In some embodiments, aggregated serialized goods may be loaded into the serialization/aggregation system via a conveyor, and the aggregated serialized goods may be scanned and authenticated. The aggregated serialized goods that are determined to be authentic may be diverted to at least one aggregation line, where the aggregated serialized goods may be bundled. The serialization/aggregation system may be adjustable, and may be easily converted to accept items of various shapes and sizes.

Embodiments described herein relate generally to systems, devices and methods for serializing and subsequent aggregation of serialized goods such as, for example, pharmaceutical products to allow tracking and tracing of goods with high fidelity.
Product counterfeiting and diversion is typically a major concern for manufacturers. In particular, product counterfeiting in the pharmaceutical industry can result in substantially less revenue for pharmaceutical companies and can jeopardize the health and confidence of patients taking medication. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), up to 15 percent of all medical products in the world are estimated to be counterfeits and the problem is rising. In order to combat counterfeit products, new standards for tracking and tracing medical products need to be developed and implemented globally.
A known method for preventing counterfeiting and diversion, misuse and abuse of pharmaceutical and medical device products is serialization. Serialization is the process of creating and applying unique traceable serial numbers, for example, bar codes to goods such as medical products, at each packaging stage. For example, the unique traceable serial numbers can be applied to bottles or boxes, and aggregates of products such as, for example, bundles, cases, and/or pallets. This information can be managed, stored digitally/electronically and exchanged with key stake holders in the product packaging line and distribution supply chain to ensure that only authentic products are delivered to consumers.
Recent and pending government regulatory requirements are requesting implementation of global drug traceability systems to fight counterfeiting and diversion. This will protect public health against illicit product introduction within the supply chain. Many pharmaceutical and biomedical manufacturers are, however, discovering that their legacy packaging systems are not configured to support the new serialization and track and trace requirements. Most existing packaging lines have manual packaging operations and product manufacturers are reluctant to upgrade their packaging capabilities to be compatible with serialization and tracking systems due to concerns about significant cost impact of such modifications and development of customized packaging lines for one specific product and package size.
Therefore, there is a need for new systems, devices and methods for serializing and aggregating serialized goods products which can relatively easily integrate into existing manual packaging lines of medical product manufacturers. There is also a need for new portable systems that can be moved from one packaging suite or area to another.

Systems and methods for aggregating serialized goods


In a computer system having fault recoverable capability, there is included a first and second data processing unit (DPU), wherein each of the first and second DPU is executing the same task essentially in parallel. Each DPU comprises a processor, a memory and a protected memory. The protected memory stores system data, such that the system data stored in the protected memory is immune from transient conditions. Also included is a monitor, which is operatively connected to the monitor of the other DPU. The monitor detects the occurrence of an upset to reinitialize the DPU, the DPU being reinitialized to a condition just prior to the occurrence of the upset thus avoiding utilization of any potentially erroneous data, and thereby permitting the DPU to return to its normal processing with valid data.

The present invention relates to digital computer systems, and more particularly, to a computer system having an apparatus for monitoring redundant processors of the computer system to effectuate a recovery from correctable faults of the multi-lane digital computer system.
Digital computers are utilized to implement complex banking and business systems as well as in the control of industrial processes. The digital computer is also finding wide spread usage in the control of vehicles such as aircraft, spacecraft, marine and land vehicles. For example, in present day automatic flight control systems for commercial and military transports, the digital computer is supplanting the analog computer of earlier technology.
Automatic flight control systems are constrained by Federal Air Regulations to provide safe control of the aircraft throughout the regimes in which the automatic flight control system is utilized. Any failure condition which prevents continued safe flight and landing must be extremely improbable. Present day regulations require a probability of less than 10.sup.-9 failures per hour for flight critical components. A flight critical portion of an automatic flight control system is one, the failure of which will endanger the lives of the persons aboard the aircraft. For example, components of an automatic flight control system utilized in automatically landing the aircraft may be designated as flight critical, whereas, certain components utilized during cruise control may be designated as non-critical.
In the present day technology of digital automatic flight control systems, it is generally recognized that a digital computer including the hardware and extensive software required for a flight control system application program is of such complexity that the analysis for certification in accordance with Federal Air Regulations is exceedingly more time consuming, expensive and difficult than with the analog computer. The level of complexity and sophistication of the digital technology is increasing such that analysis and proof for certification to the stringent safety requirements is becoming more difficult. Also, it is becoming more difficult to identify all possible data paths in such systems and therefore conventional failure mode and effects analysis is essentially ineffective.
Present day digital computers include hundreds of thousands of discrete semi-conductor or integrated circuit elements generically denoted as latches. A latch, well known to those skilled in the art, is a high speed electronic device that can rapidly switch between stable states in response to relatively low amplitude, high speed signals. Latch circuits are utilized to construct most of the internal hardware of a digital computer such as logic arrays, memories, registers, control circuits, counters, arithmetic and logic units, and the like.
As a consequence, digital computers are subject to disturbances which upset the digital circuitry but do not cause permanent physical damage. For instance, since present day digital computers operate at nanosecond and subnanosecond speeds, rapidly changing electronic signals normally flow through the computer circuits, such signals radiating electro-magnetic fields that couple to circuits in the vicinity thereof. These signals can not only set desired latches into desired states, but can also set other latches into undesired states. An erroneously set latch can unacceptably compromise the data processed by the computer or can completely disrupt the data processing flow thereof. Functional error modes without component damage in digital computer based systems is denoted as digital system upset.
Digital system upset can also result from spurious electromagnetic signals such as those caused by lightning that can be induced on the internal electrical cables throughout the aircraft. Such transient spurious signals can propagate to internal digital circuitry setting latches into erroneous states. Additionally, power surges, radar pulses, static discharges and radiation from nuclear weapon detonation may also result in digital system upset. When subject to such conditions, electrical transients are induced on system lines and data buses resulting in logic state changes that prevent the system from performing as intended after the transient. Additionally, such electromagnetic transients can penetrate into the memory of the computer and scramble the data stored therein. Since such transients can be induced on wiring throughout an aerospace vehicle, reliability functions based on the use of redundant electronic equipment can also be comprised.
A digital computer is susceptible to complete disruption if an incorrect result is stored in any of the memory elements associated with the computer. These upsets increase the number of unconfirmed removals and adversely affect the MTBF/MTBUR, mean time between failure/mean time between unconfirmed removals, ratio of the computer. Safety-critical digital avionic computer applications such as fly-by-wire or autoland achieve their very high reliability numbers through the use of redundancy and cannot tolerate system upset due to transient conditions such as electromagnetic interference (EMI), inherent noise, lightning, electromagnetic pulses (EMP), high energy radio frequency (HERF) or transient radiation effects on electronics (TREE). Safety-critical digital computers must be able to tolerate such transient upsets without affecting the performance of the critical application. As newer digital technologies are introduced, the amount of energy necessary to change the state of a memory element is rapidly dropping, thereby making these elements more susceptible to upset due to EMI, lightning, EMP, HERF or TREE.
Prior redundant digital systems have provided recovery from transient disturbances to digital circuitry with a "transfusion" of data. Following the detection of a digital circuit upset, "transfused" data was transmitted from unaffected redundant digital circuits to the upset digital circuits in order to restore the upset circuitry to the correct processing state. Such a prior redundant system is comprised of three digital processing elements. If one element is determined to be faulty by the other two, it was isolated. The two remaining elements then transmitted the current long term state variables, which are specific to the digital application, to the isolated element. The isolated element then resumed processing and was readmitted to the system if the processing was performed for a given number of computation frames without another detected fault.
Thus, prior systems do not provide for the recovery of digital processing elements if all processing elements are upset by a transient disturbance. Prior systems depend on the interaction between remaining undisturbed redundant components and the upset components for error identification and correction.
Thus, there is provided by the present invention, a system which allows the digital processing system to recover from disruption of all redundant elements. Each digital processing element is able to recover from "soft" hardware faults or other "transient" type disturbances by restoring its own previous non-faulty state without interaction with other redundant elements within the digital system. Because this technique is transparent to the software function being executed on a digital processor and is independent of the level of redundancy of the digital components, system design flexibility is increased over the present day systems.
The disadvantages of the present system, are overcome by maintaining copies of present and past values of system state variables which are protected from the effects of electromagnetic environments, or other external disturbances (e.g. nuclear particles, etc.). This capability provides a needed level of immunity for critical digital avionics (such as autoland, displays or fly-by-wire) to such external environments. Specifically, following disruption of a digital processing element, an appropriate copy of each state variable, provided by that processing element, is restored from the protected memory associated with that element. With the state variable re-established at their legitimate values, data processing by the disrupted processing element is restored. In addition to protected memory, the present invention includes various monitoring options.


A decorative member includes a transparent layer, a first decorated layer, and a second decorated layer. The first decorated layer is disposed on the transparent layer's rear surface. The second decorated layer is disposed on the transparent layer's rear surface. The transparent layer's rear surface has an irregular configuration that includes indented portions and indent-free portions. The indented portions dent toward the transparent layer's front surface. The indent-free portions protrude toward the transparent layer's rear surface. The first decorated layer is disposed directly on the rear surface of the transparent layer partially. The second decorated layer is made of a film that includes resin, and is laminated on the first decorated layer and on the transparent layer's rear surface entirely.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a decorative member that displays predetermined design or decoration stereoscopically or three-dimensionally, and to a process for manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Decorative members that display predetermined decorations three-dimensionally have been known. This type of decorative members (hereinafter simply referred to as "decorative members") has been used in emblems and electromagnetic-wave transmissive covers for vehicle. In general, such a decorative member comprises a transparent layer, and a decoration layer that is disposed on the rear surface of the transparent layer. The rear surface of the transparent layer is formed as an irregular configuration. The decoration layer is formed as another irregular configuration that coincides with that of the transparent layer's rear surface. The decoration layer that takes on the irregular configuration makes the decorative member display predetermined decoration three-dimensionally.
Note that the decoration layer in a conventional decorative member is usually made of two or more layers in order to display the predetermined decoration. For example, an ordinary conventional decorative member is illustrated FIGS. 12 and 13. FIG. 12 illustrates a front view of the conventional decorative member schematically. FIG. 13 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the conventional decorative member, which is shown in FIG. 12 and is cut along the imaginary chain double-dashed line "13"-"13" designated in FIG. 12, schematically. Moreover, FIGS. 14 and 15 are explanatory diagrams for schematically illustrating how the conventional decorative member is manufactured, respectively. Hereinafter, the conventional decorative member will be described with reference to FIGS. 12 through 15.
As illustrated in FIG. 13, the conventional decorative member comprises a transparent layer 501, and a decoration layer 506. The decoration layer 506 has first decorated layers 502, and second decorated layers 503. The first decorated layers 502 and second decorated layers 503 are formed on the rear surface of the transparent layer 501 partially. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 12, the first decorated layers 502, and the second decorated layers 503, which are placed in the space between the first decorated layers 502 and in the middle of the conventional decorative member, are visible when a viewer views the conventional decorative member on the front-surface side, namely, on the side of the transparent layer 501. Accordingly, the conventional decorative member displays predetermined decoration that results from the first decorated layers 502 and second decorated layers 503. Moreover, the decoration layer 506 is formed as an irregular configuration that coincides with that of the transparent layer 501's rear surface, as illustrated in FIG. 13. Consequently, the conventional decorative member displays the predetermined decoration three-dimensionally with the decoration layer 506's irregular configuration. In general, the first decorated layers 502 are formed by means of application, and the second decorated layers 503 are formed by means of deposition or application. Note that the term, "application" being referred to in the present specification, implies a concept that involves not only coating but also printing.
Note that the following two methods have been available to give such an irregular configuration to the decoration layer 506. As for a first method, a material for making the decoration layer 506 is applied or vapor deposited onto the rear surface of the transparent layer 501, thereby forming the decoration layer 506 as an irregular configuration that coincides with the rear surface of the transparent layer 501. When forming the second decorated layers 503 by means of vapor deposition in accordance with the first method, it is believed allowable to form the first decorated layers 502 by means of application onto the rear surface of the transparent layer 501 and then form the second decorated layers 503 onto the resulting first decorated layers 502 by means of vapor deposition as an upper layer to the first decorated layers 502. However, this first method requires to put the transparent layer 501 with the first decorated layer 502 formed into a vacuum chamber for vapor deposition in the course of forming the second decorated layers 503. Accordingly, there arises such a problem that the manufacturing steps for completing decorated member might have become complicated. On the other hand, it is not needed to put the transparent layer 501 into a vapor-deposition vacuum chamber when forming the second decorated layers 503 by means of application. However, since the transparent layer 501 takes on an irregular configuration, it might be difficult to form the second decorated layers 503 highly accurately by means of application, depending on positions at which the second decorated layers 503 are formed. Consequently, when forming the second decorative layers 503 by means of application in accordance with the first method, it might have been less likely to manufacture decorative members that are good in terms of decorativeness. Moreover, such a first method might have required troublesome manufacturing steps in order to form the second decorated layers 503 with high accuracy by means of application.
A second method of giving an irregular configuration, which coincides with the rear surface of the transparent layer 501, to the decoration layer 506 is a method of laminating a decoration layer 506 that comprises a film onto the rear surface of the transparent layer 501, as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (KOKAI) Gazette No. 2006-95,793, for instance. As illustrated in FIGS. 14 and 15, a film is used in the laminating method. The film is made of a resinous layer 530, and the first decorated layer 502 and second decorated layer 503 that are formed in advance as an upper layer to the resinous layer 530. Accordingly, it is believed that the laminating method hardly requires complicated manufacturing steps when forming the second decorated layer 503 either by means of vapor deposition or by means of application. That is, it is not needed to put the transparent layer 501 itself into a vacuum chamber for vapor deposition when forming the second decorated layer 503 by means of vapor deposition. Moreover, it is possible to form the second decorated layer 503, an upper layer, by means of application onto the flat resinous layer 530. Consequently, the laminating method is believed to enable manufacturers to readily manufacture decorative members.
However, in the laminating method, it is required to shape the resulting decoration layer 506, a film, into a configuration that develops so as to coincide with the rear surface of the transparent layer 501. When shaping the decoration layer 506 into such a configuration, it undergoes elongation deformation so that it turns into a configuration that coincides with the rear surface of the transparent layer 501. Therefore, as illustrated FIG. 15, the boundary sections between the first decorated layer 502 and the second decorated layer 503 (hereinafter, referred to as "break or separation lines" 570) might suffer from positional deviation or displacement, depending on an extent of the elongation deformation that the decoration layer 506 undergoes. To put it differently, the laminating method might not allow a manufacturing worker or robot to position the break or separation lines 570 highly accurately. As a result, completed decorative members might exhibit deteriorated decorativeness.
Because of the problems as described above, manufacturers have been therefore seeking such a technique that makes it possible to readily manufacture decorative members, and to improve the decorativeness of resulting decorative members furthermore.

Process for manufacturing a decorative member with a groove in a mold


The present disclosure is directed to devices, methods and systems for microphone arrays wherein enhancing performance of directional microphone arrays is provided. Enhanced performance of speaker phones is also provided. In certain embodiments, the housing of the device is configured to support the at least three microphones and the loudspeaker in a substantially first orientation; and the at least three microphones and the loudspeaker are arranged in a spatial relationship such that appropriate phase and delay characteristics achieve a substantial null response in the at least three microphones and in the loudspeaker in a substantial vertical direction away from the substantially first orientation over a desired audible range of frequencies and the device is able to provide a response to sounds over a range of first oriented elevations.

The use of speech systems is commonplace. For example, in teleconferencing systems, participates typically gather in an office or meeting room and are seated at various locations about the room. The room used is typically not equipped with special sound tailoring materials, and echoes of both near and far-end voices add to the noise level. If the room is large enough, some participates may be seated away from the conference table, distancing themselves from the microphones. Some participates may not actively speak, or may contribute only occasionally. Their presence, however, adds to the number of sources of room noise as pencil tapping, paper rustling, and side conversations develop. These noise sources further degrade the sound quality experienced by the far-end parties.
The majority of speech systems have microphones deployed at one, two, or at most three locations. The microphones are typically positioned on the surface of a conference table, distributed in a manner that provides the best pickup of the most significant contributors to the meeting. This selection of microphone positions may make some of the contributors difficult to hear. Occasional participants are frequently forced to move closer to a microphone when they speak, creating additional room noise as they switch seats or move chairs.
Microphone arrays are generally designed as free-field devices and in some instances are embedded within a structure. A problem with prior art microphone arrays is that the beam width decreases with increasing frequency and sidelobes become more problematic. This results in significant off axis "coloration" of the signals. As it is impossible to predict when a talker will speak, there is necessarily a period time during which the talker will be off axis with consequential "coloration" degraded performance.
Microphones with "pancake directivity" for use in speech systems are known. For example, arrangements of directional microphones covering 360 degrees in the horizontal plane exist in the telecom and conference speaker phone art. In order to make conference speakerphones effective people have used various arrays of microphones. Systems that provide directivity in microphone are expensive and complex and they do not provide a consistent beam shape over the frequency range of use. Directional microphones are known for use in speech systems to minimize the effects of ambient noise and reverberation. It is also known to use multiple microphones when there is more than one talker, where the microphones are either placed near to the source or more centrally as an array. Moreover, systems are also known for selecting which microphone or combination to use in high noise or reverberant environments. For example, in teleconferencing applications, it is known to use arrays of directional microphones associated with an automatic mixer. The limitation of these systems is that they are either characterized by a fairly modest directionality or they are of costly construction.
Another issue is the speakerphone type systems can manifest different types of echoes. For example, acoustic echo from feedback in the acoustic path between the speaker of the phone and its microphone. Another example is line echo that originates in the switched network that routes a call between stations. Acoustic feedback is a problem in speakerphones and known systems often incorporate some type of expensive electronic circuitry adapted to suppress, cancel, or filter out unwanted acoustic echo during use.
It would useful to have a microphone array that is less expensive, less complex and provides more consistent performance over the appropriate range of verbal frequencies in certain environments such as, but not limited to, teleconferencing. Accordingly, there is a long-felt but as yet unsatisfied need in the field for a speakerphone design that inherently reduces the amount of acoustic echo present in the phone, thereby resulting in the need for less complex, and hence, less costly echo cancellation circuitry, and one that also provides better low-frequency sound definition and high-frequency sound dispersion by the loudspeaker of the phone. There is also a need for devices, methods and systems for microphone arrays that allow for greater flexibility in the placement in the microphone. There is also a need for devices, methods, and systems for speakerphones that have improved echo cancellation, better sound performance and dispersion, and require a substantially smaller footprint than speakerphones of the prior art.
Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditional approaches will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art through comparison of such systems with the present disclosure as set forth in the present application with reference to the drawings.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Speakerphone and/or microphone arrays and methods and systems of using the same


Various embodiments of stand-off devices and methods are disclosed. The stand-off device can space a bearing assembly apart from a support, such as a frame of a conveyor belt, thereby providing access between the bearing assembly and the frame, such as for cleaning fluid. Certain embodiments of the stand-off device include a first end and a second end, with the first end being receivable in a securing hole of the bearing assembly and the second end configured to protrude from the bearing assembly.

Field
The present disclosure relates to facilitating access to portions of processing equipment, such as access for cleaning fluid between a bearing assembly and a frame.
Description of the Related Art
Processing equipment, such as conveyor systems, is used for a variety of purposes. For example, conveyor systems are used to transport articles from a first location to a second location. These systems can include a conveyor belt (or chain) that is arranged in an endless loop and driven to convey the objects on the belt surface. The belt can be supported by rotatable elements, such as rollers, at certain locations along the length of the belt. Portions of the rollers can be journaled (e.g., installed) in bearing assemblies that are mounted to a frame or other support structure of the conveyor assembly. This allows the rollers to transfer a portion of the weight of the belt and the conveyed product to the frame, while also permitting the rollers to rotate relative to the frame and the belt.


A method and apparatus for controlling access to a plurality of resources at a predetermined ratio based on multiple received requests. The system includes a series of multiplexors, adders, subtractors, multi-bit clocked registers, and comparators arranged to maintain the desired predetermined ratio. The registers act to maintain a first value correlated to a first quantity of requests granted for a first requester in excess of an amount desired according to the predetermined ratio and maintain a second value correlated to a second quantity of requests granted for a second requester with respect to the total requests desired from the second requester. One comparator compares the value from the first register with a predetermined value to assess whether to grant access to the first requestor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of priority control, and more specifically to controlling the priority accorded to more than one queue seeking access to a shared resource.
2. Description of the Related Art
Data communication networks receive and transmit ever increasing amounts of data. Data is transmitted from an originating entity or requester, through the network to a destination, such as a channel or resource. Along this path may be multiple points that receive data, typically in the form of packets or data frames, and along each point data must be routed to the next point in the network in a rapid and efficient manner. Certain protocols or standards may be employed in transferring data from one point to another, and such standards enable hardware and software employing different configurations to effectively receive and transfer the data. Such standards include, but are not limited to, Utopia, X.25, and other standards promulgated by the ITU and ANSI.
The points throughout the data network operate to receive data requests or packets from various requesters and provide results or satisfy requests in an orderly and efficient manner. Requests may arrive synchronously or asynchronously, and requests may be for access to multiple resources or channels or to particular sets of resources or channels. A single requester may request access to multiple resources at one time. The hardware or software at the data transmission point in the data network acts as a traffic officer, deciding which data packets receive priority in transmission while requiring others to wait.
The traditional hardware or software used to perform this access control function has been a form of arbiter. Other designs have been employed, including lookup tables, FIFO arrangements, and other designs known to those skilled in the art. An arbiter receives requests from requesters and allocates those requests among the channels or resources sequentially according to requester position. For example, if requestors one through five seek access to a Channel A, and requesters one through four transmit multiple requests while requester five transmits one request, the arbiter allows access in an ordered manner to requesters one through five and subsequently to one through four until all requests have been satisfied. If requester five has not made a request, the arbiter skips requester five and goes on to the next requester in sequence. If requester five adds a request at some point during arbitration, this new request is satisfied sequentially. This is sometimes referred to as round robin arbitration. Arbitration differs from a FIFO arrangement in that input channels are individually queued in arbitration, while FIFO employs a single queue, and the first request received from any requester is the first request satisfied.
The problems with previous arbitration and FIFO arrangements include a general inability to prioritize the arriving requests in a predetermined ratio, such as permitting channel one to have access to 75 percent of the resource while permitting channel two only 25 percent of the resource. It is desirable for certain requests, requesters, or channels to receive higher priority or greater access to the resource than others. Previous arbitration schemes simply go through the requests from the requesters in order and allow them access to the resource when a request is present and when it is the requestor's "turn." FIFO arrangements cycle through the requests as received with no allowance for priority or ratio of access to the resource. In the previous arbitration arrangement, using the foregoing example, if requester one is to be accorded 25 percent of the accesses to the resource but generates a large number of requests in a short amount of time, while requester two is to be accorded 75 percent of the accesses, the previous arbitration scheme will grant the request from requester one any time the requester one queue includes a request. A FIFO will simply grant access based on order received with no regard to the desired ratio. This granting of a slot to undesirable requests based on the desired ratio hinders system performance by slowing desirable requests. The result is delays to satisfy requests, lower throughput, or incorrect ratio throughput at the data transfer point.
While arbiters and FIFOs are simple, straightforward, and relatively well known, it would be desirable to offer a simple, straightforward mechanism or method that provides for statistical control, such as controlling ratio, between queues using relatively well known devices.

Method and apparatus for statistically controlling priority between queues


An interarticular ligament prosthesis is formed from a plurality of high strength high modulus polymeric fibers. The fibers are independent and free from intrinsic inter-fiber shear coupling found in braided or bonded fibers. The ligament prosthesis is installed with tubular, bone screw anchors. The fibers of the ligament prosthesis pass through the central hole of the anchors and are knotted at one end. The exit holes of the anchors include ceramic eyelets with polished edges. The edges are rounded to a defined radius for desired fatigue life of the prosthesis.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) prosthesis and an anchor to fix its ends into bones. More particularly, it relates to an ACL prosthesis formed of a plurality of independent filaments and an anchor for minimizing wear and failure.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) in the human knee joint, commonly called Cranial Cruciate Ligament in the canine stifle, is frequently torn in trauma, or, as it happens in dogs, fails after a degenerative process of still unknown etiology. Direct repair is usually not possible—when attempted, it predictably fails.
In human orthopedics, the standard procedure calls for replacement by an allograft, a part of the patellar ligament, or a part of the tendon removed from hamstring muscles. The procedure results in a stable knee, but the long term performance is often unsatisfactory with over a half of cases resulting in arthrosis of the joint.
In dogs the standard procedure is either an extracapsular suture (usually placed on the lateral side of the joint) approximating the function of the ligament, or one of the geometry modifying surgical techniques, e.g. Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy (TPLO), Cranial Closing Wedge Osteotomy (CWO), or Tibial Tuberosity Advancement (TTA). Intra-articular prostheses are also occasionally used, but those generally end up in failure. Extracapsular sutures also fail. These are intended to provide stability of the joint for several weeks while waiting for fibrosis to form around the joint, which then should provide for long term stability. Arthrosis of the joint at longer term, at a year or so, is the rule rather exception.
There are a variety of anchors used to fix the ends of an ACL prosthesis into bones. Most commonly, they are so-called interference screws, designed to be inserted along the prosthesis (transplanted tendon or ligament, or an artificial ligament) within an anchor hole, or tunnel, drilled in the bone. The interference screw jams the prosthetic tissue against the bone within the anchor hole. FIG. 1 shows an ACL bone anchor 1 of the interference screw type inserted into bone 3 in the direction 5 so as to jam the prosthetic tissue 2 within the hole 4 which can then resist pull-out force 6. Such screws are made either from metal, most commonly titanium, or bioresorbable polymers.
Another common technique is so-called cross-pin used to anchor a loop of the prosthetic tissue within a hole drilled in the femoral condyle. In all cases, prosthetic tissue exits the tunnel by bending over the edge of the bone; healing/remodeling of the bone is expected to fill the gaps and to result in a natural-like anchorage of the ligament in the bone. FIG. 2 shows an ACL anchor 7 of the transverse, or cross pin type, inserted into the bone of the femoral condyle 12 through a hole 10. A front section 8 of the anchor 7 passes through a loop of prosthetic tissue 9 inserted through hole 11. In this manner the prosthetic tissue can support the pull 13.
Neither of these techniques is suitable for a permanent anchorage of an artificial ACL replacement. Bending of the prosthesis over the edge of the hole will lead to both, bone loss due to contact resorption and mechanical damage—ultimately failure—of the prosthesis due to bending and wear at the edge of the hole.
An alternative method of using screw anchors with the prosthesis fixed in their central, axial hole also do not provide for a durable anchorage, because in all known designs the bending of the prosthesis over the edge of the hole exceeds the fatigue limit of even the best materials used for prosthesis.


A remote copy system includes a first storage system including a first storage controller and a first data volume. The first storage controller is configured to control data access requests to the first data volume. The first storage system is configured to store write data in the first data volume upon receiving a write request from a first host that is associated with the first storage system. A second storage system includes a second data volume and configured to receive first copy data sent from the first storage system and store the first copy data in the second data volume, the first copy data corresponding to the write data stored in the first data volume. A third storage system includes a second storage controller and a third data volume and configured to receive second copy data from the second storage system and store the second copy data to the third data volume, the second copy data corresponding to the first copy data, the third data volume mirroring the first data volume. A fourth storage system includes a fourth data volume and configured to receive third copy data sent from the third storage system and store the third copy data to the fourth data volume, the third copy data corresponding to the second copy data.

The present invention relates to a storage system, more particularly to a storage system configured to perform a remote copy function.
Data is the underlying resources on which all computing processes are based. With the recent explosive growth of the Internet and e-business, the demand on data storage systems has increased tremendously. Generally, storage networking encompasses two applications or configurations: network-attached storage (NAS) or storage area network (SAN). A NAS uses IP over Ethernet to transports data in file formats between storage servers and their clients. In NAS, an integrated storage system, such as a disk array or tape device, connects directly to a messaging network through a local area network (LAN) interface, such as Ethernet, using messaging communications protocols like TCP/IP. The storage system functions as a server in a client-server system.
Generally, a SAN is a dedicated high performance network to move data between heterogeneous servers and storage resources. Unlike NAS, a separate, dedicated network is provided to avoid any traffic conflicts between client and servers on the traditional messaging network. A SAN permits establishment of direct connections between storage resources and processors or servers. A SAN can be shared between servers or dedicated to a particular server. It can be concentrated in a single locality or extended over geographical distances. SAN interfaces can be various different protocols, such as Fibre Channel (FC), Enterprise Systems Connection (ESCON), Small Computer Systems Interface (SCSI), Serial Storage Architecture (SSA), High Performance Parallel Interface (HIPPI), or other protocols as they emerge in the future. For example, the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) is developing a new protocol or standard iSCSI that would enable block storage over TCP/IP, while some companies are working to offload the iSCSI-TCP/IP protocol stack from the host processor to make iSCSI a dominant standard for SANs.
Regardless of the type of storage system used, the data storage system users are acutely interested in maintaining back-up data in order to prevent loss of valuable data from failure in storage unit (or storage subsystem). Accordingly, the data storage systems generally includes back-up units to store data for emergency recovery when the primary units experience failure. The failure, however, may result from occurrence of natural disasters, e.g., earth quake or storm, in the area where the storage unit is provided, as well as from the break-down of the unit itself. If the back-up units are placed nearby the primary units, both of them may be destroyed when the natural disaster strikes. Accordingly, many storage system users prefer to place the primary units and the back-up units separated over along distance, e.g., over 100 miles apart. In fact, some users have even placed the primary and back-up units in different continents.
Currently, two operational modes are used by storage systems to copy the data to the back-up or secondary sites: synchronous mode and asynchronous mode. In synchronous mode, a write request from a host to the target storage volumes (e.g., in the primary storage system) completes only after write data are copied to the backup storage volumes (e.g., in the secondary or intermediate storage system) and acknowledge thereof has been made. The backup storage volumes may be secondary storage volume (SVOLs) or journal volumes (JNL).
Synchronous method guarantees no loss of data at the secondary system since the write data from the host is stored in the cache of the primary system until the acknowledgement has be received from the secondary or intermediary system. In addition, the primary volumes (PVOLs) in the primary storage system and the secondary volumes (SVOLs) in the secondary storage system are identically maintained, so that the SVOLs can be used promptly to replace the PVOLs if the PVOLs experiences failure. However, the primary and secondary storage systems cannot be placed too far apart, e.g., over 100 miles, under this mode. Otherwise, the storage system cannot efficiently execute write requests from the host, as explained in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/602,223, filed on Jun. 23, 2003, which is assigned to the assignee of the present application. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/602,223 is incorporated by reference for all purposes.
In asynchronous mode, a write request from a host to the primary storage system completes upon storing write data only to the primary system. The write data is then copied to the secondary or intermediary storage system as an independent step from the data write to the primary storage system. Accordingly, the primary and secondary systems may be placed far apart from each other, e.g., 100 miles or greater, without affecting the IOs processing efficiency at the primary system. However, data being transferred on the network may be lost if the primary system goes down since the PVOL and SVOL are not maintained identically. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a data storage system or remote copy system that provides the benefits of the synchronous and asynchronous modes, i.e., enables the primary and secondary systems to be placed far apart while guaranteeing no data loss.

Remote copy system having multiple data centers


A pressure sensitive adhesive tape comprising a tape substrate having at least a portion of one or more sides coated with a silicone pressure sensitive adhesive is constructed using an adhesive which cures to a permanent adhesive. The adhesive is covered on the outer side with a release film, preferably coated with a fluorosilicone release layer, to allow storage of the tape. Preferably the curable silicone pressure sensitive adhesive is cured upon exposure to moisture, the tape therefore being stored in the absence of moisture. A silicone elastomeric structural glazing tape is made by using a silicone elastomer as the tape substrate. The tape can be used to bond glazing panels to building components without the use of other means of fastening.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to curable silicone pressure sensitive adhesive tape useful for bonding in structural applications.
2. Background Information
Many methods of using adhesives for bonding the various components of buildings together have been developed. Adhesives have been used in the manufacture and attachment of exterior panels in curtain walls, such as in structural glazing systems.
A system for use in structural glazing has been developed in which an adhesive sealent has been used to bond the glass exterior panel to the curtain wall frame and to seal the joint formed. A discussion of such a system is found in "The Role of Adhesive Sealants in Structural Glazing", Architects's Guide to Glass, Metal & Glazing, Annual Edition, 1985, p 48-54. The system discussed makes use of silicone sealants which bond curtainwall components together. The components must be held in place while the silicone sealant cures to an elastomeric material from the paste material it is at the time of application.
A variation of the above system is described in "Sealants in Construction", Klosowski, Marcel Deker, Inc, New York, N.Y., 1989, at page 248. The backing material used to form the joint between metal frame and glass curtain in a factory during construction of the assembly is a urethane foam tape. This foam tape has a pressure sensitive adhesive on two sides. The tape is applied to the frame as a gasket, then the glass placed over it. The adhesive holds the glass in place while a silicone sealant is installed between the frame and glass and allowed to cure, to permanently bond the two pieces together.
Another system has been developed in Japan which uses a thin layer of silicone sealant to bond the glass sheet to a silicone rubber gasket, which is in turn secured by a metal holder which is bolted to the structural part of a building to attach the glass curtain to the building. The gasket is bonded to the glass in a factory, as the assembly must have several days to cure and bond before it is attached to the building.
A glazed impervious sheet assembly and method of glazing are described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,881,290, issued May 6, 1975. The method makes use of a pressure sensitive resilient tape to seal between an exterior stop and the impervious sheet. Shown is a suitable polyvinyl chloride foam ribbon and silicone pressure sensitive adhesive useful in the method.
Glass butt joints for curtain wall construction are taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,912,898, issued Apr. 3, 1990. The construction uses an insulating panel unit made up of two parallel sheets which are separated by use of a spacer and bonded together by a sealing means, such as polysulphide, butyl, and silicone compounds. Metal brackets are factory attached to the insulating panel unit with sealant, which is cured before installation of the panels into the building. After installation, a sealant is used to seal the space between units.
None of the above described systems can be used to bond two surfaces together through the use of a pressure sensitive adhesive with sufficient long term integrity so that support brackets are not necessary either during assembly or during use.
A pressure sensitive adhesive tape is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,396,675, issued Aug. 2, 1983. The tape is applied to a surface and is then heated to crosslink the adhesive. The crosslinked adhesive exhibits excellent resistance to common organic solvents and exceptional resistance to shear failure, especially at elevated temperatures.
A method of bonding surfaces with a permanent-bond adhesive is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,613,534, issued Sep. 23, 1986. The method bonds surfaces coated with elastoplastic organopolysiloxane resin or polytertrafluoroethylene resin. The adhesive is a multi-part composition which cures when the parts are mixed together and the solvent is removed. The adhesive does not make a pressure sensitive adhesive.
When pressure sensitive adhesives are used as tapes, they are commonly protected when formed into rolls with a releasable liner which has a coating which does not adhere to the pressure sensitive adhesive. A coating composition which is useful in this manner is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,736,048, issued Apr. 5, 1988, while the method of coating this composition to make such a releasable liner is claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,842,902, issued Jun. 27, 1989. U.S. Pat. No. 4,889,753, issued Dec. 26, 1989, claims a releasable liner and a laminate of the liner and pressure sensitive adhesive. Another such composition is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,980,440, issued Dec. 25, 1990. This composition is stated to have a faster curing time and a longer bath life.
In co-pending applications for U.S. patent, titled "SOLUTION-STABLE, MOISTURE-CURABLE SILICONE PRESSURE SENSITIVE ADHESIVES", U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/748,477, and "STABLE, MOISTURE-CURABLE SILICONE PRESSURE SENSITIVE ADHESIVES", U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/748,500 filed on even date herewith and assigned to the assignee of this application, there are disclosed and claimed moisture-curable silicone pressure sensitive adhesive (SPSA) compositions. The use of these SPSA compositions would be greatly enhanced if they could be protected in thin film form with a release liner. The disclosures of said co-pending and co-assigned applications are incorporated herein by reference to fully delineate these SPSA compositions and how to prepare them.
Tangney, U.S. Ser. No. 276,178, filed on Nov. 23, 1988 and assigned to the assignee of this application disclosed a laminate article comprising a fluorosilicone release liner and an addition-cured SPSA.

Curable silicone pressure sensitive adhesive tape and bonding method employing same


Benzodiazepine withdrawal induced anxiety is treated by administration of an enkephalinase inhibitor, and a gamma-aminobutyric acid (“GABA”) precursor, or an endorphin or enkephalin releaser. These components promote restoration of normal neurotransmitter function and are non-addictive. Use of the enkephalinase inhibitor D-phenylalanine, the GABA precursor glutamine, the serotonin precursor 5-HTP, glycine, and taurine, in combination with coenzymatic functionality of folic acid is preferred for activation of ligand-gated Cl− channel in the central nervous system. Food supplement embodiments provide the human body nutritional supplements to intake certain neurotransmitter precursor substrates, thereby enabling patients of all ages to self-regulate their ability to quell perturbations to equilibrium and simultaneously to adverse effects upon normal physiological and psychological functioning attributable to induced anxiety and panic associated with benzodiazepine withdrawal.

This invention relates to dietary supplement compositions, and more particularly relates to dietary supplement compositions, which promote the ability of the human body to engender calmative conditions when subjected to induced anxiety and panic due to benzodiazepine withdrawal.
As is understood by those skilled in the art, neuroregulators are chemicals that enable messages to be transmitted among nerve cells located in the brain. Each of the several neuroregulators found in the brain transmit to a specific receptor site located throughout the human body. Such neuroregulators may be either neurotransmitters that act through synaptic transmission or neuromodulators that act through mechanisms other than synaptic transmission. For instance, responsive to stress, B-endorphin has been observed in the art to be secreted concomitantly with ACTH. Similarly, leu-enkaphalin has been observed to function as a neurotransmitter in the area of the brain involved with a reward and a sense of euphoria. As will be understood by those conversant in the art, endorphins, enkaphalins, and kappa antagonists comprise endogenous opioids—which are intertwined with the body's ability to cope with stress and other equilibrium-threats.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,439,452 teaches that enkephalins have the ability to act as analgesics when administered to various animals and humans by certain special procedures, including intracerebral injections. Only limited results have been obtained from oral administration of enkephalins, however, attributable to the destruction of the enkephalins by the action of certain enzymes, which resemble carboxypeptidase. These and other enzymes, which tend to deactivate enkephalin, are known collectively as "enkephalinase."
Blum in U.S. Pat. No. 4,761,429, teaches a composition intended to inhibit the action of enkephalinase and endorphinase. Such an enkephalinase inhibitor is a substance that tends to inhibit destruction of neuropeptides and endorphins in the animal body. More particularly, D-phenylalanine or hydrocinnamic acid—including DL-phenylalanine ("DLPA") and D-amino acids—was discovered by Blum to function as an enkephalinase inhibitor when administered as a daily dosage in range of 32 to 10,000 mg. The technique taught therein enables endorphins to be accumulated as reservoirs in regions of the nervous system and, when stressful conditions arise, for being readily dispatched from such reservoirs into the bloodstream.
A related development in the art is disclosed also by Blum, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,189,064, wherein compositions comprising an endorphinase or enkephalinase inhibitor and, optionally, a suitable precursor promote restoration of normal neurotransmitter function without side-effects. This optional precursor component may be selected from either a dopamine precursor or a serontonin precursor, a gamma-aminobutyric acid ("GABA") precursor or an endorphinase or enkephalinase precursor. Accordingly, those skilled in the art will appreciate the potential benefits derived from interaction between neurotransmitters such as dopamine, GABA, serontonin, and norepinephrine, on the one hand, and with opioid peptides such as endorphins and enkaphalins, on the other hand. Indeed, it should be evident that compositions premised upon such ingredients as d-phenyalanine and 1-phenyalanine in conjunction with 1-glutamine are likely to be applicable in treatment protocols for reducing drug addiction and the like.
It will be understood by those skilled in the art that, to help explain the mechanisms used by the human body to contend with challenges and threats to normal emotional and ingestive behavior, a "reward cascade" model has been suggested by K. Blum, M. C. Trachtenberg, and G. P. Kozlowski. ("Cocaine Therapy: The 'Reward Cascade' Link," Professional Counselor, January/February 1989 p.27.) This reward cascade model describes normal stimulations as originating in the hypothalamus and comprising a chain of the following events: (1) neurons in the hypothalamus release serotonin; (2) serotonin activates the opioid peptide methionine enkephalin; (3) methionine enkephalin is released at the substantia nigra and interacts to inhibit receptors controlling neuronal release of GABA; (4); dopamine thus released acts as the target messenger of reward; and (5) cells originating in the locus coeruleus and projecting into the hippothalamus release norepinephrine.
It should be understood by those skilled in the art that increased supply of dopamine is a by-product of inhibiting GABA activity, since the primary function of GABA is believed to control dopamine output in the ventral tegmental region. The cascade of events, when in equilibrium, provides homeostatic regulation of the extent of activity, according to this model. On the other hand, a perturbation to equilibrium causing a modification of feelings and/or behavior are/is effectuated if a neurotransmitter or neuromodulator either becomes dysfunctional or its corresponding receptor site becomes non-responsive.
It is also known that, based in significant part upon post-respective reports of millions of persons, primarily in the United States but also worldwide, that the advent of dependency on benzodiazepines has become epidemic and extremely difficult with which to deal. Furthermore, it is clear that long-term use of benzodiazepines have given rise to many unwanted effects, including memory problems, cognition problems, emotional blunting and depression, increasing anxiety, physical symptoms and dependence. This latterdependency, unfortunately, has not been recognized by the medical community and, indeed, has routinely been exacerbated by the continued prevalent prescriptive practices of physicians throughout the United States. Contrariwise, various medical organizations throughout the world, e.g., the Committee on Safety of Medicines, the Royal College of Psychiatrists—both located in the United Kingdom—have concluded and published the finding that benzodiazepines are unsuitable for long-term use and should, in general, be prescribed only for periods of 2-4 weeks.
The identical conclusory and warning language has been rendered as being integral to the "insert" literature by ethical pharmaceutical companies producing and distributing benzodiazepines. It has been found that most physicians, however, ignore these warnings, and exclusively direct energy and attention to responding to symptoms by patients' reports. As a result millions of persons have unwittingly used these medications to control various symptoms of anxiety and related conditions while, ironically, simultaneously developing a strong dependency upon the use of benzodiazepine.
Unfortunately, it has become abundantly clear from patients' reports that physicians typically have declined to assist patients gradually discontinue use of the benzodiazepines. It would appear, based upon this evidence, that physicians have not been trained to deal with withdrawal from drug dependency, especially drugs that have been prescribed in good faith and with curative intentions. Drug withdrawal reactions generally tend to mirror the drugs' initial effects; in the case of benzodiazepines, sudden cessation after chronic use may result in multiple, serious consequences. Among these consequences are insomnia and nightmares, increased muscle tension and muscle spasms, anxiety, panic attacks and seizures. As is known to practitioners in the art, these reactions are caused by abrupt nervous system adaptations that have occurred responsive to the chronic presence of the drug. Rapid removal of the drug results in rebound over-activity of all the systems, which have been damped by the benzodiazepine and are now no longer opposed. As a result of this rebound over-activity, the brain and peripheral nervous system are in a chronic state of hyperexcitability, and, consequentially, are susceptible to the deleterious impact of stress.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,922,361 and 6,159,506 disclose that protracted stress has been found to cause the human body to suffer from adverse physical and psychological affects. Indeed, as will be understood by those conversant in the art, stress has been implicated in the incidence of heart disease, hypertension, migraine headaches, ulcers, and depression. It will also be understood by those skilled in the art that, while each human body reacts somewhat differently to insults from stress, the changes that generally occur are similar.
For example, it is known among practitioners that, in the course of responding to stress, the human body suffers from a depletion of neuroregulators from each of the endogenous opioid system, gamma-aminobutyric acid ("GABA") system, and serotonin system. As another example, it is also known that the neurotransmitters dopamine, enkephalin, GABA, and norepinephrine from each of the hypothalamus and hippocampus have important affects upon anxiety disorders. Similarly, serotonin is known to also have important affects upon anxiety disorders.
Anxiety disorders, of course, are disorders associated with excessive feelings of anxiousness and nervousness. As with major depressive disorder ("MDD"), anxiety disorders are more extreme cases of what are commonly experienced at various times. A person suffering from an anxiety disorder experiences anxiety to such an extent that it significantly interferes with normal functioning; the concomitant cognitive feelings of anxiety and nervousness, neurologically translate into an overly active sympathetic nervous system. In the case of Generalized Anxiety Disorder ("GAD"), these feelings of anxiousness and nervousness are constant, as is the sympathetic activation. Not only can such feelings be unpleasant, but also can have a strong negative impact upon one's physical health. Accordingly, this type of anxiety disorder can be particularly debilitating.
Panic Disorder ("PD") also includes anxious and nervous feelings, but these feelings come and go at unanticipated times. In fact, one of the defining components of GAD and PD is that the anxiety is not due directly to any specific external stimuli. The prototypical panic attack includes many physical components such as irregular heart rate, dizziness, faintness, shortness of breath, sweating and "clamminess." All of these physical components are often associated with a general feeling of dissociation or unreality, and, in the extreme, even a feeling of impending death. A person suffering from such attacks—which come with little warning—can have significant problems in day-to-day functioning.
The treatment of anxiety disorders has developed considerably in the past 50 years. Early treatments used alcohol and barbiturates to treat anxiety, but both were associated with significant concomitant problems. This attitude and approach changed in the 1950s and 1960s, wherein the benzodiazepines were developed as effective anxiolytics. As will be appreciated by practitioners in the art, benzodiazepine-anxiolytics are still commonly used.
Benzodiazepines, work quickly and are generally well-tolerated, but may cause patients to suffer from initial sedation, ataxia, uncoordination, impaired memory and cognition; after chronic administration, they further may cause patients to suffer from physiological dependence, and thereby from withdrawal symptoms. It has been observed by practitioners that some of these adverse effects occur more frequently in older patients. Additional observations include occasional undesirable behavioral disinhibition in pediatric patients and in patients with a comorbid Cluster B Personality Disorder, e.g., patients that are antisocial, borderline, histrionic, or narcissistic.
Furthermore, people with a history of, or propensity for, alcohol or drug abuse are at risk for abusing benzodiazepines. Due to their lack of significant anti-depressant effects, these drugs are also not optimal for long-term monotherapy treatment of GAD patients or patients suffering from other anxiety disorders. As a result, there has been continual searching for new anxiolytic agents. For some anxiety disorders, tricyclic antidepressants ("TCA"s) and monoamine oxidase inhibitors ("MAOI"s) proved to be effective treatment. Unfortunately, prevalent application thereof was limited by side-effects especially during long-term therapy. During the past several years, selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors ("SSRI") have become primary monotherapy for anxiety disorders, being better-tolerated and affording a broader spectrum of efficacy than older agents. It will be appreciated that benzodiazepines are now recommended to patients as adjunctive treatment for anxiety disorders and as monotherapy for patients who are intolerant of or unresponsive to other agents.
It is known by those skilled in the art that the most prominent affect of benzodiazepines is anti-anxiety; accordingly, nearly all acute withdrawal symptoms are characterized by anxiety and related disorders. These symptoms include psychological and physical conditions such as hypersensitivity to sensory stimuli and perceptual disorders, i.e., feeling of motion, impressions of walls or floors tilting, sensation of walking on cotton, etc. In addition, and perhaps most debilitating, is the incidence of de-personalization, feelings of unreality, peripheral neuropathy, i.e., tingling and numbness in extremities, visual hallucinations, distortion of body image, muscle-twitching and weight-loss.
Benzodiazepines function by enhancing the binding qualities of the GABA neurotransmitter, considered by practitioners to be the major calming influence in the brain and body. This GABA neurotransmifter is found in almost every region of the brain and is formed through the activity of the enzyme glutamic acid decarboxylase ("GAD"); GAD is known to function as a catalyst for formation of GABA from glutamic acid. This synthesis of GABA has been linked to the Kreb's cycle. GAD requires vitamin B6 (pyridoxal phosphate) as a cofactor, which can be used to regulate the levels of GABA.
Following release, GABA can be taken back up or recycled by the neurons or by astrocytes. It appears that the release of GABA is also under auto-receptor control. GABA can be metabolized by a trans-amination reaction with alpha keto-glutarate, catalyzed by GABA-transaminase ("GABA-T") to form succinic acid semi-aldehyde. Succinic acid semi-aldehyde is metabolized further to succinic acid which is also a Kreb's cycle intermediate. See FIGS. 1 and 4.
It is known in the art there are two basic GABA receptors, GABA-a and GABA-b. GABA-a is prevalent in the mammalian brain; 60-75% of all synapses in the central nervous system ("CNS") are GABAergic. The GABA-a receptor is similar to the acetylcholine receptor since it is related to an ion channel; binding GABA to this receptor increases the permeability to chloride ions (Cl−), thereby causing hyperpolarization of the neuron. The GABA-a receptor has four basic subunits—2 alpha and 2 beta peptides—which surround a chloride channel. There are three basic binding sites on this complex: (1) GABA site; (2) benzodiazepine site per FIG. 3; and (3) the channel which is essentially a barbiturate site. Binding to the benzodiazepine site can have three affects: (1) agonism; (2) inverse agonism; or (3) antagonism.
As a result of GABA primary site-binding, in conjunction with secondary sites, being activated by benzodiazepine, chloride channels are opened thereby enabling chloride ions to enter the excitatory neuron and to reduce neuron-firing. See, FIG. 2. It will be understood that this action effects reduced excitation in the implicated system and engenders a "calming" effect upon the patient. When secondary sites are continually activated by an outside source by a drug such as a benzodiazepine, this effects a reduction in the available GABA. Thus, to be calmed, the excitatory system will require increasing amounts of secondary transmitter function which effects a benzodiazepine-dependency in order to reduce excitability or anxiety.
After release into the synapse, free GABA that does not bind to either the GABA-a or GABA-b receptor complexes can be taken up by neurons and glial cells. Four different membrane transporter proteins, known as GAT-1, GAT-2, GAT-3, and BGT-1, which differ in their distribution in the CNS, are believed to mediate the uptake of synaptic GABA into neurons and glial cells.
The GABA-a receptor subtype regulates neuronal excitability and rapid changes in fear arousal, such as anxiety, panic, and acute stress response. Drugs that stimulate GABA-a receptors, such as benzodiazepines and barbiturates, have anxiolytic and anti-seizure effects via GABA-a-mediated reduction of neuronal excitability, which effectively raises the seizure threshold. Findings that GABA-A antagonists produce convulsions in animals and that there is decreased GABA-a receptor binding in positron emission tomography ("PET") study of patients with panic disorder support the anti-convulsant and anxiolytic effects of the GABA-a receptor. In addition, low plasma GABA has been reported by practitioners in the art in some depressed patients and may even serve as a trait marker for mood disorders.
Importantly, when benzodiazepine is withdrawn after five to seven days, a patient is often left with symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder and may even experience panic attacks. These symptoms are believed to be due to an insufficient level of transmitters prerequisite for facilitating chloride ion conductance. The neuron continues to fire the excitatory message and there are literally tens of thousands messages that are being sent simultaneously. This unabated firing of norepinepherine neurons, for example, produces the physical and psychological sensations that have been termed "anxiety."
It will be appreciated that the issue then devolves to how to effectively manage anxiety symptoms. Although useful for treating craving disorders including cocaine addiction and the like, the approaches taught by the Blum compositions and methodology are limited to applying nutritional supplements on pro re nata basis, i.e., p.r.n. Heretofore, unknown in the art is a dietary supplement which provides the benefits of the teachings of Blum—for mitigating the adverse affects of the human body being regularly subjected to stressful assaults—on a self-regulating basis wherein a sufficient repository of neurotransmitters and the like is generally available for assuaging perturbations from normal physiological and psychological functions. That is, unlike a formal treatment program for anxiety under which medication or dietary supplements are prescribed as needed on a patient-by-patient basis, it would be advantageous for patients to enjoy the benefit of an available daily dosage of a food supplement that provides a means for routinely attenuating benzodiazepine-withdrawal-induced anxiety, and other physiological and psychological function impairments.
It will be understood that chronic benzodiazepines are inappropriate for administration in such individuals. While selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors ("SSRI"s) and selective norepinephrine re-uptake inhibitors ("SNRI"s) can be helpful, people with substance abuse problems generally do not sufficiently benefit from these drugs. Indeed, these individuals tend to experience more side effects from antidepressants than individuals without abuse problems.
Accordingly, these limitations and disadvantages of the prior art are overcome with the present invention, wherein improved compositions are provided which are particularly useful in reducing the effects of anxiety without the necessity for prescribing medication or for providing food supplements on a p.r.n. basis.

Enkephalinase inhibitor and GABA precursor loading as anti-anxiety compositions


An electronic security scheme and security system for a communications network facilitates the preventing of unauthorized access to an internal resource of an entity's internal computer system. A server includes a first set of ports for communication between an external communications network and the server. The server has a second set of ports for communications between an internal communications network and the server. A first firewall is interposed between the server and the external communications network. The first firewall is coupled to the first set of ports to provide at least one interconnection between the first set of ports and the external communications network. A second firewall is interposed between the server and the internal communications network. In one embodiment, the second firewall is coupled to the second set of ports to provide in a nonnegative integer number of interconnections between the second of set ports and the internal communications network.

An electronic security system may use password protection, a firewall, or both to prevent an unauthorized user from compromising the integrity of a business-to-business transaction or internal data processing resource of a business entity. An internal data processing resource may include a business-to-business server, an enterprise resource planning system, a data processing system, or any combination of the foregoing items. Because of deficient electronic security systems used in the prior art, a business entity may be impeded to find trading partners that are willing to place their internal data processing resources at risk by engaging in electronic transactions over an external communications network, such as the Internet. The security risks associated with inadequate security systems include misappropriation of confidential information, trade secrets, and proprietary customer information. Moreover, an unauthorized user may corrupt or vandalize software that disrupts the business operations of an entity.
An internal data processing resource may include a password authentication system that provides a log-in and associated password to restrict unauthorized traffic access. Accordingly, the authentication system may protect the entity's internal data processing resources from some exposure to unauthorized external traffic carried via an external communications network (e.g., the Internet). However, the password protection scheme is limited in its effectiveness because an unauthorized user may crack an authorized log-in identifier and password combination by trying numerous combinations or iterations of possible log-in identifiers and passwords, for example.
The password protection scheme is typically supplemented with a firewall protection scheme. A firewall refers to software instructions, hardware, or both that filter traffic to allow only traffic from an approved source or with an approved port identifier to pass through the electronic firewall. The firewall may block out unauthorized traffic from reaching the data communication system from the external communications network. The firewall may prevent unauthorized outsiders from gaining access to internal data processing resources of an entity.
The effectiveness of the firewall approach deteriorates where a web server is interposed in a communications path between the firewall and the external communications network. The web server inherently draws unknown users from the external communications network (e.g., the Internet). Further, security measures for the web server tend to be minimal in comparison to those for the internal data processing resources to keep the web server open and accessible to potential customers and other economic activity. Because of the attendant proliferation in the number of users that the firewall must protect against in the presence of the web server, the internal resources of the data communication system and electronic transactions are more vulnerable to attack.
The task of providing sufficient security to an internal data processing system (e.g., enterprise resource planning system) is further complicated by the requirement of providing access of the internal data processing resources to the external communication network for legitimate business dealings and electronic transactions with trading partners or other users. Thus, the need exists for a security configuration that adequately protects the internal data processing resources of an entity's internal system from unauthorized user access, while providing ready communications access between trading partners.

Electronic security system and scheme for a communications network


Ink jet recording method and apparatus is provided in which a color image is recorded by discharging, onto a recording medium, a black ink and at least one of a cyan ink, a magenta ink and a yellow ink from a black-ink recording head that ejects the black ink onto the recording medium, and a color-ink recording head that ejects the at least one of a cyan ink, a magenta ink and a yellow ink onto the recording medium, wherein the black ink contains carbon black, water, a water-soluble organic solvent, and a water-soluble polymer having an anionic functional group, and has a drying time of 5 seconds or more on the recording medium, and at least one type of the color ink contains a color material, water, a water-soluble organic solvent, and a coagulating agent, and has a drying time of 5 seconds or less on the recording medium.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to ink jet recording method and apparatus, that are used for printers, copying machines, facsimile machines, word processors and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
In principle, ink jet recording is carried out by ejecting droplets of a liquid or molten solid ink from a nozzle, a slit or a porous film and the like, to thereby record onto a printing medium such as paper, fabric or film. In order to eject ink, various methods have been proposed such as the so-called static control method, utilizing static attraction, the method utilizing oscillation pressure of a piezoelectric element; and the so-called heat ink jet method, which utilizes pressure that is generated from air bubble formation and growth with heat. By employing these methods, images with a remarkably high level of detail can be created.
Ink jet recording apparatuses have been extensively examined since they provide advantages such as being compact, inexpensive and quiet. Recently, ink jet recording apparatuses capable of high-quality printing like a monochrome printer which forms black images and a color printer which provides full-color images have come to be widely sold. These printers can record on plain paper such as writing paper or copier paper, and occupy a major portion of the printing apparatus market.
The ink for ink jet recording used in the ink jet apparatuses must be able to achieve the following:    (1) provide images having high resolution, high density and uniformity, without bleeding or fogging on paper;    (2) cause no clogging at the tip of the nozzle due to dried ink, and exhibiting good ejecting responsiveness and good ejecting stability;    (3) be quick-drying on paper;    (4) provide fastness of images; and    (5) possess good long-term storability.
In particular, with the recent rise in printing speeds, there has been a demand for a quick-drying ink capable of providing very high-quality images even when recording is carried out on plain paper such as copier paper.
Further, as an ink jet recording ink, ink that mainly contains a dye as color material has been used. However, the ink using a dye has deteriorated water resistance and light fastness of an image. In order to solve these problems, an ink that contains a pigment as the color material has been considered.
In order to correspond to the recent rise in printing speeds, a method of expediting the drying of ink has also been carried on. However, if the drying of ink is simply quickened, deterioration of image density is caused. To this end, a method has been considered in which inks aggregate on recording paper due to a reaction between the inks to thereby improve the image density.
For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 2001-294788 discloses an inkjet recording method in which a color ink is printed in a printing area of a black ink using an ink set in which the drying time of each of the black ink and the color ink is 5 seconds or less and the color ink contains a coagulating agent that aggregates components in the black ink.
The above-described method disclosed by JP-A No. 2001-294788 has achieved quick drying of a printed image and a high optical density of an image, and also has solved image bleeding occurring between different colors. However, if the drying time of a black ink that contains, as a black pigment of the black ink, carbon black having excellent optical density, water resistance and light fastness is quickened, the image quality of a black image portion, such as sharpness of an image edge portion, no thickening of a line, and the like is deteriorated in the existing circumstances, and improvements therefore have been demanded.


Provided is a method of manufacturing a trifluoropyruvyl fluoride dimer, including a reaction step of reacting hexafluoropropylene oxide and aldehyde.

As a method of manufacturing a trifluoropyruvyl fluoride dimer, PTL 1 discloses a manufacturing method that involves reacting benzophenone and hexafluoropropylene oxide in an autoclave at 185° C. for 4 hours.
As a method of manufacturing perfluoro(2,4-dimethyl-2-fluoroformyl-1,3-dioxolane), PTL 2 discloses a method in which trifluoropyruvyl fluoride, which is used as a starting material, is reacted with hexafluoropropylene oxide in a diethylene glycol dimethyl ether solvent, in the presence of cesium fluoride.    [PTL 1] Specification of U.K. Patent No. 1051647    [PTL 2] Specification of U.S. Pat. No. 3,308,107

Aldehyde adduct of hexafluoropropylene oxide, method of manufacturing trifluoropyruvyl fluoride dimer and method of manufacturing perfluoro(2,4-dimethyl-2-fluoroformyl-1,3-dioxolane)


A wearable computing device includes a frame, a camera mounted on the frame so as to capture images of an environment outside of the wearable computing device, a display device mounted on the frame so as to display the images captured by the camera, and at least one eye gaze tracking device mounted on the frame so as to track a gaze directed at the images displayed by the display device. In response to the detection of a fixation of the gaze on the display of images, the system may identify a pixel area corresponding to a fixation point of the fixation gaze on the display of images. The system may identify an object in the ambient environment corresponding to the identified pixel area, and set the identified object as a selected object for user interaction.

Wearable computing devices can include, for example, head mounted display devices including smart glasses and the like, arm/wrist/hand worn devices including smart watches, smart bracelets/bands, smart rings, smart pendants and the like, headphones/ear buds, and other such devices. Users can interact with content made available by wearable computing devices, can capture and/or process and/or access information using wearable computing devices, and can rely on wearable devices to interact with content made available by the wearable device.

Object selection based on eye tracking in wearable device


A grooving blade for chip removing machining includes a cutting insert pocket and a damping arrangement fixed to the blade. The damping arrangement projects laterally with respect to at least one major surface of the blade. A grooving tool and a method of grooving a metallic workpiece are also disclosed.

At grooving and/or parting operations tools are often used that comprises a blade holding a replaceable cutting insert, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,588,333, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. In a parting operation, there is material on both sides of the insert. This means that the tools used are narrow and that the length of the toolholder increases with an increased workpiece diameter. Therefore, stability becomes a critical factor. The blade is formed by a relatively thin plate having a pocket for the cutting insert. The cutting insert is clamped in the pocket by means of the resilient force arising from bending of a clamping arm. Vibrations or oscillations typically arise during machining as a consequence of the dynamic stiffness of the blade being weak.
Vibrations cause poor surfaces and reduce tool-life. Vibration tendency is one consequence of the cutting forces. In addition to tool deflection due to large overhang, these can be affected by variations in the cutting process such as varying working allowance or material conditions as well as the formation of built up edges. The design of the cutting insert geometry can be able to provide smooth chip breaking. Combined with the use of a positive rake angle, higher cutting speeds generally have a favorable influence on the cutting forces/vibrations. The quality of the toolholder and its ability to securely hold the cutting insert is one relevant factor. WO2016024266 and JP2003062703 disclose tools having damping means. Although many parameters have been optimized for reducing vibrations there is still a need for improvements.
It is desirable to further reduce poor surfaces and improve tool-life. It is further desirable to reduce vibrations at grooving while still using a cutting insert geometry that is optimized for other technical effects, such as chip breaking.

Blade, tool and method of grooving a metallic workpiece


The present invention is to provide a rolling bearing suitable for the use under a high temperature, high speed, high load and high vibration condition, having a good rust-preventive performance and the excellent flaking life without a hazard to a human body. A rolling bearing is described, comprising an inner race, an outer race and rolling elements, with a grease composition comprising, as the main components, a base oil, a thickener and at least one kind of a rust-preventive additive made from a naphthenate or a succinic acid derivative, packed in a bearing space formed by at least the inner race, the outer race and the rolling elements, said at least one kind of a rust-preventive additive is present in an amount of 0.1 to 10% by weight based on the total amount of the grease composition.

The present invention relates to a rolling bearing with a grease composition packed, more specifically, it relates to a rolling bearing having a good rust-preventive performance and the excellent flaking life, suitable for use in a high temperature, high speed, high load and high vibration condition, such as, an alternator and an intermediate pulley, and an electromagnetic clutch for an automobile air-conditioner as electric parts for an automobile or engine accessories.
In a rotation part of various power units of an automobile engine, such as electric parts for an automobile or engine accessories including an alternator, an electromagnetic clutch for an automobile air-conditioner, and an intermediate pulley, in general, a rolling bearing is used, and a grease is used as the lubricant therefor.
According to spread of FF cars aiming at a small size and a light weight as well as the demand to enlargement of the car room space, reduction of the engine room volume is inevitable, and thus a smaller size and a light weight of the above-mentioned electric parts and engine accessories are further promoted. Besides, a higher performance and a higher output are required to the above-mentioned parts. However, output decline is unavoidable by achieving a smaller size. For example, in an alternator and an electromagnetic clutch for an automobile air-conditioner, the output decline is compensated by a higher speed so that an idler pulley is made to have a higher speed accordingly. Furthermore, according to the demand for improvement of quietness, sealing of an engine room is enhanced. As a result, since the temperature inside the engine room is raised, the above-mentioned parts should be durable to a high temperature. According to the tendency toward the higher speed and higher performance, flaking accompanying the white structure change by the hydrogen brittleness can easily be generated in a bearing for the above-mentioned parts, and thus prevention thereof is a new important task.
Moreover, since the above-mentioned parts are often mounted in the lower part of an engine room, rain water, or the like, is often scattered thereon during a run. Therefore, a grease to be packed in a rolling bearing for these parts should have a rust-preventive performance superior to a grease to be packed in a rolling bearing to be used in other parts.
In order to provide a rust-preventive performance to a grease, in general, a rust-preventive additive is added. As a component of the rust-preventive additive, an inorganic passivating agent is often contained. In particular, a sodium nitrite is most effective, and thus it is the mainstream. Moreover, since the inorganic passivating agent is water-soluble but is hardly dispersed in an oil-based material such as a grease, a grease containing a surfactant is also commercially available. Furthermore, for example, JP-A-3-200898 proposes a grease provided by adding an oil-soluble organic inhibitor, a water-soluble inorganic passivating agent (sodium nitrite, or the like), and a rust-preventive agent made from a nonionic surfactant to a grease. (The term xe2x80x9cJP-Axe2x80x9d as used herein means an xe2x80x9cunexamined published Japanese patent applicationxe2x80x9d) However, although the sodium nitrite as the representative inorganic passivating agent has the excellent rust-preventive performance, it may be carcinogenic, depending on the application condition. Therefore, although it is not limited legally, it is preferable to avoid the use thereof. Moreover, a metal sulfonate as an organic inhibitor is used widely for its high rust-preventive ability, however, since it facilitates generation of a hydrogen as disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 2,878,749, it may cause generation of flaking by the hydrogen brittleness.
In view of the above-mentioned circumstances, the present invention has been achieved, and an object thereof is to provide a rolling bearing suitable for the use particularly under a high temperature, high speed, high load and high vibration condition, having a good rust-preventive performance and the excellent flaking life without a hazard to a human body.
As a result of the elaborate discussion for solving the problems, the present inventor has found out that a naphthenate and a succinic acid derivative are effective as a rust-preventive additive, and achieved the invention.
That is, the object can be achieved by a rolling bearing according to the invention, comprising an inner race, an outer race and rolling elements, with a grease composition comprising, as the main components, a base oil, a thickener and at least one kind of a rust-preventive additive made from a naphthenate or a succinic acid derivative, packed in a bearing space formed by at least the inner race, the outer race and the rolling elements, said at least one kind of a rust-preventive additive is present in an amount of 0.1 to 10% by weight based on the total amount of the grease composition.