A solid-state image sensor comprises a semiconductor substrate of a first conductivity type having a color pixel region and a black pixel region; a first well of the first conductivity type formed in the color pixel region; a second well of the first conductivity type formed in the black pixel region; a third well of a second conductivity type formed, surrounding the second well and isolating the second well from the rest region of the semiconductor substrate; a color pixel formed in the first well in the color pixel region and including a first photodiode and a first read transistor for reading a signal generated by the first photodiode; and a black pixel formed in the second well in the black pixel region and including a second photodiode and a second read transistor for reading a signal generated by the second photodiode. The first well includes a first buried impurity doped layer of the first conductivity type formed in a bottom thereof in a region where the first read transistor is formed. The second well includes a second buried impurity doped layer of the first conductivity type formed in a bottom thereof in a region where the second photodiode is formed and a region where the second read transistor is formed.

The present invention relates to a solid-state image sensor formed of CMOS and a method for fabricating the same.
As a solid-state image sensor using semiconductor materials, an image sensor formed of CMOS (CMOS image sensor) is known.
The CMOS image sensor includes a pixel unit shielded from light, which are called a black pixel unit (also optical black unit) in addition to a light receiving unit of color pixel unit. The black pixel unit is for generating a reference value of a pixel signal in a dark state for the prevention of changes of a signal level due to temperature changes, etc. Accordingly, it is preferable that the black pixel unit is formed isolatable from noises of the surroundings (the color pixel unit and peripheral circuits).
The structure of the conventional solid-state image sensor will be explained with reference to FIGS. 29A and 29B. FIG. 29A is a plan view of the conventional solid-state image sensor, which shows the structure thereof. FIG. 29B is a diagrammatic sectional view of the conventional solid-state image sensor, which shows the structure thereof.
As shown in FIG. 29A, a black pixel array unit 102 is disposed around a color pixel array unit 100 which is a light receiving unit. As shown in FIG. 29B, elements (e.g., photodiodes 104C) forming the color pixel array unit 100 are formed in a p-well 112 formed in a silicon substrate 110. As shown in FIG. 29B, elements (e.g., photodiodes 104B) forming the black pixel array unit 102 are formed in a double well (or a triple well), i.e., a p-well 116 isolated from the silicon substrate 110 by an n-well 114. A shield layer 118 is formed, covering in the color pixel array unit 100 the region other than the regions where the photodiodes are formed, and covering the entire surface of the black pixel array unit 102.
The black pixel array unit 102 is formed in the double well as shown in FIG. 29B, whereby the black pixel array unit 102 can be electrically completely isolated from the color pixel array unit 100 and peripheral circuits (not shown), and the produced images can have high quality.
The solid-state image sensor having the black pixel array unit formed in the double well is described in, e.g., Reference 1 (Japanese published unexamined patent application No. 2002-329854).

Solid-state image sensor and method for fabricating the same


A mobile bed scale is contemplated which lifts the entire bed with patient in situ on a load platform with a non-slip surface. The scale minimizes both vertical and horizontal displacement. The platform has load cells which deliver data to a memory and display device. The invention is portable and partly foldable to aid in storage. It provides for recharging if desired, and for use of an auxiliary power source if desired.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention is a mobile hospital bed scale which slides under a hospital or nursing bed, with patient in situ. With a minimum of disturbance of the patient, a person operated the mobile hospital bed scale to lift the entire bed slightly, with patient in place, as opposed to lifting the patient apart from the bed, and as opposed to implanting the scale in the bed. The mobile hospital bed scale is used to determine the weight of bed and patient. If a memory device is programmed with the tare weight of the bed, the patient's weight can be determined, or stored for future recall and reference. The mobile hospital bed scale is portable and can be moved from bed to bed.
2. Description of Related Art
Weighing bedridden hospital patients is a time consuming and unpleasant task. An obvious and unpleasant way to weigh patients is to put a sling underneath them, and hoist them by a spring scale. This disturbs the patient. Foster et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,672,849 is a variation on this theme and contemplates building the bed with a patient support built on a frame that can be raised and lowered on the bed. This requires the adaptation of all hospital beds to this scale, which is expensive. The present invention avoids that bed-by-bed expense and the disturbance of the patient.
In Stultz et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,006,789, the inventor proposes to slide a horizontal table under the patient and then weigh the patient. The necessary tipping or related movement of the patient to get the scale underneath the patient is sometimes referred to as "log-rolling." Not only does the invention disturb the patient, but the invention is somewhat bulky and takes up more storage space than the present invention. Swersey et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,487,276, Dec. 11, 1984 attempts to eliminate some of the bulk by having a tip-up platform, but still requires sliding a horizontal table under the patient to weigh the patient. Hay et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,319,817 Jun. 14, 1994 also contemplates a tip-up, fold-up horizontal platform slid under the patient. Both the sling and the horizontal table inventions require substantial movement of the patient. Such movement is one of the largest sources of disability injury to employees of ambulatory care facilities. Other patents such as Eisen, U.S. Pat. No. 5,612,515, Mar. 18, 1997, are of the same genre.
Swersey, U.S. Pat. No. 4,793,428, Dec. 27, 1988, is entitled "Hospital Bed with an Integrated Scale." As the name suggests the scale is in the bed. Weighing patients is very important and needs to be done for bedridden patients approximately once per day. The expense of equipping an entire ambulatory facility with such beds and bed scales is substantial. That expense for multiple beds is eliminated by the present invention.
Stith et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,589,989, Apr. 29, 1986 contemplates a scale mounted on and in a bed frame. The invention appears intended for acute care. Koerber, Sr., U.S. Pat. No. 4,961,470, Oct. 9, 1990 also contemplates a weighing mechanism as part of the bed. The Stith and Koerber inventions are not practical for large multiple bed facilities because, again, weighing patients is very important and needs to be done for bedridden patients approximately once per day. The expense of equipping an entire ambulatory facility with such beds and bed scales is substantial. That expense for multiple beds is eliminated by the present invention. Other patents such as Bumbalough, U.S. Pat. No. 5,393,938 are of the same genre.
Carruth et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,974,692, Dec. 4, 1990 contemplated a weigh bed with two frames, but contemplates that there will be a weigh frame associated with each bed. The frame is not adapted to be used with multiple types of beds. Carruth et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,173,977, Dec. 29, 1992 also contemplated using a load cell, but not in a combination as facile or designed like the present invention.
Hasty et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,393,935 takes a different approach by having multiple slats slid under a mattress with load cells on each end. It still requires patient movement and does not appear to contemplate a memory device for the tare weight of the mattress or for the patient weight.
Waters et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,669,136 falls in the same genre as the Stith invention as an in-bed weighing device.
Swersey et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,281,730, has an "under bed" scale which achieves many of the patient care objects of this invention and relieves a source of disability injury. However, that bed scale requires a pair of scales onto which the bed is rolled.
The present invention eliminates any patient movement with respect to the bed. The present invention only requires a small vertical movement of the bed on the platform sufficient to allow the platform to bear the weight of the patient and bed, which can be two inches of vertical lift of the bed or less. The platform is preferably designed with a non-skid surface to promote safety and stability.
Previous to this particular invention, the inventors had developed an initial model of the invention to review its potential attributes and experiment with it. That model was very simply a motorcycle lift with a platform with load cells placed on it. The motorcycle lift had a pivot mechanism with some horizontal displacement as the platform was raised. That model had to be dragged into position. That model utilized a plug-in power source for a lifting mechanism for a hospital bed which raised issues of electrical discharge in an environment where patients might be on oxygen. The model required a user to stoop, and therefore was not ergonomically efficient for use. The model of the invention took too much personnel time to raise the bed. The model required a reset of tare weight for each weighing. Use of the model was abandoned. Thereafter, this invention was designed which achieves the objects set forth in the objects of the invention.


A method to increase the hot carcass weight of a meat-producing animal. The method orally administers Vitamin C to a meat-producing animal between about 2 and about 48 hours prior to harvest. The animal is then harvested and a hot carcass is prepared from that harvested animal.

Stress can be associated with gathering, movement, weather, noise, or any activity that tends to increase fear and/or anxiety. Regarding meat production livestock, the harvest of those animals comprises a major incidence of anxiety and stress. Such pre-harvest stress results in decreased meat quality, sometimes referred to as "dark cutting" meat. One embodiment of Applicants' method reduces the incidence of "dark cutting" meat, reduces cellular weep post harvest, and increases the dressing percent of cattle.
A phenomenon often called "dark cutting" costs the Beef industry about $5.81 per head marketed, or about $162,000,000 in the year 2000. It impacts the 3% of the cattle marketed. One embodiment of the present invention comprises a composition administered pre-harvest to animals to reduce the occurrence of dark-cutting meat. Such meat-producing animals include, for example, ruminants such as bovine, ovine, and caprine animals. The invention further relates to methods to administer Applicants' composition, where those methods include adding Applicants' composition to the animal's feed, direct oral administration, and/or nasal administration.
The phenomenon of transformation of muscle into meat after slaughtering animals rests on glycogenolysis, which results in the accumulation of lactic acid in the muscle fiber. The pH of the muscle decreases to reach values normally less than 6. It is known, however, that for certain muscles an anomaly exists in the acidification process after death, which is manifested by a failure of the pH of the meat product to eventually decrease to less than 6. These continuously high-pH meats are recognizable by their deep red color, sometimes almost black, which justifies their being named as dark-cutting meat, or DFD meats (Dry, Firm, Dark).
This phenomenon of high-pH is explained particularly by a premature exhaustion of the stock of muscle glycogen before slaughter, which results in an insufficient lactic acid level, and hence, an insufficient lowering of the pH: the latter is then greater than or equal to 6. The post-mortem biochemical reactions which arise there from are responsible for the mediocre quality of this meat.
In fact, apart from the color, the high-pH has other unfavorable consequences on the meat, such as considerable water retention capacity, mediocre organoleptic properties and especially poor preservation. It is well established that dark-cutting meats are considered defective, and are subject to notable commercial depreciation. They represent, therefore, an economic problem prejudicial to the meat industry.
The exhaustion of the stock of glycogen, recognized as being at the origin of the occurrence of these dark-cutting meats, is principally due to stress and to the physical efforts of the animal before slaughter. Various studies have enabled preventive measures to be discovered against the occurrence of dark-cutting meats, which measures seek to control the extrinsic factors causing stress in the animal, and consequently, excessive consumption of muscular glycogen.
These measures consist particularly in not mixing animals of diverse origin, of optimizing the conditions of unloading, reducing the transport time as well as the stalling at the abattoir. However such measures, even if they contribute to limiting the causes of the appearance of dark-cutting meat, have not eliminated this phenomenon.
The American system will penalize black cutter (black color) beef by no more than one full grade (i.e. Prime to Choice, Choice to Select, or Select to Standard). Dark cutter (dark color) beef will be discounted by less than one full grade (i.e. High Choice to Low Choice). It is therefore possible for dark colored beef to be graded Choice, Select, or Standard in the United States. The Canadian grading system will automatically remove all dark cutter beef from the four high quality grades (A/AA/AAA/Prime) to the B4 grade.
What is needed is a composition, and method using that composition, that increases the weight of saleable meat products from meat-producing animals, minimizes the cellular weep of those meat products harvest, and increases the water content of those meat products.

Composition and method to improve quality and yield of meat products


A mobile terminal for displaying a contact item and a control method thereof are provided. The mobile terminal includes: a display unit configured to display a plurality of contact items; a controller configured to designate a selected contact item as a representative contact item when any one of the contact items is selected, and designate a selected different contact item as a subordinate contact item when the different contact item is selected from among the contact items, and merge contact information corresponding to the subordinate contact item into contact information corresponding to the representative contact item when a control command for merging contact information is detected, wherein the controller disposes the subordinate contact item such that it is adjacent to the representative contact item.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mobile terminal and, more particularly, to a mobile terminal capable of displaying a contact item and a control method thereof.
Description of the Related Art
In general, terminals may be divided into a mobile terminal and stationary terminal according to whether or not terminals are movable. In addition, mobile terminals may be divided into a handheld terminal and a vehicle mount terminal according to whether or not users can directly carry it around.
As such functions become more diversified, the mobile terminal can support more complicated functions such as capturing images or video, reproducing music or video files, playing games, receiving broadcast signals, and the like. By comprehensively and collectively implementing such functions, the mobile terminal may be embodied in the form of a multimedia player or device. Efforts are ongoing to support and increase the functionality of mobile terminals. Such efforts include software and hardware improvements, as well as changes and improvements in the structural components which form the mobile terminal.
On the strength of the improvement, a terminal may display contact items. Here, the terminal may display a plurality of contact items of the same counterpart (i.e., the same person). In this case, the terminal may display all of a contact item including a phone number, a contact item including a social networking service address, and a contact item including a mail address. However, if contact items of the same counterpart, among a plurality of contact items displayed on the display unit, are dispersedly disposed, a user cannot easily view the contact items of the same counterpart at a glance.

Mobile terminal and control method thereof


A method for preparing hydrophobic gold nanoparticles includes adding 1,2-dichlorobenzene as a solvent to gold precursor and using oleylamine and oleic acid with volume ratio of 7.5:2.5 to 5:5 as surfactants. The size of the prepared gold nanoparticles can be controlled over a broad range and may be utilized in various fields such as bio-imaging, photonic crystallization, sensors, organic catalysts, surface enhanced raman spectrum, electronic devices, etc. Further, a method for colorimetric detection of a strong acid uses hydrophilic nanoparticles that are phase transited from the prepared hydrophobic gold nanoparticles. Up to 5 ppm of low content hydrochloric acid can be detected utilizing phase transited hydrophilic nanoparticles in the colorimetric detection method, and the gold nanoparticles that were used in the detection of strong acid can be reused without loss of activity through neutralization with bases.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for preparing size-controlled gold nanoparticles and a colorimetric detection method of strong acid using them, and more particularly, to a method for preparing hydrophobic gold nanoparticles, capable of controlling sizes of particles over a broad range by preparing gold nanoparticles with regulating volume ratio of two types of surfactant, and a colorimetric detection method of strong acid, capable of detecting up to low content hydrochloric acid of 5 ppm by utilizing the phase transited hydrophilic nanoparticles in colorimetric detection for detecting aqueous strong acid after phase-transiting the prepared hydrophobic gold nanoparticles into hydrophilic gold nanoparticles.
Description of the Related Art
Metal nanoparticles, among nano-size materials, have chemical and physical properties distinguishable from bulk metals, so the metal nanoparticles have been widely used in various fields. This is because surface area of a metal increases greatly when the metal reduces to nano size from a bulk state, and only small numbers of atoms exist in a nanoparticle and thus it exhibits unique catalytic, electric, photo-electric and magnetic properties. Such nanoparticles become superior catalysts having high surface-to-volume ratio due to their small size. Additionally, nanoparticles have relatively large surface tension and the surface tension activates remarkably atoms on the surface of the nanoparticles. Metal nanoparticles have been widely used in various fields such as energy conversion, photo catalyst, green chemicals, non-symmetric synthesis, biomimetic technology, molecular printing technology.
Gold nanoparticles are elements having also nano-size molecular structures and their surface-to-volume ratios vary depending on their sizes and thus the gold nanoparticles exhibit various electrical, optical and biological properties according to their spatial structures and orders of one, two and three dimension. Accordingly, researches for controlling the sizes of gold nanoparticles are being made progressively in various applications, and until now, researches to adjust the size of gold nanoparticles by controlling reaction temperature, reaction time, and concentration of reactants have been made.
Meanwhile, hydrochloric acid is used for removing rusts in iron oxide, etc., or plating metals in the industrial sites. Additionally, hydrochloric acid is also used in large scale processes of manufacturing organic compounds such as vinyl chloride, PVC, poly urethane, etc., and in manufacturing process of food additives such as gelatin and leather treatments and so on. With the rapid progress of industrialization and its large scale growth, the amount of hydrochloric acid used in the industry is increasing. When hydrochloric acid is exposed to natural environment and human, dehydration through the combination with protein of an organic matter is caused to occur, exhibiting harmful effects such as destruction of protein structure, damage to cell membrane, and destruction of cell, etc. In order to prevent such harmful effects, researches for detecting the amount of hydrochloric acid in the water are being made actively. Conventionally, the methods for detecting hydrochloric acid are performed by observing the variations of electrochemical property, optochemical property, mass, and imaging, etc., thereof. Most of those methods are performed to detect hydrochloric acid in a gaseous phase, however, various kinds of salts and acids exist in the water and thus it is difficult to detect specially only minute amount of hydrochloric acid.
Recently, a method has been developed for calorimetric detection of 100 ppm of hydrochloric acid by using a phenomenon where gold nanoparticles are corroded with hydrochloric acid to reduce their sizes and change color of the solution thereof. However, the level of 100 ppm is higher than the allowance standard of concentration about hydrochloric acid exposure prescribed by United States Department of Labor. Accordingly, it is necessary to develop a method for detecting simply and rapidly hydrochloric acid of ultralow concentration.

Method for preparing size-controlled gold nanoparticles and colorimetric detection method of strong acid using the same


There is provided an illumination device that is prevented from being increased in size. The illumination device includes a first light source, a second light source, a main capacitor configured to store electric charge for causing the first light source and the second light source to emit light, a first coil electrically connected between the first light source and the main capacitor, and a second coil electrically connected between the second light source and the main capacitor. A radial direction of the first coil and a radial direction of the second coil are parallel to a vertical direction of the illumination device, the first coil and the second coil are aligned with the main capacitor in a horizontal direction of the illumination device, and the first coil is aligned with the second coil in a direction orthogonal to the horizontal direction of the illumination device.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an illumination device attachable to and detachable from an imaging apparatus.
Description of the Related Art
An illumination device including a ring-shaped or a circular arc-shaped light emitting unit extending along an outer circumference of a leading end of an imaging lens (i.e., imaging lens barrel) is commonly used in a macro image capturing in which an object image is captured at a close distance. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-215574 discusses an illumination device including a ring-shaped light emitting unit configured of a plurality of light sources such as circular arc-shaped xenon tubes disposed along the outer circumference of an imaging lens.
In recent years, with the size reduction of a camera main body, there has been an increasing demand for of the size reduction of the illumination device attached to the camera. With respect to the illumination device configured of a power source unit and the light emitting unit provided separately as discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-215574, it is desirable that the size of the power source unit be reduced in order to be attached to the camera without a feeling of strangeness.

Illumination device attachable to and detachable from an imaging apparatus


Field Programmable Logic Arrays (FPGAs) are described which utilize multiple power supply voltages to reduce both dynamic power and leakage power without sacrificing speed or substantially increasing device area. Power reduction mechanisms are described for numerous portions of the FPGA, including logic blocks, routing circuits, connection blocks, switch blocks, configuration memory cells, and so forth. Embodiments describe circuits and methods for implementing multiple supplies as sources of Vdd, multiple voltage thresholding Vt, signal level translators, and power gating of circuitry to deactivate portions of the circuit which are inactive. The supply voltage levels can be fixed, or programmable. Methods are described for performing circuit CAD in the routing and assignment process on FPGAs, in particular for optimizing FPGA use having the power reduction circuits taught. Routing methods describe utilizing slack timing, power sensitivity, trace-based simulations, and other techniques to optimize circuit utilization on a multi Vdd FPGA.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains generally to field-programmable logic arrays, and more particularly to circuits and methods for reducing power consumption using multiple supplies.
2. Description of Related Art
Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) are an important and commonly used circuit element in conventional electronic systems. FPGAs are attractive for use in many designs in view of its low non-recurring engineering costs (NRE) and rapid time to market. FPGA circuitry is also being increasingly integrated within other circuitry to provide a desired amount of programmable logic.
Many applications can be implemented using FPGA devices without the need of fabricating a custom integrated circuit, or application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) as it is called. Although ASICs allow all the circuitry to be customized to the application, including all transistor parameters, routing and so forth, they are very costly in terms of engineering costs, mask fabrication, and minimum order sizes. ASICS have been designed with more than one supply which is readily implemented in the masking which is developed around that specific application circuit. In ASICs the geometries of all elements can be customized for the specific application. In some ASIC designs different level converter circuits have been used with two supply designs. DCVS level converters and level converters with data latch have been proposed in for use in ASIC design. These level converters use both high and low supply voltage levels for a single rail and create extra constraints for power/ground routing.
However, it should be appreciated that the fixed patterns implemented within FPGAs provide a number of challenges which have prevented multi source techniques from providing real world benefits.
Typically, an FPGA is made up of two types of blocks: logic blocks (typically comprising look-up tables (LUTs)), and interconnects (routing). More complicated FPGAs may also include blocks of dedicated RAM and some common logical blocks such as adders, multipliers, and so forth.
FIG. 1 depicts a conventional 4-input LUT using single Vdd and Vt and is referred to herein as a "LUT_SVST". LUTs are utilized as a gate that can be programmed for any desired logic function. A single bit output LUT with a desired number of input terms is usually implemented as a storage block of memory cells with a one-bit word. To program the LUT, the truth table of the gate being implemented by the LUT is loaded into the storage block, with the truth table corresponding to the address lines of the storage element, and the output of the truth table being the stored value at that address. The storage element may be directly connected to the output, coupled to other elements or interconnects, a flip-flop inserted between the gate and the output for clocked logic, and so forth.
The inputs and outputs to the various LUTs are connected to each other by interconnects, such as including routing blocks (e.g., including wire segments, connection blocks, and switch blocks). Each routing block has several wires connected to it, and these wires have programmable connections between them. Since the total number of possible connections increases rapidly in response to the number of wires connected to the routing block, most routing blocks are designed with a limited number of paths through the block. The LUTs and interconnects are usually distributed throughout the FPGA, such as giving it a regular array structure.
One of the drawbacks of FPGA circuitry is a low power efficiency which limits applicability of the devices. Attention has been increasingly focused on improving FPGA power efficiency, as power has become an increasingly important design constraint. One study introduced hierarchical interconnects to reduce interconnect power, but they do not consider deep sub-micron effects such as the increasingly large leakage power. Another study developed a flexible power evaluation framework referred to as "fpga EVA-LP" (fpga_EVALP) and performed dynamic and leakage power evaluation for FPGAs with cluster-based logic blocks and island style routing structure.
Accordingly, it will be appreciated that interconnect power consumption is a major detractor to the use of FPGAs. The present invention reduces interconnect power levels without significantly increasing circuit cost or complexity.

The Regents of the University of California


The description covers a system and method for operating a micro-processing system having a runahead mode of operation. In one implementation, the method includes providing, for a first portion of code, a runahead correlate. When the first portion of code is encountered by the micro-processing system, a determination is made as to whether the system is operating in the runahead mode. If so, the system branches to the runahead correlate, which is specifically configured to identify and resolve latency events likely to occur when the first portion of code is encountered outside of runahead. Branching out of the first portion of code may also be performed based on a determination that a register is poisoned.

Some micro-processing systems support a speculative execution mode known as runahead. Runahead allows a microprocessor to pre-fetch and otherwise pre-process instructions during a stall condition or other latency event such as a cache miss. While the initial latency event is being serviced—e.g., the memory system is traversed to obtain requested data—execution moves forward speculatively to uncover additional latency events (e.g., stalls) in the code that are independent of the condition causing the initial event. The system then uses resources that would otherwise be idle to service these additional latency events while servicing the initial event. Once the initial event is resolved (e.g., the cache miss is resolved by obtaining the missing data), execution resumes via a checkpointing mechanism at the runahead entry point. The resumed execution will then be more efficient, in the sense that one or more additional latency events may be avoided (or resolved more quickly) due to them being serviced in the just-terminated runahead episode. In many systems, code executed during runahead is executed in more or less the same fashion as when encountered outside of runahead, which in various ways limits the ability of the system to address additional latency events.

Branching to alternate code based on runahead determination


A locomotive air dyer air discharge conduit is configured to disperse a portion of the discharge air radially through one or more air dispersion openings in the side of the discharge conduit, thereby reducing the output velocity of the discharge air.

The present invention is related to air discharge pipes through which high-pressure air is discharged from locomotive engine air dryers, and more specifically, to an improved air discharge pipe configured to diffuse discharge air.
Conventional railway locomotive engines include one or more air dryers for reducing moisture content in the pressurized air lines of the locomotive engine. Moisture collected in the air dryers is discharged as wet air from the air dryer at high pressure on regular intervals, typically on the order of once per minute. Discharged air is routed through an open end of a discharge pipe located on the side of the locomotive and directed both downward towards the railway track and inward to maximize personnel safety.
When a railway locomotive is stationary or idle, as is frequently the case during railcar loading and unloading or coupling and uncoupling, the discharge of high-pressure wet-air from the prior art air dryer discharge pipe can result in the displacement of adjacent ballast on the sides of the railway lines. Conventionally, the discharged air is initially pressurized to around 140 pounds per square inch (PSI). Repeated discharges at the same location can result in the formation of holes in the railway line ballast, leading to rail line deterioration and requiring repair.
Alternative air dryer discharge pipe designs incorporate a air-diffusing end cap fitted over the air discharge outlet end of the pipe. While this design has been found to be an improvement over conventional open-ended air discharge pipes, it does not significantly reduce the problem of rail line ballast displacement during high-pressure wet-air discharges from the locomotive engine air dryer.
Briefly stated, the apparatus of the present invention provides a locomotive air dyer air discharge pipe configured to disperse a portion of the discharge air radially through an air dispersion opening in the side of the discharge pipe, thereby reducing the output velocity of the discharge air and redirecting the air away from the ballast.
The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention as well as presently preferred embodiments thereof will become more apparent from the reading of the following description in connection with the accompanying drawings.

Air diffuser used on locomotive with air dryers


The marking of a surface of an uncured diene rubber product with a marking, or identifying coating, which maintains its identity upon curing the rubber. In one aspect, the coating is applied as a water based dispersion of zinc oxide pigment in a sulfur curable polymeric latex binder. An article can be produced thereby as a cured assembly of rubber components.

Uncured rubber surfaces are often marked, or coated, with an identifying marking composition which, after curing the coated rubber in a suitable mold at an elevated temperature and pressure, retains its identifying characteristic.
Conventionally, organic solvent based coating compositions are used for such purpose, primarily because the identifying, or marking, composition is organic solvent-soluble and the organic solvent itself is usually chosen for its ability to wet the uncured rubber surface and, also, to have a suitable drying time.
Water-based coating compositions for application to rubber surfaces, particularly uncured rubber surfaces are sometimes desired, and particularly water-based compositions which can be effectively applied to the uncured rubber surface and which will maintain its identifying characteristics after the coated rubber is cured.
The desired resultant coating must also have good adhesion to the rubber substrate surface, particularly after the rubber is cured.
In another aspect, it would be desired that the applied coating will cause minimal, if any, fouling of the curing mold surface (generally a metal mold surface such as a steel metal surface) against which the coating is pressed under conditions of elevated temperature (120.degree. C.-160.degree. C.) and pressure as the coated rubber is cured. By mold surface fouling it is meant the build-up of substances on the curing mold surface from the rubber product itself, or from a coating on the rubber product, during the curing process. Such mold fouling is well known to those having skill in the rubber curing art.
Thus, various of the preformed, unassembled rubber components may desirably be marked in their uncured state with a water-based coating composition for identification purposes. Such marking may be used for various individual tire components such as, for example, its rubber components of tread, sidewall and carcass.
Indeed, in some instances, it is desired that the uncured rubber components are individually labeled, or identified by a marking composition, or ink, so that they can be individually stored and later identified and utilized in the assembly and fabrication process.
For example, in practice, for the manufacture of rubber tires, a tread rubber might first be formed as an extruded strip of carbon black containing uncured rubber with identifying marking(s) being applied to the rubber. Then, the marked rubber tread strip is built into the tire and the resulting tire assembly cured at an elevated temperature. It may be desired for the finished cured tire tread to still have the identifying marking on its exposed surface.
It is important that the aqueous based marking composition desirably have the properties of chemical and mechanical stability, visibility (particularly on black-colored rubber surfaces), co-curability with the rubber substrate to enhance adhesion to the rubber surface, ease of application, wettability to the uncured rubber substrate surface and cause minimal mold fouling during general use.
Therefore, for this invention it is desired that an identifying coating composition be applied to an uncured rubber substrate which, upon curing the coated rubber substrate, maintains its visibility. Although not necessarily limited thereto but as a preferred aspect, it is desired the uncured rubber substrate contains carbon black, as well as the curative, and is, therefore, black in color. In such instance, it is desired that the coating composition has a color that visibly contrasts with black, such as a white color.
For the coating itself, it is also desired that it is film forming on the rubber substrate surface in that a continuous film on the cured rubber surface is obtained with a minimal, if any, cracking of its surface for a reasonable period of time after its application, is compatible with conventional rubber compositions, and, in its aqueous-application stage, has a suitable drying time on the rubber surface at conventional ambient temperatures of about 20.degree. C. to about 30.degree. C.
Zinc oxide pigment has a distinguishing white color against a background of a black colored rubber surface. However, a zinc oxide pigment by itself is unsatisfactory for coating a rubber substrate surface because it has no flexibility and is not film forming.
Zinc oxide when mixed with a rubber solution in an organic solvent, can be applied to a black colored rubber surface and used as a distinguishing white coating. However, as hereinbefore pointed out, it is desired that an aqueous mixture is used. Indeed, in one aspect of the invention it is desired that the coating composition be applied to the rubber substrate as a water based dispersion and/or emulsion.
Indeed, it is desired that the coating does contain a filler material, such as zinc oxide pigment, of a color which contrasts with the rubber, particularly black colored rubber. It is further desired that the coating have a sulfur curable polymeric binder for the pigment to form a continuous film on the rubber surface, have a degree of flexibility and be co-curable with the rubber substrate itself.
Thus, it is envisioned that the marking composition would, basically, be composed of the aforesaid filler and a curable polymer binder, particularly a compatible, sulfur curable rubber binder, for the filler. It is to be appreciated that it is contemplated that additional materials may be added to the coating composition such as, for example, wetting agent, emulsifier(s) and flattening agent(s).
However, for an aqueous mixture, an inherent difficulty presents itself in using a pigment such as zinc oxide with a rubber latex.
Indeed, conventional rubber latices made with natural soaps (fatty acids and rosin acid soaps) are prone to coagulate rubber latices in the presence of multivalent salts such as zinc oxide.
In the description of this invention, the terms compounded rubber, rubber compound and rubber composition as well as rubber substrate may be used somewhat interchangeably to refer to rubber which has been mixed with compounding ingredients, typically including carbon black, zinc oxide, zinc stearate or stearic acid, pigments resin(s) and curatives, or curing agents.

Rubber surface identification coating and rubber products prepared therefrom


A circuit for testing a chip. The chip has an intellectual product circuit module, and the circuit has a multiplexer controller, several registers and a MUX finite state machine controller to configure these registers in different states according to the test patterns. In the next state, a test activating signal is provided to the intellectual product circuit module. The intellectual product circuit module is then operated and tested according to the output of the registers.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to a method and a circuit for testing a chip, and more particularly, the invention relates to a method and a circuit for testing a chip with the time division function.
2. Description of the Related Art
As semiconductor techniques keep advancing, gate counts in a chip increase rapidly. The system on chip (SOC) has become the leading trend in industry. However, pins provided in a chip to test whether the integrated circuits function normally are not sufficient. Various methods and circuits are proposed to resolve the problems of insufficient test pins.
FIG. 1 shows a conventional internal scan chain structure for testing a chip. In the Internal scan chain structure, the multiplexed flip flops MF1 102, MF2 106, MF3 108 MF4 110 and MF5 104 receive the test pattern in series while clocked by a scan clock signal. When the first scan clock is input, an input terminal SI of the multiplexed flip flop MF1 102 receives a first test pattern. When the second scan clock is input, an input terminal SI of the second multiplexed flip flop MF2 106 receives the first test pattern from an output terminal SO of the multiplexed flip flop MF1 102, and the input terminal SI of the multiplexed flip flop MF1 102 receives the second test pattern.
Accordingly, when the fifth scan clock is input, the multiplexed flip flop MF5 104 receives the first test pattern from the output terminal SO of the multiplexed flip flop MF4 110. Meanwhile, the input terminal SI of the multiplexed flip flop MF4 110 receives the second pattern from the output SO of the multiplexed flip flop MF3 108. The input terminal SI of the multiplexed flip flop MF3 110 receives the third pattern from the output SO of the multiplexed flip flop MF2 106. The input terminal SI of the multiplexed flip flop MF2 106 receives the fourth pattern from the output SO of the multiplexed flip flop MF1 102. The input terminal SI of the multiplexed flip flop MF1 102 receives the fifth pattern.
When the system clock is input, the combinational logic circuit 112 receives the system input signal, the combinational logic circuit 114 receives the fifth test pattern output from the output terminal Q of the multiplexed flip flop MF1 102 and the fourth test pattern output from the output terminal Q of the multiplexed flip flop MF2 106, and the the combinational logic circuit 116 receives the third test pattern output from the output terminal Q of the multiplexed flip flop MF3 108, the second test pattern output from the output terminal Q of the multiplexed flip flop MF4 110, and the first test pattern output from the output terminal Q of the multiplexed flip flop MF5 104 so that the combinational logic circuits 112, 114, 116 can be tested for their circuit functions.
Next, the execution result of the combinational logic circuit 112 is input to the input terminals D of the multiplexed flip flop MF1 102 and the multiplexed flip flop MF2 106. The execution result of the combinational logic circuit 114 is input to the input terminals D of the multiplexed flips flops MF3 108, MF4 110 and MF5 104.
However, when the next scan clock is activated, the output terminal SO of the multiplexed flip flop MF5 104 outputs a first test result. Meanwhile, the output terminal SO of the multiplexed flip flop MF4 110 outputs a second test result to the input terminal SI of the multiplexed flip flop MF5 104. The output terminal SO of the multiplexed flip flop MF3 108 outputs a third test result to the input terminal SI of the multiplexed flip flop MF4 110. The output terminal SO of the multiplexed flip flop MF2 106 outputs a fourth test result to the input terminal SI of the multiplexed flip flop MF3 108. The output terminal SO of the multiplexed flip flop MF1 102 outputs a fifth test result to the input terminal SI of the multiplexed flip flop MF2 106. Accordingly, at the fifth scan clock, the output terminal SO of the multiplexed flip flop MF5 104 outputs the fifth test result.
Thus, the chip is tested with an internal scan chain. The above steps can determine whether the circuit modules in the chip function normally. However, a set of different test patterns have to be input when testing one of the circuit modules. In order to complete the whole test, a large number of test patterns are required.
Furthermore, the test patterns generated for testing the chip have to be changed whenever the circuit modules of the chip change. The launch of the product has to be deferred, and the cost is increased additionally. Further, the multiplexed flip flops occupy a great area in the chip and thus are not economic.
A block diagram of boundary scan in another conventional method for testing a chip is shown in FIG. 2. In FIG. 2, a boundary scan method is used to test logic circuits 202, 204, 206 and 208 with several boundary scan cells 210 arranged therearound.
In FIG. 2, 6 boundary scan cells are arranged around each logic circuit. The boundary scan cells are connected in series, and receive each test pattern serially. When all the boundary scan cells have received the test patterns, the test patterns are sent to all of the logic circuits in parallel. The test results of the logic circuits are received in parallel. The test results are then output one by one in series.
The chip is tested using the boundary scan method. The function of the circuit module of the chip can be tested by the above steps. However, as the test patterns required for all the logic circuits are received or output in series, the time consumption of this operation is significant.
Moreover, the test patterns generated and modified for testing a chip have to be changed as the circuit modules change. The launch of the product has to be deferred. In addition, the multiplexed flip flops occupy a large area of the chip. Again, this is not economic at all.
The relative literature of the boundary scan includes: 1. "Boundary-Scan Test: A practical approach" by Harry Bleeker, Peter Van Den Eijnden, Frans De Jong/Hardcover/Kluwer Acamedic Publishers, January 1993; 2. "The Test Access Port and Boundary-Scan Architecture" by Colin M. Maunder, Rodham Tulloss/Harcover/IEEE Computer Society Press, January 1991.


A schedule can be generated for physically transposing an array such that when the array is transferred from a first memory type to a second memory type, the number of block transfers performed is minimized. The array can be rearranged to ensure that most or all data elements in any block read into internal memory are used before that block's internal storage is reused. The algorithm can compute an offline schedule and then execute that schedule. The method can assemble the schedule during one or more passes with an algorithm. Scheduling passes can apply a permutation to a representation of the array's structure and then tile the representation to ensure efficient use of internal memory. Tiling may alter the permutation, so the algorithm can be reinvoked and run on the tiled representation. The algorithm can be run on successively retiled representations until no additional tiling is required. Optimizations for schedule generation and/or execution include: simplification of the data structure representing the array; alteration of the order in which tiles are accessed; inversion of permutations; processing non-canonical input; and the production of stream output. The method can also be modified for specialized architectures, including: block I/O architecture; fully associative caches; set-associative caches; and multi-level memory hierarchies.

Computer systems often use a storage hierarchy consisting of several types of memory—cache, RAM, and disk storage, for example. Ideally, memory accesses incur the same unit cost, regardless of the memory location being accessed. In such a system, operations that reorder the elements of an array (e.g., permutation of axes), can be performed by manipulating address computations, leaving the array's memory layout unaltered. No additional memory costs are incurred.
In reality, storage hierarchies tend to have non-uniform access costs. Usually, a small, fast, internal memory that allows uniform, element-wise access is paired with a large, slow, external memory that requires (or performs best with) multi-element block accesses. For example, a microprocessor cache may be paired with RAM. Such a hierarchical memory architecture induces a dependence between array layout and traversal order: axes whose strides are smaller than the optimal block size can be traversed more efficiently (i.e., with fewer block reads) than those with larger strides. Thus a memory layout that is optimal for one permutation of an array's axes may be highly inefficient for another. FIG. 1A shows a 4×4 array 100, containing elements a0-a15, stored in row-major order in an external memory having a block size of four elements (thus each row 110(a-d) requires a single block read). Although this is a 2-dimensional array, the problem also arises with arrays of larger dimensions. As shown in FIG. 1B, traversing a row of the array (e.g., elements a0, a1, a2 and a3, shown in bold type) requires only a single block read. However, as shown in FIG. 1C, traversing a column (e.g., elements a0, a4, a8 and a12, shown in bold type) requires four block reads. Thus, a row-major traversal of the entire array requires 4 block reads, while a column-major traversal will require between 4 and 16 block reads, depending on the size of the internal memory. If the internal memory holds fewer than four blocks at a time, a column-major traversal of the array will have to load some blocks multiple times, potentially causing delays in processor execution and generating unnecessary memory traffic.
In some cases, the inefficiency resulting from this situation can be so large that the cost of physically rearranging the array to permit more efficient access is less than the cost of block reads saved in subsequent traversals of the rearranged array. In such cases, it is important to perform the physical rearrangement efficiently (i.e., with the minimal number of block transfer operations). Donald Fraser, "Array Permutation by Index-Digit Permutation," Journal of the ACM, vol. 23, no. 2, April 1976, pp. 298-309, teaches that an array may be reordered according to permutation of the digits forming its indices. Fraser describes efficient implementations of some specialized bit permutations, but does not explain how to generate a schedule for general array transposition. Thomas H. Cormen, "Fast Permuting on Disk Arrays," Journal of Parallel and Distributed Computing, vol. 17, 1993, pp. 41-57, teaches a method of generating a schedule for a set of bit operations that includes transposition, but the method is relatively complex.

Memory efficient array transposition via multi pass tiling


Users create profiles containing their interests, professional qualifications, and/or personal information. When users encounter each other in the virtual environment, the information contained in the personal profiles is used to provide visual indications of the profile information so that other users know some modicum of information about the user associated with the Avatar. The user associated with the personal profile may control what information is provided publicly and what information is provided privately. Information in other users' profiles may be filtered to enable relevant information to be presented to the user. Filtering may be explicit and based on user-defined criteria. Filtering may be inherent as well and implemented to select visual indications based on similarities between the user's profile information and the other users' profile information. Inherent matching of attributes may be exact, based on pre-defined similarities or groups, or based on learned similarities between types of attributes, or based on previous interactions of the user with other users in the virtual environment.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to virtual environments and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for providing a visual indication of profile attributes in a computer-generated virtual environment.
2. Description of the Related Art
Virtual environments simulate actual or fantasy 3-D environments and allow for many participants to interact with each other and with constructs in the environment via remotely-located clients. One context in which a virtual environment may be used is in connection with gaming, although other uses for virtual environments are also being developed.
In a virtual environment, an actual or fantasy universe is simulated within a computer processor/memory. Multiple people may participate in the virtual environment through a computer network, such as a local area network or a wide area network such as the Internet. Each player selects an "Avatar" which is often a three-dimensional representation of a person or other object to represent them in the virtual environment. Participants send commands to a virtual environment server that controls the virtual environment to cause their Avatars to move within the virtual environment. In this way, the participants are able to cause their Avatars to interact with other Avatars and other objects in the virtual environment.
A virtual environment often takes the form of a virtual-reality three dimensional map, and may include rooms, outdoor areas, and other representations of environments commonly experienced in the physical world. The virtual environment may also include multiple objects, people, animals, robots, Avatars, robot Avatars, spatial elements, and objects/environments that allow Avatars to participate in activities. Participants establish a presence in the virtual environment via a virtual environment client on their computer, through which they can create an Avatar and then cause the Avatar to "live" within the virtual environment.
As the Avatar moves within the virtual environment, the view experienced by the Avatar changes according to where the Avatar is located within the virtual environment. The views may be displayed to the participant so that the participant controlling the Avatar may see what the Avatar is seeing. Additionally, many virtual environments enable the participant to toggle to a different point of view, such as from a vantage point outside of the Avatar, to see where the Avatar is in the virtual environment.
The participant may control the Avatar using conventional input devices, such as a computer mouse and keyboard. The inputs are sent to the virtual environment client which forwards the commands to one or more virtual environment servers that are controlling the virtual environment and providing a representation of the virtual environment to the participant via a display associated with the participant's computer.
Depending on how the virtual environment is set up, an Avatar may be able to observe the environment and optionally also interact with other Avatars, modeled objects within the virtual environment, robotic objects within the virtual environment, or the environment itself (i.e. an Avatar may be allowed to go for a swim in a lake or river in the virtual environment). In these cases, client control input may be permitted to cause changes in the modeled objects, such as moving other objects, opening doors, and so forth, which optionally may then be experienced by other Avatars within the virtual environment.
"Interaction" by an Avatar with another modeled object in a virtual environment means that the virtual environment server simulates an interaction in the modeled environment, in response to receiving client control input for the Avatar. Interactions by one Avatar with any other Avatar, object, the environment or automated or robotic Avatars may, in some cases, result in outcomes that may affect or otherwise be observed or experienced by other Avatars, objects, the environment, and automated or robotic Avatars within the virtual environment.
A virtual environment may be created for the user, but more commonly the virtual environment may be persistent, in which it continues to exist and be supported by the virtual environment server even when the user is not interacting with the virtual environment. Thus, where there is more than one user of a virtual environment, the environment may continue to evolve when a user is not logged in, such that the next time the user enters the virtual environment it may be changed from what it looked like the previous time.
Virtual environments are commonly used in on-line gaming, such as for example in online role playing games where users assume the role of a character and take control over most of that character's actions. In addition to games, virtual environments are also being used to simulate real life environments to provide an interface for users that will enable on-line education, training, shopping, and other types of interactions between groups of users and between businesses and users.
As Avatars encounter other Avatars within the virtual environment, the participants represented by the Avatars may elect to communicate with each other. For example, the participants may communicate with each other by typing messages to each other or an audio bridge may be established to enable the participants to talk with each other.
Unfortunately, although many virtual environments are used by large numbers of people, it is often difficult to find other users within the virtual environment. Thus, the virtual environment may seem empty, even though there are many people using the virtual environment at the same time. Additionally, when Avatars meet in the virtual environment they will often have no idea who the other person is or what their interests may be. In a virtual environment hosted on the Internet, for example, the users may reside thousands of miles apart, in different countries, and have in vastly different day-to-day experiences. In a more focused virtual environment, such as a virtual environment designed to host a conference or trade show, the participants may be expected to have a common interest in the topic of the show. However, the users may have other interests in common with each other as well, and those other personal interests will be unknown. This is a common problem in real-life networking, where two people in a room full of people may have common interests, but need to be able to find each other and have a sufficiently in-depth conversation to enable the common interest to emerge. In an on-line context, this may be more difficult to accomplish, since the users cannot actually see each other and thus may have less possibility to pick up on visual clues.

Visual indication of user interests in a computer-generated virtual environment


Some embodiments of the application provides methods and systems for providing camera fingerprinting by receiving a video frame from a camera, generating a confidence map based on an image characteristic associated with the video frame, generating a signature based on a sensor imperfection in the camera, weighting the signature based on the confidence map for each frame and generating a key based on the weighted signature over the plurality of video frames received. Other methods and systems are disclosed.

Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) surveillance systems can be prone to a number of attacks. Attackers may be able to spoof the surveillance systems by injecting false video data into the system in place of the video from a CCTV camera. This concern is heightened for CCTV systems that employ wireless links for individual cameras, as it can be easier to inject false video data into the system.

Method and system for camera sensor fingerprinting


A method and apparatus for obtaining esophageal cells for diagnostic purposes. A distal end of a support body is inserted in a patient's stomach via the esophagus and mouth. A balloon at the distal support body end is inflated. The support body is withdrawn until the balloon engages the sphincter. A support body location is marked that is a predetermined distance from the patient's dental arch. The balloon is deflated and the support body is withdrawn so that the marked location is adjacent the patient's dental arch. The support body is withdrawn a second predetermined distance and a second support body location is marked. A cell collecting element is deployed from within the distal end of the support body. The support body is reciprocated with the cell collecting element deployed so that cells from the esophagus are deposited on the cell collecting element.

Barrett's esophagus is a condition in which cells lining the esophagus near the entrance to the stomach become abnormal due to exposure to stomach acid. Barrett's esophagus typically extends about 8 cm away from the stomach entrance. The condition is often a precursor of esophageal cancer, so detection of abnormal cells indicating not only esophageal cancer, but also Barrett's esophagus, is important.
Barrett's esophagus and esophageal cancer are diagnosed by visually inspecting the esophagus lining, collecting cells from the esophagus lining and subjecting them to cytological examination. Procedures for collecting the cells have been such that diagnosing Barrett's esophagus or esophageal cancer was quite expensive. When the esophagus lining was visually inspected, an endoscope was employed and the patient was anesthetized for the process. The visualization process enables the physician to determine the location of the cells in question. A cell collection device may then be inserted through the endoscope and engaged with the esophagus lining in the areas where the cells in question have been located.
Various devices for collecting cells have been proposed. Among these have been inflatable balloon-like elements that have been inserted into the esophagus through the endoscope, inflated and rubbed on the lining to collect the cells. The balloons were deflated for removal. These devices have not been completely satisfactory in collecting adequate numbers of cells for examination. Brushes have also been used to collect cells. Brushes have been effective to collect sufficient numbers of cells, but have been constructed so that they brushed the entire length of the esophagus during removal. This has been undesirable because cells collected from the region of the esophagus near the stomach entrance have been dislodged from the brush during extraction of the brush from the esophagus. Dislodging such cells not only reduced the number of cells available for examination but also deposited the cells in regions of the esophagus where abnormal cells did not exist.
The present invention provides a new and improved method and apparatus for collecting cells from the esophagus for cytological examination wherein the process of collecting the cells is relatively inexpensive, does not require use of an endoscope, or the like, for locating the region of the esophagus from which cells are to be obtained and wherein regions of the esophagus remote from the stomach are not contacted by cell collection devices.

Method and collection device for Barrett's esophagus cells


A method for manipulating a tissue structure within a body cavity provides for retracting and supporting the heart wall to provide access into the heart during a cardiac surgical procedure. In one embodiment of the present invention, a surgical tool support apparatus comprises a base having an atraumatic tissue-engaging surface and an aperture for receiving an elongate tool. The apparatus also has a clamp assembly aligned with the aperture and spaced-apart from a surface of the base opposite to the tissue-engaging surface. The apparatus is particularly useful in maintaining a retracting force on a surgical tool used to manipulate tissue within a body cavity such as the thoracic cavity.

This invention relates generally to instruments and techniques for performing less-invasive surgical procedures, and more specifically, to less-invasive instruments and techniques for retracting tissue structures within body cavities such as the abdomen or thorax.
Various types of surgical procedures are currently performed to investigate, diagnose, and treat diseases of the heart and the great vessels of the thorax. Such procedures include repair and replacement of mitral, aortic, and other heart valves, repair of atrial and ventricular septal defects, pulmonary thrombectomy, treatment of aneurysms, electrophysiological mapping and ablation of the myocardium, and other procedures in which interventional devices are introduced into the interior of the heart or a great vessel.
Using current techniques, many of these procedures require a gross thoracotomy, usually in the form of a median sternotomy, to gain access into the patient's thoracic cavity. A saw or other cutting instrument is used to cut the sternum longitudinally, allowing two opposing halves of the anterior or ventral portion of the rib cage to be spread apart. A large opening into the thoracic cavity is thus created, through which the surgical team may directly visualize and operate upon the heart and other thoracic contents.
Surgical intervention within the heart generally requires isolation of the heart and coronary blood vessels from the remainder of the arterial system, and arrest of cardiac function. Usually, the heart is isolated from the arterial system by introducing an external aortic cross-clamp through a sternotomy and applying it to the aorta between the brachiocephalic artery and the coronary ostia. Cardioplegic fluid is then injected into the coronary arteries, either directly into the coronary ostia or through a puncture in the aortic root, so as to arrest cardiac function. In some cases, cardioplegic fluid is injected into the coronary sinus for retrograde perfusion of the myocardium. The patient is placed on cardiopulmonary bypass to maintain peripheral circulation of oxygenated blood.
Of particular interest to the present invention are intracardiac procedures for surgical treatment of heart valves, especially the mitral and aortic valves. According to recent estimates, more than 79,000 patients are diagnosed with aortic and mitral valve disease in U.S. hospitals each year. More than 49,000 mitral valve or aortic valve replacement procedures are performed annually in the U.S., along with a significant number of heart valve repair procedures.
Various surgical techniques may be used to repair a diseased or damaged valve, including annuloplasty (contracting the valve annulus), quadrangular resection (narrowing the valve leaflets), commissurotomy (cutting the valve commissures to separate the valve leaflets), shortening mitral or tricuspid valve chordae tendonae, reattachment of severed mitral or tricuspid valve chordae tendonae or papillary muscle tissue, and decalcification of valve and annulus tissue. Alternatively, the valve may be replaced, by excising the valve leaflets of the natural valve, and securing a replacement valve in the valve position, usually by suturing the replacement valve to the natural valve annulus. Various types of replacement valves are in current use, including mechanical and biological prostheses, homografts, and allografts, as described in Bodnar and Frater, Replacement Cardiac Valves 1-357 (1991), which is incorporated herein by reference. A comprehensive discussion of heart valve diseases and the surgical treatment thereof is found in Kirklin and Barratt-Boyes, Cardiac Surgery 323-459 (1986), the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The mitral valve, located between the left atrium and left ventricle of the heart, is most easily reached through the wall of the left atrium, which normally resides on the posterior side of the heart, opposite the side of the heart that is exposed by a median sternotomy. Therefore, to access the mitral valve via a sternotomy, the heart is rotated to bring the left atrium into an anterior position accessible through the sternotomy. An opening, or atriotomy, is then made in the right side of the left atrium, anterior to the right pulmonary veins. The atriotomy is retracted by means of sutures or retraction devices, exposing the mitral valve directly posterior to the atriotomy. One of the aforementioned techniques may then be used to repair or replace the valve.
An alternative technique for mitral valve access may be used when a median sternotomy and/or rotational manipulation of the heart are undesirable. In this technique, a large incision is made in the right lateral side of the chest, usually in the region of the fourth intercostal space. One or more ribs may be removed from the patient, and other ribs near the incision are retracted outward to create a large opening into the thoracic cavity. The left atrium is then exposed on the posterior side of the heart, and an atriotomy is formed in the wall of the left atrium, through which the mitral valve may be accessed for repair or replacement.
Using such open-chest techniques, the large opening provided by a median sternotomy or right thoracotomy enables the surgeon to see the mitral valve directly through the left atriotomy, and to position his or her hands within the thoracic cavity in close proximity to the exterior of the heart for manipulation of surgical instruments, removal of excised tissue, and/or introduction of a replacement valve through the atriotomy for attachment within the heart. However, these invasive, open-chest procedures produce a high degree of trauma, a significant risk of complications, an extended hospital stay, and a painful recovery period for the patient. Moreover, while heart valve surgery produces beneficial results for many patients, numerous others who might benefit from such surgery are unable or unwilling to undergo the trauma and risks of current techniques.
In response to the various problems associated with open-chest procedures, new methods of performing closed-chest surgery on the heart using minimally invasive thoracoscopic techniques have been recently developed. In these methods, the patient's heart is arrested by occluding the patient's aorta between the coronary arteries and the brachiocephalic artery with an expandable balloon on the distal end of an endovascular catheter introduced via a femoral artery. Cardioplegic fluid is then delivered to the patient's myocardium through a lumen in the same catheter or through a catheter positioned in the coronary sinus via a peripheral vein. To repair or replace the mitral valve, minimally-invasive cutting and suturing instruments are then introduced thoracoscopically through a trocar sleeve in the right lateral portion of the chest. A complete description of such methods is found in commonly assigned, co-pending application Ser. No. 08/163,241, filed Dec. 6, 1993, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,571,215 which has been previously incorporated herein by reference.
This new generation of thoracoscopic methods of performing heart valve repair has, of course, created many new challenges. One such challenge is that of retracting the left atrial wall to open the atriotomy so that the mitral valve can be exposed for the surgical procedure. The heart wall must be retracted anteriorly to suitably expose the mitral valve and provide access through the atriotomy for the cutting and suturing instruments introduced through the right lateral portion of the chest. In addition, the instruments that retract the heart wall must be introduced in a minimally-invasive manner through small percutaneous incisions or cannulae positioned in intercostal spaces in the patient's rib cage.
Introducing an instrument through an intercostal space in the anterior side of the chest presents additional problems. One such problem is that the patient's rib cage is typically structured so that the ribs in the anterior portion of the chest are closer together than in the lateral portions of the chest. In addition, the tissue layer in the anterior chest wall contains nerves that could be damaged by a large percutaneous incision. Therefore, a retraction device introduced from the anterior side should be as small as possible, preferably on the order of 3-8 mm, to fit within the smaller anterior intercostal spaces and to avoid unnecessary trauma to the patient. Another problem is that the part of the retraction device that engages the heart wall must be wide enough to engage a sufficient portion of the heart wall to open the atriotomy enough to expose the mitral valve. It must also be long enough to extend a sufficient distance into the heart to extend beneath the interatrial septum and prevent it from sagging or otherwise inhibiting access to the mitral valve. Introducing an instrument which is large enough to sufficiently expose the mitral valve through the smaller intercostal spaces in the anterior portion of the chest is problematic.
Additionally, portions of the heart wall are typically retracted for a substantial period of time during the mitral valve replacement procedure. Conventionally, retraction is maintained by a nurse or surgeon physically holding a retractor in position for the duration of time required. Alternatively, some surgeons have jerry-rigged scissor clamps or other devices to hold the retractor in position during surgery. The first approach is an inefficient use of resources, and the second creates a dangerous situation should one of the jury-rigged clamps fail. These approaches also fail to provide a reliable and consistently stable retraction of heart tissue as required during such delicate interventional procedures. Although some large, floor-based positioning devices exist that have an arm extending from the floor up and over the patient, they fail to provide the ease of removal and compact configuration required in the close quarters of the operating area. The larger devices tend to retract laterally when the device cannot be positioned directly over the site of retraction and are difficult to remove if fluoroscopy or other diagnostic procedures need to be performed during the course of valve replacement.
What is needed, therefore, are improved apparatus, systems, and methods for manipulating a tissue structure in a body cavity via a small percutaneous penetration or cannula. Particularly, the apparatus, systems, and methods should be capable of providing constant and reliable retraction of tissue in the thoracic cavity during delicate and sensitive procedures such as mitral valve replacement. The apparatus would preferably be of compact design, being easily deployable, adjustable, and removable from the patient, while providing constant, reliable retraction without requiring the services of a nurse or doctor to maintain retracting force.

Method for manipulating a tissue structure within a thoracic cavity


The present invention describes a method for determining whether an individual is likely to suffer from cancer by determining a parameter representing the TIMP-1 concentration in body fluid samples from the individual.

Colorectal cancer is the fourth most frequent cancer in the Western world, with about 130,000 new cases yearly in the US. Forty to 50% of all colorectal cancer patients will be diagnosed with early stage disease (Dukes' stage A or B). Most of these patients with early stage colorectal cancer can be cured by surgery alone. Thus, risk of recurrence is closely related to stage of disease at time of primary surgery, with about a 10% relapse rate in Dukes' stage A and 25–30% in Dukes' stage B. Patients with Dukes' stage C colorectal cancer have a five-year relapse rate of 70% following surgery and are offered adjuvant chemotherapy. Following relapse, the risk of dying of the disease is significant. Thus, one way to improve survival is to increase the number of patients being diagnosed with early stage disease. Screening for colorectal cancer has been shown to improve survival, however, current tests suffer from a lack of compliance, from low sensitivity, and from the need for strict dietary restrictions. Thus, the development of new and improved tests for the early detection of colorectal cancer is needed.
Because metastatic disease is the main cause of cancer patient morbidity and mortality, molecules involved in the regulation of tumor invasion and metastasis are attractive as potential diagnostic/prognostic targets. It is well established that proteolytic enzymes produced by cancer cells or by cells in the tumor stroma are involved in extracellular tissue degradation, leading to cancer cell invasion and metastasis. A number of enzymes have been associated with this process, the most thoroughly investigated being the metalloproteinases, such as the collagenases and stromelysins, and the serine proteases such as plasmin. Recently, data have been published indicating that these molecules, free or bound in complexes, are released from tumor tissue and find their way into the circulation.
Matrix metalloproteinases (MMP's) play a pivotal role in cancer growth and spread, contributing to enzymatic degradation of the extracellular matrix (Liotta et al, 1991; Stetler-Stevenson et al, 1993; MacDougall & Matrisian, 1995). The naturally occurring inhibitors of MMP's, tissue inhibitors of MMP's (TIMP's), form tight 1:1 stoichiometric complexes with the activated forms of the MMP's (Welgus et al, 1985; Kleiner et al, 1993), thereby inhibiting the catalytic activity of these enzymes (Stetler-Stevenson et al, 1996; Goldberg et al, 1992; Birkedal-Hansen et al, 1993). While the balance between the matrix-degrading properties of MMP's and the inhibitory effect of TIMP's is closely regulated under normal physiological conditions (Matrisian, 1992; Thorgeirsson et al, 1993; Birkedal-Hansen et al, 1993), this balance might be disrupted in malignant tissue.
A number of enzyme-linked immunoassays for the detection of TIMP-1 (Kodama et al, 1989; Cooksley et al, 1990; Clark et a, 1991) and TIMP-2 (Fujimoto et a, 1993) have been described. These assays have been applied to body fluids, e.g. serum, plasma, amniotic fluid, cerebrospinal fluid, urine, but the number of samples tested has not been sufficient to establish normal ranges for TIMP levels in healthy individuals (Kodama et al., 1989; Clark et a, 1991). Furthermore, none of these assays has been sufficiently validated for technical performance or for clinical use.
In a study by Mimori et al (Mimori et al, 1997) in which tumor tissue levels of TIMP-1 mRNA were studied in patients with gastric carcinoma, high tumor/normal tissue ratios of TIMP-1 mRNA were found to be associated with increased invasion and poor prognosis. However, TIMP-1 protein levels in sera from prostate cancer patients and healthy donors (Baker et al, 1994) showed a high degree of overlap. Similarly, a separate study of plasma from prostate cancer patients and healthy donors showed no difference in TIMP-1 levels between the two groups (Jung et al, 1997).
Studies of TIMP-1 complexed with MMP-9 in plasma of patients with advanced gastrointestinal and gynaecological cancer (Zucker et al, 1995) demonstrated significantly higher levels in blood samples from cancer patients with metastatic disease compared to healthy control individuals, and that patients with high levels of TIMP-1:MMP-9 complex had a shorter survival (Zucker et al, 1995 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,324,634). However, this study did not include measurements of total or free TIMP-1, only the complex between TIMP-1 and one of the up to now approximately 24 identified MMP's. Furthermore, in this study, no differences in complex levels were found between patients with breast cancer and healthy donors. Also, this study did not include patients with early stage cancer.

Tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinases type-1 (TIMP-1) as a cancer marker


The present invention discloses serum remnant-like lipoprotein concentration regulators containing triglyceride of medium-chain fatty acids, wherein 90% or more by weight of the fatty acids as components of the medium-chain triglyceride are saturated fatty acids having 8 and 10 carbon atoms; weight ratio between the saturated fatty acids having 8 carbon atoms and those having 10 carbon atoms is 60/40 to 85/15; and the proportion of the saturated fatty acids having 8 carbon atoms in all the fatty acids bonding to the second position of the triglyceride is 60 to 85 % by weight. The present invention also discloses foods for controlling the concentration of serum remnant-like lipoproteins and pharmaceutical compositions for controlling the concentration of serum remnant-like lipoproteins, which contain the serum remnant-like lipoprotein concentration regulator. The foods for controlling the concentration of serum remnant-like lipoproteins can be easily used without concerning about side effects and restrictive diet.

The present invention relates to compositions which intend to control the concentration of serum remnant-like lipoproteins. In detail, the present invention relates to serum remnant-like lipoprotein concentration regulators which can control increase oft he concentration of human serum remnant-like lipoproteins in safety and to the appropriate range; foods for controlling the concentration of serum remnant-like lipoproteins which contain the serum remnant-like lipoprotein concentration regulators; and pharmaceutical compositions for controlling the concentration of serum remnant-like lipoproteins.
Serum remnant-like lipoproteins are usually transitory intermediate metabolites which are produced by hydrolysis of lipoproteins such as chylomicron lipoproteins (CM) of intestinal origin and very low density lipoproteins (VLDL) of hepatic origin, which are rich in neutral fat, by lipoprotein lipase. The former is referred to as CM remnants and the latter is referred to as VLDL remnants. Both remnant-like lipoproteins are relatively rich in cholesterol. Though those serum remnant-like lipoproteins are usually metabolized immediately and exist little in bodies of healthy people which are hungry in the early morning, they persist in the blood and increase when metabolizing process thereof is impaired. As a typical case of so-called hyper remnant lipoproteinemia which is induced by persistence of remnant-like lipoproteins in the blood, type III familial hyperlipidemia is known, wherein metabolism of serum remnant-like lipoproteins is impaired and the serum remnant-like lipoproteins become in stasis and accumulate. In addition, since serum remnant-like lipoproteins have relatively high cholesterol content among triglyceride-rich lipoproteins, they are easily ingested into vessel walls. As a result, cholesterol in serum remnant-like lipoproteins is easily accumulated in vessel walls. Further, as serum remnant-like lipoproteins are ingested into a macrophage and convert the macrophage into foam cells which are incipient lesion of arterial sclerosis (Mahley R. W., "Atherogenic lipoproteins and coronary artery disease: concepts derived from recent advances in cellular and molecular biology", Circulation (U.S.A.), vol. 72, No. 5, 943-948, 1985, and Kosaka S. et al., "Evidence of macrophage foam cell formation by very low-density lipoprotein receptor", Circulation (U.S.A.), vol. 103, No. 8, 1142-1147, 2001), serum remnant-like lipoproteins which increase in the blood though eating are paid attention to as a risk factor of onset of arterial sclerosis. Since human have many opportunities to eat between meals besides three meals a day, it is thought that they are in a postprandial state rather than on an empty stomach a lot of time of the day. Thus, importance of research on postprandial hyperlipidemia (that is, hyperlipidemia which shows abnormal amplification of serum lipids after eating though one is in normolipemic status when he/she is hungry in the early morning, or shows persistence of amplification thereof) has been emphasized for recent years, while previously questioned was a level of serum lipids which was calculated based on the blood collected on an empty stomach. In postprandial hyperlipidemia, CM and CM remnants constitute major part of serum lipids, and CM remnants' evoking of arterial sclerosis has been pointed out for a while (Zilversmit D. B., "Atherogenesis: a post-prandial phenomenon", Circulation (U.S.A.), vol. 60, No. 3, 473-485, 1979, and Karpe F et al., "Postprandial lipoproteins and progression of coronary atherosclerosis", Atherosclerosis (Netherlands), vol. 106, No. 1, 83-97, 1994). Therefore, it is very important in terms of preventing onset of arterial sclerosis and treatment after onset thereof that serum remnant-like lipoproteins are made reduced. Since improvement of daily diet occupies an important place in preventing onset of arterial sclerosis, there are desired those which can be easily ingested in everyday life, lower postprandial serum remnant-like lipoproteins and be used without concerning about side effects.
Conventionally, quantity of serum remnant-like lipoproteins is determined by immunosorbent assay. Immunosorbent assay is a commonly used method as analysis method of serum remnant-like lipoprotein and is carried out by determination of cholesterol contained in serum remnant-like lipoprotein (hereinafter referred to as serum RLP-cholesterol) as a value reflecting serum remnant-like lipoproteins. For details, it is the analysis method comprising steps of adding samples to suspension of a buffer and an insoluble support to which anti-human apo A-I and apo B-100 monoclonal antibodies are immobilized, slowly mixing by shaking and standing still; adding a enzyme reagent(s) which reacts to cholesterol part in serum remnant-like lipoproteins to a supernatant fluid containing serum remnant-like lipoproteins which did not react with the antibodies; and determining the amount of cholesterol in the supernatant fluid (Nakajima K. et al., "Cholesterol in remnant-like lipoproteins in human serum using monoclonal anti apo B-100 and anti apo A-I immunoaffinity mixed gels", Clin Chim Acta (Netherlands), vol. 223, Nos. 1 and 2, 53-71, 1993). Among apo proteins existing in serum, CM and high density lipoproteins (HDL) have apo A-I, and VLDL and low density lipoproteins (LDL) have apo B-100. They bond with each of antibodies to precipitate, and remnant-like lipoproteins (CM remnants and VLDL remnants) exist as nonbonding fractions in supernatant fluid thereof. The cholesterol value in these fractions is regarded as that reflecting remnant-like lipoproteins and determined clinically in our country.
Medium-chain triglyceride (triglyceride of medium-chain fatty acids) has been used as solvents for oil-soluble flavoring/coloring agents for food; mold release/lubricating oils for food; or pharmaceutical raw materials because it has high oxidation stability, low freezing point and viscosity, high solubility and it is also transparent and colorless. Further, as medium-chain triglyceride has high absorbability and energy proportion thereof are higher than that of sugar groups, it has also been used as raw materials of enteral nutrients, wherein efficient energy supplementation is intended.
It has also been reported that controlling effect of postprandial neutral fat concentration in the blood (inhibiting effect on elevation thereof) is brought by replacing dietary fat and oil with medium-chain triglyceride (Calabrese, C. et al., "A cross-over study of the effects of a single oral feeding of medium chain triglyceride oil vs. canola oil on post-ingestion plasma triglyceride levels in healthy men", Alternative Medicine Review (U.S.A.), vol. 4, No. 1, 23-28, 1999). However, it has not yet been discovered that medium-chain triglyceride has inhibiting function on elevation of the concentration of serum remnant-like lipoproteins.

Serum remnant-like lipoprotein concentration regulator


A seed tube guard assembly for agricultural planters has floating wear plates to improve the wear life of the seed tube guard. The assembly includes a support bracket having an upper end attached to a planter shank assembly and a lower end positioned between a pair of opener disks. A seed tube guide extends rearwardly from the support bracket for receiving a lower end of a seed tube. A pair of dowels are pressed into openings in the support bracket and protrude from the sides thereof. A metal ball is press fit into an opening in the support bracket between the dowels with opposite sides of the metal ball protruding from the respective sides of the support bracket. The floating wear plates are supported by the dowels on the respective sides of the support bracket with the metal ball engaging the wear plates at respective fulcrum points between the dowels.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to agricultural planters. In particular, the present invention relates to seed tube guards with improved durability for use with agricultural planters.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The first modern planter was the John Deere 7000 series introduced in 1973. It is depicted in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings. This design utilizes two opener disks 11 that contact at one point 12 and diverge at a small angle to form a furrow 13 in the ground. The depth of the furrow is determined by the adjustable position of the gauge wheels 14. The seed is dropped into a seed tube 15 and falls into the furrow 13. A pair of closing wheels 16 are mounted at an angle behind the seed tube 15 and are spring-loaded to exert a downward force on the ground. The closing wheels 16 close the furrow 13 and thereby cover the seed with soil.
Another component of this system, generally called a "seed tube guard" 21, is shown in FIG. 3. The seed tube guard 21 shown in FIG. 3 is a forging and is basically the same as currently used on John Deere planters. The seed tube guard 21 is made from medium carbon steel and is heat-treated. A seed tube guide 22 was added to keep the seed tube 15 centered on the seed tube guard 21. The seed tube guard 21 is attached to the shank assembly 23 with two ¼ inch diameter roll pins 24 just below the studs 26 to which the opener disks 11 are mounted. The holes 25 in the shank assembly 23 are 5/16 inch diameter and allow the seed tube guard 21 to align itself as the opener disks 11 flex.
Ground pressure causes the opener disks 11 to deflect inward until they contact the wear surfaces 27 of the seed tube guard 21. Although the seed tube guard 21 might deflect rocks and other debris, the seed tube guard 21 mainly protects the seed tube 15 by maintaining a distance between the opener disks 11. A better seed furrow 13 results from maintaining a proper distance between the opener disks 11.
It is generally known that most seed tube guards 21 supplied as original equipment have a short wear life. This is due primarily to the inadequate wear resistance of the material and also the small wear surface 27. The oversize sheet metal holes 25 in the shank assembly 23 are also subject to excessive wear.
Seed tube guards of most other manufacturers are similar to the seed tube guards 21 described above, except they are sometimes made from cast iron. The seed tube guards (not illustrated) on 3000 series planters recently introduced by Kinze Manufacturing are heat-treated steel castings. The mounting of this seed tube guard is substantially different in that it is bolted rigidly to the shank assembly.
International Harvester (IH) and several similar planters (not illustrated) have a guard and a box incorporated into the shank assembly. The apparent purpose of this box is to direct the seed into the furrow without contacting the opener disks. It also would reduce the amount of dry soil dropping into the furrow.
A conventional seed tube guard 21 with a stainless steel box 28 is shown in FIG. 4. The box 28 is welded to the conventional seed tube guard 21, and the seed tube guard 21 is mounted to the shank assembly with 5/16 inch diameter bolts. This arrangement is produced by J.S. Ag Innovations Inc. and is similar to that used on IH planters.
The IH design also incorporates a flexible flap (not illustrated) into the box, the apparent purpose of which is to reduce bouncing of the seed. J.S. Ag Innovations also produces a similar device, but it is mounted into the end of the seed tube.

Seed tube guard assembly for agricultural planters


An aluminum alloy vacuum casting equipment comprises a high pressure casting tank, in which a guard is equipped. The high-pressure casting tank is connected with a booster jar through a compressed air pipe. A first casting window and second casting window which are equipped with a first cylinder are set at top of the high-pressure casting tank. The high pressure casting tank is also equipped with a fixed guide and an unfixed guide at the bottom, an actuated exhaust ball valve at one side and a hatch door which is connected with a third cylinder. All operations except for putting in or taking out of the filler are completed automatically.

Casting of most aluminum alloy working pieces is completed in a tank body. Normally, a high pressure casting tank body is used for casting of working pieces, lift a sand-box onto a trolley, lay a guide in the high pressure casting tank down, and open a door manually. Push the sand-box trolley into the tank body and fix it in its position manually. Then, process the steps of casting positioning, casting, boosting, solidifying, exhaust and output of sand-box. All steps are completed manually.
Disadvantages of the old equipments: operations are mainly manual and much harder and dangerous; high percentage of waste castings, especially for casting of large and thin parts; there are many pinholes and secondary slag entrapments on the castings and the qualified rate is only about 30%. Therefore, how to avoid pinholes and secondary slag entrapments during casting of working pieces, improving casting quality of aluminum alloy working pieces become the key topics in this technical field. However, no good solution has been found.

Jinan Casting Forging Machinery Institute Co., Ltd.