A non-volatile memory and a method of non-volatile memory programming reduced in the frequency of fault occurrence and improved in the convenience of use while realizing stable write operations and shortening the substantial length of time required for writing is provided.

The present invention relates to a non-volatile memory and a method of non-volatile memory programming, and more particularly to a technique that can be effectively utilized for a write verifying operation in a flash memory or the like wherein electrical write erasion is made possible.
A non-volatile memory cell, such as a flash EEPROM (hereinafter to be referred to merely as xe2x80x9cflash memoryxe2x80x9d), as illustrated in FIG. 24, has a diffusion layer comprising a source and a drain and a stacked structure into which a floating gate and a control gate are configured over a semiconductor substrate between the source and the drain via a gate insulating film, wherein the control gate is connected to a word line, the drain, to a bit line (or a data line), the source, to a source line. The write operation can be broadly classified into an FN (Fowler Nordheim) tunnel write type by which a high voltage, such as 18.1 V, is applied to the control gate and an electron FN tunnel current is let flow from a channel to the floating gate via the gate insulating film to accumulate electric charges, and a channel hot electron type by which hot electrons generated by a current flowing between the source and the drain are accumulated at the floating gate.
The present inventors earlier developed a multi-value type flash memory. In this multi-value memory, it is necessary to make four threshold voltage (hereinafter to be abbreviated to Vth) distributions matching two bits (four values) each of memory cells. In doing so, processing for band narrowing to write each distribution in a certain separate range is required to ensure reliability of data conservation. In order to accomplish such write operations for such band narrowing, write operations and verify operations are carried out with write pulses (PULSE 1 through 5 . . . ) which are intended to make the variant xcex94 Vth of the threshold voltage per write operation smaller than the difference between the threshold voltages as shown in FIG. 25, so that the Vth of the memory cell reach the desired threshold voltage range by a plurality each of write operation and verify operations.
Incidentally, a search after the accomplishment of the invention under the present application revealed that examples of floating memory in which the voltage of the write pulses is raised stepwise or the pulse width increased are found in the Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. Hei 9(1997)-55092, the Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. Hei 7(1995)-73685 (U.S. Pat. No. 5,467,309) and the Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. Hei 3(1991)-130995 (U.S. patent application Ser. No. 89/367,597). However, none of these examples of the prior art makes any mention of the presence of memory cells which deviate from their inherent characteristics and are suddenly excessively written into, as will be described below.
In designing the Vth distributions, margins are allowed for various coefficients of dependence (including Vcc, temperature, write characteristics, erase characteristics and deterioration due to rewriting). However, there are memory cells which, as rewriting into them is repeated, deviate from their inherent characteristics and are suddenly excessively written into. In the present application, such memory cells will be referred to as erratically written memory cells, or simply erratic cells, because they may return to their original characteristics after erasion following such sudden excess writing and this phenomenon is not highly reproducible. Such erratic cells require erasion of the excessively written state and rewriting and, if the rewriting into some sectors can be done normally, those sectors will be considered good ones or, if not, they will be treated as faulty sectors thereafter.
Such erratic cells, because of the low reproducibility, may return to normalcy after only one round of erasion, or may not even after repeated writing and erasion. Therefore, it seems most rational, with the duration of writing and the frequency of fault occurrence taken into account, to regard the sectors which permit normal writing after a single round of erasion as being good ones and those which do not as faulty sectors and to write the same data into other sectors. However, even if the sectors permitting normal writing after a single round of erasion are regarded as being good ones, an increase in the duration of writing is unavoidable, and disqualifying those that require two or more rounds of erasion would result in an increased frequency of fault occurrence. Relief by rewriting into another sector after determining a faulty sector or sectors would involve the problem of increasing the burden on the user and corresponding inconvenience.
An object of the present invention is to provide a non-volatile memory and a method of non-volatile memory programming realizing stable write operations. Another object of the invention is to provide a non-volatile memory and a method of non-volatile memory programming reduced in the frequency of fault occurrence and improved in the convenience of use while shortening the substantial length of time required for writing. These and other objects and novel features of the invention will become more apparent for the following description in this specification when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
To briefly describe a typical aspect of the invention disclosed in this application, there is provided a non-volatile memory having a plurality of word lines, a plurality of bit lines and a plurality of memory elements having stored information corresponding to electric charges accumulated at floating gates at the intersections of the plurality of word lines and the plurality of bit lines, and electrically performing operations to write and erase the stored information, wherein a write control circuit for controlling the electric charges accumulated at the floating gates by performing a verify operation, after performing a write operation in a prescribed write quantity on the memory elements, carries out one or more each of search write operations, set to a smaller write quantity than the prescribed write quantity at the time of start of writing, and verify operations matching thereto.
To briefly describe another typical aspect of the invention disclosed in this application, there is provided a method of non-volatile memory programming for non-volatile memories each having a plurality of word lines, a plurality of bit lines and a plurality of memory elements having stored information corresponding to electric charges accumulated at floating gates at the intersections of the plurality of word lines and the plurality of bit lines, and electrically performing operations to write and erase the stored information, whereby one or more each of search write operations, set to a smaller write quantity than a prescribed write quantity at the time of start of writing, and verify operations matching thereto are performed, write operation control is so set as to perform a write operation set to the prescribed write quantity and a verify operation matching thereto after the plurality each of search write operations and verify operations, and the write operation is ended if it is so determined that the verify operation has caused a threshold voltage matching the electric charges of the floating gates of the memory elements to reach a desired threshold voltage.

Non-volatile memory and method of non-volatile memory programming

Abstract: The non-volatile memory has a plurality of word lines, a plurality of bit lines and a plurality of memory elements having stored information corresponding to electric charges accumulated at floating gates at the intersections of the plurality of word lines and the plurality of bit lines, and electrically performing operations to write and erase the stored information, wherein a write control circuit for controlling the electric charges accumulated at the floating gates by performing a verify operation, after performing a write operation in a prescribed write quantity on the memory elements, carries out one or more each of search write operations, set to a smaller write quantity than the prescribed write quantity at the time of start of writing, and verify operations matching thereto.


A pitot probe assembly that is formed from modular, replaceable components, and is flexible. The configuration of the pitot probe assembly allows the pitot probe assembly to absorb and/or dissipate impact energy, and the modular, replaceable components allow for quick and easy repair of the pitot probe assembly. The pitot probe assembly can be configured as a total pressure pitot probe assembly or as a pitot static probe assembly.

The use of pitot probes to measure pressure in airflows is well known. The pitot probes can be configured to measure total pressure (i.e. a total pressure pitot probe) or configured to measure total pressure and static pressure (i.e. a pitot static probe).
Pitot probes are commonly used on aircraft including unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and other light aircraft. In the case of UAVs, the pitot probes are typically mounted so that they protrude far out from the wing structure or fuselage. This positions the end of the probe out of the pressure field generated by the motion of the UAV through the air. This positioning allows the probe to read the free stream pressures. For some UAVs, having a rigid probe protruding from the wing or fuselage is not ideal because the probe is prone to being damaged, for example when the UAV lands. For example, if a UAV lands in a roadside ditch, the pitot probe may impact with a patch of thick weeds. The force of the impact may damage the pitot probe. To check for damage to the pitot probe, the operation of the pitot probe can be tested and/or some or all of the pitot probe can be mechanically disassembled to visually inspect the components for damage. This check for damage, which can occur after every flight of the UAV, is time consuming and expensive and reduces the availability of the UAV for use.

Pitot probe assembly with replaceable tip and damping


An image heating apparatus is provided with:. a moving member having an electrically conductive layer and arranged to move together with a recording medium, an exciting coil for generating a magnetic flux, wherein the magnetic flux generated by the exciting coil generates eddy currents in the moving member and the eddy currents make the moving member generate heat, wherein the heat of the moving member heats an image on the recording medium, a magnetic member for guiding the magnetic flux generated by the exciting coil, wherein the moving member and the magnetic member form a substantially closed magnetic circuit, wherein an angle .theta. rad! formed between a principal line of magnetic force directed from the magnetic member to the moving member and a principal line of magnetic force directed from the moving member to the magnetic member is determined to be 0<.theta.<.pi..

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image heating apparatus for effecting heating by eddy currents generated utilizing the electromagnetic induction. More particularly, this apparatus concerns a fixing device in image forming apparatus such as electrophotographic copiers, printers, and facsimile devices, or concerns an apparatus for heating an unfixed toner image formed in direct or indirect fashion on a surface of a recording medium with toner of a heat-melting resin by an appropriate image forming process means such as electrophotography, electrostatic recording, or magnetic recording to fix the toner image as a permanent fixed image on the recording medium surface.
2. Related Background Art
FIG. 12 is a drawing to explain the prior art, which is a schematic sectional view of a laser beam printer as an application of the electrophotography to printer. The operation of this apparatus will be explained.
An electrostatic latent image is formed on a photosensitive drum 11 as modulating the intensity of a laser beam from a scanner 13 according to an image information signal sent from a host computer. The intensity and irradiation spot diameter of the laser beam are properly set according to the resolution of image forming apparatus and the desired image density, and the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 11 is formed by maintaining portions irradiated by the laser beam at a light potential V.sub.L and the other portions at a dark potential V.sub.D charged by a primary charger 12. The photosensitive drum 11 rotates in the direction of the arrow, so that the electrostatic latent image is successively developed by a developing unit 14. The toner in the developing unit 14 forms a uniform toner layer on a developing sleeve 1402 while the toner height and triboelectric effect are controlled by the developing sleeve 1402, being a toner feed roller, and a developing blade 1401. The developing blade 1401 is usually one made of a metal or a resin. In the case of a resin blade being used, it is in contact with the developing sleeve 1402 under appropriate contact pressure. With rotation of the developing sleeve 1402 itself the toner layer formed on the developing sleeve 1402 comes to face to the photosensitive drum 11, and only the portions of V.sub.L are selectively developed by a voltage Vdc applied to the developing sleeve 1402 and the electric field formed by the surface potential of the photosensitive drum 11. The toner image on the photosensitive drum 11 is successively transferred onto a sheet fed from a sheet supplying device by a transfer unit 15. The transfer unit may be a corona charger as shown, or a unit of a transfer roller method in which the sheet is conveyed as applying a transfer charge to the sheet by supplying an electric current from a power supply to an electrically conductive, elastic roller. The sheet with the toner image transferred thereon is further fed to a fixing unit 10 with rotation of the photosensitive drum 11 to heat and press the toner image into a permanently fixed image.
The heat roller method as shown in FIG. 12 has widely been used heretofore for image heating apparatus typified by the heat fixing device.
The heat roller method, however, had the problem that the fixing roller has a large heat capacity to require high power for heating and a long wait time.
Thus, the following proposals have been made to directly heat the fixing roller by utilizing generation of induced current.
Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-open No. 51-109737 discloses the induction heat fixing device for inducing the electric current in the fixing roller by magnetic flux to heat it by Joule heat.
Further, Japanese Patent Publication No. 5-9027 discloses the heating technique utilizing the feature of the fixing roller being a rotating body, in such structure that an exciting coil is provided upstream of the nip in the rotating direction of the fixing roller.
In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 5,278,618 discloses an example using a fixing film of decreased heat capacity in place of the fixing roller and heating it by an exciting member near the nip.
The fixing device disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Utility Model Application No. 51-109737, however, had the drawback that radiation losses are large, because energy of alternating magnetic flux generated by the exciting coil is used for increasing the temperature of the entire fixing roller, and the density of the fixing energy is low with respect to the input energy so as to result in low efficiency.
Further, the fixing device disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 5-9027 is arranged to use the magnetic flux energy in the local place, so that the radiation losses would be decreased. However, since it uses the magnetic flux penetrating the heated member, it is necessary to set a low frequency of the alternating current used for excitation, which caused the problem that the energy conversion efficiency is lowered.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,278,618 shows inclusion of the fixing film as a heated member in a part of the magnetic path, but it requires the magnetic path of very high flux density against the fixing film, because the magnetic path is limited in the nip area, which caused the problem of experiencing magnetic saturation and in turn failing to obtain sufficient efficiency.


A mounting status of an ink-jet cartridge mounted on a printer is obtained and test data according to the mounting status of the ink-jet cartridge is generated. The test data is used to execute at least either confirmation of printing status using the ink of the ink-jet cartridge or an adjusting operation of printing position. The test data is transmitted to the printer to be printed out.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printer, a printer driver and a print control apparatus and method for its use in controlling printing by a printer having a replaceable ink-jet cartridge used for printing.
2. Description of the Related Art
Use of a UI screen of a printer driver to perform confirmation of the status of an inkjet printhead mounted on a printer or to perform printhead position adjustment is well known. In a printer provided with such functions, test pattern data to be used for confirmation of inkjet printhead status or adjustment of printhead position is stored in the printer, and the printer prints a test pattern for such checks in response to commands transmitted from a printer driver.
In this regard, with the goal of reducing the amount of memory required on printing, a technique involving preparation of such test pattern data on the print control (PC) apparatus-side is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-102445. According to the technique, the print control apparatus transmits the given test pattern data to the printer upon being instructed to confirm the status of the printer's inkjet printhead, causing the printer to print the test pattern.
However, the technique described in the above patent document does not take into consideration printers which allow variable inkjet printhead configurations, or in other words, printers which allow ink-jet cartridges for color ink and an ink-jet cartridge for black ink to be individually or simultaneously mounted. Therefore, the technique allows only fixed test pattern data to be transmitted to a printer at any time, regardless of the type and mounting status of ink-jet cartridges.

Printer and print control apparatus and method thereof, and printer driver


A motor driving circuit with power reversal protection and a fan device are disclosed. The motor driving circuit has a supply end and a ground end. A reversal protection circuit is configured in the motor driving circuit and is electrically connected to the supply end. When a power line and a ground line of a power supply electrically and respectively connect to the supply end and the ground end (indicating a correct connection condition), the reversal protection circuit is turned on, so that the motor driving circuit receives the power transmitted from the power supply to operate. When the power line and the ground line of the power supply electrically and respectively connect to the ground end and the supply end (indicating an incorrect connection condition), the reversal protection circuit is turned off, so that the motor driving circuit does not receive the power transmitted from the power supply.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a motor driving circuit and a fan device, in particular, to a motor driving circuit with power reversal protection and a fan device having the same.
2. Description of Related Art
A motor driver is a necessary modern industrial power transformation device. The motor is capable of transforming electricity into kinetic energy required for driving devices. Conventional motors include DC motors, AC motors, stepping motors, and etc. Motors are often applied to drive one element of the electronic device, for example, blades of the fan device are usually rotated with the motor. Therefore, how to design an efficient motor has become a major objective in the industry. The motor driving circuit is constituted by a stator and a rotor configured opposite to each other. The rotor can rotate with respect to the stator to operate the motor by the magnetic force and magnetic field change, so that the fans configured on the motor are rotated.
Generally speaking, the conventional motor driving circuit has a supply end and a ground end. A power line of a power supply is electrically connected to the supply end, and a ground line of the power supply is electrically connected to the ground end, so that the power supply transmits the power to the motor driving circuit for driving through the supply end, and then operates the motor.
However, when the power line and the ground line of the power supply are connected in reverse, i.e., the ground line electrically connects to the supply end and the power line electrically connects to the ground end, the power supply transmits the power to the motor driving circuit through the ground end, so that the diode of the motor driving circuit is forward biased, to burn out the power supply.
Therefore, if the motor driving circuit can provide a protection mechanism to avoid burning out the power supply when the power line and the ground line of the power supply are connected in reverse, the life time of the power supply can be increased.

Motor driving circuit with power reversal protection and fan device


Platinum 1,3-diketo compounds are prepared by stirring a dichloroplatinum compound and a diketo compound in a keto solvent at below 10° C. for from 5 minutes to 90 minutes and isolating the reaction product. The product is obtained in high purity suitable for use as a catalyst for preparing polymer articles suitable for use in the medical and food industries.

1. Field of the Invention
The subject invention pertains to an improved process for preparing platinum 1,3-diketo compounds in high purity.
2. Background Art
For the production of moldings which are used in the medical sector or come into contact with foods, e.g. baking trays, storage containers, it is necessary to meet demanding purity requirements which are specific in terms of particular impurities.
The catalyst which is used in crosslinking of the moldings which are used in the medical sector or come into contact with foods therefore also has to meet specific purity requirements; in particular, the platinum catalyst has to have a high purity and must not contain any toxicologically unacceptable impurities or by-products and nevertheless has to be able to be produced economically.
It is known from J. Chem. Soc. (1968) 1993-2001 that cylooctadiene-PtCl2 reacts with two molar equivalents of thalium acetylacetonate in chloroform at room temperature to form acacCODPtacac. After stirring, the thalium chloride precipitate is filtered off, the filtrate is evaporated to dryness and the product is obtained by recrystallization from petroleum ether. No information is given about the yield or about the purity of the product.
This literature method is not suitable for a production process since, firstly, the toxic solvent chloroform (risk phrases: 22-38-40, 48/20/22) is used and, secondly, as an even more serious objection, the very toxic compound thalium acetylacetonate (R: 26/28-33-51/53) is used. It is not possible to rule out that residual thalium compounds remain in the product.
J. AM. CHEM. SOC. 92 (1970) 1274-1278 discloses the preparation of 3-(1-acetyl-2-oxopropyl)bicyclo[2.2.1]hept-5-en-2-yl)-(2,4-pentan-edionato-O,O′)platinum from dichloro(endo-bicyclopentadiene)platinum(II), sodium carbonate in a molar excess and acetylacetone in excess. For this purpose, the abovementioned mixture is stirred at room temperature for 4 days. The sodium chloride and sodium carbonate are subsequently filtered off and the filtrate is evaporated to dryness. The resulting product is purified by column chromatography using dichloromethane as eluent and is subsequently recrystallized from dichloromethane. The yield is 55%.
The method has serious disadvantages for a preparation on a production scale, e.g. long reaction times of 4 days and the low yield. In addition, the product has to be purified by column chromatography.


The invention relates to a device for ensuring that a first and a second electrical connector are properly connected and locked together. The first electrical connector includes a latching member for latching two together when properly mated. A locking member is secured to the first electrical connector in a space between the first electrical connector and the latching member. The locking member is moveable between an unlocked and locked position and can only be moved to the locked position when the first electrical connector is latched to the second electrical connector.

This invention relates to an electrical connection with a releasable locking member that prevents accidental disconnection of the electrical connection.
Electrical connections in vehicles are typically made with mating plug-in connectors. It is important that these connections be made with speed and accuracy during the assembly process. It is also important that the connection does not become disconnected accidentally following assembly. In addition, it is desirable that the locking member be releasable to permit replacement of the connectors. A variety of locking devices have been designed to prevent accidental disconnection of electrical connections.
Current plug-in electrical connectors usually include a cantilevered latching member mounted on one of the electrical connectors and a slot for receiving the latching member in the other electrical connector. To prevent accidental disconnection of the connectors, a separate locking member that prevents displacement of the latching member from the slot is included. However, when the latching member is cantilevered, it may break off of the electrical connector. In some proposed systems, the locking member is not secured to either of the electrical connectors and can become dislodged or lost prior to assembly of the connection. In addition, many locking members can lock the connectors together even if the connectors are not properly mated. Therefore, it is desirable to provide an electrical connection having an improved latching member and a locking member that is secured to one of the connectors of the electrical connection and that can be moved to a locked position only when the connectors are properly mated.


An infrared zoom lens having no aspheric lens elements comprises, six distinct lens groups each having two or less spherical lens elements. The first group has a positive power, the second group has a negative power, the third group has a positive power, the fourth group has a negative power, the fifth has a positive power and the sixth group has either a positive or negative power with the purpose of relaying and focusing the output of the fourth lens group onto the focal plane of the imaging device. The second and fourth groups are axially movable but fixed relative to each other and move as a group relative to stationary groups one and three. The zoom ratio is thus varied, and no additional motion is required to keep the imagery sharp at the output focal plane as the lens is varied from the wide angle to the telephoto position.

The present invention relates to the field of an infrared zoom lens suitable for infrared rays over a wavelength range of 2.5 to 5.5 microns or 8 to 14 microns.
In the marketplace as of this writing there has been an arrival of products in the marketplace that can detect radiation between the ranges of 2.5 to 5.5 microns or 8 to 14 microns and through the use of an appropriate focal plane image detector array, sense and convert this radiation to digital imagery suitable for viewing on a display or monitor. This region of radiation is of interest to human observers since it primarily is the wavelength of heat radiation. As a result, any process or organism that generates heat such as humans self-generate the resultant imagery and that is clearly visible, even with zero lux of additional incident illumination on the subject. In the parlance of the marketplace this has been called "Night Vision" and/or "Infrared Cameras".
As these technologies have matured over the past 10 years, the quality of the imagery has been improving and the price point of the devices in the marketplace has dropped approximately an order of magnitude. This has resulted in ever greater market penetration and a need for a variety of lenses to transfer the radiation from the subject into a clear crisp image onto the focal plane of the infrared cameras. Thus far the vast majority of the lenses are either two position lens systems (i.e. 50 or 200 mm focal length lenses) or fixed focal length lenses.
In the case of a mechanically compensated zoom system two moving subassemblies units are required to achieve the required optical performance which unfortunately calls for a relatively complex design. In contrast, in the case of an optically compensated system of the present invention, only the movement of one subassembly is required. The IR zoom lens device of Neil U.S. Pat. No. 4,632,498 has two independently moving parts to keep the lens device in focus. Furthermore, Neal requires at least one lens element having an aspheric surface to make his lens focus at all, which is more difficult to manufacture than a zoom system having no lens elements with aspheric surfaces as in the system of the present invention. Also he calls for the use of ZnSe without employing silicon, which is less desirable than the use of germanium and silicon.
Furthermore, Neil's design with his required aspheric surface, only allows for a good focus at four points (his table II, columns 5 and 6). In contrast, the present invention is a continuously in focus zoom lens device; that is, it's a truly optically compensated zoom lens.
Watanabe U.S. Pat. No. 6,091,551 employs the movement of positive lens groups, in contrast with the present invention employing single subassembly (carriage) movement of two lens groups together as a unit, yet providing continuous zoom motion with focus being maintained.

Optically compensated infrared zoom lens having a single movable lens carriage and no aspheric lenses


The present invention is directed to methods for chemical species signal suppression in magnetic resonance imaging procedures, wherein Dixon techniques are enhanced by continuously sampling techniques. In the invention, k-space data is acquired during the entire period of read gradient associated with a gradient echo pulse acquisition scheme. The invention utilizes a total sampling time (TST) acquisition during the entire read gradient, using three echoes of a TST data set to achieve chemical species separation in both homogenous fields as well as areas of field inhomogeneity. As an example, a continuously sampled rectilinearly FLASH pulse sequence is modified such that the time between echoes was configured to be 2.2 milliseconds, with TE selected to allow 180° phase variation in the fat magnetization between each of the three TE's (TE1, TE2, and TE3). Data collected during the dephase and rephase gradient lobes are defined as a first Dixon acquisition, with data collected by the read gradient lobe being defined as a second Dixon acquisition. Two point Dixon reconstruction techniques are used to form images for each chemical species, such as for generating water and fat images of the scanned object region. Other corrections, such as off-resonance correction may be applied on the image data.

In MRI imaging of chemical species such as fat and water within body tissue, the misregistration of fat in acquired magnetic resonance images can seriously degrade the quality of the image and obscure important pathology. As a diagnostic tool, such off-resonance effects, which may arise from field inhomogeneities, susceptibility or chemical shift, cause artifacts in the acquired images. The artifacts appear as positional shifts along the read direction in rectilinearly sampled acquisitions. Although various fat suppression methods have been conceived, such as using specialized radio-frequency (RF) excitation pulse sequences, such methods have various limitations. For example, inversion recovery pulse sequences and chemical shift selective excitation pulses have been attempted, but are limited by extended acquisition times and specific absorption rate (SAR) constraints when used as a diagnostic tool for human patients.
There have been various attempts at reducing scan times in obtaining reconstructed images of water-fat decomposition, but there is a further need for short scan times while obtaining high quality images. Dixon techniques have been utilized for water-fat decomposition in rectilinear sampling schemes. In a Dixon technique, water and fat images are generated by either addition or subtraction of the "in-phase" and "out-of-phase" data sets. With magnetic field inhomogeneity, such techniques may still lead to inaccurate decomposition of water and fat signals, resulting in a blurred image. In a two-point Dixon (2PD) technique, the two acquired images can be contaminated by off-resonance effects such that the water and fat images have significant components from the unwanted chemical species.
Modified Dixon techniques, such as the three-point Dixon (3PD) technique have also been developed to correct for magnetic field inhomogeneity off-resonance effects as well as susceptibility effects. The advantage of these multiple-point Dixon techniques over specialized RF excitation pulse-sequences or pulses lies in the ability to acquire water-fat separation even in the presence of magnetic field inhomogeneities, such as tissue-induced local inhomogeneity or applied magnetic field inhomogeneities in the field of view.
Although the multi-point Dixon techniques avoid SAR limitations, the typical Dixon implementation requires two acquisitions with different TE's to create a frequency map for off-resonance corrections. As an example, two acquisitions with different TE's are utilized where the Δ TE=2.2 MSEC @1.5 T. This characteristic Δ TE generates two complex data sets with 180° relative phase variation in the fat magnetization. The long acquisition times required for two separate acquisitions impose a significant limitation on the use of such techniques. It would therefore be desirable to increase the efficiency of the Dixon technique to reduce acquisition time required for accurate fat-water separation.

Methods for fat signal suppression in magnetic resonance imaging


The application relates to a carrying robot including a fork. The fork includes a telescopic arm and a temporary storage tray. The telescopic arm includes a fixed arm and a movable arm connected to the fixed arm. The movable arm is telescopically movable relative to the fixed arm. The temporary storage tray is mounted to the fixed arm and is configured to temporarily store goods. The temporary storage tray is able to extend relative to the fixed arm. An extending direction of the temporary storage tray is consistent with an extending direction of the movable arm. When the fork pulls in or pushes out the goods, containers can be stably transferred between a stationary rack and the temporary storage tray.

Intelligent warehousing is a link in the logistics chain. The use of intelligent warehousing ensures the speed and accuracy of data input in all steps of warehouse management, so as to ensure that enterprises can grasp the real data of the inventory timely and accurately, and properly maintain and control the enterprise's inventory. Batches and shelf life of warehouse goods can be conveniently managed by means of scientific coding. By using the storage location management function of the SNHGES system, current locations of all warehouse goods can be grasped more timely, which is conducive to improving the efficiency of warehouse management.
The carrying robot plays an important role in the intelligent warehousing. The carrying robot replaces the manual carrying of goods, but when the existing carrying robot is carrying containers, the containers are unstable and easy to fall off.


A power ice screw system including an ice screw and screw adapter configured to engage the ice screw, thus enabling use of a power drill to install the ice screw in an ice feature, is described. The ice screw includes a drive head configured to engage the screw adapter. The screw adapter includes clearing ports that enable the adapter to expel ice that enters the adapter from within the ice screw hollow core. The ice screw core extends through the drive head to permit ice to flow through the ice screw and into the adapter. A cutting member resides within the screw adapter, typically disposed between two clearing ports. The cutting member can be flanked by two flanges configured to direct ice that has been disrupted by the cutting member outwardly through the clearing ports. The power drill is typically a lightweight battery powered electric driver.

Ice climbers usually use ice screws to create anchor points in ice features the climbers are attempting to climb. The ice screws are typically temporarily installed in the ice as a lead climber (leader) ascends, and carabiners are often affixed to the installed ice screw. Climbing rope is generally passed through the carabiner such that if the leader falls, his or her belayer can arrest the fall by preventing the rope from running up through the carabiner from the belayer's position beneath the leader. With the climbers (leader and belayer), rope, and ice screw/carabiner so configured, force of the leader's fall is transmitted to the ice screw from the rope, and the leader is suspended from the ice screw after falling as far as slack in the rope permits. To successfully arrest the leader's fall, the ice screw must be securely installed in the ice so it does not pull out when force from the fall is transmitted to the ice screw. A following climber may remove the ice screws as he or she follows the leader's route.
The leader must usually install an ice screw with one hand because his or her other hand is occupied by grasping an ice tool (such as an ice axe), the pick of which the leader generally embeds in the ice above his or her head to help maintain a perch on the ice. The one-handed installation typically requires the leader to push against the ice screw while simultaneously rotating the screw, which initiates boring into the ice by a cutting tip of the screw.
A climber must frequently chip a small hole or depression in the ice with an ice tool, and subsequently initiate boring of the ice screw in the small hole. The initial boring of the ice screw is typically accomplished by the climber twisting his or her wrist and forearm, and is usually performed in multiple increments of rotation. Increments of rotation are typically limited to a range of about 60 degrees to about 180 degrees due to physiological constraints of human wrist/forearm rotation. When the climber first initiates boring into the ice with the ice screw, before the screw establishes sufficient purchase to remain in the ice in the absence of assistance from the climber, the climber must, between screw rotation increments, let go of the screw to unwind his or her wrist/forearm without unscrewing the ice screw. This initial boring requires considerable finesse, and must be repeated for each screw installed during a climb. Not surprisingly, the risk of dropping ice screws inadvertently while attempting to install the screws is a concern.
Where a climber is using one arm for installing an ice screw in the ice, fatigue in his or her other arm and shoulder is exacerbated because the climber is using only one arm instead of two for maintaining his or her perch on the ice. Strength available for other physically demanding aspects of ice climbing is consequently diminished. Means for reducing the time it takes to install an ice screw, and the exacerbated fatigue that accompanies such installation, is therefore needed. Reducing the risk of dropping an ice screw when first starting an installation is also highly desirable.

Power ice screw system and methods of use


A multi-media broadcasting system that links a user profiles associated with a first user with a second user profile associated with a second user, where the first and second user profiles each comprise an indication of an interest common to the first and second users. The user profiles allow a user to customize a viewing experience via the broadcasting system. In addition, the system detects a content update to the first user profile, wherein the content update is associated with a content item that comprises content having a characteristic within the interest common to the first and second users. Furthermore, the system notifies the second user of the content update if the second user profile has not been updated with the content update.

As broadcasts become more sophisticated, information relevant to broadcasts can be communicated and used to generate program information including information relevant to the user's viewing interests. Thus, profiles may be generated for users to customize the user's viewing experience. The profile may include display-related information such as default background color and content related information, for example, annotations provided by the user for certain content, interest related, for example, genre like "science fiction" and preference related, for example, higher priority given to the science fiction channel to watch science fiction programming. If the system can accommodate a multiple user environment, each user would have his own profile, treated by the system independently.

System and method for common interest analysis among multiple users


The present invention relates to a flash memory device that uses dummy memory cells as source line pull down circuits. In one embodiment, when a memory cell is in read mode or erase mode, its source line is coupled to ground through a bitline of a dummy memory cell, which in turn is coupled to ground. When the memory cell is in program mode, the bitline of the dummy memory cell is coupled to an inhibit voltage, which places the dummy memory cell in a program inhibit mode that maintains the dummy memory cell in erased state.

Non-volatile memory cells are well known in the art. A first type of prior art non-volatile memory cell 110 is shown in FIG. 1. The memory cell 110 comprises a semiconductor substrate 112 of a first conductivity type, such as P type. The substrate 112 has a surface on which there is formed a first region 114 (also known as the source line SL) of a second conductivity type, such as N type. A second region 116 (also known as the drain line) also of N type is formed on the surface of the substrate 112. Between the first region 114 and the second region 116 is a channel region 118. A bit line BL 120 is connected to the second region 116. A word line WL 122 is positioned above a first portion of the channel region 118 and is insulated therefrom. The word line 122 has little or no overlap with the second region 116. A floating gate FG 124 is over another portion of the channel region 118. The floating gate 124 is insulated therefrom, and is adjacent to the word line 122. The floating gate 124 is also adjacent to the first region 114. The floating gate 124 may overlap the first region 114 significantly to provide strong coupling from the region 114 into the floating gate 124.
One exemplary operation for erase and program of prior art non-volatile memory cell 110 is as follows. The cell 110 is erased, through a Fowler-Nordheim tunneling mechanism, by applying a high voltage on the word line 122 and zero volts to the bit line and source line. Electrons tunnel from the floating gate 124 into the word line 122 causing the floating gate 124 to be positively charged, turning on the cell 110 in a read condition. The resulting cell erased state is known as '1' state. The cell 110 is programmed, through a source side hot electron programming mechanism, by applying a high voltage on the source line 114, a small voltage on the word line 122, and a programming current on the bit line 120. A portion of electrons flowing across the gap between the word line 122 and the floating gate 124 acquire enough energy to inject into the floating gate 124 causing the floating gate 124 to be negatively charged, turning off the cell 110 in read condition. The resulting cell programmed state is known as '0' state.
Exemplary voltages that can be used for the read, program, erase, and standby operations in memory cell 110 is shown below in Table 1:
TABLE 1OperationWLWL-unselBLBL-unselSLSL-unselReadVwlrd0 VVblrd0 V0 V0 VProgramVwlp0 VIprogVinhVslp0-1 V-FLTEraseVwler0 V0 V0 V0 V0 VStandby0 V0 V0 V0 V0 V0 VVwlrd ~2-3 VVblrd ~0.8-2 VVwlp ~1-2 VVwler ~11-13 VVslp ~9-10VFLT = floatIprog ~1-3 uaVinh ~2 V
A second type of prior art non-volatile memory cell 210 is shown in FIG. 2. The memory cell 210 comprises a semiconductor substrate 212 of a first conductivity type, such as P type. The substrate 212 has a surface on which there is formed a first region 214 (also known as the source line SL) of a second conductivity type, such as N type. A second region 216 (also known as the drain line) also of N type is formed on the surface of the substrate 212. Between the first region 214 and the second region 216 is a channel region 218. A bit line BL 220 is connected to the second region 216. A word line WL 222 is positioned above a first portion of the channel region 218 and is insulated therefrom. The word line 222 has little or no overlap with the second region 216. A floating gate FG 224 is over another portion of the channel region 218. The floating gate 224 is insulated therefrom, and is adjacent to the word line 222. The floating gate 224 is also adjacent to the first region 214. The floating gate 224 may overlap the first region 214 to provide coupling from the region 214 into the floating gate 224. A coupling gate CG (also known as control gate) 226 is over the floating gate 224 and is insulated therefrom.
One exemplary operation for erase and program of prior art non-volatile memory cell 210 is as follows. The cell 210 is erased, through a Fowler-Nordheim tunneling mechanism, by applying a high voltage on the word line 222 with other terminals equal to zero volt. Electrons tunnel from the floating gate 224 into the word line 222 to be positively charged, turning on the cell 210 in a read condition. The resulting cell erased state is known as '1' state. The cell 210 is programmed, through a source side hot electron programming mechanism, by applying a high voltage on the coupling gate 226, a high voltage on the source line 214, and a programming current on the bit line 220. A portion of electrons flowing across the gap between the word line 222 and the floating gate 224 acquire enough energy to inject into the floating gate 224 causing the floating gate 224 to be negatively charged, turning off the cell 210 in read condition. The resulting cell programmed state is known as '0' state.
Exemplary voltages that can be used for the read, program, erase, and standby operations in memory cell 210 is shown below in Table 2:
TABLE 2CG-unselectWL-BL-sameCG-SL-OperationWLunselectBLunselectCGsectorunselectSLunselectRead1.0-3 V0 V0.6-2 V0 V0-2.6 V0-2.6 V0-2.6 V0 V0 VErase11-10 V0 V0 V0 V0 V0 V0 V0 V0 VProgram1 V0 V1uAVinh8-11 V0-2.6 V0-2.6 V4.5-5 V0-1 V-FLT
Another set of exemplary voltages (when a negative voltage is available for read and program operations) that can be used for the read, program, and erase operations in memory cell 210 is shown below in Table 3:
TABLE 3CG-unselectWL-BL-sameCG-SL-OperationWLunselectBLunselectCGsectorunselectSLunselectRead1.0-2 V−0.5V/0 V0.6-2 V0 V0-2.6 V0-2.6 V0-2.6 V0 V0 VErase11-10 V0 V0 V0 V0 V0 V0 V0 V0 VProgram1 V−0.5 V/0 V1uAVinh8-11 V0-2.6 V0-2.6 V4.5-5 V0-1 V-FLT
Another set of exemplary voltages (when a negative voltage is available for read, program, and erase operations) that can be used for the read, program, and erase operations in memory cell 210 is shown below in Table 4:
TABLE 4CG-unselectWL-BL-sameCG-SL-Operation WLunselectBLunselectCGsectorunselectSLunselectRead1.0-2 V−0.5 V/0 V0.6-2 V0 V0-2.6 V0-2.6 V0-2.6 V0 V0 VErase9-6 V−0.5 V/0 V0 V0 V−(5-9) V0 V0 V0 V0 VProgram1 V−0.5 V/0 V1uAVinh8-9 V0-2.6 V0-2.6 V4.5-5 V0-1 V-FLT
A third type of non-volatile memory cell 310 is shown in FIG. 3. The memory cell 310 comprises a semiconductor substrate 312 of a first conductivity type, such as P type. The substrate 312 has a surface on which there is formed a first region 314 (also known as the source line SL) of a second conductivity type, such as N type. A second region 316 (also known as the drain line) also of N type is formed on the surface of the substrate 312. Between the first region 314 and the second region 316 is a channel region 318. A bit line BL 320 is connected to the second region 316. A word line WL 322 is positioned above a first portion of the channel region 318 and is insulated therefrom. The word line 322 has little or no overlap with the second region 316. A floating gate FG 324 is over another portion of the channel region 318. The floating gate 324 is insulated therefrom, and is adjacent to the word line 322. The floating gate 324 is also adjacent to the first region 314. The floating gate 324 may overlap the first region 314 to provide coupling from the region 314 into the floating gate 324. A coupling gate CG (also known as control gate) 326 is over the floating gate 324 and is insulated therefrom. An erase gate EG 328 is over the first region 314 and is adjacent to the floating gate 324 and the coupling gate 326 and is insulated therefrom. The top corner of the floating gate 324 may point toward the inside corner of the T-shaped erase gate 328 to enhance erase efficiency. The erase gate 328 is also insulated from the first region 314. The cell 310 is more particularly described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,868,375 whose disclosure is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
One exemplary operation for erase and program of prior art non-volatile memory cell 310 is as follows. The cell 310 is erased, through a Fowler-Nordheim tunneling mechanism, by applying a high voltage on the erase gate 328 with other terminals equal to zero volt. Electrons tunnel from the floating gate 324 into the erase gate 328 causing the floating gate 324 to be positively charged, turning on the cell 310 in a read condition. The resulting cell erased state is known as '1' state. The cell 310 is programmed, through a source side hot electron programming mechanism, by applying a high voltage on the coupling gate 326, a high voltage on the source line 314, a medium voltage on the erase gate 328, and a programming current on the bit line 320. A portion of electrons flowing across the gap between the word line 322 and the floating gate 324 acquire enough energy to inject into the floating gate 324 causing the floating gate 324 to be negatively charged, turning off the cell 310 in read condition. The resulting cell programmed state is known as '0' state.
Exemplary voltages that can be used for the read, program, and erase operations in memory cell 310 is shown below in Table 5:
TABLE 5CG-unselWL-BL-sameCG-EG-SL-OperationWLunselBLunselCGsectorunselEGunselSLunselRead1.0-2 V0 V0.6-2 V0 V0-2.6 V0-2.6 V0-2.6 V0-2.6 V0-2.6 V0 V0 VErase0 V0 V0 V0 V0 V0 V0 V11.5-12 V0-2.6 V0 V0 VProgram1 V0 V1uAVinh10-11 V0-5 V0-2.6 V4.5-8 V0-2.6 V4.5-5 V0-1 V-FLT
For programming operation, the EG voltage can be applied much higher, e.g. 8V, than the SL voltage, e.g., 5V, to enhance the programming operation. In this case, the unselected CG program voltage is applied at a higher voltage (CG inhibit voltage), e.g. 6V, to reduce unwanted erase effect of the adjacent memory cells sharing the same EG gate of the selected memory cells.
Another set of exemplary voltages (when a negative voltage is available for read and program operations) that can be used for the read, program, and erase operations in memory cell 310 is shown below in Table 6:
TABLE 6CG-unselBL-sameCG-EG-SL-OperationWLWL-unselBLunselCGsectorunselEGunselSLunselRead1.0-2 V−0.5V/0 V0.6-2 V 0 V0-2.6 V0-2.6 V0-2.6 V0-2.6 V0-2.6 V0 V0 VErase0 V0 V0 V0 V0 V0 V0 V11.5-12 V0-2.6 V0 V0 VProgram1 V−0.5V/0 V1uAVinh10-11 V0-2.6 V0-2.6 V4.5-5 V0-2.6 V4.5-5 V0-1 V-FLT
Another set of exemplary voltages (when a negative voltage is available for read, program, and erase operations) that can be used for the read, program, and erase operations in memory cell 310 is shown below in Table 7:
TABLE 7CG-unselWL-BL-sameCG-EG-SL-OperationWLunselBLunselCGsectorunselEGunselSLunselRead1.0-2 V−0.5 V/0 V0.6-2 V0 V0-2.6 V0-2.6 V0-2.6 V0-2.6 V0-2.6 V0 V0 VErase0 V−0.5 V/0 V0 V0 V−(5-9) V0 V0 V9-8 V0-2.6 V0 V0 VProgram1V−0.5 V/0 V1uAVinh8-9 V0-5V0-2.6 V8-9V0-2.6 V4.5-5 V0-1 V-FLT
For programming operation, the EG voltage is applied much higher, e.g. 8-9V, than the SL voltage, e.g., 5V, to enhance the programming operation. In this case, the unselected CG program voltage is applied at a higher voltage (CG inhibit voltage), e.g. 5V, to reduce unwanted erase effects of the adjacent memory cells sharing the same EG gate of the selected memory cells.
Memory cells of the types shown in FIGS. 1-3 typically are arranged into rows and columns to form an array. Erase operations are performed on entire rows or pairs of rows at one time, since word lines control entire rows of memory cells and erase gates (of the type shown in FIG. 3), when present, are shared by pairs of rows of memory cells.
For each of the prior art memory cells of FIGS. 1-3, and as can be seen in the above Tables, it often is necessary to pull the source line down to ground. FIG. 4 depicts a typical prior art technique for doing this. Memory system 400 comprises memory cell 410, word line 422, control gate 426, erase gate 428, bit line 420, and source line 414. Memory cell 410 can be any of the types shown in FIGS. 1-3, namely, memory cell 110, memory cell 210, memory cell 310, or another type of memory cell. Source line 414 is coupled to pull down transistor 430, which here comprises a single NMOS transistor. When the gate of pull down transistor 430 is activated, the source line is pulled down to ground. In a flash memory system, numerous pull down circuits of will be required, and each source line may require more than one pull down circuit. These pull down transistors require operating voltages of around 0-1.2 V for low voltage operations and 4-5-11.5 V for high voltage operations. This means that high voltage transistor type (e.g., 11.5v transistor) or IO transistor type (e.g., 2.5V or 3 v transistor) is required for the pull down transistors, which takes up die space and increases the overall cost and complexity of the system. In addition, the pull down transistors can incur over stress and break down during program mode.
What is needed is a new technique for pulling source lines to ground in a flash memory system that can use the same operating voltage range as the memory cells themselves and that are more robust to over stress and break down.

Flash memory system using memory cell as source line pull down circuit


A vertically adjustable, multi-position chair arm assembly includes a flat metal support bracket having a generally straight uppermost section. The chair arm assembly further includes a plastic shell housing mounted on the generally straight section of the support tube. The single piece shell housing retains a pair of mating sleeves which seat and lock in the draft angle of the shell housing. The uppermost section of the metal support bracket is enclosed by a molded plastic cover. The mating sleeves provide a channel for receiving and retaining the plastic covered section of the metal support bracket. The sleeve channel provides a plastic to plastic interface whereby the total material tolerances are significantly reduced and thereby minimizing wobble. A locking mechanism housed within the shell housing is in positive locking engagement with a punched locking rack formed in the metal support bracket.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to chairs, and more particularly to a multi-position adjustable arm for office chairs, which mounts directly to the bottom of the chair.
2. Background Art
A need exists for a multi-position chair arm adapted for vertical height adjustment, which permits a wide latitude in vertical positioning of the chair arm, is relatively easily manufactured, which is reliable in operation, and provides a wide variety of adjustable positions for the user. The chair design industry has heretofore provided a wide variety of chairs for the office environment which are ergonomically designed for the comfort of the user. Some of these chairs provide height adjustable chair arms, typically plastic assemblies fitted over plastic and metal supports that provide the structural strength for the chair arm assembly. These height adjustable chair arms typically utilize screw fastening systems and punched or slotted metal tube or brackets to provide engagement for the height adjustment mechanism. Many height adjustable arms which include a plastic height adjustment assembly on a metal substructure encounter problems with wobble and may rattle or feel loose, particularly at the top of the height adjustment range. The metal substructure is typically stamped steel with rough or sharp edges. The plastic housing quickly wears at the plastic to metal interface resulting in a loose and wobbling chair arm.
A further problem common with these type of chair arm assemblies is that the cumulative tolerances on the metal support width and thickness, paint coat thickness and tolerances of the molded plastic components all combine to create objectionable rattle and play in the final assembly. The difficulty of maintaining a tight fit between a plastic housing and a metal substructure results in excessive wear and unwanted movement or play from side to side and front to back, further resulting in rattle and noise.
Adjustable chair arms in the prior art lack height adjustment mechanisms which utilize a positive engagement locking mechanism. In the prior art, height adjustment mechanisms comprise several components, usually mounted pivotally on an inner wall of a sliding sleeve. In some of the prior art, these height adjustment mechanisms are in communication with a guiding slot and further comprise a portion with a lock pin biased with an integral leaf spring against an inner wall of the sliding sleeve to engage notches in the guiding slot in the support bracket portion of the arm. Shifting the lock pin along the guiding slot enables engagement of the lock pin with another one of the notches. Other height adjustment mechanisms in the prior art are in communication with a plurality of ratchet recesses spaced longitudinally along a support bracket and use a "ratchet dog", a biasing member for urging the ratchet dog into successive engagement with the plurality of ratchet recesses, and a means such as a movable slider for selectively displacing the spring to effect disengagement of the ratchet dog from the successive ratchet recesses. However, these arms have multiple pivotal components making them more difficult and expensive to manufacture.
Further, these arms wear from use, the arms fail to remain positioned at the desired detent, thus no longer working as a height adjustable arm.
Finally, traditional one piece plastic shells provide structural integrity as opposed to shells comprising a plurality of components; however, injection processes which form one-piece plastic shells by necessity of the molding process have draft angles, variances in the injected part making one end of the injected part smaller with respect to the other end, thus allowing the injected part to be removed from the injection mold. The draft angle of the one piece plastic shell induces a differential in tolerance of fit of the one piece plastic shell on the bracket onto which the one piece plastic shell is mounted; this differential, in turn, causes wobble in the arm assembly as the arm is raised on the bracket.


An apparatus and method for determining an amount of chemical input, and more particularly to an apparatus and method for determining the amount of a chemical to be added, which is necessary to achieve target water quality, wherein a required chemical concentration can be accurately calculated based on the temperature of the water and the target turbidity of the water includes an information-receiving unit configured to receive at least one of environmental information, chemical information, and water-quality information of the water present in a specific area and a chemical input determination unit configured to derive a multiple regression equation based on the received environmental information, chemical information, and water-quality information and to determine the future input of a chemical that is added to satisfy a target turbidity of the water present in the specific area based on the multiple regression equation.

The present disclosure relates to an apparatus and method for determining an amount of chemical input, and more particularly to an apparatus and method for determining the amount of a chemical to be added, which is necessary in order to achieve a target water quality.
In a DAF (Dissolved Air Flotation) process of a seawater desalination plant, a chemical is added so that colloidal material contained in the water is removed. In a conventional DAF process, the amount of the chemical that is added to obtain the target water quality is determined based on the experience of the processing operators. As the amount of the chemical to be added is determined based on the experience and know-how of the processing operators, it is difficult to determine the optimal chemical input depending on changes in environmental conditions of the seawater desalination plant.
In conventional cases, chemicals which are added into water may be used in amounts greater or less than the necessary chemical amounts. Hence, there is a need to accurately calculate a required chemical concentration based on the temperature of the water and the target turbidity thereof.

Apparatus and method for determining chemical input


In a shielded connector adapted to be directly attached to an apparatus, contact pieces bendingly project from a metal shell which is attached to a connector housing and surrounds a terminal housing portion. An elastic contact portion is disposed in each of the contact pieces. When a flange of the connector housing is attached to an electric apparatus, the elastic contact portion is compressively deformed in an elastic deformation amount range so as to be pressingly contacted with an electrically conductive casing of the electric apparatus, whereby the contact pressure between the contact pieces and the casing is held.

The invention relates to a shielded connector which can be directly attached to various electric apparatuses such as a power motor.
Conventionally, it is proposed to form a shielded connector which can be directly attached to various electric apparatuses, by integrally molding a metal shell on a connector housing made of a synthetic resin.
An example of a shielded connector A of the integrally molded type will be described with reference to FIG. 6. The shielded connector A comprises a terminal piece 2 which is to be crimped to a terminal of a shielded wire 1, and a connector housing 4 on which a metal shell 3 is integrally molded (see, for example, Japanese Utility Model Unexamined Publication No. Hei. 6-58560).
A connecting member 5 is attached to a braided shield portion 1b which is exposed by peeling off an outer covering layer 1a of the shielded wire 1. A core wire (conductor) 1d which is exposed by peeling off an inner covering layer 1c of the shielded wire 1 is inserted into a bottomed hole 2a formed in one side of the conductive terminal piece 2, and then pressingly fitted by crimping.
The connector housing 4 comprises a cylindrical portion 4a and a flange 4b. The metal shell 3 is embedded between the cylindrical portion and the flange. The terminal piece 2 is inserted into the cylindrical portion 4a.
When the flange 4b is fastened to a metal casing 6 of an electric apparatus by bolts 7, the shield portion 1b is connected with the metal casing 6 through the connecting member 5 and the metal shell 3, thereby establishing a grounding connection.
A bolt 10 passed through an apparatus terminal 8 to which an electric wire 9 is connected is screwed with a thread hole formed in the other side of the terminal piece 2, thereby electrically connecting the apparatus terminal 8 with the terminal piece.
In the thus configured shielded connector A of the integrally molded type, it is difficult to perform a process of improving conformability between the connector housing 4 made of a synthetic resin and the metal shell 3. Therefore, there arises a problem that when a gap is formed between the synthetic resin material and the metal, the shield effect cannot be ensured.
A method in which a synthetic resin material is metal plated may be employed. However, this countermeasure has a problem in that a process of plating a synthetic resin material requires a very high production cost.
FIG. 7 is a longitudinal section view of a shielded connector A, which is adapted to be directly attached to an apparatus and which can be produced at a low cost and attain the shield effect, and FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing main parts of the connector. In the shielded connector A.sub.1, a metal shell 12 is incorporated into a connector housing 11, and the connector housing 11 is directly mounted on (directly attached to) an electrically conductive casing 13 of an electric apparatus such as a motor.
In the connector housing 11, a flange 15 which is to be attached to the casing 13 is formed around one end of a busing 14 which receives an outer cylindrical portion of a counter connector. A bolt insertion hole 16 is formed at the four corners of the flange 15.
A terminal housing portion 17 is disposed in a substantially center area of the flange 15 and in the busing 14. The metal shell 12 is attached to a groove 20 formed in the outer periphery of the terminal housing portion 17. A contact piece 18 bendingly projects from an end portion of the metal shell 12.
In the terminal housing portion 17, a terminal piece 19 is housed on the inner peripheral face which opens at both the ends. Although not shown, the terminal piece 19 and the metal shell 12 are connected with a terminal and a shield member of the counter connector, respectively.
When the flange 15 is fastened to the casing 13 by means of bolts which are passed through the bolt insertion holes 16 and holes 21 of the casing 13, the contact piece 18 is pressingly contacted with the casing 13, thereby establishing an electrical connection therebetween.
The contact piece 18 is inclined so that the tip end portion is closer to the casing 13. When the flange 15 and the casing 13 are fastened together, therefore, the tip end portion of the contact piece 18 accompanied by a resilient force is pressingly contacted with the casing 13. In order to enhance the contact pressure of the contact piece 18, an electrically conductive contact member 22 is inserted between the contact piece 18 and the flange 15.
Reference numeral 23 designates an O-ring, and 24 designates a packing.
Since the contact piece 18 has a shape in which the piece bendingly projects from the end portion of the metal shell 12, the piece is poor in rigidity. When the flange 15 and the casing 13 are fastened together and the tip end portion of the contact piece 18 is kept to be pressingly contacted with the casing 13 for a long time period, the piece is plastically deformed and its elasticity is lost, with the result that the resilient contact force against the casing 13 is gradually lowered. Therefore, the contact stability cannot be expected.
When the casing 13 and the flange 15 are detached from each other for inspection or the like and the connector is then reassembled, the contact piece 18 is contacted with the casing under a state where the original resilient force is lost, so that the reliability of the electrical connection is lowered.
In order to prevent the resilient force of the contact piece 18 from being lowered, the size of the contact piece 18 has been modified, and the material of the metal shell 12 has been changed. However, such countermeasures have problems in that the shielded connector A.sub.1 cannot be made compact so that the desire for a more compact connector can not be met and the production cost is increased.

Shielded connector adapted to be directly attached to an apparatus


Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for surfacing anomalous network activity on a user interface. An example method provides, for presentation on a user device, a user interface for analyzing network traffic from a customer network. The user interface is populated with network traffic data from the customer network for display to the user. An interactive first filter that is configurable for filtering network traffic based on prevalence of the destination domains of the network traffic is displayed to the user. A first user input configuring the first filter to a first prevalence value is received. In response, the network traffic data is filtered in the user interface to only include network traffic data that has a destination domain that is less prevalent than the first prevalence value.

This specification relates to surfacing anomalous information in a user interface.
Cyber-attacks are very real threats to customer networks. These attacks have the ability to cause damage to network infrastructure and exploit sensitive data. It is critical to quickly identify malicious network traffic in order to protect customer networks from cyber-attacks.

User interfaces for presenting cybersecurity data


Example methods and systems are provided a network device to perform tunnel-based service insertion in a public cloud environment. An example method may comprise establishing a tunnel between the network device and a service path. The method may also comprise: in response to receiving a first encapsulated packet, identifying the service path specified by a service insertion rule; generating and sending a second encapsulated packet over the tunnel to cause the service path to process an inner packet according to one or more services. The method may further comprise: in response to receiving, from the service path via the tunnel, a third encapsulated packet that includes the inner packet processed by the service path, sending the inner packet processed by the service path, or a fourth encapsulated packet, towards a destination address of the inner packet.

Unless otherwise indicated herein, the approaches described in this section are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
Virtualization allows the abstraction and pooling of hardware resources to support virtual machines in a software-defined data center (SDDC). For example, through server virtualization, virtualization computing instances such as virtual machines (VMs) running different operating systems may be supported by the same physical machine (e.g., also referred to as a "host"). Each VM is generally provisioned with virtual resources to run a guest operating system and applications. The virtual resources may include central processing unit (CPU) resources, memory resources, storage resources, network resources, etc.
In practice, a user (e.g., organization) may run various applications using "on-premise" data center infrastructure in a private cloud environment that is under the user's ownership and control. Alternatively or additionally, the user may run applications "in the cloud" using infrastructure that is under the ownership and control of a public cloud provider. In the latter case, it may be challenging to configure and provide various services (e.g., firewall) for applications that are running in a public cloud environment.

Tunnel-based service insertion in public cloud environments


The invention relates to new antithrombotic agents, a process for their preparation, pharmaceutical compositions containing the compounds as active ingredients, as well as the use of said compounds for the manufacture of medicaments.
Serine proteases are enzymes which play an important role in the blood coagulation cascade. Members of this group of proteases are for example thrombin, trypsin, factors VIIa, IXa, Xa, XIa, XIIa, and protein C. Thrombin is the final serine protease enzyme in the coagulation cascade. The prime function of thrombin is the cleavage of fibrinogen to generate fibrin monomers, which are cross-linked to form an insoluble gel. In addition, thrombin regulates its own production by activation of factors V and VIII earlier in the cascade. It also has important actions at cellular level, where it acts on specific receptors to cause platelet aggregation, endothelial cell activation and fibroblast proliferation. Thus thrombin has a central regulatory role in haemostasis and thrombus formation. Since inhibitors of thrombin may have a wide range of therapeutical applications, extensive research is done in this area. Another important serine protease, factor Xa, catalyzes the conversion of prothrombin into thrombin.
In the development of synthetic inhibitors of serine proteases, and more specifically of thrombin, the benzamidine moiety is one of the key structures. It mimics the protonated side-chain of the basic amino acids Arg and Lys of its natural substrates. Compounds with this moiety have been studied extensively and repeatedly. A very potent representative of this type of thrombin inhibitors is the amino acid derivative Nxcex1-(2-naphthylsulfonyl)-glycyl-4-amidinophenylaianinpiperidide (NAPAP) (Stxc3xcrzebecher, J. et al., Thromb. Res. 29, 635-642, 1983). However, the profile of NAPAP is unattractive for therapeutical applications: for example, the compound has low thrombin specificity and is poorly soluble. Derivatives of NAPAP were subsequently prepared, such as the N-alkyl substituted derivatives disclosed in EP 0,236,163 or the glycopeptide derivatives described EP 0,558,961, Proc. Am. Pept. Symp., 13th (60LXAW); 94; pp. 643-5 (Stxc3xcber, W. et al., Pept.: Chem., Struct. Biol.,), Proc. Int. Symp. Controlled Release Bioact. Mater. (PCRMEY, 10220178); 94;Vol. 21 st; pp. 712-12 (Walter, E. et al.), and EP 0,513,543. However, although these derivatizations may have led to improvements of the pharmacological profile when compared to NAPAP, all such NAPAP-derived compounds are still active only as direct thrombin inhibitors and they have a restricted plasma half-life and a fast clearance (thus displaying their anti-thrombin activity only for a short period of time).
It has now been found that compounds of the formula (I)
wherein
R1 is phenyl, naphthyl, 1,2,3,4-tetrahydronaphthyl, (iso)quinolinyl, tetrahydro(iso)quinolinyl, 3,4-dihydro-1H-isoquinolinyl, chromanyl or the camphor group, which groups may optionally be substituted with one or more substituents selected from (1-8C)alkyl or (1-8C)alkoxy;
R2 and R3 are independently H or (1-8C)alkyl;
R4 is (1-8C)alkyl or (3-8C)cycloalkyl;
or R3 and R4 together with the nitrogen atom to which they are bonded are a nonaromatic (4-8)membered ring optionally containing another heteroatom, the ring optionally being substituted with (1-8C)alkyl or SO2-(1-8C)alkyl;
Q is a spacer having a chain length of 10 to 70 atoms; and
Z is a negatively charged oligosaccharide residue comprising two to six mionosaccharide units, the charge being compensated by positively charged counterions;
or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof or a prodrug thereof are potent and highly versatile antitbrombotics. The compounds of the invention have antithrombin activity, but also the structure of the compounds may be selectively modified so that they have a tuneable mixed profile of both non-mediated, direct anti-thrombin (factor IIa) activity And antithrombin III (AT-III) mediated anti-Xa activity. The compounds of the invention thus are dual inhibitors. Compounds of the invention have a long plasma half-life and, as a result, they possess prolonged anti-thrombin activity compared to NAPAP or its above reported derivatives. Further, compounds of the invention may escape the neutralizing action of platelet factor 4 (PF4). Low toxicity is also an advantageous aspect of compounds of this invention.
Another type of dual inhibitors is disclosed in EP 0,649,854. Contrary to the compounds of the present invention the conjugated saccharide compounds disclosed in that document display indirect, AT-III mediated anti-thrombin activity, in addition to AT-III mediated anti-Xa activity.
The compounds of the present invention are useful for treating and preventing thrombin-mediated and thrombin-associated diseases. This includes a number of thrombotic and prothrombotic states in which the coagulation cascade is activated which include, but are not limited to, deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, thrombophlebitis, arterial occlusion from thrombosis or embolism, arterial reocclusion during or after angioplasty or thrombolysis, restenosis following arterial injury or invasive cardiological procedures, postoperative venous thrombosis or embolism, acute or chronic atherosclerosis, stroke, myocardial infarction, cancer and metastasis, and neurodegenerative diseases. The compounds of the invention may also be used as anticoagulants in extracorporeal blood circuits, as necessary in dialysis and surgery. The compounds of the invention may also be used as in vitro anticoagulants.
The mixed profile of the compounds of the invention may be tuned by varying the nature of the oligosaccharide residue Z and the length of the spacer Q. A range of profiles is thereby available.
Any negatively charged oligosaccharide residue of 2 to 6 saccharide units is useable in the compounds of the present invention. Suitable compounds of the invention are compounds wherein Z is a sulfated or phosphorylated oligosaccharide residue. Preferably, the oligosaccharide residue Z is derived from an oligosaccharide which has per se AT-III mediated anti-Xa activity, such as the saccharides disclosed in EP 0,454,220 and EP 0,529,715. Particularly preferred oligosaccharide residues are pentasaccharide residues. Most preferably, Z has the formula (II)
wherein R5 is independently OSO3xe2x88x92 or (1-8C)alkoxy.
Further preferred compounds of the invention are compounds of formula I, wherein R1 is phenyl, 4-methoxy-2,3,6-trimethylphenyl or naphthyl. In preferred compounds, NR3R4 represents the piperidinyl group. Preferably, R2 is H.
The chemical structure of the spacer is of minor or no importance for the anti-thrombotic activity of the compounds of the invention, it may however not be completely rigid. Highly flexible spacers are more suitable than others.
Further, for synthetic reasons some spacers are more appropriate than others. Suitable spacers that can easily be used have for example the formula (III):
xe2x80x94[(CH2)2O]mxe2x80x94[(CH2)nxe2x80x94NR3xe2x80x94C(O)]pxe2x80x94Wxe2x80x94(CH2)sxe2x80x94xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(III),
wherein
W
is xe2x80x94[1,4-phenylene-NR3xe2x80x94C(O)]qxe2x80x94(CH2)rxe2x80x94Sxe2x80x94 or
xe2x80x94(CH2)txe2x80x94Sxe2x80x94(CH2)uxe2x80x94[O(CH2)2]vxe2x80x94Oxe2x80x94(CH2)wxe2x80x94C(O)xe2x80x94NR3xe2x80x94;
and R3 is independently H or (1-8C)alkyl;
m=1-12; n=1-8; p=0-4; q=0 or 1; r=1-8; s=1-8; t=1-8; u=1-8; v=1-12; w=1xe2x88x9d8; the total number of atoms is 10-70; and the moiety xe2x80x94[(CH2)2O]mxe2x80x94 is the end with which Q is attached to Z.
Preferred spacers are the following:
xe2x80x94[(CH2)2O]5xe2x80x94(CH2)2xe2x80x94NHxe2x80x94C(O)xe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94Sxe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94;
xe2x80x94[(CH2)2O]5xe2x80x94(CH2)2xe2x80x94NHxe2x80x94C(O)xe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94Sxe2x80x94(CH2)2xe2x80x94[O(CH2)2]3xe2x80x94Oxe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94C(O)xe2x80x94NHxe2x80x94(CH2)4xe2x80x94; and
xe2x80x94[(CH2)2O]3xe2x80x94(CH2)2xe2x80x94NHxe2x80x94C(O)-1,4-phenylene-NHxe2x80x94C(O)xe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94Sxe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94.
In the description of the compounds of formula (I) the following definitions are used.
The term (1-8C)alkyl means a branched or unbranched alkyl group having 1-8 carbon atoms, for example methyl, ethyl, propyl, isopropyl, butyl, sec-butyl, tert-butyl, hexyl and octyl. Methyl and ethyl are preferred alkyl groups.
The term (1-8C)alkoxy means an alkoxy group having 1-8 carbon atoms, the alkyl moiety having the meaning as previously defined. Methoxy is a preferred alkoxy group.
The term (3-8C)cycloalkyl means a cycloalkyl group having 3-8 carbon atoms, being cyclopropyl, cyclobutyl, cyclopentyl, cyclohexyl, cycloheptyl or cyclo-octyl. Cyclopentyl and cyclohexyl are preferred cycloalkyl groups.
The spacer length is the number of atoms of the spacer, counted along the shortest chain between Z and the peptide part of the molecule, not counting the oxygen atom of the oligosaccharide Z which is connected to the spacer.
The term xe2x80x9cprodrugxe2x80x9d means a compound of the invention in which the amino group of the amidino-moiety is protected, e.g. by hydroxy or a (1-6C)alkoxycarbonyl group.
The compounds of the present invention are prepared by derivatizing NAPAP (or a NAPAP-analogue) at the glycine position with cysteine or lysine using methods generally known in the art, which compound subsequently (a) is coupled to a oligosaccharide-spacer residue or (b) is coupled to a spacer, which then is derivatized with a thiol group and subsequently is coupled to an oligosaccharide residue. Any suitable oligosaccharide may be used for this purpose, for example oligosaccharides known in literature (e.g. from EP 0,454,220 and EP 0,529,715, but not limited to these sources) or commercially available oligosaccharides. The oligosaccharides may be phosphorylated at an appropriate time by methods e.g. described by Buijsman, R. et al. (Abstracts of papers, 9th European Carbohydrate Symposium Utrecht 1997, Abstract A150). The coupling of the spacer to the oligosaccharide can for instance be performed by using the methods described in EP 0,649,854.
The peptide coupling, a procedural step in the above described method to prepare the compounds of the invention, can be carried out by methods commonly known in the art for the couplingxe2x80x94or condensationxe2x80x94of peptide fragments such as by the azide method, mixed anhydride method, activated ester method, or, preferably, by the carbodiimide method, especially with the addition of catalytic and racemisation suppressing compounds like N-hydroxysuccinimide and N-hydroxybenzotriazole. An overview is given in The Peptides, Analysis, Synthesis, Biology, Vol 3, E. Gross and J. Meienhofer, eds. (Academic Press, New York, 1981).
Amine functions present in the compounds may be protected during the synthetic procedure by an N-protecting group, which means a group commonly used in peptide chemistry for the protection of an xcex1-amino group, like the tert-butyloxycarbonyl (Boc) group, the benzyloxycarbonyl (Z) group, the 9-fluorenylmethyloxycarbonyl (Fmoc) group or the phthaloyl (Phth) group. Removal of the protecting groups can take place in different ways, depending on the nature of those protecting groups. Usually deprotection takes place under acidic conditions and in the presence of scavengers. An overview of amino protecting groups and methods for their removal is given in the above mentioned The Peptides, Analysis, Synthesis, Biology, Vol 3.
The compounds of the invention, which can occur in the form of a free base, may be isolated from the reaction mixture in the form of a pharmaceutically acceptable salt. The pharmaceutically acceptable salts may also be obtained by treating the free base of formula (I) with an organic or inorganic acid such as HCl, HBr, HI, H2SO4, H3PO4, acetic acid, propionic acid, glycolic acid, maleic acid, malonic acid, methanesulphonic acid, fumaric acid, succinic acid, tartaric acid, citric acid, benzoic acid, ascorbic acid and the like.
The compounds of this invention possess chiral carbon atoms, and may therefore be obtained as a pure enantiomer, or as a mixture of enantiomers, or as a mixture containing diastereomers. Methods for obtaining the pure enantiomers are well known in the art, e.g. crystallization of salts which are obtained from optically active acids and the racemic mixture, or chromatography using chiral columns. For diastereomers straight phase or reversed phase columns may be used.
The compounds of the invention may be administered enterally or parenterally. The exact dose and regimen of these compounds and compositions thereof will neccessarily be dependent upon the needs of the individual subject to whom the medicament is being administered, the degree of affliction or need and the judgment of the medical practitioner. In general parenteral administration requires lower dosages than other methods of administration which are more dependent upon absorption. However, the daily dosages are for humans preferably 0.001-100 mg per kg body weight, more preferably 0.01-10 mg per kg body weight. The medicament manufactured with the compounds of this invention may also be used as adjuvant in acute anticoagulant therapy. In such a case, the medicament is administered with other compounds useful in treating such disease states. Mixed with pharmaceutically suitable auxiliaries, e.g. as described in the standard reference, Gennaro et al., Remington""s Pharmaceutical Sciences, (18th ed., Mack Publishing Company, 1990, see especially Part 8: Pharmaceutical Preparations and Their Manufacture) the compounds may be compressed into solid dosage units, such as pills, tablets, or be processed into capsules or suppositories. By means of pharmaceutically suitable liquids the compounds can also be applied in the form of a solution, suspension, emulsion, e.g. for use as an injection preparation, or as a spray, e.g. for use as a nasal spray.
For making dosage units, e.g. tablets, the use of conventional additives such as fillers, colorants, polymeric binders and the like is contemplated. In general any pharmaceutically acceptable additive which does not interfere with the function of the active compounds can be used. Suitable carriers with which the compositions can be administered include lactose, starch, cellulose derivatives and the like, or mixtures thereof, used in suitable amounts.

Abstract: The present invention relates to compounds of formula (1), wherein R1 is phenyl, naphthyl, 1,2,3,4-tetrahydronaphthyl, (iso)quinolinyl, tetrahydro(iso)quinolinyl, 3,4-dihydro-1H-isoquinolinyl, chromanyl or the camphor group, which groups may optionally be substituted with one or more substitutents selected from (1-8C)alkyl or (1-8C)alkoxy; R2 and R3 are independently H or (1-8C)alkyl; R4 is (1-8C)alkyl or (3-8C)cycloalkyl; or R3 and R4 together with the nitrogen atom to which they are bonded are a nonaromatic (4-8)membered ring optionally containing another heteroatom, the ring optionally being substituted with (1-8C)alkyl or SO2-(1-8C)alkyl; Q is a spacer having a chain length of 10 to 70 atoms; and Z is a negatively charged oligosaccharide residue comprising two to six monosaccharide units, the charge being compensated by positively charged counterions; or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof or a prodrug thereof. The compounds of the invention have antithrombotic activity an can be used in treating or preventing thrombin-related diseases.


A method for the compression of images comprises two steps. A first step of vector quantization compresses a source image into an image of indices that is coherent in relation to the source image. A second step again compresses this image of the indices according to a prediction method using a network of multilayer neurons. Application: compression of images for their storage and transmission.

The present invention relates to a method for the compression of images. It can be applied notably in the fields of the transmission or storage of images.
The compression of images consists in reducing the quantity of data elements needed to represent an image. Vector quantization, explained in the article by R. M. GRAY,"Vector Quantization", published in the IEEE journal, ASSP Magazine, Apr. 1984, is a method of image compression that has been widely used. This method consists in cutting up the image into blocks and in replacing each block by an index. This index relates to a dictionary containing a limited number of representative blocks. The dictionary is constituted according to the k-means algorithm developed in the article by J. MacQueen, "Some Methods For Classification And Analysis Of Multivariate Observations" published in the catalog, 5th Berkeley Symposium On Mathematics, Statistics And Probabilities, 1967, or according to the LBG algorithm explained in the article by Y. LINDE, A. BUZO, and R. M. GRAY, "An Algorithm For Vector Quantizer Design" in the IEEE journal, Communications, Jan. 1980.
The utility of the compression is nevertheless obvious when images have to be transmitted or stored. Nevertheless, the above-mentioned methods still have mediocre compression rates, and it is not always possible to achieve any significant reduction in the quantity of data elements needed to represent the image and, at the same time, preserve high quality in this image. These low compression rates lead to problems of memory space in the storage systems or of space requirement in the transmission lines, the passbands of which cannot be extended.


The inventive indene derivatives of formula (I) are capable of selectively modulating the activities of peroxisome proliferator activated receptors (PPARs), causing no adverse side effects, and thus, they are useful for the treatment and prevention of disorders modulated by PPARs, i.e., metabolic syndromes such as diabetes, obesity, arteriosclerosis, hyperlipidemia, hyperinsulinism and hypertension, inflammatory diseases such as osteoporosis, liver cirrhosis and asthma, and cancer.

Peroxisome proliferator activated receptors (PPARs) are members of the nuclear hormone receptor superfamily and function as transcription factors regulating gene expression in a form of heterodimers with retinoid X receptors (RXRs). The PPARs are divided into three subtypes, "PPARα", "PPARγ" and "PPARδ", and are generally involved in maintaining energy homeostasis in vertebrates through the control of fat and glucose metabolisms.
Accordingly, many attempts have been made to develop PPARα and PPARγ full agonists which are useful for the treatment and prevention of disorders modulated by PPARs, e.g., metabolic syndromes such as diabetes, obesity, arteriosclerosis, hyperlipidemia, hyperinsulinism and hypertension; inflammatory diseases such as osteoporosis, liver cirrhosis and asthma; and cancer.
For example, it has been reported that thiazolidine-2,4-dione (TZD) and non-TZD-based full agonists on PPARγ exhibit excellent blood glucose level-lowering effect in non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) mammal models (J. Med. Chem., 1999, 42, 3785; Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett., 2000, 2453; Chem. Pharm. Bull., 2002, 50, 1349; Bio. Med. Chem. Lett., 2002, 77; J. Med. Chem., 2003, 46, 3581).
However, such a PPARγ full agonist is also known to cause adverse side effects including weight gain due to facilitation of fat cell differentiation, cardiac hypertrophy, edema and liver damage.
Therefore, there exists a need to develop selective PPAR modulators (SPPARMs) which are capable of selectively controlling activities of the PPARs without causing side effects (Molecular Cell, 2001, 8, 737; Molecular Endocrinology, 2003, 17, 662; Molecular Endocrinology, 2002, 16, 2628).

Indene derivatives and process for the preparation thereof

Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology

Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology


A new and distinct variety of Syringa plant named ‘SMNSDTP’ is disclosed, characterized by a distinctive dwarf and compact plant habit. Flowers are fragrant. Flower buds are dark purple, mature flowers light lavender and white. The new variety is a Syringa normally produced as an outdoor garden or container plant.

The present invention comprises a new and distinct variety of Syringa, hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name 'SMNSDTP'. This new Syringa was developed through a breeding program in Grand Haven, Mich. The objective of the breeding program was to develop new Syringa reblooming varieties in different flower colors. 'SMNSDTP' is an internal advanced selection from an in-house breeding program. The seed parent is an unnamed, unpatented proprietary breeding line. The pollen parent is unidentified as the new variety was produced through an open pollination breeding program. The open pollination resulting in the new variety was made in 2005. Selection of the new variety was made during May of 2007.
The first asexual propagation of 'SMNSDTP' was carried out during June of 2007 by softwood cuttings at a commercial nursery in Grand Haven, Mich. 'SMNSDTP' has been found to retain its distinctive characteristics through successive asexual propagations. Multiple generations have been propagated, with the new variety characteristics reproduced true to type.


An accessory device is provided that emits ultraviolet (UV) light and that receives electrical power from an electronic device (e.g., a smart phone). The accessory device notifies a user when the amount of UV light emitted by the accessory device is sufficient to sanitize a surface when the accessory device has been held at a predetermined distance from the surface.

Sanitizing of shared surface has become more widespread due to a greater understanding of the danger posed by germs. Frequently, surfaces are sanitized using chemicals (e.g., sprays and wipes) that may be difficult to carry and use outside of the home. Additionally, such chemicals are limited in supply and must be refilled as needed.
To avoid the difficulties posed by carrying and refilling such chemicals, people have begun to use devices emitting ultraviolet (UV) light to sanitize surfaces. However, it is difficult to ensure that surfaces are adequately being sanitized using such devices, because neutralizing germs on a surface is dependent on the optical power of the UV light incident on the surface.


The portable socket holder comprises a corrugated base plate, a plurality of rails attached to raised sections, a handle attached to the center of the plate, and a plurality of socket-receiving clips frictionally and slidably carried by the rails.

A portable socket holder currently in the marketplace includes a flat, metal plate, several parallel rails attached thereto and a plurality of socket-receiving clips slid onto the rails. A handle is attached to one end of the plate. Such plate is not sufficiently rigid. Also, because the handle is at an end of the plate, it is vertically oriented when carried and the sockets may fall off.