A neural network module is provided. It comprises an input layer comprising one or more input nodes configured to receive gene expression data. It also has a rule base layer comprising one or more rule nodes and an output layer comprising one or more output nodes configured to output one or more conditions. It also comprises an adaptive component configured to extract one or more rules from the rule base layer representing relationships between the gene expression data and the one or more conditions. Methods and systems using the module are disclosed as well as specific profiles utilising the system.

Many diseases and disorders, such as cancer, have very complex genetic and phenotypic abnormalities and an unpredictable biological behaviour. The cancer cell represents the end-point of successive generations of clonal cell evolution, multiple gene mutations, genomic instability, and erroneous gene expression.
The biological behaviour of cancer is determined by multiple factors, most importantly the biological characteristics of the individual cancer, but also the biology of the patient such as age, sex, race, genetic constitution and the like, and the location of the cancer. This biological aud genetic complexity of cancer means that any individual cancer may follow an unpredictable clinical course, with an uncertain outcome for the patient.
Where multiple treatment options are available for a particular cancer, it is necessary to have an accurate prognosis for the patient, so that treatment can be tailored to the individual disease of that patient.
The clinical and information tools currently available to clinicians for the classification and prognostic evaluation of cancer have serious limitations, especially when applied to an individual patient. It would be desirable to integrate the clinical and biological information for a given cancer in an individual patient's particular cancer.
Gene expression data is available using standard microarray data. Gene expression microarrays, such as available from Affymetrix™, provide a large volume of data and can be used to characterise a particular disease or condition in a patient by comparing diseased or abnormal tissue with healthy normal tissue. However, the data obtained can be difficult to process to obtain meaningful information about a particular condition or disease.
This problem is particularly acute in medical applications relating to patient treatment. In order to influence patent management in a clinical environment, clinical decision support systems must have a high level of confidence. Shipp et al have elegantly demonstrated the potential of machine learning techniques for prognostic strafication of patients, however their approach misclassified 30% of the patients in terms of predicting the outcome of their treatment. They achieved 70% correct prognosis of cured cases of B-cell lymphoma cancer, and wrongly predicted 12% of the cases as cured in contrast to the actual fatal outcome. This accuracy is not appropriate for a clinical application of the model. The models on the same data presented in Alizadeh et al are not clinically applicable either.
Another difficulty with prior art approaches using machine learning is that they often do not provide an easy means for the model should new data become available. Instead, complete retaining of the model is required. This is time-consuming and potentially expensive as it involves intensive computational resources. It is desirable that any system used be able to adapt to the addition of new data without complete retaining of the system.
It has been found by the inventors that in a general view, techniques utilising Evolving Connectionsist Systems (ECOS) techniques have the following advantages when compared with the traditional statistical and neural network techniques: (i) they have a flexible structure that reflects the complexity of the data used for their training; (ii) they perform both clustering and classification/prediction; (iii) the models can be adapted on new data without the need to be retained on old data; (iv) they can be used to extract rules (profiles) of different sub-classes of samples. The rules (profiles) are fuzzy with some statistical coefficients attached.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a method for determining a relationship between gene expression data and one or more conditions or prognostic outcome, or at least to provide the public with a useful choice.

Medical applications of adaptive learning systems using gene expression data


A cloud storage system includes a plurality of cloud storage modules for storing and managing data and a data encryption processing device. The data encryption processing device includes a priority manager for managing priorities on encrypting data of a plurality of cloud storage modules by using information on whether encryption processing for each of the plurality of the cloud storage modules is supported; and an encryption requester for selecting at least one cloud storage module on the basis of the priorities managed by the priority manager when receiving request of a data encryption, and performing, by the selected at least one cloud storage module, encryption after delivering the data to the selected cloud storage module.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art. Generally, in order to use an information technology (IT) environment, a function is implemented by integrating elements such as a server, a storage, software, a solution, a line, etc., and solutions, such as a website, mail ERP, CRM, etc., are developed. The inventor(s) has experienced that in such development, the introduction of software and the integration and customizing of systems are needed, and thus, it is required to study separate technology. The inventor(s) has noted that cloud computing technology has been recently developed in which an IT environment is constructed to enable the use of a service even without professionalism of separated technology and is usable.
Such cloud computing can be largely categorized into three fields: namely, (i) Software as a Service (SaaS) that provides a software application service as a service; (ii) Platform as a Service (PaaS) that provides a standardized platform as a service; and (iii) Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) that provides an infrastructure, such as a storage, a network, etc., as a service.
A cloud storage system, one of the cloud computing technology, virtually makes different users' data appear to be stored in separate spaces, but actually stores the data in the same storage space physically.
The cloud storage system does not encrypt and store data itself when storing the data but encrypts and stores the data in transmitting the data.
On the other hand, the inventor(s) has noted that a function of encrypting and storing a document is necessarily needed for storing a document (for example, documents of companies) requiring security in a cloud storage.
However, the inventor(s) has experienced that the cloud storage system that provides a storage service for large-scale data causes overhead of calculation necessary for encrypting and decrypting data when desiring to directly support an encryption function, and thus, the use of many resources is needed.

Cloud storage system, data encryption processing device and data encryption method in cloud storage system


A golf club has a clubhead with a neck portion, or "hosel", integrally formed therewith. The hosel has a generally cylindrical shape with a corresponding cylindrical concentric bore hole formed in a portion of the hosel. One or more depressions of a predetermined shape are formed in the outer surface of the hosel wall material by selectively removing portions of the hosel wall material. The depressions are formed to a depth that does not penetrate the entire thickness of the hosel wall material. This leaves the entire inner surface of the hosel wall material available for adhesion to a golf club shaft inserted into the hosel bore hole. The depressions may be in the form of fluted slots or hemispherical dots, and may be disposed at predetermined locations around the circumference of the outer surface of the hosel wall material.

This invention relates to golf clubs, and more particularly to a golf club having a neck portion or "hosel" that has selected portions of the hosel outer wall material removed, resulting in a plurality of depressions formed in the hosel wall.
In the prior art of golf clubs (either "woods" or "irons"), it is known to form a clubhead with an integral hosel portion. The hosel has a bore hole formed internal to the hosel material. The bore hole may be formed through the entire length of the hosel (i.e., a "throughbore"), or may be formed through only a portion of the hosel (i.e., a "blind bore"). The hosel is formed at an angle with respect to the bottom, or "sole", of the clubhead. This angle is referred to as the "lie" angle of the club. The bore hole in the hosel is operable to receive an end of the shaft of the golf club. The shaft is secured to the clubhead within the hosel by one or more of a number of means, including pins and/or adhesives. It is critical that the means employed in securing the shaft to the clubhead within the hosel be of high integrity so as to withstand relatively large torsional strains placed thereon due to the impact of the clubhead with the gold ball.
In the early part of the 20th century, golf clubs are constructed with heads and wooden shafts. The wooden shafts were secured within bores in the hosels of the clubheads by means of adhesives, and often times reinforced by one or more transverse pins. Relative to modern-day hosels, these early hosels where much longer and had a much larger outside diameter. Holes were drilled clear through the hosel material to facilitate placement of the pins through the entire diameter of the wooden shaft. Further, slots or holes were formed clear through the hosel material. It was discovered that the wood shaft would swell over time into the slots, thereby helping to secure the shaft to the hosel. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,266,529 to Mattern.
However, problems with this type of shaft-to-clubhead connection included the fact that the holes in the hosel allowed the adhesive to seep out of the hosel, and further allowed moisture to get into the wood of the shaft, thereby degrading the integrity of the connection. Also, the wooden shaft tended to dry out and shrink in warmer temperatures, creating a loose fit of the shaft within the hosel. The loose fit permitted a large amount of torsional forces at impact of the clubhead with the ball to be absorbed by the pin. Over time, this caused cracks in the shaft.
Later, when metal shafts were developed, it was still known to "pin" the shaft to the hosel. It was further known to form slots clear through the hosel material to provide resiliency to the aforementioned torsional force at impact of the clubhead with the golf ball. The slots were formed on the hosel below the point where the pin was located. See for example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,892,482 to Cash, Jr. As taught in this patent, the shaft was not fixedly attached to the hosel below the point where the pin was attached. Thus, the shaft was allowed to swivel to a limited extent with respect to the hosel. However, in such a connection, the pin absorbed the major portion of the torsional force at impact of the clubhead with the ball.
The United States Golf Association ("USGA") is golf's governing body in the United States. The USGA has strict and "rigid" rules that specify, inter alia, the physical characteristics of a golf club. Included among the rules is one that specifies that the mass or weight of the club must remain constant during the round of golf. Thus, a golfer cannot just "blindly" add mass or weight to the clubhead during play in an effort, for example, to increase the moment of inertia to thereby reduce the effects of "off center" shots. Instead, the club designer must recognize the location, within the clubhead, of unnecessary or undesirable mass or weight that may be available for repositioning in a more useful area of the clubhead. It has long been recognized that the hosel adds unnecessary and undesirable weight to the clubhead. This is why modern clubheads have hosels that are relatively smaller in outside diameter and shorter in length, as compared to the prior art.
Alternatively, it is known in the modern art to design a clubhead with no hosel whatsoever. This is true for clubs of the "metal wood" type. The no-hosel design entirely removes the weight of the hosel and allows the weight to instead be placed in the clubhead, where it is more desirable and beneficial.
The no-hosel design is not without its drawbacks, however. Firstly, eliminating the hosel largely reduces the amount of area available inside the clubhead for bonding to the outside of the shaft. This causes problems over time due to the aforementioned torsional strain placed on the interface of the clubhead with the shaft. In the no-hosel design, this large amount of torsional strain is distributed along a much smaller amount of the tip of the shaft. Such large amount of strain may exceed the strength of materials used on some composite shafts.
Another problem with the no-hosel design lies in the fact that a different sensation, or "feel", is experienced by the golfer when the club is swung. In other words, the golfer tends to perceive that the balance of the club is "off" (i.e., is much different then what the golfer is accustomed to using with a traditional clubhead having a hosel).
A further problem with the no-hosel design is that the clubshaft has lost some of its normal "kick" or spring. This is because the shaft designers attempt to build up the walls of the shaft, or they insert other materials in the tip of the shaft to protect the shaft from breaking off at the clubhead.
In light of the foregoing, it is accordingly a primary object of the present invention to provide a golf clubhead with a hosel having an internal bore hole for receiving an end of a shaft, and having selected portions of the hosel wall material surrounding the bore hole removed to reduce the weight of the hosel.
It is a general object of the present invention to simultaneously reduce the weight of a hosel and redistribute the weight to the remainder of the clubhead where it is more beneficial.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a reduced weight hosel with ample inner surface material to allow for proper adherence of the shaft within the hosel, thus allowing for proper and adequate support of the shaft within the hosel.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a hosel that allows a golf club manufacturer to use a normal golf club shaft that does not require the clubhead end of the shaft to be reinforced before the shaft is inserted into the hosel.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a hosel that provides for proper "feel" and "balance" of the golf club to a golfer as the club is swung.
The above and other objects and advantages of this invention will become more readily apparent when the following description is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.


The invention relates to a composition for thermoplastic composite material comprising:                30% to 60% by volume, preferentially 35% to 50% by volume, of a thermoplastic matrix comprising from 50% to 100% by weight of a semi-crystalline polyamide polymer and from 0% to 50% by weight of at least one additive and/or of at least one other polymer,        40% to 70% by volume, preferentially 50% to 65% by volume, of long reinforcing fibers (or of long fibrous reinforcement),        said thermoplastic matrix impregnating said long reinforcing fibers (or said long fibrous reinforcement),            said semi-crystalline polyamide polymer being a nonreactive composition of at least one polyamide polymer, said composition being that of said thermoplastic matrix defined above,    and said reactive polyamide prepolymer of the composition a) and said polyamide polymer of the composition b) comprising or consisting of at least one BACT/XT copolyamide.

A major challenge in composite materials is to find a polyamide resin which meets the following specifications:                High Tg for a wide range of operating temperatures;        The lowest possible Mp, so as to be readily processable without recourse to excessively specific mold metallurgies;        A very good crystallization capacity in order to be able to be rapidly demolded and thus to be compatible with intensive production cycles, such as those used in the motor vehicle industry;        A high rigidity, including under hot conditions, so as to be able to obtain the highest possible moduli of the final material.
Document CN 104211953 describes a polyamide composition comprising from 30% to 99.9% by weight of a polyamide resin comprising from 60 to 95 mol % of 10T, from 5 to 40 mol % of 5′T, 5′ corresponding to 2-methyl-1,5-pentamethylenediamine, from 0% to 70% by weight of a reinforcing filler and from 0.1% to 50% by weight of an additive.
The polyamide resin has a melting point above 260° C.
EP 550 314 describes, among its examples, (nonreactive) copolyamide compositions in a search for melting points of greater than 250° C. and limited Tg values, with the majority of the examples cited having an excessively low Tg (<80° C.) or an excessively high Mp (>300° C.).
EP 1 988 113 describes a molding composition based on a 10T/6T copolyamide with:                40 to 95 mol % of 10T        5 to 40% of 6T.
Polyamides with a high melting point of greater than 270° C. are targeted in particular. The examples mentioned and FIG. 1 teach that the melting point of these compositions is at least approximately 280° C.
WO 2011/003973 describes compositions comprising from 50 mol % to 95 mol % of a unit based on a linear aliphatic diamine comprising from 9 to 12 carbon atoms and on terephthalic acid and from 5% to 50% of unit combining terephthalic acid with a mixture of 2,2,4- and 2,4,4-trimethylhexanediamine.
US 2011/306718 describes a process for the pultrusion of reactive aliphatic polyamides having low Tg values in combination with chain extenders of polymeric structure bearing several (and many more than 2) anhydride or epoxide functions. This document does not describe any nonpolymeric extender.
WO 2014/064375 describes in particular a PA MXDT/10T which exhibits an excellent compromise between the various characteristics described above. Unfortunately, the m-xylene diamine (MXD) monomer used is highly subject to side-reactions, giving rise in particular to the formation of branching.
The drawbacks of the prior art, with the absence of a good compromise between the mechanical performance levels and the processing ability (ease of transformation) at lower temperature with a shorter production cycle time are overcome by means of the solution of the present invention which targets semi-crystalline PA compositions having an excellent compromise between high mechanical performance levels (mechanical strength), in particular under hot conditions, and easy processing. It in fact has a high rigidity and has a glass transition temperature >120° C., a Mp<290° C., and also an excellent crystallization capacity (Mp−Tc<40° C.), which makes it a matrix of choice for composite applications, in particular for the wind power, motor vehicle or aeronautical industry.
More particularly, in the case of the reactive compositions, it is sought to have faster reaction kinetics while at the same time having a rate and/or temperature of crystallization of the polymer formed that are also higher.
The choice of a semi-crystalline polyamide polymer, as matrix of the composite material of the invention, has the advantage, compared with amorphous polyamides, of significantly improved mechanical performance levels, especially at elevated temperature, such as creep resistance or fatigue resistance. In addition, having a melting point above 200° C. has the advantage in the motor vehicle industry of being compatible with treatments by cataphoresis, which a structure of amorphous PA type does not permit. As for the amorphous materials, a Tg of greater than or equal to 90° C. is sought so as to ensure good mechanical properties for the composite over the entire working temperature range, for example up to 90° C. for the wind power industry, up to 100° C. for the motor vehicle industry and up to 120° C. for the aeronautical industry. Conversely, an excessively high melting point, in particular of greater than 290° C., is on the other hand harmful as it requires processing the composite at higher temperatures with constraints in terms of molding equipment to be used (and associated heating system) and excessive consumption of energy with, in addition, risks of thermal degradation due to heating at temperatures higher than the melting point of said polyamide, with as a consequence the modification of the properties of the final thermoplastic matrix and of the composite which results therefrom. The crystallinity of said polymer must be as high as possible, but with a melting point Mp that is not too high (Mp<290° C. and more particularly <280° C.) in order to optimize the mechanical performance levels and the crystallization rate and/or the crystallization temperature must be as high as possible, in order to reduce the molding time before ejection of the molded composite part with a selective choice of the composition of said semi-crystalline polyamide.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Semi-crystalline polyamide composition with high glass transition temperature for composite material, process for manufacturing same and uses thereof


A clutch cover assembly (1) includes a clutch cover (2), a pressure plate (3), a diaphragm spring (4), stud pins (11), a conical spring (5) and a support plate (10). The conical spring (5) is disposed between the diaphragm spring (4) and a support portion (10a) and biases the diaphragm spring (4) away from engagement with the pressure plate (3). The support plate (10) includes the support potion (10a) and a protruding portion (10b) which supports the diaphragm spring (4).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a clutch cover assembly having a support member which supports a conical spring in engagement with a diaphragm spring.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a clutch cover assembly is mounted on a flywheel of an engine and is used to transmit a drive force of an engine to a transmission. Such a clutch cover assembly is mainly composed of a clutch cover fixed to the flywheel, a pressure plate for clamping a frictional member of a clutch disc assembly against the flywheel, and a biasing member for biasing the pressure plate toward the flywheel.
In general, a diaphragm spring is used as the biasing member mentioned above. The diaphragm spring is composed of an annular spring portion and a plurality of lever portions extending radially inwardly from the inner circumferential edge of the annular spring portion. The diaphragm spring biases movement the pressure plate such that the pressure plate is urged into engagement with the flywheel. When the lever portions are pressed, the diaphragm spring is moved to release its biasing force from the pressure plate.
The force required to dis-engage the clutch is generally equal to the force imparted by the diaphragm spring on the pressure plate. Upon release of the biasing force from the pressure plate, the release load required to continue movement of the diaphragm spring increases as the displacement of the diaphragm spring continues in a relationship generally defined as force displacement characteristics of a spring. Each type of spring has its own force displacement characteristics. For diaphragm springs, at a certain critical point (the peak point), the release load decreases gradually, and again gradually increases at another certain critical point. In a clutch cover assembly, it is desirable for the peak point (the maximum load) of a diaphragm spring to be set such that the peak point corresponds to the clutch mechanism being between an initial clutch engagement position (where a clutch disc is new and has a maximum thickness) and a clutch engagement position where a frictional member of the clutch disc assembly is worn. Therefore, when the frictional member is worn, the release load required to disengage the clutch mechanism may increase as the clutch becomes worn.
Recently, a clutch cover assembly has been fitted with a conical spring improves the release load characteristics. Such a conical spring biases the diaphragm spring in a direction away from the pressure plate. In this case, the release load of the diaphragm spring and the release load of the conical spring are combined. Therefore, the combined release load can be optionally altered by selecting a conical spring having a appropriate load characteristics. For example, at the stroke position where the release load of the diaphragm spring is large, by combining the release load of the diaphragm spring with the release load of the conical spring to reduce the composite load, it is possible to obtain flat release load characteristics where the change of load is suppressed. In other words, when the frictional member is worn, the force required to step on the clutch pedal is hardly changed and the operational feeling upon the release operation is therefore enhanced.
In the conventional clutch cover assembly described above, wire rings are used to support the diaphragm spring from the pressure plate side and a separate a support member such as a support plate is used to support the conical spring. Therefore, the structure for improving the release load characteristics is complicated.


A universally mountable sensing edge comprises an elongated sheath defining a compressible cavity with a force sensor located therein. A center securing member extends upwardly from the top wall of the sheath, has a T-shaped base portion and a removable mounting strip extending from the base portion. At least one T-shaped edge securing member extends upwardly from the top wall of the sheath at least a distance generally equivalent to the distance that the upward extension of the T-shaped base portion of the center securing member extends from the top wall of the sheath. The at least one T-shaped edge securing member is disposed proximate to at least one of the front and rear sidewalls of the sheath. The universal sensing edge is attachable to a structure compatible with the mounting strip, the base portion of the center securing member, or the T-shaped edge securing member.

The present invention relates generally to a sensing edge for a structure that is movable through a range of motion between open and closed positions and, more particularly, to a universal mount for sensing edges, which can be used to attach a sensing edge to a variety of different automatic doors.
Sensing edges are generally well known and typically include an elongated outer sheath in which a force sensing switch (sensor) is positioned. The sensing edge is attached to a lead or bottom edge of a structure that is movable through a range of motion between open and closed positions, e.g., an automatic overhead door, by a securing or mounting ember located on the sensing edge. As the door closes, if an obstruction is present, pressure is applied to the sheath and the force sensing switch actuates suitable control circuitry for controlling the movement of the door. The force sensing switch positioned within the sheath typically comprises a pair of flexible, spaced-apart, electrically conductive sheets positioned on the upper and lower sides of a layer of non-conducting foam having a plurality of openings extending therethrough from the upper to the lower side. Upon application of force to the sheath, either or both of the conductive sheets are deflected into electrically conductive engagement with each other, to thereby complete an electrical connection and actuate suitable control circuitry for controlling (opening) the door.
Automatic doors generally have several different geometries for receiving the sensing edge. Accordingly, conventional sensing edges are typically manufactured with a corresponding number of different geometries to match the different door geometries. As a result, one drawback associated with conventional sensing edges is that sensing edge manufactures must manufacture the same sensing edges, with different mounting geometries. This increases the sensing edge manufacturer's costs. Another drawback associated with conventional sensing edges is that door manufacturers typically must maintain an inventory of each type of mounting geometry, which increases the door manufacturer's costs and makes inventory tracking more burdensome. Ultimately, the increases in manufacturing and inventory costs are imparted onto the end consumer.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to have a single sensing edge with a universal mount for mounting onto a variety of structures, e.g., doors, with different sensing edge receiving geometries. Although multiple types of mounting geometries may be available and generally well known in the field, a single sensing edge with a universal mount was not previously available that could be readily attached to a variety of leading door edges at the time of installation regardless of the geometry of the door.


A three-unit zoom lens system includes in order from an object side thereof a first lens unit G1 having a negative refracting power, a second lens unit G2 having a positive refracting power, a third lens unit G3 having a negative refracting power, and an aperture stop which is at an image side of the first lens unit G1, and at the object side of a lens surface nearest to the image side of the second lens unit G2, and which moves integrally with the second lens unit. At a time of zooming from a wide angle end to a telephoto end, a distance between the first lens unit G1 and the second lens unit G2 is narrowed, and a distance between the second lens unit G2 and the third lens unit G3 changes. The second lens unit G2 moves toward the object side at the time of zooming from the wide angle end to the telephoto end. The third lens unit G3 moves to be positioned at the object side at the telephoto end, with respect to the wide angle end. The three-unit zoom lens system satisfies predetermined conditional expressions.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a three-unit zoom lens system of a small size, and an image pickup apparatus such as a compact digital camera in which the three-unit zoom lens system is used.
2. Description of the Related Art
In an image pickup apparatus such as a digital camera and a video camera, a high image quality, a high magnification, and a thinning of a lens frame have been sought. For example, a zoom lens system which includes a first lens unit having a negative refracting power, a second lens unit having a positive refracting power, and a third lens unit having a negative refracting power as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 2004-333572 has hitherto been known. This zoom lens system has a comparatively favorable optical performance, while securing a high magnification ratio of about 4.
Moreover, recently, an image pickup element which picks up a favorable image even when an angle of incidence of light rays incident on a portion around an image pickup area of an image pickup element is made large as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 2006-351972 has been known.

Three-unit zoom lens system and image pickup apparatus using the same


Methods and apparatus for biomedical data analysis to produce enhanced images of tubular structures are disclosed. A Gaussian convolution of an input image is used to calculate a Hessian matrix. An Eigen decomposition of the Hessian matrix produces eigenvectors and eigenvalues, which are sorted to determine bright tubular structure detection according to high and low values that represent brightness, and structure shape. A tubularity computation calculates the probability of a voxel of interest being part of a tubular network. Embodiments may be implemented to share computer resources such as between a computer processing unit (CPU) and a graphic processing unit (GPU).

Biomedical image generation and analysis involves detection and extraction of vascular structures and tissues from a two dimensional images or three dimensional renderings. Computations required to detect and extract such structures are intensive and can have undesirable latencies. Known techniques that can produce images with adequate fine detail to properly extract fine structures such as vascular structures are not capable of real time computations, or suffer significant latency.

Biomedical data analysis on heterogeneous platform


Disclosed is a picture quality testing apparatus and method of a liquid crystal display which can measure at least any one of gray inversion and color shift. An apparatus for testing the picture quality of a liquid crystal display includes a liquid crystal display for displaying a test pattern, an image pickup device for photographing the test pattern of the liquid crystal display, a measurer for measuring the transmittance of the test pattern photographed by the image pickup device, and a rotating means for rotating at least one of the liquid crystal display and the image pickup device while the image pickup device photographs the test pattern.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for testing the picture quality of a liquid crystal display, and in particular, to a picture quality testing apparatus and method of a liquid crystal display which can measure at least any one of gray inversion and color shift.
2. Description of the Related Art
A liquid crystal display (LCD) displays images by controlling the light transmittance of a liquid crystal by an electric field. To this end, the LCD includes an LCD panel in which liquid crystal cells are arranged in the form of matrixes, and a driving circuit for driving the LCD panel.
The LCD panel includes a thin film transistor substrate and a color filter substrate which face each other, a liquid crystal injected between the two substrates, and a spacer for maintaining a cell gap between the two substrates.
The thin film transistor substrate has gate lines, data lines, thin film transistors formed with switching elements at the intersection of the gate lines and the data lines, pixel electrodes connected to the thin film transistors in the unit of liquid crystal cells, and an alignment film coated on those whole elements. The gate lines and data lines receive signals from the driving circuit through their respective pads. The thin film transistors provide the pixel electrodes with pixel signals supplied to the data lines in response to scan signals supplied to the gate lines.
The color filter substrate includes color filters formed in the unit of liquid crystal cells, a black matrix for separating the color filters from one another and reflecting external light, a common electrode for supplying a reference voltage to the liquid crystal cells, and an alignment film coated on those whole elements.
In a conventional LCD, there frequently occur gray inversion that a gray level is inverted and color shift that color is changed when its screen moves in up/down directions or in right/left directions. However, since there are no definite ways of testing the gray inversion and color shift, those phenomena are felt and evaluated through the human eyes. Therefore, an apparatus which is capable of measuring the gray inversion and color shift has been in demand.

Apparatus and method for testing picture quality of liquid crystal display


A vented hat stringer for an aircraft comprises a first hat-stringer leg with a first-hat-stringer-leg surface, a second hat-stringer leg with a second-hat-stringer-leg surface, a first hat-stringer sidewall, a second hat-stringer sidewall, and a hat-stringer connecting wall, comprising a hat-stringer-connecting-wall surface and a virtual hat-stringer-connecting-wall symmetry plane, passing through hat-stringer connecting wall. The vented hat stringer further comprises a ventilation opening, extending through at least one of the first hat-stringer sidewall or the hat-stringer connecting wall, or extending through at least one of the second hat-stringer sidewall or the hat-stringer connecting wall. The ventilation opening defines a ventilation-opening centerline, wherein the ventilation-opening centerline does not coincide with the virtual hat-stringer-connecting-wall symmetry plane.

Some structures, such as aircraft, include structural components that are stiffened with hat stringers. The hat stringers additionally or alternatively provide a ventilation path for fluid, such as, but not limited to, air and/or fuel vapor, associated with the structural component. To accommodate a ventilation system connection, the hat stringers are provided with one or more holes therein, thus affecting the rigidity of the hat stringers.

Vented hat stringers and methods of forming the same


A method for automatically constructing a database query for data assets associated with multimedia works. The database query is based on the context of a selected point of interest of a multimedia work. The point of interest is selected by a user interacting with the multimedia work and pausing the multimedia work at the point of interest. A database query is automatically constructed that is constrained by data that is associated with the point of interest. In addition, a list of attributes of the data that is associated with the point of interest is displayed to the user before the search is performed. The user has the option to further constrain the database search by selecting one or more attributes from the list of attributes. The user may also constrain the database search by adding keywords to a keyword entry field.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to multimedia production studios and more particularly to a method for constructing a database query from an intuitive browser driven user interface to a database system containing diverse multimedia data assets.
2. Related Art
The production of multimedia works is a complicated, expensive and time consuming process that can involve huge production teams, enormous budgets, and resources of entire production studios. As used herein, the term multimedia works can include all types of films including animated films, videos and conventional analog films. Such films may include the use of animation and/or computer generated graphics. Further, multimedia works can include interactive movies, video games and other entertainment and educational type of content that run on personal computer systems, dedicated game consoles, kiosk machines and the like. It is becoming more common that the production of multimedia projects consume monetary budgets and other resources that have traditionally been associated only with the production of major Hollywood feature films.
Large production teams can consist of hundreds of people working together on a single multimedia project. Many different computerized tools are typically used to create, edit, and otherwise manipulate the diverse multimedia data which typically comprises a variety of heterogeneous formats and structures. Even during the production of conventional analog films, computerized tools may be used early on in the development process to model the film, for example. Thus, production studios must manage, store and track the vast amounts of multimedia data during the production process. It is desirable that such data be readily available to all members of the production team in a fast and efficient manner.
Multimedia data, as the term is used herein, includes any and all types of data that is useful during the production of a multimedia work. This not only includes data that is ultimately a part of the multimedia end product, but data that is used during the creation process, such as early prototypes and inspirational art. For example, early prototypes may be in the form of sketches, models, storyboards, workbooks or the like. Inspirational art is used during the creation process, but is generally not included in the end product. For example, during the process of creating a video game of an automobile race, it may be useful to view actual film footage of the Indianapolis 500. If such a film clip is used in this manner it is typically stored in the production studio's database so that it can be viewed by the author and shared among the members of the production team.
Further, each instance of multimedia data does not necessarily comprise multiple data components or different types of media. Multimedia data can comprise data of a single media type. For example, a TIFF data file is an industry standard for a compressed data format that comprises a single still video image. Thus, even though a TIFF file comprises a single media type, it is considered to be multimedia data because it can be used during the production process of a multimedia production. Likewise, an MPEG data file, which is an industry standard for a compressed data format that comprises full-motion video as well as audio data components, is another example of multimedia data.
Typically, it is very difficult to find particular multimedia data elements (hereinafter referred to generally as `data assets`) that are stored in the vast storage facilities of a production studio. This is particularly true due to the sheer number of data assets that are managed by a production studio and the nature of the data assets themselves. Such data assets typically provide little evidence as to their contents. Conventionally, in order to find particular multimedia data assets, users are required to browse through a file management system or perform computer database searches based on a database query.
Browsing files within a file management system generally entails using a file browser that allows the user to traverse nodes in a file system hierarchy. Generally, the user is provided with very little information about the data assets. Such information includes for example, a file name, which may not be at all descriptive of its contents, creation and/or modification date(s) and possibly a brief description.
Formulating computer database queries may be equally if not more cumbersome. Such queries typically involve filling out electronic forms by specifying specific values assigned to pre-defined attributes. After the database query is constructed, a database application program searches and retrieves a list of assets that match the specific query. This process may be difficult, especially for studio personal who are not generally versed in computer database technologies. In addition, it is very difficult to retrieve data in this fashion because users must often supply non-intuitive details about the data asset, such as a frame and/or a sequence numbers, file names, key words and the like. Such details may no longer be remembered by a user or may be unknown because the user is someone other than the creator of the database asset.
What is needed, therefore is an improved method for finding and accessing multimedia data assets in a production studio environment.

Browser driven user interface to a media asset database


A method and system for determining an airspeed of an aircraft, known as assisted aircraft, comprises: a) determining a position; b) measuring a ground speed; c) receiving a plurality of messages from a plurality of other assisting, aircraft, each message containing a first item of information, indicating a position of an assisting aircraft, and a second item of information, indicating a wind speed at the position; d) estimating a wind speed at the position of the assisted aircraft by interpolating the wind speed values at the positions of the assisting aircraft obtained in step c); and e) computing a true speed of the assisted aircraft by using the vector difference between its ground speed, measured in step b), and the wind speed estimated in step d). The method can check operation of an anemometric subsystem aboard an aircraft, to compensate for any malfunction and/or to enable automatic piloting.

The CAS is a fundamental parameter of flight control, because it represents the ability of an aeroplane to maintain flight. The CAS is an indispensable item of information for the operation of the autopilot systems.
Conventionally, conventional speed is measured by subsystems of on-board sensors and probes, of "Pitot or Pitot-static" type (which also provide altitude information) or of LIDAR type, and their associated pressure sensors. In the event of a measurement subsystem fault, altitude information can be obtained independently, for example using a satellite navigation system (GNSS). On the other hand, no satisfactory solution exists at this time for determining the airspeed of the aircraft in such an eventuality. Aircraft constructors indicate the procedures to be followed in this case, to enable manual piloting of the aircraft.
The document EP 2 348 285 discloses the possibility of computing the airspeed of an aircraft on the basis of knowledge of its ground speed—obtained using a satellite navigation system—and the wind speed. In the event of a fault in the anemometric subsystems, this latter item of information can be estimated on the basis of statistical data or be communicated by a ground station. This solution is not very satisfactory because the estimate of the wind speed value risks being marred by significant uncertainty.
The article by A.C. in't Veld et al. "Real-time Wind Profile Estimation using Airborne Sensors", AIAA Guidance Navigation and Control Conference, 8-11 Aug. 2011, Portland, Oreg., United States (AIAA 2011-6662) discloses a method for estimating a wind speed profile as a function of altitude in a TMA (Terminal Manoeuvring Area) by Kalman filtering of data acquired by sensors aboard aircraft and transmitted according to the ADS-B protocol. The aim of this method is not to compensate for the fault in or the absence of the anemometric subsystems, but to know the local wind speed at different altitudes from that at which the aircraft is proceeding.

Method and system for determining an airspeed of an aircraft


The present invention provides a post-framing system for building construction. The post-framing system includes support posts and wall sections that can be prefabricated and transported to the job site for assembly. The support posts are at least 3-ply, having an upper ply member, a lower ply member, and at least one middle ply member attached to and interposed between the upper and lower ply members. Pre-framed low and high wall sections are attached to the support post to form the building frame.

Traditionally, post-framed buildings were marketed towards the farm/ranch and industrial/commercial population for general machine storage and warehousing. However in recent years these types of buildings have become more popular in more up-scale environments such as residential neighborhoods, being used, for example, in vehicle/camper/boat storage, woodworking shops, paint shops, small-scale mechanics shops, or just a place for the common retiree to "piddle." There is also a growing population who use these types of buildings as dwellings or summer homes on rivers or lakes. The change in consumer base and application has increased the need to heat and cool these buildings, which require conformity to local and regional building codes, such as, insulation and electrical wiring.
The traditional method for constructing a post-framed building is by framing the building perimeter with support posts. For example, a series of 6×6 treated post or 3-ply 2×6 laminated poles are positioned on eight foot centers about the building perimeter. The support posts are positioned at a vertical depth of four feet, with the above ground height of the support post equaling the eve height. After the support posts are set (which can be quite difficult with increasing eve height due to the length of the 6×6 support post and the need for man power or machine) and temporarily braced, the side girts or "nailers" are added. The girts are most commonly 2×4-16′ and are placed flat ways on the outside of the post at 24″ on center up the support post. A skirt board can be added and consists of two or more rows of treated 2×6-16′ tongue and groove nailed at the outside base of the support posts flat ways with the bottom row contacting the ground. After the girts and the skirt boards are placed on all four sides of the building, the trusses are added.
The trusses are placed on eight foot centers and fastened to the top side of the support post at the desired eve height, being supported by the support post. Purlings (roof "nailers") are nailed parallel to the walls at 24″ on center. The purlings are 2×4 nailed on edge. Corrugated steel is added to the roof and nailed or screwed to the purlings. The side steel is added and screwed to the side girts.
While the traditional system has worked well for many years, it has some deficiencies. For example, the traditional system lacks flush mounting surface for the attachment of inside liners (plywood, OSB, or corrugated steel). As a result, the consumer who chooses to insulate and line the inside walls and ceiling has increased construction cost in material and man hours for the construction of the flush mounting surfaces.
The traditional system also has its disadvantages for the building contractor. Of main concern to the contractor is to erect a building in a timely manner without compromising quality. In order to accomplish this one must have the machinery and tools necessary to provide a safe and efficient working environment. One disadvantage to the traditional system is the higher the eve height of the building, the longer the posts become, making them very heavy and awkward to handle with manpower, and, in many locations, awkward to maneuver even with machinery.
Accordingly, a need for an improved post-framed system exists. Ideally, the system will benefit both the consumer and the contractor to increase cost effectiveness, efficiency, and productivity. Additionally, the system will be more economical and increase building quality to the consumer who intends to insulate and finish the interior of the building and will be adaptable to any style, shape, or size of building.


Embodiments of a system include a cloud computing center with one or more servers, storage coupled to the one or more servers, and a communication interface coupled to the one or more servers. A plurality of devices are communicatively coupled to the communication interface of the cloud computing center, so that the plurality of devices can communicate with the cloud computing center and with each other via the cloud computing center. At least one of the plurality of devices is a vehicle. A plurality of functional modules include instructions that, when executed by the cloud computing center, by at least one the plurality of devices, or by both the cloud computing center and at least one of the plurality of devices, enable functions including remote or direct interaction with the vehicle and, when there is direct interaction, personalization of the vehicle.

An average person usually has several electronic devices such as a smartwatch and cell phone. But despite their enormous benefits, one problem with devices is that the presentation can be unsuitable in certain circumstances. When driving a car, for instance, it is difficult to use a smart-watch or smartphone, because they can create distraction and, moreover, the displays can be small and hard to see. Passengers don't have the distraction, but still must deal with small displays. In addition, in many cases the devices don't easily cooperate with each other, making it difficult to seamlessly switch from one device to another. A platform that allows seamless interaction among devices, including a car, as well as customization and personalization of the devices, would be very useful.


‘PMA Tib 1’ is a new variety of Tibouchina plant that is suitable for planting in gardens, containers, landscaping, and screen plantings having large flower size and volume that are mauve/purple at maturity.

The present invention comprises a new and distinct cultivar of Tibouchina plant, botanically known as Tibouchina mutabalis and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name 'PMA Tib 1'.
The new and ornamental variety was selected by the breeder as a result of an ongoing breeding program that has been conducted by the inventor for more than thirty years at the inventor's nursery in Victoria Point, Queensland, Australia. The purpose of the breeding program is to produce novel varieties of Tibouchina in varying plant sizes, flower colors, and which are well-suited to a range of climate zones. 'PMA Tib 1' is a hybrid plant derived from the deliberate controlled cross-pollination of the unpatented female parent, an individual seedling of Tibouchina mutabilis, named 'Noelene', and the unpatented male parent, an individual plant of Tibouchina mutabilis named 'Jazzie'. The inventor emasculated flowers of the female parent and applied pollen that was freshly collected from the male parent in 2002. The parent plants were isolated to prevent open pollination. In 2004, the inventor selected 'PMA Tib 1' as a seedling that had been raised from the cross-pollination described herein. Selection was based on the criteria of habit, flower color, and plant dimensions. The plant was then propagated in 2006 via vegetative cuttings to produce a new generation for final evaluation.
Further, asexual reproductions of 'PMA Tib 1' in Victoria Point, Queensland, Australia has demonstrated that the combination of characteristics as herein disclosed for the new cultivar are retained and reproduced true to type through more than six successive generations of asexual reproduction.
The color references made herein are to The R.H.S. Colour Chart of The Royal Horticulture Society of London, except where general color terms of ordinary significance are used.
The present invention has not been evaluated under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary with variation in environment without a change in the genotype of the plant.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and determined to basic characteristics of 'PMA Tib 1' which, in combination, distinguish this Tibouchina plant as a new and distinct cultivar:                1. White flowers with a purple margin upon first opening that turn completely mauve/purple when mature;        2. Dense plant habit;        3. Strong vigor;        4. Saucer-like, multi-colored flowers;        5. Large flower size with overlapping petals;        6. Abundant flowers; and        7. Woody, long-lived, and large shrub.
'Noelene' exhibits a lighter mauve/pink mature flower color, larger mature plant dimensions, and lack of significant petal overlap than 'PMA Tib 1'. 'Jazzie" exhibits smaller flowers than 'PMA Tib 1' and single purple colored petals that do not distinctly change in color.
Further, the new variety exhibits a larger flower size, larger mature plant dimensions, and significantly overlapping petals than 'Chameleon' (unpatented).


A method and apparatus for incrementally backing up database files is described. In one embodiment, the present invention replicates an original database file for the purpose of creating a backup database file. The backup database file is subsequently stored in a data store and the original database file is monitored for at least one change (i.e., new e-mail message). In response to a detected change, the change to the original database file is copied to the backup database file so that the two database files are replicas of each other.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to file storage, and more particularly, to a method for incrementally backing up database files.
2. Description of the Related Art
Modern computer networks generally comprise a plurality of user computers connected to one another and to a computer server via a communication network. To provide redundancy and high availability of the information in applications that are executed upon the computer server, multiple computer servers may be arranged in a cluster, i.e., forming a server cluster. Such server clusters are available under the trademark VERITAS CLUSTER SERVER from Veritas Software Corporation at Mountain View, Calif. In a server cluster, a plurality of servers communicate with one another to facilitate failover redundancy such that when software or hardware, i.e., computer resources, become inoperative on one server, another server can quickly execute the same software that was running on the inoperative server substantially without interruption. In addition to providing redundancy and high availability measures, a computer network is required to backup copious amounts of data on cluster servers in order to achieve a reliable and steadfast network environment.
One form of data commonly backed up to a cluster server is a database file. Traditional methods for backing up database files residing on a client computer, such as MICROSOFT OUTLOOK Personal Folder Files (known as PST files because these files carry the extension "pst"), consume a significant amount of network bandwidth. Notably, considerable amounts of redundant data are transferred over the network every time a backup of these files is performed. For example, a PST file contains detailed information about a user's e-mail, calendar, contacts, journal, notes, and other data needed to support the functionality of OUTLOOK. A PST file, or any database file, is typically very large in size and is frequently modified. However, backing up the entire database file every time a change is made to the file is an inefficient use of network resources.
Therefore, a need exists in the art for a more efficient method and apparatus for the capture and backup the incremental changes in a database file.

Method for performing incremental backup of database files


An antenna system for transducing radio-frequency energy includes: a first antenna sub-system comprising a plurality of radiators and a ground conductor, each of the plurality of radiators being sized and shaped to transduce millimeter-wave energy between first wireless signals and first electrical current signals; and a second antenna sub-system comprising a first radiator configured to transduce sub-6 GHz energy between second wireless signals and second electrical current signals, wherein the first radiator comprises the ground conductor.

Wireless communication devices are increasingly popular and increasingly complex. For example, mobile telecommunication devices have progressed from simple phones, to smart phones with multiple communication capabilities (e.g., multiple cellular communication protocols, Wi-Fi, BLUETOOTH® and other short-range communication protocols), supercomputing processors, cameras, etc. Wireless communication devices have antennas to support communication over a range of frequencies.
It is often desirable to have multiple communication technologies, e.g., to enable multiple communication protocols concurrently, and/or to provide different communication capabilities. For example, as wireless communication technology evolves from 4G to 5G or to different wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, for example, mobile communication devices may be configured to communicate using different frequencies, including frequencies below 6 GHz often used for 4G and some WLAN communications, and millimeter-wave frequencies, e.g., above 23 GHz, for 5G and some WLAN communications. Communicating using different frequencies, however, may be difficult, especially using mobile wireless communication devices with small form factors.


A fan comprises a rotatable hub, a plurality of fan blades coupled with the hub, and a plurality of air fences coupled with the fan blades. Each fan blade has a free end and an opposite end secured to the hub. The air fences are positioned at selected locations along the length of the fan blades, between the ends of the fan blades. Each air fence includes a fin, which may extend upwardly or downwardly from the fan blade. Each air fence may be formed of a resilient material and may be configured to allow the air fence to be snapped onto a fan blade. Each air fence may define an opening through which a fan blade may be inserted. One or more surfaces of the air fence may be contoured to complement a surface contour of an airfoil shaped fan blade.

A variety of fan systems have been made and used over the years in a variety of contexts. For instance, various ceiling fans are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,284,960, entitled "Fan Blades," issued Oct. 23, 2007; U.S. Pat. No. 6,244,821, entitled "Low Speed Cooling Fan," issued Jun. 12, 2001; U.S. Pat. No. 6,939,108, entitled "Cooling Fan with Reinforced Blade," issued Sep. 6, 2005; and U.S. Pat. No. D607,988, entitled "Ceiling Fan," issued Jan. 12, 2010. The disclosures of each of those U.S. patents are incorporated by reference herein. Additional exemplary fans are disclosed in U.S. Pub. No. 2008/0008596, entitled "Fan Blades," published Jan. 10, 2008; U.S. Pub. No. 2009/0208333, entitled "Ceiling Fan System with Brushless Motor," published Aug. 20, 2009; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/773,094, entitled "Ceiling Fan with Variable Blade Pitch and Variable Speed Control," filed May 4, 2010, the disclosures of which are also incorporated by reference herein. It should be understood that teachings herein may be incorporated into any of the fans described in any of the above-referenced patents, publications, or patent applications.
A fan blade may be formed of several components that permit its configuration to be changed in a modular fashion. Examples of modular fan blades are disclosed in U.S. Pub. No. 2010/0104461, entitled "Multi-Part Modular Airfoil Section and Method of Attachment between Parts," published Apr. 29, 2010, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein. A fan blade or airfoil may also include additional reinforcement relative to the hub of the fan. Merely exemplary fan blade reinforcement components and configurations are described in U.S. Provisional Patent App. No. 61/369,953, entitled "Fan Blade Retention System," filed Aug. 2, 2010, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein. Alternatively, any other suitable type of component or feature may be used to reinforce the coupling of a fan blade with a fan hub; or such components or features may simply be omitted.
The outer tip of a fan blade or airfoil may be finished by the addition of an aerodynamic tip or winglet. Merely exemplary winglets are described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,252,478, entitled "Fan Blade Modifications," issued Aug. 7, 2007, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein. Additional winglets are described in U.S. Pub. No. 2008/0014090, entitled "Cuffed Fan Blade Modifications," published Jan. 17, 2008, filed Sep. 25, 2007, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein. Still other exemplary winglets are described in U.S. Design Pat. No. D587,799, entitled "Winglet for a Fan Blade," issued Mar. 3, 2009, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein. In some settings, such winglets may interrupt the outward flow of air at the tip of a fan blade, redirecting the flow to cause the air to pass over the fan blade in a perpendicular direction, and also ensuring that the entire air stream exits over the trailing edge of the fan blade and reducing tip vortex formation. In some settings, this may result in increased efficiency in operation in the region of the tip of the fan blade. In other variations, an angled extension may be added to a fan blade or airfoil, such as the angled airfoil extensions described in U.S. Pub. No. 2008/0213097, entitled "Angled Airfoil Extension for Fan Blade," published Sep. 4, 2008, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein. Other suitable structures that may be associated with an outer tip of an airfoil or fan blade will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. Alternatively, the outer tip of an airfoil or fan blade may be simply closed (e.g., with a cap or otherwise, etc.), or may lack any similar structure at all.
The interface of a fan blade and a fan hub may also be provided in a variety of ways. For instance, an interface component is described in U.S. Pub. No. 2009/0081045, entitled "Aerodynamic Interface Component for Fan Blade," published Mar. 26, 2009, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein. Alternatively, the interface of a fan blade and a fan hub may include any other component or components, or may lack any similar structure at all.
Fans may also include a variety of mounting structures. For instance, a fan mounting structure is disclosed in U.S. Pub. No. 2009/0072108, entitled "Ceiling Fan with Angled Mounting," published Mar. 19, 2009, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein. Of course, a fan need not be mounted to a ceiling or other overhead structure, and instead may be mounted to a wall or to the ground. For instance, a fan may be supported on the top of a post that extends upwardly from the ground. Alternatively, any other suitable mounting structures and/or mounting techniques may be used in conjunction with embodiments described herein.
It should also be understood that a fan may include sensors or other features that are used to control, at least in part, operation of a fan system. For instance, such fan systems are disclosed in U.S. Pub. No. 2009/0097975, entitled "Ceiling Fan with Concentric Stationary Tube and Power-Down Features," published Apr. 16, 2009, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein; U.S. Pub. No. 2009/0162197, entitled "Automatic Control System and Method to Minimize Oscillation in Ceiling Fans," published Jun. 25, 2009, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein; WIPO Pub. No. WO/2009/100052, entitled "Automatic Control System for Ceiling Fan Based on Temperature Differentials," published Aug. 13, 2009, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein; and U.S. Provisional Patent App. No. 61/165,582, entitled "Fan with Impact Avoidance System Using Infrared," filed Apr. 1, 2009, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein. Alternatively, any other suitable control systems/features may be used in conjunction with embodiments described herein.
In some settings, it may be desirable to replicate or approximate the function of a winglet in a component that may be located at a position on a fan blade other than at the free end of the fan blade. Such a component may provide an effect on fan efficiency similar to the effect provided by a winglet, albeit at one or more additional regions of the fan blade. In particular, such a component or accessory may serve as an aerodynamic guide or air fence, interrupting slippage of air along the length or longitudinal axis of the fan blade; and redirecting the air flow to a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the fan blade, above and/or below the fan blade.
While a variety of components have been included with fans and fan systems, it is believed that no one prior to the inventors has made or used the invention described herein.
The drawings are not intended to be limiting in any way, and it is contemplated that various embodiments of the invention may be carried out in a variety of other ways, including those not necessarily depicted in the drawings. The accompanying drawings incorporated in and forming a part of the specification illustrate several aspects of the present invention, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention; it being understood, however, that this invention is not limited to the precise arrangements shown.


Alkylamine-substituted perthiocarbamates capable of controllable release of hydropersulfides (RSSH) and carbonyl sulfide (COS) and their use in treating or preventing ischemia-reperfusion injury are described.

The discovery of H2S as an endogenously produced signaling molecule has stimulated interest in H2S-derived species as possible biological mediators. H2S signaling is proposed to occur via post-translational modification of protein cysteine residues (RSH) to form hydropersulfides (RSSH). Mustafa et al., 2009; Gadalla and Snyder, 2010; Filipovic et al., 2018; and Ju et al., 2017. Recent reports indicate that much of the biological effects attributed to H2S could instead be due to RSSH and polysulfides. Ida et al., 2014; Ono et al., 2014; and Toohey, 1986.
Several reports have shown that small molecule hydropersulfides, such as cysteine hydropersulfide (Cys-SSH), and glutathione hydropersulfide (GSSH), are ubiquitous and highly prevalent in mammalian cells, tissue, and plasma. Mustafa et al., 2009; Ida et al., 2014; Numakura et al., 2017; and Kunikata et al., 2017. Furthermore, numerous enzymes and proteins have been reported to have RSSH modifications at many cysteine residues. Massey and Edmondson, 1970; Branzoli and Massey, 1974; Dóka et al., 2016; Longen et al., 2016; and Wright et al., 2006. Recently, Akaike and co-workers have shown that Cys-SSH is biosynthesized and attached to tRNA by the cysteinyl tRNA synthetases (CARS), and subsequently is translationally incorporated into proteins. Akaike et al., 2017. The prevalent nature of RSSH in cells suggests that they could have important biological functions.
RSSH display distinct chemistry, which may be important for their biological utility. For example, RSSH are superior nucleophiles and more potent reductants than their corresponding thiols because of the presence of unshared electron pairs on the sulfur atom adjacent to the nucleophilic sulfur atom. Cuevasanta et al., 2015; Cuevasanta et al, 2019; and Saund et al., 2015. RSSH and related species have been proposed to behave as potent antioxidants and redox signaling intermediates. Ida et al., 2014; Ono et al., 2014; Numakura et al., 2017; Kunikata et al., 2017; Saund et al., 2015; Millikin et al., 2016; Shibata et al., 2016; Alvarez et al., 2017; and Yang et al., 2019. Recent reports have demonstrated that RSSH are efficient H-atom transfer agents toward alkyl, alkoxyl, peroxyl, and thiyl radicals, confirming their promise as potent antioxidants. Bianco et al., 2016; Chauvin et al., 2017. Unlike thiols, RSSH also can undergo transsulfuration reactions because of their electrophilic properties in the neutral state. Saund et al., 2015; Fukuto et al., 2018. The sulfane sulfur in RSSH can be reversibly transferred to other free thiols, such as glutathione (GSH) or cysteine (Cys-SH), to form GSSH or Cys-SSH, respectively. Furthermore, studies have suggested RSSH involvement in the detoxification of environmental electrophiles. Bianco et al., 2019; Lin et al., 2019; Shinkai and Kumagai, 2019. Yet, despite the increasing evidence of the role of RSSH in redox signaling, the biological functions of RSSH remain elusive. This deficiency is partly due to the instability of RSSH under physiological conditions.
Small molecule donors of reactive sulfur species are essential tools that can be used to elucidate their biological chemistry. To this end, several RSSH donors have been reported (FIG. 1, prior art). For example, precursors containing an activated disulfide bond have been developed to rearrange spontaneously at physiological pH thereby producing RSSH. Artaud and Galardon, 2014. A novel class of S-substituted-thioisothioureas was recently reported to be efficient RSSH precursors. Khodade and Toscano, 2018. Wang and co-workers have developed esterase-sensitive RSSH prodrugs and demonstrated their cardioprotective effects. Zheng et al., 2017. Similarly, Xian and co-workers have reported fluoride/acid-activated RSSH donors. Kang et al., 2018. Recently, H2O2-triggered self-immolative RSSH donors have been developed that exhibit cytoprotective effects against oxidative stress. Powell et al., 2018; Bora et al., 2018. These findings highlight the therapeutic potential of small molecule RSSH donors against oxidative stress-related diseases. Although chemical tools for RSSH generation have emerged, no convenient methodology for the controlled and extended release of RSSH over long time periods is currently available.

Alkylamine-substituted perthiocarbamates as dual precursors to hydropersulfide and carbonyl sulfide


A semiconductor device includes a memory module provided with a plurality of memory cells, a verify determination unit that performs quality determination of read data that have been read from the memory cells on the basis of the read data and an expected value prepared in advance, and a power source monitoring circuit that detects fluctuations equal to or greater than a predetermined variation rate in a power source voltage supplied to the memory module and outputs a power source abnormality detection signal. Furthermore, the verify determination unit invalidates a result of the quality determination when the power source abnormality detection signal indicates an abnormal state of the power source voltage.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and a verify method for the semiconductor device, and more particularly relates to a semiconductor device having a memory module and determining whether a write operation to the memory module is normal by verify processing and to a verify method therefor.
2. Description of Related Art
A flash memory is has been widely used in recent years as a memory device (for example, a memory module) that is incorporated in a semiconductor device or attached externally thereto. Verify processing is performed to determine whether a write operation in a flash memory is normal. In the verify processing, write data to a memory module are taken as an expected value, read data that are obtained by reading again the written data are compared with the expected value, and whether the write operation is normal is determined by a match result of the write data and read data.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. H11-306774 discloses an example of a semiconductor memory device performing the verify processing. An example of processing flow (referred to hereinbelow as conventional verify processing flow) of verify processing of the semiconductor memory device disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. H11-306774 is shown in FIG. 7. As shown in FIG. 7, in the conventional verify processing flow, a power source voltage supplied to a semiconductor memory device is detected (S101) prior to conducting the verify processing (steps S102 to S104). Then, verify processing (steps S102 to S104) is carried out, and when the verify result in step S104 indicates a no-good write (No branch of step S104), a retry write operation (steps S107 to S119) is performed. Where the verify result indicates a successful write (Yes branch of step S104), read setup processing is performed (S105) and the processing flow ends. Furthermore, when the verify result indicates a no-good write (No branch of step S104), where the number of cycles of retry write operation has reached a limit (Yes branch of step S105), the write operation is determined to be not good (step S120) and the processing is then ended via step S105.
Here, in the retry write operation in the conventional verify processing flow, a unit of write data to a memory cell is determined correspondingly to the power source voltage detected in step S101. In the conventional verify processing flow, the lower is the power source voltage, the smaller is the unit of write data that are written in one operation. In the example shown in FIG. 7, when the power source voltage is the lowest, write data to be written in one operation are taken as 4 bit and the write operation is performed in four cycles (steps S109 to S113). As the power source voltage increases, the bit number of write data is increased (steps S116 to S118 and step S119). In the conventional verify processing flow, the increase in write time at a low power source voltage is inhibited by controlling a unit of data during retry write operation correspondingly to the power source voltage.

Semiconductor device and verify method for semiconductor device


Provided is an X-ray analysis system with which it is possible to set appropriate conditions for vapor phase decomposition with ease. The X-ray analysis system includes an X-ray spectrometer and a vapor phase decomposition apparatus. The X-ray spectrometer includes: an X-ray source configured to irradiate a measurement sample having a thin film present on its surface with primary X-rays; a detector configured to measure an intensity of reflected X-rays, or an intensity of fluorescent X-rays; and a calculation unit configured to calculate a film thickness or a coating mass of the thin film based on the intensity of the reflected X-rays or the fluorescent X-rays. The vapor phase decomposition apparatus includes: a vapor phase decomposition portion configured to perform vapor phase decomposition on the thin film; and a control portion configured to determine a vapor phase decomposition time based on the film thickness or the coating mass.

In the process of manufacturing a substrate to be used for a semiconductor or the like, contaminants adhering to a substrate are analyzed. Known methods of analyzing contaminants include X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, and atomic absorption spectroscopy. Those analysis methods require a certain mass or more of contaminants, but the amount of contaminants adhering to a substrate may be too small to detect the contaminants. In view of such a case, there is known a vapor phase decomposition (VPD) method in which contaminants are subjected, or a thin film containing contaminants is subjected, to vapor phase decomposition and drying, and then the contaminants are sequentially collected from the entire or partial surface of the substrate through use of liquid droplets and concentrated in the liquid droplets, to thereby be able to analyze the contaminants. When an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer or an atomic absorption spectrometer is used, the collected liquid droplets are directly analyzed. When a total reflection X-ray fluorescence spectrometer is used, the collected liquid droplets are dried on the substrate, and are then analyzed.
For example, in Patent Literature 1, there is disclosed an analysis system including: a sample pretreatment apparatus configured to subject a thin film on a surface of a substrate to vapor phase decomposition and drying, then drip a solution onto the substrate, move the solution on the surface of the substrate while the solution is held by a retainer, and collect the thin film containing an object to be measured; a total reflection X-ray fluorescence spectrometer; and a transport apparatus. There is also disclosed a VPT method of subjecting a thin film to vapor phase decomposition and drying, and then performing a total reflection X-ray fluorescence analysis without performing a collecting process. In addition, there is disclosed a point that respective apparatus are centrally controlled as an entire system.

X-ray analysis system, x-ray analysis device, and vapor phase decomposition device


Fees due from transactions in electronic commerce are processed by building a transaction information database with transaction event objects based on events in each transaction. After retrieving fee rules from a fee rule database, a determining step detects if the fee rule applies to information in a transaction event object. Then, if the fee rule applies, a calculating step calculates the fee based on the fee rule and the information in the transaction event object. A fee object for a recipient entity is created based on the fee calculated by said calculating step and is stored in a payment database. An accumulating step sums the payments for a recipient entity from the fee objects in the payment database. The fee rules are general fee rules and specific fee rules. The general fee rules are applied to information in a transaction event object, and a calculating step calculates a general fee based on the general fee rule and the information in the transaction event object. Thereafter, the specific fee rules are applied to information in a transaction event object, and the calculating step calculates a specific fee based on the specific fee rule and the information in the transaction event object.

1. Field of The Invention
This invention relates to a method and apparatus for automatically tracking, calculating and electronically paying taxes, royalties and other fees associated with transactions in electronic commerce systems. More particularly, the invention relates to tracking electronic transactions through multiple phases of the transaction occurring in multiple transaction locations, computing the correct taxes and fees and paying those taxes and fees to the appropriate recipient.
2. Description of the Problem
The Internet, particularly the World Wide Web, has provide an opportunity for a dramatic expansion of electronic commerce. Goods are shopped for, purchased, paid for and in some cases delivered over the Web. Such transactions usually have multiple phases such as shopping, purchase, warehousing, shipping and delivery. Further, each of these phases from shopping to delivery of the goods typically occurs in different contractual fee or tax fee jurisdictions.
Thus, one problem in electronic commerce is tracking the phases or events of the transaction occurring in each location or jurisdiction where that event carries tax or a contractual fee. For example, a customer participating in a given electronic transaction is in Portland, Oreg. The customer uses an Internet Service Provider (ISP) in San Jose, Calif., to dial into a seller's web site located in Boston, Mass. The customer purchases a product from a seller whose actual location is in New York City. The product is shipped from the seller's warehouse in New Jersey to the customer in Portland, Oreg. The seller must now track all events in this transaction carrying a tax fee or a contractual fee, compute the tax or other fee for the transaction, collect from the customer and pay the tax or other fee to the correct recipient.
Another problem in electronic commerce illustrated in the above example is that the transaction event in a given jurisdiction may or may not be taxable. The tax laws in many jurisdictions relating to electronic commerce are changing rapidly. In some jurisdictions, the laws have been updated and are clearly specified as to their impact on electronic commerce. In other jurisdictions, the laws are often unclear or untested as to their relevance to electronic commerce. Further, the tax laws in a given jurisdiction sometimes have specific provisions related to specific types of goods. Accordingly, a business wishing to market goods on the web has a labyrinth of laws to analyze when update its processes for paying taxes. Further, multiple events in the transaction must be tracked, and evaluated for tax if any in multiple jurisdictions. Tax records must be kept and taxes must be paid for the correct event in the appropriated jurisdiction.

Computer-based fee processing for electronic commerce


The invention provides a method of determining the range of a radar signal reflecting object by utilizing a radar frequency carrier wave modulated by a first short code having a first repetition rate and a second code having a bit rate equal to the first code repetition rate. A received echo is first passed to an analogue correlator for correlation against a delayed version of the first code, and the output of the analogue correlator is fed to a digital correlator for correlation therein against the second code. In this way, the high bandwidth (greater range resolution) of analogue correlation can be combined with the lower bandwidth (longer ambiguity function) of digital correlation to provide high resolution target detection without ambiguity and at a fast rate without the need for a very large number of correlators.

As is well known, the range of a radar echo producing object can be determined by the elapsed time between propagation of a radar signal and receipt of an echo. The distance travelled by the radar signal, twice the range of the echo producing object is determined by multiplying C, the speed of light, by the elapsed time. A radar beam, with no beam spread, will provide a unique identification of the location of the echo producing object by the elapsed time and by the beam direction. However, radar beams have a beam width in both azimuth and elevation and unless the echo signal is time differentiated, an object which produced the echo may be located anywhere within the footprint of the beam. Time differentiation may be effected in many ways. The simplest, a single pulse, will indicate, by the elapsed time to detection of the echo, that an echo producing object lies on an annulus of radius centred on the radar platform wherefrom the radar signal is propagated but of arc length extending from edge to edge of the beam footprint. If the pulse is repeated, an ambiguity function arises in that a received echo may be caused by reflection of the first pulse from a more distant object or the reflection of the second pulse from a nearer object. The ambiguity function is related to the pulse repetition rate.
If the radar signal is propagated as a continuous wave, then it is conventional to modulate a radar frequency carrier wave with an identifiable modulation to form the radar signal. The identifiable modulation may take the form of a code. The elapsed time to receipt of the code is indicative of a range cell wherein the reflecting object lies. Repetition of the code introduces an ambiguity function which is related to the code repetition rate and, again, each range cell is part annular in shape. Thus, the ambiguity function defines range bands, each band comprising a plurality of range cells. An individual range cell may be identified by correlation as hereinafter described. If the range band is wide enough (e.g. equal to the distance between minimum and maximum desired ranges) then there will only be one correlating range cell and the location of the echo producing object (as far as range is concerned) is uniquely identified. If the range band is narrow, that is much less than the desired search range. Correlation by code will indicate that an echo producing object lies within a particular range cell of a range band, e.g. the nth cell, but not the range band in which that cell lies. Other means are then necessary to resolve the ambiguity function to determine in which range band the range cell lies. Using an n-bit code, n range cells can be identified within a range band, each range band being of width equal to the distance travelled by the radar signal during the propagation period p of the n-bit code and each range cell is of radial width equal to the distance travelled by the radar signal during each bit period that is during the time .sup.p/.sub.n seconds.
Correlation is effected by comparing the modulation of a received echo with the modulation applied to the propagated signal delayed by a sequence of predetermined intervals, the predetermined intervals being of duration .sup.p/.sub.n. Thus, the propagated signal may be tapped and delayed by a preset delay and fed to a correlator whereto an amplified received echo is also fed.
Positive correlation indicates that a radar signal reflecting object lies within that range cell corresponding to the preset delay. The range cell is of course one of a plurality of range cells repeated at the ambiguity function distance i.e. the reflecting object lies in one of the repetitive range cells associated with the successful correlation. The interval between the preset delays is arranged to be equal to the bit length of the code (.sup.p/.sub.n). As aforesaid, such an interval determines the radial width of each range cell. The code length p provides a minimum required integration period of the apparatus.
Both analogue and digital correlators are known. Analogue correlation is used in Signature Measurement and Analysis (SMA) high range resolution radars. Analogue correlation has the advantage of ability to correlate wide bandwidth (for example, 1 GHz and above) signals. It has the disadvantage of requiring, for each range cell, a separate correlator. Thus, the hardware requirement may be described as massive. Further, the data gathering potential of analogue correlators is slow when compared with digital correlation (see below).
For example, at a modulation frequency of 1 GHz, each range cell (the range resolution) is only 0.15 meters in radial width. This is considerably better than is normally required. Using a 64 bit modulation code (reasonable for analogue correlation), the ambiguity function is, however, only 9.6 meters. A longer code would increase the ambiguity function but other measures are normally resorted to to resolve the ambiguity function.
FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic representation of analogue correlation. A carrier wave 1 of radar frequency is biphase modulated using a 64 bit maximal linear code 2 with a bit rate of 1 GHz. The received signals (echoes) are fed to an analogue correlator together with the 64 bit code to which is applied a stepwise variable time delay. For each time delay T.sub.R +t.sub.n (where T.sub.R is a delay requisite to a minimum desired range and t.sub.n is the additional stepwise increment thereto between t=0 at n=1 to t=64 nano secsonds at n=64), the correlator mixes the applied signals. The output of the correlator includes an integrator or low pass filter 26. The output of the filter 26 is graphically illustrated at the bottom of FIG. 1 on the assumption that an echo occured when code input to the correlator was delayed by T.sub.R +t.sub.1 i.e. T.sub.R seconds. As stated above, the code input is delayed by a further nanosecond and fed to the correlator 22 again (or to a second similarly arranged analogue correlator) to determine if any signal reflecting object lies in the next repetitive 0.15 m range cells corresponding to a delay of T.sub.R +t.sub.2. Thus, the analogue correlator 22 is capable of reporting a reflecting object lying within a 0.15 m range cell but ambiguously. Other means are necessary to resolve the ambiguity. For each range cell in the range bands, a separate correlator can be used.
Digital correlation (known also as "compression" correlation) of digitally encoded propagated waveforms provides large quantities of range information very rapidly. However, digital correlation is limited in bandwidth (having a typical maximum between 10 MHz and 20 MHz) and its suitability in radar use is limited by the consequent poor range resolution and Doppler sidelobe performance.
For example, at a code bit rate of 10 MHz, the range resolution (the radial width of each range cell) is 15 meters. Coding the propagated wave with a 2048 bit code results in an ambiguity function of 30.72 Km. At a bit rate of 20 MHz, the resolution improves to 7.5 meters but the ambiguity function, for the same coding, drops to 15.36 Km. Whilst the higher ambiguity function is desirable, the range resolution even at 20 MHz is unsatisfactory.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of and an apparatus for determination of range of a radar echo producing object maximizing the advantages of both analogue and digital correlation whilst minimizing the disadvantages thereof.