A passenger-side airbag device includes a container divided into a bag storage area and an inflator storage area. The perimeter of the inflator storage area is smaller than the perimeter of the bag storage area to create a shelf in the container to support an uninflated airbag. A rim around an opening of the airbag is attached to the container using a plurality of resiliently deformable resin clips. A shaft connecting the container to a pocket in the airbag rim is optionally added for greater support when the airbag is inflated.

The present invention relates to a passenger-side airbag installed in a car for passenger safety. In particular, the present invention relates to an improvement in a bag storage area holding the passenger-side airbag.
Referring to FIG. 12, a prior art example of a passenger-side airbag 4' is mounted on a retainer 25'. An inflator 5' is stored inside a base 6a. Retainer 25' and airbag 4' are fitted in base 6a over inflator 5'. A guide 7a, fitting over retainer 25' and airbag 4', attaches to an upper rim of base 6a. Retainer 25' is a mounting base for airbag 4' permitting airbag 4' to remain in a folded condition ready to use.
Referring to FIGS. 11a-11b, another prior art example of a passenger-side airbag 4" includes a rim 21' around an opening of a main bag unit 4b. Main bag unit 4b is of a suitable fabric. Two retainers 21g and 21f are mounted at rim 21'. Rim 21' is rectangularly shaped with fabric on all four sides folded back separately and sewn. A plurality of rim portions 21a, 21b are shaped so that a plurality of retainers 21g, 21f are inserted into rim portions 21a, 21b respectively. Retainers 21g, 21f attach rim 21' by a plurality of stud bolts 21d to a container (not shown) as described in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication Number 4-93243.
In this type of prior art device, assembly is difficult because stud bolts 21d obstruct each other when retainers 21g, 21f are inserted into rim portions 21a, 21b of rim 21' during assembly. In addition, each stud bolt 21d is attached to a hole in the container (not shown) by a nut. Assembly requires a large number of parts and a great amount of labor.

Passenger-side airbag device for a vehicle


A multipoint conductive sheet having a plurality of conductive electrons arranged, in a multipoint fashion, on an insulative sheet such that the conductive electrons extend from a first main surface of the insulative sheet all the way to a second main surface through a thickness of the insulative sheet, each of the conductive electrons being provided at one end thereof with a first contact end which is arranged, in a multipoint fashion, on the first main surface and at the other end with a second contact end which is arranged, in a multipoint fashion, on the second main surface, wherein a slit or a slot is formed adjacent to each of the conductive electrons in such a manner as to extend through the insulative sheet, the slit or slot is allowed to extend at least two ways of each of the conductive electrons, the conductive electrons are each arranged on a sheet piece at an inner region of each of the slits or slots, and the conductive electrons can be displaced towards the first and second main surfaces while flexing the sheet pieces.

This invention relates to a multipoint conductive sheet used as a connecting medium interposed between given two electronic parts.
Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. Hei 7-231019 discloses a multipoint conductive sheet having, as means for connecting a semiconductor wafer and a wiring board together, a plurality of conductive electrons arranged, in a multipoint fashion, on an insulative sheet such that the conductive electrons extend from a first main surface of the insulative sheet all the way to a second main surface through a thickness of the insulative sheet, each of the conductive electrons being provided at one end thereof with a first contact end which is arranged, in a multipoint fashion, on the first main surface and at the other end with a second contact end which is arranged, in a multipoint fashion, on the second main surface. In this prior art, each of the multipoint conductive sheet is formed of a flexible substrate 101 having a large number of bumps 104 arranged thereon in a multipoint fashion.
The multipoint conductive sheet is interposed between a semiconductor wafer and a wiring circuit board and pressurized in that condition, so that the first contact ends are contacted, under pressure, with corresponding electrode pads of the semiconductor wafer. The wiring board is then connected to a tester so as to be subjected to burn-in test. An anisotropic conductive rubber is interposed between the wiring board and the multipoint conductive sheet so that uniform electrical connection can be obtained by absorbing irregularity in height of the conductive electrons, warping of the wiring board, etc.
The multipoint conductive sheet formed on the flexible substrate has a large number of conductive electrons densely arranged in such a manner as to correspond to the electrode pads of the semiconductor wafer, and each conductive electron can displace in the direction of the thickness by flexure of the flexible substrate. As shown in FIG. 1, however, since the respective conductive electrons 2 are displaced while normally restricted by the flexible substrate 1, adjacent conductive electrons 2 are apt to co-displace as indicated by arrows and broken lines with the result that the conductive electrons 2 are incorrectly displaced relative to the corresponding electrode pads.


A method of HTTP redirection is provided for scenarios where a manifest file for media content contains a relative URL. A request router or other network device encapsulates the content manifest file within a root manifest file. The root manifest file contains a base URL that points to the location of the content and a media link that points to the requested content manifest.

Streaming media is multimedia that is being constantly delivered from a content provider at the same time it is played or viewed by the end user. The media content is divided into chunks called fragments, which are packaged in media files. Each media file may contain one or more fragments. The media files are "streamed" to the client as the media is played back by the client.
Adaptive bitrate streaming is a technique used in streaming multimedia over communication networks for dynamically adjusting the quality of the media stream depending on available resources, such as available bandwidth and processing capacity. When adaptive bitrate streaming is used, media content may be encoded in different resolutions and/or bitrates. A client's bandwidth and processing capacity is detected in real time and the quality of the media stream is adjusted accordingly by switching between different encoded versions of the same media content.
When adaptive bitrate streamlining is used, a content manifest is provided to describe the different encoded versions of the media content and the location of the media files. The location of files may be specified by a uniform resource locator (URL), which may be an absolute URL or relative URL. An absolute URL provides a full path to the requested file. A relative URL (defined in Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) standard RFC 1808) specifies a partial path relative to the location of a current file, usually on the same machine. To provide a complete path, the relative URL is combined with a base URL that specifies the protocol and machine. A client requests the manifest file from a server to get location information and metadata about the media files. In the case where live content is streamed using Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) Dynamic Streaming (HDS), for example, a bootstrap file is then requested. The bootstrap file contains the bootstrap information needed to begin playback of the media. The bootstrap file may also contain one or more media fragments. As the media content is played back, the client requests additional media files.
Most adaptive streaming technologies are based on the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and are designed to work efficiently over large distributed content delivery networks (CDNs). A CDN comprises a system of servers or delivery nodes distributed across the Internet for efficiently delivering media content to content consumers. A CDN operator is typically paid by content providers (CPs) to deliver media content of the content providers to content consumers. The content providers maintain control over the media content while delivery of the media content is handled by the CDN. In the scenario where the content provider uses a CDN to deliver its content to its content consumers, requests for media content are directed to delivery node that can efficiently deliver the content to the content consumer. From the perspective of the content consumer, the request is directed to the content provider's network.
Redirection is the mechanism used by CDNs to re-route requests for content to a particular delivery node within the CDN that is able to deliver the content. The main existing redirection mechanisms in CDNs using the HTTP are Simple HTTP redirection, HTTP redirection with manifest rewrite, and Dynamic Name Server (DNS) Redirection. A problem arises when HTTP redirection methods are used with HDS where the content includes relative uniform resource locators (URLs). With HTTP redirection, a request router in the user's access network receives a request for a content manifest from a media playback device of a content consumer and temporarily redirects the request for the content manifest to a load balancing node in the CDN. The load balancing node, in turn, redirects the HTTP request to a delivery node that will deliver the content based on information carried in HTTP request. The media playback device fetches the content manifest from the delivery node. When temporary redirection is used, the media playback device will direct future requests for media content to the load balancing node rather than the delivery node and each request will be redirected to the delivery node. This approach results in a large number of redirections.
One solution for solving the redirection issue and reducing the number of redirection requests is manifest re-writing. In this case, a content manifest having a relative URL is re-written to provide an absolute URL. The request router receives a request for a content manifest from a media playback device. Rather than re-direct the media playback device, the request router determines the delivery node and fetches the content manifest with a relative URL from the delivery node. The request router then modifies the relative URL in the manifest file to provide an absolute URL and sends the modified content manifest to the media playback device. The media playback device may then fetch the content files (e.g. bootstrap file and content fragments) directly from the serving edge node. However, some content providers object to revision of the content provider's manifest files.
An alternative solution for solving the redirection issue is to use DNS based redirection rather than HTTP redirection. However, there are drawbacks to using DNS based redirection, and some content providers may prefer a solution based on HTTP redirection.

Redirection in a content delivery network


Glucosylceramide synthase inhibitors and compositions containing the same are disclosed. Methods of using the glucosylceramide synthase inhibitors in the treatment of diseases and conditions wherein inhibition of glucosylceramide synthase provides a benefit, like Gaucher disease and Fabry disease, also are disclosed.

Lysosomal storage diseases (LSDs), such as Gaucher disease and Fabry disease, occur when glycolipids accumulate in lysosomes due to defect in their catabolism. Two general strategies exist for the treatment of lysosomal storage diseases. The first strategy includes replacement or restoration of the defective or absent catabolizing enzyme (e.g., the infusion of recombinant enzyme, chaperone therapy, bone marrow transplantation, or gene therapy) (1). Enzyme replacement therapy is clinically approved for lysosomal storage diseases with peripheral manifestations, but is limited by the inability of the infused recombinant enzyme to distribute into the CNS, and by the frequent development of auto-antibodies to the protein in patients carrying null mutations.
The second strategy involves synthesis inhibition therapy focused on identifying small molecule inhibitors of GCS (2). Two classes of GCS inhibitors have been described, including imino sugars and analogues of D-threo-1-phenyl-2-decanoylamino-3-morpholino-propanol (PDMP) (3). The imino sugar N-butyldeoxynojirimycin (NBDNJ) is limited by its micromolar level inhibitory activity and limited specificity against the synthase. The limited specificity is associated with a high level of undesired effects resulting from secondary sites of action unrelated to glycolipid synthesis inhibition. These effects most notably include diarrhea, weight loss, and tremor, which limits the approved use of NBDNJ in the United States (4). One advantage of NBDNJ over PDMP-based homologs reported to date is its ability to distribute into the CNS. However, a recent study raised questions with respect to the ability of NBDNJ to lower CNS glycolipid levels (K. M. Ashe et al., Plos One 6:e21758 (2011)).
A number of GCS inhibitors have been disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,302,609; 5,472,969; 5,525,616; 5,916,911; 5,945,442; 5,952,370; 6,030,995; 6,051,598; 6,255,336; 6,569,889; 6,610,703; 6,660,794; 6,855,830; 6,916,802; 7,253,185; 7,196,205; and 7,615,573. Additional GCS inhibitors and treatments are disclosed in WO 2008/150486; WO 2009/117150; WO 2010/014554; and WO 2012/129084.
A compound currently in clinical trials and structurally related to PDMP is N-((1R,2R)-1-(2,3-dihydrobenzo[b][1,4]dioxin-6-yl)-1-hydroxy-3-(pyrrolidin-1-yl)propan-2-yl)octanamide, also known as Genz-112638 and eliglustat tartrate (5). Recent phase 2 clinical trials using this drug for type 1 Gaucher disease demonstrated an efficacy equal to or greater than that for recombinant β-glucocerebrosidase, as evidenced by reversal of spleen and liver enlargement, correction of anemia, and improvements in thrombocytopenia and bone density (6). Phase 3 trials with eliglustat tartrate are currently in progress. Experimental data also support a potential role for eliglustat tartrate in the treatment of Fabry disease, another lysosomal storage disease with peripheral manifestations (7).
GSC inhibition also is expected to treat six other lysosomal storage diseases with CNS involvement, including early and late onset Tay-Sachs disease, Sandhoff disease, GM1 gangliosidosis, and types 2 and 3 Gaucher disease. For example, an experimental model of genetic epistasis demonstrated markedly improved survival in a mouse model of Sandhoff disease that also lack GM2 synthase (8). However, drug distribution studies indicate that eliglustat tartrate is not transported across the blood brain barrier (BBB) (5). A possible basis for the poor brain distribution of eliglustat tartrate may be that the drug is a substrate for the p-glycoprotein (MDR1) transporter, resulting in efflux of the drug.
Compounds that inhibit GCS have the potential to treat conditions associated with glycolipid accumulation. However, present day GCS inhibitors are limited by poor CNS penetration and/or low activity. An important advance in the art would be the discovery of GCS inhibitors, and particularly GCS inhibitors capable of crossing the BBB, that are useful in the treatment of diseases wherein GCS inhibition provides a benefit, such as type I, II, or III Gaucher disease, Fabry disease, Tay-Sachs disease, Sandhoff disease, diabetes, lupus, and other diseases and conditions associated with glycolipid accumulation in lysosomes. Accordingly, a need still exists in the art for efficacious compounds, compositions, and methods useful in the treatment of such diseases, alone or in conjunction with other therapies used to treat these diseases and conditions. The present invention is directed to meeting this need.

Glucosylceramide synthase inhibitors and therapeutic methods using the same

THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN


A multilayered board includes a laminate including a plurality of glass-containing insulating layers, each glass-containing insulating layer being provided with an electrode on the surface thereof. The glass-containing insulating layer is formed by firing a layer containing 60% by volume or less of a glass component before firing, a portion of the glass component is segregated in the surface region of the glass-containing insulating layer by firing, and the electrode is bonded to the surface of the glass-containing insulating layer by means of the segregated glass component. A method for fabricating a multilayered board is also disclosed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multilayered board and to a method for fabricating the same. More particularly, the invention relates to a multilayered board using a glass-containing material which can be fired at low temperatures, and to a method for fabricating the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the level of functionality of electronic components is increased and the size of electronic components is reduced, more and more semiconductor ICs and other surface-mounting devices are required be mounted on circuit boards. In order to meet such requirements, various types of multilayered ceramic boards, which are fabricated by laminating ceramic green sheets with applied electrode paste for forming electrodes, followed by firing, have been developed and widely used.
Recently, multilayered boards (low-temperature-fired multilayered boards) have been developed using glass-containing materials, such as glass-ceramic materials, which can be fired at low temperatures.
When a multilayered board is fabricated, an Ag paste containing Ag powder as a conductive component, for example, is widely used as the electrode paste for forming electrodes.
However, when an Ag paste comprising Ag powder, or Ag powder and an oxide serving as a chemical bonding agent, is applied to a board, in which a large amount of ceramic is included in order to increase the strength, and firing is performed simultaneously, if the glass component content is low in the ceramic layer and in the electrodes, it is difficult to obtain satisfactory electrode bonding strength.
The electrode bonding strength may be increased by adding a glass component to the Ag paste so as to improve its wettability on the board, or by including a large amount of a glass component in the board. However, in such cases, the glass component floats on the surfaces of the electrodes, resulting in a decrease in the solderability of the electrodes or in the flexural strength of the board.
The present invention provides a multilayered board which has a high bonding strength between the electrodes and the glass-containing insulating layers, satisfactory solderability, and a high flexural strength, and provides a method for fabricating the same.
In one aspect of the present invention, a multilayered board includes a laminate including a plurality of glass-containing insulating layers, each glass-containing insulating layer being provided with an electrode on the surface thereof. The glass-containing insulating layer is formed by firing a layer containing 60% by volume or less of a glass component before firing, a portion of the glass component is segregated in the surface region of the glass-containing insulating layer by firing, and the electrode is bonded to the surface of the glass-containing insulating layer by means of the segregated glass component.
In the multilayered board of the present invention, since the glass-containing insulating layer before firing has a glass component content of 60% by volume or less, and the electrode is bonded to the surface of the glass-containing insulating layer by means of the glass component which has been segregated in the surface region by firing, the multilayered board does not have an excessively high glass component content in the glass-containing insulating layer so as to decrease its flexural strength, and it does not have an excessively high glass component content in the electrode so as to decrease its solderability, whereby a high electrode bonding strength can be secured.
xe2x80x9cThe glass component content of 60% by volume or less before firingxe2x80x9d conceptually means that the glass component content in the inorganic component constituting a material for forming the glass-containing insulating layer before firing (green sheet) is 60% by volume or less.
Preferably, in the multilayered board of the present invention, the glass component content is in the range of 60% to 90% by volume within a depth of 1 xcexcm from the surface of the glass-containing insulating layer provided with the electrode.
By segregating the glass component by firing and by increasing the glass component content within a depth of 1 xcexcm from the surface of the glass-containing insulating layer to 60% to 90% by volume, it is possible to improve the electrode bonding strength even if the glass component content in the entire glass-containing insulating layer is not increased. Consequently, it is possible to prevent the glass component content in the entire glass-containing insulating layer from increasing excessively, and a high flexural strength can be maintained, thus ensuring the effectiveness of the present invention.
Preferably, the glass-containing insulating layer is composed of a glass-ceramic material.
In the present invention, although it is possible to use materials in which glass and various other insulating components are mixed as the glass-containing insulating layer, in order to attain various electrical characteristics and mechanical characteristics, a glass-ceramic material containing a glass and a ceramic is preferably used. In such a case, the advantage of the present invention is reliably obtained.
Preferably, the electrode contains Ag as a principal conductive component.
In the present invention, although it is possible to use various materials for the electrode, when a material containing Ag as a principal conductive component is used for the electrode, the electrode can have a low resistance and superior bonding strength, thus ensuring the effectiveness of the present invention.
Preferably, the electrode and the glass-containing insulating layer are simultaneously fired.
Although the electrode and the glass-containing insulating layer may be fired separately, by simultaneously firing, it is possible to improve the bonding strength between the electrode and the glass-containing insulating layer and also the fabrication process can be simplified.
In accordance with the present invention, the initial bonding strength of the electrode to the glass-containing insulating layer can be improved, and the initial bonding strength to the glass-containing insulating layer in a tensile test can be 5 N/mm2 or more on average.
In accordance with the present invention, since the glass component content in the glass-containing insulating layer is not increased to such an extent that the mechanical strength of the glass-containing insulating layer is greatly decreased, the flexural strength which does not present a difficulty in practical use, namely, a flexural strength of 200 MPa or more, can be achieved.
In the multilayered board of the present invention, preferably, the glass component in the glass-containing insulating layer is a crystallized glass.
By using the crystallized glass as the glass component in the glass-containing insulating layer, the mechanical strength can be further improved, thus further ensuring the effectiveness of the present invention.
In another aspect of the present invention, a method for fabricating a multilayered board, in which a plurality of glass-containing insulating layers are laminated, each glass-containing insulating layer being provided with an electrode on the surface thereof, includes the steps of applying an electrode paste for forming electrodes to the surfaces of green sheets containing 60% by volume or less of a glass component; laminating and pressure-bonding the green sheets applied with the electrode paste to form a pressure-bonded laminate; and heat-treating the pressure-bonded laminate so that the green sheets and the electrode paste are simultaneously fired, a portion of the glass component is segregated in the surface regions of the glass-containing insulating layers, and the electrodes are bonded to the surfaces of the glass-containing insulating layers by means of the segregated glass component.
Since the method for fabricating the multilayered board of the present invention includes the steps described above, it is possible to reliably fabricate the multilayered board which has high electrode bonding strength, high flexural strength, and superior solderability of the electrodes.
Additionally, xe2x80x9cthe step of laminating and pressure-bonding the green sheets applied with the electrode paste to form a pressure-bonded laminatexe2x80x9d conceptually includes a case in which the electrodes (electrode paste) of the individual layers are connected to each other through via-holes made in the green sheets.
xe2x80x9cThe green sheets containing 60% by volume or less of a glass componentxe2x80x9d means that the glass component content in the inorganic component constituting the green sheets is 60% by volume or less.
In the method for fabricating the multilayered board of the present invention, one or more of the glass component content in the green sheets, the glass composition, the glass-forming conditions, the pressure-bonding conditions of the green sheets, and the firing conditions may be adjusted so that the glass component content is in the range of 60% to 90% by volume within a depth of 1 xcexcm from the surfaces of the glass-containing insulating layers provided with the electrodes.
That is, in order to avoid a decrease in mechanical strength, the green sheets containing 60% by volume or less of the glass component are used, while by adjusting at least one of the glass component content in the green sheets, the glass composition, the glass-forming conditions, the pressure-bonding conditions of the green sheets, and the firing conditions, the glass component content within a depth of 1 xcexcm from the surfaces of the glass-containing insulating layers to be provided with the electrodes is set in the range of 60% to 90% by volume. Consequently, it is possible to improve the electrode bonding strength by increasing the glass component content only in the surface regions of the glass-containing insulating layers, and it is also possible to maintain a high flexural strength by preventing the glass component content in the entire glass-containing insulating layers from being too high, thus ensuring the effectiveness of the present invention.
Preferably, the green sheets containing 60% by volume or less of the glass component are composed of a glass-ceramic material.
In the present invention, it is possible to use green sheets composed of a material in which glass and various other insulating components are mixed as the green sheets for forming the glass-containing insulating layers. However, in order to attain various electrical characteristics and mechanical characteristics, green sheets composed of a glass-ceramic material containing a glass and a ceramic are preferably used. In such a case, the advantage of the present invention is reliably obtained.
Preferably, an electrode paste containing Ag as a principal conductive component is used as the electrode paste for forming the electrodes.
In the present invention, although it is possible to use various materials for the electrodes, when the electrodes are formed by using the electrode paste containing Ag as a principal conductive component, it is possible to efficiently fabricate a multilayered board in which the electrodes have a high bonding strength to the glass-containing insulating layers and also the electrodes have a low resistance.
Preferably, the electrode paste containing Ag as the principal conductive component does not contain a substantial amount of glass.
By using the electrode paste which substantially does not contain glass as the electrode paste containing Ag as the principal conductive component, it is possible to form electrodes having a low resistance and superior solderability, thus further ensuring the effectiveness of the present invention.
Additionally, since the electrodes are bonded to the glass-containing insulating layers by means of the glass segregated in the surface regions of the glass-containing insulating layers, the electrode bonding strength is secured.
Preferably, the electrode paste containing Ag as the principal conductive component contains at least one material selected from the group consisting of Pb, Bi, Cr, Cu, Mn, Co, and Zn.
By adding at least one material selected from the group consisting of Pb, Bi, Cr, Cu, Mn, Co, and Zn to the electrode paste containing Ag as the principal conductive component, further improvement in the electrode bonding strength is expected.
Preferably, green sheets containing a crystallized glass as the glass component are used.
By using the green sheets containing the crystallized glass, it is possible to fabricate a reliable multilayered board in which the glass-containing insulating layers have a high mechanical strength, and also the entire board has a high mechanical strength, thus further ensuring the effectiveness of the present invention.
In the method for fabricating a multilayered board of the present invention, in the step of heat-treating the pressure-bonded laminate, a constraining layer may be laminated on at least one of the upper surface and the lower surface of the pressure-bonded laminate, the constraining layer being composed of an inorganic material which is not sintered at the firing temperature of the pressure-bonded laminate, and firing is performed in that state, and then the constraining layer is removed, whereby a so-called xe2x80x9cnon-shrinkage processxe2x80x9d may be employed.
By employing the non-shrinkage process when the laminate is fired, it is possible to fabricate a multilayered board which does not shrink in the lateral dimensions, which has a high electrode bonding strength, and which has a superior flexural strength and solderability. By using the multilayered board thus fabricated, it is possible to efficiently produce an electronic component, such as a hybrid IC, in which mounting devices are reliably mounted at desired positions.

Multilayered board and method for fabricating the same


The self-calibrating carbon monoxide detector and method of the present invention utilize the gas for which the detector was designed to detect as the calibration gas. Specifically, a carbon monoxide gas generator is included in the detector assembly, and is controller to produce a known amount of CO. The sensor response to the quantity of CO generated is monitored, and the calibration thereof adjusted as necessary. The operation of the gas generator is also monitored, and any failures are flagged for user attention. The gas generator specifically suppresses the generation of hydrogen through the materials used in its construction. Temperature effects may also be compensated either through control of gas generation control parameters or compensation of the sensor output in view of the generator temperature effects.

Public awareness of the dangers posed by carbon monoxide in the home and continuing advances in carbon monoxide detection technology and reliability has greatly increased the number of carbon monoxide detectors installed in homes. Unlike hazardous gas detectors for industrial applications that are serviced and calibrated regularly, carbon monoxide detectors for use in domestic applications are intended to be "fit and forget" devices. This places a major demand on the sensor used in a domestic gas detector as it must maintain its performance over periods that run into years, all without attention from the owner.
However, with the very long life times expected for a domestic carbon monoxide detector, possibly extending to five years or more, some degradation and loss of accuracy must be expected. Indeed, there are three main potential causes for loss of performance of the sensors typically used in domestic carbon monoxide detectors. First, the active part of the sensor, the membrane electrode assembly or "MEA," can be damaged by either loss of hydration or chemical poisoning. The effect of this is to reduce the output of the sensor for a particular level of carbon monoxide. As a result, the exposure times or concentration levels before an alarm will be sounded are increased. Second, the electrical contacts to the MEA can be lost. This results in a complete loss or intermittent output from the sensor in the presence of carbon monoxide, which results in no or intermittent alarm output in the presence of carbon monoxide. Third, the gas diffusion aperture in the top of the sensor could become blocked. This results in zero output from the sensor when carbon monoxide is in the environment because none of this carbon monoxide can reach the MEA. With each of these performance affecting events, the result is that the carbon monoxide alarm no longer provides adequate warning during periods of high carbon monoxide concentrations or long carbon monoxide exposures.
Recognizing the serious dangers posed by such a degradation in performance, some modern domestic carbon monoxide detectors employ a mechanism to apply hydrogen as a calibration gas to the top of the sensor. Indeed hydrogen is used as a calibration gas for all types of sensors that detect reducing gases, including carbon monoxide detectors. This is because electrochemical carbon monoxide sensors are capable of sensing a number of gases in addition to carbon monoxide. These gases include hydrogen, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides. Hydrogen is used as the calibration gas because it is easily produced, and is relatively non-toxic and safe, provided that the concentration is kept below explosive levels.
Unfortunately, while typical carbon monoxide sensors do react to hydrogen, the behavior of the sensor towards hydrogen is not the same as its behavior towards carbon monoxide. Specifically, under conditions of chemical poisoning of the MEA the sensitivity to hydrogen can actually increase while the sensitivity towards carbon monoxide decreases. In such a condition, utilization of hydrogen as the calibration gas will provide a false level of security that the carbon monoxide detector is operating properly when, in fact, its ability to sense carbon monoxide has been substantially impaired.
There exists, therefore, a need in the art for a domestic carbon monoxide sensor that provides reliable self calibration and testing of its ability to properly detect concentrations of carbon monoxide under various failure conditions, including poisoning of the MEA.

Self-calibrating carbon monoxide detector and method


The present invention discloses apparatus and a method for measuring the motor current in an AC drive system in which the DC link current in a voltage source inverter (20) is separated into a transistor current, and a diode current, and then measured separately with shunts (22, 24). This results in two independent non-isolated current measurements and allows for a more accurate calculation of the magnitude of the motor current. (FIG. 2)

The present invention relates to the field of current measurement. More specifically, the present invention relates to apparatus and a method for measuring load current in an alternating current (AC) inverter drive system.
It is well known in the art that a measurement of the load current can provide means for protecting the drive system during an overload situation. It is also known that knowledge of the load current can be used as a means of measuring the output of the drive system.
In one technique, load currents in an AC drive system are measured by fitting isolating current transducers to a motor output. However, drive systems incorporating such devices are expensive.
It is also know to measure load currents by sampling the motor currents in the direct current (DC) link of the inverter. However, drive systems employing this sampling technique are sensitive to noise and measurement black spots during the pulse-width modulation (PWM) cycle when data is not available or unreliable. This problem is particularly severe at high switching frequencies.
Furthermore, the mean DC link current in the open loop AC inverter drive system can be measured by integrating over an integral number of PWM cycles. This method reduces the effects of noise on the measurement reliability. However, while this method can be used to measure the real component of the load current, the imaginary component of the current is still unknown and must be estimated. Thus any subsequent calculation of the total load current is only as accurate as the estimation of the imaginary component.
FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram of a known voltage source DC link inverter 100 which measures the load current by sampling the current flowing through the DC link 2. This type of inverter is often used in open loop AC drive systems. The DC link comprises a positive DC input 3 and a negative DC input 4, which are both in electrical connection with capacitor 6. The current is measured through the negative DC input 4 with current measurement means 12. In this example the current measurement means is a shunt. The use and operation of shunts is well known in the art of electronics. The inverter 10 is a three phase inverter comprising a first switch 14, a second switch 16, and a third switch 18. Each of the first, second, and third switches includes a respective pair of transistors, or other suitable electronic switching element: 14a and 14b, 16a and 16b, 18a and 18b; a respective pair of diodes: 14c and 14d, 16c and 16d, 18c and 18d. Each of the first, second, and third switches also comprises a respective output: 7, 8, and 9. The outputs are electrically connected to a motor (not shown).
The shunt 12 functions to measure the DC link current (IDC) into inverter 10 via the negative DC input 4. The instantaneous value of IDC can be used to provide protection to the device in situations such as drive system output short circuit. The real component of the current (Ireal) may be calculated from the mean value of IDC and used to facilitate control of the motor. However, to calculate the actual magnitude of the load current the imaginary component of the current must be estimated.
Estimation of the imaginary component of the load current can lead to errors in the calculation of the load current magnitude. These errors are worse at certain frequencies and drive system loads. Furthermore, the calculation of the real component of the current involves a division by the modulation depth of the PWM. This quantity is unacceptably inaccurate at low modulation depths and high switching frequencies.
It is an object of the present invention to provide apparatus and a method for measuring the load current in which an accurate calculation of the load current is obtained without the need for estimating the imaginary component.
According to the present invention there is provided apparatus for measuring current flowing from an inverter to a load, comprising a first current measuring means and a second current measuring means, said first current measuring means and said second current measuring means being arranged such that said first current measuring means measures a first current flowing through an inverter and said second current measuring means measures a second current flowing through said inverter.
According to an aspect of the present invention, said first current measuring means is coupled to a plurality of electronic switches forming part of said inverter, and said second current measuring means is coupled to a plurality of diodes forming part of said inverter, said first current measuring means and said second current measuring means being arranged such that said first current measuring means measures a first current flowing through said plurality of electronic switches and said second current measuring means measures a second current flowing through said plurality of diodes.
According to an alternative aspect of the present invention, said first current measuring means is coupled to a negative DC input forming part of a DC link to said inverter, and said second current measuring means is coupled to plurality of electronic switches forming part of said inverter, said first current measuring means and said second current measuring means being arranged such that said first current measuring means measures a first current flowing through said negative DC input and said second current measuring means measures a second current flowing through said plurality of electronic switches.
According to yet another alternative aspect of the present invention, said first current measuring means is coupled to a negative DC input forming part of a DC link to said inverter, and said second current measuring means is coupled to plurality of diodes forming part of said inverter, said first current measuring means and said second current measuring means being arranged such that said first current measuring means measures a first current flowing through said negative DC input and said second current measuring means measures a second current flowing through said plurality of diodes.
According to a further aspect of the present invention, said apparatus further comprises processing means coupled to said first and said second current measuring means, said processing means being arranged to calculate said load current based upon said first and second currents.
Said processing means may be further arranged to calculate the real component of the said load current based upon said first and second currents.
The current measuring means may be shunts. The electronic switches may be transistors.
Said apparatus may be included in an AC drive system. The drive system may be an open loop system. The drive system may use pulse width modulation. The pulse width modulation may be space vector modulation.
According to the present invention there is provided a method of measuring current flowing from an inverter to a load, said method comprising the steps of: measuring a first current flowing through said inverter, measuring a second current flowing through said inverter, and calculating said load current based upon said first and second currents.
According to a method aspect of the present invention, said inverter comprises a plurality of electronic switches and a plurality of diodes, said step of measuring a first current is a measurement of a current flowing through said plurality of electronic switches, and said step of measuring a second current is a measurement of a current flowing through said plurality of diodes.
According to an alternative method aspect of the present invention, said inverter comprises a plurality of diodes and is coupled to a negative DC input of a DC link, and said step of measuring a first current is a measurement a current flowing through said negative DC input, and said step of measuring a second current is a measurement of a current flowing through said plurality of diodes.
According to yet a further alternative method aspect of the present invention said inverter comprises a plurality of electronic switches and is coupled to a negative DC input of a DC link, and said step of measuring a first current is a measurement a current flowing through said negative DC input, and said step of measuring a second current is a measurement of a current flowing through said plurality of electronic switches.
Said method may include a further step of calculating a real component of said load current based upon said first and second currents.
Said method may include yet a further step of calculating an imaginary component of said load current based upon said load current and said real component of said load current.
Advantageously, the present invention provides for all measurements to be DC quantities which are integrated over an integral number of PWM cycles to cancel any adverse effects due to switching frequency harmonic noise.
Advantageously, the circulating currents are measured directly thus eliminating inaccuracies in the load current measurement due to divisions by small numbers when operating at low modulations depths.
Furthermore, the transistor current measurement may also be used for drive system protection.
While the principle advantages and features of the invention have been described above, a greater understanding and appreciation of the invention may be obtained by referring to the drawings and detailed description of the preferred embodiments, presented by way of example only, in which;

Apparatus and method for measuring current


A color cathode ray tube equipped with an in-line type electron gun, a deflection yoke designed to generate a uniform deflection magnetic field, the in-line type electron gun having a focusing grid which accommodates three pole pieces of magnetic bodies, and a magnetic field generator disposed outside the cathode ray tube so as to apply 4-pole dynamic magnetic fields to the pole pieces, thus constituting a dynamic convergence system capable of correcting any misconvergence of the three electron beams in a vertical direction or a horizontal direction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a color cathode ray tube, and more particularly to a color cathode ray tube equipped with an in-line type electron gun and a deflection yoke which is designed to generate a uniform deflection magnetic field, thus constituting a dynamic convergence system capable of correcting a misconvergence of three electron beams in a vertical direction or a horizontal direction.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In general, a deflection yoke used in color cathode ray tubes equipped with an in-line type electron gun produces a pin-cushion shape horizontal deflection magnetic field and a barrel-shaped vertical deflection magnetic field. This type of deflection yoke is advantageous in eliminating the necessity of correcting deflections by use of a dynamic convergence system, thereby requiring no complex convergence circuit. However, the non-uniform deflection magnetic field is likely to distort the beam spots owing to deflection, thereby failing to achieve high resolution particularly in a peripheral area of a picture image.
It is known that a cathode ray tube equipped with a delta type electron gun is provided with a deflection yoke capable of generating a uniform magnetic field. To overcome the problem pointed out above, the same method is applied to a color cathode ray tube equipped with an in-line type electron gun should be provided with such a deflection yoke so as to constitute a dynamic convergence system capable of correcting a misconvergence of three electron beams.
Referring to FIG. 5, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 64-62993 discloses a color cathode ray tube having a convergence unit 1 provided at the head of an anode which acts as a final accelerating grid, and a pair of mutually opposing magnetic field generators 2 and 3 mounted on the periphery of a neck portion 4 of the cathode ray tube. The convergence unit 1 includes two pairs of magnetic pole pieces 7a, 7b and 8a, 8b in a cup-shaped housing of non-magnetic metal. The pole pieces 7a, 7b and 8a, 8b are disposed with electron beam paths 5 and 6 being interposed between each pair. In addition, a center beam path 9 is disposed between a pair of shield plates 9a and 9b. The magnetic field generators 2 and 3 include U-shaped cores 2a and 3a around which coils 2b and 3b are wound, and are supported so that their leg portions are magnetically connected to the outsides of the pole pieces 7a, 7 b, and 8a, 8b, respectively.
The dynamic convergence correction is effected by passing a parabolic current or any other sawtooth-shaped waveform dynamic current through the coils 2b and 3b, wherein the dynamic current increases proportionally as the degree of beam deflection becomes large. The electron beams are deflected in the opposite direction, as indicated by the large arrows 1Oa and 10b, owing to the two-pole magnetic fields generated from the legs of the cores 2a and 3a to the pole pieces 7a, 7b and 8a, 8b.
An advantage of the dynamic convergence correction is that the corrected magnetic field is intensified by the two pairs of pole pieces, thereby ensuring an optimum convergence correction with high sensitivity. The disadvantage is that the dynamic convergence correction is only effected in a horizontal direction and cannot be effected in a vertical and a horizontal direction at the same time.

Dynamic convergence system for color cathode ray tubes having an in line electron gun


A transmission device includes: a code generator configured to generate delay measurement information; an insertion unit configured to sequentially insert the delay measurement information generated by the code generator, in each of delay measurement signals in a plurality of frames, and to sequentially transmit the plurality of frames sequentially inserted with the delay measurement information to a counterpart device on a transmission path whose path delay time is to be measured; and a detector configured to receive a plurality of frames transmitted from the counterpart device and to detect the delay measurement information included in each of delay measurement signals in the plurality of received frames.

As an example of a communication protocol related to an optical communication backbone network which transmits mass information over a long distance, an Optical Transport Network (OTN) is known which is defined in the International Telecommunication Union Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) G.709. In the OTN, a client signal conforming to specific communication standards such as, for example, the Synchronous Optical Network (SONET)/Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH), and Ethernet® is arranged in a frame having a fixed length and is transmitted on a network by using a wavelength division multiplexing technology. In a network conforming to the OTN, a transmission path is not fixed, differently from a network conforming to the SONET/SDH, and may be changed during operation of the network by, for example, extension of a transmission device. The transmission path is selected and switched to provide an optimal transmission quality of the transmission path in the network.
Path delay time is one of factors indicating the quality of the transmission path. The path delay time is measured, for example, in a steady manner. In addition, there is a recent case where a communication carrier and a contractor sign a "Service Level Agreement" according to which the communication carrier explicitly guarantees the contractor for the quality of service. In this case, it may be important for the communication carrier to measure the path delay time for management of network quality. For example, if different transmission devices facing with each other on the transmission path are managed by different communication carriers, each of the different communication carriers measures the path delay time through the transmission device managed by the corresponding communication carrier and performs a maintenance and management of the network.
In the OTN, a Delay Measurement (DM) function is defined in order to measure the path delay time in an Optical Data Unit (ODU) Path Monitoring (PM) layer and the path delay time in a Tandem Connection Monitoring (TCM) layer. FIG. 1 is a view illustrating the configuration of an ODU overhead defined in ITU-TG.709. FIG. 2 is a view illustrating the configuration of a PM overhead defined in ITU-TG.709. FIG. 3 is a view illustrating the configuration of a TCM overhead defined in ITU-TG.709.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, in an OTN, a PM overhead for monitoring a defect to a path between any transmission devices in a network or monitoring the line quality of the path is defined in the tenth to twelfth columns at the third row in an ODU overhead of an OTN frame. In addition, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, a one bit path delay measurement (DMp) signal indicating the start of delay measurement test for the path is defined in a bit 7 in a PM and TCM field in the third column at the second row. In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 1, TCM overheads (TCM1 to TCM6) for monitoring a defect to a maximum of six TCM sections randomly set on a path or the line quality of the path are defined in the fifth to thirteenth columns at the second row and first to ninth columns at the third row in the ODU overhead. In addition, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, six one-bit TCM delay measurement (DMti) signals indicating the start of delay measurement test for the six TCM sections are defined in bits 1 to 6 in the PM and TCM field.
The measurement of path delay time in the OTN is performed when a change in the above-described one-bit DM signals (DMp signal and DMti signal) is detected. Specifically, a transmission device configured to measure the path delay time inverts a DM signal in an OTN frame from a current value at the start of measurement. Then, the transmission device transmits the OTN frame including the DM signal having the inverted value to a counterpart device (e.g., a counterpart transmission device) on a transmission path to be measured. In this manner, the value of the DM signal is inverted from 0 to 1 or from 1 to 0 at the start of measurement. The inverted value of the DM signal is held until the start of the next delay measurement test. The OTN frame including the DM signal having the inverted value is received by the counterpart device via the transmission path to be measured and is returned from the counterpart device to the transmission device via the transmission path to be measured. When the DM signal having the inverted value is detected from the frame returned from the counterpart device, the transmission device terminates the measurement of path delay time. Thus, time from a point of time when the value of the DM signal is inverted to a point of time when the DM signal having the inverted value is detected is measured as the path delay time for the transmission path to be measured.
In addition, the following hitless switching system has been known. Specifically, in a device arranged opposite to a termination device (counterpart station), pseudo error information is inserted in a B2 byte of a SDH frame signal in a B2 error insertion unit, and is transmitted to the counterpart station via working and protection transmission paths. In the counterpart station, the number of errors is calculated from the B2 byte information, inserted in a M1 byte, and returned to the device via the working and protection transmission paths. In the device, a path length difference between the working and protection transmission paths is detected using a detection phase difference of the number of M1 byte errors and setting control of delay amount of working and protection transceivers is performed by a phase controller.
In addition, the following SDN transmission node-to-node distance measuring system has been known. Specifically, a measuring unit and a loop-back unit are included in the SDN transmission node-to-node distance measuring system to measure a node-to-node distance. The measuring unit starts measurement of frame round-trip time when a frame having start data inserted in a specific byte of a frame overhead is transmitted. The loop-back unit starts measurement of delay time when the start data are detected from the specific byte of the frame overhead received from the measuring unit, and stops the measurement of delay time when a specific byte of the frame overhead transmitted to the measuring unit is detected. The loop-back unit inserts the measured delay time data in the detected specific byte and returns the specific byte to the measuring unit. The measuring unit stops the measurement of round-trip time when the delay time is separated from the specific byte of the frame overhead received from the loop-back unit, and corrects the round-trip time by subtracting the separated delay time from the measured round-trip time.
Related technologies are disclosed in, for example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2006-13642, and Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2000-332715.

Transmission device, transmission network system, and path delay measuring method


A microwave proximity detector includes a microwave oscillator circuit having a dielectric resonator, or having a micro strip line as an inductor thereof so as to sense a change in an oscillation frequency or output from the oscillator circuit caused by a variation in an impedance of a circuit including the dielectric resonator, or of the micro strip line, due to a loss which takes place in a leakage magnetic field from the micro strip line when an object approaches the leakage magnetic field, thereby detecting an object in the neighborhood of the switch.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a microwave proximity detector for sensing whether or not an object which causes a loss in a leakage magnetic field from a circuit system having a microwave band oscillator circuit is present in the proximity thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventionally, there have been adopted various kinds of proximity detectors or switches, which however are attended with disdavanitges as follows.
In a high frequency proximity switch, a sensing or sense distance in which the switch is effective is small, namely, is at most half the diameter of a sense coil used in the switch (e.g. for a coil having a diameter 12 millimeters, mm, the sense distance is two millimeters). In consequence, when the switch includes a sense coil having a small diameter, there may occur a case where an object to be sensed collides with a sensor head.
In an ultrasonic proximity switch, a reverberation of a mechanical vibration of an ultrasonic vibrator thereof makes it difficult to sense an object existing within a range of at most 5 centimeters, cm (to ten centimeters) from the proximity of the sensor. In production sites such as factories and firms, ultrasonic waves generated, for example, by a collision of work machinery may also cause a wrong operation.
In a photoelectric switch, owing to properties of lights, it is difficult to sense reflection lights from objects such as a transparent object like glass and an object having a matted black surface. Namely, such an object cannot be easily sensed. Furthermore, depending on a degree of dirtiness of a lens of the sensor, dirts or oils thereon, etc., characteristics of the sensor such as a sense distance are disadvantageously varied.
In the microwave proximity sensor of the prior art, since the sense operation is carried out based on a Doppler effect (of a differential output type), there arises a difficulty when a stationary object is to be sensed. Moreover, for sensors of which the intensity of electric field is at least 3.5 f (.mu. V/m), where the frequency is in the unit of gigahertz, GHz and the value is obtained at a distance of three meters from the sensors, an approval is necessary for each sensor in conformity with the Radio Law.


Celecoxib, a COX-2 specific non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agent, is provided in combination with DFMO for the prevention and/or treatment of cancers. Provided with the present invention are pharmaceutically acceptable compositions that include a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agent, celecoxib, together with an effective amount of difluoromethylornithine.

I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the fields of cancer biology and biochemistry. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a method of cancer chemotherapy in mammals.
II. Description of Related Art
1. NSAIDS
There is an increasing body of experimental and epidemiological data suggesting that aspirin, and some other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID), exert a chemopreventive action on colorectal cancers and maybe also on stomach, esophagus (Thun et al., 1993) and even bladder (Earnest et al., 1992) cancers. Aspirin, ibuprofen, piroxicam (Reddy et al., 1990; Singh et al., 1994), indomethacin (Narisawa, 1981), and sulindac (Piazza et al., 1997; Rao et al., 1995), effectively inhibit colon carcinogenesis in the AOM-treated rat model and flurbiprofen has demonstrated anti-tumor effects in the APC(Min)+ mouse model (Wechter et al., 1997). NSAIDs also inhibit the development of tumors harboring an activated Ki-ras (Singh and Reddy, 1995).
NSAIDs appear to inhibit carcinogenesis via the induction of apoptosis in tumor cells (Bedi et al., 1995; Lupulescu, 1996; Piazza et al., 1995; Piazza et al., 1997b). A number of studies suggest that the chemopreventive properties of the NSAIDs, including the induction of apoptosis, is a function of their ability to inhibit prostaglandin synthesis (reviewed in DuBois et al., 1996; Lupulescu, 1996; Vane and Botting, 1997). It is hypothesized that this may be effected by the inhibition of cyclooxygenase (COX) activity, which suppresses the synthesis of proinflammatory prostaglandins (Hinz et al., 1999). Epidemiological and laboratory studies suggest that colon carcinogenesis is, at least in part, mediated through modulation of prostaglandin production by COX isozymes (COX-1 and -2) (Kawamori, T., et al. 1998). Recent studies, however, indicate that NSAIDs may inhibit carcinogenesis through both prostaglandin-dependent and -independent mechanisms (Alberts et al., 1995; Piazza et al., 1997a; Thompson et al., 1995; Hanif, 1996). Sulindac sulfone, a metabolite of the NSAID sulindac, lacks COX-inhibitory activity yet induces apoptosis in tumor cells (Piazza et al., 1995; Piazza et al., 1997b) and inhibits tumor development in several rodent models of carcinogenesis (Thompson et al., 1995; Piazza et al., 1995, 1997a). It is hypothesized that a potential mechanism of sulindac activity may be the direct or indirect inhibition of tyrosine kinase (Winde et al., 1998), rather than the COX inhibition of the other NSAID agents.
Several NSAIDs have been examined for their effects in human clinical trials. A phase IIa trial (one month) of ibuprofen was completed and even at the dose of 300 mg/day, a significant decrease in prostoglandin E2 (PGE2) levels in flat mucosa was seen. A dose of 300 mg of ibuprofen is very low (therapeutic doses range from 1200-3000 mg/day or more), and toxicity is unlikely to be seen, even over the long-term. However, in animal chemoprevention models, ibuprofen is less effective than other NSAIDs. Studies have suggested a beneficial effect of the NSAID, aspirin, on colon cancer incidence, with effects being evident only at a weekly total dose of 1000 mg or greater (Giovannucci et al., 1996). However, three large cohort studies have produced conflicting reports on the beneficial effect of aspirin (Gann et al., 1993; Giovannucci et al., 1996; Greenberg et al., 1993). One group of investigators has recently shown that PGE2xcex1 can be decreased at a dose between 80 and 160 mg/day. In contrast, another group of investigators have shown no such effect on colon mucosal prostaglandins at these low doses of aspirin, although substantial education of prostaglandins in upper gastrointestinal mucosa was demonstrated. The results of these studies indicate that a dose of aspirin of 80 mg is at the threshold of effect of this agent on colon mucosa. Thus, aspirin is not generally recommended for the primary chemoprevention of colorectal cancer in the general population due to questions regarding its efficacy coupled with significant risks of serious cerebrovascular and gastrointestinal adverse effects associated with long-term aspirin use (Singh, 1998).
The NSAID piroxicam is the most effective chemoprevention agent in animal models (Pollard and Luckert, 1989; Reddy et al., 1987; Ritland and Gendler, 1999), although it demonstrated side effects in a recent IIb trial. A large meta-analysis of the side effects of the NSAIDs also indicates that piroxicam has more side effects than other NSAIDs (Lanza et al., 1995). In addition, it has been suggested in at least one study that while tumors of the upper gastrointestinal tract are susceptible to pyroxicam treatment, those of the duodenum and colon are relatively resistant (Ritland and Gindler, 1999). Sulindac has been shown to produce regression of adenomas in Familial Adenomatous Polyposis (FAP) patients (Muscat et al, 1994), although at least one study in sporadic adenomas has shown no such effect (Ladenheim et al., 1995).
2. DFMO
xcex1-Difluoromethylornithine (DFMO) is an enzyme-activated, irreversible inhibitor of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) and causes depletion in the intracellular concentrations of putrescine and its derivative, spermidine (Pegg, 1988). Levels of spermine, which is derived from spermidine, are not as markedly affected by the enzyme inhibition. DFMO was initially synthesized for therapeutic anticancer usage, but it was found not to be an active cytotoxic agent in chemotherapy trials against human cancer (McCann and Pegg, 1992), except perhaps demonstrating moderate activity in the treatment of malignant brain tumors (Levin et al., 1987). In general, the compound was nontoxic, with the significant exception of hearing loss, which was reversible after the drug treatment was discontinued (Meyskens et al., 1986). The onset of the hearing loss could be associated with total cumulative dose (Croghan et al., 1991).
In experimental animal models, DFMO is a potent inhibitor of carcinogenesis that is especially active in preventing carcinogen-induced epithelial cancers of many organs, including those of the colon (Weeks et al., 1982; Thompson et al., 1985; Nowels et al., 1986; Nigro et al., 1987). DFMO acts late in the tumor-promotion phase in animals, but the precise mechanism by which it inhibits the development of polyps and cancers is unknown. Effects on cell transformation, invasion, and angiogenesis by ornithine decarboxylase and polyamines have been reported (Auvinen, 1997); for example, overexpression of ODC enhances cellular transformation and invasion (Kubota et al., 1997).
The combination of DFMO and piroxicam has been shown to have a synergistic chemopreventive effect in the AOM-treated rat model of colon carcinogenesis (Reddy et al., 1990), although DFMO exerted a greater suppressive effect than piroxicam on Ki-ras mutation and tumorigenesis when each agent was administered separately (Singh et al., 1993; Reddy et al., 1990; Kulkarni et al., 1992). In one study, administration of DFMO or piroxicam to AOM-treated rats reduced the number of tumors harboring Ki-ras mutations from 90% to 36% and 25% respectively (Singh et al., 1994). Both agents also reduced the amount of biochemically active p21 ras in existing tumors. (Singh et al., 1993). Despite the success of the drugs in model systems, phase I trials conducted with this combination resulted in a range of adverse side effects (Carbone et al., 1998).
Studies have also been conducted in which DFMO was combined with aspirin to evaluate its chemopreventive effect in to AOM-treated rats. The combination of aspirin and DFMO administered after AOM was found to be synergistic (Li et al., 1999). The results demonstrated that the aspirin and DFMO combination could prevent colon cancer when administered after AOM (Li et al., 1999).
There remains a need for effective and less toxic methods for treating cancers. Current treatment protocols, especially those for colon cancers and polyps, include tumor resection, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of death from cancer in The United States.
Accordingly, it is the object of the present invention to provide a novel method for preventing and/or treating cancer in a patient comprising administering an effective amount of difluoromethylornithine (DFMO) in combination with celecoxib.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a novel method for preventing and/or treating cancer in a patient comprising administering a dose of DFMO of about 0.05 to about 5.0 gm/M2/day, and preferably 0.05 to about 0.50 gm/M2/day and a dose of celecoxib of about 10 to 1500 mg/day, and preferably 100 to 400 mg/day.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a novel method for preventing and/or treating cancer in a patient, wherein the cancer is colon cancer, breast cancer, pancreatic cancer, brain cancer, lung cancer, stomach cancer, a blood cancer, skin cancer, testicular cancer, prostate cancer, ovarian cancer, liver cancer, esophageal cancer, familial adenomatous polyposis.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a novel method for preventing and/or treating cancer in a patient comprising administering an effective amount of difluoromethylornithine (DFMO) in combination with celecoxib to said patient wherein DFMO is administered prior to celecoxib, wherein DFMO is administered after celecoxib, wherein DFMO is administered at the same time as celecoxib, wherein DFMO is administered at least a second time, or wherein celecoxib is administered at least a second time.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a novel method for preventing and/or treating cancer in a patient, following resection of a solid tumor, wherein DFMO and celecoxib are administered prior to said resection or are administered after said resection.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a novel method for preventing and/or treating cancer in a patient, wherein the DFMO and celecoxib are administered directly to said tumor, are administered systemically, are administered into the regional vasculature of said tumor, are administered into the region lymph system of said tumor, or are administered by different routes.

DFMO and celecoxib in combination for cancer chemoprevention and therapy


A tape drive mechanism for a video tape recorder and an audio tape recorder. The tape drive mechanism automatically corrects the position of tape in the width-wise direction thereof without mechanically restricting the edge of tape. Sensors (8) and (8) on a tape path detect a dislocation of the tape (7) from a reference running position that may develop in the width-wise direction of the tape (7), a tape guide post (1) for attracting the tape (7) is moved in the width-wise direction of the tape, or inclination of a tape guide post (41) is changed to move the tape (7) in such width-wise direction by means of actuators (2), (42) and (62) that give corresponding displacement based on the values detected by the sensors (8) and (8), or the reel plate (57) is moved in the direction of width of tape to move the tape (7) together with the reel (24). The tape (7) having a small thickness is prevented against vertical movement on the tape path and is permitted to run stably without damaging the edges of the tape.

Video tape recorders or audio recorders perform a tape drive operation by means of a tape drive mechanisms provided therein, but are basically prone to such trouble that, if the tape, while being driven by that drive mechanism, is dislocated in its width-wise direction, the track of the tape results in deviation, making thus inactive the recording/reproducing functions of those recorders. To avoid the trouble, the arrangement of hitherto, conventional tape drive mechanism has been such that the tape guide posts, which allows sliding of a tape upon each of their surfaces, are equipped with a flange in order for the upper end of the tape or the lower end of the same to come in contact with the flange, or in the mechanism of the type having a rotary drum, a lead is formed on the outer surface of the drum, whereby the tape is mechanically limited its running in the width-wise direction and thus the running position of the tape is adjustingly retained within a given normal point. Further, in the past, no particular tape drive mechanism has been proposed, which has a function for positively eliminating a non-nearly or non-uniformly wound state of the tape around a tape reel. This poor tape winding has been forcibly caused into a normal winding state by the use of the flange of tape guide post or lead on the rotary drum.
However, such prior-art arrangement is based on the forcible way to cause the edges of tape (both side edges of tape as viewed width-wise) to coincide with the flanges of the tape guide post or the lead of the rotary drum, so as to mechanically restrict the running path of the tape within the width-wide direction. Consequently, if the tape is badly non-nearly wound upon a cassette reel, if the tape guide post is not disposed exactly in a perpendicular relation with the tape, or if the tape is run out of a normal path excessively in its width-wise direction due to an excessive large tension exerted on the tape, then the tape being run is at its edges subject to a non-rectilinear friction from the foregoing tape guide post flanges or lead of rotary drum, and the tape per se is not run along stably, which creates a jitters, and may give a damage to the tape in a worst case. Those unfavorable aspects will be more serious, if the tape is of a more thin thickness, and possibly the tape may be prevented from running in a worst situation. For the reasons, it has been difficult to reduce the thickness of the tape as well as to increase a memory capacity of the tape.

Kabushiki Kaisha Sankyo Seiki Seisakusho


It is desired to adopt gamut mapping using a color appearance space in the processing system of an ICC profile. Upon generating an LUT complying with the ICC profile format, a grid point outside of the visible region on the CIELAB space is moved into the visible region. The Lab values of the grid point are converted into XYZ values, which undergo color appearance conversion to acquire color appearance values. The acquired color appearance values are mapped on the color gamut of a predetermined device.

In recent years, along with the popularization of personal computers, it becomes easy to input an image using an image input device such as a digital camera, color scanner, or the like, to display and confirm that image using an image display device such as a CRT, LCD, or the like, and to output the image via an image output device such as a color printer or the like. In this case, in order to correct any color appearance difference due to the difference between color gamuts of the display and output devices, a color matching process (gamut mapping) is normally executed. That is, the color appearance difference between the devices is absorbed by the color matching process.
As one of color matching processes, a method using an ICC profile is known. Note that the ICC profile is a profile based on a format defined by International Color Consortium.
As shown in FIG. 1, the process using an ICC profile converts the RGB values of an image obtained by the input device into CIEXYZ or CIEL*a*b* values as a device-independent color space using a source profile, and converts the CIEXYZ or CIEL*a*b* values into the device RGB values of the output (display) device using a destination profile. The source profile describes an RGB to XYZ conversion matrix or an RGB to Lab conversion lookup table (LUT) that represents the color reproduction character of the input device. On the other hand, the destination profile describes a Lab to device RGB LUT according to a specific format. The LUT of this destination profile has the following format. That is, grid point data obtained by evenly n-slicing (n is an integer; to divide into n−1 slices) an L* value region 0≦L*≦100, an a* value region −128≦a*≦127, and an b* value region −128≦b*≦127 are defined, and the LUT describes device RGB values obtained by mapping these L*a*b* values onto the color gamut of the output device.
In this manner, in the processing system of the ICC profile, color matching information, i.e., gamut mapping information is described in the LUT in the destination profile together with color gamut information of the output device.
On the other hand, a color appearance model that models the human visual character with higher precision than the conventional CIELAB color space has been announced. The color values (e.g., J*a*b* values) of this color appearance space can be calculated from CIEXYZ values. By making gamut mapping using these J*a*b* values, color matching more suited to the human visual character can be done.
When an estimation of color matching using the color appearance space realized by the processing system of the ICC profile is made, a new destination profile must be generated from a destination profile of the ICC profile. Note that this generation method is the invention to explain later, however, this generation method is explained in here to clear a subject of the invention.
The destination profile is embedded with the LUT in the predetermined format that describes the relationship between the L*a*b* values and RGB values (DevRGB). In other words, in order to convert color matching information using the color appearance space into a destination profile, the following processes are required: (i) the L*a*b* grid points in the predetermined format are converted into J*a*b* values using color appearance conversion formulas, (ii) the J*a*b* values are mapped into the color gamut of the output device, (iii) the mapped J*a*b* values are converted into the device RGB, and (iv) the device RGB values are stored in an LUT. The flow of calculations is L*a*b*→J*a*b*→J*′a*′b*′→DevRGB, as shown in FIG. 2.
However, the conversion formula required to obtain the color values J*a*b* of the color appearance space does not support colors outside of the visible region. In the color appearance conversion, for example, color adaptation conversion, cone response conversion, or opponent-colors response conversion is made so the color values approximate the human visible character. The conversion method of the color adaptation conversion is linear conversion represented by matrix conversion given by:
                              A          ′                =                              (                                                                                a                    00                                                                                a                    01                                                                                a                    02                                                                                a                    10                                                                                a                    11                                                                                a                    12                                                                                a                    20                                                                                a                    21                                                                                a                    22                                                                        )                              A                                    (        1        )            The cone response conversion also performs, in addition to the matrix conversion, an exponentiation given by:
                              A          ′                =                                                            b                                                  (                                      cA                    /                    d                                    )                                            e                                      f              +                                                (                                      cA                    /                    d                                    )                                e                                              +          g                                    (        2        )            where a00 to a22, and b to g are constants (for 0≦e≦1), A is a value before conversion, and A′ is a value after conversion.
The opponent-colors response conversion converts the values after cone response conversion into coordinate J*a*b* values suited to the human visual character, and linear conversion and triangular function conversion are used as its representative conversion formulas.
According to these conversion formulas, when XYZ values indicating a color outside of the visible region are input, the color adaptation conversion (equation (1)) as the linear conversion can be calculated, but calculation errors may occur when the exponentiation like equation (2) is calculated. This is for the following reason. That is, the constants in equations (1) and (2) are set so that (cA/d) in equation (2) assumes a positive value in case of the color within the visible region. However, (cA/d) often assumes a negative value when a color outside of the visible region is input, thus disabling calculations.
More specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, of the L*a*b* grit points defined on the CIELAB space, a color (e.g., L*=0, a*=−128, b*=−128) outside of the visible region cannot be converted into J*a*b* values, and device RGB values corresponding to that grid point cannot be calculated. In practice, when color matching is done by the processing system of the ICC profile, it is impossible that an input image includes a color outside of the visible region, but a color in proximity of a boundary of the visible region often exists. In order to interpolate such color using an LUT, since not only grid points within the visible region but also those outside of the visible region are used, appropriate device RGB values must be set for the grid points outside of the visible region.
As a color matching method using the ICC profile and color appearance space, a technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-40140 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 7,027,067, issued Apr. 11, 2006) has been proposed. However, the method disclosed in this reference is different from the method described in FIG. 2. The technique disclosed in this reference loads the color gamuts of respective devices from the source profile and destination profile described in the ICC profile format into a dedicated apparatus, and attains gamut mapping by converting the respective color gamuts into J*a*b* values using a CIECAM97 conversion formula as one of color appearance conversion formulas. When this technique is used, a new destination profile that records gamut mapping information on the J*a*b* space need not be generated, and the same profiles as the conventional ones need only be used. Hence, no problems caused by impossibility of color conversion as described above occur. However, since this technique requires a special apparatus upon color matching, it cannot be used in a general image manipulation application such as PhotoShop®. Since color matching is done using the dedicated apparatus, gamut mapping information described in the ICC profile is completely ignored.
In the processing system of the ICC profile, it is required to adopt gamut mapping using the color appearance space. Not only when an ICC profile is generated but also when a process is made on the color appearance space, it is inconvenient that colors outside of the visible region are not supported.

Generating a look-up table for use in color processing


An interface and a method for incorporating program information into an electronic message are provided. According to the method, a menu of programs is generated by displaying program identifiers on a display device. At least one of the program identifiers representing a program of interest is selected. An electronic message display is generated with program text indicative of that program incorporated into a message portion of the electronic message display. The message portion is sent by electronic message to a recipient, with the program text in the message portion. Preferably, selection of the program text by a recipient of the electronic message causes the respective program to be implemented or causes certain choices on how to implement the program to be presented to the recipient.

This invention generally relates to a method and interface for incorporating program information into an electronic message, and for receiving such program information by an electronic message and/or implementing, based on the received program information, a corresponding program.
Electronic devices such as televisions and personal computers (PC) require a control system that includes a user interface system. Typically, a user interface provides information to a user and simplifies use of the device. One example of a user interface is an Electronic Program Guide (EPG) in a television system.
An EPG is an interactive, on-screen display feature that displays information analogous to TV listings found in local newspapers or other print media. In addition, an EPG also includes information necessary for collating and decoding programs. An EPG provides information about each program within the time frames covered by the EPG, which typically ranges from the next hour up to seven days. The information contained in an EPG includes programming characteristics such as channel number, program title, start time, end time, elapsed time, time remaining, rating (if available), topic, theme, and a brief description of the program""s content. EPGs are usually arranged in a two-dimensional table or grid format with time information on one axis and channel information on the other axis.
Unlike non-interactive guides that reside on a dedicated channel and merely scroll through the current programming on the other channels, usually showing only the programs which begin within the next 2 to 3 hours, EPGs allow viewers to select any channel at any time during some period into the future, e.g., up to seven days forward. Further EPG features include the ability to highlight individual cells of the grid containing program information. Once highlighted, the viewer can perform functions pertaining to that selected program. For instance, the viewer could instantly switch to that program if it is currently being aired. Viewers could also program one touch video cassette recording (VCR) or the like if the television is properly configured and connected to a recording device. Such EPGs are known in the art and described, for instance, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,353,121; 5,479,268; and 5,479,266 issued to Young et al. and assigned to StarSight Telecast, Inc.
In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 5,515,106, issued to Chaney etc., and assigned to the same assignee of the present invention, describes in detail an exemplary embodiment including data packet structure necessary to implement an exemplary program guide system. The exemplary data packet structure is designed so that both the channel information (e.g., channel name, call letters, channel number, type, etc.) and the program information (e.g., title, rating, star, etc.) relating to a program may be transmitted from a program guide database distributor to a subscriber""s receiving apparatus in an efficient manner.
User interfaces such as EPGs are applicable to analog and digital television systems and to other electronic devices such as personal computers. As electronic devices become increasingly complex with a multitude of features, the need for a robust and easy-to-use user interface becomes ever more important. For example, separate electronic systems having respective interfaces for controlling features of each system are now being combined into a single system requiring a single user interface. One specific example is the so-called PCTV which includes features of both a personal computer and a television. The user interface system for such a device must provide both clear communication of computer and television related information and provide for simple control of both computer and television related features.
Typically, however, the computer-related programs and operations are implemented independently of the television programs and operations. For example, when the user elects to compose, read and/or send an electronic message such as e-mail or electronic file, this is performed independently of any tuning, recording, and/or replaying of audio, video, or television programs. Likewise, the audio, video, or television programming, tuning, recording and/or replaying is performed independently of any information contained in electronic message. While programming information can be manually typed into an electronic message, this requires the sender to manually insert into the electronic message enough tuning information to enable the recipient to receive the subject program. The recipient then must actually read such program information and tune his television, audiovisual recording device, audio receiver and/or recorder, or the like to the relevant program for implementation of the program. The term xe2x80x9cimplementationxe2x80x9d includes, for example, displaying, audibly broadcasting, replaying, recording, and the like.
If the recipient mistakenly transcribes or forgets the information from the electronic message, the wrong program may be implemented. Likewise, if the sender of the electronic message mistakenly reads a part of the programming information when typing this information into the electronic message (e.g., wrong time, wrong channel number, etc.) or if the sender makes a typographical error, then the recipient may implement the wrong program or may attempt to implement the program at the wrong time. This can be especially problematic if the recipient attempts to implement the program after it has aired. The sender also might inadvertently leave out an important part of the programming information, such as the time of broadcast, the channel, etc.
The potential for mistakes and miscommunication in sending and receiving programming information, however, is not the only problem associated with such conventional techniques. Another problem lies in the lack of convenience. It is inconvenient for the sender to manually type the programming information into the electronic message. It also is inconvenient for the recipient to read the entire compilation of program information and then manually implement the subject program. Notably, reading of such information may break the recipient""s concentration on the subject matter of the writing. In this regard, when the programming information is not concise, it tends to distract the reader.
There is consequently a need in the art for a convenient way of incorporating into an electronic message, programming information from an interactive interface of an audio, video or audiovisual device, without having to manually type all of the requisite programming information into the electronic message. There also is a need for a convenient way of implementing a program which is referenced in an electronic message without having to read or manually transcribe all of the program information needed to implement the program.
The present invention overcomes at least one of the aforementioned problems and/or needs by providing a convenient way of incorporating into an electronic message, programming information from an interactive interface of an audio, video or audiovisual device, without having to manually type all of the requisite programming information into the electronic message.
The present inventions also provides a convenient way of electronically linking program information with the contents of an electronic message, when the electronic message is composed or sent, when the electronic message is received, or both when the electronic message is sent and received.
Furthermore, the present invention provides a convenient way of implementing a program which is referenced in an electronic message without having to read or manually transcribe or memorize all of the program information needed to implement the program.
Therefore, a method is described, comprising the steps of generating a menu of programs by displaying program identifiers on a display device, selecting at least one of the program identifiers which is associated with a program of interest, generating an electronic message display with program text indicative of the program of interest incorporated into a message portion of the electronic message display, and sending the message portion by electronic message to a recipient, with the program text incorporated into the message portion.
The present invention also provides an interface for incorporating program information into an electronic message. The interface comprises an electronically generated menu of programs, a program selector, an electronic message display, and an electronic device adapted to send a message portion of an electronic message. The electronically generated menu includes program identifiers indicative of the various programs. The program selector is adapted to select from the menu at least one of the program identifiers which is indicative of a program of interest. The electronic message display is electronically generated and is based at least in part on selection of the program identifier(s). The electronic message display includes program text indicative of the program of interest. The program text is included in the message portion of the electronic message display. The electronic device is adapted to send the message portion by electronic message to a recipient, with the program text incorporated into the message portion.
The present invention also provides a system for communicating program information via electronic message. The system comprises an electronic message receiver and an interface. The electronic message receiver is adapted to receive and display incoming electronic message. The interface is capable of incorporating program information into an electronic message and transmitting the program information electronically to the electronic message receiver. The interface comprises an electronically generated menu of programs, a program selector, an electronic message display, and an electronic device. The electronically generated menu includes program identifiers indicative of the various programs. The program selector is adapted to select from the menu at least one of the program identifiers which is indicative of a program of interest. An electronic message display is electronically generated and is based at least in part on selection of the program identifier(s). The electronic message display includes program text indicative of the program of interest. The program text is included in a message portion of the electronic message display. The electronic device is adapted to send the message portion by electronic message to a recipient at the electronic message receiver, with the program text incorporated into the message portion.
The present invention also provides an electronic message receiver for receiving program information via electronic message. The electronic message receiver is adapted to receive and display message text and program text, via electronic message, and also is adapted to process program information which is transmitted along with the message text and program text. The electronic message receiver comprises a selector adapted to select the program text in response to user actuation, to effect, based on the program information, implementation of a program represented by the program text.
The above and other objects and advantages will become more readily apparent when reference is made to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Method and interface for incorporating program information into an electronic message


The present invention provides a powder coating composition which is suitable for precoated steel plates. The powder coating composition has excellent storage stability (e.g. blocking resistance) and provides a cured film having good weather resistance and a good balance of hardness and processability. The powder coating composition comprises;. (I) 95 to 70% by weight of a polyester resin having a glass transition temperature of 40.degree. to 70.degree. C., prepared from (i) and acid component containing at least 80 mole % of an aromatic dicarboxylic acid with (ii) a polyol component which comprises PA0 (II) 5 to 30% by weight of a curing agent.. (a) at least 50 mole % of neopentyl glycol, and PA1 (b) 1 to 10% by weight of a diol selected from the group consisting of a linear chain C.sub.8 -C.sub.16 alkylene diol, 2-methyl-1,8-octane diol and a mixture thereof, and

Precoated steel plates, i.e. steel plates which are coated with paint before conducting a processing step (e.g. folding process), are widely used in the field of household appliances, automobiles and the like. The steel plates have advantages in atmosphere pollution, resource saving and labor saving, since a paint coating process after the processing is not necessary.
Contrary to the advantages, the paint to be precoated is required to have severe physical properties, especially two physical properties which are in conflict with each other (i.e. hardness and processability (e.g. folding ability)), in addition to normally required physical properties, such as adhesive properties, weather resistance, gloss and the like.
In order to comply with the required physical properties, especially hardness and processability, Japanese Kokoku Publication 62-21830 and Japanese Kokai Publication 59-8770 propose a polyester resin into which soft segments are introduced by using a monomer which is soft, such as 1,5-pentane diol, 1,6-hexane diol, sebacic acid and the like. Also, Japanese Kokai Publication 2-8242 proposes a polyester resin of which 10 to 80 mole % of a polyol component is 1,9-nonane diol, thus resulting in improvements in both hardness and processability.
However, the polyester resins proposed in the above mentioned publications adversely affect other properties when formulated into powder paint. For example, it is difficult to grind the polyester resins and they are not good for powder paint. When they are formulated into powder paint, it gives rise to the problems of poor storage stability, e.g. poor blocking resistance.