Methods and devices useful, for example, in the field of angioplasty and stenting are disclosed. In some embodiments, the methods, devices and kits are configured for directional expansion inside a lumen, for example of a blood vessel obstructed by plaque. In some embodiments, the directional expansion displaces the plaque in a desired direction.

The present invention relates to intraluminal medical devices. In some embodiments, the invention relates to expandable devices such as angioplasty balloons and balloon-expandable stents that are configured for directional expansion, for example from a distal end of the device to a proximal end of the device or from a proximal end of the device to a distal end of the device.
Many illnesses are characterized or lead to narrowing or obstruction of the lumen of blood vessels, for example lesions such as plaque deposition, resulting in restricted flow of blood to critical parts of the body such as the heart and the brain.
Balloon angioplasty is a technique used to dilate a region of a lumen of a blood vessel that is narrowed or obstructed with the help of an inflatable catheter-borne balloon. A guide wire is maneuvered into the blood vessel from an incision in the skin past the region of the blood vessel. The catheter is guided along the guide wire so that the balloon is at the region. The balloon is inflated, usually by the introduction of a fluid such as saline through the catheter. The balloon applies an outwards force to the luminal walls of the blood vessel dilating the blood vessel. In some instances, soft/pliable deposits such as plaque are smeared over a large area of the blood vessel wall, dilating the blood vessel lumen. Types of angioplasty include peripheral angioplasty, also known as percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA), involving opening of blood vessels other than the coronary arteries; percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PCTA), used to treat stenotic coronary arteries; renal artery angioplasty; carotid angioplasty; and cerebral artery angioplasty.
In some cases, a stent is deployed together with balloon angioplasty.
A stent is a device deployed inside a lumen of a bodily vessel to physically maintain patency of the vessel by application of an outwards radial force on the luminal walls of the vessel. Typical vessels treated with stents include respiratory ducts, gastrointestinal ducts, lymphatic ducts, blood vessels and especially arteries that are occluded, stenosed, aneurysmatic, physically damaged, diseased, collapsing or weakened.
Stents are outwardly radially expandable, having a substantially tubular shape both in an unexpanded state with a small radial dimension and in any one of the expanded states with larger radial dimensions. Various constructions of stents are known including rolled-up sheets, slotted or otherwise cut-out tubes and bent wires. Such stents have been disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,655,771; 4,733,665; 4,739,762; 4,800,882; 4,907,336; 4,994,071; 5,019,090; 5,035,706; 5,037,392; and 5,147,385.
For deployment inside a lumen of a bodily vessel an expandable stent is placed in an unexpanded state on a deployment catheter, inserted through an incision in the skin and maneuvered through the body to the deployment location. The stent is then radially expanded to an appropriately-sized expanded state so as to engage the inner walls of the treated vessel. Expandable stents are generally expanded from the unexpanded state to an expanded state using an expansion device, typically a catheter-borne balloon. When the stent is at the deployment location, the expansion device is activated inside the bore of the unexpanded stent to exert an outwards radial force on the inside of the stent, causing the stent to expand to the appropriately-sized expanded state.
In some instances, a stent is deployed subsequently to balloon angioplasty. That said, more commonly a stent is mounted on an angioplasty balloon and angioplasty and stent deployment are performed simultaneously.
Generally, stents are deployed to physically support a blood vessel that has been treated by angioplasty, to prevent vessel collapse.
In some cases a drug-eluting stent is deployed in a blood vessel. In addition to physically supporting the blood vessel, a drug-eluting stent includes an active pharmaceutical ingredient that has a beneficial effect, for example reduces restenosis or increases the rate of healing. Commercially-available drug-eluting stents are exemplified by TAXUS®, EXPRESS2®, ATOM®, and the like (TAXUS, EXPRESS2, and ATOM, are registered trademarks of Boston Scientific Scimed Inc., Maple Grove, Minn., USA).
In some cases a covered stent is deployed in a blood vessel. A covered stent includes a cover (also called a jacket) on a luminal and/or outer surface of the stent, covering all or some of the stent body. A stent cover is fashioned from any suitable material including artificial materials (e.g., polymers such as PTFE) and natural materials (e.g., harvested tissue). A stent cover may be configured for various functions including administration of an active pharmaceutical ingredient, functioning as a blood vessel prosthesis, functioning to physically reinforce the blood vessel, functioning to prevent subsequent deposition of plaque, prevention of blood vessel-bursting if physical damage is caused to the blood vessel during balloon-inflation and trapping plaque between the blood vessel wall and the stent cover.
As is known to one skilled in the art, many bodily vessels are bifurcated. By "bifurcated" is meant an object that splits into two branches along a length of the object. A bifurcated blood vessel is depicted in FIG. 1 including a trunk vessel 10 from which a branch vessel 12 branches downstream from a bifurcation point 14. Generally, but not necessarily, the lumen of branch vessel 14 is smaller than that of trunk vessel 12.
A number of systems (depicted in FIG. 2) have been developed for classification of bifurcation lesions, including the Duke classification (FIG. 2A), the Institut Cardiovasulaire Paris Sud classification (FIG. 2B), and the Medina classification (FIG. 2C). For the Medina classification, bifurcation lesions are divided into three segments: proximal segment of the trunk vessel, distal segment of the trunk vessel, and branch vessel. Any involvement of a lesion in each segment will receive the suffix 1, otherwise suffix 0 is assigned. Hence, for example, lesion 1,0,1 means that proximal segment of trunk vessel, and branch vessel are diseased but the distal part of the trunk vessel is free of disease.
In FIG. 3, a number of different techniques used for treatment of obstructed bifurcations (i) are shown: stent+PTCA (ii) including deployment of a stent in the trunk vessel and angioplasty in the branch vessel; T-stenting (iii) including deployment of a first stent in the branch vessel followed by deployment of a second stent in the trunk vessel; reverse T-stenting (iv) including deployment of a first stent in the trunk vessel followed by deployment of a second stent in the branch vessel through an aperture in the wall of the first stent; culotte stenting (v) including deployment of a first stent in the trunk vessel followed by deployment of a second stent from the trunk vessel into the branch vessel through an aperture in the wall of the first stent so that the proximal portions of the stents overlap; V-stenting (vi) where guidewires are placed in the trunk and branch vessel and stents sequentially deployed in each of the vessels or Y-stenting, wherein following V-stenting, the guidewire is removed from the branch vessel and a third stent advanced over the guidewire in the trunk vessel and deployed just at the proximal border of the branch vessel; crush stenting (vii) where two stents are positioned in the bifurcation with the branch vessel stent overlapping into the trunk branch; and kissing stents (viii), wherein stents are placed in both the trunk and branch vessel with the proximal stent portions in parallel.
One of the major problems associated with treatment of bifurcations is the "snow plow" effect, illustrated in FIG. 4A for a proximal lesion, and FIG. 4B for a distal lesion of plaque buildup 16. During the process of expansion of an angioplasty balloon 18 or a stent 20, plaque-shift occurs, redistributing plaque 16 from trunk vessel 12 at least partially into branch vessel 14, obstructing branch vessel 14.
Another major problem, for example as may occur during acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is that expansion of an angioplasty balloon (with or without a stent) may cause plaque or a thrombus to migrate to an undesired location, for example downstream into a narrow section of an artery, possibly obstructing blood flow and making retrieval or management of the plaque or thrombus difficult.
It would be highly advantageous to have an intraluminal medical device useful for deployment in the vasculature, including bifurcated but also not-bifurcated vessels, which is devoid of at least some of the disadvantages of the prior art.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Intraluminal devices configured for directional expansion


A needle shielding device in which, after use, a needle is confined in a chamber having a first hole through which the needle can enter the chamber. The needle is drawn into the chamber through the hole. The chamber is made up of telescopic members. The needle strikes the rear wall of the chamber causing the telescopic members to telescope apart. Once in the chamber, the needle will not readily escape through the first hole.

The present invention relates to the shielding of needles used for the placement of catheters into the bodies of animals or human animals.
There is a need for the shielding of sharp instruments such as catheter introducing needles used in the medical field. Shielding is needed to minimize the risk of needle sticks by needles which might be contaminated with disease causing viruses and bacteria.


A dispenser for trash container liners including a rigid box containing a supply of liners in the form of a cylindrical roll of a continuous strip of liners. The liners extend through an open slot in the top of the box and the innermost liner of the roll is securely attached to a cylindrical spindle on which the liners are wound. The dispenser also includes a reinforcing insert in the form of a piece of sheet stock in a U-shape partially surrounding the roll of liners. The box is detachably secured to the bottom of the trash container and the spindle is dimensioned so as not to pass through the slot. Accordingly, when the last liner in the box is used and removed from the container, the box is removed as well.

This invention relates to a dispenser box for trash container liners and, more particularly, to such a dispenser box which can be placed at the bottom of a trash container without requiring any modification to the trash container.
It is fairly common to use plastic liners, or bags, for lining the interiors of trash containers or garbage cans. The liners are frequently packaged in boxes, or in rolls. A liner is removed from the box or roll and placed in the trash container to line its interior. After the liner is filled with trash, it is removed from the trash container and discarded, and a new liner is then removed from the package and inserted into the trash container. Typically, the packages of trash can liners are stored in a closet or on a shelf, and a new liner must be obtained from the package before insertion into the trash container.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,503,292 to Cuccharia discloses a specially designed trash receptacle wherein a roll of trash can liners is contained in a holder beneath the receptacle and liners are inserted in the receptacle through a slot in the bottom thereof. While useful for its intended purpose, such an arrangement requires a special two-part receptacle and liner holder. It would therefore be desirable to have a dispenser for trash container liners which does not require the use of a specially designed trash container.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,671,847 to Pedersen et al discloses a trash bag dispenser which is placed in the bottom of a trash container. The dispenser includes a flexible pouch containing a continuous strip of liners, which are removed one at a time from the pouch while remaining removably secured to the following liner in the pouch. However, when the liner lining the trash container is filled, its weight presses down on the pouch, crushing it and interfering with its utility. It would therefore be desirable to have a dispenser for trash container liners which does not suffer from any of the deficiencies noted above.
In my U.S. Pat. No. 6,283,405, I disclose a dispenser for trash container liners which includes a rigid triangular box containing a supply of liners in the form of a cylindrical roll of a continuous strip of liners. The liners extend through an open slot in a side of the box and the box is detachably secured to the bottom of the trash container. While this construction overcomes the deficiencies noted above with respect to the other referenced patents, the triangular shape of the box does not lend itself to easy stacking, either on a sales shelf in a store or for storage of unused boxes. Further, the triangular shape does not lend itself to automated assembly. It would therefore be desirable to have a dispenser for trash container liners which retains the advantages of the construction disclosed in my '405 patent and in addition is configured for stackability, as well as being amenable to automated assembly.

Trash container liner dispenser box including a reinforcing insert


An electron gun of a multi-stage convergence type includes a plurality of focusing electrodes, wherein a quadrupole lens nearest to a cathode has a diverging function in the horizontal scanning direction and a converging function in the vertical scanning direction, and a quadrupole lens in the next stage has a converging function in the horizontal scanning direction and a diverging function in the vertical scanning direction. In this structure, even when a voltage synchronized with a deflection current is superposed on a constant focus voltage, applied to the focusing electrode, the operation of the quadrupole lenses is not influenced significantly.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cathode-ray tube in which electron beams emitted from an electron gun are deflected to project an image on a fluorescent screen and also relates to an electron gun used in the cathode-ray tube.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 is a schematic cross sectional view showing a conventional color cathode-ray tube provided with an electron gun. In the figure, reference numeral 31 indicates a glass enclosure which has an ordinary cathode-ray tube shape and includes a neck 32, a funnel 33 and a face 34. An electron gun 24 is arranged at the neck 32 of the glass enclosure 31. Fluorescent materials for red, green and blue are applied in a mosaic fashion to an inner surface of a face plate 27 of the face 34 to form a fluorescent layer 26. An inner duck 23 for allowing conduction of a high voltage is formed at an inner surface of the funnel 33. A deflection yoke 22 is arranged around a junction between the funnel 33 and the neck 32 so as to deflect the electron beams emitted from the electron gun 24.
The electron gun 24 includes a cathode 1 for emitting electrons, a control electrode 2 for controlling a path of the electron beams emitted from the cathode 1, an accelerating electrode 3 for accelerating the electron beams, a focusing electrode 35 for focusing the electron beams, and a final accelerating electrode 8 for finally accelerating the electron beams. The final accelerating electrode 8 is conductively welded to a shield cup 36, and is applied with a high voltage from an anode button via the inner duck 23 and the shield cup 36. Predetermined voltages are applied to the other electrodes (i.e., control electrode 2, accelerating electrode 3 and focusing electrode 35) via pins 37 arranged at an end of the neck 32. The cathode 1 is formed of a cathode 1a for a red beam, a cathode 1b for a green beam and a cathode 1c for a blue beam.
According to the cathode-ray tube thus constructed, the electron beams emitted from the electron gun 24 are deflected by the deflection yoke 22 and impinged on the fluorescent layer 26 to form a visible image.
The resolution characteristics of the cathode-ray tube depend significantly on a diameter and a shape of a spot of the electron beams impinging on the fluorescent layer 26. More specifically, as the spot diameter decreases and/or the spot roundness increases, the resolution is improved. The small diameter and high roundaness of the spot are required of the screen of the fluorescent layer 26 on which the image is formed.
However, the screen surface (fluorescent layer 26 and face plate 27) of the cathode-ray tube is generally flat, so that, to a higher extent the electron beam is deflected toward a periphery of the screen, a longer distance the electric beam travels. Therefore, when the focus voltage provided to the focusing electrode 35 is controlled to reduce the spot diameter of the electron beams at a central portion of the screen and to increase the roundness of the same, the electron beams at the peripheral portion of the screen are over-focused and thus cannot form the electron beam spot of a small diameter. This results in reduction of the resolution.
In view of the above, a so-called dynamic focus system has been proposed. In this system, the focus voltage applied to the focusing electrode 35 is increased to -weaken the focusing function of the main electron lens formed of the focusing electrode 35 in accordance with an increase in the degree of deflection of the electron beams. However, this system is not suitable to a self-convergence system used in an in-line type electron gun which has generally been used in recent years, for the following reasons. The inline type electron gun emitting three electron beams along a horizontal straight line, employs the self-convergence system in which the horizontal deflection magnetic field is distorted in a pin-cushion-like form, and a vertical deflection magnetic field is irregularly distorted in a barrel-like form. The electron beams passing therethrough are forced to diverge horizontally and to converge vertically, so that they form a horizontally long flat form.
Accordingly, the electron beams deflected toward the periphery of the screen have a horizontal spot diameter maintained at the optimum focus state, but they have a vertical spot diameter in the over-focus state, resulting in generation of a low luminance portion, i.e., so-called "halo". In connection with this state, when the dynamic focus system is employed, the vertical spot diameter in the over-focus state is corrected, so that generation of the low luminance portion, i.e., halo, is avoided and the optimum focus state is attained. Meanwhile, the horizontal spot diameter is out of the optimum focus state and is in the under-focus state. Thereby, the horizontal spot diameter increases, and the horizontal resolution is remarkably impaired. Accordingly, the resolution at the periphery of the screen is not improved.
FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross sectional view of the conventional electron gun 24 for overcoming the above problems, which is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3-93135 (1991). This electron gun 24 includes the cathodes 1a, 1b and 1c, control electrode 2, accelerating electrode 3, first auxiliary electrode 4, second auxiliary electrode 5, first focusing electrode 6, second focusing electrode 7 and final accelerating electrode 8 which are disposed in this order. This conventional electron gun has been called an electron gun of a bipotential type. Structures other than the above are same as those shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a front view of the first auxiliary electrode 4. The first auxiliary electrode 4 has a plate-like form, and is provided at positions corresponding to the cathodes 1a, 1b and 1c with circular apertures 4a, 4b and 4c. On a surface of the first auxiliary electrode 4 near to the screen, there are provided paired plates 4d, 4e and 4f which are located at vertically opposite sides of the apertures 4a, 4b and 4c, respectively, and each has a predetermined thickness and is slightly larger than the diameter of the apertures 4a, 4b and 4c.
FIG. 4 is a rear view from the side of the cathodes 1a, 1b and 1c of the second auxiliary electrode 5. The second auxiliary electrode 5 has a plate-like form, and has circular apertures 5a, 5b and 5c located at positions corresponding to the cathodes 1a, 1b and 1c. On the side of the cathodes 1a, 1b and 1c of the second auxiliary electrode 5, there are provided paired plates 5d, 5e and 5f, which are located at laterally opposite sides of the apertures 5a, 5b and 5c, respectively, and each has a predetermined thickness and is slightly larger than the diameter of the apertures 5a, 5b and 5c. Likewise, on the screen side of the second auxiliary electrode 5 plates 5g, 5h and 5i are set up.
FIG. 5 is a rear view from the side of the cathodes 1a, 1b and 1c of the first focusing electrode 6. The first focusing electrode 6 has a box-like form. On the surface of the cathodes 1a, 1b and 1c side of the first focusing electrode 6, there are formed circular apertures 6a, 6b and 6c located at positions corresponding to the cathodes 1a, 1b and 1c, respectively. On the same surface, paired plates 6d, 6e and 6f are set up, which are located at vertically opposite sides of the apertures 6a, 6b and 6c, respectively, and each has a predetermined thickness and is slightly larger than the diameter of the apertures 6a, 6b and 6c.
FIG. 6 is a front view from the side of the screen of the first focusing electrode 6. On the surface of the screen side of the first focusing electrode, there are formed square apertures 6g, 6h and 6i each having a width slightly larger than the diameter of the apertures 6a, 6b and 6c and a vertical length larger than the width.
FIG. 7 is a rear view from the side of the cathodes 1a, 1b and 1c of the second focusing electrode 7. The second focusing electrode 7 has a box-like form. On the surface of the cathodes 1a, 1b and 1c side of the second focusing electrode 7, there are formed square apertures 7a, 7b and 7c each having a vertical length slightly larger than the diameter of the apertures 6a, 6b and 6c and a lateral width larger than the vertical length.
The first auxiliary electrode 4 and first focusing electrode 6 are maintained at the same potential by a connector, and are applied with a constant focus voltage V.sub.F. The second auxiliary electrode 5 and second focusing electrode 7 are maintained at the same potential by a connector, and are applied with the constant focus voltage V.sub.F. Further, the second auxiliary electrode 5 and second focusing electrode 7 are supplied in a superposed manner with a voltage, which increases in synchronization with a deflecting current as the degree of deflection of the electron beams increases, from a circuit 9.
Operation of the electron gun 24 thus constructed will be described below.
FIGS. 8 and 9 are cross sectional views showing the electron beams and optical operation of electron lenses in the case where the electron beams are deflected toward a periphery of the screen. More specifically, FIG. 8 shows a horizontal section of the electron beams, and FIG. 9 shows a vertical section thereof. In these figures, reference numeral 10 indicates a cross-over position of the electron beams corresponding to an object point. In the figures, numeral 11 shows a path of the electron beams at the most external angle.
A description will now be given in connection with the horizontal direction. The electron beams emitted at a divergence angle .theta. from the object point 10 impinge at an incident angle .theta..sub.H fron the screen (fluorescent layer) 26 after passing through a concave lens 12 which is a horizontal operation of a first quadrupole lens formed of the first auxiliary electrode 4, second auxiliary electrode 5 and first focusing electrode 6, a convex lens 13 which is a horizontal operation of a second quadrupole lens formed of the first focusing electrode 6 and second focusing electrode 7, a convex lens 14 which is a main electron lens formed of the second focusing electrode 7 and final accelerating electrode 8, and a concave lens 15 which is formed by a magnetic field (horizontal component) of the deflection yoke 22.
A description will now be given in connection with the vertical direction. The electron beams emitted at a divergence angle .theta. from the object point 10 impinge at an incident angle .theta..sub.V on the screen (fluorescent layer) 26 after passing through a convex lens 16 which is a vertical operation of the first quadrupole lens formed of the first auxiliary electrode 4, second auxiliary electrode 5 and first focusing electrode 6, the concave lens 17 which is a vertical operation of the second quadrupole lens formed of the first focusing electrode 6 and second focusing electrode 7, the convex lens 14 which is the main electron lens formed, of the second focusing electrode 7 and final accelerating electrode 8, and the convex lens 18 which is formed by a vertical component of the magnetic field formed by a magnetic field (vertical component) of the deflection yoke 22.
The irregular magnetic field produced by the deflection yoke 22 is corrected by the first quadrupole lens (12 and 16), second quadrupole lens (13 and 17) and main electron lens 14, so that the optimum focus state of the electron beams is attained in both the horizontal and vertical directions at the peripheral portion of the screen. Owing to the operation of the first quadrupole lens (12 and 16), the electron beams can form the substantially equal incident angles .theta..sub.V and .theta..sub.V in the horizontal and vertical directions with respect to the screen. As a result, the roundness of the spot shape of the electron beams is improved.
The electron gun of the bipotential type described above has a simple structure, but is not provided with a lens for preliminary convergence, so that the electron beam incident on the main electron lens has a large diameter. Since the diameter of electron beam incident on the main electron lens is proportional to an amount (current) of the electron beam, the electron beam which scans a peripheral region having an increased luminance (i.e., high luminance region) has a large diameter. When the electron beam has a large diameter as described above, the focus is impaired due to the influence by the spherical aberration of the main electron lens.
The above problems may be overcome by an electron gun of a multi-stage convergence type, in which a first subsidiary lens 20 and a second subsidiary lens 21 are disposed between the accelerating electrode 3 and the first auxiliary electrode 4 for preliminarily converging the electron beams as shown in FIG. 10. However, this extremely complicates the structure.


Intra-erythrocytic exogenous bacterial structures or parasites seen by giemsa and phase contrast microscopy in several patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and not in controls were identified as bacteria. Treatment of an SLE patient is contemplated with an antibacterial amount of a rifamycin in conjunction with an antibacterial amount of either a macrolide such as clarithromycin or a third generation cephalosporin such as cefpodoxime that is itself more preferably used in conjunction with an adjuvant amount of probenecid.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a protean disease of unknown etiology which affects multiple organs. Lahita, R. G. Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Churchill, Livingston, N.Y. (1987) page XXIX. Although there is a marked similarity to an infectious entity, an exhaustive search for an etiologic agent has not yielded any proven candidates that fulfill the criteria for causation of this disease. Crow et al., "Etiologic Hypothesis for Systemic Lupus Erythematosus," in Lahita Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Churchill, Livingston, N.Y. (1987) page 51 ff. There is general agreement that tissue and organ injury in SLE is mediated by immune phenomena. Unexplained at this time is the predilection of SLE for females. Taurog et al., Intern. J. Derm., 20:149-158 (1981).
Early descriptions of SLE before the advent of suppressive therapy suggested sepsis, and included fever, striking constitutional symptoms and high mortality. Crow et al., "Etiologic Hypothesis for Systemic Lupus Erythematosus," in Lahita Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Churchill, Livingston, N.Y. (1987) page 54. Recently, many viral etiologic agents have been sought; none have been convincingly demonstrated. Pincus, Arthr & Rheum, 20:149-158 (1982). More recently the characterization of soluble products of bacteria and mycoplasmas with unique capacities to perturb immune systems have led to new considerations in regard to the infectious trigger of SLE.
Intra-erythrocyte organisms with characteristics like the Anaplasmataceae that were thought to be Haemobartonella-like were first suggested as exciting exogenous agents in SLE by Kallick et al., Nature New Biology, 236:145-146 (1972). The Anaplasmataceae family of bacteria are Proteobacteria of the order Rickettsiales. That report was further developed by a later report of antigenic similarities between SLE or lupus nephritis and diseases caused by Anaplasma marginale, an intra-erythrocytic parasite of cattle, and a member of the family Anaplasmataceae. Kallick et al., Arthr. Rheum., 23:197-205 (1980).
Exogenous intra-erythrocytic structures seen in the same erythrocyte by giemsa staining and phase contrast microscopy, which were identical or very similar in appearance to Anaplasma marginale, have been observed in most patients with SLE. However, because the number of such structures seen in erythrocytes of SLE patients is very small, their presence has been unconfirmed by electron microscopy, until the present study. For example, the number of infected erythrocytes is usually less than 0.1 percent of observed erythrocytes in fixed thin blood films.
Based upon available data, which describe the pathology of SLE as tissue destruction associated with antibody formation and the development of antibodies against many body tissues as well as pathogens such as Epstein-Barr virus, and assuming that Anaplasmataceae or similar intra-erythrocytic pathogens are present in an uncontrolled parasitemia in SLE, a pathological mechanism can be deduced that contains, at least in part, a continued antigenic stimulation of the B-cell immune mechanism. The Anaplasmataceae were thought to offer an ideal putative model of infection, in that, based on studies by the inventor, above, they present an approximately 1 percent parasitemia or less level in systemic lupus erythematosus patients.
The Anaplasmataceae have been extensively studied in animals, and although they affect erythrocytes as a primary organ, their pathogenic potential appears to be primarily or exclusively mediated by immune mechanisms primarily identified as humoral. Immunity to Blood parasites in Animals and Man, Miller et al. eds., Plenum Press, New York (1977) pages 155-188. In animal disease, antibiotics control the primary pathologic event, hemolytic anemia, only if given early in the course of the illness. Late in the course of animal illness the hemolytic anemia is mediated by antibody formation and antibiotics do not appear to affect the course of the usually studied hemolytic anemia.
In animals, arthritis and long-term effects of illness after infection have not been studied or reported. However, in some animals that suffer hemolytic anemia such as adult bulls, chronic arthritis and anemia have been reported. In the veterinary literature, an antibiotic that appears to suppress some of the clinical manifestations of these organisms is tetracycline or one of its analogues. Franklin et al., Southwestern Vet., 15:131-139 (1962).
Several humans with SLE or connective tissue disease have been treated with tetracycline (doxycycline) in preliminary work of the inventor based on the presumption of Anaplasmataceae parasitemia. Three patients are exemplary.
The first was a 17 year old female with severe SLE and nephritis who experienced a lysis of fever within a week of therapy with disappearance of Haemobartonella-like agents from the circulating erythrocytes as observed by acridine orange and fluorescent antibody determination. This patient was not subsequently followed.
The second patient is a male with SLE who has been taking tetracycline for his lupus for 10 years. He stated that his fever, joint pains, and other symptoms disappeared while he was taking tetracycline. He had first been given the antibiotic for treatment of another infection and noted it caused amelioration of his SLE.
The third is a patient who has mixed connective tissue disorder resembling SLE but with a negative ANA titer. This patient went into remission of her symptomatology after 3 weeks of therapy with tetracycline and has remained in clinical remission for the subsequent 3 months. It is of interest that in addition to marked subjective improvement of this last patient, C-reactive protein became negative after tetracycline therapy was begun.
Subsequent to these studied patients, a large number of other patients with SLE have received chronic therapy with tetracycline or its derivatives. These treatments have been on a compassionate basis by the patients' own physicians, or as part of a study approved by an institutional review board, but not completed. Most of such treatments have resulted in amelioration of the disease state, with complete remission, or a trend in such amelioration. That study, done at Cook County Hospital, Chicago, Ill., was terminated before the results, as analyzed, were shown to be statistically significant. The results appeared to be based on the small numbers analyzed.
A current patient studied is a splenectomized female with SLE who had a large number of parasitized erythrocytes beginning with about 16 percent. She has been on doxycycline with informed consent for 16 months with initial and continued improvement. Because she has enough intra-erythrocytic parasites to be counted, her course of treatment has been followed and electron microscopy was carried out. When examined in December 1995, she still had about 1.1 percent parasitized erythrocytes seen by giemsa staining and phase contrast microscopy.
Aureomycin, a tetracycline-like drug, has been proposed as a treatment for rheumatoid diseases in the past by T. Brown and co-workers and others, who treated a variety of patients with arthritis and lupus with claims of some degree of success in the 1940's. [Brown et al., J. Lab. Clin. Med., 34:1404-1410 (1949); Scheff et al., Infec. Dis., 98:113 (1956)] Those studies were not controlled, and have not been repeated. These theoretical and observed phenomena suggest that tetracycline may be of benefit in the syndrome of SLE.
Present therapy of SLE is based upon heavy steroid use with immunosuppressives and/or plasmapheresis. It is of interest that Anaplasmataceae infections in animals are, almost uniquely among infectious diseases, ameliorated by steroids.[Scheff et al., Infec. Dis., 98:113 (1956); Ristic et al., J. Vet. Res., 19:37 (1958)]
No presently used therapy is completely satisfactory, and, although the life expectancy of lupus patients has been considerably increased by present therapy, the ravages of therapeutic side effects and the constant fatigue takes a severe toll in well being, general health, and increased morbidity and mortality of the estimated 500,000 Americans with this disease. Dubois, Lupus Erythematosus, 2d ed., U.S. California Press, Los Angeles (1974).
The spleen is regulatory in removing nuclear remnants and other intra-erythrocytic particles from erythrocytes, and in Anaplasmosis as well as malaria, splenectomy causes a recrudescence of clinical disease and parasitemia. Kreier, Ann. Rev. Microbiol., 325-38 (1981). Splenectomy is an infrequently used treatment for the thrombocytopenia seen in some patients with SLE. Coon, So. Amer. J. Surgery, 155:391 (1988). However, the one splenectomy patient noted before was found to have parasitemias of erythrocytes with intra-erythrocytic phase contrast-visible refractile bodies in up to about 16 percent of her studied erythrocytes (FIGS. 1 and 2). These intra-erythrocytic bodies were very similar or identical to those seen in bovine A. marginale infection.
It would therefore be beneficial if the stainable exogenous structures found in the erythrocytes of SLE patients could be accurately identified, readily assayed for and eliminated from a patient's blood in that it is believed that those exogenous structures are the active, causative agent for SLE. The description that follows describes a treatment regimen that eliminates those exogenous bacterial structures from an SLE patient's blood.
In 1891 Howell described intra-erythrocytic bodies that occurred in splenectomized patients and animals. The appearance of these bodies that now bear the name Howell-Jolly bodies followed within a few hours or days of splenectomy. The elegant drawings of Dr. Howell, whose findings have been subsequently confirmed by others with modern methods including electron microscopy, have amptly demonstrated this phenomenon. The spleen in the normal patient removes the few nuclear remnants that are not absorbed or extruded in the bone marrow.
Howell-Jolly bodies are described as about 1 .mu. in diameter in an eccentric position in the erythrocyte. The bodies seen in anaplasmosis and in the patients with SLE are approximately 0.5 .mu. and have phase refractile characteristics that are not described in Howell-Jolly bodies. It is believed that the site of generation of the agents seen in SLE patients'erythrocytes is in the normoblasts or other cells of the bone marrow. These agents are normally removed by the spleen, but in the splenectomized patient are constantly circulating until the erythrocyte is senescent and destroyed in the reticulo-endothelial system. These particles in the normoblasts appear to have heretofore escaped detection because they morphologically resemble the normal metamorphosis of the normoblast, but are smaller.

Identification of an exogenous intra-erythrocytic bacterium in patients having systemic lupus erythematosus, and treatment


A resilient, electrically conductive EMI gasket is disposed between two jaws. A cam-lever or other actuator is operably linked to the jaws. The cam-lever can be used to drive the jaws closer together, thereby squeezing the gasket and causing a portion of the gasket to protrude, preferably beyond an edge of at least one of the jaws. The protruding portion of the gasket contacts a mating surface of an opening, through which a device was installed, or a mating surface on an adjacent device. This contact seals the space between the EMI gasket mechanism and the mating surfaces, i.e. the contact closes a gap and thus maintains a continuous EMI shield therebetween. The gap is closed against passage of EMI radiation without relying on device insertion force to cause the EMI gasket to adequately contact the mating surface. Alternatively, an inflatable resilient EMI gasket is in fluid communication with a pump, and an actuator is operably linked to the pump. The actuator can be used to operate the pump and, thereby, inflate the gasket, thus causing a portion of the gasket to protrude and contact a mating surface.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding and, more particularly, to EMI shielding that includes an expanding EMI gasket.
2. Related Art
Operation of electronic devices, such as televisions, radios, computers, medical instruments, business machines, communications equipment, and the like, generates undesirable electromagnetic interference (EMI) radiation. This EMI radiation often develops as a field or as transients within a radio frequency band, generally between about 10 KHz and 10 GHz, of the electromagnetic spectrum. EMI radiation can cause problems, because EMI radiation can interfere with proper operation of other electronic devices.
EMI shielding is commonly used to control EMI radiation. EMI shielding is typically constructed of an electrically-conductive material and is configured to absorb EMI radiation and allow the absorbed EMI radiation to flow to an electrical ground via a low-impedance radio-frequency (RF) path. EMI shielding may be employed to confine EMI radiation generated by a device or to protect the device from EMI radiation generated by other devices. Commonly, EMI shielding is provided as a housing that encloses a device or as a barrier that is inserted between pairs of devices.
To date, EMI control has proven difficult due to the ability of EMI radiation to travel through small gaps in EMI shielding. Despite being housed in EMI shielded device housings, electronic devices often receive or generate EMI radiation that enters or escapes through gaps in the device housings. For example, these device housings often have access ports, lids or side panels that provide access to devices enclosed by the device housings. Imperfect fit of these access ports, etc. can leave gaps large enough to pass significant amounts of EMI radiation. These gaps are especially common in so-called "blade systems,"which permit replaceable printed circuit boards (blades) to be plugged into the chassis through openings in front panels of the chassis.
To prevent, or at least minimize, EMI radiation from escaping or entering a blade system, each blade typically includes a handle, filler panel, bulkhead or other structure (hereinafter collectively referred to as a "bulkhead") that includes an EMI shield. The bulkhead is configured and sized such that, when the blade is installed in a chassis, the bulkhead fills the opening, through which the blade was installed. Surfaces, edges, flanges or other structures (hereinafter collectively referred to as "surfaces" or "mating surfaces") on the perimeter of the bulkhead are generally configured to mate with corresponding surfaces around the perimeter of the opening when the blade is installed in the chassis. Unfortunately, even strict manufacturing tolerances have proven insufficient to adequately prevent EMI radiation from passing through gaps between these mating surfaces. Therefore, a resilient, electrically-conductive EMI gasket is often attached to the perimeter surfaces of either the bulkhead or the structures that define the opening. Thus, when the blade is installed, the EMI gasket is compressed between mating surfaces of the bulkhead and the opening. (Hereinafter, a "surface" or "mating surface" also includes an EMI gasket, if one is present at a point or line of contact between a bulkhead or opening and another object.)
The compressive force between these mating surfaces is intended to urge the EMI gasket to fill any gaps, and thus maintain a continuous EMI shield, between these mating surfaces. However, large forces are required to simultaneously plug the blade into a socket of the chassis and compress the EMI gasket sufficiently to fill the gaps. These forces can unduly stress the blade or damage components or printed circuit wiring on the blade. These forces can also distort the bulkhead or opening and, thereby, cause other gaps to occur between the mating surfaces or cause existing gaps between the mating surfaces to enlarge. Furthermore, an EMI gasket's effectiveness depends on the gasket's resilience. However, the large forces necessary to compress an EMI gasket often permanently deform it or reduce its resilience, thereby making the gasket less effective or ineffective for reuse.
Some blade system chassis do not have discrete openings in their front panels for each blade. Instead, each front panel includes one large opening, through which a plurality of blades can be installed adjacent one another. In this type of blade system, an EMI gasket on each blade is intended to contact a mating surface of the adjacent blade. However, some permanently deformed, i.e. undersized, EMI gaskets or an accumulation of dimensional errors in the plurality of adjacent bulkheads can lead to an overly tight or overly loose fit among the bulkheads in a fully-populated chassis. An overly loose fit leads to gaps in the EMI shielding, whereas an overly tight fit makes it difficult or impossible to install the final blade without excessive insertion force.
There is, therefore, a need for an effective EMI sealing mechanism that can be used in blade systems without the problems of the prior art.

Expandable electromagnetic interference (EMI) gasket mechanism

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


Methods and materials for the imaging of cells and tissues containing active proteases such as cathepsin are disclosed. The present materials include activity based probes that bind to an enzyme and are subsequently cleaved. Cleavage results in covalent attachment of a fluorescent signal to a target protease due to removal of a quenching group which, when present on the probe causes altered or no fluorescence. The probes are non-peptidic, small molecule scaffolds linked to a reactive acyloxymethyl ketone group, a fluorophore and a quencher. The probes are cell permeable and may use, for example, a QSY21 (CAS 304014-13-9) quencher and a cyanine dye. The probes form covalent bonds with the active site of cysteine cathepsins, proteases that are upregulated at the tumor boundaries with normal tissue and at sites of inflammation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of compounds reactive with active proteases useful for imaging cells and organisms and binding specifically to active (but not inactive) proteases, such compounds being termed in the field "activity based probes."
2. Related Art
Background
Proteases play fundamental roles in the control of both normal and disease processes. Alterations in protease expression and activity patterns underlie many human pathological processes including cancer, arthritis, osteoporosis, atherosclerosis, and neurodegenerative disorders. Thus, a detailed understanding of how, when and where a particular protease functions in a complex cellular environment is required to better understand its role in the promotion of disease. Perhaps the most powerful way to address these issues is to develop methods that allow dynamic imaging of protease activity within a living cell or organism. Protease activity is tightly regulated in both normal and disease conditions. Therefore, it is often difficult to monitor the dynamic nature of this regulation in the context of a live cell or whole organism.
Recently, a number of elegant methods have been developed to image enzymatic activities using both invasive and whole body imaging methods (1). Virtually all of these methods make use of reporter substrates that when processed by a given enzyme target produce a signal that can be visualized using common imaging modalities. While these methods have clearly paved the way for the application of activity based reporters to diagnostic medicine, they suffer from several features such as lack of specificity and cell permeability, as well as rapid diffusion that may limit their use in high-resolution studies of enzyme regulation and localization.
Activity based probes (ABPs) are small molecules that modify a defined set of enzyme targets based on their ability to form specific covalent bonds with key catalytic residues (2-6). Since this labeling reaction is mechanism-based and requires enzyme activity, extent of probe modification serves as an indirect readout of activity levels within a given sample. Probes can be designed to target a number of different classes of enzymes through optimization of both reactive functional groups and the scaffolds used to carry the reporter tag. In the past five years, a number of new classes of ABPs have been developed and used to dissect the function of various enzyme families. The most well-established and heavily used probes are those that target proteolytic enzymes. ABPs that target serine and cysteine proteases have been applied to studies of protease function in processes such as parasite invasion, prohormone processing, transcriptional regulation, cataract formation, natural killer cell function, and cancer progression.
A number of ABPs carrying a range of fluorescent reporters have also been described (7-11). The fluorescent group serves as a highly sensitive tag that enables visualization of labeled targets after their biochemical separation. Fluorescently labeled ABPs have also been used to directly image enzyme activity using microscopy techniques. It was recently demonstrated that a fluorescent ABP can be used in a mouse model for pancreatic cancer to image cysteine protease activity during multiple stages of tumor formation (10). The use of ABPs for imaging applications has the major advantage of the formation of a permanent covalent bond with the enzyme, thus allowing direct biochemical analysis of targets. However, the major limitation of these probes is their general fluorescence both when bound to an enzyme target and when free in solution. To overcome this limitation Bogyo et al. (US 20070036725 "Imaging of protease activity in live cells using activity based probes") disclosed quenched probes (qABPs) that become fluorescent only after covalent modification of a protease target. Bogyo et al. (US 20090252677, "Probes for in vivo targeting of active cysteine proteases") disclosed probes for in vivo targeting of active cysteine proteases. Herein disclosed are a new class of in vivo optical imaging contrast probes that target key tumor and inflammatory proteases. The probes disclosed herein are non-peptidic small molecule scaffolds linked to a reactive acyloxymethyl ketone functional group. Since they have non-peptidic backbone, they are more stable in vivo and have brighter fluorescent signals in vivo as compared to the earlier disclosed peptide-based probes. The term "non-peptidic" is used to distinguish other activity-based probes which contain portions that mimic several amino acid residues that present a pseudo-substrate for the protease to be bound.

Non-peptidic quenched fluorescent imaging probes

The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University


An integrated RF switch module including a package customized to include at least one trace. The trace includes one or more of at least one connection pad and at least one landing pad. At least one switching die is connected to the at least one connection pad. At least one device is connected to the at least one landing pad, the at least one device configured to enhance the performance of the switching die.

An RF switch is a building block that is commonly used in radio frequency (RF)/microwave systems. An RF switch typically has two states: a low loss state (the "through state") and a high loss state (the "isolation state"). Hence, an RF switch may be used to make a low loss path between two nodes in an RF/microwave system or it may be used to isolate the two nodes. A control signal in the form of a DC voltage or a DC current is typically used to toggle between the low loss state and the isolation state of a switch. Semiconductor devices, such as voltage controllable FET devices on CMOS, MESFET or HEMT, and the like, are commonly used as switching elements for the RF switch. RF switches which utilize such devices are often limited in terms of the achievable performance. Additional components or devices, such as capacitors, inductors, and the like, are often used to enhance RF performance or increase the operating frequency of the switch. Such performance enhancing components may be integrated inside the RF switch IC or may be located external to the RF switch IC. Externally located performance enhancing devices offer low loss and better reliability when compared to components integrated in the RF switch IC. However, external components are not desired by the system designers because additional board space is required for the external components and it is difficult, if not impossible, to confirm the performance of the switch with external components assembled in the system. Also, using external components may increase the unwanted parasitic inductance and capacitance and this in turn may limit the maximum frequency and/or bandwidth over which the overall switch module can operate with good performance.


Redefined hardware structured transactions and the associated responses in a data processing device are made user programmable. Three registers, a identifier register, a mask register and a response register, are used to redirect transactions or other operations within an application specific integrated circuit after post-silicon testing has been completed and there is no opportunity to redirect the hardware logic contained therein. When enabled, the registers allow for the insertion of blank table entries that can be programmed at a later time to handle unexpected output responses which occur due to unforeseen problems in the preprogrammed operation of the device. Transaction redirection can be accomplished on selected fields of identified transactions. The method is applicable to any hardware device in which it is desired to redirect actions originally defined in look-up tables when such tables are not capable of adjustment or alteration without redesign or re-manufacture.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a method and system for redefinition of permitted transactions and associated responses in a data processing system to avoid delay and cost impact from late specification changes in the design of application specific integrated circuits.
2. Background of the Related Art
In the planning of complex hardware for computer systems or other digital processing equipment; numerous and complex transactions are contemplated in the design of application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), used in the implementation of a system. Such ASIC devices may include memory controllers and other subsystem components designed for a particular data processing system In such data or information processing systems, it is not uncommon that there are late specification changes in the design process which result in system response errors that must be corrected.
For system speed and chip density purposes, system logic is normally formed and manufactured into an ASIC which, once manufactured, may not be altered or changed without going through a redesign process. Such a redesign usually is expensive in terms of retooling and retesting the ASIC. When the ASIC finally reaches post-silicon testing, it may be discovered that a transaction in the system design may not be handled correctly and may stop forward progress of the system development and testing. Such delays cause expense in terms of time to market and add additional development cost because of changes that would be required. There is presently no mechanism to allow simple and effective redefinition of allowed transactions and associated responses within a system so that an ASIC may continue to operate without production changes.
In the past, the problem described was commonly addressed by designers of complex transaction handlers by using various mechanisms. First, configuration bits on one or more internal registers can sometimes be used to change configurations of the system so that problematic transactions or system bugs which arise cannot occur. Using such configuration bits often reduce system performance, limit the features available or usability of the system as a whole.
Other means for addressing this problem has included micro sequencer based transaction handlers. This technique is based on execution of microcode and thus the system can be reprogrammed to handle any of the problematic cases that may arise after post manufacturing. While the solution is versatile, computer systems which use microcode are usually unable to achieve the same clock speeds and logic densities as hard coded logic which is the preferred environment of many systems today.
Also, the problem has been addressed by the implementation of external pin outputs that are connected to the internals of transaction handlers that can be used to change the response of the handler to specific and limited transaction problems. This latter technique of addressing the problem usually requires some ability to view internal transaction handler signals on physical pins introduced externally to the ASIC. This method of addressing the problem allows for the design of external hardware to generate the signals for the external pins. Further, the technique adds pins to the integrated circuit being designed and it is difficult, if not impossible, to provide fill performance at high clock speeds. All of the above current techniques have identified drawbacks which the present invention addresses.

Transaction redirection mechanism for handling late specification changes and design errors

International Business Machines Corporation


A video signal processing apparatus which is provided for a digital video decoder and can automatically and properly adjust a fluctuation of the number of sampling data of digital composite video signals includes: an adjusting circuit which performs a partial adding/deleting process to the video signals so as to correct the fluctuation in number of sampling data constructing the digital composite video signals supplied to the decoder; and a discriminating circuit which compares the number of sampling data of each video signal and the preset reference number of sampling data and outputs an operation signal for the adding/deleting process to the adjusting circuit when a difference between them as a comparison result lies within a predetermined adjusting range.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a video signal processing apparatus which is provided for a digital video decoder for decoding digital composite video signals in order to reconstruct an image from the digital composite video signals and, more particularly, to a video signal processing apparatus for suppressing a fluctuation of the number of sampling data of the digital composite video signals.
2. Related Background Art
Hitherto, an analog composite video signal having information of one scanning line of an image is sampled at a predetermined sampling period, so that resultant digital composite video signals are sequentially supplied to a digital video decoder. Each of the analog composite video signals constructed on a scanning line unit basis includes: sync signals such as horizontal sync signal and vertical sync signal; a luminance signal and a chroma signal of one scanning line; and the like.
When a fluctuation occurs in the period of each of the analog signals due to a change of a radio wave propagating situation of each of the analog composite video signals or the like, a fluctuation occurs in the number of sampling data in each digital composite video signal corresponding to each analog signal in association with the fluctuation of the period. If the digital composite signal in which the number of sampling data, that is, the number of pixel data for one scanning line does not coincide with a predetermined reference value continuously, for example, for one field, it becomes a cause of disturbance of a reproduced video image.
Hitherto, an adjusting circuit is provided to suppress the disturbance of the image due to the fluctuation of the number of pixel data. According to the adjusting circuit, when the disturbance as mentioned above occurs in the image, an operation signal for a partial adding/deleting process of the digital signals can be manually properly supplied to the adjusting circuit.
By the operation of the adjusting circuit based on the operation signal, a predetermined number of digital data of a pixel data unit can be added or deleted to/from the position corresponding to a blanking portion of the analog signal in each digital composite video signal in accordance with the fluctuation of the number of pixel data, so that the fluctuation of the number of pixel data in the digital signals can be corrected.
It is, however, not easy that each time the disturbance starts to occur in the image, a chain of adjusting operations including a discrimination about whether the adjusting operation should be performed or not is executed by the manual operation as mentioned above. It is, therefore, demanded to automatize the chain of adjusting operations mentioned above.
On the other hand, there are: an adjusting mode in which the digital data is partially added or deleted to/from each digital composite video signal in order to correct the number of pixel data of the received digital composite video signals; and a non-adjusting mode in which such an adjustment is unnecessary for the digital video signals because of the coincidence between the numbers of pixel data and the reference value. If a mode switching is caused between both the adjusting mode and the non-adjusting mode due to the frequent switching operations between the operation and the non-operation of the adjusting circuit, contrarily, the reproduced image is liable to become unstable.
Therefore, even if a difference occurs temporarily between the number of pixel data for one scanning line and the reference value, when such a difference is very small, it is desirable not to perform the adjusting operation upon elimination of an unstable factor due to the frequent mode switching operations.
When the difference due to the dissidence mentioned above is large enough to exceed a predetermined range, there is a case where it is better not to perform the adjusting operation in the decoder.
As mentioned above, upon automatization of the adjustment of the number of sampling data for the purpose of obtaining the stable image, for example, with respect to the sum of the differences of every field, there is a proper adjusting range which shows a criterion about whether the adjusting operation should be performed or not. The adjustment in a range out of the adjusting range contrarily enhances instability of the image.

Video signal processing method for digital video decoder


A pharmaceutical composition in the form of a substantially amorphous solid solution comprising an antifungal compound of the formula I: ##STR1## wherein: X is F; and R.sub.1 is ##STR2## or an ester or ether of said compound of Formula I; and a soluble or insoluble polymer such as: povidone or crospovidone, wherein the ratio of said compound to said polymer is about 1:3 to about 1:6 is disclosed.

This invention relates to pharmaceutical compositions in the form of a substantially amorphous composition of matter comprising a tetrahydrofuran azole antifungal (as well as esters and ethers thereof) and a polymer used as a polymer matrix.
WO 95/17407, published Jun. 29, 1995, discloses tetrahyrofuran antifungal compounds of Formula (I): ##STR3## wherein: X is independently both F or both Cl, or one X is independently F and the other is independently Cl; and R.sub.1 is a straight or branched chain (C.sub.3 to C.sub.8) alkyl group substituted by one or two hydroxy moieties; and ethers or esters thereof.
WO 95/17407 discloses that examples of suitable compositions of these compounds include solid compositions such as tablets and capsules. WO 95/17407 discloses that a solid carrier can be one or more substances which may also act as diluents, flavoring agents, solubilizers, lubricants, suspending agents, binders or tablet disintegrating agents; it can also be an encapsulating material. WO 95/17407 discloses that in a tablet, the active compound is mixed with a carrier having the necessary binding properties in suitable proportions and compacted in the shape and size desired.
The oral bioavailability of active compounds can vary with the dosage form of the active compound. For example, it is known that solution dosages and suspensions generally give rise to higher bioavailability than capsules or tablets (see Pharmacokinetics Process and Mathematics, ACS Monograph 185, Chapter 5, page 57 (1986), and J.G. Nairn, Remington's Pharmaceutical Sciences, 18th edition (1990)). However, tablets and capsules are more convenient dosage forms, and it would be preferable to have a tablet or capsule dosage form of an active compound that has good bioavailability.
A pharmaceutical composition of the above described antifungal compounds that provides enhanced bioavailability of the antifungal compounds would be a contribution to the art. A pharmaceutical composition of the above antifungal compounds that can be manufactured in a tablet or capsule form that has greater bioavailability than a suspension would also be a contribution to the art. This invention provides these contributions to the art. Thus, this invention overcomes the problem of making active compounds such as a tetrahydrofuran azole antifungal that have a very low aqueous solubility more bioavailable.

Solid solution of an antifungal agent with enhanced bioavailability


Method, systems, and circuitries are provided for generating an output signal with reduced spurs by dithering. A method to generate an output signal having a desired frequency based on a reference signal having a reference frequency includes receiving a desired phase shift between a next cycle of the output signal with respect to a next cycle of the reference signal. A mapping between respective code words and phase shifts is read. A first codeword mapped to a first phase shift that is lower in value to the desired phase shift is identified. A second codeword mapped to a second phase shift that is higher in value to the desired phase shift is identified. The method includes selecting either the first codeword or the second codeword and generating the output signal based on the selected codeword.

Digital-to-time converters (DTCs) are an attractive solution for the generation of local oscillator (LO) signals in multi-standard transceivers because DTCs benefit from a digital design flow including the possibility of RF synthesis. DTCs are particularly advantageous in transceivers supporting downlink carrier aggregation (CA), where multiple LO signals can be generated by a single RF digital phase locked loop (DPLL) driving multiple DTCs. This use of a single DPLL to generate multiple LO signals saves chip area and avoids magnetic coupling issued experienced in multiple DPLL solutions.

Dithering for spur reduction in local oscillator generation


A wireless battery management system includes a computing device and first and second battery unit monitoring modules. The computing device includes an output data request port and an input data port. In response to a data request from the output data request port of the computing device, a first battery unit monitoring module transmits data of the first battery unit to the input data port of the computing device wirelessly and may transmits a data request to the second battery unit monitoring module. In response, the second battery unit monitoring module may transmit data of the second battery unit to the input data port of the computing device wirelessly or transmit data of the second battery to the first module for wireless transmission. In addition, each battery unit monitoring module may communicate wirelessly and independently with the computing device.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to battery management systems that measure and monitor data of batteries in a battery pack, and specifically to battery management systems that transmit battery data wirelessly to a computing device.
Background
Current battery management systems obtain data about individual batteries in a battery unit. The systems reserve addresses for communication with battery unit sensors and/or battery units. When sensors transmit data about battery units to the management system, the sensors include the address of the battery unit. Such a system may require significant amounts or resources and complex arrangements for connecting the components of the system. Additionally, current systems for battery management may require complex, expensive systems for detecting potentially hazardous connections between battery units and their enclosure, such as a chassis in an electric vehicle.
As shown in FIG. 19, lithium batteries have a non-linear discharge profile, with a relatively flat discharge region up to about 80% discharged. Therefore, a small change in voltage can mean a large difference in the state of charge, unlike a lead acid battery that has a relatively linear drop in voltage as the battery is discharged. The state of charge of a lead acid battery, and therefore the amount of power remaining, is more easily monitored by simply measuring the voltage of the lead acid battery. The amount of power remaining in a lithium battery system is more difficult to monitor and predict however by simply measuring voltage. It would therefore be more difficult to determine the available power remaining in a lithium battery unit by simply measuring the voltage.
The wiring of battery management systems with a computing device can be expensive and complicated. The large number of wires may be difficult to route from a battery pack to a computing device. In addition, when a battery has to be changed out, keeping track of the wires and the correct location for installation of a new battery can be very difficult.


A bitmap of a shape, such as a font, can be subpixel optimized by producing for each of a display's subpixels a coverage value representing the percent of its area covered by the shape being represented and by distributing, to prevent color imbalance, an amount of a given subpixel's coverage value to nearby subpixels of different colors as a function of the percent of the given subpixel's coverage value that causes color imbalance. Web pages can be displayed with scaled-down and subpixel optimized images. A given layout of a Web page can be displayed at each of at least two different selected scale factors, with the font bitmaps used to represent characters in the display at each scale factor having their shape and pixel alignment selected to improve readability for the particular pixel size at which they are displayed at each such scale factor.

This patent application has many aspects that relate to the optimization of using computing devices with small or low resolution screens, such as handheld computers, cellphone computers, or computers with wrist or head mounted displays. A good portion of this optimizing has been done to improve the use of such small screen devices for browsing the World Wide Web or similar media, although many of its features can be used when viewing other types of screen content.
Another portion of this optimization has been focused on improving the ability to browse such media through relatively low bandwidth links, such as those that would be found on current wireless links. It should be appreciated, however, that many aspects of the inventions disclosed in this application are not limited to use for these purpose.
For example, some of the features that are designed to make it easier for users to view portions of Web pages at a larger size could be used to make reading the Web on traditional computers easier on the eye or easier to read at greater distances.
At the time this application is being filed there are multiple handheld computers that have approximately 240 by 320 pixel screens that measure approximately four inches diagonally. These include the Compaq iPaq H3650 Pocket PC, the Casio Cassiopeia, and the Hewlett-Packard Jornado 525. Unfortunately such a resolution would be too low to display most current Web pages on. Currently most Web pages can be viewed with 640×480 resolution screen (although a few web sites cannot even be properly viewed at this resolution). It would be desirable to be able to view most web pages with such hand held devices.
The manufacturers of liquid crystal displays are now capable of-making screens having substantially higher resolutions than those that are currently on the market. Makers of organic LED displays claim they can achieve even higher resolutions. This means that a four inch diagonal screen of the size currently in the handheld computers listed above could have a resolution of 480 by 640 or higher. Although such screens would provide an acceptable resolution for many web sites, even a higher effective resolution would be desirable to view many web pages.
In addition, in order for such screens to be seen at a relatively high resolution, they would have to be held close to a user's eyes. Although this might be satisfactory for many applications, users might often find it tiring or inconvenient to constantly hold a handheld computer close one eyes.
Such advances in display resolution would also mean that a 320 by 240 pixel screens could be made with a diagonal length of two inches or less. Such a display would be about the size of the display commonly contained in many present-day cellphones, and could also fit onto a wristwatch. Such displays would make many forms of applications currently used on hand held computers available on cellphones, wristwatches or other similarly small format computers. Unfortunately they would have the problem of both having a relatively low resolution that would tend to make it difficult for them to view most web pages, and of being so physically small that for a user to be able to see their resolution they would have to be held very close to the user's eyes. Again, holding such a device close to a user's eyes might be satisfactory at certain times, but over long periods of time, or in certain situations it might be inconvenient.
Currently there are several companies that provide head mounted displays that enable a person to see an image of a computer screen, either as a result of light reflected into the user's eyes through a device that appears somewhat like a pair of glasses, or from a mirror placed above, below, or off to the side of the user's eyes. To make it easy for user to interact with their surroundings while using such a head mounted display, it is often desirable to have such projected computer screens take up a relatively small portion of the user's optic field. Thus, users of such displays might face many of the same problems as would users of small handheld screens.
Some aspects of the invention relates to methods for optimizing the browsing of the Web or application screen output on a computer with relatively limited computational power, memory, or bandwidth to the Internet. For example, currently a standard Web browser of the type used in most desktop and laptop computers requires many megabytes of memory and a relatively large amount of computational power. They also require a connection to the Internet having at least the speed of a high-speed modem to work effectively with a type of Web content contained in many of the World Wide Web's more frequently used Web pages. Unfortunately, many handheld computers either do not have the storage or computational capacity to be able to effectively view many such web pages. Also most commonly available wireless systems have a bandwidth that is substantially below that which would be desirable for viewing many Web pages. As a result of these factors, one of the focus of some of the innovations contained in this application relate to methods for enabling computers with limited storage, commutation, or bandwidth to better browse the World Wide Web or similar media.

Methods, systems, and programming for computer display of images, text, and/or digital content


A printing apparatus including a head unit in which a print head is mounted on a head plate, and a small carriage that holds the head unit. The head unit engages with a slide rail formed in the small carriage with an engagement protrusion, and can be attached and detached in a sliding manner when the head unit is attached and detached.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a printing apparatus equipped with a head unit on which a plurality of print heads are mounted.
2. Related Art
Hitherto, large printers have required a large head unit in which a number of droplet ejection heads (print heads) are mounted on a single carriage (head plate). Replacement of such a large head unit needs to be carried out in such large printers.
A head unit is known that includes, in order to efficiently carry and set such a large carriage, a plurality of droplet ejection heads, a carriage in which the plurality of droplet ejection heads are mounted so as to protrude from the back side of the carriage, and a pair of left and right handles provided on the front side of the carriage to allow the carriage to be carried by hand (JP-A-2003-127343). The head unit is first placed on a temporary table that is positioned at a somewhat higher position than a set stage (carriage) when the head unit is installed in the set stage. The operator holds the pair of left and right handles that are provided on the front side of the carriage, tilts the head unit so as to lower the end of the head unit and slides the head unit along the temporary table, abuts the end against a stopper of the set stage, and further lowers the head unit so that the head unit is loaded onto the set stage. Furthermore, since the operator holds the pair of left and right handles, the head unit can be carried while maintaining its setting position; accordingly, the head unit can be attached and detached in a stable and safe manner even if the head unit is large.
The above-described head unit is loaded onto the set stage by sliding the head unit while the head unit is tilted so as to lower the end of the head unit; accordingly, the operator needs to disadvantageously hold on to the handle and maintain the tilted position of the head unit until mounting of the head unit is completed. Accordingly, a large space is required on the upper side of the set stage to carry out the attaching and detaching operation and, as a result, the device becomes disadvantageously large.
Furthermore, when the head unit is installed at various angles that are not parallel to the floor surface or when installing the head unit to a high position, disadvantageously, the position of the operator during work becomes unstable and the attaching and detaching work becomes difficult.


Multiplex switching is disclosed for readily multiplexing and switching packet data without causing a delay. Bit widths of packets supplied from a plurality of input channels are unified to a previously set bit width. The packets unified in bit width are synchronized among the plurality of input channels. The synchronized packets are spread by multiplying them by orthogonal codes based on the input channels. The spread packets are multiplexed, and multiplexed packets are multiplied respectively by orthogonal codes for switching according to the input channels on which the packets delivered to output channels have been supplied, to reconstruct the packets supplied from the input channels. The packets are then delivered to the output channels.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multiplex switching circuit and a multiplex switching method for multiplexing input packets on a plurality of channels for switching in a base station or the like of a W-CDMA (Wideband-Code Division Multiple Access) radio communications system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, in radio communications systems such as a digital portable telephone, a packet transmission apparatus for transmitting packets on a plurality of channels is required to provide high throughput performance for processing a larger amount of small packets supplied thereto at a lower cost. However, when an increased number of channels are supplied at the same time, if a burst of input packets occurs, the packets will stagnate in an internal RAM (buffer) which is used for temporarily storing input packets. Then, when the stagnation of packets results in a scarcity of RAM area, packets can no longer be stored in the internal RAM, possibly causing a delay in processing, buffer overflow, and the like.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, in a conventional packet transmission apparatus, packets on a plurality of channels are multiplexed and stored in RAM 601 provided within the packet transmission apparatus. Thus, when packets are supplied to each channel in a bursty manner, the packets will stagnate in RAM 601 because output processing cannot keep up with packets supplied into RAM 601 if attention is paid to a certain time.
For this reason, the conventional packet transmission apparatus is required to have a large-capacity storage area for storing packets in the event that loads are concentrated in a network having a large number of input and output channels co-exist. If the capacity of RAM can be increased for use as a storage area, packets can be stored therein even if a burst of input packets occurs.
However, it is difficult to infinitely increase the capacity of RAM due to the limitations of price, circuit scale and the like of devices.
On the other hand, if the output throughput can be increased, packets can be sent out without stagnating in internal RAM, thus eliminating the need for increasing the capacity of internal RAM. However, since the output throughput is determined based on the operation frequency of an internal circuit, it is difficult to infinitely increase the output throughput due to limitations in the operation frequency.
To address the foregoing problem, JP2005-020609A discloses a method for managing the storage area of memory in order to temporarily store data in an apparatus connected to a network, and in order to limit input data when free capacity is reduced in the storage area.
However, although the method disclosed in the foregoing patent document can solve the problem of packet data overflow in the apparatus, there is still a problem that packet data will stagnate in the preceding apparatus, so that the capacity of RAM must be increased in the preceding apparatus. In addition, since the location in which packet data is stored simply moves from the apparatus of interest to the preceding apparatus, the disclosed method fails to solve a problem of eliminating a delay in data transmission.


The invention relates to an adjustable, wall-mounted, shower-enclosure, support apparatus, adapted to provide, when required, enhanced protection against injury, through loss of balance, to a bather, using the shower in a bathtub-shower combination unit or, alternatively, a separate shower stall. A bather who loses balance, for any reason, while taking a shower, is liable to fall in any direction. Yet, wall-mounted grab-bars in a shower-enclosure, generally, provide protection against that risk in only one or two directions. To overcome that deficiency, the invention provides for an apparatus which incorporates a body-encompassing frame member that can surround the bather at a chosen height, when required, and thereby supply, in all directions within a horizontal plane, a reliable means of support which can be seized in an emergency or which can break a fall under certain circumstances, when the support cannot be used as intended.

The present invention relates generally to a bathroom safety device and specifically to a wall-mounted, shower-enclosure, support apparatus, adapted to provide, when required, enhanced protection against injury, through loss of balance, to a bather using the shower in a bathtub-shower combination unit or, alternatively, a separate shower stall.
It is common knowledge that the bathtub can be a hazardous place for all who use it and especially when it is utilized for the purpose of showering. The bathtub bottom surface, normally slippery when wet, can become even more so from a residue of soap scum, while a bathtub mat, if present, can be equally dangerous if it is worn, improperly secured to that bottom surface or also coated with soap scum. Under such circumstances, if a bather, standing in the bathtub to take a shower, should make a sudden movement to catch a falling bar of soap, tube of shampoo or wash cloth, for example, or become disoriented for any reason, a momentary loss of balance could occur, which could lead to an injury-causing fall into or out of the bathtub.
The industry has responded to that risk by offering wall-mounted grab-bars, which are expected to be grasped suddenly for support by a bather, faced with an abrupt loss of balance while standing, showering or shifting position in a bathtub. Such bars, however, generally provide protection in only one or two directions, whereas a bather, who loses balance, is liable to fall in any direction. In addition, a bather, in the act of slipping or falling, is most likely to be governed by instinct and to reach for assistance, using a "writing" or "tool" hand, which may not coincide, in all cases, with the position of the nearest grab-bar, at the time of distress. As a result, a grab-bar which could save one bather, could be useless for another in the same situation because of the orientation of that bather.
Though the grab-bar can be an effective safeguard against injury to a bather during an emergency, if the bather is facing in the "right" direction at the moment of instability and is able to seize the bar with a free hand to prevent slipping or falling, therefore, it is clear that it does not provide any help if those conditions are absent or if the bather should become disoriented and not know which way to turn for assistance. In other words, grab-bar installations generally leave, for one reason or another, a protection gap of variable extent, which can result in serious injury or even death, if not closed. That is because, aside from a rigid, tub enclosure, which might provide some assistance under certain conditions, normally, there is no other means present to prevent or break a fall into or out of the bathtub. The risk, though somewhat reduced, also exists in a separate shower stall having an outward-opening door.
Since unsteadiness or dizziness is most often associated with advanced age, the risk of a fall while showering, may be greatest among senior citizens. It is also a real threat, however, for the handicapped, for pregnant women, and for the young, in general, if the previously-cited tub conditions exist or there is a momentary loss of concentration while enjoying the pleasure of showering, if there is pre-occupation with other matters, if soap or water gets in the bather's eyes or, if excessive use of alcohol or narcotics causes disorientation or a loss of balance.
Given the limited usefulness of conventional grab-bar installations as a means of preventing, or reducing the severity of, injuries in the bathtub, therefore, there is clearly a need for a better alternative, which not only can be more effective for those purposes, under all of the circumstances likely to be encountered by a bather using the shower in a bathtub-shower combination unit or a separate shower stall, but also possesses characteristics which would make it acceptable to the average consumer, as a worthy addition to the bathroom. As far as can be determined at this time, there appears to be no evidence that prior art has provided such an alternative.
Accordingly, it is the principal object of the present invention to provide a device, which eliminates the protection gap associated with conventional grab-bar installations, by supplying, when required, protection to a showering bather in all directions within a horizontal plane.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a device which is safe and reliable to use.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a device which is easy to operate and adjust.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a device which is adaptable to users of varying physical height.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a device which is useful in both the operating and storage modes.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a device which does not interfere with the operation, or reduce the effectiveness, of a shower curtain or rigid tub enclosure.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a device which can be by-passed, if desired by the bather, and not interfere with regular bathing practices, when not in use.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a device which can be easily and inexpensively retrofitted to existing shower-enclosures or readily installed during new construction or a manufacturing process.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a device which does not inhibit nor interfere with normal bathtub or shower stall cleaning procedures.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a device which is capable of being colored in order to coordinate with existing bathroom decor.

Adjustable shower-enclosure support apparatus


An adjustable mounting bracket, which is applied for mounting a display device, is provided by the present disclosure. The adjustable mounting bracket includes a wall panel, a plurality of extending rods, and a limiting structure. The plurality of extending rods are detachably coupled to the wall panel and configured to adjusted length of the mounting bracket. The limiting structure is arranged on the wall panel. A receiving space is formed by the limiting structure and the wall panel. The plurality of extending rods are engaged with the limiting structure and received in the receiving space. The limiting structure is configured to guide the plurality of extending rods to slide in the receiving space. The adjustable mounting bracket provided by the present disclosure can be easily assembled, meet the requirements of installation specifications and packaging specifications, and be suitable for promotion and application.

With the development of display technology, display devices have the advantages of small footprint and light weight, which are widely applied in homes, shopping malls, or offices. The display devices are generally supported by mounting brackets, thus realizing quick installation and easy disassembly of a display. However, sizes of the display devices generally correspond to sizes of the mounting brackets. When a new display device needs to be replaced, a new mounting bracket also needs to be replaced, thus it is troublesome to assemble. In addition, the existing mounting brackets cannot meet the requirements of installation specifications and packaging specifications at the same time, thus restricting their promotion and application.


The present invention relates to three-dimensional glasses, to a three-dimensional image display apparatus, and to a method for driving the three-dimensional glasses and the three-dimensional image display apparatus. The present invention is a method for driving three-dimensional glasses for watching a three-dimensional image consisting of a left-eye image and a right-eye image, wherein the method comprises the following steps: transmitting glasses characteristic information, including information relating to the opening/closing speed of shutters of a left-eye lens unit and a right-eye lens unit of the three-dimensional glasses, to an external three-dimensional image display apparatus for outputting the three-dimensional image; receiving synchronization information, including information relating to the output periods of the left-eye image and right-eye image, from the three-dimensional image display apparatus; and synchronizing, using the synchronization information, the opening/closing periods of the shutters of the left-eye lens unit and the right-eye lens unit with the output periods of the left-eye image and right-eye image outputted by the three-dimensional image display apparatus. The synchronization information includes information on the time of opening the shutter of the left-eye lens unit, information on the time of closing the shutter of the left-eye lens unit, and information on modes for indicating the type of image outputted by the three-dimensional image display apparatus, and the method for driving the three-dimensional glasses and three-dimensional image display apparatus of the present invention, efficient data communication between the three-dimensional glasses and the three-dimensional image display apparatus is enabled, in order to increase the convenience of a user watching the three-dimensional images and prevent the unnecessary consumption of a battery of the three-dimensional glasses.

3 dimensional image technology can be applied to such a various field as information and communication, broadcasting, medical care, education, training, military, game, animation, virtual reality, CAD, industrial technology, and the like. Thus, the 3 dimensional image technologies can be called a core technology of a next generation 3 dimensional multimedia information and communication commonly required by the various fields.
In general, a 3 dimensional effect recognized by a human occurs by a combination of an extent of change of crystalline lens according to a position of an object intended to be observed, an angle difference between both eyes and a target, difference of a position and a form for a target seen by the both eyes, binocular disparity occurred by a movement of a target, other effects caused by various psychology and memories, and the like.
Among the aforementioned factors, the binocular disparity occurring due to a space between two eyes horizontally apart from each other about 6˜7 cm may be one of a most important factor for a 3 dimensional effect.
In particular, an object can be seen with an angle difference because of the binocular disparity and images coming to each of eyes have reflections different from each other because of the binocular disparity. When these two images are delivered to a brain via retinas, the brain at last feels the original 3 dimensional image in a manner of precisely combining the two informations.
3 dimensional image display apparatus is classified into a glasses type using a special glasses and a non-glasses type not using the special glasses. The glasses type includes a color filter technique, which separates and selects an image using a color filter having a relation of complementary color with each other, a polarizing filter technique, which separates images of a left eye and a right eye using a shading effect by a combination of an orthogonal polarizing element, and a shutter glasses technique, which enables to feel a 3 dimensional effect by alternatively blocking a left eye and a right eye in response to a synchronization signal projecting a left eye image signal and a right eye image signal to a screen.
Meanwhile, a user should wear 3 dimensional glasses to watch a 3 dimensional image using the glasses type. Yet, since the user does not watch 3 dimensional images all the time, the 3 dimensional glasses should operate only when 3 dimensional images are outputted in a 3 dimensional display apparatus.
Yet, according to a conventional 3 dimensional glasses, there exists inconvenience of switching on/off of the 3 dimensional glasses for a user to operate the 3 dimensional glasses. Moreover, there exists inconvenience of fast discharging of a battery of the 3 dimensional glasses due to an operation of the 3 dimensional glasses even in a situation of not watching 3 dimensional images.
Thus, searching for a method of operating 3 dimensional glasses enabling for a user to more efficiently watch a 3 dimensional image is requested.

Three-dimensional glasses, three-dimensional image display apparatus, and method for driving the three-dimensional glasses and the three-dimensional image display apparatus