This invention relates to methods of treating or preventing viral infections caused by flaviviruses, such as dengue virus, yellow fever virus, West Nile virus or Japanese encephalitis virus or infections caused by Chikungunya virus (CHIKV). The methods involve the administration of retinoic acid analogues to subjects who have, are suspected of having a flavivirus infection or infection with CHIKV, or to those who are at risk of becoming infected with a flavivirus or becoming infected with CHIKV.

Arbovirus is a term used to refer to a group of viruses that are transmitted by arthropod vectors such as mosquitoes and ticks. Flaviviruses are among those transmitted in this way, and include West Nile virus, dengue virus, tick-borne encephalitis virus, and yellow fever virus. Of these, dengue virus is considered one of the most significant arboviruses, with an estimated 390 million cases of dengue fever occurring worldwide. The alphavirus Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is another example of an arbovirus. Most of these infections are in tropical areas of the world.
Like many of the flavivirus infections, symptoms of having been infected with dengue virus include sudden high fever, severe headaches, pain behind the eyes, a rash, severe joint and muscle pain, nausea and vomiting and mild bleeding. In more severe cases, infected individuals may develop dengue hemorrhagic fever, a rare complication characterized by more severe bleeding, damage to lymph and blood vessels, enlargement of the liver, and failure of the circulatory system, all of which can in turn lead to shock and death.
Currently infections are treated symptomatically as there is no licensed vaccine or effective anti-viral. Moreover dengue fever is caused by one of five closely related, but antigenically distinct, virus serotypes (DENV-1, DENV-2, DENV-3, DENV-4 and a recently identified single isolate DENV-5), and infection with one serotype may not protect a subject from infection with a different serotype.
Reference to any prior art in the specification is not, and should not be taken as, an acknowledgment or any form of suggestion that this prior art forms part of the common general knowledge in Australia or any other jurisdiction or that this prior art could reasonably be expected to be ascertained, understood and regarded as relevant by a person skilled in the art.


The invention relates to the therapy of diseases associated with the activity of histamine receptors, in particular for the treatment of allergic diseases, preferably the therapy of perennial and persistent allergic rhinitis, itch, as well as a number of other diseases associated with the activity of histamine receptor type 3 and/or 4, using compound N,N′-bis(2-(1H-imidazol-5-yl)ethyl)malonamide.

Histamine receptors represent a class of G protein-coupled receptors which bind histamine as their primary endogenous ligand. Histamine receptors are involved in a number of physiological processes associated with development of various pathological conditions. In particular, histamine H1 or H2 receptor antagonists are widely used in the treatment of allergic and gastrointestinal disorders (Br J Pharmacol. 2009 May; 157(1):24-33).
Histamine receptor type 3 was first identified in 1983 in human brain and a number of laboratory animals (Nature 1983; 302(5911):832-837). The histamine receptor type 3 is expressed in the brain regions that are critical for cognition (cerebral cortex and hippocampus) and circadian rhythm regulation (hypothalamus) (Expert Opin. Investig. Drugs 2004; 13(10):1237-1248). Histamine is a highly potent H3 receptor agonist. H3 agonist-induced activation of H3 receptors in the brain regulates the release and synthesis of histamine and a number of other neurotransmitters that play a role in regulating attention, impulsivity and food intake. This is why H3 receptor antagonists are currently being studied in several therapeutic areas, including cognitive and sleep disorders (Expert Opin. Investig. Drugs 2007; 16(7):967-985). Thus, H3 receptors of the central nervous system are an attractive drug target for both scientific research and pharmaceutical industry (Biochem. Pharmacol. 2007; 73(8):1084-1096, Biochem. Pharmacol. 2006; 71(8):1103-1113). However, it should be noted that exposure to H3 receptors in the brain can cause a number of undesirable side effects, such as the development of depression, sleep disturbances, etc.
Later it was found that histamine third receptors were also expressed in peripheral tissues and localized on the epithelium and nerves in human nasal mucosa (Mol. Pharmacol. 1999; 55(6):1101-1107). This discovery made it possible to consider peripheral type 3 histamine receptors as a promising target for the treatment of certain allergic conditions and, in particular, allergic rhinitis. An allergic reaction in the nasal cavity initiates degranulation of mast cell and histamine release, which in turn acts on postsynaptic H1 receptors, causing extravasation with H1-mesions, vasodilation and mucus secretion. In addition, histamine causes vasodilation by activating presynaptic H3 receptors located on postganglionic sympathetic neurons, which leads to a decrease in norepinephrine release, increased vascular permeability, the development of edema and pain symptoms. In addition, the activation of H3 receptors located on nociceptive sensory nerves induces the release of substance P, which in turn causes rhinorrhea and nasal congestion (Am. Rev. Respir. Dis. 1991; 144:630-5; J. Pharmacol. Sci. 2008; 108:206-11).
While the expression of histamine receptor type 3 in peripheral tissues is limited to the epithelium and nerve endings of the nasal mucosa, histamine receptor type 4 is widely expressed on the surface of immune system cells (Br. J. Pharmacol. 2009 May; 157(1):24-33). The activation of histamine receptor type 4 modulates migration of eosinophils (Br. J. Pharmacol. 2004 May; 142(1):161-71; Cytometry A. 2008; 73:299-304) and selective recruitment of mast cells (J Invest Dermatol. 2004 July; 123(1):116-23; J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. 2004; 309:404-413), leading to amplification of histamine-mediated immune responses and eventually to chronic inflammation.
On various animal models, as well as in studies on healthy volunteers, it was shown that the simultaneous blockade of peripheral H3 and H4 receptors could have a positive effect for the treatment of allergic rhinitis, as well as other inflammatory diseases. It was shown that intranasal administration of a type 4 histamine receptor antagonist caused a significant decrease in the nasal symptoms of the disease and a decrease in the level of interleukin-4 (Int Immunopharmacol. 2009 June; 9(6):734-8). Similarly, intranasal administration of R-alpha-methylhistamine, an H3 receptor agonist, induced nasal blockage in humans, which was reduced by topical administration of the H3 receptor antagonist thioperamide (Br. J. Pharmacol. 2005 March; 144(6):867-74). In vitro studies of tissue samples from pigs and humans shown that R-alpha-methylhistamine induced vasodilation by reducing the release of the vasoconstrictor noradrenaline from nasal sympathetic nerve endings (Eur. J. Pharmacol. 2004; 484:83-9; Eur. J. Pharmacol. 2002; 452:339-45). It is important to note that in addition to suppressing nasal symptoms of allergic rhinitis, peripheral antagonists of histamine receptor type 4 can effectively suppress histamine-induced itch (J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. 2014 July; 350(1):181-7).
Several antagonists of histamine receptor types 3 and 4 (H3 receptors and H4 receptors) were studied in clinical trials for the treatment of allergic rhinitis. In Phase 2 clinical trials, all three H3 antagonists showed to be effective in controlling allergic rhinitis symptoms. However, since all three drugs had the ability to cross the blood-brain barrier and block H3 receptors in the central nervous system, all data on drug candidates were, to greater or lesser extent, associated with the development of side effects. In addition, the selective H4 receptor antagonist JNJ-7777120 was effective in an animal model of allergic rhinitis.
To date, Thioperamide is the only a dual H3 and H4 receptor antagonist that has been tested in clinical trials. The antagonist was shown to cross the blood-brain barrier and lead to the development of central nervous system side effects. Thus, the known H3 receptor antagonists either fail to demonstrate a desired selectivity for H3 and H4 receptors, or they penetrate the blood-brain barrier and are not suitable for the clinical development of drugs for the treatment of allergic rhinitis.
Thus, to date, there are no known drugs that act as an antagonist of histamine receptor types 3 and 4, which would be used in the treatment of allergic diseases in humans. Therefore, there remains a need to create and introduce into the clinic new effective drugs based on an antagonists of histamine receptor type 3.
The invention relates to use of a chemical compound effective in suppressing the activity of histamine receptors in the treatment of allergic diseases (such as perennial and persistent allergic rhinitis), as well as other diseases associated with the overstimulation of histamine receptor types 3 and 4.

Use of a bisamide derivative of malonic acid for treating allergic and other diseases in humans and animals

Abstract: This compound, as well as pharmaceutically acceptable salts, hydrates, or solvates thereof, is an antagonist of histamine receptor type 3 and/or 4. The invention also relates to pharmaceutical compositions containing a therapeutically effective amount of Compound I.


Aspects disclosed herein eliminate audible disturbances that may occur when an audio amplifier is activated and deactivated. A feedback circuit is used to maintain a closed loop when transistors of a power output stage are activate or deactivated, thereby enabling the charge to build or dissipate without causing an audible disturbance. Further, in certain implementations, the power output stage may remain in an enable state for a period of time after deactivation of the audio amplifier regardless of whether an audio input signal is received enabling dissipation of charge without causing an audible disturbance.

Audio amplifiers are often used to amplify an audio signal before providing the audio amplifier to a speaker. When an audio amplifier is turned on, power is supplied to the elements of the audio amplifier. These elements may include various capacitors and inductors that may collect a charge. Similarly, when the audio amplifier is turned off, the charge from the capacitors and inductors may dissipate. Often times, the charging and dissipating of power from elements of the audio amplifier causes audible noise that may be unpleasant to a listener.

Audible noise reduction in an audio power amplifier


A method of treating psoriasis in a patient by administering an IL-23 specific antibody, e.g., guselkumab, in a clinically proven safe and clinically proven effective amount and the patient achieves PASI90, PASI100 or IGA 0 or 1 score as measured 16, 24, 32, 40 and 48 weeks after initial treatment and the patient achieves higher efficacy than a patient treated with the secukinumab antibody.

Interleukin (IL)-12 is a secreted heterodimeric cytokine comprised of 2 disulfide-linked glycosylated protein subunits, designated p35 and p40 for their approximate molecular weights. IL-12 is produced primarily by antigen-presenting cells and drives cell-mediated immunity by binding to a two-chain receptor complex that is expressed on the surface of T cells or natural killer (NK) cells. The IL-12 receptor beta-1 (IL-12β1) chain binds to the p40 subunit of IL-12, providing the primary interaction between IL-12 and its receptor. However, it is IL-12p35 ligation of the second receptor chain, IL-12β2, that confers intracellular signaling (e.g. STAT4 phosphorylation) and activation of the receptor-bearing cell (Presky et al, 1996). IL-12 signaling concurrent with antigen presentation is thought to invoke T cell differentiation towards the T helper 1 (Th1) phenotype, characterized by interferon gamma (IFNγ) production (Trinchieri, 2003). Th1 cells are believed to promote immunity to some intracellular pathogens, generate complement-fixing antibody isotypes, and contribute to tumor immunosurveillance. Thus, IL-12 is thought to be a significant component to host defense immune mechanisms.
It was discovered that the p40 protein subunit of IL-12 can also associate with a separate protein subunit, designated p19, to form a novel cytokine, IL-23 (Oppman et al, 2000). IL-23 also signals through a two-chain receptor complex. Since the p40 subunit is shared between IL-12 and IL-23, it follows that the IL-12β1 chain is also shared between IL-12 and IL-23. However, it is the IL-23p19 ligation of the second component of the IL-23 receptor complex, IL-23R, that confers IL-23 specific intracellular signaling (e.g., STAT3 phosphorylation) and subsequent IL-17 production by T cells (Parham et al, 2002; Aggarwal et al. 2003). Recent studies have demonstrated that the biological functions of IL-23 are distinct from those of IL-12, despite the structural similarity between the two cytokines (Langrish et al, 2005).
Abnormal regulation of IL-12 and Th1 cell populations has been associated with many immune-mediated diseases since neutralization of IL-12 by antibodies is effective in treating animal models of psoriasis, multiple sclerosis (MS), rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, insulin-dependent (type 1) diabetes mellitus, and uveitis (Leonard et al, 1995; Hong et al, 1999; Malfait et al, 1998; Davidson et al, 1998). However, since these studies targeted the shared p40 subunit, both IL-12 and IL-23 were neutralized in vivo. Therefore, it was unclear whether IL-12 or IL-23 was mediating disease, or if both cytokines needed to be inhibited to achieve disease suppression. Recent studies have confirmed through IL-23p19 deficient mice or specific antibody neutralization of IL-23 that IL-23 inhibition can provide equivalent benefit as anti-IL-12p40 strategies (Cua et al, 2003, Murphy et al, 2003, Benson et al 2004). Therefore, there is increasing evidence for the specific role of IL-23 in immune-mediated disease. Neutralization of IL-23 without inhibition of IL-12 pathways could then provide effective therapy of immune-mediated disease with limited impact on important host defense immune mechanism. This would represent a significant improvement over current therapeutic options.
Psoriasis is a common, chronic immune-mediated skin disorder with significant co-morbidities, such as psoriatic arthritis (PsA), depression, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, obesity, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and Crohn's disease. Plaque psoriasis is the most common form of the disease and manifests in well demarcated erythematous lesions topped with white silver scales. Plaques are pruritic, painful, often disfiguring and disabling, and a significant proportion of psoriatic patients have plaques on hands/nails face, feet and genitalia. As such, psoriasis negatively impacts health-related quality of life (HRQoL) to a significant extent, including imposing physical and psychosocial burdens that extend beyond the physical dermatological symptoms and interfere with everyday activities. For example, psoriasis negatively impacts familial, spousal, social, and work relationships, and is associated with a higher incidence of depression and increased suicidal tendencies.
Histologic characterization of psoriasis lesions reveals a thickened epidermis resulting from aberrant keratinocyte proliferation and differentiation as well as dermal infiltration and co-localization of CD3+T lymphocytes and dendritic cells. While the etiology of psoriasis is not well defined, gene and protein analysis have shown that IL-12, IL-23 and their downstream molecules are over-expressed in psoriatic lesions, and some may correlate with psoriasis disease severity. Some therapies used in the treatment of psoriasis modulate IL-12 and IL-23 levels, which is speculated to contribute to their efficacy. Th1 and Th17 cells can produce effector cytokines that induce the production of vasodilators, chemoattractants and expression of adhesion molecules on endothelial cells which in turn, promote monocyte and neutrophil recruitment, T cell infiltration, neovascularization and keratinocyte activation and hyperplasia. Activated keratinocytes can produce chemoattractant factors that promote neutrophil, monocyte, T cell, and dendritic cell trafficking, thus establishing a cycle of inflammation and keratinocyte hyperproliferation.
Elucidation of the pathogenesis of psoriasis has led to effective biologic treatments targeting tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), both interleukin (IL)-12 and IL-23 and, most recently, IL-17 as well as IL-23 alone (including in Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials using guselkumab). Guselkumab (also known as CNTO 1959) is a fully human IgG1 lambda monoclonal antibody that binds to the p19 subunit of IL-23 and inhibits the intracellular and downstream signaling of IL-23, required for terminal differentiation of T helper (Th)17 cells.

Safe and effective method of treating psoriasis with anti-IL-23 specific antibody


A phase shift control method for a boost converter and circuit implementation comprises a master phase and at least one slave phase. A master-phase inductor current flowing through the master phase has a master-phase charge time interval and a master-phase discharge time interval; a slave-phase inductor current flowing through the slave phase has a slave-phase charge time interval and a slave-phase discharge time interval. The method comprises: calculating an ideal switching timing whereat the slave-phase inductor current descends to a zero-current judgment value; obtaining a physical switching timing whereat the slave-phase charge time interval starts; calculating a conduction timing error between the physical switching timing and the ideal switching timing; determining the time length of the slave-phase charge time interval in the same cycle according to the conduction timing error and the master-phase charge time interval.

At present, the switch-type converters are used in most power supply to regulate voltage, and the boost converter is the most frequently used type among them. The boost converter is also used in power factor correction circuits and boosts the voltage to regulate the power factor of the input power. Refer to FIG. 1 a diagram schematically showing the basic architecture of a paralleled boost converter. Firstly, a rectifier unit 1 receives an input power via an input terminal 101 and rectifies the input power into a DC power. The boost converter 2 modulates the DC power into a modulated power and outputs the modulated power to a power conversion unit 3. The power conversion unit 3 converts the modulated power into the power that the power supply intends to output. The abovementioned boost converter 2 is a paralleled-type converter and comprises a master phase and a slave phase. The master phase includes a master inductor 21 connected to a diode 26, and a controllable first switch 23 is connected to between the master inductor 21 and the diode 26. The slave phase includes a slave inductor 22 connected to a diode 27, and a controllable second switch 24 is connected to between the slave inductor 22 and the diode 27. The boost converter 2 also has a control unit 25 generates a first driving signal and a second driving signal respectively driving the first switch 23 and the second switch 24. The conduction and disconnection of the first switch 23 divide the curve of the master-phase inductor current Imaster, which flows through the master inductor 21 into a current-increasing master-phase charge time interval and a current-decreasing master-phase discharge time interval. Similarly, the conduction and disconnection of the second switch 24 divide the curve of the slave-phase inductor current Islave, which flows through the slave inductor 22 into a current-increasing slave-phase charge time interval and a current-decreasing slave-phase discharge time interval. The control unit 25 respectively outputs the first driving signal and the second driving signal at different timings. Thus are separated the timings of the conduction states of the first switch 23 and the second switch 24.
The abovementioned driving method is referred to as the interleaved control method, and the abovementioned converter is thus referred to as the interleaved paralleled boost converter. The interleaved control method is further divided into the phase shift conduction method and the phase shift disconnection method. Refer to FIG. 2 for the control pulse timing and the current waveforms of the phase shift conduction method. FIG. 2 shows the waveform of the master-phase inductor current Imaster flowing through the master inductor 21 and the waveform of the slave-phase inductor current Islave flowing through the slave inductor 22. The directions of the master-phase inductor current Imaster and the slave-phase inductor current Islave have been shown in FIG. 1. Before discussing the current waveforms, we have to define "timing" and "time interval" firstly. "Timing" is defined to be the time point of the transition of the high level and the low level of a driving signal. Thus, "timing" is the time point whereat the first switch 23 or the second switch 24 begins conduction or disconnection herein. "Time interval" is defined to be the duration of a state. Thus, "time interval" is the duration of the conduction state or the disconnection state of the first switch 23 or the second switch 24 herein. The phase shift conduction method is characterized in that when the master inductor 21 outputs a zero current, the first driving signal is charged until a time interval TON has elapsed, and that the timing of the conduction state of the second driving signal has a time lag with respect to the timing of the conduction state of the first driving signal. Suppose that TS is the time interval of charging the first driving signal, and that TS/2 is the time lag between the timing of the conduction state of the second driving signal and the timing of the conduction state of the first driving signal. Thus, the control unit 25 will output the second driving signal after the first driving signal has been output for TS/2. The problem of the phase shift conduction method is that the timings of the conduction states of the first and second driving signals have a fixed time lag. The control unit 25 outputs the second driving signal not according to the current state of the slave inductor 22 but according to the fixed time lag plus the timing of outputting the first driving signal. Thus, the second driving signal has output when there is still current in the slave inductor 22, or the second driving signal has not output yet even though the current of the slave inductor 22 has stopped for a period of time. In such a case, the slave inductor 22 does not work in an expected critical current conduction mode but works in a continuous current conduction mode or a discontinuous current conduction mode.
Refer to FIG. 3 for the driving signals and the currents waveforms of the phase shift disconnection method. FIG. 3 shows the waveform of the master-phase inductor current Imaster flowing through the master inductor 21 and the waveform of the slave-phase inductor current Islave flowing through the slave inductor 22. In the phase shift disconnection method, the timing of outputting the first driving signal is similar to that in the phase shift conduction method, but the control unit 25 uses the time point whereat the slave inductor 22 has a zero current output as the timing of outputting the second driving signal. The timing of interrupting the second driving signal is a time lag plus the timing of interrupting the first driving signal. The phase shift disconnection method can guarantee that the boost converter works in the critical current conduction mode. However, the conduction state of the slave phase is not controlled directly but dependent on whether the slave phase has a zero current. Refer to FIG. 4. When the load causes the current variation of the master-phase inductor current, or when the input power variation fluctuates, there is a conduction timing error ΔT between the physical disconnection state and the ideal disconnection state, which causes the sub-harmonic oscillation of the current output by the boost converter 2. According to theoretical deduction and experimental data, the sub-harmonic oscillation will occur when the duty ratio of the second switch 24 is less than 0.5. As shown in FIG. 4, the slave-phase inductor current increases or decreases abruptly. Sometimes, the slave-phase inductor current may fluctuate so disorderly that even the converter cannot operate any more.
Since it is hard to control the phase shift conduction method to work in the critical current conduction mode, we have to overcome the sub-harmonic oscillation of the phase shift disconnection method to improve the performance of the paralleled boost converter.

Phase shift control method for boost converter and circuit implementation


The following description is directed to monitoring an interconnection network. In one embodiment, a method of monitoring an internal link of an interconnection network can comprise creating a network packet. The network packet can comprise a data-link-layer destination address corresponding to a management interface of a first router of the interconnection network, and a network-layer destination address corresponding to a host computer. The network-layer destination address can be within a subnet associated with a management interface of a second different router of the interconnection network. The internal link can connect the first router and the second router. The method can further comprise transmitting the network packet from the host computer, and determining one or more performance metrics of the internal link based, at least in part, on whether the network packet is received at the host computer.

Computer networks generally comprise various interconnected computing devices that can communicate with each other to exchange data. When small numbers of devices are interconnected, the devices can be directly connected to each other. For example, one device can be directly connected to another device via a network link. However, direct connections between large numbers of devices is not scalable. Thus, the connections between a large number of devices will typically be via indirect connections. For example, one device can be connected to another device via an interconnection network comprising one or more routers. Large routers for connecting many devices together can be expensive. However, large routers can be constructed from lower cost commodity equipment interconnected with a high-radix architecture.
For example, a high-radix interconnection network can comprise multiple routers interconnected by a high-radix architecture. Exemplary high-radix architectures include Clos, folded-Clos, fat-tree, butterfly, flattened-butterfly, full-mesh, and dragonfly networks. The high-radix network can comprise a large number of "externally facing ports" for connecting to and between devices outside of the high-radix architecture. For example, each device connected to an externally facing port can connect to any other device on an externally facing port of the high-radix network. The high-radix network can comprise multiple different stages or tiers of routers. One or more tiers of routers can include externally facing ports and one or more tiers of routers can be connected only to devices internal to the high-radix architecture.
An operator of the high-radix network may desire to provide high availability and throughput through the high-radix network. Thus, the operator may monitor the high-radix network for indications of dropped or lost packets, service degradation, component failures, or congestion within the network. However, as the number of nodes and links of the high-radix network increases, it can be more difficult to detect and isolate degraded components within the high-radix network.


A system, apparatus, and method for maintaining communication integrity in a safety system. A link integrity signal indicative of any short circuits or open circuits in a first communication link is communicated. A control signal having characteristics corresponding to the communication state of the first communication link is generated. A communication link switch is coupled to the first communication link and one or more second communication links; this link switch being controlled in response to the control signal characteristics. If the control signal characteristics indicate that a failure affecting any one or more signals associated with the first communication link has occurred, the connection is switched to one of the second communication links.

Safety systems are used in a many different environments ranging from personal safety systems to wide-reaching, networked safety systems. Small scale safety systems include, for example, home security systems, smoke detectors, and the like. On a larger scale, buildings and campuses generally include safety and possibly security systems. For example, fire and smoke systems, access systems, security systems, etc. are all within the purview of building safety systems. Due to the size of buildings relative to single-family dwellings and the generally higher number of people that may be within the building at a given time, additional safety requirements are usually necessary. These additional safety requirements are driven by the desire to provide a safe and functional environment, and may also be driven by various safety regulations. Agencies such as the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), Occupational Safety & Health Administration, etc. set forth requirements for certain safety systems, particularly fire safety systems. In addition to these regulatory requirements, certification of various aspects of a system may be obtained from other organizations, such as the Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL).
Specific components or devices used in fire safety systems may be individually UL-approved. For example, smoke detectors, heat sensors, alarm pull stations and other devices that form part of the collective fire alarm system may require UL approval. Vendors of such individual components may obtain the requisite UL approval. However, a system developer may be subject to system-level safety requirements, such as the interface between such components, control of the components, component redundancies, communication link redundancies, etc. In these cases, the system developer often seeks UL approval at the system level.
Today's networking technologies provide the system developer with great flexibility in monitoring and controlling fire systems. For example, monitoring and/or control of discrete detectors or groups of detectors may be accomplished at a central location, or such functions may be distributed over multiple locations. Monitoring and control may be performed through direct communication links, through Local Area Networks (LANs), and/or remotely. To facilitate aggregate monitoring and control of the various detectors and components used in the fire system, these detectors and components may be networked with a central processing system(s). In some cases, direct communication links may be sufficient, such as where a small number of detectors are utilized, and a central processing system can directly monitor and control such devices. At the other end of the spectrum, fire systems can be monitored and controlled via Wide Area Networks (WANs) or Global Area Networks (GANs) such as the Internet, where one or more central processing systems monitor and control devices at remote locations. A common implementation is a fire system located within a building or campus, where LANs are used to facilitate communication between the processing systems and the sensors, detectors, etc. System-level safety requirements may dictate the manner in which such systems operate via the LAN or other network. One such system-level requirement involves the integrity of communication links within the network environment of a fire safety system.
In the context of LANs, for example, various communication protocols and physical media may be used. For example, LANs may be established using different types of physical links, such as twisted-pair wires, coaxial cable, etc. Different communication protocols may be used to communicate over the physical links. As a particular example, one commonly implemented LAN implementation employs Ethernet technology. Ethernet technology and its analogous Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE) 802.3 standards are well known local area networking technologies. As previously indicated, system-level safety requirements may govern the manner in which LAN connections, such as Ethernet connections, are to be implemented in order to comply with safety regulations. For example, a requirement exists in some fire system applications that redundant communication paths be provided to monitor the integrity of the communication links associated with the LAN connection. One example of such a requirement is UL standard 864, which is a standard for control units for fire-protective signaling systems. This standard is based upon NFPA 72, the National Fire Alarm Code. This code explicitly describes the current requirements for redundant communication paths used in safety systems. Presently, there is no system that complies with this code for fire safety systems using redundant Ethernet (or analogous) LAN connections.
Accordingly, there is a need for a manner of providing reliable, redundant network communication links in safety systems such as fire safety systems. The present invention fulfills these and other needs, and offers other advantages over the prior art.

System and method for controlling redundant communication links in networked safety systems


An image detection assembly includes a light source that is configured to generate at least one pulsed light beam. A modulator is configured to direct the pulsed light beam onto a device via a plurality of light patterns such that a plurality of electrical signals are generated by the device. Each electrical signal corresponds to a different light pattern. A signal processing apparatus is coupled to the device and the signal processing apparatus is configured to receive the electrical signals and to digitize each electrical signal to record a plurality of signal vectors such that each signal vector corresponds to a different electrical signal. The signal processing apparatus is also configured to generate at least one image output based, at least in part, on the recorded signal vectors and the light patterns such that the image output enables a determination of at least one transient effect on the device.

The embodiments described herein relate generally to image data collection and analysis systems, and, more particularly, to an image detection assembly that can be used with such systems for the determination of transient effects on components or devices, such as integrated circuits ("IC").
It is advantageous to collect and analyze image data in an automated fashion when comparing the image of a product to an ideal product image, or for detecting changes in a product from transient events or effects. The product in question could be an IC, for example, and comparison of the conductors and vias visible on the surface of the IC to those of an ideal image may reveal contaminants, manufacturing defects, physical damage, such as radiation damage, or even the presence of spurious circuitry (e.g., a hardware version of malware hidden therein). Other products may also be advantageously imaged for purposes of discriminating for changes, comparing an image to an expected image, and generally analyzing the visible features of a product by collecting and processing an image.
Various image and other surface detection and characterization techniques can be used to identify features, such as defects. Some optoelectronic data collection and image characterization techniques are known for collecting and assessing data representing the appearance, spatial characteristics, and changes in the appearance or characteristics of ICs. However, an image characterization that is sufficiently detailed to enable identification of a single event upset ("SEU"), such as a point of isolated radiation damage, that might have occurred at any location on the area of the IC, requires collection of data at all points of the IC where the damage might have occurred. One might collect a high resolution pixel image under illumination, for example by scanning a laser over each part of the IC in a raster, and collecting and digitizing the reflected amplitude at each pixel position. However, such a technique can be time consuming and produce a great deal of pixel data. Therefore, such known techniques can be inefficient, can consume time and resources, and are subject to systematic errors.

Image detection assembly and method for use in determining transient effects


An inversion casting vessel includes a melt-filled container with a hole in the floor through which a metal strip is drawn. As the strip is drawn through the container, crystallization of the melt on the metal strip occurs, thereby forming a metal strand. The hole in the floor is a slit shaped channel through which the strip is run in a low-contact manner. The container also includes a cooling device for cooling the melt in the area of the slit shaped channel. The cooling device maintains the temperature of the melt around the channel to create a two-phase field of the melt, one of the phases being crystal, making up 50%-90% of the two phase field. The metal strip first contacts the melt at the two-phase field of the melt as the strip is run through the melt container.

The continuous casting process of the present invention is sometimes referred to as inversion casting, because solidification takes places from the inside of the strip to the outside, rather than from the outside to the inside as in standard continuous casting.
Such a process is known for producing wire, in particular, but also for casting strips. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,264,692 discloses a casting vessel with a zircon brick floor for a strip casting process. The slit-shaped opening in the floor brick is matched with narrow tolerances to the dimensions of the strip drawn through it.
A disadvantage of this known floor inlet is the relatively high risk that the strip will jam if its measurements deviate even slightly from the permitted size or its course is rough and therefore accompanied by increased friction.
From WO-A-87 07 102, a device for producing thin metal strands is known that has a vessel equipped with a refractory-grade lining, in whose floor an opening is provided for inserting a metal strip, the opening being embodied as a slit-shaped channel. To obtain a large total thickness of the strip, the strip can be drawn through the melt in several cycles.
Another device for producing thin metal strips is known from DE-A-36 38 249. Here, a certain distance is maintained between the channel wall and the strip to be coated.
Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 3,264,692 should be mentioned. In the device described there, a certain material is used for the inlet channel. This is done to prevent an expansion of the material from causing the metal strip to become stuck in the channel.
From U.S. Pat. No. 4,479,530, a process is known for passing wire through a melt-in this case, however, from top to floor-and then running the wire through the floor outlet of a melt vessel. In this process, which is designed to produce copper wire, it is proposed to embody the floor outlet in conical fashion, and also to deliberately allow melt to emerge from the outlet along with wire.
A similar device, again for producing wire, is known from the article "A Continuous Casting Process" in the Journal of Metals, October 1963, pp. 774-780. This article describes a floor opening that is made of molybdenum and can be cooled by water.
The two latter documents relate to the production of wire from copper and are not transferable to processes and devices for the production of steel strip. It should be noted that in wire production, the diameter of the wire is irregular, due to bulges in the crystallized layer. The wire must therefore be further processed to be of practical use. It is also disadvantageous that low crystallization and poor bonding often result from the large size of the mother wire, which can be 6 mm thick or larger.

Floor lead-through element for an inversion casting vessel


A system and method for allocating communication resources in a multi-transceiver communication system, where multiple transmitters transmit respective signals to a generally similar area. Various aspects of the present invention may comprise allocating frequency and time bandwidth for communication with a second communication system. A first portion of a plurality of transmitters may be allocated for communication with the second communication system utilizing the allocated frequency and time bandwidth. A second portion of the plurality of transmitters may be allocated for a purpose other than utilizing the allocated frequency and time bandwidth to communicate with the second communication system. For example, the second portion of the plurality of transmitters may be blocked from transmitting or allocated for communication with a third communication system utilizing the allocated frequency and time bandwidth. In an exemplary communication system, a resource allocation module may perform various functionality associated with the previously described allocation(s).

Various communication systems may utilize single transmission path communications or multiple transmission path communications (e.g., Multiple Input Multiple Output "MIMO" communications). In such systems, a system resource manager may allocate frequency and time bandwidth for various communications. Such frequency and time bandwidth may, for example, comprise characteristics of frequency allocation, time allocation, code allocation, hopping sequence allocation, or any combination thereof.
Various communication systems may also comprise and utilize multiple antennas for communication. For example MIMO communication systems may utilize a plurality of spatially displaced antennas for communication between systems. MIMO communication systems utilize spatial diversity provided by multiple antennas and favorable multipath conditions to improve communication between systems.
However, present communication systems fail to utilize the spatial diversity of multi-antenna communication systems to efficiently allocate and utilize limited bandwidth resources. Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditional approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such systems with the present invention as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings.

Multi-dimensional network resource allocation


A washing method in a steam injection type washing machine in which wash water is heated to generate high-temperature and high-pressure steam while passing through the steam supply unit in the wash or rinse cycle, and the generated steam is injected into the wash tub at the top of the wash tub. Accordingly, it is possible to rapidly achieve the wetting of clothes with wash water while achieving an enhancement in sterilization and washing performances. In addition, consumption of water and electrical energy can be reduced.

1. Field of the Invention
The present, invention relates to a washing machine, and more particularly to a washing method in a steam injection type washing machine in which steam is injected into a wash tub at the top of the wash tub.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional washing machine is illustrated. As shown in FIG. 1, the conventional washing machine includes a cabinet 2 defining the appearance of the washing machine, and carrying a door 1. The conventional washing machine also includes a wash tub including a tub 4 fixedly installed in the cabinet 2, and a drum 6 rotatably installed in the tub 4, and provided with a plurality of water holes 5. The conventional washing machine further includes a drive unit 8 connected with the drum 6 via a rotating shaft 7, and adapted to rotate the drum 6, a water supply unit 10 for supplying wash water into the wash tub, and a drainage unit 12 for draining wash water from the wash tub.
A detergent supply unit 14 containing detergent therein is arranged at a top portion of the cabinet 2. The water supply unit 10 is connected with the detergent supply unit 14 so that detergent can be supplied from the detergent supply unit 14 into the wash tub, along with wash water.
The tub 4 is connected, at the top thereof, to the top of the cabinet 2 via a spring 16 while being connected, at the bottom thereof, to the bottom of the cabinet 2 via a damper 17 having a damping function.
The above mentioned washing machine may further include a heater 20 adapted to heat wash water supplied into the wash tub. The tub 4 is recessed at a bottom portion thereof to provide a heater chamber 21 for receiving the heater 20 therein.
Now, operation of the conventional washing machine having the above mentioned configuration will be described.
When a wash cycle is begun, wash water is supplied into the tub 4 and drum 6 in accordance with the amount of clothes contained in the drum 6, along with detergent. In this state, the drum 6 is rotated in accordance with a drive force from the driving unit 8. As a result, a washing operation is carried out by virtue of a combination of an emulsification function of the detergent with frictional forces generated between the drum 6 and water flows in the drum 6.
When the heater 20 operates during the washing operation in accordance with an operating mode set by the user, the wash water supplied into the tub 4 and drum 6 is heated. That is, an increase in wash temperature is achieved, so that it is possible to easily remove stains from clothes.
After completion of the wash cycle, the wash water is drained. Fresh wash water is then again supplied into the tub 4 and drum 6. Simultaneously, the drum 6 is rotated to execute a rinse cycle. Finally, the drum 6 is rotated at high speed to execute a spin-dry cycle. Thus, the clothes are completely washed.
In the above mentioned conventional washing machine, wash water is supplied into the tub 4 and drum 6 through top portions thereof, and then permeates into clothes contained in the drum 6 to wet the clothes. On the other hand, the heater 20 is arranged at the bottom of the tub 4. For this reason, in a washing mode using wash water heated by the heater 20, the clothes contained in the drum 6 are wetted by cold wash water at an initial water supply stage without being wetted by hot wash water. As a result, the wetting speed of the clothes is low, so that the efficiency of the heater 20 is degraded.
In the conventional washing machine, the heater chamber 21 should be provided at the tub 4 in the form of a separate space to install the heater 20. In particular, the heater chamber 21 is provided by downwardly recessing a bottom portion of the tub 4. Due to such a structure, wash water supplied into the tub 4 unnecessarily fills the heater chamber 21, so that there is waste of wash water. Furthermore, detergent is also left in the heater chamber 21, so that there is waste of detergent.

Washing method in steam injection type washing machine


A diffuser adapted to dissipate air from seed conveyed in a stream of air at a planter to an opener arm and seed boot. The diffuser provides a housing that pivotally supports a counter-weighted valve piece and a resilient valve piece. Admitted seeds are resiliently deflected between the valve pieces. Repeated deflections between the dual valve pieces and simultaneous venting of the conveying air through an associated fulcrum screen and relief ports at the housing dissipate the conveying air. Spent seed momentarily collects on a surface inside the housing and gravitationally falls from the housing and through a lower lying seed boot at a relatively uniform, singulated rate without scatter and damage to the seed.

The present invention relates to air seeders and, in particular, to a diffuser for reducing air pressure at the distribution point of an air seeder to substantially zero to gravitationally deposit seed at a uniform preset soil depth and seed spacing.
A wide variety of agricultural seeders have been developed for planting seeds in prepared soil. A common seeder type found at relatively large farm operations is known as an "air drill" or "air seeder". Multiple openers (i.e. planting/fertilizing arms) are typically mounted to a tractor-towed framework. The openers are commonly supported at preferred row spacings to wings or arms that span multiple rows. The wings collapse (e.g. fold upward) to permit travel over roads and deploy from a collapsed travel condition to span the intended row spacing.
Each seeder typically provides an opener head or "seed boot arm" assembly to open and control the depth of each opened furrow. Associated controls and assemblies are included to clean each furrow (e.g. scraper member), tamp the planted seed (e.g. seed firming wheel), and close the furrow (e.g. packer wheel). The seed is dispensed from a covered hopper and an associated fan powered air distribution assembly. The seed is directed from the hopper, sorted and directed via appropriate conduits and tubing to individual distribution ports at relatively high pressures to dispense individual seeds in the prepared furrows.
A problem common to air seeders is that of delivering the seeds at relatively high air pressures and high velocities that cause the seeds to bounce in or around the furrows and/or out of the furrows and consequently produce inconsistent seed placement and germination. The seeds during delivery to the seed boot may also be damaged such that cracked or split seed may not successfully germinate.
One solution to the problem of which applicant is aware is promoted under the name "D-Cup Diffuser". The diffuser provides a conical housing having an internal spiral passageway that tapers from a large diameter input port to a narrowed diameter outlet port. Air borne seed is tangentially directed into the passageway at the input port. The conveying air is dissipated to the atmosphere at the input end of the diffuser. The seed is directed down through the spiral passageway and falls from the outlet port. The air pressure is dissipated until the seed falls only under the force of gravity.
A problem persists if the seed boot plugs with mud, debris or other matter during difficult planting times as the seeds then tend to follow the air stream and blow out the top of the device and producing skips in the planted field. Even though seed hose monitoring devices exist that alert an operator to a plugged delivery line, the operator typically is not alerted with sufficient lead time to correct the plugged condition since seeds are still flowing through the air/seed hose. Instead of being deposited into the furrow, the seeds are broadcast onto the top of the soil.
The present invention was developed to provide an alternative air diffusion assembly to gravity dispense seed from an air seeder. The diffuser includes a formed, resiliently mounted first valve piece in a tubular housing to reduce initial seed velocity. The seed deflects from the first valve piece to strike an associated second resiliently mounted valve piece. A screen fitted into a bore of the housing supports and cooperates with the first valve piece to produce multiple deflections of the seed between the valve pieces as air pressure is bled off. The first valve piece is mounted to pivot from the screen member and includes counter weight and deflection arm portions. Ultimately, the seed falls under the influence of gravity through a dispensing port.
A projecting flange or ledge piece exhibiting a half-moon shape adjacent the dispensing port momentarily collects the spent seed. The spent seed tends to fall from the flange at a relatively uniform, generally singulated rate into a prepared furrow with a spacing determined by the operating ground speed of the dispensing port. The seed particularly falls into a prepared furrow at a predetermined depth optimal to the growth of the particular seed.
The relative displacement between seeds of the gravity placed seed assures a relatively uniform germination with less loss and damage to the seed. If wet and/or muddy conditions exist at the time of planting and a seed boot plugs with mud, grass, crop or surface debris or the like, the diffuser of the invention simply keeps seed from blowing from the included vents. A warning device alerts the operator to a plugged run earlier than with other devices which permits the operator to stop and clean the plugged condition to avoid further crop spacing skips in the field being planted.


The present invention is to provide a catalyst for removing nitrogen oxides which is capable of keeping sufficient denitrification performance, i.e., a high removal rate of nitrogen oxides in exhaust gas having a high NO2 content especially under conditions where the ratio of NO2/NO in exhaust gas is 1 or higher, a catalyst molded product therefor, and an exhaust gas treating method. The catalyst is designed for removing nitrogen oxides, which is used to denitrify exhaust gas containing nitrogen oxides having a high NO2 content, which comprises: at least one kind of oxide selected from the group consisting of copper oxides, chromium oxides, and iron oxides as a component for reducing NO2 to No; and which further comprises: at least one kind of titanium oxide; at least one kind of tungsten oxide; and at least one kind of vanadium oxide as components for reducing NO to N2.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a catalyst for properly removing nitrogen oxides especially those having a high NO2 content, a catalyst molded product therefor, and an exhaust gas treating method.
Also, the present invention relates to a combined cycle power generation facility having an exhaust gas system provided with a catalyst for properly removing nitrogen oxides especially having a high CO2 content.
Generally, for nitrogen oxides contained in exhaust gas from a boiler etc., NO accounts for 80 to 90% by volume of the nitrogen oxides. As a denitrifying method for such exhaust gas, there is available a method in which a catalyst containing, for example, titanium (Ti), tungsten (W), or vanadium (V) as a main active component is used. In this denitrifying method, exhaust gas is caused to pass through the catalyst, and ammonia is added, by which denitrification is accomplished by the following reaction:4NO+4NH3+O2→4N2+6H2O  (i)
However, of various kinds of exhaust gases exhausted recently, exhaust gases from a gas turbine, diesel engine, and gas engine and further a chemical plant such as a nitrification plant, which have large fluctuations of load, sometimes have a higher NO2 content than the NO content. Under conditions where the NO2 content is high, especially under conditions where the ratio of NO2/NO is 1 or higher, a problem in that the function of the aforementioned catalyst is insufficient arises.
The catalyst for removing nitrogen oxides in accordance with Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. 1-151940 (No. 151940/1989) filed by the applicant for the present invention has been developed as a catalyst for decomposing NO2. However, this catalyst uses a composite oxide of copper and chromium, so that it is difficult to synthesize the oxide and also it is difficult to demonstrate reproducibility in terms of performance.
From the viewpoint of lowering air pollution, as a method for removing nitrogen oxides generated from a boiler and various combustion furnaces, a denitrifying method by catalytic reduction with ammonia, in which nitrogen oxides are decomposed into nitrogen and water in a contact manner with a catalyst by using ammonia as a reducing agent, has been used industrially as the most economical and efficient method. At present, many plants using this method are being operated.
As a catalyst used in this method, a tungsten oxide, vanadium oxide, molybdenum oxide, iron oxide, etc. are carried on a titanium oxide or an aluminum oxide. In the treatment of exhaust gas containing sulfur oxides, such as heavy oil or coal burning exhaust gas, a catalyst using a titanium oxide as a carrier is superior in terms of resistance to toxicity on sulfur oxides. At present, therefore, a titanium oxide-vanadium oxide-tungsten oxide catalyst is being used as an NOx removing catalyst (hereinafter referred to as denitrification catalyst) in many actual plants because it is excellent in performance and durability.
In a boiler, gas turbine, or gas turbine combined cycle for power generation, a load fluctuating operation is routinely performed according to a change in quantity of generated power. At high load time, there is no hindrance because almost all NOx in exhaust gas exists as NO, but at low load time, almost all NOx in exhaust gas exists as NO2. Therefore, a decrease in NOx removal efficiency of the denitrifier using a denitrification catalyst may frequently pose a problem of smoke color caused by increased concentration of NOx in stack outlet gas.
The inventors of the present invention experimentally analyzed the titanium oxide-vanadium oxide-tungsten oxide catalyst in a reaction between NO and NH3 expressed by the following formula (1), a reaction between NO2/NO mixing gas and NH3 expressed by formula (2), and a reaction between NO2 and NH3 expressed by formula (3).4NO+4NH3+O2→4N2+6H2O  (1)NO+NO2+2NH3→2N2+3H2O  (2)6NO2+8NH3→7N2+12H2O  (3)
As a result, it was revealed that in the case where the mole ratio of NO2/NO is 1 or higher or in the case of only NO2, the NOx removal efficiency of the conventional titanium oxide-vanadium oxide-tungsten oxide catalyst (hereinafter referred to as catalyst A) decreases significantly, and it was found that a titanium oxide-vanadium oxide-tungsten oxide-copper oxide/chromium oxide composite oxide (hereinafter referred to as catalyst B) that takes the place of catalyst A is effective (Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. 1-151940 (No. 151940/1989)).
In the gas turbine or gas turbine combined cycle, the NO2/NO mole ratio varies relatively widely corresponding to a load fluctuation. At a high load time, almost all NOx is NO and the amount of NO2 is small. On the other hand, at a low load time the amount of NO2 increases while the amount of NO is small.
Catalyst A of the conventional composition exhibits a high NOx removal rate when NO concentration is high and NO2 concentration is low. However, when NO2 concentration is high and NO concentration is low, the NOx removal rate decreases, so that the NOx removal rate in the case of high NO2/NO ratio is assumed in designing a denitrifier, so that the amount of catalyst increases, which is economically disadvantageous.
Catalyst B exhibits a high NOx removal rate regardless of variation in the NO2/NO ratio. However, catalyst B is more expensive than the conventional catalyst A. Therefore, to replace the conventional catalyst A with catalyst B by disposing of catalyst A is economically disadvantageous, so that some measures are demanded.
Also, when a denitrifier is already operating smoothly using catalyst A of the conventional composition in a state in which a decrease in catalyst performance is scarcely recognized and the catalyst can still be used continuously, measures for restraining the generation of an alarm about increased concentration of exhausted NOx caused by an increase in NO2 concentration at low load time are demanded while the existing denitrification catalyst is made use of to the utmost.


The invention provides a method and system for trading loans in real time by making loan applications, such as home mortgage loan applications, and placing them up for bid by a plurality of potential lenders. A transaction server maintains a database of pending loan applications and their statuses; each party to the loan can search and modify that database consistent with their role in the transaction, by requests to the server from a client device identified with their role. Brokers at a broker station can add loan applications, can review the status of loan applications entered by that broker, are notified of lender's bids on their loans, and can accept bids by lenders. Lenders at a lender station can search the database for particular desired types of loans, can sort selected loans by particular desired criteria, can bid on loan applications, and are notified when their bids are accepted. Broker stations, lender stations, and the transaction server can be coupled using multiple access methods, including internet, intranet, or dial-up or leased communication lines.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an interactive mortgage and loan information and real-time trading system.
2. Related Art
In the art of mortgage loans and mortgage brokering, a relatively large amount of information must be exchanged to conduct a loan transaction, such as a new home mortgage loan. In attempting to obtain a competitive loan for the borrower, or in attempting to maintain competitive rates for lenders to offer loans, this relatively large amount of information must be collected, compared, evaluated, and disseminated to possible counterparties to the transaction. The major parties include the borrower (and/or an agent such as a mortgage broker) and the lender; other parties can include appraisal agents, regulatory agencies, mortgage insurance companies, and secondary mortgage market participants.
In known practices, nearly all the information relating to a loan transaction is collected by hand, transmitted using paper applications, compared by human beings (whose responsibilities include loan evaluation, property appraisal, financial market evaluation, and setting of lending rates), and disseminated using paper "rate sheets" or similar advertising material. For example, a mortgage broker attempting to obtain a loan for a borrower might be required to interview that client, consult rate sheets from multiple lenders to determine appropriate lending programs which might be appropriate for that client, submit multiple applications (possibly on multiple different forms) to selected ones of those lenders, and await action on those applications before being able to advise that client. Similarly, a lender attempting to set lending rates might be required to examine the present interest rate market, determine the mix of qualified borrowers likely to apply, determine a set of lending programs and lending rates best suited to the market and the risk the lender is willing to bear, and periodically post rate sheets or similar advertising material to multiple mortgage brokers informing them of those lending programs and lending rates. Upon receiving a loan application, the lender might also be required to independently evaluate the creditworthiness of the borrower and the value of the underlying property.
As all of these operations are presently performed by hand, initiating loan transactions is relatively expensive. Although some forms of automation are known, such as uniform credit scoring for loan applications and automatic generation of loan application documents, there are no known systems in the field of mortgage lending for providing relatively automatic and widespread dissemination of loan application information or lending program information for automated comparison in real time. The fact that these operations are performed by hand, rather than with the aid of computer processing, also limits the flexibility of the parties to the transaction. For borrowers, it is relatively difficult to compare more than a relatively few lending programs. For lenders, it is relatively difficult to select anything but a relatively simple set of lending categories for prospective borrowers. It is also practically impossible for lenders to experiment with new products without broadcasting knowledge of those new products to a wide population, including their competitors.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide a method and system for automating loan applications, such as home mortgage loan applications, placing them up for bid by a plurality of potential lenders, and following those loans using a technique for managing such loan applications and bids. This advantage is achieved in an embodiment of the invention in which a database server maintains a database of pending loan applications and their statuses; each party to the loan can search and modify that database consistent with their role in the transaction, by requests to the server from a client device identified with their role.

Interactive mortgage and loan information and real-time trading system


A fixing device includes a fixing belt, a pressure member, and a heating section. The heating section faces an inner circumferential surface of the fixing belt. The heating section includes a heater and a heater holding member. The heater heats the fixing belt. The heater holding member holds the heater. The heater holding member has a first side surface, a second side surface, and an inclined slit. The first and second side surfaces are in contact with the inner circumferential surface. The first side surface has the inclined slit. The inclined slit is located in the first side surface in a direction of a rotational axis of the fixing belt. The inclined slit has one end on a side of the pressure member and the other end on an opposite side to the side of the pressure member. The other end is located nearer a middle (center) of the first side surface in the direction of the rotational axis than the one end.

The present disclosure relates to a fixing device and an image forming apparatus.
An electrographic image forming apparatus includes a fixing device that fixes a toner image to paper. A fixing device includes a belt, a pressure member, a heat source, a nip forming member, and a heat transfer auxiliary member.
The belt is flexible and has an endless shape. The pressure member faces the belt and passively rotates the belt. The heat source is placed in an inner part of the belt. The nip forming member is placed inside the belt and forms a fixing nip between the belt and the pressure member. The heat transfer auxiliary member covers a surface of the nip forming member facing the belt.
When the belt is rotated by the pressure member, the belt and the nip forming member are rubbed. The belt and the nip forming member are rubbed, thereby generating friction powder. The friction powder mixes with a lubricating oil. The lubricating oil adheres to an inner circumferential surface of the belt. The lubricating oil reduces friction between the belt and the nip forming member. When the friction powder mixes with the lubricating oil, viscosity of the lubricating oil increases. When the viscosity of the lubricating oil increases, lubrication performance of the lubricating oil decreases. When the performance of the lubricating oil decreases, the friction between the belt and the nip forming member increases. Such an increase in the friction between the belt and the nip forming member causes an increase in torque for rotating the belt.
With a second lubricating oil placed inside the belt, the fixing device drops the second lubricating oil on the inner circumferential surface of the belt. The fixing device adds the lubricating oil on the inner circumferential surface of the belt, thereby preventing an increase in viscosity of the lubricating oil and an increase in torque for rotating the belt.

Fixing device having heater holding member with inclined slits


A control device actuates actuator unit to set a position of an optical element of a lithography system. The control device includes an amplifier unit for providing a control signal for the actuator unit via a voltage signal and a PWM signal. The PWM signal has a duty factor and a clock frequency. The control device also includes a modulator unit designed to provide the PWM signal having the duty factor and a defined clock frequency from a plurality of defined clock frequencies. A defined clock frequency of the plurality of defined clock frequencies is an integer multiple of a basic clock frequency. The basic clock frequency is in the range of 10 kHz to 1 MHz.

By way of example, lithography apparatuses are used in the production of integrated circuits or ICs for imaging a mask pattern in a mask onto a substrate such as e.g. a silicon wafer. In so doing, a light beam generated by an optical system is directed through the mask onto the substrate.
In this case, the representable feature size depends greatly on the light wavelength used. In order to attain particularly small structures, it is desirable to use radiation of particularly short wavelength. EUV lithography apparatuses use light having a wavelength in the range of 5 nm to 30 nm, in particular 13.5 nm. "EUV" denotes "extreme ultraviolet". In the case of such lithography apparatuses, owing to the high absorption of light of this wavelength by most materials, reflective optical units, that is to say mirrors, have to be used instead of refractive optical units, that is to say lens elements. Moreover, the housing in which the imaging optical unit is situated has to be evacuated since even the presence of a gas can result in great absorption of the radiation.
The smaller the feature size striven for, the better the resolution of the imaging optical unit should be. In this case, there are many variable influences that can impair the resolution, for example oscillations, vibrations and/or thermal effects which affect optical properties of optical elements. Such variable influences can be at least partly compensated for using suitable measures. Wavefront manipulators are known, for example, which can correct imaging aberrations via a targeted displacement of optical elements. The displacement is effected in particular via an actuator assigned to the respective optical element.
For actuating optical elements in lithography apparatuses, switching amplifiers are often used since the latter have a lower power loss by comparison with linear amplifiers, for example, which overall offers positive effects on the system design, in particular with regard to the electrical power supplied and the heat to be dissipated. Switching amplifiers are electronic components that generate an output signal, for example a control voltage for an actuator, from two input signals. The input signals are, for example, a PWM signal (PWM: pulse width modulation) and a constant voltage signal. The PWM signal is a piecewise periodic signal having two levels per period, such as, for example, on/off, −0.5/+0.5 or 0/1, which signal has a duty ratio. The value of the duty ratio corresponds to the duration of the first level in relation to the duration of a total period. The inverse of the total period is referred to as the clock frequency of the PWM signal. The output signal corresponds approximately to the product of the constant voltage signal and the PWM signal. Such a rectangular output signal has a mean value over time that scales approximately linearly with the duty ratio of the PWM signal. If this output signal is used as a control signal for an actuator whose frequency bandwidth is smaller than the clock frequency of the PWM signal, then the actuator behaves as if it were actuated by a DC voltage signal corresponding to the mean value of the rectangular output signal of the switching amplifier. Different mean values of the output signal can therefore be obtained by varying the duty ratio.
However, switching amplifiers can, for example, involve a ripple current in the supply line, a ripple voltage at the output, a power loss dependent on clock frequency and duty ratio, a limited bandwidth of the settable duty ratios and a limited bandwidth of the possible clock frequencies. A ripple current is also referred to as ripple of the current. The ripple current can also occur within the switching amplifier, which can have a disadvantageous effect on operation.

Control device for actuating an actuator unit of a lithography system, lithography system having a control device, and method for operating the control device


A flip-flop circuit comprises a pass gate, a feedback inverter, and an interleaved filter. The pass gate comprises a clock input and an inverting clock input. The feedback inverter includes a feedback input coupled to both the clock input and the inverting clock input of the pass gate. The interleaved filter comprises a delay circuit including a delay output, a C-gate element, and a blocking inverter. The C-gate element includes a C-gate input and a C-gate output. The C-gate input is coupled to the delay output of the delay circuit and the pass gate, and the C-gate output is coupled to the feedback input of the feedback inverter. The blocking inverter includes a blocking input and a blocking output. The blocking input is coupled to the delay output of the delay circuit, and the blocking output is coupled to the feedback input of the feedback inverter.

There is an ongoing demand for decreasing the power density, especially in high performance digital application specific integrated circuits (ASIC) as well as mixed-signal system-on-chip (SOC) that are used in space applications. As a result, various spatial and redundancy techniques used to mitigate single event effects (SEE) caused by energetic particles may exacerbate these power density concerns. A single event upset (SEU) is a radiation-induced error that is caused when charged particles (usually from the radiation belts or from cosmic rays) lose energy by ionizing the medium through which they pass. A SEE in a flip-flop may flip the data stored in a flip-flop, causing a SEU. It is to be appreciated that a SEE in logic gates creates single event transients (SETs) that may be captured by flip-flops.
Spatial redundancy techniques may be used to reduce susceptibility to SEUs. For example, a triple modular redundancy (TMR) flip-flop may provide improved SEU tolerance. In this approach, three flip-flops hold copies of the data, and a majority voter may overcome an upset in a flip-flop. However, this approach also requires three times as much power as an unhardened flip-flop. In addition to spatial redundancy techniques, transient filters may also be used to reduce or eliminate transients that are generated in the logic preceding the flip-flop. However, the addition of one or more redundant flip-flops and transient filters also increases power consumption and reduces performance significantly.
In another approach, a radiation hardened interleaved filter may be used to mitigate SEUs that are caused by events in the flip-flop as well as SETs due to events in the data path. The interleaved filter does not create a SET unless a radiation particle interacts with both nodes that are part of the interleaved filter. However, this type of filtered flip-flop is designed for silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technologies and may not be effective with devices that do not include a buried insulating layer, such as bulk fin field-effect transistor (FinFET) technologies.

Radiation hardened flip-flop circuit for mitigating single event transients


A lighting module comprises a first light source, a second light source and a phosphor element is provided. The first light source emits a first exciting light. The second light source emits a second exciting light. The phosphor element converts the first exciting light and the second exciting light to an emission light. The first exciting light and the second exciting light are input to the phosphor element in different directions of incidence.

For many lighting device utilizing optical fiber, in particular for endoscopy, microscopy and medical headlamps, lighting module with high lumen output as well as high brightness are necessary. Traditionally, Xenon short-arc discharge lamps with power input of several 100 W, embedded in optical reflectors, have been used. Due to the relatively high input power, limited lifetime with shifting luminous properties and adverse thermal impact on illuminated targets, there has been growing demand for alternative, more energy efficient light sources.

Lighting module and optical fiber lighting device using the same

INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH INSTITUTE


A disk scheduling system with bounded request reordering. Disk access requests may be performed during traversals of a disk head across a disk. Each traversal may have a specified direction of motion. A plurality of disk accesses may be performed during a disk head traversal. The overall number of disk access requests for a given disk head traversal may be limited to a maximum number N. By limiting the number of disk requests for each traversal, a bound may effectively be placed on the amount of time it takes to satisfy any single disk request.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to computer data storage and server systems, and more particularly to digital video/audio storage and playback systems supporting multiple continuous media streams.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
Multimedia or video server systems are used in a variety of applications for the storage and playback of video, audio or other multimedia data streams. For example, multimedia servers may be used for broadcast, cable or satellite solutions to distribute multimedia information to clients or consumers. Professional broadcasters and associated service providers, such as networks and affiliates or cable providers, may employ digital video servers to support high bandwidth multimedia broadcast applications including multi-channel program playout, ad insertion, and digital content management. Other applications for multimedia server systems may include computer-based training in which multimedia training materials or lectures may be stored on the server system accessed by students over a network or the internet.
Video archiving, browsing and retrieval is another multimedia server application. Various movies may be stored by the server and distributed to users upon request. Video-on-demand or video delivery systems may enable a plurality of users or viewers to selectively watch movies or other audio/video sequences which are stored on one or more video servers or media servers. The video servers may be connected through data transfer channels, such as a broadcast cable system, satellite broadcast system or the internet, to the plurality of users or subscribers. The video servers may store a plurality of movies or other audio/video sequences, and each user can select one or more movies from the video servers for viewing. Each user may include a television or other viewing device, as well as associated decoding logic, for selecting and viewing desired movies. When a user selects a movie, the selected movie may be transferred on one of the data transfer channels to the viewing device of the respective user. Multimedia servers are also found in webcasting applications in which entertainment may be multicast on the internet to different subscribers. Multimedia servers are found in numerous other applications as well.
To meet the demands of many different applications and users, it is desirable for a multimedia server system to provide flexibility and extensibility. Two important requirements for a multimedia server system are storage space and file system bandwidth. Multimedia data, such as full-motion digital video, requires a large amount of storage and data transfer bandwidth. Thus, multimedia systems use various types of video compression algorithms to reduce the amount of necessary storage and data transfer bandwidth. In general, different video compression methods exist for still graphic images and for full-motion video. Video compression methods for still graphic images or single video frames may be intraframe compression methods, and compression methods for motion video may be interframe compression methods.
Examples of video data compression for still graphic images are RLE (Run-Length Encoding) and JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) compression. Although JPEG compression was originally designed for the compression of still images rather than video, JPEG compression is used in some motion video applications. Most video compression algorithms are designed to compress full motion video. Examples of video compression techniques are MPEG (Moving Pictures Experts Group), MPEG-2, DVI (Digital Video Interactive) and Indeo, among others.
Even with the use of compression techniques, multimedia applications may still require extremely large amounts of storage. For example, two hours of video encoded at 1 Mb per second may require roughly one gigabyte (1 GB) of storage. A system supporting numerous different content may require up to several terabytes (TB) of storage. The server system must also be able to provide enough bandwidth for the various users to access selected multimedia content without overloading the storage system. For example, to support 100 simultaneous subscribers viewing multimedia content encoded at 1 Mb per second, a server may need to support a bandwidth in excess of 100 Mb per second when allowing for overhead. If enough bandwidth is not available, then some requests may have to be denied, or the play quality may suffer (video may run too slowly or may appear xe2x80x9cjerkyxe2x80x9d). To meet such storage and bandwidth needs, a multimedia server may utilize one or more RAID (Redundant Array of Inexpensive Drives) storage systems. In a RAID system, for a given multimedia file, blocks of multimedia data may be stored across multiple hard disk units. The blocks may be read out or transferred to the communication network and transmitted or broadcast to the user or users. At the receiving end the blocks may be decoded for user viewing on a display device.
The disks of each hard disk unit may also be considered as being divided into zones. Since they are physically larger, tracks in zones at the outer disk contain more sectors than tracks in zones near the rotational axis of the disk. Therefore, assuming the disks rotate with a constant velocity, the data bandwidth available from the outer most zones is greater than the data bandwidth available from the innermost zones. Even with modem hard disk drives, there can be a 2-1 variation between worst case and average case disk transfer bandwidth due to sectors/track variations between outer and inner zones.
Many multimedia applications require continuous media streams in which data streams must be delivered at a specified and possibly time-varying data rates and with a specified uniformity of that delivery rate. In some cases, the uniformity of the delivery rate may be adversely affected by the algorithm used to satisfy disk access requests. The use of a xe2x80x9cfirst-come, first-servedxe2x80x9d disk access algorithm may not always be the most efficient way to satisfy disk requests, as motion of the read-write head (used to access information from the disk) may be less than optimal. Some optimization of head motion may be realized through the use of algorithms that re-order the disk requests. In such re-ordering algorithms, disk requests may be satisfied in an order different from the order in which they were made. One such re-ordering algorithm is known as an xe2x80x9celevatorxe2x80x9d algorithm. In one typical elevator algorithm, the head of the disk storage system sweeps from the outer disk to the inner disk, satisfying and queued disk request along the way, and then reversing direction. While this algorithm may allow for more efficient motion of the read-write head, highly non-uniform access times may still be present, as newly arriving requests may be satisfied prior to previously queued requests. A large number of newly arriving requests may cause long delays in satisfying previously queued requests.
Non-uniform disk access times may be detrimental to many applications, particularly multimedia applications. For example, video playback from a disk storage system may appear erratic when disk access times are non-uniform. Audio playback may be affected in a similar manner. As such, the quality of a multimedia presentation accessed from a disk storage system with non-uniform access times may suffer.
The problems outlined above may in large part be solved by a system and method of bounded disk request reordering in accordance with the present invention. In one embodiment, disk access requests may be performed during traversals of a disk head across a disk. Each traversal may have a specified direction of motion. A plurality of disk accesses may be performed during a disk head traversal. In some cases, disk accesses may be performed in an order different from the order in which the original disk access requests were received. The overall number of disk access requests for a given disk head traversal may be limited to a maximum number N. By limiting the number of disk requests for each traversal, a bound may effectively be placed on the amount of time it takes to satisfy any single disk request, despite any reordering. Disk head motion may be optimized as well.
In a further embodiment, a disk storage system maintains a list of disk head traverses, known as a traversal list. Each traverse includes several components. The first component of a traverse is a variable for the direction of disk head motion for a given traverse, and may be given a value of xe2x80x9clow-to-highxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9chigh-to-lowxe2x80x9d. In effect, this variable determines whether a given traverse will read from the outer portion of the disk to the inner portion, or vice versa. The second component of the traverse is an ordered list of disk access requests (the disk request list) which are to be satisfied during the given traverse. The third component of a traverse is a variable indicating the number of disk requests in the disk request list. This variable is bounded to a maximum value (xe2x80x9cNxe2x80x9d) in order to limit the number of disk requests that may be satisfied for a given traverse. A fourth component of a traverse is the Boolean variable xe2x80x9cActivexe2x80x9d. The active variable may be set to a value of false prior to conducting the traverse, and may become true when the traverse is in effect. The final component of a traverse is the current disk block address, or the disk address at which the disk head is located at a given instant in time. Since the direction of motion of the disk head alternates with each new traversal, the number of traverses in the traversal list may be constrained to be even.
The system of one embodiment may perform two algorithms, a queuing algorithm for queuing incoming disk requests, and an execution algorithm for satisfying the queued requests. The queuing algorithm performs the function of placing a newly arrived disk request into a traverse of the traversal list. The newly arrived request may be placed into the disk request list of an active traverse (active=true) or a pending traverse (active=false). The execution algorithm carries out the queued requests of each traverse of the traversal list.
The structure of the algorithms may allow for optimization of disk head motion and more uniform disk access times, despite any reordering. Since the number of disk requests for a given traverse is bounded by a maximum value (xe2x80x9cNxe2x80x9d), the amount of time to satisfy a given disk request may be bounded as well. In effect, the system utilizes an elevator algorithm with a bounded maximum delay for a given disk request.
Thus, in various embodiments, the system and method of bounded disk request reordering may allow disk requests to be reordered and satisfied within specified bounds. This may result in an optimization of disk head motion, and furthermore, allow for more uniform disk access times. The uniformity of disk access times may make the system more suitable for certain applications in which a relatively steady data stream is required. As such, the system may be particularly suited for use with various multimedia applications.

Disk scheduling system with bounded request reordering


A lead adapter is disclosed which includes a connector portion having a connector configured for reception by an electrical stimulation device and a receptacle portion electrically connected to the connector portion and having at least two receptacles for operatively accepting lead connectors, wherein at least one of the receptacles of the receptacle portion is configured to operatively accept a different type of lead connector than another receptacle of the receptacle portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The subject invention is directed generally to adapters for electrical stimulation leads, and more particularly, to adapters for connecting cardiac leads to electrical therapeutic and/or diagnostic devices such as cardiac pacemakers and/or defibrillators.
2. Background of the Related Art
Electrical stimulation devices for cardiac and neurological stimulation are well known in the medical filed. Cardiac stimulation devices are used for therapeutic and/or diagnostic purposes. These devices, which include cardiac pacemakers and implantable cardiac defibrillators, generally interface with cardiac tissue by means of implantable or otherwise attachable cardiac leads. These leads employ connector portions to operatively connect with matching receptacles located in the therapeutic and/or diagnostic devices.
In operation, electrical therapeutic and/or diagnostic devices for the heart send and/or receive electrical signals from heart tissue. These signals are carried to and from the devices through conductors which form part of the cardiac leads. In order to properly conduct the signals, the cardiac leads must make proper electrical contact with the electrical therapeutic and/or diagnostic devices.
Connectors typically include one or more electrical contact points or poles, to communicate signals between the electrical therapeutic and/or diagnostic device and the leads to which it is connected. These poles are either anodic or cathodic. Anodic poles are generally relatively positive in polarity and cathodic poles are generally relatively negative in polarity.
Connectors are available in various configurations which are often of standardized types readily recognized by those practicing in the art. Connector types may differ from one another in connector diameter, connector length, connector shape, placement of electrical contact points and other geometric or functional properties. It is well understood by those practicing in the art that connectors of one type cannot directly connect to receptacles designed to operatively accept a different type of connector. Receptacle type is thus determined by the connector type which the receptacle may operatively accept.
Common connector types well known in the art currently include: IS-I type (International Standard ISO 5841.3:1992) pacing/sensing connectors which have a 3.2 mm diameter and are available in unipolar or bipolar configurations; LV-1 type pacing/sensing connectors which have a 1.8 mm diameter and are available in unipolar and bipolar configurations (Guidant Corporation); and DF-1 type (International Standard ISO 11318:1993) defibrillator connectors which have a unipolar configuration.
Some leads, such as those used in conjunction with implantable cardiac defibrillator (ICD leads), employ multiple connectors. For example, leads are known which employ one or two DF-1 type connectors and one or two IS-1 type connectors, all of which are combined at a yoke portion of the lead.
It is envisioned that other standardized and non-standardized connector types may be developed and utilized in the future as new materials and fabrication techniques are introduced and as specific needs of practitioners change. For example, IS-4 type connectors are being introduced which combine two unipolar DF-1 type connectors and one bipolar IS-1 type connector in a single connector. IS-3 type connectors have also been considered, but have not become standardized.
It is often desirable to utilize more than one lead in conjunction with a single receptacle of an electrical therapeutic and/or diagnostic device. In order to do so, practitioners in the relevant art utilize connection adapters, which generally consist of a connector portion and a receptacle portion. These devices are generally designed to work with only a single connector type; that is, the receptacle portions of these devices are adapted to operatively accept only one type of connector. Utilizing the devices currently known in the art, practitioners are unable to utilize multiple leads having different connector types with a single receptacle of an electrical therapeutic and/or diagnostic device. It would be beneficial therefore, to provide an adapter configured in such a manner so as to enable practitioners to utilize stimulation leads with different types of connectors concurrently with a single receptacle of an electrical therapeutic and/or diagnostic device.
When utilizing two or more cardiac leads with an adapter, it is often desirable to delay the transmission of electrical signals to one or more of the leads connected to the adapter. For example, adapters of the present invention are used in some instances for bi-ventricular pacing or re-synchronization of the right and left ventricles in the treatment of congestive heart failure. In these applications, practitioners sometimes desire to introduce a predetermined delay in the delivery of the pacing energy (i.e., the electrical signal) from the electrical therapeutic device to the heart tissue via one or more cardiac leads.
It would therefore be beneficial to provide an adapter having circuitry for programmatically delaying the transmission of electrical signals from the electrical therapeutic and/or diagnostic device to one or more of the cardiac leads connected to the adapter, thereby permitting practitioners to control the sequence and timing of the transmission of signals to one or more cardiac leads.

Adapter for electrical stimulation leads