A polarizer including a polarization grating comprising a polarization sensitive photo-alignment layer and a liquid crystal composition arranged on said photo-alignment layer. An alignment pattern, corresponding to the polarization pattern of a hologram, is recorded in the photo-alignment layer, and the liquid crystal composition is aligned on the photo-alignment layer.

Conventional diffraction gratings operate by periodically modulating the phase or amplitude of light propagating through them, potentially splitting incident light into multiple diffraction orders.
Polarization gratings, which periodically modulate the polarization state of light traveling through them, have been known since the 1970s, when initial publications about the more general case of polarization holograms appeared in Soviet journals.
It was soon recognized that the most compelling advantage of polarization gratings over conventional diffraction gratings was the possibility to control the polarization state of the diffracted orders while at the same time making the efficiency in each order dependent on the polarization of the incident light. Initial success at reducing the theory of polarization gratings to practice came in photochromic silver-chloride (AgCl) glass using holography. In this approach, two nearly orthogonally polarized coherent laser beams were superimposed with nearly parallel propagation, creating a standing optical wave with a periodic modulation of the polarization state while maintaining a constant intensity. Since linearly polarized light induced considerable optical anisotropy (linear birefringence) in the materials through the Weigert-effect, the periodic patterns, where polarization is changing from linear to circular and back, were captured as a polarization grating.
This holographic method eventually made a substantial advance when organic materials containing azobenzene moieties were shown to be able to record these polarization holograms as a relatively strong birefringence. In these materials, the azobenzene groups undergo a reversible trans=>cis=>trans isomerization process and an associated orientational redistribution of the chromophores. Research has shown that a variety of azo-containing polymers and also dispersions may also be used.
In many of these polymers, a surface, relief grating is also formed during irradiation. Although the primary reason of the surface generation process is not well understood, several theories have tried to explain the existing phenomenology, and it is agreed that the surface relief appears a result of a mass diffusion mechanism. While it can be useful, this surface relief structure diffracts as a phase grating, and does not lead to a modulation of the polarization state of light propagating through it. In fact, this surface relief grating often degrades the unique diffraction properties of polarization gratings since the properties of both are superimposed. Azo-containing materials are colored in the visible so the range of wavelength applicability is limited. In addition, the long-term stability is usually limited, especially when the grating is exposed to light in the absorption band of the material or subject to high temperature thermal treatments common in applications such as LCD manufacturing.
Other materials have also been studied as alternative polarization hologram materials, including bacteriorhodopsin, holographic polymer dispersed liquid crystals, and a porous glass system imbibed with an azobenzene liquid crystal molecule. Lithographic processing of sub-wavelength metal-stripe structures has also been shown to successfully form a polarization grating by inducing a spatially periodic anisotropic absorption. In this approach, a conductive layer on a substrate is patterned into parallel lines with a sub-wavelength pitch (creating a linear polarizer), where the orientation of these lines determines the transmission/absorption axis of the polarizer. This orientation is varied periodically by the lithography at a pitch greater than the wavelength, forming the polarization grating.
This type of grating operates at infrared wavelengths, but the principle also valid at visible wavelengths (but the fabrication is more difficult since the dimensions are substantially smaller). While good optical quality can be achieved, it is an absorbing optical element (typically 50% of incident light is absorbed) and the fabrication process requires substantial photolithographic processing such as is used for semiconductor wafers (clean room environment, expensive shadow masks, photoresist development, wet chemical etching of inorganic conductive layers, etc.).
One recent method for the production of polarization gratings based on liquid crystals is described by Eakins et al, "Zero voltage Freedericksz transition in periodically aligned liquid crystals", Applied Physics Letters 85, no 10, pp 1671-1673, 2004, using a holographic exposure to photo-polymerize a polarization sensitive alignment layer, and aligning a liquid crystal composition there on.
However, there still remains a need for new high quality polarization gratings that are easy to produce, temperature stable and useful in practical applications.

Polarization gratings in mesogenic films


Coffee machine, comprising at least one steam generator for producing steam and an apparatus for producing the coffee with associated dispensing device, a storage tank containing a ready prepared liquid chocolate product with a density suitable for being a conventional chocolate beverage, a heating device provided with an inlet and an outlet for the product to be heated and an inlet for introducing the steam, a line between said storage tank and the inlet of said heating device, a metering pump arranged along said line for conveying a predetermined amount of chocolate-based product from said storage tank to said heating device and for circulating it inside it, a line for the steam, connecting said steam generator to said inlet for the steam of the heating device, an intercept valve arranged along the said steam line as well as a beverage dispensing device connected to the outlet of the said heating device.

The present invention relates to a coffee machine comprising at least one steam generator and suitable for dispensing a chocolate-based beverage.
Coffee machines suitable for preparing and dispensing various types of beverages are known in the specific technological sector.
An example of such machines is disclosed in WO-A-2006/135,864
In accordance with the known art these machines comprise an apparatus for producing coffee with an associated coffee dispensing device, a first water heater for producing steam, a second water heater for producing hot water for preparing the coffee in said apparatus, said first and second heaters being connected to a water source for replenishing them with water, a frothing device provided with an inner chamber for frothing the milk when required and at least one spout for dispensing the milk externally, said machine also comprising a milk line, connecting a source of liquid milk to the frothing device, a steam line, connecting said water heater for producing steam to the frothing device, as well as an air line, connecting an air source to the said frothing device, and respective intercept valves arranged along the said steam and air lines, said pump and said intercept valves arranged respectively along the air line and the steam line being able to be operated independently of each other such that the milk line, the steam line and the air line are connected to said chamber of the frothing device one at a time or in combination with each other.
Apparatus of the type mentioned above are known both in the sector of automatic beverage dispensing machines and in the sector of automatic machines used professionally in bars.
The various types of beverages which may be dispensed, as is known, comprise mainly cappuccino where an amount of—usually hot—foamed or frothed milk is added to the coffee, but also coffee with the addition of a small amount of hot or cold milk which is not frothed.
In the machines of the type mentioned above it was found that there also existed the need for other types of beverages, including mainly chocolate-based beverages.
EP-A-1,374,748 discloses an example of an apparatus for dispensing hot diary beverages which may include hot chocolate milk. However the disclosure of such a document does not contain any hint of making it possible the delivery of the beverages in the cold conditions.

Coffee machine with dispenser of a ready prepared chocolate-based beverage

Abstract: The machine allows the dispensing of various types of beverages, such as chocolate, coffee, milk and cappuccino and owing to the presence of said intercept valve, said metering pump may dispense the chocolate beverage in hot condition or in cold condition.


The invention relates to oligonucleotides including at least one FANA substituted nucleotide analog and a pyrimidine-purine dinucleotide. The invention also relates to pharmaceutical compositions and methods of use thereof.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of immunology. More specifically the invention relates to therapeutic oligonucleotides with enhanced immunostimulatory capacity.
2. Discussion of Background Art
Bacterial DNA has immune stimulatory effects to activate B cells and natural killer cells, but vertebrate DNA does not (Tokunaga, T., et al., 1988. Jpn. J. Cancer Res. 79:682-686; Tokunaga, T., et al., 1984, JNCI 72:955-962; Messina, J. P., et al., 1991, J. Immunol. 147:1759-1764; and reviewed in Krieg, 1998, In: Applied Oligonucleotide Technology, C. A. Stein and A. M. Krieg, (Eds.), John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, N.Y., pp. 431-448). It is now understood that these immune stimulatory effects of bacterial DNA are a result of the presence of unmethylated CpG dinucleotides in particular base contexts (CpG motifs), which are common in bacterial DNA, but methylated and underrepresented in vertebrate DNA (Krieg et al, 1995 Nature 374:546-549; Krieg, 1999 Biochim. Biophys. Acta 93321:1-10). The immune stimulatory effects of bacterial DNA can be mimicked with synthetic oligodeoxynucleotides (ODN) containing these CpG motifs. Such CpG ODN have highly stimulatory effects on human and murine leukocytes, inducing B cell proliferation; cytokine and immunoglobulin secretion; natural killer (NK) cell lytic activity and IFN-γ secretion; and activation of dendritic cells (DCs) and other antigen presenting cells to express costimulatory molecules and secrete cytokines, especially the Th1-like cytokines that are important in promoting the development of Th1-like T cell responses. These immune stimulatory effects of native phosphodiester backbone CpG ODN are highly CpG specific in that the effects are dramatically reduced if the CpG motif is methylated, changed to a GpC, or otherwise eliminated or altered (Krieg et al, 1995 Nature 374:546-549; Hartmann et al, 1999 Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci USA 96:9305-10).
In early studies, it was thought that the immune stimulatory CpG motif followed the formula purine-purine-CpG-pyrimidine-pyrimidine (Krieg et al, 1995 Nature 374:546-549; Pisetsky, 1996 J. Immunol. 156:421-423; Hacker et al., 1998 EMBO J. 17:6230-6240; Lipford et al, 1998 Trends in Microbiol. 6:496-500). However, it is now clear that mouse lymphocytes respond quite well to phosphodiester CpG motifs that do not follow this "formula" (Yi et al., 1998 J. Immunol. 160:5898-5906) and the same is true of human B cells and dendritic cells (Hartmann et al, 1999 Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci USA 96:9305-10; Liang, 1996 J. Clin. Invest. 98:1119-1129).
DNA and RNA oligonucleotides are subject to digestion by exonucleases and endonucleases, which degrade internucleotide phosphate linkages at the ends of nucleic acid molecules and at internal sites, respectively. The rate of degradation can vary depending on the location of the nucleic acid, e.g., outside the cell (rapid) versus inside the cell (generally slower), as well as in the latter case the intracellular compartment containing the nucleic acid, e.g., inside the lysosome (rapid) versus in the cytoplasm (slower). Thus, increasing the stability of an oligonucleotide against nucleases has the potential to enhance its efficacy by prolonging its functional life in the cell.
A number of approaches have been reported to generate stabilized forms of RNA and DNA. See, for example, Uhlmann E et al. (1990) Chem Rev 90:543-84. Unfortunately, many of these approaches have not resulted in satisfactory alternatives, either because the stability gained is insufficient or because the gain in stability is associated with loss of function.

Immune stimulatory oligonucleotide analogs containing modified sugar moieties


A floating dock is provided. The floating dock has a buoyant core. The sidewalls of the buoyant core have grooves. A reinforcing truss is embedded in and extends through the grooves. The grooves may be filled with concrete.

Floating docks formed from a buoyant core with a concrete shell are known. Concrete is a favoured material for floating docks because of its strength and durability compared to other materials such as wood. The concrete is typically reinforced with steel reinforcement bars (rebar) to improve its strength. A problem with rebar is that it can corrode due to contact with sea water that gradually infiltrates through the concrete shell. Rebar corrosion can lead to concrete failure. To prevent corrosion, concrete must typically be provided in a layer at least three inches thick between the rebar and the outer surface of the floating dock. However, providing a thick layer of concrete, which raises material costs. A thick layer of concrete also adds significant weight to the floating dock, which must be compensated for in order to maintain buoyancy by making the floating dock larger. While one solution to the problem of corrosion is to use stainless steel rebar or epoxy-coated rebar such alternatives are costly. There is a need for a lightweight yet strong concrete floating dock that reduces material costs while providing strength and durability.


A material having properties required for a chromatic aberration-free lens and excellent in moldability and impact resistance, which material is an amorphous fluoropolymer containing a carbon atom chain as a main chain and containing a fluorinated atom-bonded carbon atom as a carbon atom of the main chain, wherein vd>75, θgF>0.50, and ΔθgF>0.03, where vd represents an Abbe number, θgF represents a relative partial dispersion of a g-F line, and ΔθgF represents a deviation from a standard line of the relative partial dispersion of the g-F line.

It has been known that by employing specific low dispersion glass having a high Abbe number and a large deviation from a standard line of a relative partial dispersion (anomalous dispersion) in a combination with high dispersion glass having a large difference of refractive indexes depending on various wavelengths of light, it is possible to effectively correct secondary chromatic aberration (Patent Documents 1 and 2).
However, it is difficult to mold the specific low dispersion glass and also difficult to process the specific low dispersion glass into a complex form such as an aspherical shape. Further, impact resistance of lenses made of such specific low dispersion glass is low, and its handling property is poor.
On the other hand, as a resin material for lenses, ZEONEX (manufactured by ZEON CORPORATION), APEL (manufactured by Mitsui Chemicals, Inc.), etc. are known. However, since their Abbe number is low at a level of about 55 and their anomalous dispersion is also low, their properties required for chromatic aberration-free lenses are insufficient.
Patent Document 1: JP-A-7-199123 (Means for solving the problem)
Patent Document 2: JP-A-2004-333768 (paragraph [0040])

Fluoropolymer for chromatic aberration-free lens and chromatic aberration-free lens


A cache and method of caching for a database are provided, in which the cache and the database are in the same state. Responsive to a query for data, the method extracts search terms from the query and maps filter settings to an appropriate format. The method also (a) outputs data retrieved from a cache, if there is a cache hit and (b) builds cache and retrieves the data from the database, if there is a cache miss. If there are multiple users and/or instances, the cache may be updated for all users and/or instances by determining whether all changes are to be committed, in which case the changes are pushed to all users and/or instances.

A content server, e.g., a database, may provide data to a requesting client, e.g., a web browser, via a data retrieval apparatus, e.g., middleware. Among performing other functions, the data retrieval apparatus may be configured to filter data retrieved from the content server and sent to the client, and cache data sent to the client for subsequent requests. Responsive to a client's request for data, the data retrieval apparatus may check whether the requested data had been previously requested by the same or a different requesting client and stored in a separate area of memory, e.g., cached. If the requested data had been previously cached, the data retrieval apparatus may return a copy of the cached data to the client, instead of retrieving data from the content server. Each data request from any client opens a new connection to the middleware, and upon resolution of the data request, the connection is terminated and resources, e.g., allocated memory, buffers, etc., are freed.
The interaction between the client and the server described herein may be realized in a Business Object Processing Framework (BOPF) in which interactions between the client and the server may be modeled by business objects (BO). The BOs may have associations and communication links to each other that facilitate business transactions and processes.


The present invention is directed to sizing compositions for glass fibers and glass fiber reinforced thermoplastic resins. The sizing composition comprises a maleic anhydride copolymer. Thermoplastic polyamide resin articles reinforced with glass fibers at least partially coated with a residue of the sizing composition can demonstrate a surprising improvement in strength of the reinforced polyamide resin when lubricated with a fatty acid metal salt and in the hydrolysis resistance when exposed to boiling water/ethylene glycol medium.

Glass fibers are typically treated after forming with a sizing composition that can impart desired properties. As used herein the term "size", "sized", "sizing" and "sizing composition" means a coating composition that can be applied to the glass fibers after formation of the fibers. After their formation and treatment, the sized glass fibers can be gathered into bundles or strands comprising a plurality of individual fibers. The strands may be wound into a spool or "forming package." The forming packages can be dried to remove moisture from the fibers.
A sizing composition can serve several functions. It can function as a lubricant and binding agent and can protect fibers from abrasion with each other.
A sizing composition can also improve the performance of fibers during further processing such as when used to reinforce thermoplastic resins. For example, thermoplastic resins can be reinforced with sized glass fibers to strengthen and stiffen the resulting composite material. The sizing on the glass fibers can improve compatibility between the inorganic surface of glass fibers and an organic thermoplastic resin.
Many glass fiber reinforced thermoplastic resins are used in the automotive industry. For example, glass fiber reinforced polyamide resins are used to fabricate containers for various automotive fluids such as oil pans and radiator parts that encapsulate the core of the radiator. The combination of high temperatures and exposure to aqueous organic solvent mixtures such as ethylene glycol and water can decrease the strength of polyamide resins used in automotive applications. Specifically, a polyamide resin can be weakened by hydrolysis of the amide bonds of the polyamide.
Thus, it would be advantageous to provide a sizing composition that can improve the hydrolysis resistance of a glass fiber reinforced thermoplastic resin. It would also be advantageous to provide a sizing composition that can improve or maintain the strength of a glass fiber reinforced thermoplastic resin when lubricated with a fatty acid metal salt.

Sizing composition and glass fiber reinforced thermoplastic resin


A standard cell is read from a library and automatic layout wiring is performed, thereby configuring a circuit. Next, each cell column in the configured circuit is searched for an empty region. In the empty region in the cell column searched for, a spacer cell or a filler cell is placed. At this time, using the spacer cell or filler cell, the well potential of the standard cells in the cell column is fixed.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a semiconductor integrated circuit device and its design method, and more particularly to the technique for fixing the well potential in a semiconductor integrated circuit device formed by automatic layout wiring by use of standard cells.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known that the element characteristics of the transistors formed in a semiconductor integrated circuit device, such as an IC or an LSI, are influenced by fluctuations in the well potential. To avoid such influence and stabilize the element characteristics of the transistors, it is necessary to stabilize (fix) the well potential.
In a semiconductor integrated circuit device formed by automatic layout wiring by use of standard cells, each of the standard cells is provided with a power supply voltage terminal and a ground potential terminal. To fix the well potential, active regions called a P-sub region and an N-sub region are formed in the p-well region and n-well region, respectively. The p-well region is connected via the P-sub region to the ground potential terminal, thereby fixing the p-well region to the ground potential GND. The n-well region is connected via the N-sub region to the power supply voltage terminal, thereby fixing the n-well region to a power supply voltage VDD.
In standard cells, an interconnection for the power supply voltage VDD and an interconnection for the ground potential GND are provided to two sides facing each other in the direction in which the cells are arranged. In the semiconductor substrate under these interconnections, the p-well region and the n-well region are formed. In these well regions, semiconductor elements, including transistors, are formed so as to configure various circuits. In the p-well region and n-well region, the well potential fixing P-sub region and N-sub region are formed. The interconnection for the power supply voltage is electrically connected via a contact hole to the N-sub region and the interconnection for the ground potential is electrically connected via a contact hole to the P-sub region, thereby fixing the well potential.
To make use of the substrate bias effect of a MOS transistor positively, a standard cell may be used which has four terminals for the power supply voltage, ground potential, P-sub region, and N-sub regions (for example, referred to in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2000-332118). The 4-terminal standard cell applies via independent lines the power supply voltage VDD, the ground potential GND, the potential VBN for fixing the n-well potential, and the potential VBP for fixing the p-well potential. In the 4-terminal standard cell, a line for applying the potential VBP for fixing the p-well potential and a line for applying the potential VBN for fixing the n-well potential are provided to two sides facing in the direction in which the cells are arranged. In the semiconductor substrate under these lines, the N-sub region and P-sub region are formed. The line for fixing the potential in the p-well region is electrically connected via a contact hole to the P-sub region and the line for fixing the potential in the n-well region is electrically connected via a contact hole to the N-sub region. Inside the lines, an interconnection for the power supply voltage VDD and an interconnection for the ground potential GND are arranged. The n-well region and p-well region are formed in the semiconductor substrate between the interconnections. In the n-well region and p-well region, semiconductor elements, including transistors, are formed so as to configure various circuits.
With the above configuration, however, the P-sub region and N-sub region for fixing the well potential and their interconnections lead to an increase in the cell area. To prevent the cell area from increasing, the sizes of semiconductor elements, including transistors, formed in the cell have to be reduced, resulting in a decrease in the driving capability. Particularly when the sub-regions and their interconnections are formed with the minimum line width according to design rules, the minimum distance or the like for the MOS transistors formed in the well region is limited or the step coating property is degraded. From these points of view, the cell area increases or the sizes of transistors must be reduced. In addition, contact with the densely arranged sub-regions necessitates complicated manufacturing processes. If there are a lot of such patterns, this results in a drop in the manufacturing yield.
With the miniaturization of semiconductor integrated circuit devices, the power supply voltage is getting lower and therefore the substrate current is getting smaller. Therefore, in a semiconductor integrated circuit device with a lowered power supply voltage, there is a possibility that the well potential can be fixed efficiently by minimizing a decrease in the driving capability due to an increase in the cell area or a reduction in the transistor size. This is because, when the power supply voltage comes close to 1V, a much potential difference needed for a forward current to flow through the p-n junction does not appear. Since not only the substrate current decreases due to the lowered power supply voltage, but also the source potential of the transistor is normally fixed, when the power supply voltage is about 1V, a fluctuation in the well potential caused by the coupling with the drain is less than 0.5V, half the power supply voltage. Therefore, there is almost no possibility that a breakdown will take place due to latch-up.
Naturally, when the substrate potential fluctuates at random, the driving capability of the transistor and the leakage current fluctuate according to the fluctuation of the potential. Therefore, to take measures against the fluctuations, the well potential has to be fixed.

Semiconductor integrated circuit device formed by automatic layout wiring by use of standard cells and design method of fixing its well potential


The present disclosure relates to ground expanded graphite agglomerate compositions, methods for making such agglomerates, their use as conductive additive, and conductive composites including such ground expanded graphite agglomerates. The disclosure also pertains to methods for making such composites and the use of such composites in preparing thermally conductive materials. The agglomerates may be characterized by a certain softness allowing the agglomerates to dissolve, e.g., through shear forces applied during compounding, thereby leading to an improved feedability and a highly homogenous distribution of the expanded graphite material in the composite matrix.

Graphite powder is a promising filler (i.e., conductive additive) for thermally and electrically conductive polymers and other composite materials.
Expanded or exfoliated graphite, also known as nanographite or nano-structured graphite, has recently attracted increased interest because of its excellent thermal and electrical conductivity properties. Expanded graphite outperforms non-expanded graphite and other conductive fillers (e.g., boron nitride, carbon fibers, carbon nanotubes) in terms of the thermal conductivity conveyed to polymers or other materials such as cement or gypsum-based materials. Adding expanded graphite to flooring materials to increase the thermal conductivity of the composite material is generally known in the art and has, for example, been described in DE-OS-100 49 230 A1.
However, disadvantages of adding expanded graphite—as opposed to conventional highly crystalline synthetic and natural graphite—to the polymer mass are its difficult workability and processability, its lower lubricating properties, its lower oxidation resistance, and its dustiness. In addition, processing expanded graphite in polymer compounders may result in flow problems that make it difficult to extrude the polymer including the expanded graphite. Problems in particular arise during the feeding of the expanded graphite into the extruder.
US 2009/0189125 to Grigorian et al. describes a process for preparing electrically conductive polymer composites comprising mixing non-predispersed carbon with an emulsion comprising a polymer in a liquid solvent to obtain a dispersion of the carbon in the polymer matrix, followed by removing the solvent from the dispersion ("solution compounding"). Grigorian et al. also describe as a comparative example a process on a laboratory scale wherein expanded graphite was mixed with dry polypropylene powders by mechanical mixing (compounding) followed by molding the mixture into composite sheets. Grigorian et al. does not describe any processability issues observed for expanded graphite, such as problems related to feeding of the expanded graphite into the extruder.
In addition, US 2007/031704 assigned to SGL Carbon describes conductive additives for gypsum materials comprised of compacted expanded graphite particles made from ground graphite foils. The expanded graphite is first compressed into large two dimensional structures (i.e. graphite foils) having a thickness of between 0.1 and 3 mm and a density between 0.8 and 1.8 g/cm3 and is then chopped, in a cutting mill, into smaller particles having a diameter between 1 and 5 mm and a bulk density of typically between 0.12 and 0.25 g/cm3. The resulting particles differ in their properties compared to the present invention, particularly in terms of the hardness of the particles, which is substantially higher in the particles described in US 2007/031704. In particular, the hardness of the expanded graphite particles described in US 2007/031704 has a negative effect on the thermal conductivity and on the mechanical properties of the composite product as compared to powdered expanded graphite.
EP 0 735 123 A describes processes for making graphite composite materials based on expanded graphite and used in chemical heat pumps or treatment devices for industrial gases. In the process described in EP 0 735 123 A, the expanded graphite is pre-densified into a macroscale matrix or laminate by compression or lamination. The composite compact is then further processed by impregnation and subsequent drying, followed by a final compression step to bring the graphite product into its final desired form. EP 0 735 123 A does not describe the use of the graphite as a conductive additive, e.g. for polymer products.
US 2008/0279710 A1 by Zhamu et al. describes a method of producing electrically conductive composite compositions particularly useful as fuel cell bipolar plates. The method comprises blending expandable (as opposed to expanded) graphite powder with non-expandable graphite powder and a binder, followed by expansion of the expandable graphite by heat treatment. Subsequently, the mixture is compressed into macroscale preformed composite compacts such as sheets and blocks which are then treated to activate the binder in the composition resulting in the desired composite plates that can be used in fuel cells (see, e.g., the flow chart in FIG. 2a). The patent application appears to describe the expansion of the expandable graphite portion of a mixture comprising expandable graphite, non-expandable graphite and a binder, and subsequent curing of the mixture by combined compression and binder treatments leading to composites of good mechanical integrity while exhibiting high transversal electrical conductivity. Zhamu et al. are not concerned with already expanded graphite powders, but rather prepare mixtures with binders to produce directly the desired composite compacts as the result of their process. While US 2008/0279710 A1 notes that expanded graphite is difficult to handle as concerns mixing with other powders such as non-expandable graphite, the solution presented to this problem is rather to mix the two graphite powders prior to exfoliation of the expandable graphite, thereby circumventing the problem of difficult handling due to the low density of expanded graphite.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide expanded graphite forms that preserve the excellent thermal and electrical conductivity of powdered expanded graphite while offering good processability comparable to standard, i.e. non-expanded synthetic or natural graphite. It is a further object to provide a process for preparing such advantageous expanded graphite forms and furthermore to provide composites comprising such advantageous expanded graphite forms. Finally, it is yet another object to provide applications and uses of conductive polymers comprising said advantageous expanded graphite forms.

Ground expanded graphite agglomerates, methods of making, and applications of the same


A method of producing an extract of an animal-derived or plant-derived biological material includes: extracting a component in the biological material using liquefied dimethyl ether for the biological material to obtain a liquefied dimethyl ether solution including the component; separating the solution from the biological material; and volatilizing or separating the liquefied dimethyl ether from the solution.

Conventionally, an extraction method using liquefied dimethyl ether as an extraction solvent is proposed in PTL 1. According to the disclosure of PTL 1, liquefied dimethyl ether in which the saturation amount of water is dissolved is contacted with a target material containing moisture and oil to produce a mixture of liquefied dimethyl ether and oil and the deoiled target material.
The use of dimethyl ether as an extraction solvent in producing an extract of a plant material is proposed in PTL 2. According to the disclosure of PTL 2, an extraction liquid obtained by contacting dimethyl ether with a plant material is separated into a dimethyl ether layer and an aqueous layer, and after removing the aqueous layer, the dimethyl ether layer is evaporated and dried to produce an extract.

Method of producing extract and extraction residue of biological material, extract, and extraction residue


An antenna structure, such as an antenna reflector, comprises a collapsible mesh and catenary tie/cord attachment structure, retained in tension by a plurality of variable geometry spreader-standoffs connected to an inflatable tubular support hoop. The standoffs decouple the energy-focusing geometry of the antenna surface from the hoop, so as to reduce the sensitivity of the shape of the surface to variations in the shape of the tubing. Each spreader-standoff is connected to the hoop at a hinge joint of a pair of spreader-standoff elements, by a radial connection element retained in tension by the adjoining tubing. The hinge joint of a respective spreader-standoff pair is adjacent to an inner diameter side of the hoop, while distal locations of the spreader-standoff elements are located beyond an outer diameter side of the inflated hoop. As a consequence, the inflatable hoop may have a relatively small cross-section, which reduces its size and weight, as long as it is capable of effectively maintaining its intended configuration when inflated/deployed. Since the only connection between a respective pair of spreader-standoff elements and the tubular support hoop is through a radial connection element at the hinge joint, the inflatable hoop is self-centering, with radial loading effectively maintaining the antenna in its deployed state.

Among the variety of antenna assemblies (e.g., reflectors) that have been proposed for airborne and spaceborne applications are those unfurlable structures which employ an inflatable structure that forms a 'stressed skin' type of reflective surface. In assemblies proposed to date, non-limiting examples of which are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,364,053 and 4,755,819, the inflatable structure itself often serves as the reflective surface of the antenna. For this purpose, the inflatable material has a preformed reflective shape, so that, once fully inflated, its surface will assume the desired antenna geometry. A significant drawback to such structures is the fact that should there be a change in inflation pressure, most notably a decrease in pressure over time, the contour of the support structure and therefore that of the reflective surface itself, will change from the intended antenna profile, thereby impairing the energy gathering and focussing properties of the antenna.

Space deployable antenna structure tensioned by hinged spreader-standoff elements distributed around inflatable hoop


A Bluetooth responder device for transmitting non-Bluetooth related data is disclosed. The device (2) comprises means for receiving non-Bluetooth data to be sent, means for receiving an incoming Bluetooth inquiry packet, means for generating a Bluetooth FHS packet to be sent in response to the incoming Bluetooth inquiry packet, which FHS packet represents data received via the input; and means for sending the generated Bluetooth FHS packet. The non-Bluetooth data may be carried in an undefined field of the FHS packet.

This invention relates to data communication. In particular the invention relates to data communication making use of the Bluetooth protocol.
Bluetooth is a widely used wireless communications medium which is extremely versatile and therefore can be used in a wide number of different circumstances. However, one of the issues with Bluetooth communication is that the establishment of a Bluetooth connection carries with it a significant processing overhead. The Bluetooth standard provides for one way around this problem in that two Bluetooth communication devices may be "bonded" to one another such that they may only communicate with one another. Once this bonding has taken place, communication between those two devices is simplified. This bonding process is used, for example, where wireless headphones are to communicate with a mobile telephone or other such source.
However, if there is a desire to communicate between one central or host device and a plurality of remote or slave devices, then this bonding process is of no use.
In such a circumstance, if conventional Bluetooth communication is used then there are two effects. Firstly, significant hardware must be provided at each location from which Bluetooth signals are to be sent, and secondly there is a significant time and power requirement associated with the overhead of establishing a Bluetooth connection. These factors can make conventional Bluetooth communications less than ideal in a situation where low cost transmission devices are required and perhaps only a small amount of data needs to be sent.
The present application relates to data communication mechanisms which make use of the Bluetooth protocol, but allow the transmission of data without the making of a Bluetooth ACL (Asynchronous Connection Less) connection.
To aid in understanding of the invention as described in further detail below, there follows a description of one aspect of the Bluetooth regime.
Bluetooth communication provides for ad hoc connections between peer devices. The ad hoc nature of the communication implies that the population of peer devices within range can, and often will, vary in time. This variation requires that Bluetooth devices have some means of determining at any time which devices are in the vicinity and ready to respond.
The procedure for discovering peer devices is called INQUIRY within the Bluetooth specification and devices which make themselves discoverable have to enable a mode called INQUIRY SCANNING to be able to participate in this inquiry process.
When a device needs to discover devices in the vicinity it sends out a radio packet repeatedly. This packet is known as an "ID Packet" and consists of 68 bits of information which have been chosen to provide an optimal auto-correlation coefficient. The 68 bits of information in the ID Packet has a form as shown in FIG. 1. Four trailer bits which are used in other parts of the Bluetooth regime are omitted and the 68 bits consist of a 64 bit "SYNC WORD", giving the good auto-correlation coefficient as mentioned above, and a four bit preamble.
When an ID Packet is received by a Bluetooth device in the appropriate state, which can be described as a Bluetooth Responder, that device or responder sends a response in the form of a Frequency Hop Sequence packet ("FHS Packet"). The FHS Packet consists of 144 bits of information padded with forward error correction bits to make an overall length of 240 bits.
The 144 bits of the FHS Packet are made up of many smaller concatenated packets of information. The make up of a FHS packet is shown in FIG. 2. All of the data which are included within the FHS packet relate to properties or parameters of one or other of the Bluetooth units. The system is thus a closed system, with all of the data in the FHS packet being generated internally by the Bluetooth system.
In the present application a field of interest is that labelled "Class of Device". This is a 24 bit field. Class of Device is described in the Bluetooth specification as a parameter used to indicate the capabilities of a device and is made up of sub-fields as shown in FIG. 3.
In the present application, the major device class sub-field which consists of 5 bits and the minor device class sub-field which consists of 6 bits are of particular interest. These bits can be used to indicate the device class of a responder. However, in some circumstances there is no need to transmit this 6 bit field, and in such a case the major device class sub-field may be set to indicate an unclassified device class. In this circumstance the 6 bits in the minor device class field are not defined in the Bluetooth specification and so can be set to anything and used for an alternative purpose.

Data communication with a responder device arranged to send non-bluetooth data via a bluetooth inquiry process


A test piece transfer apparatus includes a transfer mechanism for transferring a test piece in a transfer direction. The transfer mechanism is provided with a test piece holder for holding the test piece, and with a driving portion. The test piece transfer apparatus further includes a test piece adjusting mechanism cooperating with the transfer mechanism for adjusting the direction of a test piece being transferred. The test piece holder includes a lower surface holding portion, an upstream holding portion and a downstream holding portion. The lower surface holding portion comes into contact with the lower surface of the test piece. The upstream holding portion is arranged on an upstream side of the test piece in the transfer direction. The downstream holding portion is arranged on a downstream side of the test piece in the transfer direction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a test piece transfer apparatus for transferring a test strip for use in e.g. urine qualitative analysis.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 14 shows an example of conventional test piece transfer apparatus (see Patent Document 1, for example). The test piece transfer apparatus X shown in the figure includes a pair of rollers 91 and a belt 92, and is designed to transfer e.g. a test piece 99 for use in urine qualitative analysis. The test piece transfer apparatus X, along with an analysis unit not shown, may constitute an analyzer. The paired rollers 91 are spaced apart from each other in the direction x, and one of the rollers is driven for rotation in the direction indicated by an arrow in the figure by a driving source such as a motor. The belt 92 is an endless belt made of e.g. rubber and wound around the rollers 91. The upper surface of the belt 92 in the direction z is a transfer surface for transferring the test piece 99 to the left in the direction x. The test piece 99 is in the form of a strip having a width along the direction x and a length along a direction perpendicular to the sheet surface of the figure. The test piece 99 has on the upper surface a plurality of reagent regions (not shown). For instance, a plurality of test pieces 99 are stored on the upper right of the belt 92 in the figure. These test pieces 99 are placed onto a right portion of the transfer surface of the belt 92 one by one and successively transferred to the left in the direction x. The test piece 99 transferred in this way is subjected to e.g. urine qualitative analysis, with e.g. urine as a specimen applied to the reagent region.
To properly apply a specimen such as urine to the reagent region, it is desirable that the test piece 99 is set at a proper position during the transfer. However, in the transfer process, the test piece 99 in the form of a strip easily deviates from the proper position by e.g. turning around an axis extending in the direction z due to paper powder or dust accumulated on the belt 92, for example. Further, when the test piece is placed at an improper position in the direction perpendicular to the sheet surface of the figure, proper application of urine is hindered. Moreover, since urine qualitative analysis is generally performed with respect to a large number of specimens, a faster transfer speed is more desirable. With the conventional structure, however, when the transfer speed is too fast, the front edge of the test piece 99 in the transfer direction may rise from the surface of the belt. In such a case, the test piece 99 cannot be properly transferred to a position for applying urine.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent No. 3106351


A film peeling device for peeling a film which has been stuck onto a film sticking face of a wafer including: a wafer sucking means for sucking the wafer so that the film sticking face of the wafer can become an upper face; a peeling tape feeding means for feeding a peeling tape onto the film of the film sticking face; a pushing means for pushing only one portion of the peeling tape against the film at an edge portion of the wafer so that the adhesive strength between the peeling tape and the film can be enhanced in the one portion of the peeling tape; and a peeling means for peeling the film from the film sticking face of the wafer by the peeling tape while the one portion of the peeling tape, the adhesive strength of which has been enhanced, is used as a peeling start portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a film peeling method for peeling a film and, for example, to a film peeling method for peeling a surface-protective film which is stuck on a front surface of a wafer. The present invention also relates to a film peeling device for executing this film peeling method.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a semiconductor manufacturing process, there is a tendency that the wafer is made larger in size and thinner in thickness from the viewpoint of enhancing the packing density of the wafer. In order to make the wafer thinner, back-grinding (grinding a back surface) is conducted in which a surface-protective film is stuck on a front surface of the wafer, on which the semiconductor element has been formed, and a back surface of the wafer is ground under the condition that the front surface of this wafer is sucked onto a suction table.
When the wafer is subjected to this back-grinding process, for example, the thickness of the wafer is reduced to 50 micrometers. Therefore, the mechanical strength of the wafer, which has already been subjected to the back-grinding process, is lowered according to the reduction of the thickness. It is necessary that the above surface-protective film is peeled off from the front surface of the wafer after the completion of the back-grinding process. According to the prior art, the surface-protective film is peeled off in such a manner that a peeling tape is stuck on the surface-protective film of the wafer and then the peeling tape is wound up together with the surface-protective film so as to peel off the surface-protective film. However, this method has a problem that the wafer is damaged at the point of time when the peeling tape is stuck onto the surface-protective film because the mechanical strength of the wafer has been greatly lowered.
In order to solve the above problem, Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 6-91153 discloses the following surface-protective film peeling method. That is, the peeling tape is made to come into pressure contact with a rear end portion of the surface-protective film of the wafer by a sticking roller and, then, the sticking roller is raised and moved forward. Next, the peeling unit is moved from the rear side to the front side so that the surface-protective film can be peeled off from the wafer together with the peeling tape. In this case, the adhesive strength between the peeling tape and the surface-protective film is enhanced at the position where the peeling tape and the surface-protective film are made to come into pressure contact with each other. Therefore, when the peeling unit is moved, it is possible to continuously peel off the surface-protective film in such a manner that the position where the peeling tape and the surface-protective film are made to come into pressure contact with each other is made to be a start point of peeling.
However, as the sticking roller used for the film peeling device described in the Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 6-91153 is relatively long, in the case where the rear end portion of the wafer is made to come into pressure contact by the sticking roller, a load is given by the sticking roller to a portion of the wafer where peeling tape does not exist. As described before, the thickness of the wafer supplied to the film peeling device is made smaller by back-grinding. Accordingly, there is a possibility that the wafer is damaged at a position where peeling tape does not exist.
In order to easily peel the surface-protective film, it is actually unnecessary to conduct the pressure-contact-operation by the sticking roller even in the portion where peeling tape does not exist. In this case, the entire film peeling device may be made larger in size.
Further, as the sticking roller is moved with the peeling tape, in the case where the film peeling device is used over a long period of time, the sticking roller is polluted with the adhesive of the peeling tape. Accordingly, there is a possibility that the adhesive is transferred onto the suction table. Especially in the case where the thickness of the wafer is reduced by the back-grinding, a distance between the upper face of the wafer and the upper face of the table is small. Therefore, the transfer of the adhesive described above tends to occur. As a porous ceramic plate has been recently used as the suction table in many cases, holes on the sucking plate are clogged by the transfer of the adhesive described above so that the wafer can not be appropriately sucked onto the suction table. In this case, as the adhesive strength of the surface-protective film with respect to the wafer is higher than the sucking force of the table, and the wafer is removed from the suction table together with the peeling tape when moving the peeling unit, this may damage the wafer.
The present invention has been accomplished in view of the above circumstances. It is an object of the present invention to provide a film peeling method capable of peeling a film from a wafer without damaging the wafer and without making the entire device larger in size. It is also an object of the present invention to provide a film peeling device for executing this film peeling method.

Film peeling method and film peeling device


A method for obtaining human microglial precursor cells, comprising: (a) providing a cell population comprising neural precursor cells, wherein the cell population is obtainable from embryoid bodies differentiated from human pluripotent stem cells; (b) differentiating the cell population comprising neural precursor cells into microglial precursor cells by culturing in medium comprising a growth factor selected from the group consisting of insulin and insulin-like growth factors; (c) expanding and enriching microglial precursor cells in medium comprising a growth factor selected from the group consisting of insulin and insulin-like growth factors and 10 to 150 ng/ml GM-CSF; and (d) isolating microglial precursor cells comprising CD45-positive cells.

1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates to a method for obtaining human microglial precursor cells, comprising: (a) providing a cell population comprising neural precursor cells, wherein the cell population is obtainable from embryoid bodies differentiated from human pluripotent stem cells; (b) differentiating the cell population comprising neural precursor cells into microglial precursor cells by culturing in medium comprising a growth factor selected from the group consisting of insulin and insulin-like growth factors; (c) expanding and enriching microglial precursor cells in medium comprising a growth factor selected from the group consisting of insulin and insulin-like growth factors and 10 to 150 ng/ml GM-CSF; and (d) isolating microglial precursor cells comprising CD45-positive cells.
2. Discussion of the Background Art
In this specification, a number of documents including patent applications and manufacturer's manuals is cited. The disclosure of these documents, while not considered relevant for the patentability of this disclosure, is herewith incorporated by reference in its entirety. More specifically, all referenced documents are incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual document was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference.
Microglia are the resident immune cells of the central nervous system (CNS) and constitute about 10 to 20% of all glial cells in the adult CNS (Banati, 2003; Vaughan and Peters, 1974). The origin of microglia is still unclear. It was suggested that microglia appear in two waves, firstly in the neuroepithelium with unknown origin (Chan et al., 2007) and secondly in the brain during fetal development derived from the hematopoietic system and of mesodermal origin (Block and Hong, 2007; Chan et al., 2007).
Microglia respond to damage signals coming from injured tissue by undergoing activation of immune defence programs and proliferation (Ransohoff and Perry, 2009). Thus, microglia are responsible for the first line of the innate immune response in the CNS (Biber et al., 2007; Block et al., 2007; Hanisch and Kettenmann, 2007). Microglia are believed to remain in a resting stage under healthy physiological conditions. This stage is characterized by a ramified morphology and low expression of immunological molecules. In order to perform their surveillance function, microglia are highly dynamic during the resting stage and screen their environment. It is estimated that microglia can scan the entire brain parenchyma every few hours (Hanisch and Kettenmann, 2007; Nimmerjahn et al., 2005).
Under pathological conditions like injury or inflammation microglia become activated immune cells that show an amoeboid morphology, migrate to and within the lesion site, can clear apoptotic cells by phagocytosis and release a wide range of soluble factors that include neurotrophins and immunomodulatory factors (Biber et al., 2007; Block et al., 2007; Hanisch and Kettenmann, 2007). However, in some neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's disease and multiple sclerosis, microglia become over-activated and have detrimental effects on neurons by releasing cytotoxic factors like nitric oxide and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (Block et al., 2007).
Microglial function is often studied using primary microglial cells, which are isolated and enriched from mixed glial cultures derived from the brains of postnatal mice or rats. A restricted number of microglial cells are obtained by a shaking procedure from mixed glial culture flasks (Giulian and Baker, 1986). Optionally, a purified population of microglial cells can be obtained using density gradients and flow cytometry sorting (Ford et al., 1995). Human primary microglia have also been obtained in very limited numbers from patients undergoing neurosurgery or from autopsy brains obtained after a short post mortem interval (Lafortune et al., 1996)
However, the obtained number of primary microglia is very limited in rodents and humans, which complicates classical biochemistry studies, systematic screening tests, or cell therapy approaches. In addition to primary cells, a murine microglial cell line (BV2) was developed by oncogenic transformation of primary microglia (Blasi et al., 1990; Bocchini et al., 1992). Furthermore, an immortalised human microglial cell line (HMO6) was developed through retroviral transduction of human embryonic telencephalon tissue with v-myc (U.S. Pat. No. 6,780,641). However, a drawback of all these cell lines is that they showed altered cytokine profile and changes in their migratory capacity (Horvath et al., 2008).
Recently, differentiation of microglia-like cells from mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells was described using a five-step protocol following neuronal differentiation (Tsuchiya et al., 2005). Tsuchiya et al. succeeded in differentiating Mac1+ cells into macrophages as well as into microglia and in isolating microglial cells that were positively stained for Iba1 and CD45, by a density gradient method. The isolated cells showed morphological characteristics of primary microglia and migrate from the bloodstream to brain parenchyma in mice. However, these cells were not described to survive and proliferate in culture (Tsuchiya et al., 2005). Recently, several microglial precursor cell lines were generated from murine ES cells (Napoli et al., 2009). The murine ES cell-derived microglial precursor (ESdM) lines were propagated in culture and expanded to high cell numbers. ESdM were indistinguishable by their cell surface receptors from primary microglia and showed migratory and phagocytic capacity comparable to primary microglia. After intracerebral transplantation in postnatal mice, they engrafted as microglial cells into the brain tissue.
However, despite the above described advances in the establishment of microglia precursor cell cultures, there is still the need to provide methods for the preparation of high quality human microglial precursor cells that can be obtained in large quantities.

Method for obtaining human microglial precursor cells from pluripotent stem cells


A pigmented ink composition comprising a pigment, a resin having an acidic group and an organic solvent having a boiling point of at least 150° C. which is present in an amount of from 50 to 90% by weight based on the whole weight of the ink composition. When this ink composition is subjected to an printed layer-sliding test in which the ink composition is applied on a cationically treated printing medium with a #4 bar coater (available from TOYO SEIKI KOGYO CO., LTD.) and dried and then the printed surface is slid with a cloth on which a weight of 50 g is placed, the printed record is not grazed. This ink composition contains the pigment with a small dispersion particle size and has good water resistance, can be printed on a plain paper sheet without cockling, and suffers from no grazing of printed records when the ink composition is printed on a cationically treated paper sheet.

In an ink-jet printing system, a liquid ink is ejected from a nozzle towards a printing medium using a pressure, heat or an electric field as a driving source to print the printing medium. The ink-jet printing system can be used with a low running cost and form high quality images. Accordingly, in these years, the ink-jet printing system has been quickly spreading not only as an office printing system but also domestic printing system.
As inks for ink-jet printing, aqueous dye inks, which comprise water-soluble dyes dissolved in aqueous media, are used since they have high coloring properties and cause less clogging of printer head orifices. However, the aqueous dye inks have some drawbacks such as low water-resistance, insufficient durability, etc.
Recently, large-size ink-jet printers, which can accommodate to the A-0 size sheet, have been developed and increasingly used outdoor applications for printing exterior posters. In addition, with the popularization of digital cameras, the ink-jet printing is used in applications where printed materials are stored for a long time. Under such circumstances, pigmented inks with good water resistance and weather resistance are being vigorously developed.
However, the aqueous pigment inks comprising water or an aqueous medium as a solvent are not suitable for printing posters since plain paper sheets are cockled (i.e. waving after drying) when they are printed with such aqueous pigment inks.
Oil-based pigmented inks comprising aliphatic hydrocarbons or alcohols as solvents (for example, inks disclosed in JP-A-2000-38533, JP-A-2001-220527 and JP-A-2001-329193) cause less cockling. However, when they are printed on a cationically treated printing media (in general, gloss paper sheets), printed records tend to be grazed. For example, if a number of sheets are continuously printed, the printed records are easily grazed, when the second and subsequent printed sheets are laminated on the previous sheet for several seconds, or the printed records are touched with a hand after printing.


A fuel injection nozzle with which it is possible to control the nozzle hole area and the injection period so that the injection pressure, the injection period and the injection amount are suited to the load and the speed of the engine and with which it is possible to conduct a pilot injection and a main injection certainly and precisely by simple control using a small actuator just by rotating this actuator in one direction. The fuel injection nozzle is of a type having a rotary valve disposed in a well, the rotary valve being rotated by an actuator to adjust the opening area of the nozzle holes formed in an enclosing wall bounding the well; the enclosing wall has a conical inner surface and the rotary valve has at its upper end a pressure-receiving surface for receiving the pressure of the pressurized fuel and has at its circumferential periphery a conical seat surface of an angle matching the angle of the conical inner surface of the enclosing wall. A plurality of pairs of fuel passages each pair consisting of a first passage and a second passage whose opening area is smaller than that of the first passage each passage having one end opening at the pressure-receiving surface and the other end connectable with the nozzle holes are provided in the rotary valve spaced in the direction of its rotation.

As means for supplying fuel in an atomized state to combustion chambers in an internal combustion engine such as a diesel engine, fuel injection nozzles are generally used. Such fuel injection nozzles, as disclosed for example in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. S.59-200063, have had a construction wherein a conical pressure-receiving surface is formed at the tip end of a needle valve axially slidably received inside a nozzle body and the needle valve is opened by a fuel pressure being made to act on this pressure-receiving surface and fuel is injected into a combustion chamber of the engine through a plurality of nozzle holes formed in the tip of the nozzle body.
However, with this construction, the fuel injection pressure, the injected amount and the injection speed are generally determined by a fuel injection pump, and furthermore it is not possible to increase or decrease the total nozzle hole area. Consequently, during low-speed running of the engine the fuel injection pressure decreases and during low-load running of the engine the injection time becomes short and it is not possible to maintain a good combustion state, and it has been difficult to promote fuel combustion and achieve improvements in output and fuel consumption and reductions in combustion noise and NOx emissions.
As a measure to overcome this, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. H.4-76266, a variable nozzle hole fuel injection nozzle is proposed. In this related art, a well is formed in the tip part of a nozzle body and a plurality of nozzle holes (eight) connecting with the well are formed spaced in the circumferential direction in a wall enclosing the well. A rotating shaft passes through a through hole formed axially down the center of the needle valve, a tip portion of this rotating shaft is positioned in the well, and a plurality of channels (four) which connect a fuel pressure chamber inside the well to the nozzle holes when the needle valve opens are provided in the rotating shaft. By rotation of this rotating shaft, the number of open nozzle holes is switched between eight and four.
However, with this related art, because the rotating shaft itself is used as a rotary valve, there have been problems in that when there is a machining error the whole shaft becomes a defective product and that it is liable to stop rotating smoothly due to bending or twisting. Furthermore, the wall forming the well forms a straight cylinder parallel with the nozzle axis, and the rotating shaft serving as the rotary valve is also cylindrical. Consequently, it has been difficult to fix the position of the rotating shaft constituting the rotary valve during fuel injection. That is, even when the nozzle holes have been adjusted to a required degree of opening by the angle of the rotating shaft being changed the rotating shaft easily slips undesirably in its direction of rotation about its axis when a high fuel injection pressure acts at the nozzle holes. Consequently, it has not been possible to avoid the positional relationship between the nozzle holes and the channels slipping and the nozzle hole area becoming larger or smaller than the set size.
For this reason, in the related art there has been the problem that it has been difficult to accurately carry out control of the total nozzle hole area in accordance with the load and speed of the engine. In particular, to effect optimal fuel combustion of the engine it is preferable to control the injection rate, conducting a pilot injection before a main injection, but with the related art described above it has been practically impossible to realize an injection pattern of pilot injection--no injection--main injection.
Also, because as described above there is no mechanism for fixing the rotary shaft serving as a rotary valve during fuel injection, in the related art there has been the problem that a large and relatively high-torque motor is needed to drive the rotating shaft and consequently the fuel injection nozzle becomes large.
With regard to pilot injections, a control mechanism in a jerk-type fuel injection device is proposed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. H.7-77124. However, in this related art, because the fuel injection amount and the injection period and so on of the pilot injection are determined by the relative positions of a plunger and a leak hole of a fuel injection pump, there has been the problem that the degree of freedom of the various parameters is small. In Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. H.7-54730 a solenoid-driven fuel injection nozzle is proposed, but in this related art there has been the problem that it is not possible to apply an optimal nozzle hole area to a pilot injection.


Methods are described for diagnosing or prognosing insulin resistance in diabetic and pre-diabetic patients, the method comprising determining the amount of insulin and C-peptide in a sample. Provided herein are mass spectrometric methods for detecting and quantifying insulin and C-peptide in a biological sample utilizing enrichment and/or purification methods coupled with tandem mass spectrometric or high resolution/high accuracy mass spectrometric techniques.

Insulin resistance varies several-fold in an apparently healthy population, and somewhere between one-fourth and one-third of the most insulin resistant of these individuals is at increased risk to develop a cluster of metabolic abnormalities and associated clinical syndromes. Direct estimates of insulin-mediated glucose disposal are impractical at a clinical level. However, plasma insulin concentrations are highly correlated with direct measures of insulin-mediated glucose disposal, and this has led to the introduction of several surrogate estimates of insulin resistance based on measurements of plasma insulin and glucose concentrations. Unfortunately, there is not a standardized insulin assay. As a consequence, it has not been possible to establish a universally applicable numerical cut-point with which to identify apparently healthy individuals who are sufficiently insulin resistant to be at high risk for a number of adverse clinical outcomes.
In response to this dilemma, a number of surrogate markers based on commonly measured metabolic abnormalities associated with IR have been proposed to help identify insulin resistant individuals prior to development of manifest disease. For example, a diagnosis of the metabolic syndrome (MetS) is an example of this approach. Although a diagnosis of the MetS is associated with a direct measure of insulin-mediated glucose disposal, only approximately 50% of the one-third of the most insulin resistant population of apparently healthy persons qualified for a diagnosis of the MetS.
A reliable and accurate method for identifying insulin resistance is needed.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Methods for quantitation of insulin and C-peptide


A prosthetic device comprising at least one part consisting of a polymer composition comprising at least one polyarylene (P1) and at least one polyarylether selected from the group consisting of poly(aryl ether ketone)s (P2) and poly(aryl ether sulfone)s (P3).

Due both to demographic change and to developments in medical science, the number of surgical procedures involving prosthesis implantation is rising rapidly. The more obvious examples of prosthetic devices are hip or knee replacements and false teeth. Other less well-known examples are stents, heart valves, bone screws and plates and spinal fixators.
Prosthesis must be tolerated by the patient and not altered in time. Materials that may be suitable for each type of prosthesis are subjected to precise specifications. Indeed, if the prosthesis is a dental implant or a hip replacement the specifications will be very different. The most important requirements are mechanical properties similar to those of bone to allow the transfer constraints between bone and prosthesis, chemical resistance to corrosion, chemical inertia in relation to the environment and biocompatibility. These properties must be controlled to maintain the integrity of used materials. The human body is an aggressive and corrosive environment mainly because of concentrations of chloride ions (113 mEq/l in blood plasma and 117 mEq/l in the interstitial fluid, which is sufficient to corrode metallic materials) and dissolved oxygen. For dental implants, conditions are even tougher since the saliva contains more sulfur products that make it still more corrosive. The term "biocompatibility" is defined by the Dorland's Medical Dictionary as the quality of not having toxic or injurious effects on biological systems. This encompasses both the material and host responses to an implant. The host response to an implant can be highly complex and is often linked to the material response. It is also dependent on the anatomical position of the implant. For a material to be biocompatible, it should not elicit any adverse host reactions to its presence. Inflammation and encapsulation phenomena may occur when the prosthesis suffer from low biocompatibility.
Typically, prosthetic devices are made of inorganic (metal, alloys, ceramic and glass) and/or polymeric materials.
It is a fact that most pure metals and alloys are chemically unstable in many everyday environments due to their tendency to corrode. In the complex environment of the human body, metals and alloys are subject to electrochemical corrosion mechanisms, with bodily fluids acting as an electrolyte. While alloys such as stainless steel may appear to be highly stable and are widely used for kitchenware, eating utensils and jewelry, there are many situations that can cause severe corrosion of this material, and it is not the best choice for use in prosthetic devices.
Compared to inorganic materials, polymeric materials have certain advantages: they are lightweight, corrosion resistant, they can be directly shaped by molding and offer design freedoms. Over the past 4 years, the price of steel and non-ferrous metals grew faster than polymers and they require also less energy to be implemented. Among various existing polymers, only some of them have been used in the prosthesis industry so far, mainly because of their biocompatibility. Examples of such polymers are polymethyl methacrylate, polystyrene, poly(ether ether ketone).
The Applicant has found that specific polymeric compositions feature surprisingly outstanding properties and in particular a good biocompatibility and impact resistance. These outstanding properties may be useful in certain demanding applications, such as articles used as prosthetic devices.
Polyarylenes, especially polyphenylenes, exhibit some outstanding performance properties, including exceptionally high strength, stiffness, hardness, scratch resistance, friction and wear properties and dimensional stability. Unfortunately, polyarylenes while offering an exceptionally high level of strength and stiffness have some limitations in toughness-related properties, in particular in terms of impact resistance (as typically characterized by standard notched and unnotched Izod tests) and elongation properties. They have also limitations in melt processability due to their high viscosities, and tend to be anisotropic when melt fabricated under high shear such as during injection molding. Also, they have some limitations in chemical resistance.
Poly(aryl ether ketone)s, especially poly(ether ether ketone)s, exhibit also some outstanding properties, including exceptionally high melting point, excellent chemical resistance (including environmental stress cracking resistance) and excellent thermal stability. They have also high strength, stiffness, although somewhat lower than that of polyarylenes, and very good elongation properties. On the other hand, like polyarylenes, they have some limitations in terms of impact resistance.
Poly(aryl ether sulfone)s in general and poly(biphenylether sulfone)s in particular are typically amorphous and do not melt crystallize. Due to their high strength and heat resistance, certain poly(aryl ether sulfone)s may be used in high-stress environments where other polymers may degrade or may otherwise be unsuitable. Poly(aryl ether sulfone)s provide good chemical resistance, toughness, lightness and strength, processability in the melt phase including injection molding and extrusion; and ease of colorability.
Polymer blends have been widely taught and employed in the art. As broad as this statement may be, the blending of polymers remains an empirical art and the selection of polymers for a blend giving special properties is, in the main, an Edisonian-like choice. Certain attributes of polymer blends are more unique than others. The more unique attributes when found in a blend tend to be unanticipated properties. According to Zoller and Hoehn, Journal of Polymer Science, Polymer Physics Edition, vol. 20, pp. 1385-1397 (1982): "Blending of polymers is a useful technique to obtain properties in thermoplastic materials not readily achieved in a single polymer. Virtually all technologically important properties can be improved in this way, some of the more important ones being flow properties, mechanical properties (especially impact strength), thermal stability, and price ( . . . ). Ultimately, the goal of such modeling and correlation studies should be the prediction of blend properties from the properties of the pure components alone. We are certainly very far from achieving this goal." Moreover, in the field of miscibility or compatibility of polymer blends, the art has found predictability to be unattainable, even though considerable work on the matter has been done. According to authorities: "It is well known that, regarding the mixing of thermoplastic polymers, incompatibility is the rule and miscibility and even partial miscibility is the exception. Since most thermoplastic polymers are immiscible in other thermoplastic polymers, the discovery of a homogeneous mixture or partially miscible mixture of two or more thermoplastic polymers is, indeed, inherently unpredictable with any degree of certainty"; for example, see P. J. Flory, Principles of Polymer Chemistry, Cornell University Press, 1953, Chapter 13, page 555.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,662,887 describes a high modulus prosthetic device made of poly(ether ether ketone).
U.S. 2007111165 describes a prosthetic dental device made of a thermoplastic polymer including a poly(aryl ketone), such as poly(ether ether ketone) (PEEK), polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), poly(aryl ether ketone) (PAEK), poly(ether ketone) (PEK), poly(ether ketone ether ketone ketone) (PEKEKK), poly(ether ketone ketone) (PEKK), and/or polyetherimide (PEI), polysulfone (PSU), and polyphenylsulfone (PPSU).
All materials used in the prior art prosthetic devices still suffer from a limited impact resistance, which is a key property for such application where such materials are submitted to various and harsh conditions.
There remains thus a strong need for a prosthetic device presenting a superior balance of properties, including part or preferably all of the following ones:                very high strength;        very high stiffness;        good elongation properties;        good melt processability (in particular, good injection moldability);        high chemical resistance;        good biocompatibility;        outstanding impact resistance, as possibly characterized by a standard no-notch IZOD test (ASTM D-4810).
In fact, there is a specific need to improve the mechanical properties of the existing prosthetic devices and in particular their impact resistance while at least maintaining their biocompatibility.


A system for synchronizing replicas of a database. The system detects a failure of update data from a first replica to be applied to a second replica and determines a cause of the failure. The system also resolves the cause of the failure. According to the system disclosed herein, the present invention synchronizes the replicas of the database without requiring manual intervention.

Databases are well known and are used in a variety of applications. For example, a bug tracking database may be used to collect bug and failure data for software or firmware in computers and computer networks. Databases are typically used by different user groups, such as development and quality assurance (QA) teams, which use databases to manage defects, enhancements, and requests for service.
A problem with databases is that users are typically distributed worldwide. There could be hundreds or thousands of users from several different continents accessing a database. Consequently, access to the database from distant geographical locations can be inconveniently slow.
A conventional solution is to create replicas (exact reproductions of a database) at different server sites in order to enable local access to users everywhere in the world. Any transactions (updates to the database) at each server site are replicated at other replicas so that all of the replicas are continually updated. A replication (synchronization) program, which updates all of the replicas, typically involves an export function and import function. Typically, a synchronization packet (hereinafter referred to as a "packet") that contains metadata for a transaction of a replica is exported from one server site and then imported at destination replicas (the replicas to be updated) located on other respective server sites.
A problem with this conventional solution is that packets often do not get imported at a particular destination replica. The most common reason for such a failure is that one or more packets preceding the current packet has been lost in transit or lost in some other manner. Typically, packets should be received in a particular sequence or they will not be applied. When a packet is lost, the import function of the synchronization process for that destination server site stops and subsequent packets start accumulating in the in-box.
When packets accumulate in the in-box, neither the administrator at the sending server site nor the administrator at the destination server site is notified. The administrator at the sending server site will not notice the accumulated packets since they are at the destination server site. The administrator at the destination server site may notice the accumulated packets only if that administrator manually and routinely checks the server site for accumulated packets. However, that administrator would not be able to take any corrective actions, because a corrective action for this particular problem would involve actions taken at the sending server site. The administrator at the destination server site typically does not have privileges to access the sending server site and thus would not be able to resolve the problem. Accordingly, that administrator has to somehow request help from the administrator at the sending server. This can take some time especially if the administrators are in distant time zones. The administrator at the destination server site may have to resort to email communication, which could span hours. Consequently, the turnaround time for resolution of the problem is adversely affected.
Another problem with the conventional solution is that, after any problems are resolved at the sending server site, a new synchronization cycle has to be manually forced to enable the replication/synchronization process. To accomplish this, the administrator at the sending server site requires information that is available only at the destination server site. A problem is that the administrator at the sending server site typically does not have privileges to access the sending server site and would thus not be able to retrieve the required information. Accordingly, the administrator at the sending server site would need to contact the administrator at the destination server site to get the information. As indicated above, this can take some time due to the administrators being in distant time zones or communicating by email, which could span hours. Consequently, the turnaround time to resolve such a problem is adversely affected.
Another reason that packets accumulate is that at the destination server site, the database user account of the database server has been locked out (at the OS level). A lockout may occur, for example, if the password is periodically changed (e.g. every 90 days) or after a predetermined number of logins (e.g. after 300 logins) and a user attempts to login with an old password. An administrator would then have to unlock the password. Consequently, incoming packets would not get imported at the replica at the destination server site. The administrator at the destination server site would learn of the problem only by manually and routinely checking if incoming packets have accumulated. Then, by manually running import commands, the administrator can determine if the user account is locked out. The administrator would then have to manually unlock the database user account and then manually rerun the import function of the replication program.
A synchronization failure can also originate at the sending server site. For example, a glitch during a previous export may prevent all further exports from occurring. The administrator at the sending server site will learn of such a failure only if that administrator manually and routinely checks the status of the last scheduled export and then manually runs the export function to determine the cause of the failure. The administrator would have to manually resolve the cause of the failure and then manually force the synchronization (i.e. export function).
Accordingly, what is needed is an improved method and system for reliably synchronizing replicas of a database. The method and system should be capable of being easily adapted to existing technology. The present invention addresses such a need.

System for synchronizing replicas of a database

International Business Machines Corporation


A method for converting a dump truck body into an improved truck body. The dump truck body is configured for hauling a payload and has a canopy, a floor, two sidewalls, and a front wall. In a preferred embodiment, the method comprises: if the dump truck body has a tailgate, removing the tailgate; extending the floor to the rear by adding a floor extension component at a floor angle approximately ten degrees greater than a pre-conversion floor angle; increasing the height of the sidewalls by adding two fabricated sidewall attachment components; and tying the sidewall extensions into the rear of the floor extension component by adding a fabricated component. Preferably, a material dam is incorporated into the canopy forward of the front wall to form a shelf that is configured to retain and balance the payload.

This invention relates to a method for converting a truck body. In particular, the invention relates to a method for converting a dump truck body.
Conventional dump truck bodies are designed to haul a variety of materials, including dirt, rock, etc. The design of these dump truck bodies is based on accommodating the heaviest material to be hauled, typically material with an average density of about 3,000 pounds per cubic yard. The volumetric capacity of dump truck bodies is typically limited to ensure that the payload does not exceed the carrying capacity of the truck chassis.
Coal, however, has a density in the range of 1,100 to 1,700 pounds per cubic yard. Because of the lower density of coal, a conventional dump truck body is typically capable of carrying much more coal than can be accommodated by the volumetric capacity of the truck body. The solution to this problem has been to add a tailgate attachment to a conventional dump truck body to increase its volumetric capacity. This solution, however, adds a component to the truck (the tailgate attachment) that can create maintenance problems. Tailgate attachments also increase the weight of the truck body by twelve to fifteen thousand pounds, a weight increase that lowers the carrying capacity of the truck body.
The solution of adding a tailgate attachment to the truck body creates other problems and leaves other problems unsolved. Adding a tailgate does not prevent material from being loaded onto the truck body canopy, from which it can fall during transport. Furthermore, simply adding a tailgate attachment does not prevent one or the other of the two truck axles from being overloaded. This practice does not comply with the axle weight distribution specifications of truck chassis manufacturers.
The background art is characterized by U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,134,628; 6,022,068; Des. 217,726; Des. 235,528; and Des. 242,734; and U.S. Patent Application No. 2004/0026959; the disclosures of which patents and patent application are incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.
Lackey et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 3,134,628 disclose a tilting dump truck trailer. This invention is limited in that a tractor-trailer design is taught. Moreover, no method for improving existing dump truck bodies is taught.
D'Amico in U.S. Pat. No. 6,022,068 discloses a lightweight body for a dump truck. This invention is limited in that sections of the floor of the dump truck body must be arranged in order of increasing thickness or hardness. Moreover, no method for improving existing dump truck bodies is taught.
Cohn in U.S. Pat. No. Des. 217,726 discloses a toy truck or similar article. This invention is limited in that a toy design is taught. Moreover, no method for improving existing dump truck bodies is taught.
Ahola et al. in U.S. Pat. No. Des. 235,528 disclose a dump truck. This invention is limited in that a conventional dump truck design is taught. Moreover, no method for improving existing dump truck bodies is taught.
Breneman et al. in U.S. Pat. No. Des. 242,734 disclose a toy truck with a plow. This invention is limited in that a toy design is taught. Moreover, no method for improving existing dump truck bodies is taught.
Kostecki in U.S. Patent Application No. 2004/0026959 discloses a material transport container. This invention is limited in that the container must incorporate arcuate surfaces bridging junctions between walls and the floor of the container. Moreover, no method for improving existing dump truck bodies is taught.
The foregoing review of the background art reveals that a method for increasing the volumetric capacity of dump truck bodies is needed. The needed method would preferably also improve the efficiency and safety of operation of the dump truck and comply with the truck chassis manufacturer's specifications.


A method in support of providing customized gamification for accomplishing goals receives a request to generate a game framework, the request specifying a goal to be accomplished by one or more participants of a plurality of participants, at least in part through interaction with the game framework. A first set of one or more game parameters to be applied to the game framework is determined for at least a first participant of the plurality of participants, and the game framework comprising the first set of one or more game parameters is generated. The game framework comprising the first set of one or more game parameters is applied to a first profile relating to the first participant of the plurality of participants. The game framework can then be provided to an electronic computing device of the first participant over the network. Systems can be constructed to implement the methods described herein.

People of all ages, religions, and walks of life aspire to improve themselves. People set goals in their daily lives as well as around life and calendar events (e.g., New Years resolutions). Most of these goals can fit into four categories and have either positive (e.g., exercise more) or negative (e.g., eat less) attributes. Four example categories include: Health (e.g., exercise, eating); Mind (e.g., learn, watch less television); Soul (e.g., socially responsible, save energy); and Money (e.g., spend less, earn more). There are many more than four categories but the variations are too long to list. Those skilled in the art of behavior modification and gaming can envision many more activities that can help achieve these goals. These could be one-off activities (e.g., clean up the garage), repetitive activities (e.g., exercise daily), or lofty aspirations (e.g., become an archeologist when I grow up).
Presently, systems and methods exist which attempt to help and encourage people to accomplish these goals. However, improvements are needed, including improvements that can, for example, allow users of such systems and methods to quickly and easily set up and customize those systems and methods for an individual or group, while being able to share them with others.
It is with respect to these and other considerations that the disclosure made herein is presented.

Systems and methods in support of providing customized gamification for accomplishing goals


A touchscreen display may include display chassis, a touchscreen sensor, and filters. The touchscreen sensor may include row conductors and column conductors spanning a display surface. Each of the filters may be coupled to one of the row conductors or the column conductors such that the row conductors and the column conductors are coupled to the filters. Each of the filters may be grounded to the display chassis. Each of the plurality of filters may be configured to allow a touchscreen sensor frequency band of interest to pass through said filter such that the touchscreen sensor is configured to detect touches. Each of the filters may be configured to filter out electromagnetic interference (EMI) on frequencies other than the touchscreen sensor frequency band of interest and to ground the EMI to the display chassis. The touchscreen sensor and the filters may form an EMI shield across the display surface.

Electronic components within displays, such as aircraft displays, can be subject to electromagnetic interference (EMI). While the display chassis can provide EMI shielding on the sides of the display, the display surface can allow electromagnetic interference to disrupt operation of the internal electronic components if the display surface lacks an EMI shield. In systems (e.g., aircraft systems) where EMI shielding is required to meet the electromagnetic interference (EMI) requirements, a transparent conductive layer, such as an indium tin oxide (ITO) layer, is often applied across the display surface and connected to the display chassis as an EMI shield, such that the transparent conductive layer and the display chassis act as a Faraday cage. While transparent conductive layers are effective as forming an EMI shield across the display surface, transparent conductive layers, such as ITO layers, are expensive. Additionally, transparent conductive layers can reduce the accuracy of the touch sensor in touchscreen displays, such as projected capacitance touchscreens (pCap) that utilize a grid of conductors to serve as the transmitting and receiving antenna for the touchscreen sensor on a display. Further, transparent conductive layers, such as ITO layers, can reduce optical transmission through a display stack of a display.

Touchscreen sensor electromagnetic interference protection apparatus