A system for modifying a talocalcaneal spatial relationship in a foot in a body, including a subtalar spacer having an articulating surface and implanted in the sinus tarsi of the foot and a fastener that fastens the subtalar spacer to a bone surface in the foot, in which the articulating surface of the subtalar spacer directs relative movement between the calcaneus and the talus of the foot.

Hyperpronation and flat feet ("fallen arches") are relatively common conditions of the feet that cause pain, such as during sports or daily activities like walking. These conditions can be caused by collapse thru the sinus tarsi. The sinus tarsi is a space between the talus and the calcaneus. It is funnel shaped with the larger opening on the lateral side of the foot progressing across the foot to end in a small medial opening between the two aforementioned bones. This lateral opening or space between the bones is normally maintained by the tension of ligaments located on the medial side of the talus and the posterior side of the calcaneus. When these ligaments fail due to either injury or disease, the talus is allowed to sublux or deviate from its normal position atop the calcaneus. This subluxation shifts the location of the calcaneus laterally (causing flatfoot), and allows the arch of the foot to collapse, increasing pronation. When this happens, the funnel shaped lateral opening of the sinus tarsi disappears.
Common noninvasive treatments for hyperpronation and flat feet include the use of foot orthotics and shoe modifications. Situations in which these treatments fail to relieve symptoms may require implantation of a subtalar arthroereisis, a type of "bone block", in the sinus tarsi to "reopen" the collapsed sinus tarsi. The subtalar arthroereisis typically acts as a spacer to limit motion of the talus. However, after implantation of current subtalar arthroereisis systems, the arthroereisis often become loose within the sinus tarsi, causing painful irritation of the surrounding tissue. Furthermore, these systems are not stable enough to accurately reconstitute the anatomy of the sinus tarsi. Once the system fails, removal is mandatory, with resultant painful collapse and the need for a formal subtalar arthrodesis (joint fusion).
Thus, there is a need in the implant field to create an improved subtalar arthroereisis. This invention provides such an improved subtalar arthroreisis.

System and method for modifying talocalcaneal relationship in a foot


A semiconductor device and a method of making the same capable of simplifying the process of making and reducing the cost of making. In the method a first layer is formed which has a plurality of conductors at its edge portion. Thereafter, a second layer is formed on the first layer which is to be selectively etched to form a pattern. During the etching, current is detected from the conductors and the etching is stopped dependent on the current detected from the conductors. The semiconductor device includes a transparent electrode on a substrate the transparent electrode having protrusions which have a top surface. A first insulation layer exists between the protrusions. There is a color emitting layer on the top surfaces of the protrusions and the insulation layer.

The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and a method for manufacturing the same, more particularly to a semiconductor device and a method for manufacturing the same which are capable of exactly executing an etch process.
The etch process is one of essential elements in the manufacturing process of semiconductor device and classified into a dry etch process and a wet etch process.
As well known, the dry etch is a technique which etchs a material with a plasma etchant in chamber having an established atmosphere.
On the other hand, the wet etch is a technique which etchs a material with a solution etchant.
So as to explain the dry etch technique, the manufacturing process of conventional multicolored electric field light emitting device (MEFLED) will hereinafter be described in conjunction with FIG. 1a through FIG. 1e.
As shown in FIG. 1a, first, over a transparent substrate 1 is formed a lower transparent electrode 2 with a thickness of about 2000.ANG. and then a first insulation layer 3 is formed with a thickness of 3000.ANG. on the lower transparent electrode 2.
Subsequently, a first color light emitting layer 4 is formed with a thickness of about 6000.ANG. on the first insulation layer 3 and then a photoresist 5 is uniformly coated on the first color light emitting layer 4.
The photoresist 5 is subjected to a selective etch process to form a desired photoresist pattern 5a. It is conventionally called a patterning process that a photoresist pattern 5a is made as above mentioned and then a material is selectively etched using the photoresist pattern as an etch mask.
As shown in FIG. 1b, thereafter, the first color light emitting layer 4 is etched with a reactive ion etch (RIE) method which is a type of the dry etch technique using the photoresist pattern 5a as an etch mask, thereby to form a plurality of first color light emitting layer patterns spaced with an constant interval from each other.
At this time, the surface of the first insulation layer 3 is exposed at portions in which the first color light emitting layer 4 is removed.
As shown in FIG. 1(c), a second color light emitting layer 6 is formed with a thickness of about 6000.ANG. on the exposed surfaces of the first insulation layer 3, the photoresist pattern 5a and the first color light emitting layer pattern 4a.
As shown in FIG. 1(d), subsequently, the second color light emitting layer 6 and the photoresist pattern 5a are subjected to a RIE method using the surface of the first color light emitting layer pattern 4a as an etch-ending point, thereby to form a plurality of second color light emitting layer patterns (6a) between the plurality of first color light emitting layer patterns 4a.
As shown in FIG. 1e, thereafter, a second insulation layer 7 and a conductor are formed on the surfaces of the first color light emitting layer patters 4a and the second color light emitting layer patterns 6a, in this order.
The conductor is then patterned to form a upper electrode having a desired pattern.
Now, the operation of MEFLED shown in FIG. 1e will briefly be described.
The operation of MEFLED is almost similar to that of single colored electric field light emitting device(SEFLED).
As a proper alternating current(AC) voltage is applied to between the lower transparent electrode 2 and the upper electrode 8, electrons are generated at the boundaries between the insulation layers 3, 7 and light emitting patterns 4a,5a.
At this time, the generated electrons are accelerated due to a high electric field which is formed in the light emitting layer patterns 4a,5a serving as a conduction band, thereby becoming hot electrons.
The hot electrons strike lattices in the light emitting layer patterns, thereby ionizing the lattices.
As a result, pairs of electron-hole are generated.
At this time, if the electrons exited to the conduction band are again dropped to a valance band, there is emitted a light which has a wave length corresponding to the energy difference.
Conventionally, a red-colored light conventionally has a wave length of about 6500.ANG. and a green-colored light has a wave length of about 5420.ANG..
However, the above MEFLED has a following problem upon the manufacturing process thereof.
When the first color light emitting layer 4 is dry-etched by the RIE method so as to form the plurality of first color light emitting layer patterns 4a, an ending point for stopping the dry-etching is not exactly detected, thereby causing the surface of first insulation layer 3 which is formed below the first color light emitting layer 4 to unnecessarily be etched.
Therefore, it is impossible to manufacture a reliable MEFLED since the surface of first insulation layer 3 is formed in irregularity.
So as to solve the above problem, the above-mentioned conventional art uses an expensive dry etch apparatus capable of exactly dry-etching to a predetermined ending point or uses an insulation material having an etch selectivity higher than that of first color light emitting layer 4, as the material of first insulation layer 3.
An insulation material having an etching speed slower than that of first color light emitting layer 4 should be used, as the material of first insulation layer 3.
As shown in table 1, that is, there is merely used an insulator such as ZnS in which the etch speed is relatively slow and the etch selectivity is relatively high should be used, as the material of first insulation layer 3.
Conventionally, the process for manufacturing a semiconductor device accompanies different etch processes several times.
Accordingly, an corresponding expensive etch apparatus is used every the execution of each etching process, thereby causing the manufacturing cost to be increased.
As above mentioned, there are disadvantages, in that the conventional art for manufacturing a MEFLED should limitedly use the material of insulation layer and also use an expensive etching apparatus in which an ending point detector is equipped therein.
TABLE 1 ______________________________________ Etch Selectivity Material Etch Rate ZnS etch SrS etch ______________________________________ ZnS(Mn,Sm or Tb) 300 1:1 0.2:1 SrS:Ce 67 4.5:1 1:1 SiON 320 0.9:1 0.2:1 Ta.sub.2 O.sub.5 280 1.5:1 0.3:1 BaTa.sub.2 O.sub.5 23 13:1 3:1 ______________________________________

Multicolored electric field light emitting device with protruded electrode


A vena cava blood clot filter is described that is attached to the walls of the vena cava by barbed anchors. In its filtering state, the filter is cone shaped which causes the blood to be filtered. The cone shape is formed by an appropriate restraining mechanism. When it is desired to stop filtering, the restraining mechanism is released and the filter takes a cylindrical shape. The cylindrical shaped filter will then line the vena cava wall and cease filtration of the blood.

1. Field of the Invention
The following invention relates to a clot filter and more specifically to a convertible vena cava blood clot filter.
2. Description of the Related Art
Vena cava blood clot filters are generally placed in the inferior vena cava, introduced either through the femoral or jugular vein. These filters trap blood clots that have arisen from the peripheral veins and that travel through the vena cava. By trapping the blood clots, the filter prevents the clots from lodging in the pulmonary bed, which can lead to a condition known as pulmonary embolus.
Pulmonary embolus (PE) has long been recognized as a major health care concern. Untreated PE is associated with a high mortality rate, widely held to be approximately 30%, although the exact rate is unknown. Symptomatic PE, however, represents only one manifestation of a more protean disorder, venous thromboembolic disease (VTD), which includes both deep venous thrombosis (DVT) and PE. Understanding of the interrelationship of these disorders has increased in recent years, as has the extent to which VTD contributes to patient mortality.
The current standard of care of VTD is anticoagulation for a minimum period of six months. If patients are properly treated with anticoagulation, the impact of VTD upon patient health is minimized. However, anticoagulant therapy carries the risk of bleeding complications. In patients with VTD or PE that 1) are at high risk of developing a bleeding complication, 2) have a contraindication to anticoagulant therapy, 3) had a failure of response to anticoagulant therapy (i.e. further episodes of PE), or 4) developed a bleeding complication because of anticoagulant therapy, vena cava blood clot filters play an important role in the management of VTD.
Vena cava clot filters can be categorized into two device families: permanently implanted devices and temporary devices. Permanently implanted devices are implanted for patients that require a filter for more than fourteen days. Fourteen days roughly approximates the time before which the points where the filter contact with the caval wall becomes covered by endothelial cells which thicken to eventually attach the filter permanently to the cava wall. If an attempt is made to remove the filter after this time point, severe damage may occur resulting in laceration or rupture of the vena cava, or at the very least, a focal disruption of the endothelial lining which may predispose to caval stenosis, thrombosis (clot formation) or occlusion.
Since the permanent blood clot filters are left in the body for the lifetime of the patient, the patient undergoes several risks that continue throughout the person""s lifetime. The reported long-term sequela of some of the permanent devices include thrombotic occlusion of the vena cava, filter migration, filter fragmentation and filter embolization.
These problems can occur because the blood clot filter is directly in the blood stream and continually filtering the blood clots throughout the lifetime of the patient. Thrombotic occlusion and filter embolization can occur when a gradual buildup of blood clots forms in or around the filter due to the continuous filtering. Filter migration and filter fragmentation can occur because of the constant impact between the blood filter and the flowing blood can move the filter or break the structure of the filter.
Temporary blood clot filters do not share those long-term risks because they are removed from the patient""s body. However, the situations in which temporary blood clot filters are used are limited. The patient must recover to the point that the risk from PE is reduced to an acceptable level prior to the 14-day limit or to a time point at which the patient may be safely anticoagulated. Otherwise, a permanently implanted blood clot filter must be used to avoid damage to the caval wall that may result if attempt is made in removal after 14-days.
Temporary blood clot filters fall into two categories. One group utilizes a permanently attached tethering catheter for retrieval, whereas the other requires the use of a retrieval device for removal. In addition to the limited amount of time that it can remain in the vena cava, the catheter-based design has the draw back of infectious complications at the entry site. Other temporary designs allow a filter to be placed and later retrieved using a device.
When a patient""s need for a blood clot filter is known to be temporary, but longer than the 14-day period, the patient""s only recourse is to receive a permanent blood clot filter. An example of a temporary need resulting in placement of a permanent vena cava blood clot filter is a patient who need needs protection from PE in the perioperative period or a woman with DVT during pregnancy. These patients will receive a permanent filter and be unnecessarily subjected to the lifelong risks associated with permanent blood clot filters.
Accordingly, it is the object of the present invention to disclose an implanted device that provides effective caval filtration for any length of time. However, if and when it is determined that the risk from the implanted device disrupting laminar blood flow exceeds the risk of further PE, the filter can be removed from the blood stream to eliminate the associated risks of having a permanent filter within the bloodstream. This can be done at any time without regard to the amount of time that the filter has been implanted and without causing damage to the caval wall. Another object of the present invention is to provide such a filter that allows trapping (capturing) of blood clots of sizes that result in a clinically significant PE that poses an unacceptably high risk of patient morbidity and mortality. The trapped clots in the filter are then dissolved by the bodies own intrinsic fibrinolytic system, without causing pulmonary function compromise. Still a further object of the present invention is to provide such a filter that is relatively simple in design and is relatively inexpensive to manufacture.
The present invention provides a blood clot filter and a method for its use. The blood clot filter comprises an expandable filter shaped in the form of a cylinder. The filter is composed of high memory wire and the wire is formed into a band of zigzag bends.
In its pre-deployment form, both ends of the filter are collapsed to form a slender wire construct. After deployment, one end of the cylinder is held together by a suitable restraining means such as a Teflon ring with a diameter of approximately 3 mm. The other end of the cylinder is expanded and has a sufficiently large diameter to contact the walls of the inferior vena cava with sufficient force to hold the filter in place against the inferior vena cava. Additional means are used to attach that end of the filter to the walls of the vena cava.
When it is desirable to stop filtering, the Teflon ring holding the narrower end of the filter is broken thereby releasing the end of the filter. Once released, the narrow end of the filter will expand until the entire filter lines the walls of the vena cava. The filter will no longer filter the blood nor will it be directly in the blood stream.


A fuel admission control unit controls a diesel engine and ensures compatibility between exhaust gas performance and engine speed response performance by considering residual oxygen in EGR gas. The control unit includes an estimation excess air ratio λs computing unit that is an arithmetic section to compute an estimation excess air ratio λs, from the quantity of the fuel injected by a fuel injection valve into a cylinder, the intake air flow rate, and the flow rate of the residual oxygen in the EGR gas that returns back into the intake air system. The control unit also includes a fuel admission control unit that controls the fuel flow rate under hard acceleration, based on the estimation excess air ratio λs that is computed by the estimation excess air ratio λs computing unit.

The EGR (Exhaust Gas Re-circulation) method is known as a technology that is used for reducing problematic NOx (nitrogen oxide) in exhaust gas emitted from a diesel engine. On the other hand, when the EGR method is applied, the amount of a fresh air (a fresh intake air flow rate) inhaled by the engine decreases relatively which is prone to cause an O2-deprived (oxygen-deprived) atmosphere in a combustion chamber of the engine when the engine is rapidly accelerated or a fuel admission opening of the engine is rapidly increased.
In order to overcome the above-mentioned difficulty, increasing the amount of the fresh intake air by constraining EGR gas flow rate seems to be a possible countermeasure. However, since control response speed as to an EGR system is slower, controlling the EGR gas flow rate is not enough, and thus, it is required to provide a countermeasure as to a fuel injection system control which has a faster control response speed.
However, it must be taken into consideration that the fuel admission (accelerator opening) control independent of engine load control or engine speed control may hinder the engine speed stability. In other words, ensuring compatibility between the exhaust gas performance and the engine speed response performance is a technical prerequisite.
For instance, a patent reference 1 (JP1999-36962) discloses a fuel admission control method by which the amount of exhaust gas smoke of a diesel engine produced when accelerated does not exceed a target density. In the method of the reference 1, a maximum fuel mass quantity in relation to the fresh intake air flow rate and the engine rotation speed, whereby the exhaust gas smoke is not produced, is set as a map in advance, and with the determined maximum fuel mass quantity based on the detected fresh intake air flow rate and the detected engine rotation speed, production of the exhaust gas smoke is controlled.
Further, a patent reference 2 (JP1997-151761) discloses an injection annealing control in which the fuel flow rate is gradually increased with a constant increment to a constant increment, while an EGR valve opening is controlled, so that the exhaust gas smoke due to the slow response of the EGR system is not produced during the engine acceleration, and the performance of the engine acceleration is kept satisfactory. However, in the technology of the patent reference 1, a lot of man-hours are required in creating the above-mentioned map that prescribes a maximum fuel mass quantity; on the other hand, in the control technology of the patent reference 2, there is no consideration as to residual O2 (oxygen) in the EGR gas that returns back into the combustion chamber (or the intake air system of the engine) from the engine exhaust system, although the residual O2 (or the residual air that is not used in burning fuel) that has not been consumed in the former engine combustion stroke has an essential effect on the smoke yielding in the next combustion stroke.

Fuel admission control unit to control a diesel engine


A heat exchange apparatus is provided with an indirect evaporative heat exchange section and a direct evaporative heat exchange section. The indirect evaporative heat exchange section is usually located above the direct evaporative heat exchange section, and an evaporative liquid is passed downwardly onto the indirect heat exchange section. The evaporative liquid that exits the direct evaporative heat exchange section then passes downwardly across and through the indirect heat exchange section. The evaporative liquid is collected in a sump and then pumped upwardly to be distributed again across the direct heat exchange section. The indirect heat exchange section is comprised of a plate type heat exchanger.

The present invention relates generally to an improved heat exchange apparatus such as a closed circuit fluid cooler, fluid heater, condenser, evaporator, thermal storage system, air cooler or air heater. More specifically, the present invention relates to a combination or combinations of separate indirect and direct evaporative heat exchange sections
or components arranged to achieve improved capacity and performance.
The invention includes the use of a plate type heat exchanger as an indirect heat exchange section. When compared with coil circuit indirect heat exchangers which are comprised of individual circuits of tubing, the performance of an indirect heat exchange section comprised of a plate type heat exchanger is improved. Such indirect heat exchange section can be combined with a direct heat exchange section, which usually is comprised of a fill section over which an evaporative liquid such as water is transferred, usually in a downwardly streaming operation. Such combined indirect heat exchange section and direct heat exchange section together provide improved performance as an overall heat exchange apparatus such as a closed circuit fluid cooler, fluid heater, condenser, evaporator, air cooler or air heater.
Part of the improved performance of the indirect heat exchange section comprising a plate heat exchanger is the capability of the indirect heat exchange section as a plate type heat exchanger to provide both sensible and latent heat exchange with the evaporative liquid which is streamed or otherwise transported over and through the indirect heat exchange section. Another important improvement is that plate heat exchangers will have more surface area in the same physical space as other evaporative indirect heat exchangers. Such as indirect heat exchangers comprised of serpentine coils.
Various combinations of the heat exchange arrangements are possible in accordance with the present invention. Such arrangements could include an arrangement wherein the indirect heat exchange section operates alone, is physically located above the direct heat exchange section or is physically located below the direct heat exchange section. In such an arrangement with indirect section located above the direct section, an evaporative liquid is streamed or otherwise sprayed downwardly onto the indirect heat exchange section with such evaporative liquid, which is usually water, then exiting the indirect section to be transported over the direct heat exchange section which is usually comprised of a fill arrangement. In another arrangement of a combined heat exchange apparatus the indirect heat exchange section is physically located below the direct heat exchange section. In another arrangement of a combined heat exchange apparatus two or more indirect sections are placed in a single closed circuit fluid cooler or heat exchanger each above or below a direct heat exchange section is also part of the present invention. Further, it should be understood that due to varying heat loads and needs of heat exchange, the heat exchanger apparatus or fluid cooler of the present invention could be operated wherein both air and an evaporative liquid such as water are drawn or supplied across both the indirect and direct heat exchange sections. It may be desirable to operate the heat exchanger without a supply of the evaporative liquid, wherein air only would be drawn across the indirect heat exchange section. It is also possible to operate a combined heat exchanger in accordance with the present invention wherein only evaporative liquid would be supplied across or downwardly through the indirect heat exchange section and the direct heat exchange section, and wherein air would not be drawn by typical means such as a fan.
In the operation of an indirect heat exchange section, a fluid stream passing through the internal openings in the plate type heat exchanger is cooled, heated, condensed, or evaporated in either or both a sensible heat exchange operation and a latent heat exchange operation by passing an evaporative liquid such as water together with air in passages between individual plate pairs or cassettes in the indirect heat exchanger. Such combined heat exchange results in a more efficient operation of the indirect heat exchange section. The evaporative liquid, which again is usually water, which passes across or downwardly through the indirect heat exchange section then passes, usually downwardly, across or through the direct heat exchange section which is typically a fill assembly. Heat in the evaporative liquid is passed to air which is drawn generally downwardly, upwardly or across the direct heat exchange section and outwardly from the closed circuit fluid cooler or heat exchanger assembly by an air moving system such as a fan. The evaporative liquid draining from the indirect or direct heat exchange section is typically collected in a sump and then pumped upwardly for redistribution across the indirect or direct evaporative heat exchange section. Of course, as explained above, the indirect and direct heat exchange sections can be reversed wherein, in the reversed situation where a direct heat exchange section would be located above an indirect heat exchange section, the evaporative fluid exiting the indirect section would be collected in a sump and pumped upwardly for distribution across the direct heat exchange section. Alternatively, only the indirect heat exchange section may be present.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved heat exchange apparatus, which could be a closed circuit fluid cooler, fluid heater, condenser, evaporator, air cooler or air heater, which includes an indirect heat exchange section and possibly a direct heat exchange section.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved heat exchange apparatus such as a closed circuit fluid cooler, fluid heater, condenser, evaporator, air cooler or air heater, including an indirect heat exchange section that comprises a plate type heat exchanger.
It is another object of the invention to provide an improved heat exchange apparatus comprising a plate type heat exchanger with more surface area per volume than other evaporative indirect heat exchangers.

Cooling tower with indirect heat exchanger


The specification discloses a clam gun for manually excavating clams from subsurface locations along sandy beaches. The clam gun includes a cylindrical sand housing whose upper end wall is secured to the lower end of a vertically extending tubular handle shaft. The upper end of the handle shaft is secured to a horizontally extending tubular handle. A pipe is mounted inside the housing adjacent its side wall and extends vertically from the open lower end of the housing through its upper end wall. A valve plug is slidably mounted in the lower end of the pipe and is movable to seal the same when the housing is inserted into the beach sand to prevent the pipe from becoming clogged with sand. Upon withdrawal of the housing from the beach sand, the valve plug moves to open the pipe. Air is vented through the pipe to the region adjacent the lower end of the housing to prevent the formation of a partial vacuum which otherwise makes withdrawal substantially more difficult.

The present invention relates to apparatus for digging clams, and more particularly to a clam gun for manually excavating clams from subsurface locations along sandy beaches.
Non-commercial clam digging is a popular sport along sandy beaches and other tidal areas where clams can be found. The subsurface location of a particular clam can be identified by the presence of air bubbles. Clam digging with a conventional shovel has proven to be laborious and time consuming.
A number of manual apparatus have been developed for quickly and easily excavating clams. One such apparatus is generally referred to as a clam gun. U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,802,689 and 3,089,721 disclose conventional clam guns. Each has a generally cylindrical sand housing having an upper end wall and an open lower end. The lower end of a vertically extending tube is secured to the upper end wall of the housing. The bore of the tube communicates with the interior of the housing. A horizontally extending handle is provided for forcing the housing into the wet beach sand hopefully about a clam. Thereafter, an outlet aperture at the upper end of the tube is covered with a thumb or finger. When the user begins to withdraw the housing from the beach sand, a partial vacuum is created in the interior of the housing above the sand contained therein. When the housing is completely withdrawn a core of sand and hopefully a clam embedded therein are removed. Thereafter the housing is moved to a convenient discharge location and the outlet aperture is uncovered to release the partial vacuum. The core of sand and the clam embedded therein fall out of the housing and the clam is readily retrieved by hand.
A principle drawback of conventional clam guns has been the amount of force which is required to withdraw the housing from the beach sand. As the user begins to withdraw the housing, a partial vacuum is created in the resulting cavity in the beach sand adjacent the lower end of the housing. This partial vacuum creates a suction effect which impedes withdrawal of the housing. Substantial upward pulling forces have been required to overcome the suction effect. Thus, the use of a conventional clam gun has been a strenuous activity often quickly exhausting the user.
In addition, the suction effect increases in magnitude in proportion to the increase in the cross-sectional area of the clam gun housing. If the suction effect could be eliminated, clam gun housings of significantly larger interior volume could be made. This would increase the likelihood of clam retrieval. Clam guns heretofore known have not included any means for eliminating the suction effect.

Clam gun with vent mechanism for easing withdrawal from the sand

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Formulations for enhanced mucosal absorption of heparin are disclosed. In one embodiment, a powdered heparin composition is made by dissolving an amphiphilic heparin derivative including heparin covalently bonded to a hydrophobic agent in a water phase, dispersing the water phase in an organic phase such that an emulsion is formed, and drying the emulsion. In another embodiment, an amorphiphilic heparin derivative dispersed in an oil phase is made by dissolving the amphiphilic heparin derivative in water or a water/organic co-solvent, dispersing the water or co-solvent in the oil phase, and evaporating the water or co-solvent. In another embodiment, heparin-containing nanoparticles having surfactant molecules associated with a hydrophobic agent on the outside of the nanoparticles are made by dissolving the amphiphilic heparin derivative in an aqueous solvent, mixing the surfactant with the aqueous solvent, and disrupting nanoparticles of the amphiphilic heparin derivative. Compositions made according to these methods are also described.

Not applicable.
Not applicable.
This invention relates to administration of heparin for treating patients in need of anticoagulation therapy. More particularly, this invention relates to formulations of heparin that enhance absorption of heparin through mucosal tissues.
Heparin is widely use as one of the most potent anticoagulants for the treatment and prevention of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE). P. S. Damus et al., Heparin-A Generalized View of its Anticoagulant Action, 246 Nature 355-356 (1973); L. Jin et al., The Anticoagulant Activation of Antithrombin by Heparin, 94 Proc. Nat""l Acad. Sci. USA 14683-14688 (1997). Heparin treatment is limited to hospitalized patients since heparin is given only by injection. R. D. Rosenberg, Biochemistry and Pharmacology of Low Molecular Weight Heparin, 34 Semin. Hematol. 2-8 (1997); G. F. Pineo and R. D. Hull, Unfractionated and Low Molecular-weight Heparin, 82 Curr. Concepts Thromb. 587-599 (1998). Patients are usually switched from intravenous or subcutaneous heparin to oral warfarin upon hospital discharge. Warfarin, however, has a slow onset and is subject to a high possibility of drug-to-drug interactions. There has been a long-felt need for compositions and methods for oral delivery of heparin for the treatment of patients who are at high risk of DVT or PE.
It is known that heparin is not absorbed in the GI tract because of its size and its highly negative charge. L. B. Jaques, Heparins: Anionic Polyelectrolyte Drugs, 31 Pharmacology Rev. 100-166 (1980). The hydrophilic properties of heparin make it difficult to penetrate epithelial cells because of low permeability and repulsion forces of the polar head group of the epithelial membrane. D. A. Norris et al., The Effect of Physical Barriers and Properties on the Oral Absorption of Particulates, 34 Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews 135-154 (1998). While administration of heparin as an aerosol or mixed with lipophilic agents or membrane enhancer agents did not result in detectable plasma heparin levels, A. Dalpozzo et al., New Heparin Complexes Active by Intestinal Absorption. I. Multiple Ion Pairs with Basic Organic Compounds, 56 Thromb. Res. 119-124 (1989), recently, N-[8-(2-hydroxybenzoyl)amino] caprylate (SNAC) was developed as a potent promoter of heparin absorption from the GI tract. R. A. Baughman et al., Oral Delivery of Anticoagulant Doses of Heparin: A Randomized, Double-blind, Controlled Study in Humans, 98 Circulation 1610-1615 (1998).
New heparin derivatives by coupling heparin with hydrophobic agents have been synthesized to increase the hydrophobicity of heparin. Y. Lee, S. H. Kim and Y. Byun, Oral Delivery of New Heparin Derivatives in Rats, 17 Pharm. Res. 1259-1264 (2000); Y. Lee, H. T. Moon and Y. Byun, Preparation of Slightly Hydrophobic Heparin Derivatives Which Can Be Used for Solvent Casting in Polymeric Formulation, 92 Thromb. Res. 149-156 (1998); U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/300,173, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,245,753. Among those heparin derivatives, a conjugate of heparin and deoxycholic acid (DOCA) demonstrated the highest absorption in the GI tract. Two possibilities were proposed to explain these results: (1) the increased hydrophobicity of heparin due to conjugation with a hydrophobic compound, and (2) the interaction between the coupled DOCA and bile receptors in the ileum.
In view of the foregoing, it will be appreciated that providing formulations that enhance the absorption of heparin through mucosal tissues would be a significant advancement in the art.
It is an advantage of the present invention to provide formulations for enhancing the absorption of heparin through mucosal tissues.
It is also an advantage of the invention to provide formulations for enhancing absorption of heparin through the gastrointestinal mucosa after oral administration.
It is another advantage of the invention to provide methods for administering heparin for enhancing the absorption of heparin through mucosal tissues.
These and other advantages can be addressed by providing a method for making a composition for obtaining enhanced mucosal absorption of heparin comprising:
(a) dissolving an amphiphilic heparin derivative comprising heparin covalently bonded to a hydrophobic agent selected from the group consisting of bile acids, sterols, alkanoic acids, and mixtures thereof in a water phase;
(b) dispersing the water phase containing the dissolved amphiphilic heparin derivative in an organic phase such that an emulsion is formed; and
(c) drying the emulsion to result in the composition.
Illustratively, the heparin is a member selected from the group consisting of low molecular weight heparin, high molecular weight heparin, heparin fragments, recombinant heparin, heparin analogs, polysaccharides containing heparin activity, and mixtures thereof.
Another illustrative embodiment of the invention comprises a method for making a composition for obtaining enhanced mucosal absorption of heparin comprising dispersing an amphiphilic heparin derivative comprising heparin covalently bonded to a hydrophobic agent selected from the group consisting of bile acids, sterols, alkanoic acids, and mixtures thereof in an oil phase.
Another illustrative embodiment of the invention comprises a method for making a composition for obtaining enhanced mucosal absorption of heparin comprising:
(a) dissolving an amphiphilic heparin derivative comprising heparin covalently bonded to a hydrophobic agent selected from the group consisting of bile acids, sterols, alkanoic acids, and mixtures thereof in water or a water/organic co-solvent;
(b) dispersing the water or water/organic co-solvent containing the dissolved amphiphilic heparin derivative in an oil phase; and
(c) evaporating the water or water/organic co-solvent, resulting in the amphiphilic heparin derivative dispersed in the oil phase.
Still another illustrative embodiment of the invention comprises a method for making a composition for obtaining enhanced mucosal absorption of heparin comprising:
(a) dissolving an amphiphilic heparin derivative comprising heparin covalently bonded to a hydrophobic agent selected from the group consisting of bile acids, sterols, alkanoic acids, and mixtures thereof in a pharmaceutically acceptable aqueous solvent such that the amphiphilic heparin derivative forms nanoparticles in the pharmaceutically acceptable aqueous solvent; and
(b) mixing a pharmaceutically acceptable surfactant with the nanoparticles in the pharmaceutically acceptable aqueous solvent and then disrupting the nanoparticles such that the pharmaceutically acceptable surfactant interacts with the heparin and the hydrophobic agent, thereby exposing at least some of the hydrophobic agent on the outside of the nanoparticles.
Illustrative pharmaceutically acceptable surfactants including members selected from the group consisting of anionic surfactants, cationic surfactants, amphoteric surfactants, anionic surfactants, amphiphilic surfactants, hydrophobic surfactants, and mixtures thereof, and the like.
Still another illustrative embodiment of the invention comprises a composition comprising a plurality of an amphiphilic heparin derivative comprising heparin covalently bonded to a hydrophobic agent selected from the group consisting of bile acids, sterols, alkanoic acids, and mixtures thereof, wherein the plurality of the amphiphilic heparin derivative is configured as a nanoparticle having an outer surface such that at least some of the hydrophobic agents are exposed on the outer surface.
Yet another illustrative embodiment of the invention comprises a dosage form comprising a mixture of:
(a) an effective amount of a composition comprising a plurality of an amphiphilic heparin derivative comprising heparin covalently bonded to a hydrophobic agent selected from the group consisting of bile acids, sterols, alkanoic acids, and mixtures thereof, wherein the plurality of the amphiphilic heparin derivative is configured as a nanoparticle having an outer surface such that at least some of the hydrophobic agents are exposed on the outer surface; and
(b) a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.
Another illustrative embodiment of the invention comprises a method for treating a patient in need of anticoagulation therapy comprising administering an effective amount of a composition comprising a plurality of an amphiphilic heparin derivative comprising heparin covalently bonded to a hydrophobic agent selected from the group consisting of bile acids, sterols, alkanoic acids, and mixtures thereof, wherein the plurality of the amphiphilic heparin derivative is configured as a nanoparticle having an outer surface such that at least some of the hydrophobic agents are exposed on the outer surface.

Formulation of amphiphilic heparin derivatives for enhancing mucosal absorption


Methods and systems are provided for capturing deep learning training data from imaging systems. In one embodiment, a method for an imaging system comprises performing a scan of a subject to acquire imaging data, inputting the imaging data to a deep neural network, displaying an output of the deep neural network and an image reconstructed from the imaging data, and transmitting an intermediate representation of the imaging data generated by the deep neural network to a server for training a central deep neural network. In this way, imaging data may be leveraged for training and developing global deep learning models without transmitting the imaging data itself, thereby preserving patient privacy.

Non-invasive imaging technologies allow images of the internal structures of a patient or object to be obtained without performing an invasive procedure on the patient or object. In particular, technologies such as computed tomography (CT) use various physical principles, such as the differential transmission of x-rays through the target volume, to acquire image data and to construct tomographic images (e.g., three-dimensional representations of the interior or the human body or of other imaged structures).
New post-processing techniques can substantially improve the functionality of an imaging system as well as the accuracy of clinical diagnoses. For example, modern deep learning techniques may allow lesions to be accurately detected in tomographic images with a lower image quality, thereby enabling a reduction in radiation dose (and thus a potential reduction in image quality) without sacrificing the diagnostic effectiveness of the imaging system. One notable feature of deep learning algorithms is the ability for the algorithm to improve over time as it is trained on additional imaging data acquired by the imaging system. However, it is difficult to leverage these improvements for other imaging systems, as training the deep learning algorithm typically requires access to the raw imaging data, which potentially includes sensitive patient information.

Systems and methods for capturing deep learning training data from imaging systems


Trocar assemblies and methods of use in minimally invasive surgical procedures are described. Such trocar assemblies include a head, a distally extending shaft including an open distal end, a cutting component extending through the open distal end, and a retractable protection assembly to extend and retract through the open distal end of the shaft. The retractable protection assembly extends through the open distal end to cover the cutting component in a naturally biased position. Further, the retractable protection assembly retracts from the open distal end to expose the cutting component in a compressed position during application of body pressure to the retractable protection assembly until reaching a body cavity. Upon reaching the body cavity and removal of body pressure, the retractable protection assembly returns to the naturally biased position and extends through the open distal end to cover the cutting component.

Minimally invasive surgical procedures are becoming more desirable as a surgical method of choice due to advantages provided when compared to traditional open surgery such as a higher surgical accuracy rate, less tissue damage, shorter hospital stays, less scarring, and less post-operative pain and discomfort. Such minimally invasive techniques thus require less medication to alleviate pain associated with surgery than would be required with traditional open surgery.
Trocar assemblies, also referable to as trocars, are often used in such minimally invasive surgical procedures, such as when a port access needs to be made in a patient's abdominal walls to access an abdominal cavity. A trocar is a surgical, pen-shaped instrument including a fixed and sturdy shaft or handle and a sharp point at a closed distal end to cut through patient tissue. The trocar is often mated inside a cannula during trocar insertion through the patient's skin and underlying tissues. The trocar cuts through such skin and tissue to provide a cannula-inserted access port during surgery for other medical instruments. Such medical instruments may include, for example, endoscopes, cameras, and fiber-optic lights. However, use of conventional trocars involves a risk of trocar-related injuries to internal organs in, for example, the abdominal cavity.
Accordingly, alternative trocar assemblies and methods of use to obtain access to an abdominal cavity of a patient in a minimally invasive manner are desired.

Trocar assemblies with movable atraumatic tip and methods for use


A thin film transistor and its manufacturing method, an array substrate and a display device are disclosed, the thin film transistor is of a gate bottom contact type, and includes a gate electrode (3) and a gate insulation layer (2), the gate insulation layer (2) is provided with a recess (4) at a position corresponding to the gate electrode (3). With the thin film transistor, the problem of wire breakage in the active layer at the channel between the source/drain electrodes can be avoided, the performance and stability of the thin film transistor is improved, and the production cost is lowered down.

In the structure of a display panel including organic thin film transistor devices, an organic semiconductor layer on an array substrate is not formed on a fully flat plane, and is always formed on other layers with a step. The organic semiconductor layer is provided above or below and between a source electrode and a drain electrode, so as to ensure the source electrode and the drain electrode can be normally conducted upon being in on-state.

Thin film transistor including recessed gate insulation layer and its manufacturing method, array substrate, and display device


A multi-core processor system includes a memory controller that includes multiple ports and shared memory that includes physical address spaces divided among the ports. A CPU acquires from a parallel degree information table, the number of CPUs to which software that is to be executed by the multi-core processor system, is to be assigned. After this acquisition, the CPU determines the CPUs to which the software to be executed is to be assigned and sets for each CPU, physical address spaces corresponding to logical address spaces defined by the software to be executed. After this setting, the CPU notifies an address converter of the addresses and notifies the software to be executed of the start of execution.

As a memory accessed by multiple central processing units (CPUs), multi-port memory that includes multiple memory banks each capable of storing data and multiple input and output ports is conventionally known. A technique of using a memory controller as an apparatus to control memory when a CPU reads and writes data with respect to the memory is also known. Another technique is disclosed according to which a buffer mechanism is provided between memory and a bus or between a CPU and a bus, and a memory controller has a function of automatically branching data to a given port, in addition to a function of temporarily causing data to be retained in the buffer, (see, e.g., Published Japanese-Translation of PCT Application, Publication No. H11-510285).
A further technique is disclosed according to which a path for requests and that for responses are separated from each other, and a CPU is enabled to immediately proceed to the next process by a mechanism consequent to a memory controller that controls a multi-port memory immediately sending back a dummy response in response to a request from the CPU (see, e.g., Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2008-117109).
A technique is disclosed as a technique of using multiple ports according to which address spaces are divided among the function types and a port is prepared for each group of address spaces, whereby multiple functions can be concurrently be executed and processes can be executed at a high speed (see, e.g., Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2003-114797).
Among the conventional techniques, the technique according to Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. H11-510285 enables minimization of latency on the paths by setting the clock to be high between the memory and the buffer and between the bus and the buffer. However, a problem arises in that power consumption increases consequent to setting the clock to be high. A problem also arises in the technique according to Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2008-117109 in that access contention still continues to occur even when the path for requests and that for responses are separated from each other. Another problem also arises in that power consumption increases because the clock becomes high between the bus and the buffer, similarly to the technique according to Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. H11-510285.
A problem arises in the technique according to Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2003-114797 in that access contention occurs when software, each having a function different from the other, access the same address space. A port needs to be prepared for each type of function and the number of ports increases as of the number of function types increases. Therefore, another problem arises in that power consumption increases.

Multi-core shared memory system with memory port to memory space mapping


Portable spectrophotometer and method for characterizing solar collector tubes for simultaneously and on-field characterizing reflection and transmission coefficients. This device includes all the components needed to take this measurement, such as a module that takes the measurement of the reflection coefficient (R) of the inner tube (1′), a module that takes the measurement of transmission coefficient (T) of the outer tube (1″), an electronic data acquisition and processing system (12), an external computer (13) for controlling the device and sending the measured data (17) and a communication system (15) between device and the computer (13).

Collecting solar energy, within the field of thermal collection, is increasingly taking more technological and economic importance from the point of view of hot water, heating or cooling production at the household level, as well as for electric energy production in solar thermal plants.
These systems require maximum solar energy absorption and the lowest possible energy losses. For this purpose, these are configured in the form of vacuum tubes or similar structures that reduce the losses by conduction and convection, and have highly power solar energy absorbing coatings, as well as low emission features in order to reduce energy losses by far-Infrared thermal radiation.
Consequently, both in the domestic side as in electric energy production, the selective absorbing coatings play an essential role and its proper functioning largely depends on the performance of this type of systems. This makes vitally important the fact of having a proper method for characterizing, in field, the optical features of said coatings. In the case of the electric energy production facilities, due to the large number of absorber tubes to be characterized, it is also convenient that the measurement could be quickly and easily performed.
Given the optical characteristics of this type of tubes (maximum energy absorption and minimum energy losses), the device must be capable of accurately measuring extreme values of the reflection and transmission coefficients (close to zero or unity), usually under unfavorable environmental conditions since, logically, the ambient light will be almost always high intense.
Since these reflection and transmission coefficients strongly depend on the wavelength of light used, it is indispensable to perform a spectral characterization thereof. A device performing a measurement of this kind is so-called spectrophotometer.
In a classical spectrophotometer a broad spectrum light source and a variable filter element are used, such as can be a movable diffraction grid followed by a narrow slit, which allows sequentially selecting different wavelengths. This option allows varying the wavelength in a practically continued manner, but instead it results in a more complex and delicate, and with low dynamic measurement range system, since the achieved input light power is very low.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,687,329 describes a device that uses a broad spectrum source, in this case ultraviolet, and several filters in fixed positions for performing a spectral measurement in a certain number of discrete points.
Also there is a background of spectrophotometers in which a collection of sources with different wavelengths is used as a light source. In the patent US2008/0144004 several light emitting diodes (LED) are simultaneously used for performing a transmission measurement in order to detect different analytes in blood. However, a true spectral measurement is not performed, but several simultaneous measurements in a few different wavelengths. In addition, there is no protection against ambient light or the possibility of performing reflection or reference measurements.
Something similar occurs in the invention of the U.S. Pat. No. 4,286,327, wherein a sequential measurement at different wavelengths (in the infrared) is performed, but in this case the used LEDs are identical and the spectral selection is done through fixed filters with different central wavelengths. Nor is there any mechanism for recovering the signal against ambient light, or the possibility of performing reflection or reference measurements.
None of the mentioned or other similar devices meet the requirements necessary of the in-field measure of absorbing tubes for solar collectors, either by range, sensitivity and/or mechanical configuration.

Portable spectrophotometer and method for characterising solar collector tubes


A composition includes Punica extract and a Lamiaceae extract, wherein a majority of the volatile oil components have been removed from the Lamiaceae extract. A method for applying the composition to a food which includes but is not limited to fresh/unprocessed and processed meat, fish or poultry is also provided.

Food safety and prevention of food spoilage is an ever present concern worldwide, particularly within the meat industry. Spoilage of food is a major economic problem for a food manufacturer. Food manufacturers need to protect the health and safety of the public by delivering products that are safe to eat. Such food must have a guaranteed shelf life, either at chilled or ambient temperature storage. Consumers prefer good tasting food of high quality. This is difficult to achieve with chemical preservatives, harsh heating regimes and other processing measures. Food safety and protection is best achieved with a multiple preservation system using a combined approach of milder processing and natural preservatives. Foodborne micro-organisms are also less able to adapt and grow in food preserved with different preservative measures.
There is much concern about food protection and the growth of food spoilage organisms such as Listeria monocytogenes. This particular species is one of the most problematic spoilage microorganism in meat. The unusual physiological characteristics such as exceptional resistance toward antimicrobials are largely responsible for their ability to cause spoilage. Additionally, spoilage organisms can sometimes adapt to different preservatives and storage conditions, thus a combination of preservative measures can be more successful than individual measures.
There is an increasing need to develop economical, natural and effective preservative systems to meet the public demand for convenient, natural, safe, healthy, good quality products with guaranteed shelf life. Antimicrobial materials such as those derived from plants can be used as preservatives in food to help meet this need. Such plant extracts are considered to be desirable because they are regarded as being natural. Moreover from a regulatory point of view, because of long term usage, plant extracts typically have GRAS (generally regarded as safe) status. There is also a continuing to desire to provide microbial protection utilizing lower amounts of antimicrobial materials. Thus there is a need to provide new antimicrobial materials or new more effective combinations of antimicrobial materials.
Despite their natural origins, it is desirable that antimicrobial products from plants be used in the lowest possible amounts. This is desirable not only for reasons of cost but also to meet consumer desire to minimize the amount of 'additives' in foodstuffs. Moreover, many plant materials have an associated taste. Therefore in many demanding food applications reduction of the amount of protectant from plant origin is advantageous.
Meat manufacturers are looking for ways to enable them to supply retail outlets from efficient, cost effective, central-processing centers. Increased shelf life with regard to spoilage (consumer safety) is required to make this possible as meat makes its way through longer distribution channels from producer to retailer to consumer.
Color shelf life is important to consumer acceptance. Consumers judge the freshness of meat by the presence of bright red oxymyoglobin pigment. Oxymyoglobin in fresh meat decreases with time during storage as it changes to the stable brown pigment, metmyoglobin. Although oxymyoglobin pigment fades during dark storage, for example in a meat locker, pigment loss is most pronounced in lighted, refrigerated display cases in retail establishments. Further, pigment loss is primarily cosmetic in nature, it has serious economic consequences. Consumers in search of the freshest looking cuts avoid purchasing meat containing even small amounts of brown metmyoglobin.
Shelf life associated with microbial spoilage is a serious issue. The potential liability associated with food borne illness outbreaks from the sale of microbe-contaminated meat is enormous. The meat industry and associated retail outlets are seeking ways to insure consumers' safety by preventing microbial contamination all along the manufacturing process. Process improvements such as carcass washing and carefully controlled low temperature processing are now routine in the industry. One method for increasing shelf life associated with microbial spoilage is to package the food, e.g. meat, using modified atmosphere package (MAP).
There is a need in the industry for antimicrobial methods and processes which are perceived by consumers as being more natural. The antimicrobial activity of the composition comprising Lamiaceae extract and hesperidin has been the main subject of study. Most prior art indicate that the antimicrobial activity of the herbs is centered in the volatile essential oil components.
P. M. Davidson and A. S. Naidu (in Natural Food Antimicrobial Systems, A. S. Naidu, ed., 2000, CRC Press, Boca Raton, pages 265-294) review the antimicrobial properties of phyto-phenolic compounds from essential oils of spices, herbs, edible grains and seeds. The authors teach that the antimicrobial effects of spices and herbs are primarily due to the presence of phenolic compounds in the essential oil fractions and that some monoterpenes seem to show some activity, as well. Carvacrol, p-cymene and thymol are identified as the major volatile components of oregano, thyme and savory that likely account for the observed activity. The active antimicrobial agents of rosemary have been suggested to be borneol, camphor, 1,8-cineole, alpha pinene, camphene, verbenone and bornyl acetate. The active constituent of sage has been suggested to be thujone. Minimum lethal concentrations of essential oils of thyme oil have been shown to range from 225-900 ppm in cultures. These concentrations of essential oils in foods would cause serious flavor problems. Since culture experiments underestimate the concentration necessary for effectiveness in foods, the flavor problems in foods are likely to be more serious than even the culture numbers suggest. In another portion of this reference, minimum inhibitory concentrations of essential oils were stated as 1-2% for rosemary, 0.12-2% for thyme, 0.12-2% for spearmint, 0.5-2% for sage, 0.5-2% for peppermint and 0.12-2% for oregano. In the summary, the authors state that concentrations of antimicrobial compounds in herbs and spices are too low to be used effectively without adverse effects on the sensory characteristics of a food.
Y. Kimura et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,380,506, teach a process for producing a preservative having antioxidant and antimicrobial activity. The process involves partitioning an extract of herb spices between polar and non-polar solvents. Some of the partitioned extracts showed antimicrobial activity against Gram positive Bacillus subtilis microorganisms in culture media. The only taste criterion tested by Kimura et al. was the bitterness. Kimura et al. remained silent as to essential oil taste perception. Kimura et al. did not deodorize the extract which means that the extract contained essential oils and impacted the taste of the meat. This impact on taste teaches away from using rosemary extracts obtained by the process taught by Kimura et al.
D. Ninkov (WO 01/15680) teaches that pharmaceutical compositions can be prepared by combining extracts of essential oils from plants of the Lamiaceae family with an organic acid. Ninkov teaches that the antimicrobial activity of the pharmaceutical composition is due to the presence of organic phenols such as isopropyl o-cresol in the oil extract from the plant.
K. Shetty and R. G. Labbe, (Asia Pacific J. Clin. Nutr. (1998), 7(3/4), pages 270-276., describe work to clone Lamiacae plants to produce enhanced levels of essential oil components such as carvacrol and thymol. These essential oil components have some antimicrobial properties but their commercial use is prevented by the strong flavors imparted to foods by these volatile compounds.
J. Campo, M. Amiot and C. Nguyen-the (2000, Journal of Food Protection 63, pages 1359-1368) teach that rosemary extract has antimicrobial properties in culture studies. Minimum inhibitory concentrations varied with the species of bacteria being tested, but ranged from 0.06-1%. These researchers suggest that rosemary extract may show promise in foods with low fat and low protein content, against Gram positive organisms. No food systems were actually studied in this reference. This reference did not study specifically Listeria.
E. Down, et al., "Comparison of Vitamin E, Natural Antioxidants and Antioxidant Combinations on the Lean Color and Retail Case-Life of Ground Beef Patties" published in October, 1999, describes the effect of rosemary extract in combination with other natural antioxidants and vitamin E diet supplementation on the color life of non-MAP ground beef. This reference does not teach how to extend the microbial shelf life of the meat. The authors failed to demonstrate a red color improvement of the meat by using rosemary as the red color preservation in meat with a natural antioxidant containing rosemary could not statistically differ from the control. The red color of the control alters within commercially desirable period. The loss of as much of the red color in the control as in meat with the rosemary from this reference teaches away from using rosemary extract as stability agent capable of preserving the red color of the meat.
Ahn et al. "Effects of plant extracts on microbial growth, color change, and lipid oxidation in cooked beef", Food Microbiol., Vol. 24, Issue 1, (2007): 7-14 show that rosemary extract, or rosemary oleoresin, for which the contents in phenolic diterpenes are not known, has an antilisterial effect. In this reference, grape seed extract and pine bark extract had a greater antilisterial effect than rosemary which teaches away from using rosemary extract as the lead antilisterial natural product in meat. Further, Ahn et al. 2007 have shown that the addition of rosemary extract to meat significantly deteriorated the red color of the meat, as compared to the control that lost less of the red color or as compared to grape extract that significantly improved the preservation of the red color of the meat. Therefore, Ahn et al. 2007 teach one to not use rosemary extract as stability agent capable of preserving the red color of the meat.
United States Patent Application Publication No. 2004/131709 studies show that rosemary extract alone, Herbalox® Seasoning, in which the majority of the volatile oil components has been removed shows very little, if any, antimicrobial effect. This reference does not teach how to extend the Gram positive, more precisely antilisterial shelf life of meat.
In addition, plant derived antimicrobials from citrus reported in the prior art are acids not flavonoids. For example, prior patents directed to compounds from citrus essentially relate to acids. KR20040001441 describes orange juice as a suppressor of germ growth. However, only less than approximately 1/50th of the juice reported in KR20040001441 could be used in meat without perceiving meat as sour. As meat takes up only up to 7.2% of the solution rich in citric acid, final levels in hesperidin taken up in meat would then correspond to less than 0.48%* 1/50*7.2%=˜0.0007%. This reference does not teach whether hesperidin could have an antilisterial effect in meat.
Lorente, José et al. "Chemical guide parameters for Spanish lemon (Citrus limon (L.) Burm.) juices." Food chemistry 162 (2014): 186-191 discloses that citrus juice has titratable acidity of 52.4 g/L, with citric acid being the main component. According to Lorente et al. (2014) in such juice, hesperidin levels as compared to titratable acidity are lower by more than two orders of magnitude (257 to 484.8 mg/L), which corresponds to 0.26 to 0.48% hesperidin w/v. Adding such an acidic composition to meat would impact the meat taste already at low levels.
Akta, Nesimi, and Mükerrem Kaya. "The influence of marinating with weak organic acids and salts on the intramuscular connective tissue and sensory properties of beef." European Food Research and Technology 213.2 (2001): 88-94 show that adding a solution of from 1% weak acid (including citric acid) to meat confers to the meat the sour taste. Also they show that when marinated in proportions 1:1 w/v (meat/marinade) the meat gains in weight at most 7.2% following marinating in marinades containing citric acid.
In WO 2012/112337, it is reported that flavonoids, including hesperidin, may provide some active antimicrobial activity without informing on the nature of microbes, whether they are bacteria, whether they are Gram positive bacteria nor whether they are Listeria. WO 2012/112337 teaches that active antimicrobial compounds are acids.
Moulehi, Ikram, et al. "Variety and ripening impact on phenolic composition and antioxidant activity of mandarin (Citrus reticulate Blanco) and bitter orange (Citrus aurantium L.) seeds extracts." Industrial Crops and Products 39 (2012): 74-80 report that citrus seed extracts contain total flavonoids of 1.31 to 2.52 mg equivalent catechins/g DW. As hesperidin represents <16% of total flavonoids of citrus seed extract, this means that hesperidin is present at ˜0.032% in DW citrus seed extract.
Mandalari, G., et al. "Antimicrobial activity of flavonoids extracted from bergamot (Citris bergamia Risso) peel, a byproduct of the essential oil industry." Journal of Applied Microbiology 103.6 (2007): 2056-2064 disclose that in vitro, citrus extracts rich in flavonoids inhibit the growth of Gram negative bacteria only and have no effect on the growth of Gram positive bacteria, and have no effect on the growth of Listeria. Mandalari et al. (2007) show that neohesperidin in pure form has no effect on Listerial growth in vitro.
Fernandez-Lopez, J., et al. "Antioxidant and antibacterial activities of natural extracts: application in beef meatballs." Meat science 69.3 (2005): 371-380 show that meat supplemented with citrus extracts containing flavonoids, the main of which is hesperidin, has no effect on the growth of Listeria monocytogenes. For example, Fernandez-Lopez et al. (2005) show that such extracts exert antimicrobial effects on other bacterial strains, including Listeria innocua, but not on Listeria monocytogenes.
Teachings of Mandalari et al. and Fernandez-Lopez et al. teach away from using hesperidin as antilisterial compound and do not render obvious to use any or combination of flavonoids from a citrus extract against Listeria monocytogenes in meat. For example, Mandalari et al. (2007) teach away from using hesperidin as antilisterial compound and do not render obvious that a purified flavonoid could have an antilisterial effect.
Punica extracts rich in ellagic acid have no antimicrobial effects in raw MAP meat. For example, Hayes et al. (Hayes, J. E., Stepanyan, V., Allen, P., O'Grady, M. N., & Kerry, J. p. 2010). "Effect of lutein, sesamol, ellagic acid and olive leaf extract on the quality and shelf-life stability of packaged raw minced beef patties", Meat science, 84(4), 613-620.) (hereinafter "Hayes et al") teach that ellagic acid (one of active compounds from the Punica extract) has no antimicrobial effect on raw beef MAP meat stored in cold and when applied at 300 ppm. Hayes et al. teach that ellagic acid did not improve the preservation of the red color of raw beef MAP meat stored in cold and when applied at 300 ppm or at 600 ppm. Hayes et al. teach away from using lower concentrations than 300 ppm in ellagic acid for antimicrobial effect. Hayes et al. teach away from using ellagic acid for improving the red color of meat.
The general problem of enhancing the shelf life of fresh meat without impacting the taste, remains in preventing the growth of spoilage organisms and pathogens and in preserving the red color of the meat throughout the commercially desirable storage period.


The hybrid-mesh cast sleeve invention comprises a tubular mesh woven of an elastic yarn and a coarse, impregnable yarn. In use, a stockinette, then a hybrid-mesh cast sleeve impregnated with a hardening agent, are positioned around a part of the body of a human or other animal to be reinforced by a cast. Solidification of the hardening agent produces a solid cast with a plurality of air vents.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to casts used for orthopedics and other fields of medicine. More particularly, the present invention relates to a woven material used to build a cast around a part of the body of a human or other animal.
2. Description of the Related Art
Traditional casts typically depend upon skilled personnel, such as physicians, manually building a cast to protect and align a part of the body of a human or other animal containing a fractured bone, thereby facilitating proper fusion of the fractured bone. A common method for building casts involves applying a sheep skin cloth, stockinette, or equivalent (collectively, xe2x80x9cstockinettexe2x80x9d) in the area around the fractured bone (xe2x80x9cdesired areaxe2x80x9d), and iterations of impregnating swaths of cloth, usually cotton, with a hardening agent, such as hardening latex or a synthetic resin (collectively, xe2x80x9chardening agentxe2x80x9d), and of layering the swaths of cloth, before the swaths harden, around the stockinette. The hardening of the hardening agent (originally Plaster of Paris, but today synthetic resins are more commonly used) permeating the layered swaths transforms the layered swaths into a cast. After each application of cloth swathing hardens, another layer is applied in similar fashion until the desired cast stiffness is obtained.
The traditional method of building a cast has several problems: First, personnel skilled in cast-making are required, especially in creating the edges of a cast, spacing the spirals of swathing, judging the number of layers necessary for protection of the bone fusion process, and abrading the surface of each successive layer to eliminate gaps between layers. This is a time-consuming, difficult process. Second, traditional casts do not xe2x80x9cbreathexe2x80x9d very well, i.e., the hardened cast does not allow the free exchange of air between the skin surface under the cast and the atmosphere. Poor cast breathing can lead to itchy or even infected skin conditions. Third, casts with irregular surfaces can cause blistering, and worse, improper fusion of bones. Fourth, traditional casts are radio-opaque, that is, X-rays cannot penetrate a traditional cast, which prevents X-ray imaging through the cast. The inability to use X-ray imaging deprives the treating physician of information about healing of bone fractures. Fifth, traditional casts can not be subjected to prolonged contact with water, so bathing or showering by the cast-wearer becomes problematic.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,826,252, granted to Laico, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,381,769, granted to Prahl, disclose methods and apparatus for creating improved cast edges. U.S. Pat. No. 5,725,487, granted to Freeman, et al., discloses an orthopedic casting tape, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,522,241 discloses an orthopedic casting band. The related art represented by these patents are incremental improvements in the art of casting, but all required skilled personnel to avoid the problems of a weak cast, poor edges and breathing, and irregular surfaces. There has long been a need for a simpler method of cast building, especially one that did not require highly skilled personnel, created comfortable cast edges, permitted breathing, and minimized irregularities in cast construction.
The hybrid-mesh cast sleeve invention comprises a tubular mesh, or xe2x80x9csleevexe2x80x9d, woven of an elastic yarn and an impregnable yarn. The hybrid-mesh cast sleeve is used with a hardening agent to produce a cast for orthopedics and other fields of medicine. Although the term xe2x80x9csleevexe2x80x9d is used, the hybrid-mesh cast sleeve invention can be made in various diameters for use on parts of the body other than an arm or leg. The hybrid-mesh cast sleeve can also be broadly used on animals, especially domesticated animals. A cast using the hybrid-mesh cast sleeve can be built by personnel without specialized training in using traditional xe2x80x9cwrappingxe2x80x9d methods of cast construction, and the cast created is a breathable cast with comfortable cast edges and minimal cast irregularities.


A universal serial bus (USB)-powered utility tool includes a housing defining an interior space, at least one dimmable light source positioned on one side of the housing and a USB connector extending outwardly from the housing. The USB connector may be positioned on another side of the housing. The USB connector may be positioned orthogonal to the at least one dimmable light source. The USB-powered utility tool may further include a printed circuit board (PCB) positioned orthogonal to the USB connector. The USB-powered utility tool may further include a processor logic configured to control a current being supplied to the at least one dimmable light source. The at least one dimmable light source may be controlled manually or via wireless communication.

Technical Field
The present disclosure relates generally to the field of universal serial bus (USB)-powered devices. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a USB-powered utility tool. Specifically, the present disclosure relates to a USB-powered utility tool including a printed circuit board (PCB) and a USB connector mounted orthogonal to the PCB.
Background Information
Typically, universal serial bus (USB) interfaces are used to power and/or charge USB devices. Typically, USB-powered devices are connected to USB interfaces via USB connectors in order to receive power. One typical type of USB-powered device is a flash drive, which includes a housing enclosing a male USB connector that is mounted in parallel to a printed circuit board (PCB).
One of the issues that users find with USB-powered devices is that they tend to protrude an undesirable distance away from the USB interface. As a result, the USB-powered device takes up space which could be otherwise used. Further, because the USB-powered device protrudes an undesirable distance away from the USB interface, the USB-powered device may cause problems with objects and/or persons bumping into the USB-powered device.


A system and non-transient computer readable medium for executing a method for controlling position and speed of a marine vessel propelled by a marine propulsion device along a route including a plurality of waypoints are disclosed. An input source provides the plurality of waypoints to a controller, each individual waypoint being associated with a respective operator-selected desired speed of the marine propulsion device. A position determination device determines an actual geographical location of the vessel, and a speed sensor determines an actual speed of the marine propulsion device. The controller receives a given waypoint and its respective desired speed from the input source, the actual geographical location from the position determination device, and the actual speed from the speed sensor. The controller compares these values and outputs commands to propel the marine vessel to the given waypoint and concurrently to operate the marine propulsion device at the respective desired speed.

The below U.S. patents and U.S. patent applications are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,273,771 discloses a control system for a marine vessel that incorporates a marine propulsion system that can be attached to a marine vessel and connected in signal communication with a serial communication bus and a controller. A plurality of input devices and output devices are also connected in signal communication with the communication bus and a bus access manager, such as a CAN Kingdom network, is connected in signal communication with the controller to regulate the incorporation of additional devices to the plurality of devices in signal communication with the bus whereby the controller is connected in signal communication with each of the plurality of devices on the communication bus. The input and output devices can each transmit messages to the serial communication bus for receipt by other devices.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,727,036 discloses a system and method for controlling movement of a marine vessel. An operator controllable device outputs a signal that is representative of an operator-desired rate of position change of the vessel about or along an axis. A sensor outputs a signal that is representative of a sensed actual rate of position change of the vessel about or along the axis. A rate of position change controller outputs a rate of position change command based upon the difference between the desired rate of position change and the sensed rate of position change. A vessel coordination controller controls movement of the vessel based upon the rate of position change command.
Unpublished U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/200,831, filed on Mar. 7, 2014, discloses a method for determining a heading value of a marine vessel that includes determining a first estimate of a direction of the marine vessel based on information from a first source and determining a second estimate of a direction of the marine vessel based on information from a second source. The method includes inputting the first estimate and the second estimate to a control circuit, which scales each of the first estimate and the second estimate and adds the scaled estimates together so as to determine the heading value. A system for determining a heading value of a marine vessel is also disclosed.

System for controlling position and speed of a marine vessel


A beam rack utilizes a plurality of mini-beams located in substantially planar layer arrangements wherein the yarn ends are fed in substantially the same direction to directors which direct the yarn to a header. The mini-beams are stacked both horizontally and vertically in the beam rack. The beam rack preferably includes a bearing arm for supporting a plurality of mini-beams along bushings of the mini-beams.

The present invention relates generally to devices which are utilized to supply yarn to tufting machines, and more specifically to a device and a method of using a plurality of mini-beams to supply a tufting machine with yarn.
The traditional method of supplying a tufting machine with yarn has been to utilize a creel such as the creel disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,613,643. Creels are generally frames which support a plurality of stationary yarn cones. A bolt of yarn, or yarn cone, is placed on a cone holder. An end of the yarn may then be directed through a guide and then to a yarn tube. From the tube, the yarn is typically directed to a header located at the top of the creel most adjacent to a textile machine being served. Yarn strands then exit the header and proceed to a particular needle for tufting through a fabric to create a pile product, such as a carpet. When a particular bolt of yarn is almost exhausted, another bolt of yarn may be placed on the cone holder in the creel and the ends of the yarn spliced together. The yarn cones utilized are typically provided by yarn companies in predetermined amounts of yarn.
A disadvantage of the use of yarn creels is that for a broad beam tufting machine, which may often have as many as 1,000 needles or more, in each of two rows, a separate yarn cone is necessary for each needle. The space required to accommodate 2,000 yarn cones is substantial which has led to many attempts to better utilize space, including placing yam creels on the second floor and feeding yarns down to a ground floor tufting machine.
One method developed to conserve space by eliminating the use of yam creels is the use of a warper and beam. In this system, one yam creel is used to hold all the yams that would be fed to approximately 100 to 150 needles. A large roll or xe2x80x9cbeamxe2x80x9d is mounted in a drive known as a warper and is wound with a predetermined amount of yarn from each of the yam cones in the creel, so over one hundred separate ends of yarn are on the beam. The beam may then be placed adjacent to a tufting machine and the yams from the beam threaded to needles across the tufting machine. In this fashion approximately six beams take the place of a much larger yam creel assembly. Unfortunately, the use of a beam of this type is limited because all of the yams must feed at the same rate. As a result, these regular size beams are not generally suitable for use with tufting machines utilizing pattern attachments.
B and J Machinery Co., Inc., of Dalton, Ga., has previously marketed a mini-beam rack with yam tubes, illustrated in FIG. 3, which employed the use of mini-beams. Mini-beams could be wound on a warper and placed in the specially designed beam rack. The beam rack of this design utilized a plurality of tubes disposed to receive yarn from a given mini-beam. The tubes directed the yarn from the mini-beams to a header for delivery to a specific tufting machine.
The use of a plurality of mini-beams allowed each mini-beam to be wound on a warper with only about a dozen yarns. The yarns from one mini-beam could be directed to a single set of yarn feed rolls on a scroll-type pattern attachment, typified by that in U.S. Pat. No. 5,983,815. In this fashion between about 60 and 144 mini-beams could supply yarns to a pattern attachment as each mini-beam would more independently depend upon the yarn requirements for its corresponding pattern attachment yam feeder rolls.
The prior art rack design was similar to a creel in that it incorporated tubes which directed yarn to a header and then on to a tufting machine. This design was loaded with mini-beams from within the rack. On any given plane of mini-beams, the yams were directed towards the tufting machine from one set of mini-beams and away from the tufting machine by the other set of mini-beams. The tubes then directed the yarns towards a header for use by the tufting machine. By having multiple sets of mini-beams directing a plurality of yams away from the tufting machine, a relatively large quantity of tubing was required to redirect yam back towards the tufting machine. Additionally, the prior art beam rack design took up a considerable amount of space, similar to a creel.
When yarn tubes are present, an operator must direct a yarn through the tubing, usually from the header to the point nearest the yarn supply. This process may be accomplished utilizing compressed air to blow a guide yarn down each yarn tube. Once the yarn is blown through the tube, it connected to the yarn supply and yarns from the yarn supply can be pulled back through the tubing and the header. The yarn from the yam supply is then connected to the needle in the tufting machine. The process must then be repeated for every tube connected to the header. This process would be greatly simplified by removing, or reducing, the number of tubes. Accordingly, a need exists for a beam rack which does not require the use of yarn tubes.
The mini-beams of the prior art design have also been improved upon by the mini-beam illustrated in FIG. 2. The prior art mini-beams had a similar overall appearance, however, the prior art mini-beams rested in the rack of FIG. 3 on smaller diameter extension members instead of on a larger diameter bushing. Accordingly, when a tufting machine would slow down there was very little friction between the mini-beam and the beam rack. There was a tendency for the inertia of the mini-beam, especially when heavily loaded with yarn, to maintain mini-beam""s rotational speed when the tufting machine slowed. This resulted in yarn unwinding off the mini-beam without being taken up by the tufting machine. This yarn could sag external to the tubes and become tangled. Accordingly, a need exists to reduce the risk of possible entanglement of yarn.
Furthermore, each prior art beam rack was designed to be utilized with a particular tufting machine pattern attachment. The tubes provided a specific yarn to a specific header location to feed a particular yam feed module of the yarn feed pattern attachment of the tufting machine. If a different pattern attachment were desired to be used, another beam rack having the correct tube and header configuration would be necessary. This made each prior art mini-beam rack useful only with pattern attachments of a single manufacturer and mini-beam racks could not be freely interchanged between machines.
Accordingly, a need exists to provide a beam rack which may supply a textile machine with a plurality of yarns from mini-beams wherein the beam rack is flexibly adaptable for a variety of textile machines and/or patterns.
Numerous alternations of the structure herein disclosed will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art. However, it is to be understood that the present disclosure relates to the preferred embodiment of the invention which is for purposes of illustration only and not to be construed as a limitation of the invention. All such modifications which do not depart from the spirit of the invention are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims.
The beam rack of the preferred embodiment utilizes a plurality of mini-beams. The mini-beams are preferably located in substantially planar layer arrangements wherein all the yam ends are fed in a forward direction to director which guides or orients the yarn toward a header. The mini-beams are stacked both horizontally and vertically in the beam rack. The beam rack preferably includes a bearing arm for supporting a plurality of mini-beams along bushings of the mini-beams.
Each mini-beam is loaded with a warper wherein a plurality of yarn ends are usually loaded on a single mini-beam. The number of yarn ends can vary anywhere from a single yarn to sixteen or more yarns per mini-beam depending on the pattern to be tufted on a particular tufting machine. In the usual case, there is at least one yarn end for each repeat of the pattern, and a typical broad loom tufting machine may have as many as sixteen pattern repeats. The yarn ends will usually proceed from the mini-beams to a pattern attachment feeding into a tube bank and then to the needles of the tufting machine.

Mini-beam yarn supply apparatus and method

Abstract: The mini-beam is loaded with a warper wherein a plurality of yarn ends are preferably loaded on a single mini-beam. The yam ends can vary anywhere from one yarn to sixteen or more yarns per mini-beam depending on the number of mini-beams required to correspond with yarn feeds for a particular pattern. The yarn ends proceed from the mini-beams to the director, a header and on to a tufting machine.


The invention is directed towards techniques for forwarding subscriber frames through a Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) aggregation network using MPLS labels. Layer two (L2) network devices, such as access nodes, of a service provider (SP) network implement MPLS functionality in the data plane, but do not implement an MPLS signaling protocol in the control plane. The L2 network devices include a pool of labels applied in the data plane of the L2 network device to output MPLS communications to the MPLS network, and a protocol that allows a layer three (L3) device to control provision of L2 functionality by the L2 device. The pool of labels is dynamically configured by the L3 device via the protocol. The access nodes distribute the subscriber labels and MPLS labels as upstream assigned labels.

Routing devices within a network, often referred to as routers, maintain routing information that describes available routes through the network. Upon receiving an incoming packet, the router examines information within the packet and forwards the packet in accordance with the routing information. In order to maintain an accurate representation of the network, routers exchange routing information in accordance with one or more defined routing protocol, such as the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP).
The term "link" is often used to refer to the connection between two devices on a network. The link may be a physical medium, such as a copper wire, a coaxial cable, any of a host of different fiber optic lines or a wireless connection. In addition, network devices may define "virtual" or "logical" links, and map the virtual links to the physical links. As networks grow in size and complexity, the traffic on any given link, including peering links, may approach a maximum bandwidth capacity for the link, thereby leading to congestion and loss.
Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) is a mechanism used to engineer traffic patterns within Internet Protocol (IP) networks. MPLS may be viewed as a protocol that allows packet-based networks to emulate certain properties of a circuit-switched network. By utilizing MPLS, a source device can request a path through a network to a destination device, i.e., a Label Switched Path (LSP). An LSP defines a distinct path through the network to carry MPLS packets from the source device to a destination device. Each router along an LSP allocates a label and propagates the label to the closest upstream router along the path for use in forwarding MPLS packets along the path. Routers along the path cooperatively perform MPLS operations to forward the MPLS packets along the established path.
MPLS operates at an OSI Model layer that is generally considered to lie between traditional definitions of Layer 2 (i.e., the data link layer) and Layer 3 (i.e., the network layer), and thus is often referred to as a "Layer 2.5" protocol. For example, MPLS requires use of Layer 3 routing information and other Layer 3 services with respect to traffic engineering, path selection and construction, but may also utilize Layer 2 services.

Using layer two control protocol (L2CP) for data plane MPLS within an L2 network access node


A measurement device for determining an angular position, having a magnet device and a sensor device that are rotatable relative to one another. The magnet device has a first north pole face of a first magnetic north pole and a first south pole face of a first magnetic south pole. The magnet device has a second north pole face of a second magnetic north pole and a second south pole face of a second magnetic south pole. The sensor device is located in a region between the first north pole face and the first south pole face and between the second north pole face and the second south pole face. The sensor device has a first magnetic field sensor and a second magnetic field sensor. The first magnetic field sensor and the second magnetic field sensor are spaced apart from one another for ascertaining a magnetic field difference.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a measurement device for determining an angular position.
Description of the Background Art
Known from WO 2010/060607 A2, which corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 8,680,847, which is incorporated herein by reference, is an IC package with a semiconductor chip with an integrated circuit and an integrated magnetic sensor. Spaced apart from the package of the semiconductor chip is a permanent magnet whose magnetic flux penetrates the sensor. If an object to be measured approaches the head end of the semiconductor chip, the magnetic flux density through the sensor changes.
Known from DE 698 16 755 T2, which corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 6,288,533, is a magnetic rotary encoder. A method and a device serve to ascertain the rotary position of a rotor with the aid of a magnetic field source attached to the rotor, a so-called transmitter, and a stationary sensor. The sensor in this design measure the magnetic field of the magnetic field source. The magnetic field source here is arranged such that the magnetic field has no rotational symmetry relative to an axis of rotation of the rotor. The method is used to ascertain a rotary position. The mechanical angle (rotary position of the rotor) is ascertained by the means that at least one ratio of two differential signals, each from one sensor pair, is calculated, and the calculated ratio is compared to a predefined function of this ratio of the angle of rotation.

Measurement device for determining angular position


Monoclonal antibodies which react specifically to Fc receptor for IgA of human effector cells, such as monocytes, polymorphonuclear cells and macrophages, are disclosed.

Receptors for the Fc portion of immunoglobulin are important in triggering many of the protective functions of monocytes, macrophages and polymorphonuclear cells. While receptors for IgG on these cells have been extensively investigated, it is becoming evident that receptors for IgA are also capable of promoting effector functions of these cells and that IgE may stimulate some activities of monocytes. While soluble IgA binds IgA receptor with poor avidity, polymerized IgA has been demonstrated to trigger functions such as superoxide generation and phagocytosis.

Monoclonal antibody specific for IgA receptor