Methods and systems are provided for simulating chemical and biological processes in a distributed technical computing environment. A technical computing client may associate a job, comprising one or more tasks, with a chemical or biological process. The technical computing client can distribute these tasks to technical computing workers for execution of the task. The technical computing workers execute the task and may provide a result of the task for the technical computing client. As such, the present invention allows the use of multiple computing resources on a network to perform simulation to facilitate decreasing the computation time.

The development of new drug targets by the pharmaceutical industry is time-consuming and expensive because a large number of possible targets need to be tested before the molecule or compound with the desired properties is found or formulated. Along the same argument, but not for the purpose of new drug development, are the activities or synthetic biology. Here, biological entities are designed to perform a particular function. A particular example of this case is the development of biological nanomachines that might for example be used as programmed drug delivery systems. (See J. Panyam, V. Labhasetwar, Biodegradable nanoparticles for drug and gene delivery to cells and tissue, Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews, 55 (2003) 329-347.) As in drug discovery efforts, the formulation of a compound with desired properties is difficult due to the large variety of possible targets and the even larger context or system in which they must perform their function. Currently much of the work done to investigate the properties of these compounds is done in a wet-lab requiring many tedious and error prone experiments.
Development of chemical substances and nanomachinery, in addition to being time-consuming, can generate potentially dangerous intermediate substances. For example, a molecule used as transport for a drug in a drug delivery system could by its mere presence in the organism, stimulate the overproduction of some other protein. The overexpressed protein could act as a lethal toxin for the organism. Another possible complication is that the nanomachinery itself may mutate over time and either lose its original function or worse adversely interfere with the viability of the organism.
Another problem facing the drug development activity is that, due to the cumbersome nature of experimental data collection, it is typical to limit experiments by narrowing the range of tested inputs and in general isolating the subsystem of interest. This limitation allows for the possibility that new drugs have unforeseen side-effects.
Moreover, current methods of obtaining data for biological processes are even more time-consuming than those associated with chemical processes, because the latter generally require laboratory experiments that lead to animal experiments and clinical trials. From these trials and experiments, data are obtained which, again, usually focus on a very narrow part of the biological system. Only after numerous costly trial-and-error clinical trials and constant redesigning of the clinical use of the drug to account for lessons learned from the most recent clinical trial, is a drug having adequate safety and efficacy finally realized. This process of clinical trial design and redesign, multiple clinical trials and, in some situations, multiple drug redesigns requires great expense of time and money. Even then, the effort may not produce a marketable drug. While conclusions may be drawn by assimilating experimental data and published information, it is difficult, if not impossible, to synthesize the relationships among all the available data and knowledge.
The various challenges faced by the aforementioned activities in chemical and biochemical research make it desirable to have software and methods for modeling, simulating, and analyzing biological processes in-silico rather than in-vitro or in-vivo. The goal of this approach is to provide a more comprehensive view of these biological systems prior to costly experiments and to clinical trials thereby reducing the search space for drug targets and useful nanoparticles.
The simulation of biological systems requires the use of many modes of computation such as continuous time, discrete step, hybrid, particle level among others. The need for these arises from the various simplifying assumptions made in order to make the problem tractable using today's computer technology and resources. At the most basic level, the particle based approach, every molecule in a cell is accounted for individually. Given the number of molecular components in a cell this approach is prohibitively expensive unless it is used for a relatively small number of molecules in the overall system. Approximations can be made which result in a significant reduction in the computational cost. One class of simplifications group like-molecules and treat the entire group as one variable. This approach allows the development of probabilistic methods and well as differential ones, which are much less expensive in terms of computational cost. In effect, there is a continuum of methods varying from high fidelity, compute intensive to approximate and less expensive methods. Hybrid solvers are those that mix one or more of these methods to optimize the use of computational resources while achieving a high level of fidelity.
One such method which accounts for the random nature of molecular interactions is called a stochastic simulator; it may be used to simulate the time varying behavior of a collection of chemically interacting molecules in a chemical or biological system. In this case, the simulator maintains a list of reactions in the chemical or biological system that "could" happen and moves the state of the system forward through time in a two-step process. First, the simulator determines which reaction in the list of reactions will be the next to occur, and the time at which that reaction will occur. Second, the simulator simulates the reaction, adjusting the quantities of each type of molecule as specified by the stoichiometry of the reaction. This process is repeated iteratively as the system is marched forward in time. (see D. Gillespie, J. Phys. Chemistry, 81, 25 (1977).)
However, a single workstation can be limiting to the size of the problem that can be solved, because of the relationship of the computing power of the workstation to the computing power necessary to execute computing intensive iterative processing of complex problems in a reasonable time. For example, a simulation of a large complex biological model may take a reasonable time to run with a single computation with a specified set of parameters. However, the analysis of the problem may also require the model be computed multiple times with a different set of parameters to understand the behavior of the model under varied conditions. This could require thousands of computations to analyze the problem as desired, and the single computer would take a substantial amount of time to perform these simulations. In this case, the single computer would be allocated full-time to performing the computation while many computer resources on the network may be idle. Additionally, the benefit of the interactive features of the software is reduced as the computation time increases.
With many biological and chemical systems requiring larger and more complex modeling, computations accordingly become more resource intensive and time-consuming. When a computation becomes so large and complex that it cannot be completed in a reasonable amount of time on a single computer, a solution to decrease the computation time is needed.
However, a single workstation can be limiting to the size of the problem that can be solved, because of the relationship of the computing power of the workstation to the computing power necessary to execute computing intensive iterative processing of complex problems in a reasonable time. For example, a simulation of a large complex biological model may take a reasonable time to run with a single computation with a specified set of parameters. However, the analysis of the problem may also require the model be computed multiple times with a different set of parameters to understand the behavior of the model under varied conditions. This could require thousands of computations to analyze the problem as desired, and the single computer would take a substantial amount of time to perform these simulations. In this case, the single computer would be allocated full-time to performing the computation while many computer resources on the network may be idle. Additionally, the benefit of the interactive features of the software is reduced as the computation time increases.
With many biological and chemical systems requiring larger and more complex modeling, computations accordingly become more resource intensive and time-consuming. When a computation becomes so large and complex that it cannot be completed in a reasonable amount of time on a single computer, a solution to decrease the computation time is needed.

Methods and system for simulation of chemical and biological processes in a distributed technical computing environment


An apparatus and method for controlling the charging of refrigerant into a refrigerant system is disclosed. The apparatus determines the mass amount of refrigerant charged by determining the volume of refrigerant charged, the density of the refrigerant based on its pressure as it is charged, and determines the mass amount charged from the determined density and pressure. The apparatus has a pressure compensated flow valve and determines the volume of refrigerant charged based on the amount of time refrigerant has flowed through the constant flow valve. The type of refrigerant being charged can be selected from a plurality of refrigerant types and the apparatus has a memory in which data related to density and flow characteristics of each refrigerant type is stored. The apparatus uses the data for the selected refrigerant to determine the mass amount of refrigerant charged. The apparatus further determines that the refrigerant supply tank is empty when its pressure decay exceeds a predetermined amount. The apparatus has a manifold in which the constant flow valve is mounted and the apparatus can be made as a portable, hand carried unit. The apparatus can also be used as a mass flowmeter.

This invention relates to refrigerant charging systems, and more particularly, to a control system for controlling the charging of refrigerant into a refrigerant system.
In the past, a number of charging systems and techniques have been used to charge refrigerant into refrigerant systems, such as cooling systems. These systems can be as simple as a set of hoses and gauges which are used to connect a tank of pressurized refrigerant to the refrigerant system. Refrigerant is then charged into the refrigerant system until a desired pressure is reached. Outside the automotive industry, the use of hose and gauge sets is perhaps the most common way of charging refrigerant systems.
In the automotive industry, a number of systems have been used to charge refrigerant into refrigerant systems, i.e., the air conditioning systems on the automobiles, including the hose and gauge sets. While the hose and gauge sets are truly portable in the sense that they can be picked up and carried from job to job by hand, more complex systems are portable only in the sense that they are built in carts that can be wheeled from job to job.
One such refrigerant charging system that has been used in the past is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,873,289 for an Air Conditioner Servicing United to Kenneth R. White, the president of K-Whit Tools, Inc, the owner of this application. The apparatus disclosed in the '289 patent charges refrigerant through a pressure compensated constant flow valve and controls the amount of refrigerant charged into the refrigerant system by a timer. In this manner, the charging system disclosed in the '289 patent achieves the desirable objective of accurately controlling the amount of refrigerant charged into the refrigerant system being charged.
While the system disclosed in the '289 patent has been successfully marketed for many years by the assignee of this application, one problem that it has is that the mass of refrigerant which flows through the constant flow valve in a given unit of time will vary from refrigerant type to refrigerant type. Moreover, it will also vary with pressure which in turn varies with temperature. Controlling the mass of refrigerant charged and being able to determine the mass of refrigerant charged is desirable since mass or weight is typically used both for inventory purposes and for determining the cost of the recharging service.
In addition to being able to accurately determine the mass of refrigerant charged into a refrigerant system, it is also desirable to be able to charge a given amount of refrigerant into a refrigerant system. Often, when recharging a refrigerant system, the service technician will take appropriate measurements, such as inlet and outlet pressures, and determine the amount of refrigerant that needs to be recharged into the system. Alternatively, the service technician may choose to charge the refrigerant system to a given pressure in which case it is important that the service technician be able to determine the amount of refrigerant charged into the system for the reasons discussed previously.
Another problem with systems of the type described in the '289 patent is that they are only "semi" portable. They are mounted in carts and while they can be rolled from job to job in a confined area, such as in an automotive repair garage, they cannot be easily moved from site to site such as is required to service home and commercial refrigerant systems. For this reason, hose and gauge sets are still the system of choice in servicing refrigerant systems outside the automotive industry. However, hose and gauge sets are manual systems which rely solely upon the judgement of the service technician to determine when the refrigerant system has been adequately charged. Moreover, they do not provide for a way of determining the amount of refrigerant charged into a system, although sometimes scales are used with hose and gauge sets to determine this.
It is an object of this invention to provide a control system for controlling the charging of refrigerant into a refrigerant system that has a constant flow valve and determines the mass of refrigerant charged based on the volume of refrigerant that has flowed through the valve, the refrigerant type, and the pressure of the refrigerant being charged into the refrigerant system.
It is also an object of this invention to provide a control system for controlling the charging of refrigerant into a refrigerant system that allows the service technician to preset the amount of refrigerant to be charged into the refrigerant system and which will then charge that amount of refrigerant into the refrigerant system.
It is also an object of this invention to provide a truly portable, i.e., hand carried, control system for controlling the charging of refrigerant into a refrigerant system.
It is also an object of this invention to provide a mass flowmeter for gaseous fluids which a constant flow valve through which the gaseous fluid flows and which determines the mass amount of gaseous fluid based on the volume of gaseous fluid that has flowed through the constant flow valve and the density of the gaseous fluid as determined by the pressure of the gaseous fluid at the outlet of the constant flow valve and data related to the density characteristics of the gaseous fluid.

Refrigerant charging system controlled by charging pressure change rate


A coating apparatus, has a nozzle unit (1) with at least one feeding chamber (12) extending in the longitudinal direction (W) of the coating apparatus. Coating color is conveyed into the chamber by feeding means (4), and a nozzle slot (30) in flow communication with the said feeding chamber, the slot also extending in the longitudinal direction (W) of the coating apparatus. The flow communication between the at least one feeding chamber (12) and the nozzle slot (30) is formed by feed holes (14; 18) made in one wall of the feeding chamber, through which the coating color can be conveyed to the nozzle slot. The nozzle unit has means (15, 16; 19) by which the effective area of the feed holes (14; 18) can be adjusted in order to accomplish transverse profiling of the amount of coating color.

The present invention relates to a paper/board web coating apparatus, which is arranged to extend in its longitudinal direction in the transverse direction of the web to be coated, and which comprises a nozzle unit having at least one feeding chamber extending in the longitudinal direction of the coating apparatus, into which chamber is conveyed coating color by feeding means, and a nozzle slot in flow communication with the said feeding chamber, the said slot also extending in the longitudinal direction of the coating apparatus, and to which slot the coating color is supplied from the feeding chamber over the total longitudinal distance of the nozzle slot and further conveyed out of the outlet opening of the nozzle slot.
The aim of the present invention is to provide an improvement to a curtain coater intended for spreading the coating color of a paper/board web.
The use of a curtain coater for coating paper or board webs is increasing, because it exerts much less force on the web than blade coating/rod coating and, consequently, causes fewer interruptions resulting from the breaking of the web being coated, and thus improves runnability. Curtain coating does not give the same smoothness as blade coating, but the coverage attained is better than that attained with blade coating.
Curtain coaters can be divided into slot-fed and slide-fed coaters. In a slide-fed curtain coater, the coating color is supplied by means of a nozzle unit onto an inclined plane, along which the coating color flows towards the edge of the plane, whereby a curtain is formed as the coating color drips from the edge of the plane.
In slot-fed applicator beams, the coating color is pumped via a manifold into a narrow vertical slot on the lip of which the curtain is formed and drips onto the web. The coating color may be spread in one or more layers.
The curtain thus formed is guided by means of an edge guide, which is located on the edge of the feeding slot/feeding lip, as indicated by its name.
One problem with current coating color curtain coaters is the limited size of the coating color feed channels and, partly due to this, the difficulty of controlling the size of the flow slot. Controlling the transverse profile of the coating color spread on the web to be coated in different situations is problematic also in a prior art curtain coater. Normally, there are no means for controlling the profile. When designing a coating beam, the shape of the feed channels is determined, by means of which the overall profile may be affected. When the properties and/or feeding volume of coating color change, these have a distinct effect on the transverse profile which cannot be corrected. All imprecisions of manufacture also affect the profile irreparably.


A gaming system that employs a video game system and action figures to allow both video game play and action figure play. A video game score, obtained by a player through video game play, may be transferred to the action figure associated with that player to become the action figure score of that action figure. The action figures have a gun that generates a light beam and a target detector for receiving light beams from other action figures. The action figure will register a hit, and break apart, if its target detector receives a light beam from another action figure that has a higher action figure score.

The invention relates to a gaming system. More particularly the invention relates to a system that allow scored play with action figures whereas the score achieved by a player during video game play alters the competitive advantage of the player during action figure play.
During the past few decades, video game imagery has evolved from mere blips on a black and white video screen to photorealistic images. Video game controllers have evolved from a simple, four-way-switch joystick to precision pressure-sensitive controllers and virtual reality sensors that register movements of the player's body. Processing power inherent in gaming systems allow complex game play with numerous three dimensional objects following complex trajectories and allow multi-level game play between players in different parts of the world. One fact remains, however, that video game play still remains an interaction on the video game screen.
Real world toys, have had a similar, although separate evolution. The action figures of decades past, that had spring-loaded releasing parts, or talked when a string was pulled and released, have been overshadowed by microchip controlled toys of today.
With all of the advances in both video game and action figure toys, however, little development has taken place to join video game and action figure play.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,283,862 to Richter ("Richter") discloses a computer controlled game system. Richter projects an image into a projection zone, and registers movement in a portion of the projection zone using an electromagnetic beam. Richter, however, does not employ action figure play and only allows game play to take place in the vicinity of the projection zone.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,322,365 to Shechter et al. ("Shechter") discloses a network-linked laser target firearm training system. Schecter is an involved system that allows target shooters to competitively linked via a computer network between distinct geographic locations. Schecter, however, is strictly intended for target shooting at a fixed target that is hardwired to one of the networked general purpose computers.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,589,945 to Abecassis ("Abecassis") discloses a computer-themed playing system. In particular, Abecassis discloses a video playback system that allows random access to a variety of video segments, according to choices by the user. Abecassis suggests a possible use for interactive video game play, whereas content may be selected "responsive to the logic of the interactive video game software". Abecassis, however, neither describes how such interactive video game play is to be carried out, nor suggests any incorporation of such technology with action figure play.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,171,190 and 6,323,838 to Thanasack et al. ("Thanasack") disclose a photosensitive input peripheral device in a personal computer-based video gaming platform. In particular, Thanasack discloses a system that allows a video monitor to be used as a target for a light sensitive device.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,261,180 to Lebensfeld et al. ("Lebensfeld") discloses a computer programmable interactive toy for a shooting game. In particular, Lebensfeld et al. discloses a portable interactive toy that includes a gun, target, and data module. The toy interacts with the base unit to communicate shots fired and hits of various players. In essence, Lebensfeld describes a variation of a "laser tag" game, but does not disclose a system that allows interactive play between action figures controlled by the players.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,375,847 to Fromm et al. ("Fromm") discloses a toy assembly. In particular, Fromm et al. discloses a toy figurine that is structured with a toppling mechanism for causing the figurine to topple over when a beam of light associated with a toy gun is detected thereby. Fromm, however, does not disclose any mechanism for even keeping score, no less any features that facilitate integration with a more advanced gaming system.
In a similar regard as Fromm, U.S. Pat. No. 6,071,166 to Lebensfeld et al. discloses a pair of light shooting and detecting toy figures. In particular, Lebensfeld discloses a pair of figures that are held by the user and which are each capable of both emitting a beam of light and sensing a beam of light incident thereupon from the other figure. The figures of Lebensfeld, however, are intended to be hand-held—severely limiting the manner of play.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,738,584 to Ikematsu et al. ("Ikematsu") and U.S. Pat. No. 5,785,592 to Jacobsen both disclose interactive target game systems that employ light emitters and detectors to allow "shooting gallery" type game play. U.S. Pat. No. 5,904,621 to Small et al. ("Small") discloses an electronic game with infrared emitter and sensor that is essentially a variation of popular laser tag systems.
While these units may be suitable for the particular purpose employed, or for general use, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present invention as disclosed hereafter.

Gaming system employing both action figure and video game play


A system includes a controller configured to receive a signal indicating whether a droop event has occurred. The system also includes a plurality of delay elements where each delay element of the plurality of delay elements responsive to a signal from the controller receives an input signal and outputs an output signal that is a delayed version of the input signal. At least one delay element of the plurality of delay elements receives a clocking signal as its input signal. The system also includes a selector configured to select rising edges and falling edges of output signals from the plurality of delay elements to form a modified clocking signal. The modified clocking signal is a modified version of the clocking signal.

During chip operation, power drawn may vary with chip activity. For a non-limiting example, during high chip activity more power may be supplied and during low chip activity less power may be supplied, causing current and/or voltage to change accordingly. During operation, chip activity may increase very quickly, resulting in an increase in the current. Presence of inductance in the chip, however, may prevent the current from rising as quickly as desired. As a result, the voltage may drop below operational levels if the current does not keep up with activity (also referred to as droop), which may lead to functional failures of the chip. For stable chip operation, it is desirable to be able to maintain the voltage steady while being able to vary the power as needed.
In some conventional systems, the base voltage is increased so that, even in presence of voltage droop, the chip would not experience a functional failure. However, increasing the base voltage increases the power requirement.
The foregoing examples of the related art and limitations related therewith are intended to be illustrative and not exclusive. Other limitations of the related art will become apparent upon a reading of the specification and a study of the drawings.

System and method for compensating for a droop event


A surgical kit, for example a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy kit, includes a tray having a plurality of recesses formed therein for receiving surgical implements. A substantially rigid accessory item container is received in a container recess defined in the tray. The container is removable from the tray and includes a base member and a lid. A securing device may be configured between the base member and the lid so that the container is reclosable.

The present invention relates to pre-packaged surgical kits in general, and more particularly to surgical kits for percutaneous endoscopic procedures.
Various medical procedures are simplified by providing the physician with a kit that contains the majority, if not all, of the necessary medical articles or implements that the physician or surgical staff will need to complete a particular procedure. Kits may include articles such as, for example, drapes, syringes, scalpels, needles, clamps, gauze, sponges, drugs, sutures, and devices. Such kits are commonly provided for procedures such as, for example, percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy ("PEG") and laparoscopic jejunostomy. These kits reduce the time spent by hospital personnel gathering the appropriate articles that are required for a particular procedure and ensure that the surgeon has each article at hand at the appropriate point in the procedure.
Conventional kits provide not only the surgical implements, such as scalpels, needles, scissors, and the like, but also "accessory" items such as swabs, gauze pads, single-use packages of ointments and lubricants, suture strands, sponges, and the like. These relatively small, loose, items are, however, relatively difficult to store in the kits. Such items may be simply placed loosely in the kit or provided in a sealed pouch. Once the kits or pouches are opened, these items tend to clutter the kit or are moved out of the kit to various locations by the surgical staff. It is difficult to maintain accountability of the items. Also, the accessory items are generally single-use disposable items and conventional kits do not provide a means for accountability and disposal of the devices after use.

Surgical kit with accessory item container


An apparatus and method is provided which permits effective removal of a circuit board from sealed housing while minimizing stress, bending and flexing of circuit board sufficiently to prevent damage to circuit board and its electronic components. The apparatus includes a base to support the housing and a force transmitter to transmit a separation force to the exposed surfaces of one or more connectors of the circuit board. This apparatus effectively distributes the separation force across exposed surfaces of the connectors to create substantially uniform pressure on the connectors and thus the circuit board. The invention also includes steps for separating the circuit board from the housing including, in one embodiment, a separator apparatus for applying a pulling force to the connectors of the circuit board.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates to the remanufacture of electronic control modules, such as for use with electronically controlled engines. In particular, the invention relates to an apparatus and method for opening a sealed module containing a circuit board and removing the circuit board.
2. Description of Related Art
Most modern internal combustion engines have some form of electronic controller that governs the operation of the engine. In the case of larger vehicles, a substantial engine control module is provided that performs a wide range of functions. For example, the module provides signals via an electrical harness to various electrical components throughout the engine and vehicle. In addition, the module receives signals from a number of sensors disposed at various locations throughout the engine.
For example, as shown in FIG. 1, an engine control module (ECM) 10 includes a housing 12 formed of a first section 14 and a second section 16. First section 14 includes securing holes 18 (FIG. 4) formed in either a peripheral flange 20 extending along an outer peripheral portion of the housing or bosses extending from peripheral flange 20. Second section 16 includes securing holes 22 (FIG. 9) formed at different locations around its periphery for alignment with securing holes 22 of first section 14. Screws 21 extend through securing holes 18 and 22 to secure first section 14 and second section 16 together. Second section 16 also includes a peripheral flange 23 including a number of bosses 24 extending from its periphery which contain mounting holes 26 for receiving bolts (not shown) for mounting ECM 10 to an engine. An adhesive or sealant bead 30 (FIG. 9) is positioned between flange 20 and the opposing face of second section 16 for bonding and sealing the sections together. The bead material is normally capable of bonding metal-to-metal, while withstanding the high temperatures experienced in the engine compartment, such as an RTV material.
Housing 12 is formed of a rigid material, such as a metal, for example, aluminum, by, for example, a die cast process. Outer dimensions of housing 12 are generally sized to be slightly larger than a circuit board 32 positioned within housing 12. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 9, circuit board 32 functions as a substrate on which is mounted various electronic components 31, such as resistors, capacitors, transistors, microprocessors, memory devices, etc. Circuit board 32 is formed of a rigid material, i.e. fiberglass, and securely mounted on second section 16 of housing 12. Second section 16 includes a raised wall 33 (FIG. 8) extending peripherally around second section 16 to form a recess 35 for receiving circuit board 32. Circuit board 32 further includes a first connector 34, a second connector 36 and a third connector 38, securely mounted on a top face 40 of board 32 and extending outwardly from top face 40 for engaging respective cables or harnesses (not shown) to link the electronic and microprocessor components of the ECM 10 to the various sensors and engine control devices. First section 14 of housing 12 includes a first opening 44 for receiving first and second connectors 34 and 36 and a second opening 46 for receiving connector 38.
While ECM 10 provides an environmentally sound and sealed module, difficulties arise when the module must be remanufactured. This remanufacturing process may be required when there is an update to some of components 31 mounted on circuit board 32. In other instances, direct diagnosis of the components is necessary due to component malfunctioning or failure which requires access to circuit board 32. In the absence of remanufacturing, ECM 10 is simply disposed of, and replaced with a new module. Of course, this approach often unnecessarily wastes resources, including especially the circuit board and electronic components, and can lead to delays where the module is difficult to obtain. Moreover, electronic components and related soldering materials may contain hazardous materials thereby requiring treatment as hazardous waste and thus increasing the costs of disposal. Prior attempts to open housing 12 have resulted in irreparable damage to rigid circuit board 32 and/or electronic components 31, rendering the circuit board unusable.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,837,556 to Ostendorf et al. describes a method of removing adhesively bonded components from a substrate using screws located in bores beneath the component. As the screws are turned, the force is transferred to the component through a ball bearing to a cylindrical pin which ultimately pushes against the component and moves the component away from the substrate.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,068,727 to Weaver et al. describes prior art which includes a method of removing a stiffener from a substrate by using a thin wedge, such as a razor blade, to cut through an adhesive layer, and then prying the stiffener off the substrate.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,497,026 and 6,192,570 issued to Traver et al. discloses a method for opening a sealed engine control module containing a flexible circuit board by using a fixture for supporting the module as the module is unbent into an open position. The method includes first machining the edges of the module housing to expose a sealing bead, then disrupting the sealing bead around the housing by machining, cutting or the use of wedges and finally positioning of the module in the fixture and bending into the open position.
Thus there is a need for an apparatus and method for the remanufacturing, and specifically opening and disassembling, of a sealed module, which simply and effectively permits the opening of the module housing and removal of a circuit board while maintaining the integrity and reusability of the circuit board and electronic components.

Apparatus and method for opening a sealed module containing a circuit board


Spinal plate assembly, and methods of use, wherein a retaining element such as a retaining band, optionally a resiliently flexible band, mounted to a spinal plate, activates a blocking feature of the spinal plate assembly to thereby prevent the bone fastener from withdrawing out of the spinal plate assembly and past the blocking member. The apertures are typically, but not necessarily, elongate slots, elongate axes of all such slots being commonly oriented. The band can be fabricated from a variety of bio-stable, bio-compatible medical grade materials, including metals or implantable plastics. The retaining element or elements can be disposed in intermittently-located channel elements in the plate.

The present invention relates to devices for the fixation and/or support of bones. In particular, the present invention relates to a spinal plate assembly, and a corresponding spinal plate, for the fixation and/or support of bones of the spinal column. The plate of the present invention has particular application in situations where compressional or settling forces, as well as torsional and flexing forces, of "fixed" vertebrae on a spinal plate cause significant stressing and potential failure of the spinal plate and/or plate components.
Vertebral fixation has become a common approach to treating spinal disorders and fractures, and for fusion of vertebrae at the time such fixation is instituted. Namely, one or more vertebrae are fixed in position relative to one or more other vertebrae above and/or below the vertebrae to be fixed. Generally, a spinal plate is the device of choice used for mechanically supporting such vertebral fixation. A typical spinal plate includes a plate having a plurality of apertures therethrough. A plurality of fasteners, i.e., bone screws, are generally positioned into and through respective ones of the apertures of the plate to secure the spinal plate to bone, such as to two or more respective upper and lower supporting adjacent spinal vertebrae. The screws are fastened to the respective support vertebrae to thereby attach the spinal plate to the respective vertebrae. In general, such plate and screw assemblies can be utilized, for example, for anterior fixation of the spine for cervical, lumbar, and/or thoracic fixation.
The basis of anterior fixation or plating is to approach the spine from an anterior or anterio-lateral approach, and use the screws to solidly mount the spinal plate to the affected vertebrae. In addition to the application of a spinal plate, graft material may be combined in an attempt to permanently fuse together adjacent vertebrae. The graft material can consist of bone grafts obtained from bones of the recipient or another individual.
A common problem associated with the use of such spinal plates is the tendency of the bone screws to "back out" or pull away or otherwise withdraw from the bone into which they are mounted. This problem occurs, primarily, due to the normal torsional and bending motions of the body and spine. This is a particularly important problem because as the screws become loose and pull away or withdraw from the bone, the heads of the screws can rise above the surface of the spinal plate and, possibly, even work their way completely out of the bone. While this condition can cause extreme discomfort for the recipient, this condition can also create a number of potentially serious physiological problems given the significant amount of nervous and vascular structures located at or near the potential locations of anterior spinal plate fixations.
A number of plate assembly designs have been proposed in attempts to prevent screws from pulling away or withdrawing from the bone and/or to prevent the screws from backing out or pulling away or withdrawing from the surface of the spinal plate. Such mechanisms used to prevent bone screws from pulling out of bones include cams which engage and lock the screws, and the use of expanding head screws which expand outwardly when adequate force is applied thereto to engage the holes in the spinal plate. All of these designs have detriments, which include potential for breakage of the screws, or which require particular precision and alignment in their application in order to work correctly. Additionally, loose components and accessories of spinal plates, which address the "backing-out" or withdrawal problem, can get dropped and/or misplaced while the vertebral fixation surgical procedure is taking place, prolonging and complicating the procedure as well as creating substantial risk of harm to the recipient.
Yet another common problem associated with the use of such spinal plates is the tendency, of the vertebrae which are being treated, to settle after the spinal plate has been installed. Such settling adds compression forces to the above-listed forces, and raises the probability that the bone screws will break, will back out, or otherwise pull away, or withdraw from the bone into which they were mounted.
It is an object of the invention to provide spinal plate assemblies which facilitate secure bone-to-bone fixation and/or support, such as at e.g. adjacent or second adjacent vertebrae, while accommodating post-procedural compression between the respective bones.
It is another object of the invention to provide spinal plate assemblies which afford substantial protection against pulling away or withdrawal of mounting components, which pulling away or withdrawal may result e.g. from torsional movement, flexing movement, or stress and/or dynamic load sharing of the vertebrae, the protection thereby enhancing the bone rebuilding process carried on by the living body.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide spinal plate assemblies which attenuate application of stress on the plate apparatus and on the affixing components.
It is a further object of the invention to provide spinal plate assemblies comprising a spinal plate and resiliently movable bands, the assemblies being so mounted and positioned as to enable bone fasteners to pass such bands, with corresponding flexing or other movement of such bands, when the bone fasteners are being installed in a recipient user and which, in combination with the designs of the bone fasteners, prevent unintended withdrawal of the bone fasteners after installation of the bone fasteners in the recipient user.
It is yet a further object of the invention to provide spinal plate assemblies which can be completely pre-assembled such that no assembly steps need be performed on the spinal plate assembly, itself, while the spinal plate assembly is being installed in a recipient user thereof.
It is still a further object of the invention to provide spinal plate assemblies wherein apparatus, in such spinal plate assemblies, for preventing withdrawal of bone fasteners from the bone, after installation of the bone fasteners in a recipient user, are automatically activated, to prevent such withdrawal, as a consequence of the installation of suitably-configured such bone fasteners.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


Write elements and methods of fabricating magnetic write poles are described. For one method, a vertical mask structure is formed on a magnetic layer in locations of a pole tip and a yoke of a write pole. The vertical mask structure may be formed by coating vertical surfaces of resists with an atomic layer deposition (ALD) process or a similar process. A removal process is then performed around the vertical mask structure to define the pole tip and part of the yoke of the write pole, and the vertical mask structure is removed. A lower portion of the pole tip is them masked while the upper portion of the pole tip and the part of the yoke is exposed. The upper portion of the pole tip and the part of the yoke are then expanded with magnetic material, such as with a plating process.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention is related to the field of magnetic disk drive systems and, in particular, to fabricating a magnetic write pole in a recording head of a magnetic disk drive system.
2. Statement of the Problem
Many computer systems use magnetic disk drives for mass storage of information. Magnetic disk drives typically include one or more magnetic recording heads (sometimes referred to as sliders) that include read elements and write elements. A suspension arm holds the recording head above a magnetic disk. When the magnetic disk rotates, an air flow generated by the rotation of the magnetic disk causes an air bearing surface (ABS) side of the recording head to ride a particular height above the magnetic disk. The height depends on the shape of the ABS. As the recording head rides on the air bearing, an actuator moves an actuator arm that is connected to the suspension arm to position the read element and the write element over selected tracks of the magnetic disk.
A typical write element includes write pole and a return pole. The write pole has a yoke portion and a pole tip portion. The pole tip extends from the ABS of the recording head to the yoke of the write pole. The point where the pole tip meets the yoke is referred to as the flare point. This point where the yoke begins has a trapezoidal shape that flares outwardly from the pole tip. The yoke of the write pole then connects to the return pole through a back gap. A coil wraps around a yoke or back gap to provide the magnetic flux used for the write operation. The width of the pole tip controls the track width that is written by the recording head, so the width of the pole tip is preferably small (i.e., less than 100 nanometers).
It is a problem with present fabrication techniques to fabricate a pole tip having smaller widths, such as less than about 70 nanometers. A pole tip is typically defined using a photo-lithographic process to pattern a photo-resist. An etching process is then performed to define the pole tip based on the pattern of the photo-resist. Unfortunately, if a photo-resist is sufficiently thin, such as less than 70 nanometers, the photo-resist does not hold its shape and does not adequately provide a mask for an etching process used to define the pole tip. Thus, the width of the pole tip is limited by the tolerances of photo-lithography, which may not be small enough for high density recording. Similarly, an additive process has lithographic restrictions where the width of the final pole has the same tolerances.

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Netherlands, B.V.


In one embodiment, a method, comprises forming a diffusion layer on a semiconductor substrate, forming a selectively deposited metal or metal alloy on an aluminum gate structure by removing an aluminum oxide layer from the aluminum gate structure and depositing a zinc layer on the aluminum gate structure by a zincating process, and selectively depositing a sacrificial metal or metal alloy cap on the aluminum gate layer by displacing the zinc layer. This embodiment enables the SAC process flow on devices with Aluminum gates.

The subject matter described herein relates generally to semiconductor processing, and to electroless plating of metal layers on aluminum metal gate transistors.
Access to and operation of semiconductor devices, such as, transistors, resistors, capacitors, and the like is typically provided by one or more contacts to the devices. As the density of circuits of semiconductor devices increases with each subsequent generation, device pitches shrink by an average of 20-50%, significantly increasing the risk of shorting the interconnect to source or drain (collectively referred to herein as the contact), to the Interconnect to the gate. The decrease in pitch necessitates a fix to the shorting phenomena between the interconnect to the source/drain to the interconnect to the gate (this will be referred to herein as contact to gate shorting).
Contact to gate shorting during the semiconductor device manufacturing will create a short circuit in the semiconductor device resulting in the loss of the entire die (yield loss). For example, a contact opening may be intended to permit access to a source/drain region of a semiconductor device. If a misalignment occurs during the semiconductor device manufacturing process, when the misaligned contact opening is filled with metallic material, the contact to the source/drain will form a short circuit to the contact to the Gate resulting in the loss of the entire chip.
Semiconductor device manufacturers have developed self-aligned contact (SAC) technology to alleviate these problems. Conventional (SAC) manufacturing processes involve forming a electrolessly deposited sacrificial metal or metal alloy cap layer on a copper gate, which is formed on a semiconductor substrate.
Some semiconductor devices use aluminum as a gate interconnect. Aluminum commonly forms a thin layer of aluminum oxide, which is a highly stable passivated surface. The layer of aluminum oxide inhibits the subsequent selective deposition of the sacrificial metals or metal alloys on the aluminum layer by electroless deposition. Therefore, it is not possible to implement a SAC flow on devices with Al gate interconnects. This shortcoming is addressed by this invention.
For simplicity and clarity of illustration, the drawing Figures illustrate the general manner of construction, and descriptions and details of well-known features and techniques may be omitted to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the discussion of the described embodiments of the invention. Additionally, elements in the drawing Figures are not necessarily drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the Figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention. The same reference numerals in different Figures denote the same elements.
The terms "first," "second," "third," "fourth," and the like in the description and in the claims, if any, are used for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a particular sequential or chronological order. It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances such that the embodiments of the invention described herein are, for example, capable of operation in sequences other than those illustrated or otherwise described herein. Similarly, if a method is described herein as comprising a series of steps, the order of such steps as presented herein is not necessarily the only order in which such steps may be performed, and certain of the stated steps may possibly be omitted and/or certain other steps not described herein may possibly be added to the method. Furthermore, the terms "comprise," "include," "have," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements is not necessarily limited to those elements, but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus.
The terms "left," "right," "front," "back," "top," "bottom," "over," "under," and the like in the description and in the claims, if any, are used for descriptive purposes and not necessarily for describing permanent relative positions. It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances such that the embodiments of the invention described herein are, for example, capable of operation in other orientations than those illustrated or otherwise described herein. The term "coupled," as used herein, is defined as directly or indirectly connected in an electrical or non-electrical manner. Objects described herein as being "adjacent to" each other may be in physical contact with each other, in close proximity to each other, or in the same general region or area as each other, as appropriate for the context in which the phrase is used.

Method for manufacturing a semiconductor device using the self aligned contact (SAC) process flow for semiconductor devices with aluminum metal gates


The amount of lipid associated sialoprotein (LSP) in body fluids such as cerebrospinal fluid, peritoneal fluid, pleural fluid, bronchial washings, saliva and sputum samples, may be determined by a method which may be automated, involving the following steps to be performed on the sample: adding a mixture of a chlorinated lower alkyl alcohol; centrifuging to yield a substantially clear upper phase; recovering the upper phase and adding to it a protein precipitating agent; mixing the resulting admixture; recovering the resulting precipitate; washing the precipitate with saline solution; centrifuging to recover the precipitate; dissolving the precipitate in water; mixing; adding to the resulting mixture an hydrolysis agent; heating; and determining the amount of lipid associated sialoprotein present by determining the optical density of the sample.

This invention pertains to a method of identifying patients with brain tumors and to determine the response of patients to treatment. The method of the invention can distinguish patients with malignant primary and metastatic brain tumors by measuring the increase of lipid associated sialoprotein (LSP) in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). The invention also can determine the response to treatment and therefore it can be used to monitor radiation and chemotherapy.
There exist other methods and procedures for distinguishing patients with malignant brain tumors from benign tumors. However, these methods typically require tumor tissue which is not practical on a routine basis or sophisticated equipment such as MRI spectroscopy which is expensive and not widely available. On the other hand, CSF is easily and safely accessible in nearly all patients and can be examined at reasonably frequent intervals without comprising a patient's safety. Moreover, MRI scanning is frequently unrevealing or equivocal with respect to early indications of central nervous system attack by systemic tumor metastasis.
The method of the invention whereby LSP is measured in the CSF has been shown to provide an early indicator of central nervous system involvement. Prior to the method of the invention there has been no specific tumor marker for brain cancer. Moreover, the method of the invention is extremely cost effective, particularly when compared with the significant cost associated with an MRI examination.
More than one hundred thousand new cases of brain tumors were diagnosed in 1998. By the time the symptoms appear most tumors have infiltrated widely and surgery, cranial irradiations and chemotherapy can provide only questionable benefit. Diagnosis of brain tumors generally occur after the onset of neurologic manifestations. By that time the tumor is well established and for the vast majority of patients this is fatal. Modern neuroimaging techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), spectroscopy, and position emission tomography have facilitated early diagnosis. However, these studies are expensive and cumbersome and are limited by false negative and false positive findings in a number of common situations including radiation necrosis, central nervous system infections, or vascular malformations. A convenient, reliable and efficient screening test which can detect brain metastases at an early stage to initiate treatment in patients at high risk has not been currently available. Also lacking is a reliable method to detect tumor reoccurrence, predict response to therapy, and distinguish between persistent or recurrent tumor and treatment related changes in patients with primary brain tumors.
A number of antigens have been suggested as tumor serologic markers. For example, there are squamous cell carcinoma antigen, prostate specific antigen, carcinoma embryonic antigen, and antigens labeled CA 125 for ovarian cancer, CA 153 for breast cancer and CA 19-9 for pancreatic cancer. These markers are serologic markers identified in the blood for systemic tumors but no such markers have been found in the blood of patients with primary brain tumors. Most brain tumor markers reflect chromosomal abnormalities such as gene mutations, translocations, and fibroblasts growth factor expression. However, these markers are determined only when biopsy specimens are obtained and the tumors themselves are analyzed. They are not useful as diagnostic aids or to assess a response to ongoing therapy.
The method of the invention makes use of cerebro spinal fluid (CSF) as a source of biological indicators that can provide information regarding the presence of a tumor in the CSF and its status. The method of the invention shows that CSF contains specific markers which provide a basis for evaluating the presence of a tumor in the CSF or its activity.
It has long been known that tumor cells have caused changes in the metabolism of sialic acid. These changes result in larger amounts of sialic acid being present on the surface of malignant tumor cells compared to benign tumor cells.
It was suggested that Sialic Acid (S.A.) might be a useful tumor marker 25 years ago when a new protein lipid complex was identified in rats with Walker adenocarcinoma. In 1977 Kloppel and his collaborators for the first time used serum S.A. as a marker for cancer. The most commonly used method is one developed by Katopodis e. al. LSA has been found to be more reliable than other markers in identifying patients with head and neck cancer, localized and metastatic prostate cancer, lung cancer, leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkins' lymphoma, melanoma and others.
These serologic markers of the prior art are principally identified in the blood for systemic tumors. The method of the invention makes use of the CSF and has determined that material produced by the tumor or the surrounding cells in response to the tumor are diffused into the CSF.

Method for determining lipid associated sialoprotein in body fluids


A method, system, and computer program product for selecting a solution technique from a plurality of solution techniques for accomplishing a task is provided. The plurality of solution techniques are ranked according to a set of parameters. A first set of solutions are then obtained based on each of the plurality of solution techniques until at least the first predefined number of solutions from the first set of solutions matches with the corresponding solution from the second set of solutions. The second set of solutions corresponds to correct solutions for the task. Thereafter, one of the plurality of solution techniques is selected for which at least the first predefined number of solutions from the first set of solutions matches with the corresponding solution from the second set of solutions.

Numerous solution techniques are available for organizations to perform variety of tasks, including but not limited to, recognition of text from images, creation of digital albums, document translation, detection of anomalies in the video data etc. The solution techniques include but are not limited to various software based applications and various crowdsourcing services.
For example, the task of recognition of handwritten text from scanned images is accomplished using various optical or intelligent character recognition algorithms. The Optical Character Recognition (OCR) algorithms have been developed for decades, and their performance has been reliable. Lately, crowdsourcing has also emerged as a favorable option for character/word/sentence recognition of handwritten texts at a reduced cost.
Due to the availability of a large number of techniques for accomplishing various tasks, the primary problem associated with it is in choosing the best technique for completing any given task at an optimal cost.

Method and system for a selection of a solution technique for a task


A power system for a locomotive generally having an internal combustion engine coupled to drive a main alternator and an auxiliary alternator is provided. The main alternator is coupled to power one or more traction motors and the auxiliary alternator is coupled to power predetermined electrical equipment. The system includes a main power bus generally powered by the main alternator and an auxiliary power bus generally powered by the auxiliary alternator. A power interface unit is electrically coupled to the main power bus to capture and transfer electrical energy into the auxiliary power bus. The electrical energy may be generated during a predetermined mode of operation of the locomotive, such as during dynamic braking or self-load.

The present invention is generally related to power systems, and more particularly, is related to a power system using a multi-functional power interface unit that allows, among other things, for capturing electrical energy that otherwise would be lost in a system, such as a locomotive, etc.
Locomotives, due to various constraints such as cost, space, power interface compatibility, etc., generally do not have on-board energy storage, therefore the electrical energy that is produced during dynamic braking or in a self-load mode of operation is dissipated in large grids of resistors to maintain train speed during operation on down hill grades or during train deceleration. As suggested above, any viable installation of on-board storage in the locomotive needs to overcome the foregoing constraints in order to allow a locomotive manufacturer to provide a cost-effective and reliable solution to the needs of its customers and/or government regulators to supply even more energy-efficient locomotives. Thus, it would be desirable to provide a power system that uses a versatile power electronic interface and associated control capable of overcoming the foregoing constraints. For example, it would be desirable for the power interface unit to perform at least the following functions:
1). The interface unit should allow at least a portion of the energy that would be irretrievably lost in the standard dynamic brake (DB) grid resistors to be captured and utilized to operate, for example, electrical equipment generally powered through an auxiliary power bus of the locomotive. Examples of electrical equipment powered by the auxiliary may include motor loads, such as radiator fans, traction motor blower, alternator blower, air compressor, etc. It will thus be appreciated that this first function would allow for increasing the locomotive fuel economy while reducing engine emissions.
2). The same interface unit could further allow to be electrically reconnected, via suitable switches, along with appropriate software control, to provide excitation to a main traction alternator during cranking of the locomotive""s engine. This second function could allow to utilize the captured electrical energy to charge a suitable storage unit that in turn may be connected to power up the interface unit so as to excite the main traction alternator to provide mechanical power to the engine during an engine cranking mode of operation.
Generally speaking, one embodiment of the present invention fulfills the foregoing needs by providing a power system for a locomotive generally having an internal combustion engine coupled to drive a main alternator and an auxiliary alternator. The main alternator is coupled to power one or more traction motors and the auxiliary alternator is coupled to power predetermined electrical equipment. The system includes a main power bus generally powered by the main alternator. The system further includes an auxiliary power bus generally powered by the auxiliary alternator. A power interface unit is electrically coupled to the main power bus to capture and transfer electrical energy into the auxiliary power bus. The electrical energy may be generated during a predetermined mode of operation of the locomotive, such as during dynamic braking or self-load.
Another embodiment of the present invention further fulfills the foregoing needs by providing a power interface unit in a power system for a locomotive generally having an internal combustion engine coupled to drive a main alternator and an auxiliary alternator. The main alternator is coupled to power through a main power bus one or more traction motors and the auxiliary alternator is coupled to power through an auxiliary power bus predetermined electrical equipment. The power interface unit is electrically coupled to the main power bus to capture and transfer electrical energy into the auxiliary power bus. The electrical energy may be generated during a predetermined mode of operation of the locomotive. The power interface unit includes a voltage converter module selectively coupled to impart a desired voltage conversion to convert the voltage from the main power bus to the auxiliary power bus during selected modes of operation, including transfer of a portion of the power generated during dynamic braking. Power propagating between the main power bus and the auxiliary power bus allows the captured electrical energy to be utilized to operate the auxiliaries and/or stored in an energy storage device. An inverter module is selectively coupled in the interface unit to drive the main alternator during an engine cranking mode of operation.

Power system using a multi-functional power interface unit


An air control valve (100) adapted to control an air flow (FA) for an air cushioning receptacle (802) in a motor vehicle (1000) includes a valve seat (120), a valve body (110), and a valve passage element (105) with a passage inlet (140) on an inlet side (141) and a passage outlet (150) on an outlet side (151). A coil spring (160) in contact with the valve body (110) and with a valve stop (152) on the outlet side (151) is adapted to exert a closing force (FC) to press the valve body (110) to the valve seat (120). A damping body (200) is arranged in an inner spring space (161) of the coil spring (160) such that the damping body (200) radially extends in a winding space (162) between a first coil winding (163) and a second coil winding (164) of the coil spring (160).

Such an air control valve can be adapted to control an air flow for an air cushioning receptacle in a motor vehicle, wherein the air control valve comprises: a valve seat, a valve body, and a valve passage element with a passage inlet on an inlet side and a passage outlet on an outlet side, wherein a coil spring is in contact with the valve body and a valve stop on the outlet side, adapted to exert a closing force to press the valve body to the valve seat.
An air control valve for controlling an air flow, in particular for a cabin suspension system of a motor vehicle, is generally known. Through controlling an air flow into a bellows or out of the bellows, the suspension height of a vehicle or other components such as a trailer or a cabin of a vehicle, can be automatically controlled, in particular to a definable level.
In order to accommodate comfort and safety aspects, it is generally desirable to achieve a short reaction time when controlling the level of a vehicle or vehicle component. A short reaction time results in the requirement of directing a relatively large amount of air through the air control valve in a relatively small amount of time.
In order to fulfil the requirement, the valve diameter can be increased, which however also increases the force necessary to actuate the valve.
When an air flow, in particular the large air flow, passes through an air control valve, noise is generated. Such noise can be audible to a driver or a passenger or a person near the vehicle.

Air control valve and device for a cabin suspension system of a motor vehicle


Signal correction circuitry is described that improves the integrity of data transmitted over a serial data interface without interrupting the communication between the connected devices. The signal correction circuitry includes edge correction circuitry that speeds up the rising and falling edges of the data signal(s). The signal correction circuitry also includes DC compensation circuitry that boosts the level(s) of the data signal(s).

There are a variety of transmission protocols used to transmit serial data between connected devices. Examples of such protocols include the DisplayPort standard, the High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) standard, the Serial ATA standard, the Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCI-E) standard, the Universal Serial Bus (USB) standard, the Hypertransport protocol, Infiniband protocol, the XAUI protocol, and the Ethernet protocol. Each of these protocols has evolved over time to include multiple generations and, at least for some, multiple versions within each generation. Serial interfaces may be implemented according to any of these standards using either single-ended or differential signaling. An example of such a serial interface is shown in FIG. 1.
Serial interface 102 connects an upstream device 104 to a downstream device 106 and is implemented using differential signaling in which the serial data are represented using signal lines of opposite polarity designated DP and DM. Although many serial interfaces are bi-directional, interface 102 is depicted as being uni-directional for simplicity. As is well known, the integrity of the signals transmitted via such an interface degrades as the frequency or data rate of the signals and/or the length of the transmission lines increase. This may be understood with reference to FIGS. 2A and 2B.
FIGS. 2A and 2B are representations of an "eye mask compliance" test in which multiple, one unit interval (UI) signal captures (the equivalent of one clock cycle) of a serial data stream (e.g., signals on signal lines DP and DM) are superimposed. FIG. 2A illustrates passage of the test in which the signals 202 and 204 do not violate the boundaries of the failure zones (masks) in the middle of the eye (206) and above and below the eye (208 and 210). This might be the case, for example, for an interface that includes very short transmission lines. FIG. 2B, on the other hand, illustrates a failure of the test in which signals 212 and 214 violate the boundaries of mask 206. This signal degradation might occur, for example, where the signal lines of the interface are too long for the frequency or data rate of the serial data signals.
The problem of signal degradation over serial interfaces is typically handled by the introduction of one or more repeaters between the connected devices. See, for example, repeater 302 between connected devices 304 and 306 of FIG. 3. Repeaters (e.g., re-drivers or re-timers) are devices that restore signal integrity as the data are being transmitted between connected devices. Repeaters may include components such as receivers, equalizers, and transmitters, and may require complex detection control, interrupting the communication between the connected devices, introducing undesirable delay, and resulting in additional power consumption and system cost.


A line segmentation method which starts with determining a first starting point coordinate and generating a list of potential character widths dependent on a maximum character width stored in a database and on characteristics of the portion of the line of text corresponding to the maximum character width. The method determines a second portion of the line of text corresponding to the first starting point coordinate and the first width on the list of potential character widths. On the second portion, a classification method is applied providing a likelihood of error for the first width and a candidate character. The likelihood of error is compared with a first threshold determined by a trade-off between speed and accuracy, and if the likelihood of error corresponding to the first width is lower than the threshold value, the candidate character is selected as the character meaning that a segment is known.

Optical Character Recognition (OCR) systems are known. These systems automatically convert a paper document into a searchable text document. OCR systems are typically composed of three main steps: line segmentation, feature extraction and character classification. But, as illustrated in FIG. 1, feature extraction is often presented as part of the character classification. In that way, starting from an image of a character string, known optical character recognition systems are first applying a line segmentation to become images of individual characters and subsequently a character classification step is executed to identify the characters. While character classification techniques have become extremely robust over the past years, line segmentation remains still a critical step of OCR, in particular in the case of Asian text.
Different approaches of line segmentation exist (also often called character segmentation). The image representing a text line is decomposed into individual sub-images which constitute the character images. Different methods can be used to segment a line. A known line segmentation method is the detection of inter-character breaks or word breaks (adapted to Latin characters) as a way to isolate individual characters. This is described for example in WO2011128777 and WO201126755.
Another known line segmentation method, described for example in WO2011142977, uses chop lines which are processed afterwards to identify the lines that separate characters. Still other methods, such as for example in EP0138445B1, assume a constant pitch between characters.
Above described line segmentation methods are known as dissection methods. This type of method is less efficient for text composed of Asian text and Asian text combined with Latin text because in this type of text there is often no clear break or pitch between characters and Asian characters are not made of a single connected component but mostly of several connected components (e.g. radicals for Chinese characters).
Another type of method of line segmentation is based on the recognition of components in the image that match classes in a particular alphabet. Such methods require however long computation times.
A third type of segmentation technique uses a combination of the first two and is known as "oversegmentation" method. The image is oversegmented with different dissection methods as illustrated in FIG. 2. Several plausible segmentation solutions are analyzed by the same or different character classification methods and the best segmentation solution is then chosen. When the segmentation becomes difficult, as is the case for example for Asian characters, many possible segmentation solutions are evaluated which leads to extremely long computation times for analyzing the input string image.


Disclosed herein are methods for inducing production of full-length progranulin (GRN) from a nucleotide encoding a GRN with a premature stop codon (GRN-PTC), comprising exposing the GRN-PTC to an aminoglycoside. Methods for inducing production of full-length progranulin (GRN) from a nucleotide encoding a GRN with a premature stop codon (GRN-PTC), comprising administering gentamicin or G418 is also disclosed.

The present invention tested several aminoglycosides in a cell culture system to determine whether read-through of nonsense mutations of GRN can be induced and to promote the production of full-length GRN protein. Two compounds rescued the expression of full-length GRN protein carrying the R493X PTC: gentamicin (an FDA-approved antibiotic) and a similar compound geneticin (or called G418). Data are presented below.
Frontotemporal dementia (FTD, also known as frontotemporal lobar dementia or FTLD) is a clinically and pathologically heterogeneous group of non-Alzheimer dementias characterized by progressive atrophy of the frontal and/or temporal lobes (1). FTD is characterized by gradual impairment of cognitive and language skills as well as personality and behavioral changes. It is the second most common dementia after Alzheimer's disease (2). FTD is highly heritable with approximately 35-50% familial cases (3, 4). Several genetic mutations have been identified that cause FTD or related disorders, including mutations in the C90RF72 (5), Fused in Sarcoma (FUS) (6), microtubule-associated protein tau (MAP7) (3), and progranulin (GRN) genes (3, 5, 7). Pathogenic mutations in progranulin were detected in ˜10% of FTD cases and ˜22% in familial FTD cases (8). FTD is the most common form of dementia for people under age 60. Currently, there is no known treatment to prevent or stop FTD.
Human progranulin encodes a 593 amino acid protein involved in many biological processes including development (9), wound repair (10), and neuroinflammation (11-13). Progranulin is localized in endosomes, Golgi (14) and lysosome, and it likely participates in endocytosis, secretion and lysosomal functions (15, 16). However, the molecular function of progranulin under physiological and pathological conditions remain to be defined. Many FTD-causing mutations in progranulin are nonsense mutations with a premature termination codon (PTC) that result in a truncated protein. Consequently, haploinsufficiency of functional progranulin has been proposed as a major contributor to FTD. Knockout (17) and knock-in (18) animal models demonstrated that progranulin haploinsufficiency cause FTD pathology. Additionally, restoring progranulin levels improved preexisting FTD pathology in progranulin deficient mice (19). The homozygous knockout caused lysosomal dysfunction similar to those observed in the human lysosomal storage disease neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (NCL), which was also partially rescued by restoring progranulin levels (19). Together, these results support the notion that restoring progranulin expression can be an effective therapeutic approach.
Aminoglycosides are a class of gram-negative bacilli antibiotics that function by binding to bacterial ribosomes and interfering with protein translation (20). A lesser known function of aminoglycosides is to induce the eukaryotic protein translation machinery to read-through PTC mutations and yield a full-length protein. The aminoglycoside-induced read-through strategy has been utilized in multiple diseases caused by PTC mutation, including cystic fibrosis (21, 22), Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) (23), ataxia-telangiectsia (24), Rett's syndrome (25, 26), and most recently junctional epidermolysis bullosa (27). Partial restoration of protein expression resulting from PTC read-through has been demonstrated in in vitro assays, cell culture systems, mouse models, and human patients (28, 29). Although aminoglycosides have some potential side effects, such as impairment of mitochondrial translation in eukaryotic cells, their ability of inducing PTC read-through has raised the possibility of treating human diseases caused by PTCs. Moreover, the new read-through compound PTC124 (or ataluren) displayed beneficial effects in clinical trials (30) and was clinically approved to treat DMD in Europe in 2014.
Eleven aminoglycosides were screened and PTC124 in a cell culture system to determine whether any compound can induce read-through of progranulin PTC mutations in FTD or a FUS PTC mutation in the related neurodegenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The aminoglycosides gentamicin and G418 (also known as geneticin) specifically rescued expression of the R493X mutation of progranulin but not other progranulin or FUS PTC mutations. G418 rescued R493X expression to nearly 50% of wild-type (WT) proganulin while gentamicin rescued less than 10%. The read-through effect was dose and time-dependent. Strikingly, the read-through protein displayed similar subcellular localization patterns as WT proganulin. These results provide a proof-of-principal that aminoglycosides, or other compounds promoting progranulin PTC read-through, could be an exciting therapeutic avenue for familial FTD caused by progranulin nonsense mutations.
The details of one or more embodiments of the presently-disclosed subject matter are set forth in this document. Modifications to embodiments described in this document, and other embodiments, will be evident to those of ordinary skill in the art after a study of the information provided in this document. The information provided in this document, and particularly the specific details of the described exemplary embodiments, is provided primarily for clearness of understanding and no unnecessary limitations are to be understood therefrom. In case of conflict, the specification of this document, including definitions, will control.
While the terms used herein are believed to be well understood by those of ordinary skill in the art, certain definitions are set forth to facilitate explanation of the presently-disclosed subject matter.
Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as is commonly understood by one of skill in the art to which the invention(s) belong.
All patents, patent applications, published applications and publications, GenBank sequences, databases, websites and other published materials referred to throughout the entire disclosure herein, unless noted otherwise, are incorporated by reference in their entirety.
Although any methods, devices, and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of the presently-disclosed subject matter, representative methods, devices, and materials are described herein.
The presently-disclosed subject matter is further illustrated by the following specific but non-limiting examples. The following examples may include compilations of data that are representative of data gathered at various times during the course of development and experimentation related to the present invention.
While the disclosure is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described below in detail. It should be understood, however, that the description of specific embodiments is not intended to limit the disclosure to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims.

Inducing production of full-length progranulin (GRN) from nucleotides including mutations containing a premature stop codon (PTC)

University of Kentucky Research Foundation

The United States as Represented by The Dept of Veteran Affairs (VA)


A method includes identifying an amount of time that a wireless device has or does not have redundant connectivity in a wireless network during a specified time period. The method also includes identifying a redundant wireless connection availability of the wireless device during the specified time period. Identifying the amount of time that the wireless device has or does not have redundant connectivity could include identifying connection events associated with the wireless device. The connection events can include events in which a wireless connection with the wireless device is formed and events in which a wireless connection with the wireless device is dropped. Time periods during which multiple wireless connections with the wireless device exist or do not exist can be identified. Identifying the redundant wireless connection availability could include identifying a percentage of the specified time period during which multiple wireless connections with the wireless device exist.

Wireless networks are frequently used in industrial process control systems. For example, a process control system often includes sensors that provide measurements over a wireless network and actuators that receive control signals over the wireless network. A process controller can use the measurements from the sensors to generate the control signals for the actuators.
A wireless device may connect to a wireless network using one or more connections to one or more parent access points or routers. Redundant wireless connectivity to a network provides increased availability and reliability compared to non-redundant connectivity. Current wireless systems often support multiple connections between a wireless device and its parent access points or routers within a network. Connections may be used for various purposes, such as process data publication, request/response communications, message routing, and clock synchronization. Each connection may have one or more purposes. In an optimal network, redundant connections are formed for each purpose.

Apparatus and method for measuring and reporting redundant wireless connectivity over time


This invention relates to a testing system for assessing the level of a biochemical marker, comprising a disposable device (2) with a sample inlet (4) and a at least one visible detection compartment (5A, 5B), arranged with composition including a chemical means (Y) for direct detection of said biochemical marker, wherein said composition also includes an inhibitor (Z) arranged to first detection compartment (5A) being arranged to block the biochemical marker up to a certain concentration.

1. Related Field
Testing system for assessing the level of a biochemical marker, comprising a disposable device with a sample inlet and a at least one visible detection compartment, arranged with composition including a chemical means for direct detection of said biochemical marker.
2. Description of Related Art
Biochemical analysis of biochemical markers from blood and other body fluids are probably the most commonly performed diagnostic test besides clinical examination of a patients. Biochemical analysis could be performed at home (e.g. pregnancy test, glucose monitoration in diabetic patients), in hospital or the physician's office on a point of care device (e.g. hemoglobin, blood gases, lactate, electrolytes) or at the department of clinical chemistry where broad panels of routine biochemical markers or highly specialized single biochemical markers are analysed on huge automatized equipment.
In many aspects the department of clinical chemistry is superior when it comes to moderately quick and cost effective analysis. However in some situations lack of time, lack of appropriate amount of body fluid needed for analysis or the localisation (e.g. at home or when medical care is given at a significant distance from the department of clinical chemistry) excludes the department of clinical chemistry as a possible way to perform the needed analysis. In these situations some kind of point of care (POC) device is the most effective, or sole, solution to insure safe medical care for the individual patient. POC is the generic word for medical care that could be performed where the patient is located. When it comes to POC in-vitro diagnostic devices for analysis of one or several biochemical markers in a specific body fluid from a patient a broad spectrum of technical solutions are commercially available. The simplest form of a POC in-vitro diagnostic device, in terms of how the result is presented to the user, could be exemplified by the pregnancy test where the presence of the hormone human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) in urine will be shown as a colour, a line or a "plus" sign. Much more advanced are the different analysing equipments, the size of huge microwave ovens, where many of the analyses performed at the department of clinical chemistry could be analysed point-of-care.
When it comes to POC technology the medical care giver has to do a trade-off between simple-to-use qualitative devices like the urine dipstick and the expensive, hefty but sophisticated lab-on-a-bench equipment giving full quantitative results on most of the biochemical analysis needed in modern medical care.
Numerous systems have been suggested to minimise one or more of the problems mentioned above. For instance, U.S. 2006/0222567 suggests the use of a mobile device, having a specifically designed accessory and a specific software to provide the ability of analysing a test in situ, i.e. to more or less instantly may display a test result. However, this solution presents some disadvantages, e.g. that it requires specific accessories, which most likely will be very costly. Furthermore, it may also be a disadvantage that it requires a mobile device having a relatively large processor capacity to run the program and the need of actually installing the program on each one of said mobile units. In its preferred form U.S. 2006/0222567 uses a digital picture, taken by the mobile unit, that is processed, i.e. regarding colour (change/intensity) to determine the test result. This may imply some requirements/restrictions on the equipment and the software that may not always be accomplished. Furthermore it may require the use of undesirably costly substances to obtain a sufficiently distinct colour change for the testing.


A testing apparatus for a touch panel is disclosed, which includes a control system, a plurality of supporting members and a plurality of contact members. The supporting members are respectively connected to the control system, wherein one side of each of the supporting members includes at least one contact member, which is configured to be used to touch the touch panel. The contacting members are capable of being moved relative to the touch panel when the supporting members are driven by the control system. Also a method for using the same apparatus is disclosed.

Field of the Invention
The present in elates to a testing apparatus for a touch and a method for using the same, and more particularly, to a testing apparatus for a touch panel which has a multi-point testing function and a method using the same.
Description of the Related Art
Touch panels are popular input devices. When a user touches a certain position on the touch panel, corresponding to text or the images on a display device, the touch panel senses signals and transmits them to a controller for signal processing. There are several types of touch panels, for example, resistive types, capacitive types, infrared types, surface acoustic wave types, etc. For instance, the capacitive touch panels detect the difference of capacitance of the touch panel. When a user touches the touch panel, the capacitance at the corresponding position changes. Therefore, when the user touches different positions of the touch panel, the controller calculates the differences in capacitance and then outputs corresponding signals.
Generally, after the touch panel has been manufactured, linearity testing is done to inspect if the touch panel meets performance and quality requirements. The linearity testing is carried out by an apparatus, wherein a contacting member is positioned on the touch panel to actually touch and depress the surface of the touch panel. Meanwhile, the signal of the detected touches by the touch panel is then transmitted to a testing system for analysis. Based on the results of the analysis, a determination is made as to whether the touch panel has met the performance and quality requirements.

Testing apparatus for touch panel and method for using the same


A method for construction of footwear includes providing an upper defining a volume for receiving a wearer's foot, the upper having a peripheral lasting edge; sewing an inner liner to an inner surface of the upper; sewing a front bottom lining to a peripheral edge of a front portion only of the inner liner; lasting, along an edge of a last, the peripheral lasting edge portion of the upper over an insole tuck and front bottom lining, the insole tuck being temporarily secured to the last; and securing the outsole to the lasted upper. This dual-approach construction method combines the advantages of increased comfort at the front portion of the wearer's foot with attractiveness and good support at the rearward portion of a shoe.

The invention relates to footwear.
There are a wide variety of shoe constructions. In one construction method, popular for making athletic shoes (e.g., lightweight running or jogging shoes), a relatively thin layer of lightweight material is sewed along the bottom edge of an upper. This construction method is sometimes referred to as a Stroebel construction because a Stroebel stitching machine can be used to sew the lightweight material to the inner liner. However, the Stroebel construction method is not used in constructing dress shoes, particularly those with dress heels, in which the heel is attached by fasteners (e.g., nails, rivets, screws) from the inside of the shoe.