A method of manufacture of an aqueous suspension of talc, using a copolymer of (meth)acrylic acid with an oxyalkylated monomer with a surfactant group, an aqueous suspension of talc which may be obtained by such a method, and the use of these suspensions in various applications.

Talc is a mineral used in many applications. In the paper manufacturing industry it is used notably as a filler, but can also be used in paper coatings, or as an additive enabling the quantity of adhesives (pitch or stickies) in the paper manufacturing method to be reduced; it is also used in paints, plastics and filled rubbers, in ceramics, within food and cosmetic formulations and even in agriculture.
Talc can be transported in the form of powder, but it is also suspended in water for reasons relating to ease of transport, unloading and decanting of a liquid product, compared to a powder product. In addition, fine powders also represent a danger for human beings, if inhaled in too large a quantity. The suspension of the talc may be preceded by a step of granulation, by agglomerating individual talc particles in order to form a wet granulate.
However, talc is a highly hydrophobic substance, having surface energy on the order of 68 to 70 J/cm2. Consequently, suspending a substantial quantity of this mineral material in water without however reaching levels of viscosity which would make the suspension unfit for storage or for handling represents a technical challenge for the skilled man in the art. This is reported in "The importance of surface energy in the dispersion behaviour of talc particles in aqueous media" (Powder Technology, 2009, 190 (1-2), pp. 242-246).
The twin problem is therefore faced of increasing what is called the dry extract (or % by dry weight of talc present in the aqueous suspension) of the aqueous talc suspension, whilst giving the latter a rheology compatible with its use (i.e. by limiting the increase of viscosity of the suspension). This latter viscosity may be measured using any technique familiar to the skilled man in the art, such as a Brookfield™ rheometer, a device of the Ford™ cup type, etc.
The choice of the measurement and of the associated device is of little importance, provided they enable the rheological properties of the suspension during storage and/or handling to be apprehended. This independence is recalled in document EP 1 074 293 A1, which covers in very general fashion the dispersal of mineral matters in water, talc being notably mentioned among the substances to be dispersed.
To resolve the problem mentioned above, it is well known to use dispersing agents, which are introduced during the step of suspension of the talc in water, and/or during the step, if applicable, of granulation preceding it.
The skilled man in the art is familiar, on this subject, with document JP 63-175197 which recommends the use of acrylic polymers in a blend with polylakylene glycol esters. A suspension of a dry extract of around 60% is obtained; its rheological properties are studied by means of a sieving test; easy and rapid flow of the suspension is observed for a sieve mesh equal to 150 μm. However, the dose of dry dispersant used is at around 10% by weight relative to the dry weight of talc: the specifications must therefore be put into perspective with regard to this high quantity of dispersant.
Similarly, document JP 02-253836 recommends the use of a (meth)acrylic copolymer in combination with a sulphosuccinic acid. Even if a dry extract of 65% for a Brookfield™ viscosity at 100 revolutions per minute is accomplished of between 300 and 680 mPa·s is obtained, the proportion of dispersant of between 2 and 3% by dry weight relative to the dry weight of talc cannot satisfy the skilled man in the art.
Document FR 2 380 065 A1 is also known, which describes aqueous suspensions of talc having dry extracts of over 65%, and Brookfield™ viscosities at 100 revolutions per minute of the order of 1,000 mPa·s. However, the examples demonstrate that the quantity of dry weight of dispersant must be higher than 1% of the dry weight of talc, and preferentially of the order of 3%. Finally, the dispersant used is a phenol salt, and more specifically a phenol alkyl. And these substances are now prohibited in industry, notably in water-based paints, which constitute one of the potential applications of aqueous suspensions of talc.
Documents U.S. Pat. No. 6,267,811 A1 and WO 2010 055191 A1 are also known, which recommend implementing a CMC (carboxymethyl cellulose)/sodium polyacrylate system. However, the level of performance attained by this pair is modest, in respect of the rheology of the suspension given its dry extract. In addition, this solution has the disadvantage that it uses two components, which increases commensurately the storage and decanting installations (the modified cellulose in this case acts as a wetting agent).
A variant of the previous solution lies in the use of a sodium polyacrylate with a surfactant (GB 2 019 822). Although the characteristics of the resulting aqueous suspension of talc in the sense the present invention are improved, the formation of a very abundant foam is then observed, which is a very prejudicial factor for the final application, since the foam results from the presence of the surfactant in free form in the water. Both the polyacrylate/CMC and polyacrylate/surfactant technical solutions were, incidentally, subjected to comparative testing in the present application.
Currently, it is still the technical solution provided in document EP 0 892 020 A1, which is however more than 10 years old, which provides the best compromise between viscosity/dry extract specifications and low rates of dispersant, without producing a foam. This solution is based on the use of a hydrosoluble copolymer, consisting of a first carboxylic monomer (and notably a (meth)acrylic one) and of a second monomer carrying a grafted surfactant group, where the copolymer satisfies the following formula:R—(OE)m-(OP)n—R′where                m and n designate integers of less than or equal to 100, at least one of which is non-zero,        OE and OP designate respectively ethylene oxide and propylene oxide,        R designates a polymerisable group, and preferentially the methacrylate or methacrylurethane group,        R′ designates a linear or branched alkyl, alkylaryl, arylalkyl, aryl group having at least 22 carbon atoms or a dialkylamine having at least 22 carbon atoms.
The many examples in this disclosure demonstrate that it is possible to manufacture, with only 1% by dry weight relative to the dry weight of talc of the copolymers described above, aqueous suspensions which have a dry talc extract close to 65% of their weight, and which are at once stable, handleable and compatible with their end uses. The best results are obtained by choosing an aryl group having 30 carbon atoms.

Method of manufacture of aqueous suspensions of talc from an acrylic polymer with a grafted surfactant group, suspensions obtained and their uses


A semiconductor device includes a first conductive layer on a semiconductor substrate, a dielectric layer including a high-k dielectric material on the first conductive layer, a second conductive layer including polysilicon doped with P-type impurities on the dielectric layer, and a third conductive layer including a metal on the second conductive layer. In some devices, a first gate structure is formed in a main cell region and includes a tunnel oxide layer, a floating gate, a first high-k dielectric layer, and a control gate. The control gate includes a layer of polysilicon doped with P-type impurities and a metal layer. A second gate structure is formed outside the main cell region and includes a tunnel oxide layer, a conductive layer, and a metal layer. A third gate structure is formed in a peripheral cell region and includes a tunnel oxide, a conductive layer, and a high-k dielectric layer having a width narrower than the conductive layer. Method embodiments are also disclosed.

A flash memory device generally includes a cell transistor that has a tunnel oxide layer pattern, a first gate pattern serving as a floating gate, a dielectric layer pattern and a second gate pattern serving as a control gate. When a voltage is applied to the control gate, electrons may be injected into the floating gate to store charge therein, which represents data in the flash memory device. A flash memory device may be improved by reducing the loss of the voltage applied to the floating gate. The loss of the voltage applied to the floating gate may be reduced for example, by improving the capacitive coupling ratio of the device.
As the feature sizes of semiconductor devices continuously decrease, the dielectric layer pattern of a flash memory device may occupy a smaller and smaller area. When the dielectric layer pattern has a small area, the capacitive coupling ratio of the flash memory device may also decrease. Thus, to maintain the capacitive coupling ratio of the flash memory device, it may be desirable to form the dielectric layer pattern with a reduced thickness.
However, as the thickness of the dielectric layer pattern is reduced, leakage current between the floating gate and the control gate may increase, which may reduce the capacitive coupling ratio of the flash memory device. Such leakage current may also impair the electrical characteristics of flash memory devices.
To reduce leakage current and to improve the capacitive coupling ratio, a high-k dielectric material has been employed as the dielectric layer of a flash memory device. Methods of forming a dielectric layer using a high-k dielectric material are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,642,573 issued to Halliyal et al., and/or U.S. Pat. No. 6,617,639 issued to Wang et al., the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
When a dielectric layer including a high-k dielectric material is employed together with a control gate of polysilicon doped with N-type impurities, the work function of the control gate may be too low, such that tunneling current between the dielectric layer and the control gate may increase. Hence, a metal having a high work function may be employed for the control gate instead of polysilicon doped with the N-type impurities in order to reduce the tunneling current. However, when the control gate is formed using a metal having a high work function, some problems may result, as described below.
FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating conventional methods of forming a semiconductor device. As shown therein, a tunnel oxide layer 12 and a polysilicon layer 14 are sequentially formed on a semiconductor substrate 10 including a cell region 11 and a peripheral circuit region 13. The polysilicon layer 14 is patterned to form a floating gate (not shown).
After a high-k dielectric material layer and a metal layer are successively formed on the polysilicon layer 14, the metal layer and the high-k material layer are patterned to form a preliminary control gate 18 and a dielectric layer pattern 16 on the polysilicon layer 14. Since the dielectric layer 16 is formed in the cell region only, it may be desirable to use a hard mask (not shown) to form the dielectric layer 16. If the hard mask is formed using silicon nitride or silicon oxide, the hard mask may react chemically with the dielectric layer pattern 16, which may impair the electrical characteristics of the dielectric layer pattern 16. Therefore, the hard mask may generally be formed using a metal.
However, a hard mask layer formed of metal may be oxidized during an ashing process used for removing a photoresist pattern (which may be used, for example, as an etching mask for forming the preliminary control gate 18). When the hard mask made of metal is oxidized as described above, the interface resistance between the dielectric layer 16 and the preliminary control gate 18 may increase. In addition, the preliminary control gate 18 and/or the hard mask may be lifted away from the dielectric layer 16. Furthermore, it may be desirable to form an additional metal layer in the peripheral circuit region 13 after forming the dielectric layer 16, because the preliminary control gate 18 may be removed in the peripheral circuit region 13 in an etching process used for forming the dielectric layer 16. Thus, processes for forming the dielectric layer 16 and the preliminary control gate 18 may be complicated, because two metallizations may be required to form a control gate 18 in both the cell region 11 and the peripheral circuit region 13.

Semiconductor devices including high-k dielectric materials


A method, device, and system for network traffic analysis are provided. The method comprises obtaining traffic data of current time interval, recording the traffic data in a Chinese Remainder Theorem based Reversible Sketch (CRT-RS) based on a hash operation comprising Modulo operations, detecting abnormal buckets in the CRT-RS based on a change between the traffic data of current time interval and traffic data of previous time interval, and recovering abnormal source address associated information based on the abnormal buckets, wherein the modulus of the Modulo operations are selected from the modulus in Chinese Remainder Theorem (CRT) as pairwise coprime integers and the CRT-RS includes a plurality of buckets. The step of detecting uses a Modified Multi-chart Cumulative Sum.

Network attacks that are the main threats of security over the Internet have attracted special attention. The openness and interconnection of the network and the security vulnerabilities of protocols and software lead to multiple and multi-level network attacks. Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) flooding attack is one of the typical attacks over the Internet. It aims to flood a victim and occupies the victim's resources so that the victim cannot provide normal services for legitimate users.
How to detect DDoS flooding attacks is a hot topic in the field of network security. The methodologies widely used to detect DDoS flooding attacks comprise statistical method, machine learning, and knowledge-based method. With the continuous expansion of network scale, the continuous growth of network traffic brings great challenges to the detection methods for DDoS flooding attacks. Incomplete network traffic collection or non-real-time processing of large-scale network traffic will seriously affect the accuracy and efficiency of attack detection. Moreover, most current detection methods for DDoS flooding attacks are using static models.
Thus, there is a need for improving the detection and mitigation for DDoS flooding attacks.

Method, device, and system for network traffic analysis


The present invention describes a system and method of OAM diverse signal processing using classical beams for applications in which OAM signal character is controlled such as optical tagging and applications in which OAM signal character is not controlled such as clutter mitigation and interference cancellation for target detection, identification etc. This is accomplished by transmitting a source beam having a prescribed state with one or more non-zero OAM components, reflecting the beam off a ‘tagged’ or ‘untagged’ target and receiving the return beam in the direct return path to measure the one or more OAM components to identify the target. OAM processing provides additional degrees of processing freedom to greatly enhance the processing capabilities to detect and identify both ‘tagged’ and ‘untagged’ targets.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to orbital angular momentum (OAM) diverse signal processing using classical beams for applications in which OAM signal character is controlled such as optical tagging and applications in which OAM signal character is not controlled such as clutter mitigation and interference cancellation.
2. Description of the Related Art
Polarization diverse signal processing using electro-optical (EO) and radio frequency (RF) beams is used in applications such as "tagging" in which the polarization signal character is controlled and object detection, identification and tracking in which the polarization is affected by the object and its surrounding environment. The polarization state of the reflected probe signal is post-processed to identify a 'tagged' object or to detect, identify, track etc. an 'untagged' object.
FIG. 1 illustrates the functional components of a generic passive electromagnetic tagging system. There are three primary components: (i) the transmitter 10 which sends out the electromagnetic probe signal 12; (ii) the passive tag 14 on a target 15 that captures the probe signal, possibly alters the signal in a well defined manner, and transmits the (altered) return signal 16; and (iii) a reader 18 that receives the return signal, post-processes it to boost the signal-to-noise ratio and decodes the carried information. In many systems, the transmitter 10 and reader 18 are co-located on the same platform so that the reader lies in the direct return path of return signal 16. However, the return signal 16 can be received along other return paths making it easier for 'unfriendly' receiver to intercept the return signal. Passive tagging systems operate most commonly at radio (approximately 30 MHz to 3 THz) and electro-optical (visible band (VB) and infra-red (IR) spanning approximately 0.3 THz to 300 THz) frequencies.
FIG. 2 shows one realization of a passive radio frequency (RF) tag system. The electromagnetic emitter is an RF antenna 20 capable of producing a coded transmitted waveform 22. The passive RF tag 24 on target 25 usually has electronic circuitry that provides a varying degree of security and covertness. Receive and hold circuitry preserves the coded transmitted waveform in the coded return signal 28. Enhanced security can be realized with signal imprint circuitry that imprints a known time-varying signal onto the received RF signal or by changing the received RF waveform code in a specified manner to produce the coded return signal 28. The initial coded waveform and additional signals may be coded into the polarization or using other means. Covertness is typically achieved by spreading the RF energy across multiple RF wavebands (spread spectrum). The reader is an RF antenna 32 that uses matched filtering/pulse compression to recover the spread-spectrum RF return. Additional signal processing is possibly included to further decode the signal.
FIG. 3 shows one realization of a passive electro-optical (EO) tag system. There are a wide variety of extant passive EO tag systems. FIG. 3 illustrates an implementation based on the polarization of the EO signal. Here, the emitter is a laser 34 that transmits a signal 36 having well-defined polarization. At the EO tag 38 on target 40, a quarter-wave plate 42 alters the polarization of the received EO beam in a well-defined manner, and a retro-reflector 44 provides a simple mechanism for producing the return EO signal 46. The reader 48 consists of some optical elements 50 that preprocess the return EO signal, a Focal Plane Array (FPA) 52 for collecting the return EO signal, and possibly additional signal processing 54 to further decode the signal.
FIG. 4 shows one realization of a polarization-diverse antenna system. In this case, the depicted antenna 56 has two transmit/receive channels, each capable of processing both degrees of polarization. The transmitter 58 transmits a vertically polarized beam 60 from both channels. A target scene 62 is probed by the antenna. The scene contains a man made object 64 whose returns 66 are strongly polarized in the vertical direction as well as more natural clutter 68 whose diffuse returns 70 are more homogeneously polarized in both the horizontal and vertical directions. The antenna receiver 72 measures both polarization components of the return signal. The polarization components are processed to detect, identify, track etc. man made object 64.

System and method of orbital angular momentum (OAM) diverse signal processing using classical beams


A communication system includes an encryptor and a decryptor. For improved encryption security, the encryptor includes a multitap delay line to produce mutually delayed samples of the signal to be encrypted. Each sample is operated on by a key or function to produce modified signal samples, and the modified signal samples are summed or combined to produce the encrypted signal. According to one aspect of the invention, at least one of the keys or functions includes a nonlinear function. In some embodiments, the functions are time-variant for improved security. Decryption is accomplished in some embodiments by an equalizer. The preferred equalizer is the maximum-likelihood-sequence estimators matched to the encryption functions. A Viterbi algorithm makes it easy to implement the matched equalizer.

Most data encryption systems operate on the binary data produced by the data source. The data may be encoded for error detection andor correction before or after the encryption. The encryption is often performed by scrambling the data sequence with a "key" data sequence in order to conceal the original data sequence. Attempts may be made to alter the statistics of the encoded signal to make the signal appear more like random noise. After the encryption, the encrypted signal may be transmitted over a data path, or stored in a storage medium for later use. The transmission over a data path or storage may be viewed as a "channel" by which the encrypted signal is made available at a different time or venue. In any case, conventional digital signal processing techniques appropriate for the channel in question are used to aid in the transmission over the channel. Such techniques may include framing/packetizing, interleaving, modulating, filtering, and amplification. At the receiving end of the channel, the reverse operations are performed, in order to retrieve the original binary sequence.
An unauthorized or unintended entity which gains access to the encrypted signal by interception from the channel can apply various techniques to the encrypted signal, in an attempt to extract the original binary sequence.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,101,432, issued Mar. 31, 1992 in the name of Webb, describes a digital signal encryption technique in which the encryptor is a finite-impulse-response (FIR) network in which the impulse response is varied in time as the signal is encrypted, so that the impulse response "rolls" between different values during encryption. As described therein, the FIR network encrypts the signal by transforming with a substantially continuous nonlinear complex function of frequency, or in other words it disperses the original signal in time. This dispersion results in irregular "random-appearing" variations in amplitude of the signal. The random-appearing variations are not random, however, but arise from the time dispersion. The magnitude and possibly the phase spectra of the transformed signal are then complicated non-linear functions of frequency. Time dispersion as suggested by Webb implies distortion in the frequency domain. The time dispersion which Webb imposes on the signal during encryption is "inverted" by a decrypting filter.
Improved signal encryption/decryption techniques are desired.

Data encryption by nonlinear transfer function


An information processing method and an electronic device are provided. The method includes: obtaining audio data collected by a slave device; obtaining contextual data corresponding to the slave device; and obtaining a recognition result of recognizing the audio data based on the contextual data. The contextual data characterizes a voice environment of the audio data collected by the slave device.

With development of information technology, voice recognition may be conducted on electronic devices and thus to control the electronic devices.
Conventional voice recognition often requires users to provide standard pronunciation for the electronic device to recognize. Otherwise, low recognition accuracy may occur and voice recognition may fail. It is desirable to improve recognition accuracy.
The disclosed methods and devices for information processing are directed to solve one or more problems set forth above and other problems in the art.

Method and device for information processing


One embodiment of the present invention enables global delivery of “on-demand” high fidelity media content to client computers via a network, such as, the Internet or a wide area network (WAN) while restricting unauthorized users from directly retrieving media content from its sources. The present embodiment includes a global media content delivery network that may include multiple “points of presence” which may be located throughout the world. Each point of presence may store a portion or the entirety of a media content library that may be provided to client devices. Each one of the points of presence may provide media content to client devices in their respective vicinity of the world. Once a client receives media, it is stored using hidden directories to prevent easy redistribution with other devices. An access key procedure and rate control restrictor may also be implemented to monitor and restrict suspicious media requests.

Computers have become integral tools used in a wide variety of different applications, such as in finance and commercial transactions, computer-aided design and manufacturing, health care, telecommunication, education, etc. Computers are finding new applications as a result of advances in hardware technology and rapid development in software technology. Furthermore, the functionality of a computer system is dramatically enhanced by coupling these type of stand-alone devices together in order to form a networking environment. Within a networking environment, users may readily exchange files, share information stored on a common database, pool resources, and communicate via electronic mail (e-mail) and video teleconferencing. Furthermore, computers which are coupled to a networking environment like the Internet provide their users access to data and information from all over the world. Computer systems have become useful in many aspects of everyday life including providing entertainment to their users.
For example, a computer system may be coupled to the Internet and receive music from a wide variety of web site sources. There are different ways that a computer system may receive music via the Internet. One common way is for the computer to receive streaming music from a web site wherein the computer user typically does not choose the songs that he or she listens to but instead receives broadcast music. However, it should be appreciated that there are disadvantages associated with this streaming media technique for receiving music.
One of the disadvantages is that the computer user is unable to choose specific songs to listen to and have them delivered to his or her computer "on-demand." Another disadvantage with the streaming music delivery technique is that as more and more computers receive the simultaneously broadcast music, the more and more congested the communication networks of the Internet become. In order to lessen the severity of this type of network congestion, media streamers usually decrease the data rate of the streaming audio in order to be able to handle more clients. However, by decreasing the data rate of the music, its fidelity is also degraded.
Some streaming music delivery systems require a participating computer system to acquire a proprietary audio player in order to receive and play music which has been encrypted so that the music is not distributed to others in an uncontrolled fashion. Nevertheless, there are disadvantages associated with this technique also. For example, one of the disadvantages is that the fidelity of the received music can be degraded as a consequence of its encryption and decryption. Additionally, an encryption process typically involves more data being included with the streaming music which may provide additional congestion to communication networks of the Internet. Another disadvantage associated with some proprietary audio players is that they are not compatible with certain computer operating system platforms which consequently restricts the number of computer systems that may utilize them.
Another technique for acquiring music with a computer is by accessing a music file sharing web site via the Internet. Currently there are a variety of different Internet music file sharing web sites accessible to computers. Typically, these file sharing web sites enable computer users to share music files in a point-to-point manner thereby enabling them to receive music which may then be stored by their computer for use or further distribution. It should be appreciated that there are disadvantages associated with this type of music file sharing technique.
One of the disadvantages is that the music file sharing computer users usually do not compensate the owner (e.g., record company, artist, etc.) of copyrighted music after receiving a copy of it. One of the reasons for this situation is that music file sharing web sites commonly do not control or even monitor the music being exchanged among different computers. And even when these web sites try to record and/or control the distribution of music, it may be thwarted by simply changing the file name of the song thereby enabling it to continue to be distributed freely.
Another disadvantage associated with the music file sharing technique previously described is that the music received may be a low fidelity product. There are different causes for this low fidelity. For example, there is usually no established quality level that has to be met in order to share music files via the Internet. As such, the original "source" of a shared music file is typically music copied from a compact disc (CD) to a computer which may be done in a substandard manner because an operator is not concerned with quality and/or does not even have the tools necessary to produce a high fidelity product. A further disadvantage associated with this music file sharing technique is that as more and more file sharing or swapping occurs, communication network systems of the Internet can get increasingly more congested thereby reducing the efficiency of data transfer between different computers.

System and method for providing global media content delivery


A means for improving the dynamic and voltage stability of utility transmission systems is provided by the coordinated control of windfarms. Electrical measurements of the system, which may include synchronized phasors, are supplied to one or more windfarm controllers, which in turn perform a regulation function improving the damping of electromechanical oscillations or voltage performance in the utility system. The control structure is of a decentralized nature, which maintains operation in case of communication failures. The benefits are improved damping to electromechanical oscillations and better voltage performance and ultimately increased utilization of assets, reducing the install additional network assets.

The invention relates generally to stability control of electrical windfarm systems within an electric power system and more specifically to control of dynamic and voltage stability of an electric power system by controlling electrical windfarm systems.
Typically, an electric power system includes a plurality of power generation assets, which are spread over a geographic area. The electric power system also includes systems that consume power (loads) that may also be spread over the geographic area. The electric power system also includes a grid, a network of electric power lines and associated equipment used to transmit and distribute electricity over a geographic area. The infrastructure of the grid, may include, but is not limited to devices for interconnection, control, maintenance, and improvement of the electric power system operation. Typically, the electric power system includes a centralized control system operatively connected to the power generation assets for controlling a power output of each of the power generation assets, for example, using processing logic. The network operator usually operates the centralized control system. The power output of the power generation assets controlled by the centralized control system may include, but is not limited to an amount of electrical power, and a voltage for the electrical power.
The power generation assets include individual power generating stations. The power generating station, may for example, each serve a geographic region within the grid by delivering electrical power to such regions. The power generation assets may each include any type of power source. For example, the power generation assets may include a power source that generates electrical power at least partially from coal, water, a combustible fluid such as gasoline, natural gas, diesel fuel, etc., nuclear, wind, and solar energy.
Wind energy is often used to generate electrical power at power plants, often referred to as windfarms, using, for example, the rotation of large wind turbines to drive electrical generators. Windfarms and their associated windfarm controllers can control reactive power supply, and to a more limited extent active power. Larsen, in U.S. Pat. No. 7,119,452, U.S. Pat. No. 7,166,928, and U.S. Pat. No. 7,224,081, describes a voltage control for wind generators including a farm-level controller with a reactive power command and a wind turbine generator control system. Wind turbine generator voltage control may be provided by regulating the voltage according to a reference set by a higher-than-generator-level (substation or farm level) controller. Reactive power may be regulated over a longer term (e.g. few seconds) while wind turbine generator terminal voltage is regulated over a shorter term (e.g. fraction of a second) to mitigate the effect of fast grid transients.
For economic reasons and as one of the approaches to reduce the environmental impacts of fossil fuel power generation, wind turbine generators with larger power output are being produced and windfarms with greater numbers of wind turbine generators are being brought into operation. The power output from the windfarms in the future may comprise a significantly larger part of the total power being supplied and transmitted along the transmission grid. At the same time, there is increasing concern about the transmission capacity available for new large-scale windfarms, and the stability issues limiting transmission capacity.
The maximum operating capacity of transmission systems can often be limited by voltage stability, voltage limits, and electromechanical oscillations rather than by thermal loading limits. If these constraints can be overcome, network assets can be better utilized and in some cases investment in additional assets can be avoided.
FIG. 1 illustrates a representative response curve for a transmission system collapse due to increased power transfer between areas and how application of inventive controls for wind farms may extend the operation of the transmission system, preventing voltage collapse. The vertical axis represents transmission system voltage power flow 175 and the horizontal axis represents power flow 180. In a stressed condition, as the power flow (P) 175 increases, the voltage 180 at a given point on the voltage vrs. power flow line (solid line) 185 starts to decrease. The power P that can be transmitted in the system must be limited below Pmax1 194 due to voltage collapse. If the power increases close to Pmax1 194, the voltage 180 "collapses" considerably, normally causing protective relaying operations and load disconnections. In practice, an operating margin (not shown) is maintained below Pmax1 194 to avoid collapse.
Electromechanical oscillation modes that can occur, can be local, where individual synchronous generators in the power generation assets oscillate against the electric power system (of the order 0.3 to 1 Hz), inter-area, where groups of generators oscillate over a long distance system oscillates (0.2 to 1.0 Hz), and complex oscillations which can be a combination of local and inter-area modes.
Electromechanical oscillations will most likely occur within traditional generators in the network. Present wind turbine generator (WTG) technologies do not participate on the oscillation (although they can affect their damping). Further, potential new WTG concepts (hydraulic torque converters with synchronous machines directly connected) could actively participate in the electromechanical oscillation modes.
Damping of electromechanical oscillations can be improved with control devices in excitation of synchronous generators or power system stabilizer (PSS) controls. PSS have been applied in conventional power generation.
Flexible AC transmission systems (FACTS) devices are solutions to many transmission system problems. These devices often consist of the addition of series or shunt capacitors in combination with other passive devices or active switches may be added to the transmission grid. Typical FACTs devices are static VAR compensator (SVC) and Static synchronous compensator (STATCOM). The SVC and STATCOM are electrical devices for providing fast-acting reactive power compensation on high voltage electrical transmission networks. Other solutions consist of building additional lines and utilizing series capacitors in long lines. However, the FACTS approaches incur the cost for the hardware fixes.
Accordingly, there is a need to provide a structure and method for preventing voltage collapse on a transmission system, where the voltage collapse results from stressed conditions on the transmission line. Further, there is a need for improving damping of electromechanical oscillations within the electric grid.

Wide area transmission control of windfarms


The present invention relates to a coupling assembly (1) for fixedly connecting a rotational member (2) to an end section (3) of a hollow shaft (4). It may e.g. be used for connecting the main shaft (4) of a wind turbine (28) to a planet carrier (2) of a coaxial planetary gear system. The coupling assembly (1) comprises a shrink ring (6) and a coupling element (7). The shrink ring (6) has an outer diameter corresponding to the inner shaft diameter (d) and a conical surface (14) for connecting the shrink ring (6) and the coupling element (7). The coupling element (7) comprises an annular groove (18) with a groove diameter corresponding to the outer shaft diameter (D) and a conical surface (20) matching the shrink ring (6). When in use, the hollow shaft (4) is arranged in the groove (18) and connected to the coupling element (7) by axially extending bolts (9). Hereby a torque can be transferred by both the shrink connection and the bolts fastened into the hollow shaft. The coupling element (7) preferably comprises an outer flange (26) to which the rotational member (2) can be fastened.

Wind turbines are used to gather wind energy and to transform the energy into another form of energy, typically electrical energy. For this purpose, most wind turbines include a main shaft which at one end is coupled to the blades of the wind turbine and at the opposite end is connected to a driven wind turbine part. This driven wind turbine part may be an input shaft of a gearbox or an input shaft or torque transferring member of an electric energy generator.
In modern wind turbines, the torque which is to be transferred in a connection between a driving member and a driven member is relatively high. The torque may lie in the interval between 500 and 15,000 kilo Newton meters. Various solutions have been provided in wind turbines in order to connect the main shaft and the driven part in a way which can sustain and transfer the high torque. One solution is to mount a so-called shrink disc around an interconnection area of the shaft and the driven part and apply the necessary pressure to transfer the loads in a friction connection. However, for hollow shafts, the establishment of such a shrink connection often results in deformation and run out of the main shaft which may cause difficulties with the fitting of the main bearings as well as with the alignment of the gearbox. These problems may be more pronounced for hollow shafts with relatively small wall thicknesses. Due to the distance from the main bearings to the centre of gravity of the gearbox, it is typically necessary to also support the gearbox with a further bearing which results in a statically over-determined system.
Hence, an improved coupling assembly would be advantageous, and in particular a more efficient and/or reliable coupling assembly would be advantageous.

Coupling assembly and wind turbine comprising such assembly


Systems, methods, and apparatuses are disclosed to facilitate wireless communications. User equipment (UE), such as a mobile device, identifies data congestion and transmits a recommended data rate modification wireless signal (e.g., a recommended reduced data rate) to the base station that is transmitting data to the UE. The base station may reduce the data rate of the down link (DL) to the reduced data rate. The UE may then receive data from the base station at the reduced data rate. Therefore, flow control may be implemented at the base station side (e.g., sometimes referred to as the Network (NW) side) based upon the reduced data rate modification determined and transmitted by the UE to the base station. In this way, the data rate transmission to the UE can be reduced to allow the UE to successfully process received data and successfully perform its functions.

I. Field
The following description relates generally to wireless communication systems, and more particularly to providing flow control for a mobile device.
II. Relevant Background
Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content such as voice, data, and so on. These systems may be multiple-access systems capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing the available system resources (e.g., bandwidth and transmit power). Examples of such multiple-access systems include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, Advanced LTE systems (LTE-A), and orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems.
Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content such as voice, data, and so on. These systems may be multiple-access systems capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing the available system resources (e.g., bandwidth and transmit power). Examples of such multiple-access systems include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, Advanced LTE systems (LTE-A), and orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems.
Generally, a wireless multiple-access communication system can simultaneously support communication for multiple wireless terminals. Each terminal communicates with one or more base stations via transmissions on the forward and reverse links. The forward link (or downlink) refers to the communication link from the base stations to the terminals, and the reverse link (or uplink) refers to the communication link from the terminals to the base stations. This communication link may be established via a single-in-single-out, multiple-in-signal-out or a multiple-in-multiple-out (MIMO) system.
A MIMO system employs multiple (NT) transmit antennas and multiple (NR) receive antennas for data transmission. A MIMO channel formed by the NT transmit and NR receive antennas may be decomposed into NS independent channels, which are also referred to as spatial channels, where NS≦min{NT, NR}. Each of the NS independent channels corresponds to a dimension. The MIMO system can provide improved performance (e.g., higher throughput and/or greater reliability) if the additional dimensionalities created by the multiple transmit and receive antennas are utilized.
A MIMO system supports a time division duplex (TDD) and frequency division duplex (FDD) systems. In a TDD system, the forward and reverse link transmissions are on the same frequency region so that the reciprocity principle allows the estimation of the forward link channel from the reverse link channel. This enables the access point to extract transmit beamforming gain on the forward link when multiple antennas are available at the access point.
For current LTE systems there exists no protocol or methodology to flow control the base station or network (NW) side. However, flow control may be required in a plurality of scenarios, such as when the mobile device or user equipment (UE) is not able to process high data rates (e.g., when user applications or tasks are running on the UE and are running out of memory). Present solutions typically address such scenarios by blindly dropping the transport blocks or Radio Link Control (RLC) Protocol Data Units (PDUs) received on the downlink (DL) (as if the RLC PDUs were never received) or selectively dropping media access control (MAC) Service Data Units (SDUs) based on the priority or Quality of Service (QOS) or Radio Bearer (RB) type (whether DRB or SRB) and then relying on RLC level re-transmissions later. Unfortunately, such conventional methods cause inefficiencies and wastage of over the air bandwidth and potentially extra transmission power on the DL side.

Systems and methods to provide flow control for mobile devices


RTP801 represents a unique gene target for hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1). Down-regulation of the mTOR pathway activity by hypoxia requires de novo mRNA synthesis and correlates with increased expression of RTP801.

Current modes of therapy for the prevention and/or treatment of apoptosis-related and neurodegenerative diseases, ischemic conditions, COPD, macular degeneration, microvascular diseases and ototoxic conditions are unsatisfactory and there is a need therefore to develop novel compounds for this purpose. The present invention is focused on processes for identifying such compounds. All the diseases and indications disclosed herein, as well as other diseases and conditions disclosed in coassigned PCT Application No. WO06/023544A2 may also be treated by the novel compounds of this invention.
RTP801
Gene RTP801, was first disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,455,674, 6,555,667, and 6,740,738, including the RTP801 polynucleotide and polypeptide, and antibodies directed toward the polypeptide. RTP801 represents a unique gene target for hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) that may regulate hypoxia-induced pathogenesis independent of growth factors such as VEGF.
The Following Patent Applications and Publications Provide Background Information:
PCT Publication No. WO 2001070979 relates to nucleic acid markers, which are overexpressed in ovarian cancer cells.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,673,549 discloses a combination comprising cDNAs that are differentially expressed in response to steroid treatment.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2003165864 relates to cDNAs that are differentially expressed in cells treated with a DNA demethylating agent.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2003108871 relates to a composition comprising several cDNAs that are differentially expressed in treated human C3A liver cell cultures.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2002119463 discloses a new composition, useful for treating and diagnosing prostate cancer, said composition comprising human cDNAs that are differentially expressed in prostate cancer.
PCT Publication No. WO 2004018999 discloses a method for assessing, characterizing, monitoring, preventing and treating cervical cancer.
European Patent No. EP 1394274 relates to a method of testing for bronchial asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease by comparing the expression level of a marker gene in a biological sample from a subject with the expression level of the gene in a sample from a healthy subject.
PCT Publication No. WO 2002101075 relates to an isolated nucleic acid molecule useful for detecting, characterizing, preventing and treating human cervical cancers.
PCT Publication No. WO 2003010205 relates to inhibiting angiogenesis for treating wound healing, retinopathy, ischemia, inflammation, microvasculopathy, bone healing and skin inflammation.
PCT Publication No. WO 2002046465 relates to identifying a gene involved in disease for treating hypoxia- regulated conditions.
PCT Publication No. WO 2002031111 relates to polypeptides and their encoded proteins, and many uses therefore are provided.
PCT Publication No. WO 2001012659 relates to nucleic acids useful in recombinant DNA methodologies.
PCT Publication No. WO 2001077289 discloses six hundred and twenty three polynucleotides derived from a variety of human tissue sources.
PCT Publication No. WO 2003101283 relates to a combination which comprises many cDNAs and proteins
Japan Patent No. JP 2003259877 relates to many hepatic fibrosis disease markers.
Tzipora Shoshani, et al. Identification of a Novel Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1-Responsive Gene, RTP801, Involved in Apoptosis. MOLECULAR AND CELLULAR BIOLOGY, April 2002, p. 2283-2293; this paper, co-authored by the inventor of the present invention, details the discovery of the RTP801 gene (a then novel HIF-1-dependent gene).
Anat Brafman, et al. Inhibition of Oxygen-Induced Retinopathy in RTP801-Deficient Mice. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2004 October; 45 (10): 3796-805; also co-authored by the inventor of the present invention, this paper demonstrates that in RTP801 knock out mice, hypoxia does not cause degeneration of the retinal capillary network.
Leif W. Ellisen, et al. REDD1, a Developmentally Regulated Transcriptional Target of p63and p53, Links p63 to Regulation of Reactive Oxygen Species. Molecular Cell, Vol. 10, 995-1005, November, 2002; this paper demonstrates that overexpression of RTP801 (referred to therein as REDD1) leads to increased production of reactive oxygen species.
Richard D R, Berra E, and Pouyssegur J. Non-hypoxic pathway mediates the induction of hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha in vascular smooth muscle cells. J Biol. Chem. 2000, Sep. 1; 275(35): 26765-71. This paper demonstrates that HIF-1-dependent transcription may be induced by excessive production of reactive oxygen species.
Rangasami T, et al., Genetic ablation of Nrƒ2 enhances susceptibility to cigarette smoke-induced emphysema in mice. Submitted to Journal of Clinical Investigation. This work relates to mice with a compromised antoxidant defense (due to a germline inactivation of RTP801).
The mTOR Pathway
Tuberous sclerosis is an autosomal-dominant disorder caused by the mutation of one of the two tumor suppressor genes: TSC1 or TSC2, (TSC=Tuberous Sclerosis Complex) encoding protein products, hamartin, and tuberin, respectively. Both proteins form intracellular complexes exerting inhibitory activity on mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) kinase. It has been demonstrated that signal transduction from tuberin to mTOR is mediated by a G protein, Ras homologue enriched in brain (Rheb). In normal cells, tuberin having GTPase-activating protein properties toward Rheb controls signals of nutrient depletion, hypoxia, or stress, not allowing activation of mTOR and subsequent protein translation and cell proliferation. However, when environmental conditions change, tuberin is phosphorylated and it forms a complex with hamartin is degraded, and downstream targets of mTOR, S6K, and eEF2K, can be activated. (Jozwiak J, Jozwiak S, Grzela T, Lazarczyk M: Positive and negative regulation of TSC2 activity and its effects on downstream effectors of the mTOR pathway. Neuromolecular Med. 2005; 7(4):287-96.).
mTOR is a central regulator of protein synthesis the activity of which is modulated by a variety of signals. Energy depletion and hypoxia result in mTOR inhibition through a process involving the activation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) by LKB1 and subsequent phosphorylation of TSC2. It has been shown that mTOR inhibition by hypoxia requires the TSC1/TSC2 tumor suppressor complex and RTP801. Disruption of the TSC1/TSC2 complex through loss of TSC1 or TSC2 blocks the effects of hypoxia on mTOR, as measured by changes in the mTOR targets S6K and 4E-BP1, and results in abnormal accumulation of Hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF). In contrast to energy depletion, mTOR inhibition by hypoxia does not require AMPK or LKB1. Down-regulation of mTOR activity by hypoxia requires de novo mRNA synthesis and correlates with increased expression of RTP801. Disruption of RTP801 abrogates the hypoxia-induced inhibition of mTOR, and RTP801 overexpression is sufficient to down-regulate S6K phosphorylation in a TSC1/TSC2-dependent manner. (Brugarolas J, Lei K, Hurley R L, Manning B D, Reiling J H, Hafen E, Witters L A, Ellisen L W, Kaelin W G Jr.: Regulation of mTOR function in response to hypoxia by REDD1 and the TSC1/TSC2 tumor suppressor complex. Genes Dev. 2004 Dec. 1; 18(23):2893-904.)
Additionally, it has recently been demonstrated that RTP801 potently inhibit signaling through mTOR, working downstream of AKT and upstream of TSC2 to inhibit mTOR functions. (Corradetti M N, et al.,. J Biol Chem. 2005 Mar. 18; 280(11):9769-72.).

Abstract: The present invention relates to screening systems utilizing RTP801 and/or RTP801 interactors and/or RTP801 biological activity, to drug candidates identified by such screening systems, and to the use of such drug candidates in the treatment of various disorders.


A manufacturing method of composite material includes following steps: shaping a stainless steel plate to a stainless structural component; putting the stainless structural component in a female mold; putting a fiber material over a surface of the stainless structural component away from the female mold; and pressing a male mold towards the female mold to make the fiber material attached to the stainless structural component. The present invention is able to make different materials attached to each other to form a composite material in a simple and efficient manufacturing process, and the composite material is light; thin and has advantages of high rigidity and high strength.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a manufacturing method of a composite material and, more particularly, to a manufacturing method of a composite material including a stainless material and a fiber material.
2. Description of the Related Art
A casing of an electronic device, such as a mobile phone, a computer, a play station and a personal digital assistant (PDA), is usually made of metal (such as a stainless steel, an aluminum alloy and a magnesium alloy) to meet a requirement of high rigidity, and it would not be easily damaged due to an external impact. Recently, portable electronic devices become lighter and thinner, which should be considered in choosing the material of the casing.
In manufacture, a metal casing is usually shaped by punching or cold forging. In order to make the structure have high rigidity and high strength, following materials and methods are used: when the aluminum alloy is used, an aluminum alloy plate with sufficient thickness is punched for shaping, and then it is attached to other structures by gluing, or the casing is shaped via the cold forging to form an inner structure and an outer structure at the same time, and then the casing is processed via a computer numerical control (CNC). However, the aluminum alloy is relatively light, and thus its thickness should be increased to meet the requirement of strength, which makes it difficult to make the casing thinner.
When a stainless steel material is used, since the stainless steel has good rigidity, a thin stainless steel plate is shaped by punching, and then it is attached to other structures via gluing. Though the casing made of the stainless steel material is thin, it is heavy due to a high density.
Comparing to the metal, a fiber material (such as carbon fibers, glass fibers or metal fibers) is also used to make the electronic device casing. The fiber material is light, has high rigidity and high strength, and it can form decoration textures after weaving. Though the casing made of the fiber material is light and thin, it is difficult to shape it in the subsequent process or combine it with other structures. Thus, the conventional manufacturing method costs much, the quality of the casing cannot be improved, and it is difficult to meet the requirements of rigidity, light, thin and beauty at the limited cost.

Manufacturing method of composite material


A ladle shroud for casting liquid metal contains a canal along which the metal can pass, extending essentially along an axis, and a metallic jacket positioned at an end portion of the shroud that corresponds to an end of the canal, characterized in that the jacket comprises at least a belt of a thickness greater than or equal to 10 mm, preferably of 14 mm, and in that the shroud comprises means of attachment to driving means, the attachment means being formed on the jacket, notably on the belt thereof.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a casting installation for liquid metal and notably to a ladle shroud that can be introduced into such an installation.
(2) Description of the Related Art
A ladle shroud is a tube comprising a canal extending essentially along an axis; the canal allowing the liquid metal from a metallurgical container, such as a ladle, to pass to a tundish. Such a tube is introduced into the installation in such a way that the axis of the canal is vertical and that the upper end thereof is in contact with an upstream element of the installation, while the lower end thereof is immersed in the tundish.
A ladle shroud comprising, at an end portion of the shroud corresponding to an upper end portion of the canal, a metallic jacket framing a tube body is known from the prior art and this metallic jacket is of a thickness less than or equal to 5 millimeters. Such a jacket, because of its small size, serves only to reduce the inevitable dimensional tolerances that arise when manufacturing the shroud made of refractory material. In particular, such a jacket is entirely incompatible with the stress loadings (temperature, pressure) associated with the use of the shroud and, therefore, it is impossible to conceive of using this jacket to hold or position the ladle shroud. These problems are further exacerbated if there is a desire to use such shrouds in a device for introducing ladle shrouds by sliding because in such a case the loadings (tensile stress loadings for example) are even more localized than they are in a conventional push-fit device.
Before introducing the shroud into the installation, the end portion of the shroud may be fitted into a removable stiffening frame (see, for example, WO-A1-2004/052576). This frame is then placed on a support and the shroud and frame assembly is introduced into the casting installation so that the end portion of the shroud is in contact with the upstream element of the casting installation.
The fitting of such a frame is a fairly length and relatively complex operation for the operator to perform. Such a frame is also extremely expensive. There is therefore a need to simplify the operations in the casting installation, notably in order to reduce the costs associated with casting.

Ladle shroud for liquid metal casting installation


An automated tool for partitioning the source code of a software system at heuristic architectural boundaries identified by a bug-reporting process, and for representing the architecture of the software system as a set of visual attributes without constraining the representation to any particular predefined architectural style. The attributes are visualized applying multi-dimensional mapping techniques to software components to generate visual maps of the relationships and interactions among software components that cannot be easily understood or assimilated in a non-graphical form.

The software architecture of a program or computing system is the structure or structures of the system, which comprise software elements, the externally visible properties of those elements, and the relationships between them. The term also refers to documentation of a system's software architecture. Documenting software architecture facilitates communication between software designers, documents early decisions about high-level design, and allows reuse of software components and structures between projects. Software architecture is an essential part of the design process, giving programming teams the ability to work together as a group and to see how all the components will link together.
Architecture description languages (ADLs) are used to describe a software architecture. Several different ADLs have been developed by different organizations, including Wright (developed by Carnegie Mellon), Acme (developed by Carnegie Mellon), xADL (developed by UCI), Darwin (developed by Imperial College London), DAOP-ADL (developed by University of Málaga).
Software architecture is commonly organized in views, which are analogous to the different types of blueprints made in building architecture. Within the ontology established by ANSI/IEEE 1471-2000, views are instances of viewpoints, where a viewpoint exists to describe the architecture in question from the perspective of a given set of stakeholders and their concerns. Some possible views are:
Functional/logic view
Code view
Development/structural view
Concurrency/process/thread view
Physical/deployment view
User action/feedback view
Software architecture has been described as a collection of components together with a description of the interactions between these components. Software architecture has also been described as a set of elements including processing elements, data elements and connecting elements that can be represented in some type of block diagram or flowchart.
There are many well-known styles of software architecture that software designers and developers regularly use. Terms that describe style, such as client-server, object-oriented, distributed, multi-processor, layered, message passing and preemptive are widely used and software designers and developers have an intuitive understanding of their meaning without a rigorous definition. Most software implementations however, especially large projects, are hybrids of various styles of architecture and cannot be easily classified or analyzed with respect to a single style.
Software architectures for most software systems are not documented and even when they are documented, the actual implementations deviate from the intended architecture. There are at least two causes for this deviation. Firstly, a software system does not have a single architecture. It may have many, depending on a particular point of view. There is a run-time architecture, a data-flow architecture, a control-flow architecture, a code-structure architecture and so on. Secondly, the architecture that is represented in a system's documentation may not coincide with any of these views as the software evolves over time through new releases.
A description of a large software system with any of the conventional ADLs mentioned above will be incomplete because some pieces of the software will not fit the particular architectural style used by the ADL. Additionally, non-graphical methods for describing software architecture (e.g., tables) are difficult to read and understand. It would be advantageous, therefore, to have a tool for visualizing software architecture without constraining the visualization to any single predefined style so that the software architecture can be characterized, explored and understood at any stage of development, deployment or revision.

Tool for visualizing software architecture


The protective helmet includes a hard plastic shell member which is configured to fit over the top of the horse's head, with openings for the ears of the horse. The shell member has a particular configuration, with a front edge which fits around the top of the eyes of the horse and curves slightly downwardly between the eyes, side edges which extend from the front edge to the rear of the horse's head, and a rear edge which is located a distance down the back of the neck of the horse. An interior member is positioned on the interior surface of the shell member, made of soft, pliable material which conforms to the surface configuration of the horse's head when the helmet is secured thereto. A strap assembly extends between the respective sides edges of the shell member, including a buckle or other attachment portion which permits adjustable securement of the helmet on the horse's head.

The importance of protecting a horse's head during certain activities such as, for instance, transporting of the horse, has been recognized. Other activities involve possible hazardous circumstances, such as mounted police action. There have been a variety of structural approaches in providing protective helmets for horses. Many helmets are quite simple and cover only small portions of the horse's head. In some cases, the helmets are actually more decorative than protective and provide only minimal actual protection. On the other hand, many helmets are structurally complex, often covering too much of the horse's head and/or are too expensive. In addition, many known helmets are uncomfortable for the horse and raise the possibility of the horse injuring itself as it tries to get the helmet off.
Hence, there is a need for a horse helmet which provides good protection for the horse's head, particularly during transport, but for other activities as well, but is simple in design, relatively inexpensive, and is at least reasonably comfortable for the horse.


An LCD panel includes multiple data lines, multiple scanning lines, multiple pixels, and multiple control transistors. Each pixel connected with a corresponding one of the data lines and one of the scanning lines. Gate electrodes of the control transistors are connected with a same scanning line. A source electrode of each control transistor is connected with a corresponding one of the data lines. Drain electrodes of the control transistors are connected with each other. A black picture insertion method for the LCD panel displayed in a 3D mode is also disclosed. Accordingly, a refresh frequency of the driving circuit is one half of the prior art. The power consumption and cost are reduced. Besides, a black picture is inserted into one frame during a blank time domain of the one frame such that the brightness is increased and the charge time of the liquid crystal capacitor is increased.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the liquid crystal display technology and more particularly to a liquid crystal display panel and a black picture insertion method when the panel is displayed in a 3D mode.
2. Description of Related Art
A three-dimension (3D) stereoscopic technology of a three-dimension (3D) stereoscopic television can be mainly divided into two types of a polarized type (active type) and a shutter type (passive type). Wherein, the shutter type synchronously switches a left-eye lens and a right-eye lens of a glass and a left-eye frame and a right-eye frame of an image on the television such that human eyes can receive different and fast switched frames so as to generate a stereoscopic image in the brain.
In the shutter type stereoscopic technology, when a left-eye frame and a right-eye frame are switching to display, a crosstalk problem is easily to generate. The crosstalk problem means: the left-eye frame received by the left eye includes the content of the right-eye frame, and the right-eye frame received by the right eye includes the content of the left-eye frame.
In order to eliminate the crosstalk problems, a black frame is inserted in the current shutter type stereoscopic technology. For example, the method utilizes a left-eye frame→black frame→right-eye frame→a black frame (LBRB) such that the left eye can receive the left-eye frame and the black frame simultaneously, and the right eye can receive the right-eye frame and the black frame simultaneously. Because the black frame is a background frame, the black frame and a normal frame will not generate a crosstalk. Inserting a black frame is known as a black-insertion (BI) technology, and is usually utilized in a flat display device in order to improve the display quality of the flat display device when displaying a dynamic image. The black-insertion technology inserts a black frame between two continuous frames in order to eliminate the integration effect to the eye. Furthermore, a moving screen response timing (MPRT) when the panel is displaying the dynamic image is improved so that the display quality is improved.
However, the black-insertion (BI) technology requires a higher refresh frequency. For a refresh frequency as 60 Hz for a left eye or a right eye, a refresh frequency is 240 Hz for a driving circuit of a flat display device using the black-insertion (BI) technology. The power consumption and the cost are increased. Besides, the diving method also causes the drawbacks of a lower brightness of the display screen and a shorter charge time for the liquid crystal capacitor.

Liquid crystal display panel and black picture insertion method for the panel displayed in 3D mode

Shenzhen China Star Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd


In a method for deep tagging a recording, a computer records audio comprising speech from one or more people. The computer detects a non-speech sound within the audio. The computer determines that the non-speech sound corresponds to a type of sound, and in response, associates a descriptive term with a time of occurrence of the non-speech sound within the recorded audio to form a searchable tag. The computer stores the searchable tag as metadata of the recorded audio.

Tagging is the process of associating a descriptive word or phrase to an entire machine-readable file such as a document, file, video, sound clip, article, or web page. Such descriptive words or phrases, or "tags," allow separate users to glean the subject matter and/or topics covered in the tagged file. More importantly, tagging allows users to use a search engine to search for the tagged file, and may provide a link to the file. Deep tagging is the process of tagging within one or more portions of a machine-readable file. For example, in a video or audio file that is large and contains many different subjects, deep tagging may provide a descriptive word association to a specific portion of the file. A search or selection of such a tag word may provide a link directly to the specific portion of the video or audio file. Additionally, from such a tag, a URL can be generated. The tags may then be searchable and indexable by search engines, and online users can be led directly to the specific portion of the video or audio file on a website.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


At the front, a handpiece (1) has a clamp (10) fitted to tightly grip the shank of a removable tool housed in guide holes (23, 25). The clamp has two or more levers (26) attached to an annular section (22) of the clamp by elastic joints (27), each of which has a gripping jaw (20) to grip the tool shank. On each lever, the gripping jaw (20) is located much closer to the joint (27) than to a supporting surface, on which a tightening mechanism (17) exerts a centripetal force so that the lever multiplies this force. The tightening mechanism preferably has a sliding sleeve (40) having a conical inside surface (44), which produces the force at the levers of the clamp by means of balls (45) housed in the holes of a hollow rotatable shaft (11).

The present invention relates to a handpiece for dental or surgical use of the type comprising: a hollow shaft, which is rotatable around a longitudinal axis and mounted by bearings in a fixed tubular sheath; a clamp mounted in a front end of the hollow shaft and having a central channel intended to receive the shank of a removable tool, the clamp having axial arms arranged around said axis, each of which are provided with a gripping jaw in the central channel, and each arm being attached to an annular section of the clamp; a tightening mechanism supported by the hollow shaft and arranged to exert a centripetal force on a supporting surface of each arm of the clamp to grip the tool shank between the gripping jaws of the clamp; and a release mechanism supported at least partially by the fixed sheath and arranged to act on the tightening mechanism at least so as to loosen the clamp.
In the case of handpieces of this type the gripping jaws are usually located at an end of the clamp, which has conical outer supporting surfaces, on which an inside cone of a tubular piece engages to thus tighten the end of the clamp on the tool shank. For example, according to patent application FR 2 191 869, corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 3,902,248, the clamp is mounted to slide in the hollow shaft, its gripping jaws and its outer supporting surfaces being located at its front end to cooperate with the front opening of the shaft, and the clamp is kept tight by a spring, which pulls axially to the rear.
In the case where the tool held by the handpiece has to withstand relatively high stresses, in particular with respect to the torque and axial forces, the grip of the clamp must be sufficiently tight. This requires a sufficiently high axial force of the tightening spring as well as high frictional forces on the conical surfaces, which convert this axial force into radial gripping forces. The release mechanism must be able to overcome these forces by applying a sufficient axial pressure on the sliding member biased by the tightening spring. This axial pressure is then transferred to the structure of the handpiece through at least one of the bearings supporting the rotatable shaft. Most of the time, as in the construction according to patent publication FR 2 191 869, this pressure is exerted forwards and thus stresses the bearings in the opposite direction to the axial stresses which the tool is subjected to. That is to say that the bearings must be designed to withstand axial stresses in both directions.
Moreover, a relatively strong tightening spring has a relatively high weight and this constitutes a particular disadvantage for a piece, which rotates very quickly and the centring of which cannot generally be assured with precision. The resulting vibrations increase with the weight of this spring.
Patent application FR 2 723 306, corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 5,688,122, describes a device for gripping a dental tool in a head of an angle handpiece, comprising a clamp with elastic arms formed by cut-outs in a bushing also serving as a guide tube for the tool shank. In the resting position, the gripping jaws located on the arms of the clamp are at a distance from the axis that is smaller than the radius of the tool shank in such a way that this is then gripped solely by the elasticity of the arms. This device does not require an axial tightening spring, but the centrifugal force, however, tends to release the clamp.


A new and distinct Mandevilla plant named ‘ESDEFL1’ which is characterized by a compact growth habit, dark green and glossy foliage, medium-sized dark red flowers with a darker red throat and yellow-orange floral tube, as well as the stability of these characteristics from generation to generation.

Parentage: 'ESDEFL1' is a seedling selection from bulked seed that was produced from the open pollination of a plurality of cultivated, phenotypically-similar unnamed Mandevilla sanderi plants (not patented). In October of 2014, seed harvested from said Mandevilla sanderi plants was sown at a commercial greenhouse in Gavenzande, the Netherlands and allowed to grow to maturity for observation. In the summer of 2015, one plant from this bulked Mandevilla sanderi seed was observed to exhibit unique growth and flower characteristics and was isolated for further evaluation in order to confirm the distinctness and stability of the characteristics first observed. Upon confirmation of distinctness and stability, 'ESDEFL1' was selected for commercialization.
Asexual Reproduction: Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar 'ESDEFL1', by way of softwood stem cuttings, was first initiated in the summer of 2015 at a commercial greenhouse in Gavenzande, The Netherlands. Through four subsequent generations, the unique features of this cultivar have proven to be stable and true to type.


A printing element substrate, comprising a plurality of units configured to print on a printing medium based on print data, each of the plurality of units, including a printing element configured to print on the printing medium, a first transistor configured to operate as a source follower upon receiving a voltage at a gate terminal of the first transistor, and supply a current to the printing element, and a second transistor configured to control supply of the current to the printing element in response to a control signal input to a gate terminal of the second transistor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printing element substrate, printhead, and printing apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
An inkjet printing apparatus typified by a printer includes a printhead which prints on a printing medium. The printhead includes a printing element substrate. Printing elements for printing based on print data, and driving transistors for driving the printing elements are arranged on the printing element substrate.
The printing elements and driving transistors are interposed between a power supply line and a ground line. At the time of printing, potential fluctuations may occur on the power supply line. The potential fluctuations become more serious as the number of printing elements to be simultaneously driven increases. The printing element substrate needs to adopt a circuit arrangement considering the potential fluctuations.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-355970 discloses an arrangement in which printing elements and driving transistors, and a control unit configured to supply a control signal to the control terminals of the driving transistors operate using different power supplies. In this arrangement, a control signal of a constant potential is supplied to the control terminal of the driving transistor, and the amount of current supplied to the printing element is hardly influenced by the above-mentioned potential fluctuations of the power supply. However, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-355970 does not disclose that an element configured to supply a constant current to the printing element, and an element configured to control the printing element are arranged individually.

Printing element substrate, printhead, and printing apparatus


A tracing-result optimization processing unit generates an optimized tracing result. A tracing-result collation processing unit collates the optimized tracing result and a time chart as a basis of a sequence processing for an external apparatus and detects shift of the optimized tracing result. A tracing-result storing unit accumulates and stores therein a tracing result obtained by a programmable logic controller at predetermined time intervals. Every time the tracing result is stored in the tracing-result storing unit, the tracing-result optimization processing unit generates the optimized tracing result.

Conventionally, a sequence program test method for performing an operation test for a sequence program created from a time chart in a PLC peripheral device has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In the sequence program test method disclosed in Patent Document 1, based on a sequence time chart as operation patterns of an apparatus controlled by a sequencer program, an operation pattern matrix table obtained by digitizing the operation patterns is created in advance and a value obtained by digitizing an operation output from the apparatus controlled by the sequencer program and the operation pattern matrix table are compared. When the value and the operation pattern matrix table coincide with each other, it is judged that the sequencer program is normal. When the value and the operation pattern matrix table do not coincide with each other, it is judged that the sequencer program is abnormal and a result of the judgment is output to an operator of the peripheral device of the PLC.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2002-73619

Peripheral device of programmable logic controller


A cloth take-up device for a circular knitting machine includes first and second vertical side panels, a cloth-transfer cylinder connected between the vertical side panels adjacent a top side of the vertical side panels, and two impression cylinders connected in parallel between the vertical side panels and peripherally disposed in contact with the cloth-transfer cylinder at two opposite sides for guiding a finished piece of knitted fabric over the cloth-transfer cylinder. Two parallel support arms are respectively pivoted to the vertical side panels. A cloth take-up cylinder is connected between the support arms. A transmission shaft is coupled to a main bevel gear by an auxiliary bevel gear. A gear train is coupled to the main bevel gear by another auxiliary bevel gear, and a belt transmission mechanism is mounted on the second vertical side panel. The belt transmission mechanism is driven by the transmission shaft to rotate the cloth take-up cylinder, causing it to take up the finished piece of knitted fabric. A stepless speed change device is provided having an input shaft coupled to the gear train. A chain transmission mechanism is mounted on the first vertical side panel and is driven by the output shaft of the stepless speed change device to rotate the cloth-transfer cylinder, enabling the finished piece of knitted fabric to be carried forwards by the cloth-transfer cylinder and taken up by the cloth take-up cylinder.

The present invention relates to a cloth take-up device for use with a circular knitting machine to automatically take up the knitted fabric, and more particularly to a stepless speed change type cloth take-up device which automatically changes the cloth taking up speed subject to the feeding speed of the finished knitted fabric.
Conventional cloth take-up devices which are designed for use with a circular knitting machine to automatically take up the knitted fabric commonly use a multi-step speed change device to control the revolving speed of the cloth take-up cylinder subject to the feeding speed of the finished piece of knitted fabric. Because the multi-step speed change device is not a stepless speed change mechanism, it cannot fit the feeding speed of the finished piece of knitted fabric perfectly. A minor speed difference between the feeding speed of the finished piece of knitted fabric and the cloth take-up cylinder may cause the finished piece of knitted fabric or parts of the circular knitting machine to be damaged. Furthermore, conventional cloth take-up devices are designed to fit a particular model of circular knitting machine, i.e., one particular cloth take-up device must be used with one particular model of circular knitting machine.

Stepless speed change type cloth take-up device for a circular knitting machine

No. 2, Lane 281, Fu-Te 1st Rd., Hsichih Town

2F., No. 4, Lane 220, Sec. 3, Chung-Hsing Rd.


Systems and methods are provided for optimizing visual consistency for a dataset of images by using observed and formulated display attributes. The formulated display attributes are derived from an analysis of a first set of images from the image repository. The formulated display attributes from the first set are combined with observer's display attributes to determine scaling factors. The optimized display attributes are then derived from the calculated scaling factors for a second set of images. In another aspect, a system and method is described where a digital image is processed in order to enhance viewing of the image on a display device in accordance to the optimized attributes associated with the observer.

The growing availability of digital technology is having an impact on medical imaging practice. Image archiving and communications systems allow for digital acquisition, image processing and display for a wide variety of medical imaging modalities in a digital environment. Digital medical imaging has led to an increase in productivity for the health care professionals who need to utilize images as part of patient care. To maintain this high productivity it is important for the health professional to extract diagnostically useful information from the medical images at a digital display. Digital displays have many advantages over film such as a wide variety of tools to manipulate and process the image to enhance structures or make them more visible. Yet another advantage is the availability of tools to segment images, detect, and classify lesions and to make comparisons with previous images that can be viewed from imaging archives. Chiefly due to these tools, the radiologist now has a considerable amount of influence over the quality of the image. While overall enhancing quality assurance (QA) it has led to variability in how perception and observer performance affects the quality assurance process because a completely new array of considerations arises. There are significant variations in a general image appearance with different anatomies, views, and x-ray image acquisitions.
For a radiologist, the acquired digital x-ray image may not be always satisfactory from a diagnostic point of view. Some of the image areas may be too dark, or there may be insufficient contrast in the regions of interest. Fortunately, with digital radiography it is possible to adjust the image brightness and contrast of the image by adjusting the window level (WL) and the window width (WW) of the image. However, WL and WW adjustments need to be such that overall brightness and contrast are consistent from one image to the next for a given set of conditions. The WL and WW adjustment issue is further complicated by the fact that each user has a personal preference of the consistent appearance.
Diagnostic accuracy is certainly the major consideration, but a good quality assurance system can affect observer performance in other ways. Workflow or the amount of time the radiologist spends on an individual image can easily be regarded as a reflection of the quality assurance process. If the display is inadequate in some way, it is quite likely that the radiologist will have to compensate by taking more time to examine the image before rendering a diagnostic decision. When radiographic images are viewed with electronic displays, adjustment of window width and level is a standard practice used to improve the rendering of a region-of-interest. Adjustment of window width and level is most often done manually, most often using a mouse or track-ball, and requires substantial time and effort to obtain a desired result. Window width and level adjustment requires a skilled operator to be accomplished successfully. Further, adjusting window width and level for a region of interest often has the effect of making the remaining areas of the image sub-optimally rendered. In addition to this loss of image quality, adjusting window width and level can also cause a loss of context for the region of interest leading to some areas being under expose while other areas are overexposed.
For the reasons stated above, and for other reasons stated below which will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the present specification, there is a need in the art for automating the selection of window width and window level with minimal user interaction. There is also a need in the art for electronic displays to provide consistent brightness and contrast settings for a set of images.

Methods and apparatus for method to optimize visual consistency of images using human observer feedback


A vehicle suitable for on-and off-road use has a track drive with auxiliary frames mounted under the vehicle frame between front and rear wheels, the auxiliary frames having continuous tracks on carrier wheels driven by hydraulic motors, each auxiliary frame being independently vertically displaceable relative to the vehicle frame by means of corresponding lifting cylinders between a fully retracted position for travel on wheels only, and a fully extended position for tracks only travel. The lifting cylinders are adjustable for leveling the vehicle to a horizontal position on uneven ground while the vehicle is supported on the tracks. Such an auxiliary track drive can be installed in an existing motor vehicle for improved off road usage and particularly for use in soil sounding applications.

For operations off normally passable roads, e.g. for performing soil sounding operations and the like, off-road vehicles are being used with plural wheeldrive and special off-road transmissions. In order to obtain a dependable drive, generally three-axle vehicles with double rear axles are being used, and, moreover, special transmissions with a high deceleration and differential blocking are utilized.
For transport on the road, however, generally a two-axle vehicle will be sufficient. It is an object of the invention to provide such a vehicle which is also suitable for off-road operations. The motor vehicle according to the invention can be obtained, in particular, by a suitable adaptation of a current two-axle vehicle, and has the characteristics mentioned in the characterizing portion of claim 1.
In this manner a normal motor vehicle can be made suitable, for being used as an off-road vehicle. As known continuous tracks are very efficient for this purpose. Since, for the envisaged purposes, the driving speeds off-road are relatively low, e.g. not more than about 5 km/h, such a track drive can, therefore, be constructed in a rather simple way since no spring suspension is required.
In particular the drive of the auxiliary frame provided with continuous tracks can be coupled with the shift means of the transmission, so that the track drive will be automatically switched on and off as soon as the auxiliary frame is lowered or retracted respectively.
If the vehicle should be horizontally positioned during operations, e.g. in the case of soil sounding or soil drilling operations, the driving means for the auxiliary frame can be used for positioning the vehicle horizontally when the caterpillar tracks have been lowered.

Vehicle suitable for on- and off-road use

Verenigde Bedrijven Van den Berg Heerenveen Holding B.V.


The present invention provides a system and method for integrating travel and expense management. The present invention enables an entity to integrate not only data that matches exactly, but also determine the likelihood that data that does not match exactly nevertheless corresponds to each other. The system comprises: a network; at least one terminal coupled to the network; and at least one server coupled to the network. The server comprises a program that includes: retrieving travel data records corresponding to travel requests; retrieving expense data records reflecting expense transactions; comparing the expense data records to the travel data records; and determining a likelihood that the expense data records match the travel data records.

Background of the Technology
Travel and travel-related expenses constitute a large expense facing organized entities. There is a need in the art to better analyze, monitor, and control these expenses, while maintaining accuracy and increasing worker productivity. For example, reducing time spent on expense reports allows workers to spend more time on core job functions.
Automated expense management systems have moved the traditional paper-based travel expense reporting process on-line. Credit card data feeds contain credit card transaction information. Travel data feeds also exist that contain information about travel reservations obtained from either the travel agency or from a Global Distribution System (GDS) vendor (e.g., Apollo, Sabre, Galileo, Amadeus, Worldspan). Although it is useful to import credit card data feed and travel data feed information into expense reports, there is a need to make the data more useful and reliable. For example, it is difficult to exactly predict a car rental expense prior to a trip (e.g., a traveler may return a car with an empty tank of fuel and owe more than the base rate, a traveler may opt to use the rental company's insurance policy, a rental car may be returned early or late, and taxes may not be provided on the data feed). Hotel expenses are also difficult to predict (e.g., telephone or room service are not on the reservation, a traveler may check out early or late). In addition, a traveler often calls the vendor (e.g., car rental company, hotel) directly and changes or cancels the reservation, and that change is often not reflected in the GDS.
Air ticket information on travel data feeds is typically more accurate than hotel or car information because the ticket purchase occurs within the GDS system (whereas hotel and car payments typically occur at the end of the stay or rental) and because the GDS systems were originally built for the specific purpose of handling air ticket reservations and purchases. However, inaccuracies still arise. For example, with some refundable air tickets, the traveler can exchange the ticket at the airport for a different ticket, and this refund may not be reflected in the data available to the agency because the traveler bypassed the agency and went straight to the airline.
For these reasons, credit card data feeds, where exact costs are known, are more reliable and accurate than travel data feeds. In fact, use of only travel data feeds alone may actually decrease accuracy, as the fees in the travel data feeds are often inaccurate. If the traveler does not correct the fee, a reimbursement could be issued for an incorrect amount, causing accounting problems.
It is also useful to have expenses submitted match not only the credit card data feeds, but also the travel data feeds. If certain data matches the credit card data feed, then management reliably knows what expenses have been booked and not yet expensed, providing a good estimate of amounts owed to employees. In addition, travel data feeds often contain more information than the credit card data feeds. Access to this additional information for reporting and data-mining purposes enables management to make better business decisions.
Attempts to link credit card data feed information with travel data feed information provide many challenges. Comparing the two data feeds to each other to find exact matches does not address many real-world situations. For example, travel data feed information is typically available before a trip takes place. Credit card data feed information is typically unavailable until several days after the credit card charge has occurred. With central billing cards or "ghost cards," the charge data is often not available until the end of a month in which the expense was incurred. Travelers often want to submit travel reports as soon as possible upon returning to expedite reimbursement. If the traveler has already created an expense report with the travel data on it and submitted it prior to the credit card data becoming available, there is a need to associate the credit card record with the already-submitted expense report. This association should be performed: to prevent duplicate submission (and possibly double-reimbursement) of the same expenses; to check the amount of the expense (travel data feeds often have inaccurate amounts, and manually-inputted expense items may contain user errors); and to link the credit card data to the expense for reporting purposes.
In addition, data feeds often contain varying levels of data quality. Some major credit card vendors charge customers for an automated data feed, with tiered rates where customers pay more for feeds with richer data and less for feeds with minimal data. Purchase dates often do not match travel dates, either because the vendor batches up several days worth of charges and submits them at once, or because the ticket or hotel room or rental was paid in advance. Credit card data feeds do not always contain travel dates. Sometimes the credit card data feeds contain merchant codes, but other times the credit card data feeds only contain the name of the merchant, creating confusion (e.g., are "Value Inn" and "Value Inn Express" the same merchant?). It is not always possible to know with absolute certainty that a given credit card charge matches a specific travel event. A mechanism is needed to judge the probability of any credit card data matching a given travel event request and to match the most probable credit card data feed record with the most probable travel data feed record.
Furthermore, travel data feeds also contain varying levels of data quality. Some GDS vendors have systems where all travel itinerary changes are transmitted on a data feed (e.g., the Galileo IDS system). Other travel feeds come from agencies and are limited to the data that the agency provides. In some cases, a travel record change is added to the travel data feed by having an agent manually make a selection or enter a code to add the change to the feed. This type of process is very prone to human error, so it is possible that the travel data feed may not contain the most up-to-date itinerary information.
In addition, the travel data known prior to the trip may not be representative of the trip actually taken. For example, the traveler may have a reservation at Hotel A, but may change that reservation to Hotel B if the traveler discovers that Hotel B is closer to a meeting site. A matching process that requires exact vendor match would never match the hotel reservation at Hotel A with the credit card charge at Hotel B the data feeds. However, as Hotel B was the hotel used on the trip, it would be useful to match the Hotel B credit card charge to the Hotel A reservation so that management knows that the Hotel A reservation will not be expensed in addition to the Hotel B credit card charge.
Additionally, travel vendors make "trusted" receipts available in digital form to their customers. These trusted receipts contain valuable data that is useful in the expense management process.

System and method for integrated travel and expense management