A high voltage power supply including a first high voltage output unit that outputs a high voltage having a predetermined polarity, and including second and third high voltage output units that output a high voltage having a polarity opposite to the predetermined polarity. Rectification units that are connected to the first high voltage output unit separate a current path to the second high voltage output unit from a current path to the third high voltage output unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a high voltage power supply used for an image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic system, and the image forming apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
An image forming apparatus adopting an electrophotographic system includes various high voltage power supplies, which are necessary for an image forming process for forming an image on a recording medium. This high voltage power supply may be, for instance, a high voltage power supply for a charge apparatus, a high voltage power supply for a developing apparatus and a high voltage power supply for a transfer apparatus, which are various modularized power supplies. These modularized power supplies have specifications different according to the configurations of image forming apparatuses. For instance, there are specifications that superpose the output of an ac high voltage power supply on the output of a dc high voltage power supply, and specifications that superpose the output of a dc positive high voltage power supply on the output of a dc negative high voltage power supply. Furthermore, there are various specifications on specified voltage, specified current and constant current control systems, constant voltage control systems, single value output and multistage value control output, and load conditions.
For instance, as to a transfer voltage, to remove toner attached to a transfer roller during a cleaning operation of an image forming apparatus, it is required to apply, on the transfer roller, a voltage having a polarity opposite to the polarity of a voltage applied during normal transfer. In general, toner itself has a negative polarity. Accordingly, during a transfer process of forming an image, the toner is transferred from a photosensitive drum to an intermediate transfer belt and from the intermediate transfer belt to a recording medium by applying a voltage from a high voltage power supply having a positive polarity (hereinafter, referred to as "positive power supply"). In contrast, during a cleaning process, toner is discharged from a transfer member to the intermediate transfer belt, and toner that is on the intermediate transfer belt and to be removed is transferred via the photosensitive drum into a used toner container. For instance, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-309904 proposes an image forming apparatus that inversely transfers toner that has not been transferred on a recording medium and remains on an intermediate transfer belt onto a photosensitive drum and collects the toner.
FIG. 8 schematically illustrates a conventional secondary transfer power supply and ITB cleaning power supply in an image forming apparatus including an intermediate transfer belt (hereinafter, abbreviated as "ITB") 900. In FIG. 8, an MPU 901 is a microprocessor that detects load currents flowing through a secondary transfer roller 906 and an ITB cleaning brush 916 and controls outputs of the secondary transfer power supply and the ITB cleaning power supply based on the detected load current value. A secondary transfer positive power supply 902 and a secondary transfer negative power supply 903 apply positive and negative voltages, respectively, on the transfer roller 906 according to control signals (analog signals) from the MPU 901 via a D/A port. An ITB cleaning positive power supply 912 and an ITB cleaning negative power supply 913 apply positive and negative voltages, respectively, on the ITB cleaning brush 916 according to control signals (analog signals) from the MPU 901 via a D/A port. Resistors 904, 905, 914 and 915 are bleeder resistors.
In image forming, a toner image on a photosensitive drum 908 is transferred onto the ITB 900 by a transfer voltage applied from a primary transfer power supply (not illustrated) to a primary transfer pad 909. Subsequently, according to a control by the MPU 901, a transfer voltage having a positive polarity is applied from the secondary transfer positive power supply 902 to the secondary transfer roller 906, and the toner image on the ITB 900 is transferred onto the recording medium 920. The toner that has not been transferred onto the recording medium 920 and remains on the ITB 900 is temporarily collected to an ITB cleaning brush 916 by the MPU 901 causing the ITB cleaning positive power supply 912 to apply a voltage having the positive polarity to the ITB cleaning brush 916. At this time, a secondary transfer current having flown to the secondary transfer roller 906 flows to the ground (hereinafter, referred to as "GND") of the photosensitive drum 908, and passes, from the GND of a load current detection circuit 907, through this load current detection circuit 907 and bleeder resistor 905, and returns to the secondary transfer positive power supply 902. Accordingly, the value of the secondary transfer current can be detected by the load current detection circuit 907. The detected load current value is input into the MPU 901 via an A/D port according to an analog signal output from the load current detection circuit 907. Likewise, the ITB cleaning current flows from the ITB cleaning brush 916 to the GND of the photosensitive drum 908, passes from the GND of the load current detection circuit 917 through this load current detection circuit 917 and the bleeder resistor 915, and returns to the ITB cleaning positive power supply 912. Accordingly, the value of the ITB cleaning current can be detected by the load current detection circuit 917. The detected load current value is input into the MPU 901 via an A/D port according to an analog signal output from the load current detection circuit 917.
Meanwhile, in the cleaning process, the MPU 901 turns on the secondary transfer negative power supply 903 and the ITB cleaning negative power supply 913. The negative voltages supplied from the respective negative power supplies are applied to the secondary transfer roller 906 and the ITB cleaning brush 916 via the bleeder resistors 904 and 914. The toner adhering to the secondary transfer roller 906 is transferred to the ITB 900 by the negative voltage applied to the secondary transfer roller 906, and removed from this secondary transfer roller 906. The toner temporarily collected and accumulated at the ITB cleaning brush 916 is discharged onto the ITB 900 by the negative voltage applied to the ITB cleaning brush 916. The discharged toner is inversely transferred to the photosensitive drum 908 and collected into a cleaner container in this photosensitive drum.
According to the power supply configuration superposing the positive power supply on the negative power supply as illustrated in FIG. 8, a negative voltage is output via the bleeder resistor, thereby reducing the accuracies of the output voltage and output current. However, in general, a negative voltage applied for removing toner does not require strict voltage and current accuracies in comparison with a positive voltage applied for forming an image. Accordingly, only application of a voltage having at least a predetermined value can satisfy a required cleaning performance.
In recent years, further reduction in size and cost of an image forming apparatus has been required. As described above, the high voltage power supply included in the conventional image forming apparatus is provided with independent power supply circuits for respective voltages to be applied. This configuration causes a problem of increase in cost due to increase in the number of components and a problem of increase in area of a circuit substrate. Accordingly, also the high voltage power supply is required to be reduced in size and cost.

High voltage power supply and image forming apparatus


A charging method using an electrode of a biometric sensor, and an electronic device using the same. A wearable electronic device includes a housing, at least one electrode exposed outwards from one surface of the housing, a battery provided inside the housing, a charger circuit connected electrically to the battery, at least one sensor, a switch configured to connect the charger circuit or the at least one sensor to the at least one electrode, and a processor connected electrically to the charger circuit, the at least one sensor, and the switch. The processor is configured to determine whether the wearable electronic device is coupled to a body, based on a signal acquired through the at least one sensor, and control the switch to connect the charger circuit or the at least one sensor to the at least one electrode in correspondence with a result of the determination.

More services and more additional functions have been provided through portable electronic devices such as smartphones. To increase the utility of such electronic devices and satisfy various demands of users, communication service providers or electronic device manufacturers have competed to develop electronic devices which provide various functions and which are differentiated from those of other companies.
As the performance of electronic devices has been increasing, various biometric techniques are applied to portable electronic devices. Users may acquire physical information or health information about themselves by the biometric techniques applied to the electronic devices.
A portable electronic device to which various biometric techniques are applied may be operated with a rechargeable battery in view of the nature of the portable electronic device, and may charge the battery with a separate charger.
Biometric techniques may be applied to an electronic device through various types of interfaces. For example, the electronic device may measure at least one of a pulse or heart rate of a user based on information acquired through an optical sensor. The electronic device may also measure at least one of the body fat percentage, electrocardiogram (ECG), or skin resistance of the user based on a signal acquired through an electrode.
A portable electronic device including at least one of such an optical sensor or electrode may be provided with a contact terminal to receive power from a charger. The portable electronic device and the charger may be electrically connected to each other through contact terminals thereof, and the portable electronic device may charge a battery with power received from the charger.
The electrode used to acquire physical information or health information about the user and the contact terminal used to charge the battery execute different functions. Accordingly, the portable electronic device should be provided with the electrode and the contact terminal separately. In this case, the miniaturization of the portable electronic device may be limited. When the electrode and the contact terminal are mounted on the same plane of the portable electronic device, there may be limitations in designing the portable electronic device.
The above information is presented as background information only to assist with an understanding of the disclosure. No determination has been made, and no assertion is made, as to whether any of the above might be applicable as prior art with regard to the disclosure.

Charging method using external electrode switching between biometric sensor and charging circuit, and electronic device using the same


A field emission device (5) includes cathode electrodes (51), emitters (52) formed on the cathode electrodes, grid electrodes (54) formed over the cathode electrodes at a distance apart from the emitters, and isolated films (55) formed on surfaces of the grid electrodes neighboring the emitters. Preferably, the isolated film has a thickness ranging from 0.1 to 1 microns. The isolated film may be a film made of one or more insulating materials, such as SiO2 and Si3N4. Alternatively, the one or more insulating materials can be selected from a material having a high secondary electron emission coefficient, such as MgO, Al2O3 and ZnO. Additionally, the isolated film can be further formed on a second surface of the grid electrode distal from the emitter.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a field emission device, and more particularly to a field emission device having a grid electrode.
2. Background
Field emission devices are based on emission of electrons in a vacuum, and emit light by electrons emitted from micron-sized tips in a strong electric field, accelerating, and colliding with a fluorescent material. The field emission devices are thin and light with high brightness.
Diode field emission devices having a conventional structure can be easily manufactured. However, they are disadvantageous in controlling emission current and realizing a moving picture or gray-scale picture. Accordingly, instead of a diode structure, a triode structure is commonly required.
Referring to FIG. 4, a typical triode field emission device includes a cathode electrode 40, an anode electrode 45, and a grid electrode 43 located therebetween. A vacuum chamber between the cathode electrode 40 and the anode electrode 45 is maintained by several spacers 44. The cathode electrode 40 has a number of fine emitters 41 formed thereon. Generally, an insulating layer 42 is arranged between the cathode electrode 40 and the grid electrode 43, electrically isolating the cathode electrode 40 and the grid electrode 43. The insulating layer 42 includes a number of tiny through holes corresponding to the emitters 41. The grid electrode 43 is arranged on a top surface of the insulating layer 42, for extracting electrons from the emitters 41.
Nevertheless, during the electron emitting process, it is unavoidable that some of the emitting electrons are captured by the grid electrode 43. In particular, when the grid electrode 43 is provided with a high voltage, the attraction between the grid electrode 43 and the emitting electrons is stronger, and the number of captured electrons increases. As a result, an emitting efficiency of the whole device is reduced, and the energy efficiency of the field emission device is also reduced.

Field emission device with increased current of emitted electrons


A beverage cooling device for quick chilling beverages. The device rotates the beverage in a hollow receptacle such as an ordinary commercially available ice chest while positioning it vertically and at an angle such that it can be used with receptacles having a wide range of sizes.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a beverage cooling device for quick chilling beverages such as beer or soda packaged in particular, although not exclusively, in metal cans. The invention may also be applied to beverages such as fruit juice packaged in glass or plastic bottles.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
On a hot summer day when a person is working or playing outside in the sun, a cold soda or beer is refreshing. But sometimes people forget to cool the soda or beer or sometimes there is not enough cold drinks to go around. Under these circumstances, there is a need for a device to quickly cool down a beverage container.
Sometimes a chilled beverage container warms up before it has been fully consumed causing the contents to become unpalatable. Unless the remainder can be quickly chilled, the alternatives are to waste it and open a new can or to drink the beverage warm. In view of this, there is also a need for a device for cooling an open container.
It is well known that a drink can be quickly chilled by shaking or rotating the container in ice by hand. The container is constantly turned or moved until the beverage is deemed ready to serve. The principal disadvantage of this method is that the person doing the work is detained from his leisure or his other duties while the beverage is being cooled.
A number of different devices have been proposed to mechanize turning or moving the container in a vessel of ice. The prior art devices, however, involve the use of specially constructed apparatus, including specially adapted buckets, ice chests and the like for containing the coolant or for mounting the device. None, insofar as known, can be used on commercially available insulated ice chests such as are in common use without some modification.


A plurality of ice cream cone nesting sites (14) are formed on the base wall (12,12') of a carrier (10,10'). Each nesting site is formed by a nesting wall configured as a truncated cone with its diameter decreasing as the distance from the base wall increases. The bottom wall is spaced above a supporting surface on which the carrier may be placed by feet (22,22') extending downwardly from the bottom wall to facilitate grasping and handling. A lip (28) may be formed around the outer perimeter of the bottom wall to provide spill containment and to enhance gripping of the carrier.

Over the years establishments selling ice cream, frozen yogurt and the like have been vexed with problems associated with handling cones for such comestibles in an efficient manner. For example, a server has a problem of keeping track of an order to ensure that the order is being correctly filled and the customer, many times, has a problem of handling a plurality of cones while at the same time paying for the order and receiving change. Various attempts have been made to provide a holder for supporting and delivering ice cream cones to solve the above problems. For example, ice cream cone trays are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,291,805 and D261,466 comprising a tray having a plurality of conical sockets which extend downwardly from the trays with the vertex of each conical socket positioned below its respective open base. U.S. Pat. No. D362,947 shows a support having a single conical socket also with the vertex of the conical socket positioned below its open base. This approach presents a problem in that the sockets are limited to use with conical shaped ice cream cones and are not useful with generally flat-bottomed containers. Another problem is that only ice cream cones having approximately the same angle between the altitude and the side wall as that of the socket are firmly held. Ice cream cones having other angles are loosely held and subject to being jostled and damaged during handling and transporting. Yet another tray is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,718,555 which shows a carryout beverage tray having a complex configuration with a plurality of protrusion elements and a plurality of cup receiving cavities formed with gripping means for grasping the chime of chime-bottom cups and having a removable retaining means with openings therein receivable on the protrusion elements for use with long-stemmed items. Trays made in accordance with the latter patent require storage of separate component parts, require assembly and are cumbersome.

Carrier for ice cream cones and the like


In a visual inspection method and apparatus, a picture processing unit converts an original picture, obtained by taking a photograph of a BGA illuminated by a ring illuminator from above, by using a camera, and labels a binary picture obtained by this binary conversion. Then, it forms a circumscribing rectangle circumscribing an outer circumference of a labeling picture obtained by the labeling, and inverts a labeling picture within the formed rectangle, and removes a portion of a region formed by the outer circumference and the circumscribing rectangle in a picture obtained by the inversion, and then generates an inspection picture by adding a picture obtained by the removal to the labeling picture, and accordingly judges a pass or rejection of the inspection target sample based on the generated inspection picture. Thus, the inspection can be carried out at a high accuracy irrespectively of a low cost.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a visual inspection method of and a visual inspection apparatus for performing a visual inspection on an inspection target sample by using an imaging process. More particularly, the present invention relates to a technique for minutely inspecting a shape of a protrusion of a BGA (Ball Grid Array).
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a visual inspection apparatus and a visual inspection method have been known for taking a photograph of an integrated circuit (IC) having a package of a BGA type, and then inspecting an appearance of the integrated circuit by using a picture obtained by this photograph operation.
As such a visual inspection apparatus, for example, Japanese Laid Open Patent Application (JP-A-Heisei 9-311014) discloses "Apparatus for Inspecting Protrusion of Semiconductor Integrated Circuit Apparatus". This apparatus for inspecting a protrusion compares a rough coordinate of a protrusion targeted for an inspection with a coordinate at which the protrusion should be originally existed. As this comparison result, if it is so judged that a position of the protrusion is largely deviated from a position defined by an inspection standard, a position deviation error signal is outputted. Then, the inspection of the protrusion is stopped, and the inspection of a next protrusion is executed. On the other hand, if it is judged that the protrusion is not largely deviated from the position defined by the inspection standard, a high accurate judgment of the position is requested.
In response to this request of the high accurate judgment of the position, a sub-pixel protrusion coordinate is compared with the coordinate at which the protrusion should be originally existed. Then, it is judged that a positional deviation error is occurred if the comparison result is not within a preset allowable range of a positional deviation. The above-mentioned process enables a positional deviation of a solder protrusion to be quickly inspected at a high accuracy.
Japanese Laid Open Patent Application (JP-A-Heisei 8-203972) discloses "Protrusion Inspecting Apparatus". In this protrusion inspecting apparatus, an inspection target surface is illuminated from a horizontal direction or an obliquely upward direction close to a horizontal direction, and a photograph of the inspection target surface is taken by using a camera placed above the inspection target surface. Then, a binary conversion process is performed on shade picture data obtained from the photograph operation, and a labeling process is performed on the binary converted shade picture data. As for a judgment of a pass or a rejection, in a first method, the number of labels having a region of a normal size is compared with the predetermined number of protrusions, and it is judged as the pass if they coincide with each other.
In a second method, a central coordinate of a label corresponding to a protrusion detected by the inspection in the last time is used as a start point. Then, a label of a next protrusion having a central coordinate at a coordinate separated by a predetermined distance from this start point is sequentially retrieved, and it is judged as the pass if labels corresponding to all protrusions are retrieved. Thus, it is possible to detect the defects such as a breaking and a size error of a protrusion formed by a solder ball on a BGA board, a bump on a semiconductor apparatus and the like.
As another related art, Japanese Laid Open Patent Application (JP-A 2000-65543) discloses "Bump Illuminating Method and Apparatus, Bump Photographing Method and Apparatus, Picture Processing Method and Apparatus, Bump Inspecting Method and Apparatus, And Information Storage Medium". In this technique, a solder bump is illuminated from all circumference directions, and a photograph of the solder bump is taken while a light amount at a center is reduced. The quality of a coating state of reinforcement resin on the solder bump is automatically inspected by extracting an object from the picture data obtained by the photograph operation, and then confirming an area and an aspect ratio. Thus, it is possible to easily inspect the quality of the spherical solder bump on which lower half the reinforcement resin is coated after the solder bump is mounted on a surface of a circuit board.
As still another related art, Japanese Laid Open Patent Application (JP-A 2000-121338) discloses "Apparatus for Inspecting Electronic Part". In this apparatus for inspecting the electronic part, a cylindrical illuminating unit is placed above a lens of a camera. Two ring-shaped light source rooms, each of which is constituted by three interiorly projected flanges, are formed in upper and lower two stages, in an upper opening portion of the illuminating unit. A light source composed of a plurality of LEDs is placed at each of their tips so that a ring-shaped illuminator is formed. A part retainer, such as a work head and the like, for a part loading apparatus, which is located close to the upper opening portion, retains a BGA electronic part at a tip of an adsorption nozzle, and waits for the photograph operation. The photograph of a bump having a normal shape taken by the camera is obtained as a ring-shaped optical picture having a uniform ring width and being continued in a dark background. The pass or rejection is judged by measuring a diameter of the optical picture and the width of the ring from an angle at which the optical image is divided into at least eight portions and then comparing with a preset data. According to this apparatus for inspecting the electronic part, it is possible to judge the pass or rejection of the bump of the BGA electronic part surely and quickly.
However, in each of the techniques disclosed in Japanese Laid Open Patent Application (JP-A-Heisei 9-311014) and Japanese Laid Open Patent Application (JP-A-Heisei 8-203972), the shade picture data captured by using the camera is converted into the binary numeral in a pixel unit. Then, the pass or rejection of the protrusion is judged based on the binary picture data obtained by the above conversion. Thus, the inspection accuracy depends on whether or not there are a large number of pixels in the binary picture data. Hence, there may be a case that a visual inspection apparatus using a cheap element for taking a photograph can not detect the shape defect. This results in a problem that the inspection accuracy is low.

Visual inspection method and visual inspection apparatus


A display includes an optical waveguide with opposing front and back faces, an injection optic, and volume hologram arranged on or within the waveguide. The injection optic is configured to inject light into the waveguide at a variable injection angle, which influences the reflection angle at which the light reflects from the front and back faces on propagating through the waveguide. The hologram is configured to release, in a predetermined direction, a portion of the light from the waveguide when excited at a predetermined reflection angle.

A wide range of digital display systems incorporate liquid-crystal display (LCD) technology. LCD displays are found in smartphones, tablet and laptop computers, and in video monitors for televisions and desktop computers. A typical LCD display includes an image-forming, liquid-crystal layer positioned in front of a backlight.
Ideally the LCD backlight should emit enough light to make the display viewable in bright ambient conditions. A highly emissive backlight, however, may consume excessive power. In smartphones and tablet computers, for instance, the power to operate the LCD backlight may be a significant fraction of the overall power budget. As a result, tablets and smartphones must be designed with relatively thick, relatively heavy batteries, or be subject to frequent recharge, which shortens lifetime. In a stationary display, excessive power consumption by the LCD backlight increases operating costs, makes the system less environmentally compliant, and may cause unwanted heating

Scanning liquid-crystal display backlight


A multilayered flexible sheet for absorbing liquids comprises a nonsegmented flexible layer comprised of woven or nonwoven materials having the capacity to absorb liquids and a segmented flexible layer of woven or nonwoven materials having the capacity to absorb liquids being tacked face-to-face to the nonsegmented layer, the segments of the segmented layer being separated by substantially straight boundaries extending across one dimension of the sheet. The multilayered sheet can be easily folded along the boundaries between the segments of the segmented layer and therefore can be used unfolded as walk on mats, wipes, absorbent pads and response pads or folded as pillows or socks for absorbing liquids.

It is essential that managers and workers in settings where there exists a potential for leaks or spills of toxic and nontoxic liquids be prepared to contain the leaks or cleanup the spills. A number of products have been developed for absorbing liquids from leaks and spills. Usually, each product is directed to a specific type of problem. For example, leaks, splashes and drips of a slippery liquid over a walkway may be addressed by a walk on mat that absorbs the liquid and has an upper surface that is resistant to the wear of foot traffic. The products are also used in nontraffic areas as absorbent pads. Puddles of liquid are often cleaned up by throwing absorbent response pads or pillows on the puddle. The outward flow of a leak or spill is often contained by placing a sock around the outer edges of the liquid to soak up the liquid as it reaches the sock. Drips and sprays are absorbed from surfaces with wipes.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,080,956 entitled "Oil Absorbent Mat With Spill Channeling Means" describes a sheet of absorbent mat having parallel fold lines along the longitudinal axis. The sheet is supplied in a coiled roll. The sheet may be formed into a sock or boom by folding along fold lines. To hold the roll together, the sheet must be stapled by a standard cartridge-loaded stapler. A drawback of this product is that a stapler must be handy in order to form the sheet into a sock or boom. Another drawback of this product is that socks or booms, after use, contain the noncombustible staples which may complicate disposal.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,256,466 entitled "Article for Liquid Containment and Recovery" describes a product comprising a folded sheet wherein the layers are releasably bonded at a fold. Thus, as delivered, the product can be used as a sock or the releasable bonds may be broken to spread the article into an unfolded sheet. Drawbacks of this arrangement are that the packing, storage and shipment are not as convenient as the packing of unfolded coiled sheets. Also, it does not lay flat when opened up and cannot be walked on due to low strength, low cross direction and machine direction strength.
It is an object of this invention to provide a product and method of using the product that can be configured to function as an absorbent walk on mat, wipe, response pad, absorbent pad, pillow or sock by folding into these forms without the use of any mechanical means such as thermal bonding, staples or like metal fasteners and that can be packed and shipped as unfolded rolls or sheets.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a product comprising a rolled absorbent sheet or stack of sheets with or without, preferably, in combination with, a dispensing container from which it easily pays out.


A storage tank for a liquid product such as a coating product to be sprayed comprises an internal piston dividing the storage tank into a first chamber receiving the coating product under pressure and a second chamber receiving a pressurized actuator fluid. The piston is mechanically coupled to a step mode actuator.

1. Field of the invention
The invention concerns an adjustable capacity storage tank for liquid product enabling the quantity of liquid entering the tank when it is filled to be determined and the flowrate of the liquid expelled from the tank by displacement of a piston to be monitored.
The invention is more particularly concerned with a storage tank of this kind usable in an installation for spraying a liquid coating product and especially in an installation of this kind in which the coating product is a relatively good electrical conductor, is supplied from a grounded source and is to be applied by electrostatic means.
2. Description of the prior art
U.S. Pat. No. 4,785,760 describes an electrostatic coating product sprayer installation in which an intermediate storage tank insulated from ground is mounted at the end of an articulated arm. In use, the coating product storage tank is filled with just enough product to coat one or more objects to receive the same coating product (in other words, the same color). In one embodiment the storage tank encloses a mobile piston delimiting a first chamber adapted to receive the coating product and a second chamber adapted to receive an actuator fluid, to be more precise compressed air. The coating product is supplied under pressure, enabling the storage tank to be filled by pushing back the piston. During use the storage tank is pressurized by compressed air admitted to the second chamber and the coating product therefore flows progressively from the storage tank to an electrostatic sprayer. In a system of this kind it is necessary to monitor the displacement of the piston both when filling the storage tank, to monitor the quantity of product admitted to the tank, and during application of the coating product because it may be necessary to modify the flowrate at any time depending on the shape of the object to be coated. To achieve this the response time of the means monitoring the displacement of the piston must be as short as possible. In a high throughput installation such as an installation for coating automobile bodies, for example, the response time of the systems for evaluating the contents of the storage tank and for controlling the flowrate of the coating product to the sprayer must be in the order of 70 milliseconds, assuming that the sprayer must be capable of movement at 1.5 meters per second and that the flowrate must be modified during a displacement of not more than 0.1 meter. It is difficult to achieve this with entirely pneumatic control. The problem becomes more complicated if the combination of the storage tank and the associated piston actuator means is required to be compact and light in weight so that it can be mounted at the end of an articulated robot arm.
The invention makes it possible to solve all these problems.

Adjustable capacity storage tank for liquid product


This invention generally relates to mechanical-chemical energy storage. In particular, the invention relates to a mechanical-chemical energy storage system that stores energy by simultaneously compressing a gas to a higher enthalpy state and recovering the heat of compression by driving a somewhat reversible chemical reaction. The heat energy in the chemical reaction is then recovered while the gas is expanding to a lower enthalpy state.

Energy storage is vitally important for the stability of the electric grid as it relies more on "non-dispatchable" sources of power such as solar and wind. Additionally, there are many applications where long term power may be needed apart from any grid such as in military or emergency situations. Currently, the most common solutions are lead-acid batteries and diesel generators. The shortcomings of these systems are well known. Most electrochemical batteries show a significant degradation in performance as they are discharged. This is evidenced by reduced voltage output and reduced maximum currents observed during the discharge of the battery. Batteries also tend to be less efficient and have reduced service lives when run at greater depths of discharge.
There is increased interest in using stored mechanical energy to ultimately serve as electrical energy storage for grid type applications. This interest is based in part on the robust nature and highly developed state of the art of mechanical power generation equipment, which is economical and scalable. In general, most energy storage schemes compress a working fluid to high pressures or liquefy the working fluid by compression and/or temperature reduction. Alternately, a series of heat pumps (often coupled to generators and/or other heat sources) indirectly accomplish this same goal where working fluid(s) is/are cycled with the combination of heat pumps. This alternative has higher cost associated with extra machinery. In general, to get higher recoveries (efficiencies that we will refer to as "round trip efficiency" or "RTE") requires more "stages" to recover energy, and each additional stage is met with reduced energy recovery. Thus, these systems require increased capital to achieve high RTE after more than two stages.
Other conventional energy storage systems store energy by compressing a gas to high pressure. Depending on the physical properties (critical temperature) of the gas, it may liquefy. During this compression process, heat is generated and much of this heat is generally lost, which results in reduced RTEs. This is a common problem in compressed air energy storage (CAES). The RTE of conventional systems is around 50%. RTEs of these systems are limited due to the use of assisting gas turbines during operation to increase the overall efficiency of that device. Assisting gas turbines are not a true energy storage systems, but act as a hybrid, wherein stored energy is only recovered if it is also desired to burn natural gas to run the gas turbine to create energy.
Traditional efforts to recover this heat from compression involve storing the heat of compression in a medium (such as water), as sensible heat, which simply raises the temperature of the water. This warm water is stored in an insulated tank until the energy is required to heat the working fluid while expanding it to recover that energy. However, warm water has reduced energy dense medium. Furthermore, the low temperature gradients present engineering challenges to achieve high power output that requires high rates of heat transfer over a low temperature gradient. Problems also exist due to heat from the stored water escaping from the insulated tank giving the system an apparent "self-discharge", analogous to electrochemical batteries.


A thin film transistor array panel is provided, which includes: a gate line, a gate insulating layer, and a semiconductor layer sequentially formed on a substrate; a data line and a drain electrode formed at least on the semiconductor layer; a first passivation layer formed on the data line and the drain electrode and having a first contact hole exposing the drain electrode at least in part; a second passivation layer formed on the first passivation layer and having a second contact hole that is disposed on the first contact hole and has a first bottom edge, placed outside the first contact hole and a second bottom edge placed inside the first contact hole; and a pixel electrode formed on the second passivation layer and connected to the drain electrode through the first and the second contact holes.

(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a thin film transistor array panel and a manufacturing method thereof.
(b) Description of the Related Art
Liquid crystal displays (LCDs) are one of the most widely used flat panel displays. An LCD includes two panels provided with field-generating electrodes and a liquid crystal (LC) layer interposed therebetween. The LCD displays images by applying voltages to the field-generating electrodes to generate an electric field in the LC layer, which determines orientations of LC molecules in the LC layer to adjust polarization of incident light.
Among LCDs including field-generating electrodes on respective panels, a kind of LCDs provides a plurality of pixel electrodes arranged in a matrix at one panel and a common electrode covering an entire surface of the other panel. The image display of the LCD is accomplished by applying individual voltages to the respective pixel electrodes. For the application of the individual voltages, a plurality of three-terminal thin film transistors (TFTs) are connected to the respective pixel electrodes, and a plurality of gate lines transmitting signals for controlling the TFTs and a plurality of data lines transmitting voltages to be applied to the pixel electrodes are provided on the panel.
The panel for an LCD has a layered structure including several conductive layers and several insulating layers. The gate lines, the data lines, and the pixel electrodes are made from different conductive layers (referred to as "gate conductor," "data conductor," and "pixel conductor" hereinafter) preferably deposited in sequence and separated by insulating layers. A TFT includes three electrodes; a gate electrode made from the gate conductor and source and drain electrodes made from the data conductor. The source electrode and the drain electrode are connected by a semiconductor usually located thereunder, and the drain electrode is connected to the pixel electrode through a hole in an insulating layer.
In order to increase the aperture ratio, the pixel electrodes overlap adjacent signal lines such as the gate lines and the data lines and the parasitic capacitance between the pixel electrodes and the signal lines can be reduced by interposing a low dielectric organic insulator therebetween. The organic insulator is usually used along an inorganic insulator provided thereunder and the insulators have contact holes for connection between the drain electrodes and the pixel electrodes. The contact holes may have undercuts that the lower inorganic insulator is over-etched to the edges of the lower insulator is disposed under the upper insulator.
In the meantime, storage electrode lines are provided on the TFT array panel for forming storage capacitors along with the pixel electrodes. Although the storage capacitor can be increased by increasing overlapping area of the pixel electrodes and the storage electrode lines, it may decrease the aperture ratio.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Thin films transistor array panel and manufacturing method thereof


A condom designed for oral-genital sex includes, in one aspect, a device adapted to be worn in the mouth of the person practicing oral sex. The device includes a tubular member having one closed end and formed of thin, pliant, impervious material. Joined to the open end of the tubular member are two or three flanges extending generally radially outwardly and spaced closely together. The flanges are curved out of a plane transverse to the axis of the tubular member to define a channel adapted to receive the upper and lower lips of an average person. The device is gripped by placing the lips within the channel, and closing the jaws slightly to compress and retain the open end of the device. The tubular member may be formed to extend into the mouth of the wearer, for the purpose of performing fellatio. A penis may be inserted into the tubular member without making contact with the lips or mouth or tongue of the wearer. In an alternative form of the invention, the tubular member may extend outwardly from the flanges and the mouth, so that the tongue of the wearer may be extended into the tubular member to perform cunnilingus without making direct contact with the vulva. In another aspect of the invention, there is provided a shield formed as a planar oval from pliant, impervious material, the shield being shaped and adapted to be placed over the genital area. The shield includes a central opening from which a tubular condom extends, so that the assembly may be employed for oral sexual contact as well as intercourse without the risk of skin-to-skin contact. In a modification of this embodiment, the shield is provided as a separate component, with a flange surrounding the central opening. The flange is provided with means for engaging and sealing with the outer circumferential edge portion of a typical prior art male condom, so that the shield may be joined temporarily to a commercially available condom for the practice of safe sex.

In recent years, the appearance of the HIV virus and the impending Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome epidemic have created an atmosphere of fear, caution and prudence in which sexually active adults must consider protecting themselves from infection by HIV virus as well as other venereal diseases. It is generally accepted as fact that the condom provides the best protection from venereal disease and HIV virus, aside from complete sexual abstinence. Unfortunately, such a positive barrier device is, at present, the only sure or certain way to prevent transmission of all STDs, many of which cause great personal suffering and, in the cases of AIDS and syphilis, death.
Condoms are generally designed to be applied to the male member, although recent adaptations have been introduced which permit their use by women in the form of a liner for the vaginal canal. However, a significant form of sexual activity, namely oral-genital sexual contact, has not been well served by the forms of condoms known in the prior art. Although many individuals do not openly discuss or acknowledge participating in such practices, many surveys have shown that oral-genital sex is highly desired and engaged in frequently. Commercially available condoms are not designed to facilitate or accommodate oral-genital sex. Moreover, the oral cavity, together with the lips and surrounding skin, provides many opportunities for disease transmission. Brushing and flossing of teeth, biting the cheek or tongue accidentally, or STD lesions in the mouth and throat areas all create breaks in the skin and mucosa that provide direct vectors to the blood. The present invention is directed toward a condom-like prophylactic that protects the oral cavity during oral sexual activity, so that disease transmission is blocked. It also protects the genitals, thus avoiding transmission in either direction. This is a unique solution to a very serious problem.
The typical male condom device may be used to prevent skin-to-skin contact during fellario, but it suffers from the same drawback for this use as for other uses; i.e., it requires male arousal prior to use, so that the condom may be applied to the male member. If arousal can be achieved only through sensual contact, then the safety desired by the user of the condom may have been abrogated. Moreover, the typical male condom is required to engage the penis in a tight, compressive grip to prevent accidental removal during vaginal sex; this tight fit is undesirable for fellatio and uncomfortable for the fellatee.
Furthermore, the condoms known in the prior art are not designed to protect against skin-to-skin contact during cunnilingus. Devices have been invented to protect a person's tongue from contact with unpalatable medicine, as well as other devices such as impervious sheets and garments, but none of these inventions permit the practice of cunnilingus while eliminating the risk of disease transmission through direct contact. This is a major failing of the prior art, especially since many individuals participate in cunnilingus without protection, and such practices can be a major vector of disease transmission.
From a commercial standpoint, surveys have shown that nearly 50% of condoms purchased are sold to women, although it is clear that condoms as known in the prior art are predominantly worn by the male. Therefore there is an implication that many women are concerned about contraception and disease prevention, and desirous of taking steps toward prevention of both. Many persons of both sexes may wish to participate in oral sex but hesitate. These "aesthetically fastidious" individuals may now safely and pleasurably benefit themselves and their sex partners, using the present invention. Studies show that only 50% of women achieve orgasm via penile/vaginal sex. One-half require oral or digital manipulation to achieve climax. Indeed, at present a woman who desires to achieve a climax via cunnilingus must do so unprotected. Combined with the fact that many women desire to participate in cunnilingus and fellatio, clearly there is an unfilled need and a large market for condoms which permit the safe practice of oral sex.
It should also be noted that condoms currently available on the market are not designed nor directed toward oral use. The lubricants typically provided in condom packages have odors and tastes that are at best inoffensive, and at worst are completely aversive.


Catalysts suitable for asymmetric hydrogenation reactions are described comprising the reaction product of a group 8 transition metal compound, a chiral phosphine and a chiral diamine of formula (I)

Transition metal catalysts particularly those based on chiral ruthenium (Ru) phosphine complexes are known to be effective for the asymmetric hydrogenation of ketones. EP-B-0718265 describes the use of chiral Ru-bis(phosphine)-1,2-diamine complexes for the hydrogenation of ketones to produce chiral alcohols. Similarly, WO 01/74829 describes a chiral Ru-Phanephos-1,2-diamine complex for the asymmetric hydrogenation of ketones.
Although it is accepted that the combination of bis(phosphine) and the chiral diamine ligands are important for achieving a high enantiomeric excess (ee) and a wide range of phosphine ligands has been described, only 1,2-diamine ligands have been widely used heretofore. By the term "1,2-diamines" we mean diamines wherein the carbon atoms to which the amine functionalities are bound are directly linked. Such diamines include chiral substituted ethylenediamine compounds such as (S,S)-diphenylethylenediamine ((S,S)-Dpen). Without wishing to be bound by any theory we believe that this is due to the perceived need for the resulting conformationally-stable 5-membered ring structure that forms when 1,2-diamines co-ordinate to the metal atom. Larger ring structures, for example those formed using 1,3- or 1,4-diamines can be less conformationally-stable and therefore may be expected to provide catalysts that give lower enantiomeric excesses than the corresponding catalysts prepared using 1,2-diamines.
Accordingly the chiral catalysts used heretofore comprise 1,2-diamines and have relied principally upon variation of the structure of the phosphine ligand to improve their enantioselectivity. Although effective for some substrates such as acetophenone, a range of ketone and imine substrates remain unreactive to the existing catalysts or are obtained with undesirably low enantiomeric excesses.

Abstract: in which R1, R2, R3 and R4 are independently hydrogen, a saturated or unsaturated alkyl or cycloalkyl group, an aryl group or a urethane or sulphonyl group and R5, R6, R7 and R8 are independently hydrogen, a saturated or unsaturated alkyl or cycloalkyl group, or an aryl group, at least one of R1, R2, R3 and R4 is hydrogen and A is a linking group comprising one or two substituted or unsubstituted carbon atoms.


A brush segment, a brush element, a brush assembly, and methods of making and using the same are disclosed. The brush segment includes a center portion with inner and outer edges. The center portion also includes first and second side edges. A plurality of bristles extends outwardly from the outer edge. The inner edge includes an interlock arrangement. The side edges have an attachment arrangement for attaching adjacent segments. The brush element includes a center portion and inner and outer edges. A plurality of bristles extends outwardly from the outer edge. The inner edge includes an interlock arrangement for restraining rotation of adjacent elements assembled into a brush assembly. Two or more brush elements are secured together to form a rotary brush assembly.

Brushes are used for many applications, for example, polishing, cleaning, and abrading a wide variety of substrates or work surfaces. Such brushes typically have an abrasive surface or area that contacts the substrate and removes material from the substrate. Bristle brushes are one type of abrasive brush, and rotary bristle brushes remove material by contacting the substrate when the brush is rotating, typically at a high rotational speed. Abrasive particles can be added to brushes to modify their abrasive qualities. Bristle brushes can have abrasive particles on the surface of the bristles, dispersed throughout the bristles, or a combination thereof.


A core for casting a container includes a casting surface, where the core is divided into at least two core segments. The casting surface of each core segment adjoins a division surface, and the division surface of each core segment is spaced apart from the division surface of a neighboring core segment by a gap. The gap is spanned by a frangible collapsible member such that substantially all of the casting surface is free of the collapsible member.

This invention relates to a core for casting a container, apparatus for casting a container and a method for casting a container.
In particular it relates to a core, apparatus and method for casting a container comprising a core divided into least two core segments.
It is well known in the art to cast hollow components using a mould and core, where the core sits inside the mould and defines the shape of the internal features of the casting. The core may be made from a fired ceramic or a sand and resin mix and consequently the casting alloy tends to have a considerably faster thermal contraction rate to that of the material of the core. For hollow components which surround the core, this results in the component shrinking onto the core, with solidified regions of the casting applying tensile hoop stresses to semi-molten areas. This induced stress can cause the casting to tear or crack before cooling and solidification is complete, and thus before all regions of the casting have gained sufficient strength to resist cracking or tearing.
Cores can hollowed out, and optionally filled with a low-density material such as polystyrene, thereby enabling them to fracture or crumble, and therefore contract along with the casting. However, the walls of the cores can only be thinned so much before they lose structural integrity and are unable to maintain the required shape during the pouring of the molten metal. Hence a balance is required between weakening the core to allow it to collapse during the cooling process and leaving sufficient core material to retain the required shape during the pouring of the molten metal.
Alternatively the wall thickness of the casting can be increased such that cracking/tearing does not occur. Clearly this is undesirable as this either increases overall component weight, or increases the cost of manufacture as additional machining operations are required to remove the excess material to reduce wall thickness to a desired size.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,506,235 (Katz et al.) describes a heat sink core comprising a plurality of segments which are spaced apart and surrounded by a sleeve which fractures when the casting cools. Resilient spacers are provided between the segments. The sleeve blocks the gap between segments but gives way when enough pressure is applied during cooling/contraction of the casting. However, the invention of Katz et al can only be used for the manufacture of annular, cylindrical, smooth sided and open ended components, since the sheath has to fit neatly and evenly around the segmented core.


The present invention concerns an image-forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording material, an area of which is wider than that of a standard fixed-form size having a predetermined fixed-form size, based on an original image recorded on a document. The image-forming apparatus includes a plurality of recording material storing devices in each of which the recording material can be stored; an input section to establish information in regard to a size of the recording material stored in one of the recording material storing devices, as setting information corresponding to each of the recording material storing devices; a memory section to store the setting information corresponding to each of the recording material storing devices; and a control section to determine controlling conditions based on the setting information and to control operations of the image-forming apparatus based on the controlling conditions; wherein the setting information include the standard fixed-form size and longitudinal and lateral lengths of the recording material.

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus.
As an image forming apparatus, there have so far been provided a copying machine wherein images such as character strings or patterns or a combination thereof described on a document placed on or fed to a platen glass (document glass) are copied on a transfer sheet, a printer wherein images which are made on a word processor of a personal computer and are the same as the foregoing are printed on a transfer sheet, and a facsimile machine wherein images which are transmitted through communication lines and are the same as the foregoing are printed. Further, there is also known the so-called "compound machine" wherein the functions of the aforesaid copying machine, printer and facsimile machine are provided in an apparatus.
Incidentally, with regard to a conventional image forming apparatus, there have been provided those capable of conducting image forming on a transfer sheet (so-called "wide sheet") that is slightly larger than a standard fixed-form size in terms of area. When conducting image forming on the wide sheet, control conditions for an image forming apparatus have usually been changed to the conditions which are suitable for the wide sheet.
This change of control conditions is necessary because of a size of the wide sheet which is larger than the standard fixed-form size as stated above. The control condition to be changed includes, for example, a control condition for transfer sheet conveyance in an image forming apparatus.
In the past, however, the control conditions used for a wide sheet have not always been optimum. For the conveyance control condition for a wide sheet, for example, a transfer sheet in a "certain size" that is greater than a fixed-form size is imagined, and the conveyance control condition for this "certain size" has been used as a substitute. Namely, in this case, the conveyance control condition for a wide sheet is nothing but one that is prepared as a fixed condition determined in advance.
The wide sheet, however, is not usually fixed in its size, and it varies variously in terms of size. Under the aforesaid fixed condition, therefore, it is not possible to cope with all of these various wide sheets sufficiently and properly. Accordingly, it has been difficult to form images with high quality and to conduct highly productive image forming.
Further, in the conventional image forming apparatus disregarding existence of the aforesaid various wide sheets, no attention has been paid to "setting" which can cope with the diversity mentioned above.

Image forming apparatus which controls image forming conditions for a recording material that is wider than standard-size recording material based on input size information


The present invention provides codon optimized Factor IX sequences, vectors and host cells comprising codon optimized Factor IX sequences, polypeptides encoded by codon optimized Factor IX sequences, and methods of producing such polypeptides. The present invention also provides methods of treating bleeding disorders such as hemophilia comprising administering to the subject a codon optimized Factor IX nucleic acid sequence or the polypeptide encoded thereby.

The blood coagulation pathway, in part, involves the formation of an enzymatic complex of Factor VIIIa (FVIIIa) and Factor IXa (FIXa) (Xase complex) on the surface of platelets. FIXa is a serine protease with relatively weak catalytic activity without its cofactor FVIIIa. The Xase complex cleaves Factor X (FX) into Factor Xa (FXa), which in turn interacts with Factor Va (FVa) to cleave prothrombin and generate thrombin.
In hemophilia, blood clotting is disturbed by a lack of certain plasma blood clotting factors. Hemophilia B (also known as Christmas disease) is one of the most common inherited bleeding disorders in the world. It is caused by a deficiency in Factor IX that may result from either the decreased synthesis of the Factor IX protein or a defective molecule with reduced activity. It results in decreased in vivo and in vitro blood clotting activity and requires extensive medical monitoring throughout the life of the affected individual. Without effective prophylaxis, recurrent haemarthroses lead to the development of progressive and disabling arthropathy and poor quality of life (Giangrande P., Expert Opin Pharmacother. 2005; 6:1517-24).
Treatment of hemophilia B occurs by replacement of the missing clotting factor by exogenous factor concentrates highly enriched in Factor IX. However, generating such a concentrate from blood is fraught with technical difficulties. Although purification of Factor IX from plasma (plasma derived Factor IX; pdFIX) almost exclusively yields active Factor IX, such purification of Factor IX from plasma is very difficult because Factor IX is only present in low concentration in plasma (5 μg/mL). Andersson, Thrombosis Research 7: 451 459 (1975). Further, purification from blood requires the removal or inactivation of infectious agents such as HIV and HCV. In addition, pdFIX has a short half-life and therefore requires frequent dosing, which contributes to reduced adherence to prophylactic treatment.
Recombinant factor IX (rFIX) is also available, but suffers from the same short half-life and need for frequent dosing (e.g., 2-3 times per week for prophylaxis) as pdFIX. In addition, there exists a need in the art for FIX sequences that express efficiently in heterologous systems.


An FDSOI integrated circuit die supplies on an output node a regulated output voltage based on a reference voltage. A pass transistor that passes a first current to the output node. A feedback loop regulates the output voltage by generating a second current based on the first current and applying a control signal to the pass transistor based on the second current. A loop current adaptor adapts a ratio of the first and second currents by adjusting a back gate bias voltage applied to a back gate of loop transistor of the feedback loop.

1. Technical Field
The present application related to the regulation of output voltage and in particular, but not exclusively, to circuits used for such regulation.
2. Description of the Related Art
Voltage regulators may be used to keep a supply voltage stable in the presence of varying load conditions. These may be implemented on an on-chip environment however due to stability and transient response requirements of the on-chip environment an off-chip capacitor is often implemented as part of the voltage regulator. An off-chip capacitor adds to a cost of manufacture as well as prevents a fully on-chip implementation of a system.

Capless on chip voltage regulator using adaptive bulk bias


Described here are systems and methods for quantitative susceptibility mapping (“QSM”) using magnetic resonance imaging (“MRI”). Susceptibility maps are reconstructed from phase images using an automatic regularization technique based in part on variable splitting. Two different regularization parameters are used, one, λ, that controls the smoothness of the final susceptibility map and one, μ, that controls the convergence speed of the reconstruction. For instance, the regularization parameters can be determined using an L-curve heuristic to find the parameters that yield the maximum curvature on the L-curve. The μ parameter can be determined based on an l2-regularization and the λ parameter can be determined based on the iterative l1-regularization used to reconstruct the susceptibility map.

The field of the invention is systems and methods for magnetic resonance imaging ("MRI"). More particularly, the invention relates to systems and methods for fast reconstruction for quantitative susceptibility mapping ("QSM") using MRI.
Quantifying tissue iron concentration in vivo is important for understanding the role of iron in physiology and in neurological diseases associated with abnormal iron distribution. Excessive iron deposition in subcortical and brain stem nuclei occurs in a variety of degenerative neurological and psychiatric disorders including Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's Chorea, multiple sclerosis, and Parkinson's disease. Postmortem and in vivo studies have also revealed that deep gray matter brain structures accumulate iron at different rates throughout adult aging. Structures that exhibit iron accrual support components of cognitive and motor functioning. To the extent that excessive iron presence may attenuate neuronal function or disrupt connectivity, quantification and location of iron deposition may help explain age-related and disease-related motor slowing and other selective cognitive decline.
Several MRI techniques have been utilized for in vivo iron mapping and quantification. For example, one method capitalizes on the enhanced transverse relaxivity (R2) of iron, by utilizing a field-dependent relaxation rate increase ("FDRI") approach, whereby R2-weighted imaging is acquired at two different field strengths, attributing a relaxation enhancement at a higher field to iron. While FDRI relies on the modulation of signal intensity in MRI to infer iron concentration, MRI signal phase has also been proposed as a source signal for iron mapping, both by direct evaluation of phase images and reconstruction of magnetic susceptibility images from the phase data. Since local iron concentration is strongly correlated with the magnetic susceptibility, quantification of this paramagnetic property presents a sensitive estimate of iron concentration, although possibly complicated by more uncommon factors, such as pathological manganese deposition. Although phase mapping yields high-resolution, high-SNR data, estimating the underlying magnetic susceptibility suffers from non-local effects and spatial modulation artifacts due to the non-trivial mapping from susceptibility to phase.
Magnetic susceptibility, χ, can be mapped to the observed phase shift in MRI via a well-understood transformation, yet the inverse problem, namely the estimation of χ from phase, is ill-posed due to zeros on a conical surface in the Fourier space of the forward transform. Hence, χ inversion benefits from additional regularization, which is an approach that commonly involves introducing additional information in order to solve an ill-posed problem or to prevent over-fitting.
Recently, regularization methods have been proposed for deriving susceptibility inversion. Specifically, smooth regions in the susceptibility map were promoted to match those of MR image magnitudes by introducing a weighted l2-norm penalty on the spatial gradients of susceptibility, χ. Likewise, another approach regularized the inversion by minimizing the l1-norm of gradients of χ, again weighted with a mask derived from MR image magnitudes. In addition, some proposed methods have used experimented l1-norm and l2-norm regularizations directly on the susceptibility values, rather than posing the minimization on the gradient coefficients.
Still another recent approach has been introduced to stabilize the susceptibility reconstruction problem by acquiring data at multiple orientations and inverting them simultaneously without regularization. Compared to regularized reconstruction techniques that employ a signal prior, such multi-orientation methods yield susceptibility maps with good quality, but at the cost of increased scan time and patient discomfort.
Therefore, given the above, there still remains a need for systems and methods for fast and accurate reconstruction of quantitative susceptibility maps.

Systems and methods for fast reconstruction for quantitative susceptibility mapping using magnetic resonance imaging


A portable shipping platform is provided which is particularly adapted for handling by both fork lift and slipsheet types of devices. The portion by which the platform is grippable in slipsheet fashion also provides a protector for subjacent surfaces from tips of the blades of a fork lift as well as a guide for vertical alignment of the blades with the platform. Tabs also may be situated above the entry ways of channels for receiving the fork lift blades, with these tabs serving to guide the spaced blades, as well as to prevent closing of the entryways by sagging loads, and to protect the loads from the blade tips during entry into and exit from the channels.

The invention relates to portable shipping platforms or pallets which are particularly adapted for handling, interchangeably, by slipsheet and fork lift devices.
Since its inception around the turn of the century, the wooden shipping pallet has been the cornerstone of "materials handling" as we know it today. For the most part, it has been the platform on which most of the world's goods have been stored, warehoused, transported, and distributed.
As time has passed however, and business and industry has become more cost-conscious and efficient, numerous problems associated with this device have become evident, to wit:
Logistical. Since the pallet was constructed to allow ample clearances (usually 3-4") for entry of handling devices such as pallet jacks and lift trucks, and was constructed of dimensional lumber of sufficient thickness for the strength required, the resulting height (5-6") and overall size of each pallet limited the cost effective shipping of them from supply source to user. Even today, no more than 300 to 400 pallets can be shipped on a standard 40 ft. trailer, which precludes a cost-effective supply pipeline of any more than nominal distances (300-400 miles). This geographical limitation extends on down through the distribution channel, precluding the efficient return of pallets, from the receiver of goods to the shipper of goods, for reuse. PA1 Storage. Due to the configurations outlined above, a sufficient supply occupies a considerable amount of space in staging, loading, and production areas, where such space is at a premium. This problem is clearly evidenced by the prevalence of pallet stacks and pallet "yards" around most manufacturing and distribution facilities. PA1 Sanitation. Since pallets are generally stored outside, they are subject to the accumulation of dirt and debris, the infiltration of parasites, and deterioration from varying weather conditions. This often necessitates some form of cleaning and/or fumigation, especially in food processing facilities or when the ultimate destination (e.g., foreign countries) requires sanitation certification. Splinters and wood chips add to debris and general cleanliness problems within the production or warehousing facility. PA1 Safety. Broken boards, splinters, chips, and protruding nails present safety hazards, and the practice of manually handling the heavy wood pallets very often results in industrial injuries in the form of back strain. PA1 Product Damage. This same deterioration of the wooden pallets is often cited as the cause for product damage during storage or shipment, resulting in the fairly common practice of placing a sheet of cardboard on top of the device prior to loading it with a product. PA1 Disposal. At the end of the distribution channel and/or when a pallet has become too dilapidated to be of any further use, the problem of disposal has to be faced. With environmental concerns being at an all-time high, public landfill facilities often charge premium prices for disposal of pallets, to say nothing of the cost of transportation to get them there. In an attempt to forego this added expense, many facilities will place a "free firewood" sign in the vicinity of the pallet junk pile so that employees or others will assist with elimination of this problem. PA1 In Transit. Continually rising transportation and fuel costs have caused the industry to focus on the most wasteful application of the wooden pallet, namely, the in-transit use of it as a base platform for the transportation of products. Due to its basic configuration and construction materials, the wooden pallet is heavy, often resulting in the waste of over 2000 lbs. of shipping capacity. Due to its dimensions, it also occupies over 200 cubic feet of otherwise usable space. In the common practice of shipping pallet-based loads stacked two-high in a truck or container, the elimination of the vertical 8 or 10 inches occupied by the two bases can often result in the ability to ship an entire extra layer of product on each truckload. This problem is compounded further when a carrier is party to a so-called "exchange program," which requires him to return the pallets to point of origin or to transport them to his next destination. In either case, the same weight and volume is wasted, precluding him from transporting a "full" load of product.
In attempts to address the problems of safety, sanitation, product damage, and longevity, a wide variety of wooden pallet substitutes have been devised over the years. These include devices made of plastic, steel, aluminum, fiberboard, particleboard (compressed wood fibers), combinations of these and other materials, and various other composites in an equally wide variety of configurations. However, where such alternate materials have been used to provide for longevity, strength, and ease of use in the warehouse environment, the resulting products have been too costly to use as a base platform for shipping a product and still have not allowed full utilization of the space within the transporting container.
Among the various attempts to provide a cost-effective, lightweight, and low-profile device for in-transit applications, the "slipsheet" by far has been the most successful, having reached an industry market share of 14% since its inception over two decades ago. This device, generally made of virgin or recycled fiberboard, or various plastic compositions, is generally recognized as the ultimate in low-profile, cost-effective shipping bases. The major drawback to the slipsheet however, and perhaps the major reason that it has not gained more widespread use, is the fact that it requires special handling equipment other than an ordinary lift truck. This equipment, commonly known as "push-pull" machines, either may be a completely separate unit with a price tag of $20,000 to $30,000, or an attachment costing between $5,000 and $10,000 that can be fitted specially to lift trucks. In order for the slipsheet to serve its intended purpose as a one-way transporting base which moves from point of original manufacture throughout the distribution channel, such special handling equipment is required at each loading facility (and often at numerous loading stations within that facility), each intermediate regional or redistribution facility where such unit loads may be transferred, and at each receiver's facility. Since this strategic placement of one or more pieces of special equipment involves a large outlay of capital, only the larger companies who can afford the investment are able to fully utilize the benefits of the slipsheet. When facilities which are not so equipped receive slipsheet-based loads, the product must be transferred carton by carton, onto a wooden pallet or other in-house substitute that the facility is equipped to handle. For this reason, some large companies who are 100% "slipsheet equipped" within their own organizations, will place a slipsheeted load on top of a second device, such as a pallet, when shipping to a customer who is not so equipped, thereby defeating the intended economy of weight and space.
Recognizing this limitation, numerous attempts at devising a low-profile, lightweight, and cost-effective alternative have been made. Ultimately, the industry has been searching for a device that is: compatible with existing equipment, low in profile and lightweight enough to allow for maximum utilization of available space in transport vehicles, inexpensive enough to be used as a one-way device to eliminate expensive return or "exchange" programs, and completely recyclable at the end of the trip.
Paralleling this thinking has been the move toward "unitizing." Over time, with the development of more efficient and cost effective fork trucks and their increasingly widespread use, it became obvious that moving multiple cartons (20 to 80) at one time via this mechanical transfer means, was far more efficient than the transporting of single units, one at a time. In order then to transform multiple cartons into a single, pallet based master unit, numerous methods of unitizing came into being. These include such practices as "shrink-wrapping" (placing a large plastic bag over the entire pallet load and shrinking the bag tightly around the product by the introduction of heat), metal or plastic banding secured tightly around the load, string or twine tying of the load, and the increasingly popular method of "stretch-wrapping" the load with manually or mechanically applied layers of plastic film. Ironically, this increasing practice of unitizing has given rise to the realization that a solid, rigid, and bulky support base, is not really needed.
The costly, bulky, and heavy wooden pallet, though currently still in widespread use, has become an "endangered species." All of the attempts at devising suitable replacements of the same configuration, especially with heights sufficient to allow clearances for mechanical handling equipment, have involved materials or components which have rendered them too costly, and/or too heavy and/or too bulky to be used as a base for the efficient transport of goods.
Of those devices that have addressed the need for a cost-effective, lightweight, and low-profile device for in-transit applications, some have required special handling devices or equipment and/or were constructed of materials or configurations which rendered them commercially unviable. Others, while being constructed of materials and/or configurations which allowed some practical application, were not easy enough to use with existing equipment or did not address the need for entry from two or more adjacent sides. None of these prior art shipping platforms has been usable with both of the most prevalent mechanical handling devices, namely, standard fork trucks and slipsheet equipment.
Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide an economically constructed platform that is easily used with both types of equipment, namely fork trucks and slipsheet handling equipment.
Also, it is an object of this invention to provide an efficient but simple guide system to allow for easy alignment, both vertically and horizontally, of fork blades when an ordinary fork truck is used to handle the platform.
Additionally, it is an object of this invention to provide for entry of the platform from one side, two adjacent or opposing sides, three sides, or all sides.
Further, it is an object of this invention to provide a lightweight and extremely low profile platform for the transportation of goods in over-the-road or ocean-going containers with the minimum sacrifice of weight capacity and available load space.
Still further, it is an object of this invention to provide a shipping platform that is recyclable and reusable, safe, sanitary, commercially viable, and easily disposable.

Portable shipping platform for use with slipsheet handling equipment and fork lifts


A layout design method of a semiconductor integrated circuit includes degenerating a layout netlist extracted from layout data, comparing the layout netlist after the reduction with a circuit diagram netlist, and creating a layout circuit association table of a layout cell after the reduction and a circuit element. The method includes creating a before and after reduction association table based on the layout netlist before and after the reduction, counting the number of layout elements in a layout cell area before the reduction, comparing the counted number of layout elements and the number of degenerated elements, and creating mapping information associating the layout cell with the circuit element.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a layout design method of a semiconductor integrated circuit.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, an automation of analog layout design has progressed and a design period has been shortened. As a method of automating analog layout design, known is cross-probing that enables layout design while associating elements on a circuit diagram editor respectively with elements on a layout editor. Here, in order to perform layout design by cross-probing, it is necessary to create mapping information associating an element on the circuit diagram editor with a cell including an element on the layout editor.
For example, when making design revision using already-existing layout data, the design is generally performed by reading a layout into a design system via a mask pattern file in a binary form typically used for storing layout information (hereinafter, referred to as GDS2). Moreover, when using a layout designed by a different design system or using a layout data which is not designed in a circuit diagram-driven manner, it is necessary to create mapping information and then to read the mapping information into an integrated design system functioning as a circuit diagram editor and a layout editor. However, creating mapping information is difficult, and therefore a technology which facilitates mapping is required.
FIG. 5 is a system chart showing an embodiment of a layout verification method and a circuit simulation method described in FIG. 1 of Patent Document 1. As shown in FIG. 5, in the layout verification method and the circuit simulation method, prepared is, as an external tool, a SPICE netlist extraction tool 1 which can accurately extract a parasitic capacity, a resistance value and the like of a layout. The SPICE netlist extraction tool 1 processes a layout pattern 3 corresponding to circuit diagram data 2 to create a SPICE netlist 4.
With the process of creating the SPICE netlist 4, a netlister 5 reads the circuit diagram data 2 to be processed, performs an extraction process of a netlist, and thereby creates a circuit diagram netlist 6. Thereafter, a net comparer 7 performs a process of comparing the contents of the SPICE netlist 4 and the contents of the circuit diagram netlist 6. A SPICE vs circuit diagram node association table 8 and a verification result 9 are then created.
Moreover, in parallel with this process, a circuit simulator 10 performs a circuit simulation process based on the SPICE netlist 4 to create a circuit simulation result 11. When these processes are complete, a display portion 12 for displaying simulation result by cross-probing on the circuit diagram and LVS result displays the contents of the cross-probing of the circuit simulation result on a screen, based on the circuit simulation result 11, the SPICE vs circuit diagram node association table 8, and the circuit diagram data 2. At the same time, a result of LVS is displayed on a screen with a circuit diagram, based on the circuit simulation result 11, the verification result 9, and the circuit diagram data 2.
In Patent Document 1, a net comparison is made by comparing the SPICE netlist 4 extracted from the layout pattern 3 by the SPICE netlist extraction tool 1 is compared, with the circuit diagram netlist 6 extracted from the circuit diagram data 2 by the netlister 5. The SPICE vs circuit diagram node association table is then created to perform cross-probing.    [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. Hei 9-044559

Layout design method of semiconductor integrated circuit


The present invention relates to an improved downhole seismic source for the simultaneous generation of elliptically polarized shear wave seismic energy and compression wave seismic energy coupled into a borehole. The source of the present invention is capable of receiving several kilowatts of energy downhole to depths of several thousand feet. An orbital vibrator, energized by a hydraulic power means is disposed within a housing. The orbital vibrator imparts an orbital motion which generates seismic wave energy in the borehole. A cable supports the hydraulic power means and the orbital vibrator at selected positions along the borehole for coupling of the seismic wave energy into the borehole.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to downhole seismic sources and, more particularly, but not by way of limitation, it relates to an improved type of orbital vibration source with a hydraulic power means for generating both shear wave and compression wave energy into an earth medium.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many different types of downhole seismic source mechanisms have been utilized for inducing acoustic energy into a borehole wall and subsequently analyzing velocity and/or phase of received energy to ascertain certain lithologic information. There are currently ongoing efforts in the industry to develop suitable downhole sources for generation of shear waves and/or compression waves with greater power and high signal-to-noise ratios to enable new approaches to seismic data acquisition. Current efforts have taken various forms and utilize diverse mechanisms in attempts to impart a clean, concise seismic energy input through the borehole wall or, in some cases, the well casing, and it is contemplated that development of such sources will open new possibilities of seismic data acquisition and interpretation.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,874,061 issued Oct. 17, 1989 to Cole, entitled "Downhole Orbital Seismic Source" relates to a downhole seismic source for the generation of elliptically polarized seismic shear waves and compression waves in a borehole. The invention uses the sonde casing of a generally cylindrical shape which houses an interactive rotational disk or the like to impart transverse rotational motion through the coupling wellbore fluid into the borehole wall. The invention contemplates a number of different types of basic orbital motion generators including motor driven eccentric disks.

Downhole hydraulic rotary seismic source


A method of lubricating a compression type refrigerating system comprising a compressor, a condensor, an expansion valve or a capillary tube and an evaporator, involves the use of lubricants having a kinematic viscosity of 5 to 500 cSt at 40.degree. C. and an interfacial tension of 8 dyne/cm or above in combination with a mixed refrigerant comprising 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane and 1,1-dichloro-2,2,2-trifluoroethane or chlorodifluoromethane as an essential component in the system.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for lubricating a compression type refrigerating system. More particularly, it relates to a method for lubricating a compression type refrigerating system efficiently without detracting wear resistance, cooling effect and stability by employing a mixed refrigerant comprising 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane (R-134a) and 1,1-dichloro-2,2,2-trifluoroethane (R-123) as the essential component or a mixed refrigerant comprising 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane (R-134a) and chlorodifluoromethane (R-22) as the essential component in combination with either or both of a specific hydrocarbon compound and polyglycol as the lubricant.
2. Description of the Related Arts
Conventionally, in a compression type refrigerating system or cycle comprising a compressor, a condenser, an expansion valve or a capillary tube and an evaporator, a fluorinated hydrocarbon compound such as dichlorodifluoromethane (R-12) has been used as the refrigerant. Many lubricants compatible with the refrigerant have also been made industrially available for use.
However, there have been misgivings that these fluorinated hydrocarbon compounds (hereinafter referred sometimes to as "flon compound") conventionally used as the refrigerant are liable to cause depletion of the ozone layer after they are released into the open air. Throughout the world, so-called substitute flon refrigerants have come into the use, replacing these fluorinated hydrocarbon compounds. The replacement has been realized by the development and marketing of refrigerants comprising substitute flon compounds such as 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane (R-134a), 1,1,2,2-tetrafluoroethane (R-134b), 1,1-dichloro-2,2,2-trifluoroethane (R-123), 1-chloro-1,1-difluoroethane (R-142b) and 1,1-dichloro-1-fluoroethane (R-141b).
Of these substitute flon refrigerants (flon refrigerants), the present trend has been such that the use of R-134a is encouraged to replace conventional R-12 or R-22.
Generally, the substitute flon refrigerants are different from conventional flon refrigerants in characteristics in that they have poor miscibility with mineral oils which have been used chiefly in combination with the conventional flon refrigerants. Thus, synthetic oils such as polyalkylene glycol compound (PAG) or ester compound have been developed and come into use as the suitable lubricant for these substitute flon refrigerants (U.S. Pat. No. 4,755,316 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 33193/1991).
However, even for these synthetic oils, certain problems have awaited the solution with respect to the substitute flon refrigerants. PAGs or esters have a good miscibility with R-134a, a substitute flon refrigerant but not a sufficiently high stability.
Some hydrocarbon compounds such as mineral oil have a high stability to R-134a but are not miscible well with this substitute flon. A lubricant capable of satisfying the requirement both of miscibility and stability has been found hard to obtain.
Furthermore, R-134a has a high vapor pressure and thus can be used singly in compression type refrigerating systems. But R-123 having a low vapor pressure cannot be used singly elsewhere but for turbo type refrigerators and further something is missing in R-123 with respect to wear resistance, cooling effect and the like.
The present inventor has made intensive studies with methods for lubricating compression type refrigerating systems by using R-134a which is better than other substitute flon refrigerants.
As the result, it has been found that the compression type refrigerating systems can be efficiently lubricated by means of the simultaneous use of R-134a and another substitute flon refrigerant or a conventional flon refrigerant in combination with a specific lubricant.

Method for lubricating compression type refrigerating system


Catalysts and catalyst systems useful for the olefin polymerization and copolymerization, and their synthesis procedure and usage are disclosed. These catalyst are a kind of novel complexes formed by transition metal from Group III to Group XI and multidentate ligand having the following formula:

Since the discovery of the Ziegle-Natta catalyst in 1950s, highly active MgCl2-supported Ti catalysts prove to have excellent properties. (N. Kashiwa etc., U.S. Pat. No. 3,642,746, 1968) and are used for the manufacture of HDPE, LLDPE and i-PP. However, these catalysts are difficult to control the structure and physical properties of the polymer by changing the steric hindrance and electronic effect of the catalyst effectively. The metallocene single-site is found to be excellent for the controllable synthesis of the bulk materials (W. Kaminsky etc., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl. 1980, 19, 390; H. H. Brintzinger etc. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl. 1995, 34, 1143; Ishiha, Takeshi, JP 07268029; Exxon Co. Int., WO 9600243, WO 9611960, WO 9400500, WO 9506071). Several single-site non-metallocene catalysts with ligands having N, O, P atom etc. have also been developed since 1995 (M. S. Brookhart etc., WO 9623010, WO 98/30612, WO 99/02472; V. C. Gibson etc., WO 99/12981, WO 98/27124; D. H. McConville etc., WO 2000/069922; R. H. Grubbs etc., WO 98/42664, WO 98/42665; Terunori Fujita etc., WO 99/54364). Selected catalysts are showed as follows:

To date, few reports appeared on the polymerization of olefins by non-metallocene titanium (IV) trichloride and zirconium (IV) trichloride complexes based on the single anion ligands. Nagy S. group reported the synthesis of 8-hydroxyl Quinoline titanium (IV) complex, which showed high activity in ethylene polymerization (Nagy S. etc. WO 9634021). A. Otero group reported the catalyst h was highly active in ethylene polymerization and gave high molecular weight PE and broad molecular weight dispersity (Organometallics, 2001, 20, 2428-2430).

Catalyst for polymerization or copolymerization of olefins, preparation and use of the same

Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences


The present invention relates to the novel use of an extract from a Cimicifuga species, preferably Cimicifuga racemosa (also termed Actaea racemosa L; black cohosh). In particular, the invention is directed to an extract from Cimicifuga sp., preferably Cimicifuga racemosa, for use in the therapeutic or prophylactic treatment of diabetes, preferably diabetes mellitus type 2, the use of such extracts for preparing a medicament, corresponding pharmaceutical compositions comprising the extract as well as a method for the therapeutic or prophylactic treatment of diabetes, preferably by oral administration of the extract or pharmaceutical composition.

Cimicifuga extracts, their preparation as well as medical uses thereof are well-known. For example, WO 99/47149 describes the use of Cimicifuga extracts for use as organo-selective estrogen-type medicaments for selective treatment of cardiovascular diseases and climacteric discomfort. U.S. Pat. No. 6,267,994 discloses Cimicifuga extracts for use in anti-tumour therapy as compositions that do not exhibit the toxicity of high doses of anti-estrogenic compounds. WO 01/05415 discloses a pharmaceutical composition having an estrogen-type effect and containing components of Cimicifuga extract or derivatives. Phytomedicine, Vol. 19 (2012), p. 846-853 discloses special extracts from Cimicifuga racemosa that are capable of reducing body fat accumulation in rats.
WO 2005/002609 A1 teaches methods for the preparation of plant extracts, in particular from Cimicifuga racemosa using extraction agents together with solution mediators such as organic polymers, in particular poly(vinylpyrrolidone) that are useful for treating climacteric and post-menopausal distress.
Seidlova-Wuttke et al. (Phytomedicine, 19, 2012, 846-853) discloses the use of Cimicifuga racemosa extracts for reducing abdominal fat depots (hyperlipidemia) and thus preventing metabolic syndrome (MB) in ovariectomized (ovx) rats, mimicking a postmenopausal situation.
Kiss et al. (J. Med. Food, 13(3) 2010, 599-604) teaches regeneration of liver damage in a CCl4-induced mouse model and pancreatic damage in an alloxan-induced experimental diabetes rat model by administration a complex dietary supplement of plant extracts called Olimpiq StemXCell (Crystal Institute Ltd., Hungary). The supplement comprises Cimicifuga racemosa as well as 8 further plant components. The administration of the dietary supplement resulted in faster and more efficient regeneration of both organs, which for the pancreas was indicated by reduction of blood sugar levels.
Rachon et al. (Maturitas 60, 2008, 209-215) teaches the effects of dietary Cimicifuga racemosa extract CR BNO 1055 on glucose tolerance (intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test, IPGTT), baseline glucose and fasting plasma insulin (FPI) in the menopause model using ovx rats. Contrary to the results of Kiss et al., which use the same extract and the same menopause model no statistically significant effect of the extract BNO 1055 on baseline blood glucose was observed and the extract lowered fasting plasma insulin similar to an estradiol (E2) control. And only E2 but not BNO 1055 administration resulted in a significant reduction of glucose AUC in the IPGTT. Even though the extract has an effect on glucose metabolism in ovariectomized rats this effect does not lower blood glucose as would be required for treating glucose-related disorders.
Liu et al. (Planta medica 65, 1999, 712-714) teaches that isoferulic acid extracted from the rhizome of Cimicifuga dahurica will lower plasma glucose levels in diabetic rats when applied intravenously at dosages of 5 and 10 mg/kg. However, the effect is very weak because no normalization of blood glucose could be obtained.
The Eur. J. Clin. Pharmacol., Vol. 58 (2002), 235-241 provides a systematic review of the clinical efficacy of Cimicifuga racemosa in many medical indications.
In her review article (Phytotherapeutische Optionen bei Diabetes mellitus Typ 2, Zeitschrift für Phytotherapie 2013; 34: 6-11) the author Karin Kraft summarizes current phytotherapeutic options for treating diabetes mellitus type 2 patients, however, a Cimicifuga product is not among the comprehensive list of phytotherapeutic agents.
The problem underlying the present invention is the provision of new medical indications for Cimicifuga plant products.