A first base station (1) is configured to establish a first signaling bearer with a mobility management apparatus (5), establish a second signaling bearer with a second base station (2), and to establish a signaling radio bearer with a mobile station (3) in a first cell (10). The second base station (2) is configured to establish the second signaling bearer with the first base station (1), establish a data bearer with a data transfer apparatus (6), and to establish a data radio bearer with the mobile station (3) in a second cell (20). Furthermore, the first base station (1) is configured to transmit, to the second base station (2) through the second signaling bearer configuration information, necessary to establish the data bearer and the data radio bearer in the second base station (2). Thus, for example, bearer architecture suitable for a C/U plane split scenario is provided.

In Long Term Evolution (LTE) Release 12 in 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), "local area enhancement" or "small cell enhancement" has become one of subjects for discussion for accommodation of local huge traffic, improvement of throughput, efficient utilization of a high frequency band, and the like (refer to Non-patent Literature 1). In the local area enhancement or the small cell enhancement, a low-power node (LPN) that forms a small cell is used.
Furthermore, a C/U plane split scenario has been proposed regarding the small cell enhancement. In C/U-plane split, a macro cell provides a control plane (e.g., a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection and a Non-Access Stratum (NAS) message transfer) to a mobile station (User Equipment (UE)), and the small cell provides a user plane to the UE. When looking at a specific introduction example regarding a Control plane (C-plane), the macro cell can maintain a good connection with the UE by a wide coverage using a low frequency band, and can support mobility of the UE. Meanwhile, when looking at the user plane (U-plane), the small cell can provide local high throughput to the UE by using a wide bandwidth in a high frequency band.
In the C/U plane split scenario, a case is also assumed where the small cell need not transmit existing cell-specific signals/channels, for example, a PSS (Primary Synchronization Signal), a Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS), a Cell-specific Reference Signal (CRS), a Master Information Block (MIB), and a System Information Block (SIB). Accordingly, such new small cell may be called a phantom cell. In addition, a base station (eNB) or an LPN that provides such small cell may also be called a Phantom eNodeB (PhNB).

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Radio communication system, base station, mobile station, communication control method, and computer readable medium


A eating implement for holding the bone portion of ribs, chicken and other foods. The eating implement includes a tong-shaped member having a pair of arms each having a first end attached to a resiliently flexible connector. The arms extend outwardly in a generally parallel direction with respect to each other. The arms each have an outer surface and an inner surface. The inner surfaces face each other. Each of the arms has a first edge and a second edge. Each of the arms has a middle portion, a distal portion and proximal portion with respect to the connector A holding member extends around the tong-shaped member and is positioned between the distal and proximal portions of the arms for holding the arms in a static relationship to each other.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to eating devices and more particularly pertains to a new eating implement for holding the bone portion of ribs, chicken and other foods.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of eating devices is known in the prior art. More specifically, eating devices heretofore devised and utilized are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
Known prior art includes U.S. Pat. No. 4,707,922; U.S. Pat. No. 4,002,365; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,934,721.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not disclose a new eating implement. The inventive device includes a tong-shaped member having a pair of arms each having a first end attached to a resiliently flexible connector. The arms extend outwardly in a generally parallel direction with respect to each other. The arms each have an outer surface and an inner surface. The inner surfaces face each other. Each of the arms has a first edge and a second edge. Each of the arms has a middle portion, a distal portion and proximal portion with respect to the connector. A holding member extends around the tong-shaped member and is positioned between the distal and proximal portions of the arms for holding the arms in a static relationship to each other.
In these respects, the eating implement according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of holding the bone portion of ribs, chicken and other foods.
In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of eating devices now present in the prior art, the present invention provides a new eating implement construction wherein the same can be utilized for holding the bone portion of ribs, chicken and other foods.
The general purpose of the present invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a new eating implement apparatus and method which has many of the advantages of the eating devices mentioned heretofore and many novel features that result in a new eating implement which is not anticipated, rendered obvious, suggested, or even implied by any of the prior art eating devices, either alone or in any combination thereof.
To attain this, the present invention generally comprises a tong-shaped member having a pair of arms each having a first end attached to a resiliently flexible connector. The arms extend outwardly in a generally parallel direction with respect to each other. The arms each have an outer surface and an inner surface. The inner surfaces face each other. Each of the arms has a first edge and a second edge. Each of the arms has a middle portion, a distal portion and proximal portion with respect to the connector. A holding member extends around the tong-shaped member and is positioned between the distal and proximal portions of the arms for holding the arms in a static relationship to each other.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially the scientists, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. The abstract is neither intended to define the invention of the application, which is measured by the claims, nor is it intended to be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new eating implement apparatus and method which has many of the advantages of the eating devices mentioned heretofore and many novel features that result in a new eating implement which is not anticipated, rendered obvious, suggested, or even implied by any of the prior art eating devices, either alone or in any combination thereof.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new eating implement which may be easily and efficiently manufactured and marketed.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new eating implement which is of a durable and reliable construction.
An even further object of the present invention is to provide a new eating implement which is susceptible of a low cost of manufacture with regard to both materials and labor, and which accordingly is then susceptible of low prices of sale to the consuming public, thereby making such eating implement economically available to the buying public.
Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new eating implement which provides in the apparatuses and methods of the prior art some of the advantages thereof, while simultaneously overcoming some of the disadvantages normally associated therewith.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a new eating implement for holding the bone portion of ribs, chicken and other foods.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new eating implement which includes a tong-shaped member having a pair of arms each having a first end attached to a resiliently flexible connector. The arms extend outwardly in a generally parallel direction with respect to each other. The arms each have an outer surface and an inner surface. The inner surfaces face each other. Each of the arms has a first edge and a second edge. Each of the arms has a middle portion, a distal portion and proximal portion with respect to the connector. A holding member extends around the tong-shaped member and is positioned between the distal and proximal portions of the arms for holding the arms in a static relationship to each other.
Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new eating implement that holds food so that the user""s hands remain clean.
These together with other objects of the invention, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the invention, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be made to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there are illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention.


A rotary piston machine (64) of trochoidal construction with a piston (36) of epitrochoidal type with 1:1 generating circles and defined with an outer envelope and a follow-up mechanism (50) for the piston comprising a pair of relatively offset eccenters (52, 54) mounted for eccentric rotation about a drive shaft (14) with the piston, the eccenters (52, 54) being rotatably mounted in respective guide members (58, 60) which are constrained to reciprocate rectilinearly along angularly offset paths, the pair of eccenters (52, 54) being immediately adjacent the piston (36) and secured for rotation directly therewith. Where two or more pistons (36) are provided, each will have a respective follow-up mechanism (50). The piston (36) and follow-up mechanism (50) are mounted on an eccentric portion (30) of the drive shaft (14) which may be stepped with the eccenters (52, 54) being mounted about a reduced diameter portion (32). The eccenters (52, 54) may be separable from the piston (36). The machine ( 64) may be of modular construction with the piston (36) in one module (20) and each eccenter (52, 54) movable in respective further modules (22, 26).

The present invention relates to rotary piston machines of trochoidal design, particularly of the epitrochoidal type. In these machines, some form of guide or follow-up drive mechanism is required to ensure that the piston rotates in a controlled manner about a drive shaft in the opposite direction to the rotation of the drive shaft, and the present invention is particularly, but not essentially, concerned with such a follow-up drive mechanism.
The best known version of a rotary engine of trochoidal design of the epitrochoidal type is the Wankel engine, and the widely accepted best solution to the piston follow-up mechanism for the Wankel engine is a 3:2 gear drive. The Wankel engine uses a piston of the epitrochoidal type defined with an inner envelope.
In rotary piston machines of trochoidal design in which the piston substantially conforms to an epitrochoid having 1:1 generating circles, the follow-up drive mechanism must produce a 2:1 ratio. There have been many proposals to produce this type of drive using a gear driven direct kinematic follow-up mechanism for such a machine in which the piston is defined with an outer envelope, but for a given eccentricity or stroke of the piston on the drive shaft the diameters of the gears are fixed and the static gear must have a pitch circle diameter equal to 4 times the eccentricity of the drive shaft. Furthermore, in order to fit the gears and piston to the eccentric part of the drive shaft it is necessary to manufacture the drive shaft in two parts. In practice these requirements mean that a considerable necking down and therefore weakening of the drive shaft may be required in the area of the smaller pinion gear, to such an extent that the reduced strength of the drive shaft may virtually eliminate the possibility of constructing a multiple piston engine. Also, the rapidly fluctuating loads on the gears will tend to reduce the life of the gears, and the accuracy of the positioning of the piston will become unacceptable with increasing gear wear as the piston will then tend to be able to contact the housing.
One proposal avoiding the use of gears in a 2:1 follow-up drive mechanism for an epitrochoidal rotary piston is made in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,909,163 and 3,923,430 in which an eccentric elongate rotary body is disposed on a continuous drive shaft for rotation therewith, a sleeve is disposed over the rotary body for rotation relative thereto, one or more rotary pistons are mounted on the sleeve for rotation therewith and a single follow-up mechanism is provided on the sleeve for all of the pistons. The follow-up drive mechanism comprises a pair of offset eccenters mounted on the sleeve for rotation therewith and with the or each piston, from which they are axially spaced. The eccenters are rotatable within respective guide mechanisms which are constrained to reciprocate along rectilinear paths by relatively inclined straight rods. This mechanism operates on the principle that any fixed chosen point on the or each piston will trace an elliptical path relative to the housing when the piston rotates with its correct relative motion with respect to the drive shaft and housing, that is at twice the angular velocity of the drive shaft but in the opposite direction. If the chosen point on the piston is spaced from the eccentric axis of the piston by a distance equal to the piston eccentricity from the axis of rotation of the drive shaft, the ellipse traced on the housing by the fixed point on the piston becomes a straight line. This is a special case of the ellipse when its minor axis becomes zero. Therefore, to obtain the required synchronised motion any point on the piston or fixed relative to the piston at a radius equal to the drive shaft eccentricity from the axis on which the piston rotates must be constrained to move in a straight line through the axis of the drive shaft.
While the proposal in the aforementioned U.S. patent specifications alleviates the necking down of the drive shaft which is required with a direct kinematic gear driven follow-up mechanism, it requires very substantial counter balancing to balance the substantial weight of the rotating body eccentrically mounted for rotation with the drive shaft. Furthermore, since the eccentric rotating body and sleeve mounted for rotation relative thereto are continuous through each piston the unbalanced mass of the eccentric rotating body will increase for each additional piston and the distance between the main bearings at each end of the engine may be very large. It is not practical to have bearings between the end bearings. Even for a single piston engine, the spacing between the eccenters and the piston is substantial requiring well spaced drive shaft bearings. Also, for a multiple piston engine of this design, since all of the pistons are mounted on the one continuous sleeve, each trochoidal housing for an associated piston, and the corresponding plugs and ports, must be angularly offset relative to the others, leading to an engine which may be costly and very difficult to build and service.
The proposal in U.S. Pat. No. 4,086,038 uses a similar follow-up drive mechanism to that in the aforementioned U.S. Patent Specifications but the rotating body and sleeve is replaced by a reduced diameter shaft which is journalled for eccentric rotation relative to the divided drive shaft, with the piston or all of the pistons and the associated guide mechanism fixed for rotation with the reduced diameter shaft. All of the pistons must be on the one reduced diameter shaft and, as with the aforedescribed proposal, there is only one follow-up mechanism for all of the pistons which is equally spaced from the pair of pistons illustrated, all of which means an excessive distance between the main bearings of the drive shaft. Furthermore, it is possible for the opposed portions of the drive shaft to move out of phase due to deflection under load which will tend to cause excessive friction and ultimately seizure with the pistons fouling the housing.

Trochoidal rotary piston machine with piston follow-up mechanism


An illustrated view of an absolute teaching device for presenting an image of the patient's medical information to the doctor. The absolute teaching device is useful to aid to educate the patient or to close a mode of a treatment plan. The absolute teaching device removes the blood and gut, that most non-healthcare individuals can be squeamish about by animating with transparencies to see from frontal to supine. The absolute teaching device may highlight, or glow, for areas of concern during a consultation and direct any other areas of concern related to the origin of concern.

Medicine is the science and practice of establishing the diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, and prevention of disease. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness. Contemporary medicine applies biomedical sciences, biomedical research, genetics, and medical technology to diagnose, treat, and prevent injury and disease, typically through pharmaceuticals or surgery, but also through therapies as diverse as psychotherapy, external splints and traction, medical devices, biologics, and ionizing radiation, amongst others.
Since the advent of modern science, most medicine has become a combination of art and science (both basic and applied, under the umbrella of medical science). While stitching technique for sutures is an art learned through practice, the knowledge of what happens at the cellular and molecular level in the tissues being stitched arises through science.
Dentistry, also known as dental medicine and oral medicine, is a branch of medicine that consists of the study, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases, disorders, and conditions of the oral cavity, commonly in the dentition but also the oral mucosa, and of adjacent and related structures and tissues, particularly in the maxillofacial (jaw and facial) area. Although primarily associated with teeth among the general public, the field of dentistry or dental medicine is not limited to teeth but includes other aspects of the craniofacial complex including the temporomandibular joint and other supporting, muscular, lymphatic, nervous, vascular, and anatomical structures.
Educational technology (commonly abbreviated as Edutech, EduTech, or EdTech) is the combined use of computer hardware, software, and educational theory and practice to facilitate learning. Educational technology creates, uses, and manages technological processes and educational resources to help improve user academic performance. The field has been described as a persisting initiative that seeks to bring learners, teachers, and technical means together in an effective way.
One problem that exists with medicine and dentistry is that all learning is either by bookwork or directly working on a patient. However, these methods are flawed in that they don't give direct views of the patient at hand. Although, there are numerous scans, MRIs, and the like that are currently performed, these scans, MRIs and the like are not directly applied to the specific skeletal structure of the patient.
Accordingly, and in light of the foregoing, there is a desire to have a device that is computerized to apply such scans, MRIs and the like to the skeletal view of a patient that the doctor can view in real time and have a full view of the particular patient being examined and/or surgery performed upon. It is further desirable for the doctor to have a method to see the patient's scans in a three-version view and to go back and forth through different levels to understand the specifics of the patient in real time.


A connection structure is provided for connecting heat exchangers (11, 12) to each other for exchanging heat between a first fluid flowing in body parts (13, 14) and a second fluid flowing in heat transfer pipes (15, 16) disposed in the body parts (13, 14). The connection structure includes connection holes (17, 18) provided in the body parts (13, 14) of the heat exchangers (11, 12) and a press-formable connection member (19), connected to the outer surfaces of the body parts (13, 14) for fluidly coupling the connecting holes (17, 18) so that the body parts (13, 14) are allowed to communicate with each other.

Recently, the case to install the EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation) cooler in vehicles is increasing in order to cut down NOx contained in exhaust gas emitted from a diesel engine, since social requests related to improvement of the natural environment is increasing. Furthermore, the necessity to install plural connected EGR coolers in one vehicle is also increasing in connection with request to improve performance of the EGR cooler.
FIG. 4 shows a prior art structure for connecting heat exchangers. At the structure for connecting heat exchangers, two EGR coolers 1, 2 are connected in series by welding each end of a U-bend pipe 5, respectively, to each body part 3, 4, which cooling fluid passes through, because of space problem in the engine room of the vehicle.
After the cooling water, which enters into the first EGR 1 cooler through an inlet pipe 6, enters into the second EGR cooler 2 through the U-bend pipe 5, it comes out of a outlet pipe 7. In the meantime, the cooling water exchanges heat between the exhaust gases passing through heat transfer pipes (not shown) installed in each body part 3, 4 and cools down the exhaust gases.
In addition, at the saltwater heat exchangers used in the nuclear power plant and the like, heat exchangers are connected by the U-bend pipe as the above case (See Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Application No. 56-89590).
However, in the above-mentioned prior structure for connecting heat exchangers, there are problems that it is difficult to form the U-bend pipe and to weld it to the each body part. Also, costs for parts and labor are expensive, because it is necessary to use the U-bend pipes, which bend radius is small, to connect the heat exchangers.
Furthermore, there is a problem that it is difficult to install the U-bend pipe in the small space, such as the engine room of the vehicle, because a little space is provided to install the U-bend pipe.
In addition, there is a problem that it is difficult to improve the efficiency because fluid resistance and power for transferring the fluid become larger.
In order to overcome the above problems, the object of the present invention is to provide a structure for connecting heat exchangers to be able to reduce the cost and space for installation and to improve the efficiency.

Structure for connecting heat exchangers


A multi-processor controller is provided. The multi-processor controller can be used to control the operation of an inverter in a vehicle-based electric traction system. The multi-processor controller includes a first processor device having a first supply voltage node, a second processor device having a second supply voltage node, a first voltage regulator, and a second voltage regulator. The first voltage regulator has a first output voltage node coupled to the first supply voltage node, and the first voltage regulator is configured to generate a first regulated supply voltage for the first processor device. The second voltage regulator has a second output voltage node coupled to the second supply voltage node, and the second voltage regulator is configured to generate a second regulated supply voltage for the second processor device.

In recent years, advances in technology, as well as ever evolving tastes in style, have led to substantial changes in the design of automobiles. One of the changes involves the power usage and complexity of the various electrical systems within automobiles, particularly alternative fuel vehicles, such as hybrid, electric, and fuel cell vehicles.
Many of the electrical components, including the electric motors used in such vehicles, receive electrical power from alternating current (AC) power supplies. However, the power sources (e.g., batteries) used in such applications provide direct current (DC) power. Thus, devices known as "power inverters" are used to convert the DC power into AC power. Such power inverters often utilize several switches, or transistors, operated at various intervals to convert the DC power to AC power.
Typically, the switches of the inverter are operated by using pulse-width modulation (PWM) techniques to control the amount of current and/or voltage provided to the electric motor. Often, a microprocessor architecture or control module generates PWM signals for the switches in the inverter, and provides the PWM signals to a gate driver, which turns the switches on and off. Some inverter controller modules utilize multiple processor chips mounted on a circuit board. Traditional multi-processor controller deployments for vehicle-based inverter systems utilize a single voltage regulator component that provides the regulated supply voltages to all of the processor devices. Reliance on a single voltage regulator component can be troublesome because the operation of all processor devices will be dependent upon that single component. In addition, a single voltage regulator that drives multiple processor devices can result in a high concentration of heat on the controller circuit board, and it may be difficult to effectively and efficiently dissipate the thermal energy generated by the voltage regulator.

Power supply topology for a multi-processor controller in an electric traction system


A method, apparatus, and computer instructions for managing access to a set of applications associated with a universal resource locator in a data processing system. A request is received, wherein the request includes the universal resource locator and a user identification. The request is directed to a selected application within the set of applications using the universal resource locator and the user identification.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to an improved data processing system, and in particular to a method and apparatus for managing applications on a server. Still more particularly, the present invention provides a method, apparatus, and computer implemented instructions for accessing applications on server using a universal resource locator.
2. Description of Related Art
The Internet, also referred to as an "internetwork", is a set of computer networks, possibly dissimilar, joined together by means of gateways that handle data transfer and the conversion of messages from protocols of the sending network to the protocols used by the receiving network (with packets if necessary). When capitalized, the term "Internet" refers to the collection of networks and gateways that use the TCP/IP suite of protocols.
The Internet has become a cultural fixture as a source of both information and entertainment. Many businesses are creating Internet sites as an integral part of their marketing efforts, informing consumers of the products or services offered by the business or providing other information seeking to engender brand loyalty. Many federal, state, and local government agencies are also employing Internet sites for informational purposes, particularly agencies, which must interact with virtually all segments of society such as the Internal Revenue Service and secretaries of state. Providing informational guides and/or searchable databases of online public records may reduce operating costs. Further, the Internet is becoming increasingly popular as a medium for commercial transactions.
Currently, the most commonly employed method of transferring data over the Internet is to employ the World Wide Web environment, also called simply "the Web". Other Internet resources exist for transferring information, such as File Transfer Protocol (FTP) and Gopher, but have not achieved the popularity of the Web. In the Web environment, servers and clients effect data transaction using the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), a known protocol for handling the transfer of various data files (e.g., text, still graphic images, audio, motion video, etc.). The information in various data files is formatted for presentation to a user by a standard page description language, the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML). In addition to basic presentation formatting, HTML allows developers to specify "links" to other Web resources identified by a Uniform Resource Locator (URL). A URL is a special syntax identifier defining a communications path to specific information. Each logical block of information accessible to a client, called a "page" or a "Web page", is identified by a URL. The URL provides a universal, consistent method for finding and accessing this information, not necessarily for the user, but mostly for the user's Web "browser". A browser is a program capable of submitting a request for information identified by an identifier, such as, for example, a URL. A user may enter a domain name through a graphical user interface (GUI) for the browser to access a source of content. The domain name is automatically converted to the Internet Protocol (IP) address by a domain name system (DNS), which is a service that translates the symbolic name entered by the user into an IP address by looking up the domain name in a database.
On the Web, the URL is the key to accessing everything on the Web, including Web sites, files, and applications. One wrong letter or a misplaced punctuation mark can make a difference between a usable and a useless URL for a Web site. For Web site developers one important item for considering during development of a Web site is an identification of the final URLs for that site. Failure to take this identification into consideration may result in frustrated users and unhappy customers.
In Web site development, several developers and analysts may simultaneously work on the actual development of a single Web site. It is important to development applications for the Web site as if they are actually being served up or accessed on the Internet. With the URL issue, the URL used by each developer working on the Web site must be the same if they are working with the same application. Web sites that make use of many different applications and development languages require different skills/expertise from a variety of developers. In order for those developers to use the same URL in their development, they must access the same files on the same host.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to have an improved method, apparatus, and computer instructions for managing development of applications.

Method and apparatus for partitioned environment for web application servers

International Business Machines Corporation


Whole cell phage-display techniques were used to identify several peptides that bound preferentially to a non-typeable strain of Haemophilus influenzae. These peptides were able to inhibit growth of both H. influenzae and Staphylococcal aureus. Thus, methods for treating bacterial infections, alone or in combination with traditional antibiotics, are envisioned.

A. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the fields of microbiology and infectious pathology. More particularly, it deals with the identification of peptides that are capable of inhibiting bacterial infections, including those caused by Haemophilus influenzae and Staphylococcus aureus.
B. Related Art
Nasopharyngeal colonization with non-encapsulated Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) frequently occurs in infants and in adults with common variable immunodeficiency (CVID), but is rarely found among healthy adults. In children with recurrent episodes of acute otitis media (RAOM), NTHi is more common than in healthy individuals. Protracted nasopharyngeal colonization with one and the same NTHi strain has also been found in CVID patients. Colonization is suspected to cause deeper infections, e.g., sinusitis and pneumonia. Since they early 1990's, however, there has been an increase in invasive NTHi infections in previously healthy people.
Similarly, Staphylococcus aureus clinical isolates with intermediate resistance to glycopeptides, so called GISA isolates, have recently been recognized in Japan, the U.S. and elsewhere (Ploy et al., 1998; Wong et al., 1999). GISA isolates described to date have been uniformly resistant to methicillin and have sorted into three phenotypic classes (Boyle-Vavra et al., 2000). All are heteroresistant in that only a subpopulation of cells express the vancomycin resistance phenotype. Class A isolates are intermediate to vancomycin and teicoplanin; class B isolates are intermediate to vancomycin but susceptible to teicoplanin. Class C isolates have an MIC of teicoplanin in the intermediate range and vancomycin in the susceptible range (Boyle-Vavra et al., 2000). Additionally, isolates have been described that are susceptible to both glycopeptides by minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) testing, but contain a subpopulation that can survive on vancomycin >4 μg/ml. The mechanism of glycopeptide resistance in S. aureus remains unclear.
Thus, there is a growing need to identify new and improved antibiotics that are effective at preventing and treating these difficult to treat and quite dangerous bacterial infections.

Phage-display peptides as novel antimicrobial agents against

The Curators of the University of Missouri


An optical cross-connect network provides wavelength routing of optical channels between two arrays of optical fibers carrying WDM signals using interconnected arrays of optical wavelength switches based on combinations of a 1.times.2 wavelength switch architecture. The cross-connect network can be made by interconnecting two arrays of 1.times.4 wavelength switches, each of which is made by combining three 1.times.2 wavelength switches. Each 1.times.2 optical wavelength switch includes a polarization separation element that decomposes and spatially separates the input signal into two orthogonally-polarized beams, and a wavelength filter that decomposes into the beam pair into two pairs of orthogonally-polarized beams that carry a first spectral band at a first polarization and a second spectral band at an orthogonal polarization. A polarization-dependent routing element spatially separates these four beams into four orthogonally-polarized components. A polarization combining element recombines the beams carrying the first spectral band, and also recombines the beams carrying the second spectral band at the output ports based on the control state of the wavelength switch.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to optical communication systems, and more particularly, to optical multi-wavelength cross-connect networks for wavelength division multiplex (WDM) optical communications.
2. Statement of the Problem
WDM optical communications systems that can carry information at rates up to terabits per second are becoming the next wave in optical communications development. In current WDM systems, information is optically coded within each of the WDM channels and the network is linked using a point-to-point architecture. Signal routing and switching are performed electronically (i.e., optical information is translated back to electronic format and then processed at each network node). As data rates increase, these opto-electronic and electro-optic conversions are becoming the bottleneck for the network. To improve the efficiency and reduce to cost of networks, routing and switching performed in the optical domain are preferred.
Thus, national and international researches for all-optical networks have become the current focus in the fiber optics industry. A recent technical journal, "Multi-Wavelength Optical Technology and Networks," Journal of Lightwave Technology (vol. 14, no. 6, 1996), has gathered about 40 papers reviewing the current status of all-optical networks. Three basic WDM cross-connect networks were listed (shown herein as prior art in FIG. 1) as the basic building blocks for WDM networks. Recently, a national Optical Multi-Wavelength Optical Networking (MONET) Consortium has been formed to study all-optical networks. In its recent demonstration, three all-optical network test beds have been constructed: a WDM long distance test bed; a WDM cross-connect test bed; and a local-exchange test bed (R. C. Alferness, el. al., "MONET: New Jersey demonstration network results," Optical Fiber Conference 1997, Paper WI1, and "All Optical Test Beds Prove National Networking," Lightwave (April 1997)). Wavelength cross-connect networks using array waveguide gratings (AWG) together with opto-mechanical space switches and LiNbO3-based cross-connect switches have been used in such networks. International efforts, such as the ACTS (Advanced Communications Technologies and Services) program launched by the European Commission projects, are specifically addressing the problems of trans-European optical transport networks using WDM (M. Berger et al., "Pan-European Optical Networking using Wavelength Division Multiplexing," IEEE Comm. Mag. p. 82, (April 1997)). A similar architecture to the MONET project is proposed, except another approach using the wavelength conversion technique is also planned in this European effort.
3. Solution to the Problem
The present invention uses two arrays of unique 1.times.N wavelength switches to form the wavelength cross-connect network. Because the wavelength filtering and optical switching are accomplished within the same device, the switching elements needed to perform the wavelength cross-connect are reduced and optimized. Furthermore, because the wavelength switch has a built-in complementary spectra characteristic, where a wavelength-slicing concept is used, wavelength collision can be avoided.

Multi-wavelength cross-connect optical network


A charging device, a process cartridge, and an image forming apparatus are provided. The charging device includes a charging roller configured to charge an image carrier and a cleaning roller configured to clean the charging roller while making contact with a surface of the charging roller. The charging device further includes a bearing member including a first portion configured to rotatably support a rotational shaft of the charging roller and a second portion configured to rotatably support a rotational shaft of the cleaning roller. The charging device also includes an elastic member provided outside of the second portion of the bearing member with respect to an axial direction of the rotational shaft of the cleaning roller such that the charging roller makes contact with the image carrier when the first portion of the bearing member is pressed by the elastic member.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to copiers, printers, facsimile devices, and other image-forming devices for forming images with electrophotography, and a charged device, cleaning device, process cartridge, and toner that are adopted therein.
2. Description of the Background Art
In this type of electrophotographic image-forming device, a charge with a prescribed polarity is imparted and retained by discharging electricity on the surface of a photoreceptor or other image carrier, the charged photoreceptor surface is exposed to form an electrostatic latent image, toner charged with the same polarity as the charged polarity is fed to the electrostatic latent image, and a toner image is formed. The toner image formed on the surface of the image carrier is transferred to recording paper or another medium, and heat and pressure are applied to fix the image to the recording paper or other medium. Also, since there is residual toner that is not transferred on the surface of the image carrier after the toner image has been transferred, the surface is cleaned with a cleaning blade, cleaning brush, or another cleaning device prior to entering the next charging step.
A conventional configuration of a non-contact method that uses corona discharge is disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 8-106203 (paragraphs "0002" and "0003"), for example, as a charged device adopted in such an image-forming device. There are drawbacks in a charged device that uses the non-contact method in that ozone, nitrogen oxide, and other corona products associated with corona discharge cause adverse environmental effects, and the charging characteristics can deteriorate when nitric compounds (ammonium nitrate) and other discharge products based on nitrogen oxide are deposited.
In lieu of such a non-contact charged device, also known are charged devices that use a contact method whereby the charged roller is brought into contact with the surface of the image carrier to impart a charge, and charged devices that use a close proximity method whereby the charged roller is brought into close proximity to the surface of image carrier while maintaining a small gap of several microns to several tens of microns to impart a charge.
Normally, a charging bias voltage is applied to the charged roller of charged devices that use the contact or close proximity methods. An AC voltage that has a DC voltage and an interpeak voltage that is no less than double the discharge starting voltage of the DC voltage is superposed and applied as such a charging bias voltage, the electric potential of the latent image carrier is converged to the value of the applied DC voltage by the application of the AC voltage, and a uniform charge can be imparted to the surface of the latent image carrier as a result.
Described next are various problems that need to be solved in charged devices based on the use of the above-described contact and close proximity methods.
[1] First Problem
In charged devices using the above-described close proximity method, a small gap is formed between the surface of the image carrier and the surface of the charged roller, and disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 2003-66693 (paragraphs "0010" and "0011"), for example, is a technique in which the surface of the latent image carrier is placed in a state of constant etching since the surface of the image carrier is charged by a pulse discharge generated between the small gap. When the surface of the image carrier is cut by the etching phenomenon produced by the charged roller, a film-thinning phenomenon is created whereby the film thickness of the photosensitive layer of the surface thereof is reduced, and it is possible that the charging characteristics may deteriorate and the image quality may decline as these phenomena occur.
For example, Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 2003-66693 discloses a method aimed at reducing the film-thinning phenomenon of such a latent carrier, whereby a DC voltage is applied exclusively to the charged roller that makes contact, and, for example, Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 2003-91143 (paragraph "0010") discloses a method in which a lubricant is applied to the surface of the latent image carrier.
In the former method, the surface of the image carrier is charged solely by DC voltage and the amount of current flowing to the image carrier is therefore considerably reduced because AC voltage is not applied thereto. In other words, the pulse discharge to the image carrier is reduced, and, as a result, the etching effect on the surface of the image carrier is reduced and the film-thinning phenomenon of the image carrier controlled. Used in the latter method is a solid lubricant application device that is provided exclusively to the charged device independent from the cleaning device of the image carrier, and the surface can be protected by forming a lubricating layer on the surface through the application of zinc stearate or another lubricant, for example, to the surface of the image carrier to increase the abrasion resistance.
There is an additional problem in that the charged roller becomes soiled, which is another reason that the image quality may decline due to the deterioration of the charging characteristics of the image carrier when a charged roller is used. The charged roller is disposed facing the surface of the image carrier which has undergone the cleaning step, but is also disposed in a manner that tends to allow toner, paper dust, and other unwanted matter left behind in the cleaning step to be deposited on the surface of the image carrier. For this reason, the surface friction changes when partial soiling occurs on the charged roller, and, as a result, a homogeneous charge cannot be imparted to the image carrier. In view of the above, for example, Japanese Laid-open Patent Application Nos. 2003-29430 (paragraph "0012"), 7-11425 (paragraph "0023"), and 2002-108069 (paragraph "0026") disclosed conventional methods in which a cleaning blade, a cleaning member in the form of a pad, or a brush is provided to the charged roller, and, for example, Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 6-149012 (claim 1) discloses the provision of a cleaning roller equipped with a cleaning blade.
Considering the soiling problems of such a charged roller, the film thinning of the latent image carrier can be reduced in the method for applying DC voltage exclusively to the charged roller as described above, but partial soiling tends to occur in that toner, paper dust, and other unwanted matter is deposited on the surface of the charged roller, and, as a result, the electrical resistance on the surface thereof may become nonuniform. When the uniform charge on the image carrier is degraded, a slight variation in the friction causes image smudges or nonuniformity in the image because AC voltage cannot be applied. Also, in the method in which lubricating oil is applied to the surface of the image carrier described above, the cleaning characteristics in the environmental variations of the image carrier are stabilized by reducing the friction coefficient with the lubricant, but a portion of the toner or paper dust deposited on the surface of the image carrier with reduced friction more easily slips away from the cleaning position, and changing the friction of the surface when toner, paper dust, and other unwanted matter are deposited on the charged roller has the same result as described above with respect to soiling the charged roller.
The lifespan of the image carrier can be extended by inhibiting the film-thinning phenomenon on the surface of the image carrier in this manner, but in recent years, configurations in which the image carrier, the charged device therein, the developing device, and the cleaning device are housed together in the process cartridge are becoming more widespread because of the improved maintenance characteristics, and it is important from the aspect of reducing running costs to make the lifespan of all the housed devices the same, rather than to extend the lifespan of only a portion of the housed devices.
In a configuration for allowing the soiling of the charged roller to be prevented, a configuration for recovering the foreign matter removed from the charged device is required. In the particular case that a blade is used, there is a requirement to control the setting and other parameters of a recovery timing and a recovery unit that is separate from the blade since the blade itself cannot hold the foreign matter. For this reason, the charged device configuration becomes more complicated, resulting in higher costs.
When a cleaning member in the form of a pad or a sponge is used, the captured foreign matter must be retained, but it is difficult to retain the foreign matter simply by bringing the cleaning member into contact with the charged roller. For this reason, when a cleaning structure is provided to the charged roller in either case, a mechanism for capturing foreign matter and a recovery mechanism is required in addition to the charged roller and cleaning structure, and higher costs due to the greater size and complexity of the device are unavoidable. Such drawbacks are not limited to charged devices that simply use a charged roller, but also apply to transfer devices and other devices that may involve contact with the latent image carrier.
[2] Second Problem
While the demand for higher image quality and smaller configurations has increased in recent years, toners with smaller, spherical-shaped particles have come to be used in the development step. There are attempts to densely deposit toner in the electrostatic latent image through the use of such toners. However, the above-described toners with smaller, spherical-shaped particles tend to slide on the cleaning blade in the cleaning step, and cleaning tends to be inadequate. In other words, residual toner on the surface of the image carrier adheres to the charged roller without being cleaned away, and the surface of the photoreceptor cannot be uniformly charged. Therefore, to prevent such a situation, the surface of the charged roller must be cleaned.
For example, Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 5-297690 discloses polyurethane foam, polyethylene foam, or another sponge material that serves as a cleaning member of such a charged roller, and, for example, Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 2002-221883 discloses a brush roller. These cleaning members remove toner and other deposits by making contact and rubbing against the surface of the charged roller. In the case of sponge material, the deposits are held in the cells contained therein, and in the case of a brush, the deposits are held between the fibers of the brush.
However, there is a limit to the amount of deposits that can be held in the cleaning member, and there is an unresolved issue with regard to maintaining the cleaning characteristics of the cleaning member over a long period of time. In a process cartridge configured with a charged roller, for example, the performance of the charged roller, and consequently the cleaning function of the surface of the charged roller, must be in agreement with the lifespan of the other configurational components, and the above-described cleaning members are inadequate for such an object.
In view of the above, the use of a cleaning member composed of a melamine resin foam having a three-dimensional reticulated structure is disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 2003-66807, for example, as a replacement to the above-described cleaning members, whereby the performance of the charged roller can be maintained over a long period of time. Such a cleaning member does not allow unwanted matter to clog a single cell as does a conventional sponge material, and the cleaning characteristics of the surface of the charged roller can therefore by maintained over a long period of time.
However, when a configuration is adopted whereby the cleaning member is brought into contact with the charged roller by its own weight, for example, and when contact between the charged roller and cleaning member continues for a long period of time in a state in which the charged device is stopped, a problem is encountered in the sense that a contact mark may be left on the surface of the charged roller, and charging thereafter may not be uniform, leading to the generation of abnormal images. This phenomenon particularly tends to occur when the contact time is extensive at high temperatures.
[3] Third Problem
In order to remove foreign matter deposited on the surface of a charged roller such as that described above, there is disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 14-169327 a configuration that provides a charged cleaning member that rubs against the surface of the charged roller to remove toner, paper dust, and other unwanted matter on the surface thereof. In other words, the above publication discloses a charged cleaning roller that removes toner, paper dust, and other unwanted matter from the surface of the charged roller by rubbing against the surface in conjunction with the rotation of the charged roller. Such a charged cleaning roller is advantageous in that the cleaning durability thereof is on a par with that of a cleaning pad or another fixed-type charged cleaning member. Furthermore in the above-noted publication, the configuration has a layout arrangement in which the charged roller is disposed above the photoreceptor in the vertical direction, and the charged cleaning roller makes contact with the charged roller by its own weight and is configured to rotate in conjunction with the charged roller. Hereinafter, this arrangement is referred to as an "upper-side arrangement."
However, due to the constraints of the layout arrangement of the entire device, contact cannot be made using the deadweight of the charged cleaning roller when the charged cleaning roller makes contact with the surface of the charged roller at a position lower than the virtual horizontal plane containing the center of rotation of the charged roller. In view of the above, pressure is applied to the shaft of the charged cleaning roller brought into contact with the charged roller so as to rotate in accompaniment therewith. In the layout in FIG. 1, the transfer unit is disposed above the photoreceptor in the perpendicular direction, the charged roller is disposed below, and the charged cleaning roller is disposed below the charged roller in the perpendicular direction. Hereinafter, this arrangement is referred to as a "lower-side arrangement." The charged roller and charged cleaning roller incur the following problems in such a layout.
In other words, extraneous stress is unavoidably placed on the charged roller and the charged cleaning roller in comparison with the upper-side arrangement in which the deadweight was used, because the shaft of the charged cleaning roller is pressed with a constant force to make contact with the charged roller and is caused to rotate in accompaniment therewith. When this configuration is used over a long period of time, the charged roller or the charged cleaning roller becomes soiled, linked rotation does not proceed smoothly, and the cleaning characteristics may worsen. A lubricant is applied to the surface of the photoreceptor in order to protect the surface of the photoreceptor from hazards produced by charging, for example, but when the lubricant is deposited on the surface of the charged roller over time, the coefficient of friction of the contact portion decreases considerably, and linked rotation does not proceed smoothly.
In view of the above, when the contact pressure is set high in order to maintain frictional force, the slide load of the shaft increases and the rotation of the charged cleaning roller is inhibited. Also, the lubricant and additives and the like in the toner are particularly easily deposited on the charged roller, and when the pressure is increased the deposits rub against the charged roller creating a film, and the film produces nonuniform resistance on the surface. For this reason, abnormal images are easily generated due to a nonuniform charge, insufficient charge, or other charge deficiencies.

Charging device including charging roller and cleaning roller


Amines in which the amino group is on a secondary carbon atom which is chirally substituted can be enantiomerically enriched by the action of an omega-amino acid transaminase which has the property of preferentially converting one of the two chiral forms to a ketone. The process also can be used to stereoselectively synthesize one chiral form from ketones substantially to the exclusion of the other.

The biological activity of chemical products such as pharmaceuticals and agricultural products which possess a center of chirality often is found to reside principally in one of the possible chiral forms. Since most chemical syntheses are not inherently stereoselective, this poses a serious chemical processing problem. Enrichment in favor of one chiral form thus will be required at some stage, either the final chiral compounds or chemical precursors which possess the same center of chirality. Whatever stage is selected for the enrichment, and in the absence of a method of recycling of the unwanted enantiomer, the process is inherently limited to a maximum theoretical yield of 50% for the desired enantiomer.
Many of the chiral compounds of this type are amines. Moreover because of their synthetic versatility, amines also are good candidates for resolution, after which stereoselective conversion to the chiral compound can be effected. Chemical production of a chiral amine free of its enantiomer heretofore has relied on largely on resolution of a mixture of the two chiral forms through formation of diastereomeric derivatives such as a salt with a chiral acid, stereoselective syntheses, or the use of chiral chromatographic columns. See for examples U.S. Pat. No. 3,944,608 and EPA 36,265.
Some structural types of amines lend themselves to enzymatic resolution. Enzymatic reactions involving .alpha.-amino acids are well known and their use has been proposed for stereospecific preparations. U.S. Pat. No. 3,871,958, for example, discloses the enzymatic preparation of derivatives of the .alpha.-amino acid serine by coupling an aldehyde with glycine in the presence of a threoninealdolase, derived from an E. coli species, as well as a related synthesis of serinol employing ethanolamine.
Relatively little has been reported on enzymatic reactions on amino acids in which the amino group is not vicinal to a carboxylic acid group. Yonaha et al., Agric. Biol. Chem,, 42 (12), 2363-2367 (1978) describe an omega-amino acid:pyruvate transaminase found in a Pseudomonas species for which pyruvate was the exclusive amino acceptor. This enzyme, which had been previously crystallized and characterized see {Yonaha et al., Agric. Biol. Chem,, 41 (9), 1701-1706 (1977)} had low substrate specificity for omega amino acids such as hypotaurine, 3-aminopropane sulfonate, .beta.-alanine, 4-aminobutyrate, and 8-aminooctanoate and catalyzed transaminations between primary aminoalkanes and pyruvate.
Nakano et al., J. Biochem., 81, 1375-1381 (1977) identified two omega-amino acid transaminases in B. cereus: a .beta.-alanine transaminase, which corresponds to Yonaha et al.'s omega-amino acid:pyruvate transaminase, and a .gamma.-aminobuty-rate transaminase. The two could be distinguished by their dramatically different activities on .beta.-alanine (100 vs. 3) and .gamma.-aminobutyrate (43 vs.100), respectively, as well as their distinct amino acceptor requirements.
Burnett et al., J. C. S. Chem. Comm., 1979, 826-828, suggested omega-amino acid:pyruvate transaminase and .gamma.-aminobutyrate transaminase exhibit different preferences for the two terminal hydrogen atoms in tritium labelled .gamma.-aminobutyrate.
Tanizawa et al., Biochem. 21, 1104-1108 (1982) examined bacterial L-lysine-.epsilon.-aminotransferase and L-ornithine-.delta.-aminotransferase and noted that while both are specific for L-amino acids, they act distally and with the same stereospecificity as the .gamma.-aminobutyrate transaminase studied by Burnett et al., supra.
Yonaha et al., Agric. Biol. Chem,, 47 (10), 2257-2265 (1983) subsequently characterized omega-amino acid:pyruvate transaminase and .gamma.-aminobutyrate transaminase (EC 220.127.116.11 and EC 188.8.131.52) and documented their distribution in a variety of organisms.
Waters et al., FEMS Micro. Lett., 34 (1986) 279-282, reporting on the complete catabolism of .beta.-alanine and .beta.-aminoisobutyrate by P. aeruginosa, noted that the first step involved transamination with .beta.-alanine:pyruvate aminotransferase.
Enzymatic methods have been considered as a method for separating mixtures of chiral amines which are not amino acids, as for example 2-aminobutanol. Most of these involve derivatization, particularly of the amino group, and utilization of this protected group or another group in the molecule to effect separation. EP-A 222,561, for example, describes a process in which racemic 2-aminobutanol is converted to an N-carbamoyl derivative which then is brought into contact with an alkyl alkanoate in the presence of a lipase enzyme. Esterification of the free hydroxy group apparently is limited to the S-enantiomer of the N-carbamoyl derivative, which is thereafter hydrolysed. This process of course is necessarily limited to amines carrying an esterifiable hydroxy group and, moreover, specifically requires prior protection of the amino group through formation of --NH--CO-- carbamoyl group in order to obtain stereospecificity in enzymatic reaction.
EP-A 239,122 describes a similar process applicable to the broader class of 2-amino-1-alknols.
Japanese Kokai JP 55-138,389 describes the preparation of vicinal amino alcohols by subjecting an alkyl or aralkyl substituted ethyleneimine to microorganisms of the genus Bacillus, Proteus, Erwinia, or Klebsiella.
Japanese Kokai JP 58-198,296 discloses a process in which d,l N-acyl-2-aminobutanol is subjected to the action of an aminoacylase derived from various species of Asperigillus, Penicillium, and Streptomyces which hydrolyses only the d-N-acyl-2-aminobutanol.
Japanese Kokai JP 59-39,294 describes a process for resolving racemic 2-aminobutanol through formation of an N-acetyl derivative which is treated with a Micrococcus acylase to give 1-2-aminobutanol and d-N-acetyl-2-aminobutanol, the latter then being chemically hydrolysed to afford d-2-aminobutanol.
Japanese Kokai JP 63-237796 describes a process in which R,S-1-methyl-3-phenylpropylamine is cultured aerobically in a variety of specified microorganisms with the S-form being metabolized preferentially. The highest yields and optical purity is reported for the yeast species Candida humicola and Trichosporon melibiosaceum. The enzymatic nature of the metabolism of the S-form which occurs in these aerobic cultures, e.g., an oxidase, dehydrogenase, ammonia lysase, etc., is not indicated.
The abstract of Japanese Kokai JP 63-273486 discloses the microbial synthesis of 1-(4-methoxyphenyl)-2-aminopropane with the R-configuration at one of the two chiral centers from 1-(4-methoxyphenyl)-2-propanone with Sarcina lutea.

Enantiomeric enrichment and stereoselective synthesis of chiral amines


Methods for protecting backup data of a computer system from damage are disclosed. A first storage device is provided for storing the backup data of the computer system, wherein the first storage device is ordinarily disabled to prevent the operating system of the computer system from accessing the backup data. A pin on the motherboard of the computer system is triggered by the Basic Input Output System (BIOS) of the computer system to enable or disable the first storage device. A first software system management interrupt is then initiated to call the BIOS to enable the first storage device. The backup data stored in a second storage device of the computer system is then copied to the first storage device. Finally, a second software system management interrupt is initiated to call the BIOS to disable the first storage device after copying of the backup data is complete.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to computer systems, and more particularly to data protection in computer systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
Because computers are a daily necessity, users suffer greatly if their computer or data stored thereon is damaged due to viruses or hackers. The information technology industry, therefore, focuses great effort on methods for preventing computer data from viruses and hackers and for restoring computer data after damaged by viruses.
A computer virus is typically a short, self-replicating program segment that infects applications resident on a computer system. When the infected program is executed, the instructions of the computer virus cause the data and operating system of the computer system to malfunction. A virus may infect computer systems when an infected disk is read or when an infected file is downloaded via a network or electronic mail. The virus may infect execution files, the file allocation table (FAT), or the boot sector of a computer system. If the FAT of a computer is damaged, the computer cannot accurately locate files on a hard disk and no files can be read. If the boot sector storing operating system code is damaged, the operating system can not be loaded into main memory for execution, and the computer cannot boot.
A great number of anti-virus software applications for preventing computer viruses and hacking are currently available. Viruses, however, continue to infect computers, even if anti-virus software is installed. Thus, essential data must be backed up in advance, to prevent loss and enable restoration of said data in the event of infection by a virus.
Several methods for restoring backup data to a computer system are available. Current solutions often allocate a portion of hard disk space storing backup data. Users execute an application for backing up system data under control of the operating system. If system data is damaged, the operating system calls the application to restore backup data. If the FAT is damaged, however, the backup data stored in the hard disk cannot be retrieved, and the system data cannot be restored. If the boot sector is damaged, the operating system code cannot be loaded, and the application cannot be executed to restore backup data.

Method for protecting backup data of a computer system from damage


A process for the removal of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, and nitrogen oxides in an oxidizing exhaust gas comprising contacting the exhaust gas with a catalyst comprising a crystalline zeolite having the following characteristics:. a) a Si/Al atomic ratio between 5 and 100; PA1 b) a pore size in the range of from about 0.5 to about 1.3 nm; PA1 c) essentially no octahedral aluminum detectable by .sub.27 Al NMR spectroscopy; PA1 d) a sodium ion exchange capacity, with regard to total aluminum content, of greater than 75%; PA1 e) a copper content in the range of from about 0.5 wt. % to about 12 wt. %; and PA1 f) a silver content in the range of from about 0.25 wt. % to about 20 wt. %.

This invention relates to a process for removing carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, and nitrogen oxides in oxidizing gas streams such as may be encountered in exhaust from advanced lean-burn automotive engines or diesel engines.
Three-way catalysts (catalysts which simultaneously oxidize carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons while reducing oxides of nitrogen (NO.sub.x) and oxygen) are widely used to purify toxic emissions of automotive internal combustion engines. These catalysts typically contain precious metals, such as platinum, palladium, or rhodium, together with promoters such as ceria supported on alumina. The catalysts function by using carbon monoxide, hydrogen, and hydrocarbons to reduce NO.sub.x when the amount of oxygen and of NO.sub.x present are sufficient but not in significant excess of the amount required to oxidize completely the carbon monoxide, hydrogen, and hydrocarbons in the exhaust gas. Therefore, engines are controlled to operate so that a sufficient but not excessive amount of air is allowed to react with the fuel.
With respect to fuel consumption, it is more economical to operate automobiles powered by internal combustion engines under lean conditions, i.e., with oxygen present in excess of that required to react completely with the fuel during combustion. Unfortunately, the emissions of these so-called lean-burn engines also contain excess oxygen that is substantially in excess of the amount required to completely oxidize carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons coexisting in the emission stream. Therefore, conventional three-way catalysts do not adequately reduce NO.sub.x in lean gas streams.
Clearly, methods are needed to promote the reduction of NO.sub.x produced in lean-burn engines. Considerable work has been done recently using alumino-silicate zeolites containing copper. But catalysts which contain copper as the only effective component show inferior performance. Their reduction of NO.sub.x increases rapidly with temperature, passes through a maximum, and then declines.
Copper zeolite catalysts that also contain silver are known, but for the decomposition rather than for the reduction of NO.sub.x. (e.g., Kagawa et al. Chemistr Letters, The Chemical Society of Japan, 407-410 (1991), and Austral. Pat. Appl. 722699 (Kagawa et al.)). The decomposition of NO.sub.x, however, is severely inhibited by oxygen and H.sub.2 O, and made substantially impossible by sulfur dioxide, all of which are normal constituents in automotive exhaust. Moreover, the decomposition of NO.sub.x has not been demonstrated in such systems when the inlet concentrations of NO.sub.x are below about 1500 ppm, as is the case in automotive exhaust.

Copper-silver zeolite catalysts in exhaust gas treatment


A glass filler defines a main body having a lower surface. An inlet and outlet are each defined in the lower surface of the main body. An outlet chamber is defined in the main body and contains an outlet valve, which includes an outlet valve housing defining a castellated edge. The outlet valve includes a cylindrical sleeve that defines an inner surface that is crenellated and configured to receive an implement that can be inserted and used by the operator to rotate the cylindrical sleeve in a manner that controls the amount of liquid exiting the outlet of the glass filler.

The present invention pertains to a glass filler that mounts to a hollow conduit that carries liquid into the glass filler for dispensing into a container that is pressed against a trigger that operates the valve controlling the flow of liquid from the conduit through the glass filler.
When not in use, glass fillers can accumulate dust and debris that can fall into the container that is being filled from liquid that is dispensed from the glass filler. The introduction of such dust and/or debris into the container is undesirable.
A typical glass filler is operated by manipulation of a trigger mechanism. Unless due care is exercised, the operator can place too much strain on the trigger mechanism and thereby cause damage to the valve mechanism that controls the dispensing of liquid from the glass filler to the container.
The valve that is controlled by the trigger that is under the control of the operator typically has a very limited range of flows and accordingly provides essentially an on/off degree of control over the flow that is dispensed from the glass filler. This is because the container that comes into contact with the trigger must be disposed within a narrow range of locations in order to be in the proper position to receive the flow of liquid from the outlet of the glass filler.


A camera body with which it is possible to improve the effect of shake correction, a camera accessory, and an information transmission method wherein the camera body to which a camera accessory can be detachably mounted, and includes: a movable section which is movable to correct shaking of the camera body; a detection unit which detects the shake and outputs a detection signal; a calculation unit which, on the basis of the detection signal, calculates an amount of movement of the movable section; and a transmission unit which transmits, to the camera accessory, body-side information the calculation unit uses to calculate the amount of movement.

An interchangeable lens including a blurring correction apparatus is known (see Patent Document 1). However, when the interchangeable lens including the blurring correction apparatus is mounted on a camera body including a blurring correction apparatus, the cooperation of blurring correction in the interchangeable lens and blurring correction in the camera body becomes a problem.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, Publication No. H11-38461

Camera body, camera accessory, and sharing ratio transmission method


A method of faciltating the obtaining of a mucus sample from at least one lung of a subject comprises administering a physiologically acceptable salt to at least one lung of the subject in an amount effective to hydrate lung mucus secretions therein, and concurrently administering to said at least one lung of the subject, in an amount effective to hydrate lung mucous secretions therein, uridine triphosphate, an active analog thereof, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt of either thereof. Pharmaceutical compositions useful for carrying out the method comprise, in combination, a physiologically acceptable salt, and uridine triphosphate, an active analog thereof, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt of either thereof. The composition may be a liquid composition or a dry powder composition.

The analysis of sputum samples is particularly important in the treatment and diagnosis of many lung disorders, including lung cancer and tuberculosis (TB).
In particular, microbial infections of the lung are a serious problem in patients afflicted with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Two particularly problematic infections are Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia infections and mycobacterial infections.
Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia infections are typically referred to as "PCP" infections. It is now estimated that approximately 70 percent of patients afflicted with AIDS will contract this disease. PCP may be treated with pentamidine isethionate, but an unfortunate side effect of this treatment is its toxicity. Accordingly, there is a continued need for techniques which permit the rapid and convenient screening of AIDS patients for this disease, and for the rapid, early, and accurate diagnosis thereof.
Mycobacteria are a large, diverse, and widely distributed family of aerobic, nonsporulating, nonmotile bacilli that have a high cell-wall lipid content and a slow growth rate. Some Mycobacteria are harmless, while others are significant pathogens. The pathogenic Mycobacterium include M. tuberculosis, responsible for tuberculosis, as well as non-tuberculosis Mycobacteria such as M. avium, responsible for Mycobacterium Avium complex infections.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill


A charge neutralizer that includes a vacuum chamber which is capable of having a charged object installed therein and includes a high vacuum processing unit that performs vapor deposition, and a plasma generator configured to supply plasma caused by an electron cyclotron resonance to an inside of the vacuum chamber. The plasma generator includes a plasma source configured to generate the plasma, and a flange configured to install the plasma source inside the vacuum chamber.

Conventionally, there is a charge neutralizer which is a charge neutralizer having a vacuum chamber, and performs processing such as vacuum vapor deposition and charge removal on a charged object in the vacuum chamber. An inside of such a charge neutralizer needs to have two spaces including a high vacuum region that is a space for processing such as vacuum vapor deposition and is a space with a high degree of vacuum, and a low vacuum region that is a space for charge removal and is a space with a low degree of vacuum. Such a charge neutralizer removes the charge of a charged object by spouting gas toward the charged object that is an object of charge removal in an evacuated vacuum chamber (refer to Patent Document 1). More specifically, such a charge neutralizer removes the charge of a charged object by passively discharging a charged object. Such a charge neutralizer, for example, causes a gas such as argon to flow to a low vacuum region for performing charge removal via a gas introduction pipe, generates a plasma using a DC power supply, and brings an object of charge removal and the plasma in contact with each other to remove the charge of a charged object (refer to Patent Document 2).


An optical network unit and an optical line terminal which efficiently control the data receiving and dechurning processes in a passive optical network. In a churning parameter memory subsystem, a first memory bank stores churning parameters that are currently used, while a second memory bank stores updates made to the churning parameters. Under the control of the churning parameter memory subsystem, those first and second memory banks change their roles with each other at a churning key updating time point. A data dechurning unit receives a data stream consisting of a plurality of frames and dechurns the information contained in the data stream, according to the stored churning parameters. When an update is done to the parameters in a certain frame, the data dechurning unit makes the update effective at the next frame, thus starting data dechurning operations from the next frame.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical network unit and an optical line terminal. More particularly, the present invention relates to an optical network unit coupled to an optical access network system, which receives a data stream and dechurns information contained in the received data stream by using a churning key. The invention also relates to an optical line terminal coupled to the optical access network system, which transmits a data stream containing information that is churned with a churning key.
2. Description of the Related Art
Increasing numbers of telecommunication and multimedia services are provided today to serve for the growing market needs, including video on demand, cable TV, and high-speed access to computer networks. Those high-bandwidth services, however, should not raise the cost to subscribers. Here, optical access network systems are expected to play an essential role, connecting subscriber premises to the nearest local office exchange through fiber optic cables, rather than conventional metallic wires.
One of such systems is called the Passive Double Star (PDS), which enables a plurality of subscribers to share a single optical fiber line by using star couplers. Particularly in Europe, the Passive Optical Network (PON) system, synonymous with PDS, is of great interest as an enabling technology for the Fiber To The Home (FTTH) services. In the scenarios toward FTTH, the access network has to provide guaranteed bandwidths and quality of services to meet the requirements for real-time voice and video communication. To this end, the Full Service Access Networks (FSAN) initiative has a central role in the development of ATM-PON systems based on the Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) technologies. The FSAN is an organization formed by major telephone companies to promote worldwide optical network businesses.
FIG. 25 shows a typical structure of an ATM-PON system. Optical network units (ONUs) 101a to 101n are deployed in subscriber premises 100a to 100n, while an optical line terminal (OLT) 201 is placed in a local office 200. Fiber optic cables and a star coupler 300 interconnect those ONUs 101a to 101n and OLT 201 in a point-to-multipoint fashion. In the subscriber premises 100a to 100n, telephone equipment and/or CATV equipment is coupled to the ONUs 101a to 101n. Connected to the OLT 201 in the local office 200 is ATM and ISDN switching equipment 202.
In the downstream direction, the local office 200 broadcasts data (i.e., downstream cells) toward the subscriber premises 100a to 100n over a single optical fiber cable. The star coupler 300 splits the optical signal into a plurality of signals in a tree and branch form, so as to deliver the information to individual subscribers' ONUs. In the upstream direction, ATM cells are transmitted from the subscriber premises 100a to 100n toward the local office 200 over the same branch cables. The star coupler 300 consolidates them into a single optical signal for delivery to the local office 200 over a single fiber cable.
As described above, the ATM-PON systems are ATM-based, optically-coupled access networks which provide point-to-multipoint (1:n) connections between a local office and a plurality of customers through the use of star couplers 300. The ITU-T Recommendation G.983.1 is one of the relevant international standard specifications for such PON-based broadband optical access systems. This G.983.1 includes description of a data encryption function termed "churning" to offer a protection capability for data confidentiality purposes. This function is mandatory because, in a PON system, the OLT always physically broadcasts information downstream, but only one ONU at a time can decode the information. More specifically, in the system of FIG. 25, the OLT 201 first sends a certain downstream message to request each ONU (e.g., ONU 101a) to provide its churning key. In response to this request, the ONU 101a generates a churning key and sends it back to the OLT 201. With the received churning key, the OLT 201 encrypts, or churns, downstream cells before sending them out to the ONU 101a. This data churning operation for downstream cells are performed on an individual virtual path (VP) basis. The OLT 201 notifies the ONU 101a of which virtual path is churned or not, by sending a special downstream message indicating the virtual path identifier (VPI) of a particular path that is churned or not churned. This information is referred to herein as "churning parameters."
In summary, all ONUs in an ATM-PON system have their respective churning keys, and the churning of downstream information can be enabled or disabled separately for each VPI. The OLT sends downstream messages to notify each ONU of churning parameters before sending downstream cells. When data is received through a churned VP, the destination ONU decodes the data with its own churning key.
One problem with the above-described conventional system is that the ITU-T Recommendation G.983.1 lacks definitions for some specifics of the data dechurning functions to be used in ATM-PON systems. Take churning parameters stored in the ONU 101a for example. While those parameters are supplied from the OLT 201, the Recommendation G.983.1 does not stipulate when to activate the supplied parameters. This means that the data dechurning operation in the ONU 101a could be shifted in time, relative to the data churning operation in the OLT 201, and the time shift may grow up to such a critical level where the ONU 101a cannot decode the churned data correctly.
Another problem with the conventional ONUs is that they have to reload churning parameters from the OLT when they are rebooted after a power shutdown. This parameter reloading is a time-consuming process, while it is mandatory because the shutdown of ONUs clears out their stored churning parameters.
As seen from the above, conventional ATM-PON systems are still immature in terms of data churning techniques. It is therefore necessary to establish improved communication control algorithms in order to make ATM-PON systems truly practical.

Optical network unit and optical line terminal


A sheet storage apparatus for storing sheets including a sheet storage unit including a lower guide configured to guide a lower surface of the conveyed sheet, an upper guide configured to guide an upper surface of the conveyed sheet, and a shutting-off unit provided in one of the lower guide and the upper guide, configured to be movable around a rotational axis and between a shutting-off position at which a downstream end of the conveying direction of the sheet stored in the sheet storage unit is shut off and a retracting position for retracting from the shutting-off position, and a plurality of stages of sheet storage units is vertically stacked and at least a part of the shutting-off unit overlaps the rotational axis of the adjacent sheet storage unit in a vertical direction at the shutting-off position.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sheet storage apparatus, and an image forming apparatus including the sheet storage apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, there has been an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine that temporarily stores an image-formed sheet in a sheet storage unit and discharges the stored sheet so that a user can receive the sheet by an operation (button operation or identification (ID) authentication).
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-31327 discusses a sheet storage apparatus configured to allow a user to receive a sheet stored in a storage bin via an outlet opening. This sheet storage apparatus includes a shutter for closing the outlet opening. When the user receives the sheet, the storage bin is moved to an outlet opening position, and the shutter is opened.
In the sheet storage apparatus discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-31327, because of the necessity of moving the storage bin to the outlet opening position, a mechanism for moving the storage bin must be provided. This creates a problem of enlargement of the apparatus.

Sheet storage apparatus and image forming apparatus


A pacing lead of the type having a hollow lead body with a conductor linking the electrode at one end with the connector at the other end has a guide wire or stylet either connected to a mechanical vibrator or carrying an ultrasonic transducer in order to cause the guidewire to move within the body to facilitate the display of the catheter position on external ultrasonic monitoring equipment.

The present invention relates to visualization of medical devices within the human body generally and more particularly to visualization of implantable cardiac pacing and defibrillation leads by means of ultrasound.
Cardiac pacing and defibrillation leads are generally put in under fluoroscopic observation, allowing the physician to follow the course of the lead as it is passed through the venous system into the heart. However, as fluoroscopes are extremely expensive, a less costly method of visualization of cardiac pacing and defibrillation leads would be desirable. One alternative mechanism for visualization of devices placed within the body is by means of ultrasound. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,421,336 issued to DeBernardis, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, the use of a vibrator coupled to an interventional device to enhance its visibility in an ultrasound scan is disclosed. In particular, the vibrator member induces three-dimensional flexural waves which propagate along the member, causing it to light up on the display of the ultrasound scan. The DeBernardis patent also discloses attaching a vibrator to a member such as a guidewire or stylet inserted into a tubular probe, to localize the probe. A second method of visualizing a catheter or pacing lead is to place an ultrasound sensor on or in the lead body and employ the sensor in conjunction with an ultrasound imaging system to localize the sensor in the ultrasound scan. Examples of such localization systems are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,161,536 issued to Vilkomerson et al and in U.S. Pat. No. 4,697,595 issued to Breyer et al., both incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

Pacing lead with integral guidance using ultrasound


A user may be identified and authenticated to an institution system and may adjust the annual miles driven estimate for their vehicle. The annual miles driven estimate is used in the determination of the premium for the vehicle insurance for the vehicle. The premium for the vehicle insurance may be revised based on the adjustment by the user to the annual miles driven estimate. In an implementation, the user may reduce the annual miles driven estimate to zero to indicate that they are not driving the vehicle. The user may keep some elements of the vehicle insurance coverage and the vehicle insurance policy may remain active although the annual miles driven estimate is zero.

Insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent loss, and may be defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for a premium. An insurer is a company that sells insurance. An insurance rate is a factor used to determine the amount, called the premium, to be charged for a certain amount of insurance coverage.
Vehicle insurance is insurance purchased for cars, trucks, and other vehicles. It may provide protection against losses incurred as a result of traffic accidents, fire, theft or attempted theft, vandalism, weather, etc., and against liability that could be incurred in an accident. Vehicle insurance may cover the insured party, the insured vehicle, and third party vehicles and people.
Estimated miles driven on the vehicle, such as annual miles driven, is a factor that is used to determine the premium for vehicle insurance. It is difficult to adjust the premium when the annual miles driven changes abruptly or significantly, such as when a user alters their driving habits because of the price of gasoline, the fuel efficiency of their vehicle, a change in employment, etc.

Systems and methods for self-service vehicle risk adjustment

United States Automobile Associates (USAA)