Radiolabeled annexin and modified annexin conjugates useful for imaging vascular thrombi are described. Methods for making and using such radiolabeled annexin conjugates are also provided.

When patients present with chest pain, palpitations or any other symptoms of coronary trauma or disease, the presence of vascular thrombi in the heart is a potential significant complicating factor for treatment. If a medical practitioner could non-invasively determine whether one or more vascular thrombi were present and, if present, the location of those vascular thrombi, better evaluation of treatment options would be possible. Furthermore, if a medical practitioner could determine that no vascular thrombi were present, thereby eliminating a potential complication in treatment, cardiac conditions could be treated more safely and effectively.
Most present techniques for determining the presence of vascular thrombi are invasive and/or cumbersome, and/or fail to detect such thrombi with good sensitivity and specificity. Thus, an imaging agent useful for non-invasive vascular thrombi imaging is desirable.
Annexins are a class of proteins that are characterized by calcium-mediated binding to anionic phospholipids. Anionic phospholipids are about 20-fold more highly associated with activated platelets than quiescent platelets, and activated platelets are associated with vascular thrombi.
Radioiodinated annexin V has been shown to localize to vascular thrombi in vivo, but has suboptimal imaging characteristics, possibly due to the pronounced beta phase of blood clearance owing to possible transiodination and/or metabolic degradation with reincorporation into serum macromolecules or non-target tissues. Free radioactive iodine or iodine-containing metabolic degradation products exposed non-target tissues, especially the thyroid gland, to radioactivity. Iodine radioisotopes I-123, I-124 and I-131 with imagable photons suffer from various drawbacks. Iodine-131 has particulate emission and its gamma emission is too high in energy for optimal imaging. Iodine-124 emits positrons and high energy gamma photons. Finally, I-iodine-123 radiolabel with superior imaging properties is expensive and difficult to obtain and is not therefore practical for wide spread use. Consequently, improved radiolabeled annexin compounds are desirable.
In addition, conventional imaging and therapy are often plagued by the problem that the generally attainable targeting ratio (ratio of administered dose localizing to target versus administered dose circulating in blood, or ratio of administered dose localizing to target versus administered dose migrating to bone marrow) is low. Improvement in targeting ratio is also sought.
Thus, for the foregoing reasons there is still a need for a thrombus imaging product with increased sensitivity to image small thrombi, such as carotid thrombi or intra-cardiac thrombi and those present in coronary arteries after angioplasty or during myocardial infarctions or in cerebral arteries during stroke. Development of a radiolabeled thrombus imaging agent capable of detecting intracoronary thrombi would represent a breakthrough product of great clinical and commercial significance. The present invention fulfills this need and provides further related advantages.

Radiolabeled annexin conjugates with hexose and a chelator


A powered fishing line casting system utilizing compressed air is provided to cast a projectile provided with fishhooks and bait, and to which the fishing line to be cast is attached, to greater distances than could be achieved using conventional casting methods. The system includes a hollow launch tube sized to accommodate insertion of the projectile. A reducer is disposed adjacent to one end of the launch tube and is adapted to receive a flow of compressed gas from an accumulator tank and to discharge a stream of high-velocity air that impinges upon the projectile disposed within the launch tube in order to launch the projectile. A manually-operable valve is interposed between the reducer and the accumulator tank to control the flow of air to the reducer. Spaced-apart front and rear support legs provide stable support for the system during and between launches of a fishing line carrying projectile.

The sport of fishing is practiced and enjoyed by a large percentage of the population. Many of those who engage in this sport practice that form of fishing known as casting. These fishermen cast from docks, from wharves, from boats, and into the surf, to state but a few examples. It is necessary in casting to have a sufficiently clear working area to facilitate rod, line, and terminal tackle movement. The movement which is made during casting is very dangerous in that the sinker and fishhook describe a launch path from the rear of the fisherman's location and when launched may hit or hook objects or persons that are within the launch path. Thus, most casting methods are ineffective in confined quarters and impose on the fisherman certain restrictive body postures.
Casting methods demand an acquired skill level, hand-eye coordination, timing, etc., to produce consistently accurate results in the placement of the terminal tackle. Casting ability depends on the manner of execution, which in turn depends on a fisherman's skill, physical power and dexterity. The purpose of casting is, of course, to obtain the exact placement of the line in order to increase the probability of success. Such often requires casting bait to distances remote from the location of the fisherman. This is particularly so with respect to surf fishing where a fisherman casting from a beach is required to have considerable skill and accuracy in the placement of the bait in a selected target area in deep water. Often in these circumstances, it is desired to make a cast further than can normally be made by conventional manual casting techniques. This problem is exacerbated in the case of handicapped individuals whose strength and/or physical dexterity is compromised.
As a result, there have been developed various arrangements for providing a powered casting system. Such prior art fishing arrangements have utilized a number of different power providing systems. For example, these devices have employed propulsion mechanisms such as springs, sling-shot type rubber bands, compressed gases and other propellants such as a rocket motors and explosive charges. In general, these systems are complex, expensive, and generally impractical. See for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,977,706; 3,400,840; 3,416,256; 3,419,991; 3,834,056; 4,110,929; 4,631,852; 4,756,113; 5,060,413 and 5,689,909.
In general such prior art arrangements have required modification to the fishing rod, the reel, or development of an entirely new fishing rod structure in order to accommodate the powered casting system. Consequently, such prior art devices have not proved to be completely satisfactory. Moreover, in most instances when these devices are used the forward motion of the propellant rod section during the launching action is suddenly stopped when one mechanical portion physically strikes another with considerable force. This tends to not only jerk the fishing rod from the operator's grasp but also strains certain parts of the rod each time it is used, thereby shortening the rod's useful life.
Further, of the apparatus addressed above, only that described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,060,413 provides a fishing line launching device that does not require a modified or customized fishing rod. The device includes an elongate support having first and second ends. The first end of the support is fitted with a spear or spike-like member which is thrust into the ground at a desired angle in order to anchor the device to the ground. The second end of the support carries a releasable impeller device which launches a fishing line carrying projectile. The impeller device uses pressurized cartridges containing blasting or percussion caps which ignite a charge of gunpowder to launch the projectile. Such explosives are not only unsafe, but also expensive, and a user would be required to carry a considerable supply of the cartridges to launch the number of casts required of a typical fishing excursion. Moreover, the spiked anchor member provides a single anchorage point for the device which is less than desirable with regard to device stability, safety and launching accuracy. More particularly, explosive cartridges generate considerable force that may cause the device and the equipment carried thereby to suddenly shift if the spike is not firmly embedded in the ground. In the event of such a shift, the user may be placed in danger, the projectile will miss its target and a blasting cap will be wasted. Also, the orientation of the support cannot be adjusted without physically extracting the spiked end from the ground and forcing it back into the ground. Such a procedure does not lend itself to precise position adjustments and may require considerable trial and error before a user achieves the desired projectile flight trajectory (which also may result in a number of wasted explosive charges if the support is incorrectly positioned).
Prior powered casting arrangements, therefore, have not met with wide-spread adoption and use as being too mechanically complicated, too expensive to manufacture, too restricted to specific types of terminal tackle, too unwieldy, and/or too functionally infeasible.
A need exists therefore, for a fishing line casting system that that is safe yet powerful, requires no custom fishing rods or modification of existing commercially available fishing rods for its proper operation, is structurally stable and is easily and accurately adjustable to any desired launch trajectory.
The present invention proposes a fishing line casting system for the casting of a projectile, often a bait or lure and/or float or sinker, to which a fishing line is coupled. By utilizing a compressed air powered method of propulsion and direction, the projectile's speed and direction can be controlled such that a projectile of some weight may be delivered to a target area of some distance safely and accurately. Such a casting system will enable all fishermen to have an equal opportunity to be successful independent of their skill or physical power and will decrease the dangers associated with traditional casting methods.

Fishing line casting and bait projectile system


The present invention provides a low cost, efficient vertical cavity surface emitting laser package (300) and manufacturing method, the package having a head assembly having at least three leads, a vertical cavity surface emitting laser die bonded to a top surface of the head assembly, for generating a beam of light, and a photodiode, die bonded to the top surface of the head assembly proximate to the vertical cavity surface emitting laser for receiving at least a portion of the beam of light, and generating feedback for adjusting an electrical input current to the vertical cavity surface emitting laser based on a received optical power of the portion of the beam of light received. The vertical cavity surface emitting laser and the photodiode are injection molded in a predetermined shape with a recessed area for placement of a partially reflective holographic optical element/reflector.

The present invention relates, in general to a vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL).
A VCSEL is a semiconductor laser diode in which the laser oscillation and the optical emission occur in a direction normal to the pn junction plane. This device has many properties which are advantageous when compared to the more commonly used edge-emitting laser diodes. These properties include: low optical beam divergence, a circular optical output, and single longitudinal mode operation. In addition, VCSEL devices are manufactured in a manner which allows wafer level testing of individual devices. These properties make VCSELs attractive in applications such as optical data storage, data communication and laser scanners.
In most systems utilizing semiconductor lasers, dynamic stabilization and control of the optical output power is required. In edge emitting laser diodes this is usually accomplished by allowing a portion of the light emitted by the laser diode, i.e., using light emitted from the laser diode's rear mirror for bias control, to illuminate an optical photodetector which produces a photocurrent proportional to the intensity of the light emitted by the laser diode. This optically generated photocurrent, in turn drives a feedback circuit which controls the laser bias current. However, due to the structure of the VCSEL, light emitted from the rear mirror is absorbed by the GaAs substrate. Thus, the system of using light emitted from the rear mirror is unavailable for bias control.
Monolithic integration of the photodetector to detect laser light from either the top or bottom mirrors has been attempted, "Monolithic Integration of Photodetector With Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser", G. Hasnain et al., Electronic Letters, Vol. 27, No. 18, Aug. 29, 1991, pp. 1630-1632. This implementation, while attractive, is complex and may be very costly to manufacture. Integration of a lateral detector has also been proposed, "Feedback Mechanism for Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers", End Tabatataie, U.S. Pat. No. 5,285,466. This technique has the limitation of only detecting the emission of spontaneous light from the laser. This results in a photocurrent which is not proportional to the total optical power of the VCSEL.
An optical package has been devised for efficiently providing automatic optical feedback for an optical emitter. However, the present optical packages include a metal header and can (TO-46 or 56 cans) as shown in FIG. 1, numeral 100. FIG. 2, numeral 200, illustrates steps for the manufacturing process for a metal can VCSEL package s is known in the art. Typically the header (201) is manufactured (202) with, for example, three leads (203). The present optical packages are typically assembled by die bonding (208) a VCSEL (110; 206) and a photodetector (Photo Diode, 104; 204) onto the header (201). In a final assembly, the metal can/cap, with a hologram (108) adhered to a glass window (Cover Glass, 102), is thermally welded (214) to the header (112).
However, this process has a relatively high cost due to the stringent tolerance/alignment requirements needed for the hologram to reflect a laser beam precisely onto the photodetector (104). The hologram (108) must be attached to a glass window (102). A metal can/cap is manufactured (210), and the glass-hologram assembly must then be attached (212) to the lid of the metal can (TO Can Lid, 106). The metal generally gives rise to parasitic inductor-capacitor coupling to the wirebond (i.e., to the VCSEL and photodetector pads) and/or the header, thus limiting the high speed operation of the VCSEL package to less than 1.5 Gigabits/sec.
Since the issues of cost and speed of operation are critical to the performance and manufacture of the VCSEL package, there is a need for a low cost fabrication device, method, bar code scanner and optical storage unit for providing optical feedback for an optical emitter using holograms wherein the interference due to parasitic inductor-capacitor coupling is minimized.

Low cost, efficient vertical cavity surface emitting laser package, method, bar code scanner and optical storage unit


The invention relates to a method for connecting two bodies according to which a connection means is arranged between connection surfaces of the bodies to be connected. The connection surfaces and the interlying connection means are held adjacent to each other. At least one of the bodies is mechanically stimulated in order to produce friction and frictional heat. The connection means contains at least one cross-linkable polymer or polymerisable and cross-linkable resin which is converted into a thermoplastic material by means of the frictional heat produced, rendering the connection means and the composite of the two bodies considerably more heat-resistant.

Bodies made of wood or wood-like materials can, for example, be connected through mechanical connection means, such as, for example, screws or nails, or through gluing, in which, in the last case, an adhesive is usually applied on both of the connection surfaces to be connected and both of the connection surfaces are then pressed together during a drying or hardening time which is dependent on the type of the adhesive. In a similar manner, bodies made of wood or wood-like materials can also be connected with synthetic material bodies.
These connection methods are disadvantageous for certain uses, since they could, for example, damage applied varnish or colour layers or they could discolour them and/or need a relatively long drying or hardening time.
In WO 96/01377 an alternative method for connecting such bodies is disclosed, in which between the connection surfaces of the bodies to be connected a thermoplastic layer is arranged as connection means. The connection surfaces and the interlying connection means are then held together and at least one of the bodies is mechanically stimulated, in order to produce friction and thus frictional heat, which causes the melting of the thermoplastic layer. Afterwards the mechanical stimulation is stopped and the melted thermoplastic, which is sticking on both connection surfaces, is cooled through drawing off heat in the surrounding body parts, whereby it changes its aggregation condition and becomes hard again.
Disadvantageous with this connection is that the connection means is thermoplastic and therefore has only a limited heat resistance. Many thermoplastics have also a poor resistance against climatic factors, such as, for example, moisture and/or UV radiation. In addition, the dissociation energy of the connection is relatively low, since during the connection no chemical reaction takes place. Finally, the quantity of heat needed for the melting process has to be removed out of the region of the weld spot through drawing off heat, so that hardening of the melted thermoplastic is possible. During this process the connection surfaces have to be held together, i.e. a rest period is necessary after stopping the mechanical stimulation, which is dependent on the properties of the thermoplastic, which can not be easily influenced by the user.
GB 1 311 177 A discloses a method for connecting a container with a cover by means of ultrasonic welding, wherein the connection means can be a cross-linkable resin. The ultrasonic welding is made however with a very high frequency of 20 kHz to 100 kHz, which has consequences for the movement of the connection surfaces to be connected.
In view of the disadvantages of the previously known, above described connection methods, the object of the invention is to provide a method for connecting two bodies of the type mentioned in the introductory part, with which a composite is producible which is more heat-resistant than a comparable composite produced with the method proposed in WO 96/01377. Preferably, in addition the connection method should be able to be better optimised by the user and the connection be able to be produced faster.

Berner Fachhochschule, Architektur, Holz and Bau


An apparatus and method of precisely preloading a bearing onto a shaft is disclosed. The apparatus includes a base plate and a support mounted to and extending upward from the base plate. The support is capable of supporting a shaft. The shaft has a shoulder, a tapered surface adjacent to the shoulder and a threaded portion adjacent to the tapered surface. A shim is positioned on the shaft adjacent to the shoulder and a bearing is positioned adjacent to the shim. The bearing has an inner race, an outer race and a plurality of roller elements positioned therebetween. The bearing is preloaded onto the shaft by a lock nut which is secured to the threaded portion of the shaft and which contacts the inner race of the bearing. The apparatus further includes a motor mounted to the base plate and an output shaft which is axially aligned with and connectable to the outer race of the bearing. The motor is capable of rotating the outer race of the bearing at a predetermined speed. A force sensor is attached to the motor which is capable of measuring the amount of torque required to rotate the outer race at a predetermined speed. The measured torque is then visually displayed on a display unit. When the measured torque is within the predetermined torque range, the bearing will be precisely loaded. The method includes sliding a first shim onto the support shaft until it abuts the shoulder. The first shim has a predetermined thickness. A bearing is then slid onto the tapered surface and a lock nut is tightened onto the threaded portion of the shaft. As the lock nut contacts the inner race of the bearing it causes the inner race to contact the first shim and also to radially expand outwardly, thereby preloading the bearing. The outer race of the bearing is then connected to a motor and the motor is operated at a predetermined, constant speed. The torque required to rotate the outer race of the bearing is measured and compared to a predetermine torque range to determine if the bearing is precisely preloaded.

Bearings are used for many different applications. Spherical roller bearings are bearings which contain an outer race, an inner race, and a plurality of freely rotatable spherical roller elements positioned between the two races. The inner race further contains a taper bore formed on the interior diameter thereof which is designed to mate with a taper machined into the shaft on which it is to be mounted. Spherical roller bearings are commonly used by the printing industry and by manufacturers employing rotary die cutters. Rotary die cutters can be used to cut many different kinds of materials. Normally, a pair of spherical roller bearings are used to rotatably mount a rotary die cutter onto a shaft which is then assembled into a die cutting module. When using such bearings, it is important that the bearings be precisely preloaded so as to provide a precision mounting of the rotary die cutter and also to extend the life of the bearing.
As stated above, the tapered bore on the internal diameter of a spherical roller bearing is designed to match up with a taper machined into the shaft onto which the bearing will be mounted. For those operations wherein a rotary die cutter is employed, a shaft will have the rotary die cutter mounted in the center thereof and will contain a pair of tapered surfaces, each located adjacent to one side of the die cutter. A shoulder is machined into the shaft adjacent to each tapered surface and a threaded portion is machined into the shaft adjacent to the tapered portions. A metal shim is slid onto the shaft and is positioned adjacent to the shoulder. The spherical roller bearings are then positioned onto the tapered surfaces. The thickness of each shim will dictate the distance an adjacent bearing will be able to move up the tapered surface. A lock nut is then threaded onto each end of the shaft and each lock nut will contact the inner race of one of the bearings. As the inner race of each bearing expands, it causes the bearing to be preloaded on the shaft. The lateral distance the bearing moves up the tapered surface is determined by the thickness of the metal shim which has been slid onto the shaft. If the bearing is not sufficiently preloaded, it will be sloppy and the shaft it is supporting will not revolve with the required precision. Conversely, if the bearing is excessively preloaded, it will fail prematurely requiring expensive downtime and replacement.
Today, many different methods are used to preload a bearing onto a shaft. Two common methods include the use of a bearing gauge and gauge blocks which are used to determine the proper shim thickness required to set the bearing preload. This method works well on brand new bearings but cannot be used to preload reconditioned bearings. A second method involves the use of a string which is wrapped around the outer race of a bearing after it has been secured in place by the lock nut. The free end of the string is attached to a spring scale, similar to those used to weigh fish. As the string is pulled, the resistance of the roller elements of the bearing can be felt. This method is very subjective to human error and therefore tends to be inaccurate, especially when performed by an inexperienced operator. Although this method does work on both new and reconditioned bearings, it will not work when the bearings are packed with certain synthetic greases which do not have an extreme pressure additive.
Now, an apparatus and method have been invented for precisely preloading a new or reconditioned bearing onto a shaft. The apparatus and method also work on bearings which have been packed with certain synthetic greases which do not have an extreme pressure additive.

Apparatus and method of precisely preloading a bearing onto a shaft


The use of a configuration-based execution model in conjunction with a content addressable memory (CAM) architecture provides a mechanism that enables performance of a number of computing concepts, including conditional execution, (e.g., If-Then statements and while loops), function calls and recursion. If-then and while loops are implemented by using a CAM feature that emits only complete operand sets from the CAM for processing; different seed operands are generated for different conditional evaluation results, and that seed operand is matched with computed data to for an if-then branch or upon exiting a while loop. As a result, downstream operators retrieve only completed operands. Function calls and recursion are handled by using a return tag as an operand along with function parameter data into the input tag space of a function. A recursive function is split into two halves, a pre-recursive half and a post-recursive half that executes after pre-recursive calls.

For a considerable time, computer program developers and users have been able to benefit from advances in technology that have shrunk silicon feature sizes. As the size of the devices (e.g., microprocessors and memory) that can be created grows smaller, the devices become faster, cheaper and more densely packed. The effect of these advances has allowed contemporary computing to continue to use a control driven (Von Neumann) execution model, in which a series of instructions is written by a programmer for the processor to follow, and when executed in order, will perform a desired computation.
However, the limits of such conventional computing technology are being reached. This is because of a number of problems that arise as the silicon feature size continues to shrink. For example, effects such as crosstalk, capacitive loading, defect density and heat dissipation become more pronounced as the chips become more densely packed.
As a result, in an attempt to continue to advance computational power, manufacturers are introducing solutions based on some amount of parallel computing. For example, modern processors automatically attempt to extract some parallelism from control driven code, by attempting to find operations that can be executed in any order, and thus can be executed in parallel, without changing the outcome. However, extracting parallelism in this way is a complex problem that is not particularly successful or efficient, as it requires a significant amount of looking ahead or behind in the instructions to determine which operations, if any, can be conducted in parallel. Despite such complexities, the computer industry is moving towards parallel computing. What is needed is a better architecture for parallel computing.

Conditional execution via content addressable memory and parallel computing execution model


‘Patriot Bright Violet’ is a new variety of geranium that exhibits free flowering, good outdoor performance, and deep violet-red flowers with fluorescent orange eyes atop of mounding medium-dark green foliage.

The present invention comprises a new and distinct cultivar of Pelargonium×hortorum known by the varietal name 'Patriot Bright Violet'. The new variety was discovered in Lompoc, Calif. The new variety is a result of cross breeding Pink Seedling #6421 (female parent) (unpatented) and 'Americana New Violet' (male parent). The purpose of the breeding program was to introduce a geranium having free branching. The new variety is similar in plant type to its female parent, but is dissimilar in flower color. The new variety is similar in flower color and earliness to its male parent, but exhibits more basal branching. The excellent greenhouse and good outdoor performance and free flowering nature of 'Patriot Bright Violet' distinguishes the new variety from other varieties known to the breeder. The new variety was first asexually reproduced by cuttings in Connellsville, Pa. The new variety has been trial and field tested and has been found to retain its distinctive characteristics and remain true to type through successive propagations.
The new variety was grown in a glass greenhouse in a 4″ pot in Connellsville, Pa. using full light, 16° C. night temperature, 20° C. day temperature, and grown in a soilless media with constant fertilizer at 200-250 ppm nitrogen and potassium. The new variety exhibits developed roots at 21 days at an average temperature of 23° C. and has a response time of seven weeks from a rooted cutting to flowering in a 10 cm. container.

Geranium plant named ‘Patriot Bright Violet’


A method of separating ions is disclosed. The method includes a step of providing a FAIMS analyzer region for separating ions, the FAIMS analyzer region including at least one region of segmentation. The segmentation permits ion trapping, and a combination trapping and gating that permits high efficiency of ions collection from continuous ion sources. The ions are separated in segmented FAIMS, according to their high-field mobility properties, and by using the method described herein according to their low-field mobility. The ions are separated by low field mobility using stationary potential gradients formed by voltages applied to the segments, and by traveling potential gradients of various shapes. The ions are separated along the longitudinal direction in cylindrical FAIMS, and may be detected in a time-of-arrival fashion as the ions leave the ion outlet of FAIMS or optionally the ions other than selected are caused to collide with the electrodes and only the selected ions transmitted. This is a high resolution separation, combining the ion properties at high-field, as well as the low-field mobility properties, for selection of specific ions from very complex mixtures.

High sensitivity and amenability to miniaturization for field-portable applications have helped to make ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) an important technique for the detection of many compounds, including narcotics, explosives, and chemical warfare agents as described, for example, by G. Eiceman and Z. Karpas in their book entitled "Ion Mobility Spectrometry" (CRC, Boca Raton, 1994), the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. In IMS, gas-phase ion mobilities are determined using a drift tube with a constant electric field. Ions are separated in the drift tube on the basis of differences in their drift velocities. At low electric field strength, for example 200 V/cm at approximately ambient atmospheric pressure, the drift velocity of an ion is proportional to the applied electric field strength, and the mobility, K, which is determined from experimentation, is independent of the applied electric field. Additionally, in IMS the ions travel through a bath gas that is at sufficiently high pressure that the ions rapidly reach constant velocity when driven by the force of an electric field that is constant both in time and location.
E. A. Mason and E. W. McDaniel in their book entitled "Transport Properties of Ions in Gases" (Wiley, N.Y. 1988), the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference, teach that at high electric field strength, for instance fields stronger than approximately 5,000 V/cm, the ion drift velocity is no longer directly proportional to the applied electric field, and K is better represented by KH, a non-constant high field mobility term. The dependence of KH on the applied electric field has been the basis for the development of high field asymmetric waveform ion mobility spectrometry (FAIMS). Ions are separated in FAIMS on the basis of a difference in the mobility of an ion at high field strength, KH, relative to the mobility of the ion at low field strength, K. In other words, the ions are separated due to the compound dependent behavior of KH as a function of the applied electric field strength.
In general, a device for separating ions according to the FAIMS principle has an analyzer region that is defined by a space between first and second spaced-apart electrodes. The first electrode is maintained at a selected dc voltage, often at ground potential, while the second electrode has an asymmetric waveform V(t) applied to it. The asymmetric waveform V(t) is composed of a repeating pattern including a high voltage component, VH, lasting for a short period of time tH and a lower voltage component, VL, of opposite polarity, lasting a longer period of time tL. The waveform is synthesized such that the integrated voltage-time product, and thus the field-time product, applied to the second electrode during each complete cycle of the waveform is zero, for instance VHtH+VLtL=0; for example +2000 V for 10 μs followed by −1000 V for 20 μs. The peak voltage during the shorter, high voltage portion of the waveform is called the "dispersion voltage" or DV, which is identically referred to as the applied asymmetric waveform voltage.
Generally, the ions that are to be separated are entrained in a stream of gas flowing through the FAIMS analyzer region, for example between a pair of horizontally oriented, spaced-apart electrodes. Accordingly, the net motion of an ion within the analyzer region is the sum of a horizontal x-axis component due to the stream of gas and a transverse y-axis component due to the applied electric field. During the high voltage portion of the waveform, an ion moves with a y-axis velocity component given by vH=KHEH, where EH is the applied field, and KH is the high field ion mobility under operating electric field, pressure and temperature conditions. The distance traveled by the ion during the high voltage portion of the waveform is given by dH=vHtH=KHEHtH, where tH is the time period of the applied high voltage. During the longer duration, opposite polarity, low voltage portion of the asymmetric waveform, the y-axis velocity component of the ion is vL=KEL, where K is the low field ion mobility under operating pressure and temperature conditions. The distance traveled is dL=vLtL=KELtL. Since the asymmetric waveform ensures that (VHtH)+(VLtL)=0, the field-time products EHtH and ELtL are equal in magnitude. Thus, if KH and K are identical, dH and dL are equal, and the ion is returned to its original position along the y-axis during the negative cycle of the waveform. If at EH the mobility KH>K, the ion experiences a net displacement from its original position relative to the y-axis. For example, if a positive ion travels farther during the positive portion of the waveform, for instance dH>dL, then the ion migrates away from the second electrode and eventually is neutralized at the first electrode.
In order to reverse the transverse drift of the positive ion in the above example, a constant negative dc voltage is applied to the second electrode. The difference between the dc voltage that is applied to the first electrode and the dc voltage that is applied to the second electrode is called the "compensation voltage" (CV). The CV prevents the ion from migrating toward either the second or the first electrode. If ions derived from two compounds respond differently to the applied high strength electric fields, the ratio of KH to K may be different for each compound. Consequently, the magnitude of the CV that is necessary to prevent the drift of the ion toward either electrode is also different for each compound. Thus, when a mixture including several species of ions, each with a unique KH/K ratio, is being analyzed by FAIMS, only one species of ion is selectively transmitted to a detector for a given combination of CV and DV. In one type of FAIMS experiment, the applied CV is scanned with time, for instance the CV is slowly ramped or optionally the CV is stepped from one voltage to a next voltage, and a resulting intensity of transmitted ions is measured. In this way a CV spectrum showing the total ion current as a function of CV, is obtained.
Numerous ionization sources, including atmospheric pressure ionization sources, have been described for use with FAIMS. Non-limiting examples include electrospray ionization and variants thereof, thermospray, atmospheric pressure chemical ionization, corona discharge, radioactive sources (including 63Ni and other nuclides). As some non-limiting examples, ions are detected using electrometers for measuring electric current from discharge of the ions, detected by measurement of currents induced by the presence of the ions, detected indirectly using chemical reactions, detected using optical methods such as laser scattering or optical fluoresence. In addition, detection of ions using a mass spectrometer is known.
A typical analytical system that includes FAIMS may include several devices operating in a cooperative manner. For example a sample may be prepared in automated fashion in a commercial robotic station, and transferred to an automatic sampling instrument. This autosampler provides portions of the sample to a separation device that includes gas chromatography or liquid chromatography or electrophoresis as some non-limiting examples of condensed or gas-phase separations. The compounds separated by this system may then be presented to an ionization device to convert the molecules of interest into their respective ions. This change of state of the analyte compound forms the junction between separations of molecules from separations of ions. The ions produced by this ionization system that may be one of electrospray ionization, optical ionization, MALDI ionization, corona discharge ionization, chemical ionization, and radioactive decay as some non-limiting examples, are then presented to a conventional ion mobility spectrometer or to FAIMS, or to a system composed of a hybridization of these methods. Previous disclosures have described some of these, including a tandem FAIMS-IMS system in WO 01/69221 published Sep. 20, 2001, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference, and a tandem FAIMS-ion trapping system in U.S. Pat. No. 6,703,609, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. The FAIMS and drift ion mobility measurements may be made in tandem-in-space instruments or in tandem-in-time operations that may be within a single or a plurality of chambers designed for optimum performance of drift tube or FAIMS versions of high-pressure ion separation. The ions which have been separated by the drift tube, or FAIMS, or hybrid technology is then presented to one of a further separation, or a detection system. Several detection systems have been used including using electrometers for measuring electric current from discharge of the ions, measurement of currents induced by the presence of the ions, indirectly detected using chemical reactions, or detected using optical methods such as laser scattering or optical fluoresence as some non-limiting examples. If further separation is required, ions may be separated by mass spectrometers including one of quadrupole mass spectrometers, ion trap mass spectrometers, and Fourier Transform (FT) ion cyclotron mass spectrometers as some non-limiting examples.

Low field mobility separation of ions using segmented cylindrical FAIMS


A method for cutting an "O" ring retention groove around the cutting edge of a hydropiercing die button. A groove machining tool is given a convex curved end surface the radius of which is slightly less than or, at most, substantially equal to the tightest concave radius that the end surface will have to sweep through as the groove is cut. Consequently, an accurate, slightly curved groove bottom surface is created for the "O" ring, while the machining tool will not bind as it moves through the tightest concave portion of the cutting path.

Hydroforming, a process in which single piece, generally cylindrical steel blanks are expanded within a die cavity under great internal pressure to produce non cylindrical frame rails and the like, is finding greater and greater production use. A recent development which has greatly increased the utility of the process is so called hydropiercing, in which holes and slots can be cut through the surfaces of the pressure formed part right in the die, so as to avoid the necessity of later hole cutting steps. An example of hydropiercing can be seen in co assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,0398,533 issued Mar. 21, 1995 to Shimanovski et al., where a flat surface on a hydroformed part is pierced by allowing the highly pressurized internal fluid to blow out through a sharp edged die button, removing a slug of metal as it escapes to leave behind a hole shaped like the die button edge. It is necessary that the perimeter of the cutting edge of the die button be surrounded by an "O" ring, which is inset into a retention groove. The "O" ring seal is firmly pressed into the part surface, surrounding the area to be cut through. The "O" ring acts as a face seal to prevent the escape of pressurized fluid as the hole is cut. Production of the die button itself, including the machining of the "O" ring retention groove, is a simple process when the part surface surrounding the hole to be cut is flat. In that case, the die button surface and groove are also correspondingly flat. When the hole is to be cut through a non flat, trough like surface, manufacture of the die button is more difficult. While it is relatively simple to machine the basic surface of the die button to match the part surface, there is no known way to easily machine the "O" ring retention groove down into that complex, non flat surface, especially where the groove must pass through concave curved transition areas or "valleys". The machining process is complicated by the fact that the ideal groove cross section should have undercut shoulders on each side so as to retain the round cross sectioned "O" ring in the groove with a "snap" fit around the sides of the "O" ring.
One known U.S. Pat. 4,786,219 issued Nov. 22, 1988 to Oberlin et al., does disclose a method for machining a continuous groove into the outer surface of an elliptical tube. Such an exterior surface is everywhere convex, however, with no concave transition areas. A flat bottomed machining tool is disclosed, which is moved around the cutting path, and maintained at both a constant cutting depth relative to the surface and at substantially a perpendicular orientation relative to the surrounding surface. Those tool conditions would be both givens for any such machining process, of course. The primary focus of the patent is maintaining the tool at a constant cutting depth. However, the flat bottomed tool disclosed would simply not work if used in a curved surface like that disclosed in the subject invention, as it would interfere or bind drag when moved through the concave, sharply radiused transition portions of the cutting path.

Method for machining an "O" ring retention groove into a curved surface


A refrigeration cycle apparatus 1 includes a refrigerant circuit in which a refrigerant circulates. The refrigerant circuit is formed by connecting in sequence a compressor 2 for compressing the refrigerant, a radiator 3 for allowing the refrigerant compressed by compressor 2 to radiate heat, a fluid pressure motor 4 as a power recovery means, and an evaporator 5 for allowing the refrigerant discharged by the fluid pressure motor 4 to evaporate. The fluid pressure motor 4 performs a process for drawing the refrigerant and a process for discharging the refrigerant. These processes are performed substantially continuously.

Generally, a refrigerant circuit of a refrigeration cycle apparatuses has a structure in which a compressor for compressing a refrigerant, a gas cooler for cooling the refrigerant, an expansion valve for expanding the refrigerant and an evaporator for heating the refrigerant are connected in this order. In the refrigeration cycle of such a refrigerant circuit, the refrigerant undergoes a pressure drop from high pressure to low pressure at the expansion valve while being expanded, and an internal energy is released at that time. The internal energy to be released increases as a pressure difference between a low pressure side (evaporator side) and a high pressure side (gas cooler side) of the refrigerant circuit increases, lowering the energy efficiency of the refrigeration cycle.
In view of such a problem, a variety of techniques have been proposed for recovering the internal energy of the refrigerant released at an expander. JP 2004-44569 A, for example, proposes a technique for recovering energy by coupling a rotating shaft of a rotary type expander to a rotating shaft of a motor for driving a compressor.
FIG. 26 is a configuration diagram of a conventional refrigeration cycle apparatus 501 that recovers energy by coupling a shaft 507 of an expander 504 to a rotating shaft of a motor 506 for driving a compressor 502.
As shown in FIG. 26, the refrigeration cycle apparatus 501 includes a refrigerant circuit in which a gas cooler 503, the expander 504, an evaporator 505, and the compressor 502 are connected in this order. The expander 504 is a rotary type or scroll type expander having a shaft 507 as a rotating shaft. The shaft 507 is coupled to the motor 506 driving the compressor 502. Rotation energy (mechanical power) of the shaft 507 is transferred to the rotating shaft of the motor 506. Thus, a part of the internal energy released when the refrigerant undergoes a pressure drop from high pressure to low pressure at the expander 504 while being expanded is converted into the rotation energy of the shaft 507, transferred to the motor 506, and then is utilized as a part of mechanical power for driving the compressor 502. Accordingly, the refrigeration cycle apparatus 501 can realize high energy efficiency.
JP 57 (1982)-108555 A discloses a technique for recovering energy from a refrigerant using a medium-driven motor having no specific volumetric capacity ratio (an expansion ratio). FIG. 30 is a diagram showing the structure and operation principle of the medium-driven motor disclosed in JP 57 (1982)-108555A. A medium-driven motor 700 includes a cylinder 701, a rotor 702 (a piston) that rotates in the cylinder 701, and a vane 705 that divides a working chamber formed between the cylinder 701 and the rotor 702 into a suction side working chamber 706a and a discharge side working chamber 706b. The cylinder 701 has a suction port 703 so that a refrigerant can be drawn into the suction side working chamber 706a, and a discharge port 704 so that the refrigerant can be discharged from the discharge side working chamber 706b. Neither the suction port 703 nor the discharge port 704 has a valve, but the shape of the rotor 702 is determined to prevent the refrigerant from flowing from the suction port 703 to the discharge port 704 directly. Specifically, a part of an outer peripheral face of the rotor 702 has the same curvature radius as that of an inner peripheral face of the cylinder 701.
JP 2006-266171 A also discloses a technique for recovering mechanical power from a refrigerant. JP 2006-266171 A proposes a technique for recovering mechanical power by coupling a rotating shaft of a sub compressor provided on a suction side of a compressor to a rotating shaft of a rotary type expander.
FIG. 27 is a configuration diagram of a power-recovery-type refrigeration cycle apparatus 601 using an expander-compressor unit 608, described in JP 2006-266171 A. As shown in FIG. 27, the refrigeration cycle apparatus 601 includes a refrigerant circuit in which a sub compressor 602, a main compressor 603, a gas cooler 604, an expander 605, and an evaporator 606 are connected in this order.
FIG. 28 is a cross-sectional view of the expander-compressor unit 608. As shown in FIG. 28 and FIG. 27, the expander-compressor unit 608 is composed of the sub compressor 602 and the expander 605 sharing a rotating shaft 607. Thus, energy recovered by the expander 605 is supplied to the sub compressor 602 via the rotating shaft 607, and is utilized as a driving force for the sub compressor 602. Accordingly, the refrigeration cycle apparatus 601 shown in FIG. 27 can realize high energy efficiency.
FIG. 29 is a cross-sectional view of the expander 605. As shown in FIG. 29, the expander 605 is a swing type expander in which a piston 611a and a vane 611b are formed integrally. A shoe 612 is attached to the vane 611b. The shoe 612 has a narrow refrigerant passage 613 that communicates with a working chamber 614. In the expander 605, the vane 611b reciprocates, and the shoe 612 swings. The refrigerant passage 613 is opened and closed corresponding to the reciprocating motion of the vane 611b and the swinging motion of the shoe 612, and thereby timing for drawing the refrigerant is controlled.
The expanders disclosed in JP 2004-44569 A and JP 2006-266171 A each have a specific volumetric capacity ratio (a ratio of a discharge volume to a suction volume). Thus, in the expanders disclosed in JP 2004-44569 A and JP 2006-26617 A, a discharge pressure is determined automatically from a suction pressure and the volumetric capacity ratio of each of the expanders. However, the high pressure and low pressure of the refrigeration cycle vary, respectively, depending on its operating conditions. Accordingly, the discharge pressure of the expander (the pressure of the refrigerant being discharged from the expander) does not agree with the low pressure of the refrigeration cycle in some cases. For example, there arises a problem that overexpansion loss occurs when the discharge pressure of the expander becomes lower than the low pressure of the refrigeration cycle, lowering the efficiency in recovering the internal energy of the refrigerant at the expander.
That is, use of the expanders disclosed in the aforementioned documents makes it difficult to recover efficiently the internal energy of the refrigerant.
Moreover, the expander 605 shown in FIG. 28 and FIG. 29 has a complicated configuration, and is disadvantageous in terms of cost and productivity. In the expander 605, the narrow refrigerant passage 613 needs to be formed in the shoe 612 that swings. Thus, use of the expander 605 complicates the configuration of the refrigeration cycle apparatus, and tends to cause increased cost and reduced productivity.
Since the medium-driven motor 700 shown in FIG. 30 has no specific volumetric capacity ratio (the volumetric capacity ratio thereof is 1), the efficiency in recovering energy from the refrigerant hardly is affected by the pressure condition of the refrigeration cycle. Moreover, the cost and productivity problems hardly arise because it has a simple structure. In the medium-driven motor 700, however, a state in which a single working chamber 706 is formed in the cylinder 701 lasts for approximately 90° in terms of rotation angle of the rotor 702, as shown in Step 4 and Step 5 of FIG. 30. Moreover, as known from Step 5, a period during which both of the suction port 703 and the discharge port 704 are closed by the rotor 702 is relatively long. Thus, when the medium-driven motor 700 is included in the refrigerant circuit as a power recovery means, pulsation of the refrigerant in the refrigerant circuit becomes extremely strong, causing noise and vibration. Lubrication failure also tends to occur on the piston.

Refrigeration cycle apparatus and fluid machine used for the same


A query is matched to an outlier materialized query table that stores exception data. The query is searched for a source predicate. An outlier predicate in the outlier materialized query table that corresponds to the source predicate is searched for a target column that corresponds to a source column in the source predicate. A new range predicate is derived based on the target column and introduced into the query, wherein the query is executed to retrieve data from one or more data stores.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to query optimization with algebraic rules.
2. Description of the Related Art
A database system is one in which data is stored, retrieved, and processed. One type of Database Management System (DBMS) is a Relational Database Management System. Data records in a RDBMS in a computer are maintained in tables, which are a collection of rows (records) all having the same columns. Each column maintains information on a particular type of data for the data records which comprise the rows. Tables in the database are searched using, for example, a Structured Query Language (SQL), which specifies search operations or predicates to perform on columns of tables in the database to qualify rows in the database tables that satisfy the search conditions.
Relational DataBase Management System (RDBMS) software using a Structured Query Language (SQL) interface is well known in the art. The SQL interface has evolved into a standard language for RDBMS software and has been adopted as such by both the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the International Standards Organization (ISO).
Queries that go against a database are often taken through an optimizer within the DBMS. The optimizer is a compile time component that looks for an optimal access plan for the execution engine that retrieves the data. An access plan includes a set of access paths that are selected by the optimizer to evaluate a particular SQL statement. The access plan specifies the order of operations to resolve the execution plan, the implementation techniques (such as JOIN), and the access path for each table referenced in the statement. For example, there may be an access plan to a specific table in the database, as well as, an access plan of the order and technique in which multiple tables may be joined together to produce the desired query result. The access path represents a technique that is selected by the optimizer for retrieving data from a specific table.
In a RDBMS, the tables may have auxiliary structures, such as indexes, that may be used to access specific rows of data. For example, an access plan might make use of an index to retrieve the required data or the access plan may directly scan the table or a combination of the two. These decisions are typically based on a determination of the cost of the alternatives by estimating the number of rows of interest and consequently the cost of retrieving the appropriate blocks or pages from storage (e.g., disk) as well as the amount of computer processing units (CPU) to be utilized. Often statistics about the data that are pre-computed are used to help with the estimation process.
Another common methodology of influencing the access plan is to internally "rewrite" the query making use of other auxiliary information. Constraints that are defined and enforced might be used to eliminate joins or used to introduce predicates or derive statistics. For more information on this, see, Q. Cheng, J. Gryz, F. Koo, C. Leung, L. Liu, X. Qian and B. Schiefer. "Implementation of Two Semantic Query Optimization Techniques in DB2 UDB," In Proceedings of the 25th VLDB, pages 396–403, Kobe, Japan, 1991; J. Gryz, B. Schiefer, J. Zheng, and C. Zuzarte. "Discovery and Application of Check Constraints in DB2," In Proceedings of ICDE, Heidelberg, Germany, 2001; and, P. Godfrey, J. Gryz, C. Zuzarte. "Exploiting Constraint-like Data Characterizations in Query Optimization," In Proceedings of the 2001 ACM SIGMOD International Conference on the Management of Data, pages 582–592, Santa Barbara, Calif., 2001; each of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
Pre-computed materialized data might be used to replace a portion of the query. For more information on this; see, M. Zaharioudakis, R. Cochrane, G. Lapis, H. Pirahesh, M. Urata. "Answering Complex SQL Queries Using Automatic Summary Tables," In Proceeding of the 2000 ACM SIGMOD international conference on the management of data, pages 105–116, Dallas, Tex., 2000.
In P. Godfrey, J. Gryz, C. Zuzarte. "Exploiting Constraint-Like Data Characterizations in Query Optimization," In Proceedings of the 2001 ACM SIGMOD International Conference on the Management of Data, pages 582–592, Santa Barbara, Calif., 2001; the concept of soft constraints is discussed, including absolute soft constraints and statistical soft constraints. Additionally, the notion to use pre-computed materialized query tables that store exception data is introduced. The materialized query tables that store exception data may also be referred to as "outlier tables" or "outlier MQTs." Using this materialized query table, newly introduced predicates ("new predicates" or "new range predicates") are generated to help with the access plan of the underlying table, while the exception or outlier data is picked up from the materialized query table and added to the result (using a UNION ALL approach).
An algebraic rule is a relationship between two columns in a relational database table that may be expressed by algebraic expression. A set of algebraic rules that involve columns from one table may be implemented as integrity constraints or soft constraints to optimize queries. However, an algebraic rule that involves columns from more than one table is not used in such optimizations. Furthermore, statistical soft constraints are not used for rewriting queries.
Although existing query optimization techniques are useful, there is a need in the art for improved query optimization.

Method, system, and program for query optimization with algebraic rules

International Business Machines Corporation


A Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) data reading/writing method and an NVMe device, where in the method, a transceiver receives an NVMe command from a host into a submission queue (SQ), an SQ control circuit sends the NVMe command in the SQ to an solid state drive (SSD) controller when detecting that the SQ in an SQ cache changes, the SSD controller executes the NVMe command, writes a generated NVMe command response into a completion queue (CQ) using a CQ control circuit, and instructs, by triggering an interrupt, the host to read the CQ such that the host processes the NVMe command response in the CQ. Because both the SQ and the CQ are located in the NVMe device, a central processing unit (CPU) can directly read the NVMe command response in the CQ or directly write the NVMe command into the SQ, thereby further reducing consumption of CPU resources.

The NVMe protocol defines a command set, a queue, and a register interface for interaction between a driver and a non-volatile storage subsystem, for example, a solid state drive (SSD) having a peripheral component interconnect express (PCIe) standard interface. The NVMe protocol also defines a basic command set of a nonvolatile memory (NVM) subsystem. The NVMe protocol is defines an extensible host control interface, and the NVMe protocol is used to meet requirements of enterprise and client systems that use PCIe SSDs.
There are a lot of steps in an existing NVMe command processing procedure. An NVMe command execution procedure starts with a host phase, goes to an NVMe device phase, and then goes back to the host phase. To be specific, an NVMe command processing procedure includes three phases, and a register operation of a doorbell mechanism needs to be performed in a process of protocol transmission from a host to an NVMe device and in a process of protocol transmission from the NVMe device to the host separately. An interrupt operation is also used in an NVMe command execution process. In addition, all caches used in submission of an NVMe command, that is, a completion process, are specified areas in a memory of the host.
Therefore, as can be learned, the three phases and the register and interrupt operations make the NVMe command execution procedure very long, cause a long latency, and occupy a lot of central processing unit (CPU) resources.

NVME data processing method and NVME device


Severe acute respiratory syndrome is treated with a natural human alpha interferon, a dsRNA or both natural human alpha interferon and a dsRNA.

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) is a new disease that is rapidly spreading within China and other countries around the world. Although, a combination of ribavirin, a synthetic, non-interferon-inducing, broad spectrum antiviral nucleoside, and corticosteroids is commonly used as therapy, especially in China, laboratory testing by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) found ribavirin to have no effect on this coronavirus. This lack of efficacy suggests the need for an effective therapeutic regimen.

Treating severe acute respiratory syndrome


A bicycle frame includes two first through holes respectively defined in two opposed points in a periphery of the head tube to communicate with the down tube so as to allow extension of a first derailleur cable for a front derailleur and a second derailleur cable for a rear derailleur. The bottom bracket has a down tube hole for communication with an interior of the down tube, two chain stay holes for communication with each of the two chain stays and two bellow tube holes for extension of two a first bellow tube and a second bellow tube respectively received in the bottom bracket. The derailleur cables extend to the first bellow tubes and the second bellow tubes respectively, which in turn extend out of the bottom bracket and toward the extension holes of the inner tubes for connection to the front and rear derailleurs.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a bicycle frame, and more particularly to a bicycle frame being so configured that a derailleur wire is concealed.
2. Description of Related Art
A bicycle having a derailleur mounted at the rear of the bicycle normally has at least one derailleur wire extending from the handlebars to the derailleur so that the rider is able to use the derailleur wire to control movement of the derailleur. After the derailleur is moved, the transmission chain is shifted to a different gear such that different output torque is generated if the applied force to the pedal of the bicycle remains the same. Normally the derailleur wire is exposed outside the bicycle frame such that the wire is easily corroded or does harm to the rider. Thus, it is preferable to conceal the derailleur wire inside the bicycle frame. However, none of the bicycle frames available on the market is able to provide such a capability.
To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention tends to provide an improved bicycle frame to mitigate the aforementioned problems.

Bicycle frame for concealing derailleur wire


An optical transmitter including a multi-lambda source to output injection light consisting of a plurality of injection wavelengths in channels, a circulator having a first port, a second port, and a third port, the circulator receiving the injection light at the first port, and outputting the received injection light to the second port, and further receiving signal light at the second port, and outputting the received signal light to the third port, an arrayed waveguide grating having a multiplexing port connected to the second port of the circulator, and a plurality of demultiplexing ports, spectrum-slicing injection light received from the circulator at the multiplexing port into a plurality of injection channels, and outputting the injection channels to the demultiplexing ports and further receiving and multiplexing a plurality of signal channels at the demultiplexing ports, into a signal light, and outputting the signal light to the multiplexing port, and a plurality of reflective semiconductor optical amplifiers connected to the demultiplexing ports of the arrayed waveguide grating, respectively, each of the reflective semiconductor optical amplifiers receiving an associated one of the injection channels, and amplifying the associated injection channel to generate an associated one of the signal channels.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) optical network, and, more particularly, to an optical transmitter used in a WDM optical network, and a passive optical network using the optical transmitter.
2. Description of the Related Art
In WDM passive optical networks (PONs), particular wavelengths are assigned to respective subscribers each having an optical network unit (ONU). Accordingly, such a WDM PON ensures communication security, while being capable of easily accommodating a separate communication service required by a subscriber. Furthermore, PONs allow for the expansion of a subscriber communication capacity and it is also possible to simply increase the number of subscribers by assigning new wavelengths to new subscribers.
Generally, WDM PONs use a double star type topology. In the double star type topology, a remote node is installed in an area where a plurality of subscribers are distributed near one another. The remote node is connected to a central office via a single feeder fiber. The ONU of each subscriber is connected to the remote node by an independent distribution fiber. A multiplexed signal of downstream optical signals from the central office is transmitted to the remote node via the feeder fiber, and then demultipexed by an arrayed waveguide grating (AWG), for example. Thereafter, the downstream optical signals are transmitted to the individual ONUs via the respective distribution optical fibers. Upstream signal channels, i.e., wavelengths, outputted from respective ONUs are transmitted to the remote node, and then multiplexed by the AWG of the remote node. The resultant multiplexed signal of the upstream signal channels, i.e., wavelengths, is transmitted to the central office.
Recently, spectrum-sliced light sources have been actively researched for a wavelength division multiplexing light source. Such a spectrum-sliced light source slices incoherent light having a sufficiently wide wavelength band flat profile, using an optical filter or AWG, to provide a large number of wavelength-divided channels. In this case, it is thus unnecessary to use individual light sources, each respectively having particular oscillation wavelength, and a corresponding wavelength stabilizing device. For such a spectrum-sliced light source, a light emitting diode (LED), a superluminescent diode (SLD), a Fabry-Perot (FP) laser, a fiber amplifier light source, a picosecond pulse light source, etc. have been proposed. For example, injection light of a broad band generated from an incoherent light source such as an LED or fiber amplifier light source may be spectrum-divided using an optical filter or AWG and the resultant spectrum-divided injection channels, i.e., wavelengths, are provided to a reflective semiconductor optical amplifier, which is not provided with any isolator. Thus, the amplified light in the individual channels may be used for transmission of optical signals.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an optical transmitter used in a typical PON. FIG. 2 is a diagram depicting waveforms of injection light A, and the signal light B shown in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 1, the optical transmitter 100 includes a broadband light source (BSL) 110, a circulator (CIR) 120, an AWG 130, N reflective semiconductor optical amplifiers (RSOAs) 140-1 to 140-N.
The broadband light source 110 outputs injection light A having a flat profile in a sufficiently broad wavelength band into N light beams of wavelengths λ1 to λN. (FIG. 2).
The circulator 120 has a first port 120-1 connected to the broadband light source 110, a second port 120-2 connected to a multiplexing port MP of the AWG 130, and a third port 120-3 connected to a transmission link. The circulator 120 receives the injection light A at the first port 120-1, and outputs the injection light A to the second port 120-2. The circulator 120 also receives signal light B at the second port 120-2, and outputs the signal light B to the third port 120-3.
The AWG 130 has N demulitplexing ports DP1 to DPN, in addition to the multiplexing port MP. The demulitplexing ports DP1 to DPN are connected to the RSOAs 140-1 to 140-N, respectively. For example, the N-th demultiplexing port DPN is connected to the N-th RSOA 140-N. The AWG 130 spectrum-slices the injection light A inputted to the multiplexing port MP, and outputs the resultant light beams to the demultiplexing ports DP1 to DPN, respectively. The AWG 130 further multiplexes the signal channels, i.e., wavelengths, inputted to the respective demulitplexing ports DP1 to DPN, and outputs a resultant multiplexed signal to the multiplexing port MP. The AWG 130 has wavelength transmission characteristics having periodically repeated free special ranges (FSRs). The AWG 130 has N wavelengths in an arbitrary FSR thereof. That is, the FSR has transmission wavelengths respectively corresponding to the N wavelengths.
The first through N-th RSOAs 140-1 to 140-N receive the first through N-th injection signals on the N channels and output first through N-th signal channels. For example, the N-th RSOA 140-N receives the N-th injection channels, amplifies the injection signal, and outputs the N-th injection signal, which has an increased peak power level. In this case, the N-th signal channel has an N-th wavelength.
In the above-mentioned optical transmitter, however, the injection light outputted from the broadband light source exhibits loss caused by mismatching of spectrums of the AWG and spectrums of the insertion light as well as insertion loss while passing through the AWG because it has a wide and flat profile. Such loss may be in the order of 3 dB. Hence, there is a need in the industry for a means to optically multiplex/demultiplex optical signals without incurring such loss.

Optical transmitter and passive optical network using the same

Maetan-Dong, Teongtong-Gu, Suwon-Si, Gyeonggi-Do


A high chloride {100} tabular grain emulsion is prepared by creating grain nuclei containing greater than 45 mole percent bromide. Growth onto the grains under conditions favorable for high chloride {100} grain growth is conducted while maintaining (a) a temperature in the range of from 25 to 85.degree. C., (b) a pH in the range of from 3.5 to 8.5, and (c) a vAg in the range of from 120 to 200 mV. Crystal lattice field distortions are observed at the nucleation site, and the nucleation site exhibits the maximum bromide concentration, which is greater than 5 mole percent, based on silver at the site.

Marked improvements in the performance of photographic emulsions began in the 1980's, resulting from the introduction of tabular grain emulsions into photographic products. A wide range of photographic advantages have been provided by tabular grain emulsions, such as improved speed-granularity relationships, increased covering power (both on an absolute basis and as a function of binder hardening), more rapid developability, increased thermal stability, increased separation of native and spectral sensitization imparted imaging speeds, and improved image sharpness in both mono- and multi-emulsion layer formats.
Although tabular grain emulsions can be selected to provide a variety of performance advantages, depending upon the photographic application to be served, initially commercial interest focused on achieving the highest attainable photographic speeds with minimal attendant granularity, resulting in the commercial development of silver iodobromide {111} tabular grain emulsions.
More recently interest has developed in the higher rates of processing and greater ecological compatibility of high chloride emulsions. The first high chloride tabular grain emulsions contained {111} tabular grains, as illustrated by Wey U.S. Pat. No. 4,399,215 and Maskasky U.S. Pat. No. 4,400,463. Although numerous high chloride {111} tabular grain emulsions have been subsequently investigated, their commercial development has lagged, which is attributable to the tendency of high chloride {111} tabular grains to revert to nontabular forms--i.e., morphological instability. This reversion tendency of high chloride {111} tabular grains is overcome by adsorbing a grain growth modifier to the grain surfaces during preparation. Unfortunately, the grain growth modifier complicates post-precipitation preparation of the grains for imaging, particularly chemical and spectral sensitization.
Maskasky U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,292,632 and 5,275,930 overcame the problem of high chloride {111} tabular grain morphological instability by providing the first high chloride {100} tabular grain emulsions. Unfortunately, Maskasky also relied upon grain growth modifiers to attain high chloride {100} tabular grain emulsions.
House et al U.S. Pat. No. 5,320,938 and Chang et al U.S. Pat. No. 5,413,904 were able to produce high chloride {100} tabular grain emulsions by introducing small amounts of iodide at or near grain nucleation. While this approach has the advantage of avoiding the use of adsorbed grain growth modifiers, it has been observed that the much lower solubility of silver iodide than that of silver chloride, a difference of about 6 orders of magnitude, requires careful control of the process to achieve batch-to-batch replication of precipitations. For example, at 40.degree. C., the -log K.sub.sp of AgCl is 9.2 whereas the -log K.sub.sp of AgI 15.2, where K.sub.sp is the solubility product constant. In other words AgI is one million times less soluble than AgCl.
Still another approach to preparing high chloride {100} tabular grain emulsions begins by precipitating AgCl to create grain nuclei. This precipitation is interrupted to introduce a small quantity of silver and bromide salts that form halide laminae on the grain nuclei. Silver AgCl precipitation is then resumed to form high chloride {100} tabular grains. The introduction of silver bromide after grain nucleation is said to create a halide gap that is responsible for tabular grain growth. Yamashita et al U.S. Pat. No. 5,498,511 most fully describes the halide gap concept.
The modification of AgCl grain nuclei by AgBr laminae formation followed by return to high chloride precipitation is relatively complicated. The reaction vessel must be adjusted from the conditions for AgCl grain nuclei formation to the conditions favorable for AgBr laminae formation. After a very limited amount AgBr is precipitated, the reaction vessel must be again adjusted to provide conditions for high chloride {100} tabular grain growth.

Simplified nucleation of high chloride <100> tabular grain emulsions


An endotracheal tube, stethoscope, and thermistor combination is provided to allow simultaneous patient ventilation, vital sounds monitoring, and body core temperature monitoring by a single instrument. The tube includes an inflation cuff adjacent the distal end and a longitudinal pressure conduit to inflate the cuff to seal against the trachea wall. An audio cuff extends at least partially coextensive and concentrically with the inflation cuff and has sufficient resiliency to vibrate in response to the patient's vital sounds. Audio ports face toward the left side, and thus the heart of the patient to receive heart sounds most directly. A thermistor extends longitudinally along the posterior wall of the preferably bowed tube for contact of the transducer with the patient's mucous membrane for accurately monitoring of the body core temperature. The inflation cuff comprises a highly flexible bulb in direct contact with the trachea wall and the audio cuff is a sleeve inside the bulb and spaced peripherally from the tube to allow vibration. The sleeve has integral ribs so as to be sufficiently stable to maintain the desired spacing and thus assure maximum sound pick-up. A pressure conduit and audio conduit extend along the side wall and open into the inflation and audio cuffs, respectively.

The present invention relates to the construction of an endotracheal tube for applying anesthetic gases and/or supplying oxygen to a patient, and more particularly to an endotracheal tube combined with an integral stethoscope and thermistor to allow more efficient monitoring of the patient's vital sounds and body core temperature during an operation.


A hard disk drive system that includes one or more rotating data storage platters, a drive controller and multiple actuator assemblies and corresponding respective read/write heads. The actuator assemblies are separately moveable for performing separate data seeks. The controller is configured to interleave the seek and read/write operations of the multiple actuator assemblies and read/write heads with one another.

Hard disk drives are used in many applications where relatively fast, economical, non-volatile mass storage is desired. For example, hard disk drives are commonly used in computer servers, mainframe computers, personal computers, laptop computers, digital video recorders, music and multimedia devices, personal digital assistants, digital cameras and cellular telephones, among other things. Hard disk technology has evolved significantly since the first commercial hard disk drive became available in 1956.
Present hard disk drives typically include a plurality of platters that spin at a constant angular velocity about a common rotational axis, or spindle. Common form factors, or platter diameters, of present generation hard disk drives are 3.5 in., 2.5 in., 1.8 in., 1 in. and 0.85 in. That said, other diameter platters are available. The platters are typically made of a non-metallic material, e.g., glass or aluminum, coated on both major surfaces with a magnetic recording material, typically iron oxide, that form the data storage surfaces of the drive. Present hard disk drives typically have a single armature that moves multiple read/write heads, one for each data storage surface, in unison with one another.
Several more recent designs utilize multiple read/write heads per data storage surface and move these multiple heads with corresponding respective independent armatures. In some of these designs, the multiple heads are used for redundancy or for increasing the speed of a given data transfer (read or write) operation by using some or all of the read/write heads simultaneously for that data transfer. In others of these designs, the multiple heads per data storage surface are controlled so that the read/write head closest to the location of the data at any given time is used for the data transfer. The one or more remaining read/write heads for that surface do not participate in that data transfer and await subsequent data transfer requests that call them into action. While these recent simultaneous read/simultaneous write and closest-to-the-data designs increase the speed of the respective hard disk drives, improvement in the average seek time, i.e., the average time it takes for the read/write head(s) to be moved to a desired data transfer location over a plurality of read/write requests, is highly desirable.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Multi-arm disk drive system having interleaved read/write operations and method of controlling same


A liquid discharging technique is provided that conveniently carries out recording (printing) with a desired coloring relative to media (fabric or the like) with various characteristics such as an ink color development property. A textile printing apparatus 100 is a liquid discharging apparatus which discharges a liquid (an ink) onto a recording medium (a fabric 1) and records an image and includes a liquid discharging section (a head 41) which discharges the ink onto the fabric 1 based on correction image information which is corrected according to coloring information for the fabric 1 which is obtained from the fabric 1 which is supplied to the textile printing apparatus 100.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a liquid discharging apparatus and a liquid discharging method.
2. Related Art
An ink jet printer which performs recording (printing) of images by discharging ink droplets onto various types of recording media such as paper or film is known as an example of a liquid discharging apparatus. Since it is easy for ink jet printers to record digital color images in high definition, their use rapidly became widespread in a wide range of fields from office use and personal use to industrial uses. The targets of the recording also widened to various media which are used in various fields, and applications to textile printing are particularly common.
Textile printing using ink jet printers does not use the types of dyes which are used in screen textile printing, and it is possible to use design information which is digitized (changed into an electronic format). As a result, it is possible to quickly handle changes in precise designs or the like according to requests from customers, and it is possible to significantly reduce and shorten the labor time and production time. In addition, there is an advantage in that the degree of freedom in the design is large such as it being possible to reproduce gradations of color and the like.
On the other hand, since fabric as a recording medium is a material which is a fiber product such as clothing which is different to recording media where quality is managed under constant standards such as paper, film, or the like which are media for recording images or information, there are various recording characteristics such as the permeability and color development property of inks according to the fabric material, surface texture, and color and there are numerous fabrics where it is difficult to consistently perform forming of desired colors in a color management system which is provided in an ink jet printer in advance. However, there is a problem in that it is not possible to substitute fabrics with other fabrics where only the recording characteristics are superior since there are characteristics, such as individual value and sense of feel with the fabric itself which is different to paper or films as the material which is a fiber product. In contrast to this, a method has been investigated for securing a desired design and coloring by creating textile printing data in advance for each type of fabric and selectively using optimum textile printing data according to the fabric which is the target of the textile printing (see JP-A-2000-345463 (Patent Literature 1), for example).

Liquid discharging apparatus and liquid discharging method


One embodiment is a phase change memory that includes a heater element transversely contacting a storage element of phase change material. In particular, an end of the storage element contacts an end of the heater element. A first pair of dielectric spacers is positioned on opposite sides of the first heater element and a second pair of dielectric spacers is positioned on opposite sides of the first storage element. The storage element, heater element, and first and second pairs of dielectric spacers can be made by a spacer patterning technique.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to phase change memories.
2. Description of the Related Art
As is known, phase change memories use a class of materials that have the property of switching between two phases having distinct electrical characteristics, associated to two different crystallographic structures of the material, and precisely an amorphous, disorderly phase and a crystalline or polycrystalline, orderly phase. The two phases have resistivities of considerably different values.
Currently, the alloys of elements of group VI of the periodic table, such as Te or Se, referred to as chalcogenides or chalcogenic materials, can be used advantageously in phase change memory cells. The currently most promising chalcogenide is formed from an alloy of Ge, Sb and Te (Ge2Sb2Te5), which is now widely used for storing information on overwritable disks and has been also proposed for mass storage.
In the chalcogenides, the resistivity varies by two or more orders of magnitude when the material passes from the amorphous (more resistive) phase to the crystalline (more conductive) phase, and vice versa.
Phase change can be obtained by locally increasing the temperature. Below 150° C., both phases are stable. Starting from an amorphous state, and rising the temperature above 200° C., there is a rapid nucleation of the crystallites and, if the material is kept at the crystallization temperature for a sufficiently long time, it undergoes a phase change and becomes crystalline. To bring the chalcogenide back to the amorphous state it is necessary to raise the temperature above the melting temperature (approximately 600° C.) and then rapidly cool off the chalcogenide.
In a phase change memory, a plurality of memory cells are arranged in rows and columns to form an array. Each memory cell is coupled to a respective selection element, which may be implemented by any switching device, such as an ovonic threshold switch (OTS), a PN diode, a bipolar junction transistor or a MOS transistor. Each memory cell includes a memory region of a chalcogenide material in contact with a resistive electrode, also called heater. A storage element is formed at a contact area between the chalcogenide region and the heater. The heater is connected to a conduction terminal of the selection element.
In fact, from an electrical point of view, the crystallization temperature and the melting temperature are obtained by causing an electric current to flow through the resistive electrode in contact or close proximity with the chalcogenic material and thus heating the chalcogenic material by Joule effect. In particular, when the chalcogenic material is in the amorphous, high resistivity state (also called the reset state), applying a voltage/current pulse of a suitable length and amplitude and allowing the chalcogenic material to cool slowly causes the chalcogenic material changes its state and switch from a high resistivity to a low resistivity state (also called the set state). Vice versa, when the chalcogenic material is in the set state, applying a voltage/current pulse of suitable length and high amplitude causes the chalcogenic material to switch to the amorphous phase.

Self-aligned nano-cross-point phase change memory


A kit is provided for assembly of a mattress supporting base comprising: a frame having a top mattress supporting platform, the platform being supported by a plurality of spaced apart longitudinal stringers, each stringer having a series of longitudinally spaced apart openings, the openings being transversely aligned thus defining a series of continuous passageways through said stringers across the assembled width of the frame; a plurality of transverse beams each engagable in an associated one of said passageways; and a plurality of leg means, downwardly protruding from each of said beams.

Conventional beds generally include a mattress supported upon a box spring, a wooden bed frame or both. Box springs are generally designed to have the outward appearance of a mattress, being covered in quilted fabric and cushioning for example. Generally, box springs have a wooden rectangular frame supporting an array of springs to provide firm support for the mattress.
Bed frames may simply support a mattress on boards spanning between side rails of the frame, or may accomodate a box spring. Bed frames conventionally have a head board, a foot board and two side rails, and are constructed to be easily assembled and disassembled.
A box spring is typically constructed in one piece of the same dimensions as the mattress it supports. Legs are provided with embedded threaded metal rods to be screwed into threaded inserts in the bottom of the box spring frame, when the box spring is used without a bed frame. In use, the legs often work loose destabilizing the box spring, or damaging the wooden box spring frame. As a result such screw-in box spring legs are totally unsuitable for use with heavy hybrid waterbed mattresses.
Alternatively, if the box spring does not have its own legs, a relatively expensive nine-leg metal platform is used under the box spring. The metal frame represents an additional expense, however the increased strength and stability of a metal frame, especially when casters are used, are necessary and justifiable in many cases. The metal platform results in an inferior unsightly appearance. The platform's metal rails may protrude beyond the bed creating a safety hazard and exposing bed linens to possible damage. However due to the increased load bearing capacity of metal frames, they are used extensively to support waterbeds and a high percentage of conventional spring beds.
A conventional box spring, due to its stiff wooden frame, is often heavy and awkward to handle, especially the larger "king size" or "queen size" variety. Moving such box springs, in apartment elevators and around corners into bedrooms for example, is often difficult and exposes the box spring and doorways to potential damage.
The use of waterbed mattresses dictate that bed frames and box springs have greatly enhanced load bearing capacity due to the weight of the water enveloped in the waterbed bladders. Hybrid waterbed mattresses are increasingly used in which water filled bladders are embedded in foam cushioning encased in an external quilted fabric. The hybrid waterbed mattress therefore has the outward appearance and many functional characteristics of a conventional spring or foam mattress, but is of much greater weight. Hybrid waterbed mattresses are constructed with outer dimensions identical to conventional spring mattresses, which contributes much to their marketplace acceptance.
Waterbeds, including hybrid types, suffer from the disadvantage that, due to increase strength requirements, the waterbed frames are necessarily heavier than conventional bed frames. Waterbed frames appear bulky and are different in appearance from conentional bed frames which impedes their marketplace acceptance.
Due to their weight, hybrid waterbeds commonly use the nine-leg metal platform described above. The metal platform and legs provide the required support in comparison to the inadequate screw-in legs of a wooden frame box spring.


The connection side of a high-current connector is provided with an insulating bush which is used to maintain the required air gaps and leakage distances between current-conducting and earth-connected parts while allowing a compact installation space.

Connectors are required, in principle, in order to reversibly connect electrical lines or connections to one another. In general, connectors and mating connectors are used in order to establish an electrical and mechanical connection between two electrical conductors or an electrical conductor and a device or an installation.
In particular, high-current connectors are required in order to transmit a particularly high electric current of, for example, more than and including 100 amperes (A), in particular more than and including 200 A, preferably more than and including 400 A and, in particular, an electric current of more than and including 600 A and, in some cases, possibly even of up to 800 A and more by means of a high-current contact element which forms part of the high-current connector, for example by means of a pin contact or a socket contact. In this case, the high-current connectors can carry voltages of several thousand volts (V), that is to say, for example, at least 2000 V, in particular at least 3000 V, for example 4000 V and more, that is to say, for example, up to 4800 V or even more, with respect to their ground potential. The ground potential can in this case be applied at least to a cable gland of the high-current connector and, in particular, to an at least partially metal connector housing for shielding and/or grounding purposes.
The pin and/or socket contacts of the high-current connector can have an outside and, respectively, inside diameter of more than 1 cm, for example at least 1.5 cm, preferably at least 2 cm, particularly preferably at least 2.5 cm or in some cases even of 3 cm and more. The electrical conductors of the high-current cables, which electrical conductors are connected to high-current contact elements of this kind, can be, for example, a cross-sectional area of at least 70 mm2, in particular at least 95 mm2, preferably at least 120 mm2, particularly preferably 150 mm2, that is to say, for example, 185 mm2 and more. Said electrical conductors are generally stranded conductors. A stranded conductor of this kind can be connected, on the cable connection side, to the respective connection region of a high-current contact element, for example crimped to a crimp connection or, for example, screwed to an axial screw connection which is known from the prior art, in order to produce a reliable and low-impedance electrical contact in this way.
High-current connectors of this kind are used, for example, in the rail sector. Applications in power plants, transformer stations, industrial installations and high-power distribution systems are also common.
DE 20 2006 003 204 U1 describes a connector which is in the form of a plug or add-on housing. The connector comprises a connector housing in which an insulating body with electrical contacts is accommodated. The electrical contacts are provided for connecting electrical lines which are routed out of the plug or add-on housing on the rear side of the connector.
DE 10 2010 014 982 A1 discloses a connector for electrically connecting a cable. The connector has a connector housing in which a multipartite shielding element is arranged. In this case, the shielding element serves to make electrical contact with a cable shield and to electrically connect the cable shield to the connector housing.
DE 10 2014 112 701 A1 describes a high-current plug-in contact, the crimping region of which is formed from aluminum and the plug-in region of which is formed from copper, in order to reduce electrical problems when connecting a high-current aluminum cable to a high-current copper cable or a high-current copper contact in the region of the material transition. A shape and a function of a high-current connector/a high-current contact element are also implicitly explained in this context.
The problem of often relatively large so-called "clearances and creepage paths" being produced in high-current connectors, in particular on account of the abovementioned high voltages of, for example, up to 4800 V and more which are often carried by them, is generally encountered in the prior art. These clearances and creepage paths can result in undesired short circuits between the live parts of the high-current connector and those parts of the high-current connector which are actually electrically isolated from said live parts and are at ground potential by way of a so-called electrical "creepage current" flowing and/or by way of voltage dips, such as spark flashovers, occurring.
In addition to said high electrical voltages, the cause of these voltage dips/spark flashovers and creepage currents can be considered to be, amongst other things, the electrical conduction behavior of the surfaces of insulators and also the air which is located between these parts. The basic problem with clearances and creepage paths of this kind is well known to a person skilled in the field of high-current/high-voltage technology. The consequence for the high-current connector is usually that the installation space for the high-current connector has to be large enough to maintain the requisite clearances and creepage paths and in this way to avoid said flashovers and creepage currents.
One disadvantage of the known high-current connectors is the resulting large space requirement. Although this is necessary for maintaining sufficiently large clearances and creepage paths on the one hand, on the other hand it is inconsistent with the general desire for as compact a design of the high-current connector as possible. In practice, high-current connectors which have as low a height as possible in the insertion direction are often required in particular.
The German Patent and Trademark Office has searched the following prior art in the priority application for the present application: EP 1 925 060 B1 and DE 20 2011 101 574 U1.

High-current connector comprising an insulating bush