to portable self-powered radio-transmitting equipment such as battery-operated handheld cellular telephones. Efficiency is a figure of merit which quantifies the amount of DC input power required to produce a specified output-signal amplitude. Efficiency translates inversely to power consumption under specified operating conditions. High efficiency is therefore necessary to minimize required battery capacity.
High-efficiency power-amplifier transistors are fabricated using many different basic technologies such as GaAs FET, silicon bipolar, and GaAs heterojunction bipolar. Most of these technologies are compatible with monolithic circuit-integration techniques; allowing resistors, capacitors, diodes, microstrip transmission lines, and other structures to be implemented on the same substrate as the transistors. This circuit-integration capability is another asset when the size and weight restrictions of portable equipment are considered.
A high-efficiency power-amplifier design seeks to maximize the ratio of signal-power output to DC-power input. High-efficiency power amplifiers are usually operated at conduction angles of 180 degrees or less (Class-B or Class-C). The conduction angle refers to the portion of one period of a sinusoidal input signal over which the transistor is "on", or conducting. A full period of the input signal contains 360 degrees.
The signal-frequency behavior of an amplifier operated under large-signal (nonlinear) conditions is dependent upon both the fundamental-frequency and the harmonic-frequency response of the circuits that surround the transistor. Design of the fundamental-frequency impedance of the circuit which couples signal power to the output is based primarily upon the amplifier transistor's desired operating voltage and current. Presenting the correct load impedance to the transistor's output sets the voltage/current ratio for large-signal operation.
High-efficiency transistor performance also requires specific terminations at integral multiples (harmonics) of the signal frequency. Of great importance is the circuit behavior at two and three times the signal frequency. For example, it has been demonstrated that the second-harmonic voltage present at the transistor's collector terminal should be minimized. It has also been demonstrated that amplifier performance is enhanced when a non-zero third-harmonic voltage is present at the transistor's output terminal.
Most nonlinear power amplifiers, especially those operating Class-B or Class-C, generate significant second-harmonic currents in their output circuits. In order to minimize the second-harmonic voltage present at the amplifier-transistor collector terminal, the surrounding circuits are typically designed to present a low impedance to the device at twice the signal frequency.
The optimum third-harmonic output voltage is nonzero, and typical third-harmonic current is relatively small (compared to second-harmonic current). As a result, the surrounding circuitry may attempt to maximize third-harmonic output voltage by presenting a high impedance at three times the signal frequency.

Method for terminating harmonics of transistors


Exemplary embodiments allocate network traffic among multiple paths in a network, which may include one or more preferred paths (e.g. shortest paths) and one or more alternative paths (e.g., non-shortest paths). In one embodiment, network traffic in form of flows may be allocated to the preferred paths until the allocation of additional network traffic would exceed a predetermined data rate. Additional flows may then be sent over the alternative paths, which may be longer than the preferred path. The paths to which each flow is assigned may be dynamically updated, and in some embodiments the path assignment for a particular flow may time out after a predetermined time. Accordingly, the flow traffic of each path may be balanced based on real-time traffic information.

Communications networks may carry data from a source to a destination along one or more paths. Some of these paths may include fewer intermediate stops (referred to as "hops"), and may therefore be shorter than others. For example, a path that goes directly from a source to a destination is referred to as a "1-hop path." A 1-hop path may carry data to the destination faster or more efficiently than a 2-hop path, which is a path that includes a single intermediate device between the source and the destination. A path may include any number of hops.
Conventionally, available paths in the network between a source and a destination may be considered to determine which paths should be used to route data from the source to the destination. This may be accomplished by marking the paths with the fewest number of hops as the "best paths," and then routing data over the designated best paths. There may be more than one best path over which data is routed, if multiple paths tie for the fewest number of hops. The amount of data provided to each of the best paths may be balanced so that one best path does not become saturated before another.
Equal-cost multi-path routing (ECMP) is an example of such a routing strategy, an example of which is described with reference to the exemplary network depicted in FIG. 6. As shown in FIG. 6, a network 600 includes a first host 610, a second host 620, a third host 630, and a fourth host 640. Each host is associated with a nearby switch 612, 622, 632, 642 which forwards data in the form of packets from one host to another. Each switch may connect to another switch using an egress port, such as the egress ports 614, 616 of switch 612 (both of which connect switch 612 directly to switch 632).
In the example shown in FIG. 6, two paths 615, 617 are available that directly connect the first switch 612 to the third switch 632. The equal-cost multi path routing strategy divides traffic bound from the first switch 612 to the third switch 632 between the two 1-hop paths 615, 617. Thus, traffic in the network 600 may be load-balanced among multiple paths, potentially increasing bandwidth in the network over as situation in which only a single best path is used.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A temperature controlled food service container is formed with an inner portion having side walls and an opening for the receipt of food, and an outer portion having sidewalls spaced from the inner portion with a eutectic gel, disposed between them. A ledge extends from the periphery of the outer portion with a flange extending from the inner portion seated against the ledge; and is held by an ultrasonic bond joining the ledge to the flange. The food container has ribs along the sidewalls of the inner and outer portions. Peripheral channels and ridges are formed respectively on the ledge and flange for welded engagement with each other, the channels having enlarged segments which extend beyond the cross-sectional dimension of a respective ridge received therein. The method for making the food service container includes molding an outer walled shell portion having a ledge with at least one peripheral channel, and molding an inner walled shall portion having a major peripheral flange with at least one peripheral protuberance. Thereafter a eutectic gel is placed into the outer walled shell portion and the inner walled shell portion is placed therein. The peripheral protuberance is indexed into the peripheral channel and the ledge and flange are ultrasonically bonded.

1. Field of the Invention
The field of this invention lies within the food pan and container art particularly as it relates to maintaining food at a desired temperature to limit spoilage, and enhance tastiness. More particularly, it lies within the art of maintaining food in a safe and improved temperature environment in a food pan or container. The food pan is surrounded by a medium such as a eutectic gel which can be a highly absorbent polymer. The eutectic gel is exposed to a relative temperature in order to bring the temperature of the eutectic gel to a desired level. Thus, when the food is placed within the pan having the eutectic gel exposed to a previous temperature, it helps to sustain the temperature of the food at a desirable level.
Such temperature controlled containers and pans utilizing eutectic gels are often used in commercial food service establishments. The food pans and containers with the eutectic gels can be utilized within the field of institutional food service such as restaurants, fast food restaurants, hospitals, schools, banquet facilities, and other related commercial and institutional food service activities. The end result is to provide for a desirable food service as to quality, temperature control, tastiness as well as attractive appearances of the food.
2. Prior Art
The prior art with respect to temperature controlled containers includes which have substances such as ice in various forms including dry ice and ice made from water. Utilization of such containers often times is cumbersome and difficult and, of course, requires large volumes of ice.
Of late, it has been established that containers having a eutectic gel surrounding them or in association therewith such as those items known as ice and heat packs that can be pre-chilled or frozen, can provide substantially superior maintenance of foods in a container. Also, such eutectic gels packs can be used for maintaining heat as well as cooling purposes.
When using eutectic gels, they should not be exposed to the food, which they are designed to maintain in a temperature-enhanced environment. As a consequence, any leakage of material from a package containing the eutectic gel or a container containing the eutectic gel into the food can be a drawback. In order to eliminate such exposure of food to the eutectic gel, it has been common to provide for an inner and outer shell with a eutectic gel there between.
The inner shell is utilized to hold the food and is in contact with the food. The outer shell surrounds the inner shell. In between the inner and outer shell, the eutectic gel is placed so that it can be cooled to a particular extent or maintained in any other suitable temperature or heat controlled environment.
In the past, the utilization of a lip or flange to interface between the inner and outer shells effectuated a sealing contact surface to maintain the eutectic gel between the inner and outer shells. This was effected by various means including adhesives that bonded the two respective inner and outer shells together.
The utilization of an adhesive or gluing agent was found to be difficult in application and sometimes did not provide for a sufficiently strong and complete seal. This, of course, led to the disassociation of the inner and outer shell and in some cases, a leakage of the eutectic gel into the inner position of the container containing the food.
This invention particularly enhances the securement of the inner and outer shell by means of an ultrasonic welding process. To this extent, the ultrasonic welding process utilizes an inner and outer shell which are bonded at a weld surface with an inner and outer respective flange, lip or ledge being secured together.
The inner and outer flanges, lips or ledges respectively have welding flanges, ribs, bands, strips, ridges, rims or protuberances, which can be indexed into welding grooves or channels. The welding channels or grooves receive the protuberances or ridges in an indexed and matched manner substantially around the surface of the main outer flange and inner flange lips or ledges, which extend beyond the periphery of the container.
When the welding ridges or strips are seated and driven against the surfaces of the channels, they effect an ultrasonic weld that is properly indexed as well as such where it drives against a surface for plastic flow of the materials.
An enhancement of this invention is the utilization of expanded portions in the welding channels with expansion gaps. These expanded portions or expansion gaps permit the weld to take place without undue displacement by either the heated materials or gases created during the welding process. The gaps, which can be in the form of offsets, depressions, or other expansion areas, allow for the expansion of gas or materials to provide, an effective weld taking place without being dislocated or driving the weldment into a displaced relationship.
It has been found with the expansion gaps or depressions, that a stronger weld takes place and a significant elimination of failures of the weld have been eliminated.
A further enhancement of this invention is the utilization of spacers or ribs between the inner shell and outer shell. The spacers or ribs allow for indexing of the inner and outer shell together for proper placement of the eutectic gel as well as orientation during the welding process. Further to this extent, they also enhance and rigidify the overall wall structure of the inner and outer shell to provide for a strengthened composite food container.
Another feature and objective of this invention is to allow for the stacking of the units both before and after welding of the inner and outer portions. The stacking of the units can be accomplished so that multiple inner or outer shells can be stacked together prior to the welding process. This allows for continuity of the process without the necessity of handling each inner or outer shell on a singular basis so that they can be handled fundamentally on a series basis.
Another feature of this invention is a ledge or step within the base portion of the completed product formed in the outer shell. This allows for the completed products to be stacked together both when in use and not in use. Thus, multiple units can be handled and placed within a preconditioning temperature environment in order to create a series of them that can then be nested and separated at a later point.
The improved process relies upon the proper measurement of eutectic gel and any displacement thereof by the inner shell when joined together with the outer shell having the eutectic gel therein. The displacement is accomplished through a certain level to allow for expansion and contraction of the eutectic gel during the various temperatures at which it is used.
As a consequence, this invention is a significant step as to both the end product and the process in manufacturing the product.

Temperature controlled food container and process


A method for receiving a 3D image broadcast signal for processing edge violation in a multi-view 3D image comprises the steps of: receiving a broadcast signal for broadcasting the multi-view 3D image; decoding from the received broadcast signal first left image data and first right image data which is included in a 3D image of a first view; parsing from the received broadcast signal 3D image processing information; generating second left image data and/or second right image data which is included in a 3D image of a second view, by using the first left image data, the first right image data, and the 3D image processing information; parsing 3D edge violation area detection function information included in the 3D image processing data; and handling edge violation of the area by using the 3D edge violation area detection function information.

As the dissemination of a 3 dimensional television (3DTV) is raging, transmission of 3D image contents transmitted by a digital broadcasting as well as dissemination of the 3D image contents performed by a storing media is vitalized.
In general, a 3D image provides a 3D effect using a principle of stereo vision of two eyes. Since a human feels perspective via parallax of two eyes, in other word, binocular parallax due to a space between two eyes apart from each other about 65 mm, the 3D image may provide the 3D effect and the perspective in a manner of providing an image, which makes a left eye and a right eye see a related plane image, respectively.
The 3D image display method includes a stereoscopic technique, a volumetric technique, a holographic technique, and the like. In case of the stereoscopic technique, it provides a left view image supposed to be watched by a left eye and a right view image supposed to be watched by a right eye. The stereoscopic technique enables a human to recognize a 3D image effect in a manner of making the left eye and the right eye watch the left view image and the right view image, respectively, using a polarized glasses or a display device itself.
In case of stereoscopic 3D image content, if two similar images having viewpoints different from each other are transmitted, the stereoscopic technique uses a technique that a receiver displays a 3D image using the two images. When the 3D image is displayed by the receiver, binocular parallax occurs due to a disparity between a left image and a right image. By doing so, a 3D image can be provided.
When a 3D image is provided, an object of negative disparity, which is configured to pop up to the front side of a screen (to a viewer side) due to binocular parallax according to each content, a scene within content, or a frame, may hang on the left and the right edge of the screen. In this case, a difference occurs between a depth recognized by binocular parallax and a depth recognized by a screen edge bezel and a user may feel a distorted depth.
This phenomenon is called an edge violation. Due to the edge violation phenomenon, a viewer may feel visual fatigue and it may be difficult for the viewer to normally watch contents. Currently, a 3D image receiver does not have a separate process capable of processing the edge violation.
In particular, in case of a multi-view 3D image, an aspect of an edge violation may vary according to each viewpoint. Currently, there is no method capable of solving the edge violation of various aspects.
In multi-view 3D broadcasting environment, inconvenience and distortion of different levels resulted from the edge violation may occur according to each of 3D viewpoints. Yet, a current 3DTV receiver does not have a method capable of processing the distortion phenomenon occurring according to each of 3D viewpoints.
In particular, when an image is included in stereo image pairs (view pair) different from each other in a manner of being duplicated, a method of transmitting contents, which is rendered by a broadcasting station in advance to prevent a distortion phenomenon due to the edge violation from being occurred, is not applicable.

Method and apparatus for processing edge violation phenomenon in multi-view 3DTV service


A machine for the preparation of finished food items, such as, for example, pasta, is disclosed. The machine comprises a first receptacle within which the pasta is cooked, a second receptacle within which a pasta sauce is prepared, and a transfer structure for transferring the pasta from the first receptacle to the second receptacle such that the pasta can be mixed with the pasta sauce, all internally within the machine.

Various types of machines are known for the preparation of single portions of pasta, some of which are described in the US patents US 20050142266 and US 20020152899.
In particular, US 20050142266 describes a method and a machine for the express preparation of "Italian" pasta dishes. The machine described therein comprises a container inside which are housed receptacles for cooking the pre-cooked pasta and outside which, is arranged a pan for heating a single-dose portion of sauce, already prepared and kept at a temperature between 0-4° C. With reference to US 20020152899, an appliance is described for the preparation and the sale of single-dose portions of pasta comprising, substantially, a chamber for cooking single-dose portions of pre-cooked pasta and a chamber containing ready-made sauce. The pasta, after cooking, is tipped onto a relevant plate which is arranged below the chamber containing the sauce. A special nozzle distributes a pre-determined quantity of sauce on the pasta.
The machines forming the subject of the two aforementioned US patents have a number of drawbacks.
Both refer in fact to the preparation of single-dose portions of pasta whereby ready-prepared ingredients are combined that do not allow ensuring a high quality of the finished dish.
Furthermore, these machines do not allow managing the quantity of pasta prepared at one time.

Machine for the express preparation of finished foods, such as pasta and the like