A static dewatering element (10) for a web forming machine has a thermally sprayed coating (26) manufactured of powder particles (34). The powder particles (34) are agglomerates composed of primary particles (36). The average size of the primary particles (36) is smaller than 0.5 μm. The invention also relates to a method for covering a static dewatering element designed for a web forming machine.

The invention relates to a static dewatering element for a web forming machine, said dewatering element comprising a thermally sprayed coating manufactured of powder particles. The invention also relates to a method for covering a dewatering element designed for a web forming machine.
Dewatering elements of a web forming machine are traditionally manufactured of a solid ceramic material. However, the manufacture of solid ceramic dewatering elements is expensive. Therefore, the dewatering elements can be manufactured at lower cost by covering a suitable metal. Patent FI 96437 proposes a dewatering element consisting mainly of an aluminum profile. The aluminum profile is covered with an oxide layer provided by electrolytic plasma oxidation or spray explosion covering, for example. However, the method according to this patent as well as other known methods can only be used for manufacturing coatings with a porosity of over 1%. Such a high porosity creates a risk of pit corrosion at the boundary of the frame layer and the coating, which can lead to the detachment of the coating during use. In addition, filler particles attach to a porous material, which then consume the fabric contacting the dewatering element. The surface roughness of the dewatering elements according to prior art has typically ranged between 0.4-0.8 μm. The surface roughness is high with known coatings causing fast fabric wear.

Static dewatering element for a web forming machine and a method for covering a static dewatering element designed for a web forming machine


The present invention is a lanyard game strap, hauler or tote that can be worn around the neck of a hunter. The strap, hauler or tote contains one type of attachment means for holding both game calls and another type of attachment means for holding game. Several of each type of attachment means are attached to each strap, hauler or tote. The lanyard game strap, hauler or tote is preferably stretchable so as to be comfortable to wear around the neck even when game is attached to the lanyard game strap, hauler or tote that increases the total weight being carried around the hunter's neck.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lanyard game strap, hauler or tote for wearing around the neck of a hunter that provides attachment means thereon for holding both game calls and game such as waterfowl game birds.
2. Description of the Related Art
Currently there are lanyards that have attachment means for multiple game calls. Also, currently there are straps that can be attached to the garments of a hunter or held in the hunter's hand with attachment means for holding game such as waterfowl game birds. It would be desirable to have a lanyard game strap, hauler or tote that could be worn around the neck of a hunter that would have attachment means for holding both game calls and game such as waterfowl game birds. The present invention addresses that need.


A method may include obtaining at least one dataset that includes information corresponding to periods of usage of a plurality of components within a cloud infrastructure and usage cost for each component of the plurality of components within the cloud infrastructure. The method may include comparing the information corresponding to the periods of usage with at least a portion of the information corresponding to the usage cost for components. The method may include determining a cost for one or more of the components for a period of time. The cost may be determined based on the comparison of the information corresponding to the periods of usage of the components with at least the portion of the information corresponding to the usage cost for the components. The method may include generating a visualization that includes information representative of the cost of the components and displaying the visualization via a display screen.

Unless otherwise indicated in the present disclosure, the materials described in the present disclosure are not prior art to the claims in the present application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
A cloud infrastructure may include components that are used for cloud computing activities. A cloud service provider may charge fees for use of components within the cloud infrastructure. The fees may be determined based on usage of the components for cloud computing activities associated with a user during a period of time.
The subject matter claimed in the present disclosure is not limited to implementations that solve any disadvantages or that operate only in environments such as those described above. Rather, this background is only provided to illustrate one example technology area where some implementations described in the present disclosure may be practiced.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Visualization tool for components within a cloud infrastructure


A method of treating fibromyalgia-like complaints (i.e., fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome and irritable bowel syndrome) in a patient, the method comprising: administering to the patient an 1H-indole-3-methanol compound (e.g., 1H-indole-3-methanol, ascorbigen, bis(3-indolyl) methane, indolo3,2-b(carbazole)!, 2-(indol-3-ylmethyl)-3,3'-diindolylmethane, 5,6,11,12,17,18-hexahydrocyclonona, 1,2-b;4,5-b';7,8-b"!triindole, 1H-indol-3-yl methoxy methane, ethoxy 1H-indol-3-yl ethoxy methane, other ethers of 1H-indole-3-methanol) in a medically acceptable manner in a pharmaceutically effective amount on a regular basis. It has been found that the administration of such indoles, particularly, 1H-indole-3-methanol, greatly mitigates the most severe symptoms of fibromyalgia. Patients with fibromyalgia have reported a decrease in pain, less fatigue, improved sleep patterns, and an improved sense of well being resulting from the oral administration of pharmaceutically effective amounts of an 1H-indole-3-methanol compound each day.

Fibromyalgia generally is understood as a condition including widespread chronic muscle pain, fatigue, and abnormal sleep patterns. See, e.g., Wolfe et al., "The Fibromyalgia Syndrome: A Consensus Report on Fibromyalgia and Disability", The Journal of Rheumatology, 23(3):534-539 (1996). It afflicts perhaps 2% of the population of the United States. Fibromyalgia varies in its effects on those who suffer from it, but in severe cases, it is completely debilitating. Fibromyalgia is closely related to chronic fatigue and irritable bowel syndromes, and some believe that these are all just different facets of the same underlying disorder. Women are 10 to 20 times more likely to get fibromyalgia than men.
Fibromyalgia signs and symptoms include: widespread pain (97.6% of the patients), tenderness in >11/18 "tender points" (90.1%), fatigue (81.4%), morning stiffness (77.0%), sleep disturbance (74.6%), parethesias (62.8%), headache (52.8%), anxiety (47.8%), dysmenorrhea (40.6%), sicca symptoms (35.8%), depression (31.5%), irritable bowel syndrome (29.6%), urinary urgency (26.3%), and Raynaud's phenomenon (16.7%).
The cause of fibromyalgia is unknown and it is difficult to diagnose accurately. Sufferers have been especially distressed by health service providers and researchers who claim the condition is psychosomatic. The disease is associated with a lack of restful sleep, although researchers have not been able to establish whether this insomnia is a cause or an effect of fibromyalgia.
No known cure exists for fibromyalgia, and elimination of the symptoms is difficult. Some help has been realized by treating those suffering with the disease with antidepressants, analgesics, gentle and controlled exercise, counseling and education, and life-style changes. Since no single one of these therapies or any combination of them has been shown to give general relief, the search continues for some treatment which will help fibromyalgia sufferers to ameliorate their symptoms. Drug treatments which have been tried include: trazodone, diphenhydramine, cyclobenzaprine, alprazolam, carisoprodol, 5-hydroxytryptophan, and amitriptyline. Pharmaceutically effective amounts of these compounds are well-known to those of skill in the art. Dietary supplements reported to reduce the symptoms of fibromyalgia include proanthocyanins, blue-green algae, malic acid and magnesium salts. It is unknown whether any of these are effective, although their usually administered dosages (which are to be considered "pharmaceutically effective amounts" for use herein) are known to those of skill in the art.
It would be a significant improvement in the art to have a treatment effective in ameliorating the symptoms of fibromyalgia syndrome (i.e., fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome and irritable bowel syndrome) or to prevent their occurrence in the first place.
1H-indole-3-methanol (CAS Registry Number 700-06-1!) is a naturally occurring product which is derived from cruciferous vegetables. It is known to exhibit substantial effects in the metabolism of estradiol as reported by many workers, and has been implicated as having potential utility in the treatment of breast cancer. In this regard, one of 1H-indole-3-methanol's pharmacological activities is that of an estradiol 2-hydroxylase inducer. Some of its effects have been summarized in a review by Michnovicz and co-workers. Michnovicz et al. "Changes in Levels of Urinary Estrogen Metabolites After Oral Indole-3-Carbinol Treatment in Humans", J. Nat'l Cancer Inst., 89(10):718-23 (1997). It has also been observed that 1H-indole-3-methanol reacts with itself in stomach acid and under other conditions such as heat, light and even plain water solutions to form new compounds ("1H-indole-3-methanol compounds"). See, e.g., Michnovicz & Bradlow, "Dietary Cytochrome P-450 Modifiers in the Control of Estrogen Metabolism", Food Phytochemicals or Cancer Prevention I, Fruits & Vegetables, pp. 282-293, nn. 89-93, edited by Mou-Tuan et al. ACS Symposium Series 546 (American Chemical Society, Washington, D.C., 1994). Some of these 1H-indole-3-methanol compounds (e.g., diindolylmethane and indolo(3,2-b)carbazole) are reported to bind the same receptors as the 1H-indole-3-methanol. Id.
Although described for the potential treatment of breast cancer, heretofore the use of 1H-indole-3-methanol compounds for treating conditions such as fibromyalgia syndrome is not believed to have been described.

Treatment of fibromyalgia and related disorders


Apparatus for passively generating electric power during a nuclear power station blackout by utilizing the temperature difference between the hot inlet of a residual heat removal circuit and the surrounding containment environment. A heat engine, such as a thermoelectric generator, a Stirling Cycle Engine or Rankine Cycle Engine, is coupled in heat exchange relationship with an uninsulated portion of the inlet to a passive residual heat removal heat exchanger and/or passive residual heat removal heat exchanger channel head to generate the power required to operate essential equipment needed to maintain the nuclear power station in a safe condition during a loss of normal onsite and offsite power.

1. Field
This invention relates in general to nuclear power plants, and more particularly, to passively activated apparatus for providing auxiliary power to safety equipment in a nuclear power plant under emergency shutdown conditions where there is a loss of conventional onsite and offsite electrical power.
2. Related Art
A nuclear reactor, such as a pressurized water reactor, circulates coolant at high pressure through a cooling circuit traversing a reactor pressure vessel containing nuclear fuel for heating the coolant and a steam generator operable to extract energy from the coolant for useful work. A residual heat removal system is typically provided to remove decay heat from the pressure vessel during shutdown. In the event of a loss of coolant, means are provided for adding additional coolant to the system. A coolant loss may involve only a small quantity, whereby additional coolant can be injected from a relatively small high pressure makeup water supply, without depressurizing the reactor coolant circuit. If a major loss of coolant occurs, it is necessary to add coolant from a low pressure supply containing a large quantity of the coolant. Since it is difficult using pumps to overcome the substantial operating pressure of the reactor coolant circuit, e.g., 2250 psi or 150 bar, the reactor coolant circuit is depressurized in the event of a major loss of coolant so that coolant water can be added from an in-containment refueling water storage tank at the ambient pressure within the nuclear reactor system containment shell.
The primary circuit of an AP1000® nuclear reactor system 22 (shown in FIG. 1), offered by the Westinghouse Electric Company LLC, Cranberry Township, Pa., of which the present invention is a part, uses a staged pressure reduction system for depressurizing the primary coolant circuit, which is illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. A series of valves 72 couple the reactor outlet 56 (also known as the "hot leg" of the primary coolant circuit) to the inside of the containment shell 54 through spargers 74 in the in-containment refueling water storage tank 50, which vent and dissipate the energy of the hot leg coolant into the refueling water in the tank. When the tank heats up and emits steam, the steam is condensed on the inside of the containment shell. When initially commencing the depressurization, the coolant circuit 46 and the in-containment refueling water storage tank are coupled by the depressurization valves 72 through one or more small conduits 76 along the flow path with not insubstantial back pressure. As the pressure in the cooling circuit drops, additional conduits are opened by further actuation of the depressurization valves 72 in stages, each stage opening a larger and/or more direct flow path between the coolant circuit 46 and the containment shell 54.
The initial depressurization stages couple a pressurizer tank 80 which is connected by conduits to the coolant circuit hot leg 56 and to spargers 74 in an in-containment refueling water supply tank 50. The spargers 74 comprise conduits leading to small jet orifices submerged in the tank, thus providing back pressure and allowing water to condense from steam emitted by the spargers into the tank 50. The successive depressurization stages have progressively larger conduit inner diameters. A final stage has a large conduit 84 that couples the hot leg directly into the containment shell 54, for example, at a main coolant loop compartment 40 through which the hot leg 56 of the reactor circuit 46 passes. This arrangement reduces the pressure in the coolant circuit expeditiously, substantially to atmospheric pressure, without sudden hydraulic loading of the respective reactor conduits. When the pressure is sufficiently low, water is added to the coolant circuit by gravity flow from the in-containment refueling water storage tank 50.
Automatic depressurization in the AP1000® reactor system is a passive safeguard which ensures that the reactor core is cooled even in the case of a major loss of coolant accident such as a large breach in the reactor coolant circuit. Inasmuch as the in-containment refueling water storage tank drains by gravity, no pumps are required. Draining the water into the bottom of the containment building where the reactor vessel is located, develops a fluid pressure head of water in the containment sufficient to force water into the depressurized coolant circuit without relying on active elements such as pumps. Once the coolant circuit is at atmospheric pressure and the containment is flooded, water continues to be forced into the reactor vessel, where the boiling of the water cools the nuclear fuel. Water in the form of steam escaping from the reactor coolant circuit is condensed on the inside walls of the containment shell, and drained back into the in-containment refueling water storage tank to be injected again into the reactor coolant circuit.
The AP1000® nuclear power plant has been designed such that in the event of a station blackout, i.e., the total loss of traditional onsite and offsite power, the plant can safely shut itself down and achieve a safe shutdown condition using only passive systems. By traditional onsite and offsite power, we are referring to electric power conventionally generated from onsite and offsite sources. A few simple valves align the passive safety systems when they are automatically actuated. In most cases, these valves are "fail safe." They require power to stay in their normal, closed position. Loss of power causes them to open into their safe alignment. In all cases, their movement is made using stored energy from springs, compressed gas or batteries. The plant is designed to maintain this condition with no intervention for at least 72 hours after which some operator action is needed to extend the coping period. During the initial 72-hour period, battery banks are used to power any needed equipment and plant monitoring instrumentation, etc. It is desirable to explore additional passive means for extending this coping time beyond 72 hours by utilizing energy that is available within the plant at the time of and subsequent to shutdown.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to use the resources within the plant to safely maintain the plant beyond 72 hours without operator intervention or the assistance of offsite power.
It is a further object of this invention to so extend the coping period without altering the operation of existing plant systems.

Passive power production during a nuclear station blackout


A propulsion system for miniature vehicles, such as model airplanes, having multiple direct-current motors arranged radially about a central axis of the propulsion system that drive a propeller system.

The popularity of the radio-control hobby, as it applies to miniature or model aircraft, cars, boats and miniature military vehicles, has seen dramatic growth in recent years. Advancements in electric power technology, such as the increase in power-to-weight ratio of electric motors and batteries, have encouraged interest in the hobby for all age groups.
Today's radio-controlled models are less expensive and can be purchased almost ready-to-fly. They are typically made of molded foam in attractive colors with motors and control equipment pre-installed.
An important factor in the use of electric propulsion is the extreme quietness of the units. Noise pollution is almost non-existent so electric models can be flown at almost any park, school ground or ball field.
Most recently the challenges of electric flight have diminished to the point that it has become a common form of propulsion for all types of miniature aircraft.
All electric, radio-controlled models utilize a single motor or multiple single motor configurations. No electric powered multiple radial type motor is currently available.
It is the intent of this invention to provide a propulsion system that can be used on model airplanes.
It is a further intent of this invention to provide a propulsion system that allows a scale-like, electric motor to power models of World War I and II vintage aircraft. There are many examples of these aircraft such as English Sopwith Camels, German Fokker Tri-planes and a vast selection of United States bi-plane trainers, fighter planes and civilian aircraft. All of the above examples sold to the public at this time use single motor configurations.
It is the intent of this invention to offer an electric radial propulsion system that is powerful and offers the additional advantage of scale-like appearance and sound.
It is a further intent of this invention to provide a multiple-cylinder, electric, radial motor propulsion system that is configured to power miniature vehicles, such as model planes, at a scale-like speed that is safe, quiet, durable and economical to operate and that enhances the appearance of any scale-type model by more closely duplicating the original full-scale round-looking type of engine.

Propulsion system for miniature vehicles


An HLR Interface Facility (HIF) is disclosed which is disposed between the HLR and the different customer service data bases. The HIF resolves the two problems associated with the single HLR solution. It provides controlled access to the HLR, preventing secondary service providers from accessing or modifying each other's subscriber records.. The HIF also offers interworking facilities, allowing to independently modify the interface into the HLR, and the new interface point between different customer service data bases and the HIF. Therefore, if a new feature is introduced in the MSC and only some of the secondary service providers wish to make use of it, only the interfaces between their customer service data bases and the HIF need modification while the other resellers need not change their own interfaces to the HIF.. In addition, a means for interfacing the billing output of the MSC to the multiple billing centers is disclosed.

I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to communication systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to a novel and improved method and apparatus for allowing multiple secondary service providers to use the infrastructure of a single service provider.
II. Description of the Related Art
As the market for wireless communications grows there has been an increase in the number of service providers capable of serving a given area, as well as, an increase in the number of hardware providers supplying the hardware to meet the needs of that area. In order to differentiate themselves and to improve the service to their customers, service providers are offering an increasingly large number of services to their customers.
In their drive to provide better service to their users, service providers are giving their customers digital transmission, which provides improved perceptual quality, additional features and additional system capacity. Code division multiple access (CDMA) modulation techniques is one of several digital transmission techniques for facilitating communications in which a large number of system users are present. Other multiple access communication system techniques, such as time division multiple access (TDMA) and frequency division multiple access (FDMA) are known in the art. However, the spread spectrum modulation technique of CDMA has significant advantages over these modulation techniques for multiple access communication systems.
The use of CDMA techniques in a multiple access communication system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,901,307, entitled "SPREAD SPECTRUM MULTIPLE ACCESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM USING SATELLITE OR TERRESTRIAL REPEATERS", assigned to the assignee of the present invention, of which the disclosure thereof is incorporated by reference herein. The use of CDMA techniques in a multiple access communication system is further disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,103,459, entitled "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR GENERATING SIGNAL WAVEFORMS IN A CDMA CELLULAR TELEPHONE SYSTEM", assigned to the assignee of the present invention, of which the disclosure thereof is incorporated by reference herein.
In typical implementations, the MSC (mobile switching center) communicates with an HLR (home location register) before providing services to the user. The HLR is a database indicating among other things the services to which the user subscribes and services which the user is permitted to use. The transfer of data between the HLR and the MSC is well known in the art and is described in detail in the Telecommunications Industry Interim Standard TIA/EIA/IS-41-C Cellular Radio Telecommunications Intersystem Operation.
In the recent bandwidth auctions conducted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), companies bought the rights to use available bandwidth to provide wireless communications. Companies that bid and obtain the right to use the bandwidth may elect to either "retail" the services facilitated by it, building a customer base, billing facilities and so on. This is the approach undertaken by most companies to date.
An alternative approach is "wholesaling" services to other service providers that would then retail those services to their existing customers or use it to enlarge their customer base. In the present invention, the term "primary service provider" will be used to denote the company that bid and obtained the spectrum, and "secondary service provider" will be used to denote companies that purchase the right to use spectrum and mobile switching center/base station transceiver subsystem (MSC/BTS) facilities from the primary service provider for further reselling to actual customer (a common industry term for the latter is "resellers").
When the primary service provider decides to market its facilities to secondary service providers, the issue of interface between the customer service data base, the Home Location Register (HLR), and the Mobile Switching Center (MSC) arises. FIG. 1 presents these interfaces for the common case where only a single primary service provider makes use of an MSC. Communications between mobile switching center (MSC) 2 and home location register (HLR) 4 typically make use of a standardized interface provided by the Telecommunications Industry Association in TIA/EIA/IS-41 CELLULAR RADIOTELEPHONE COMMUNICATIONS INTERSYSTEM OPERATIONS. Communications between HLR 4 and customer service data base 10, is not standardized and is proprietary to the HLR and/or customer service data base manufacturers.
Despite the fact that a standard exists for communications between HLR 4 to MSC 2, common practice is that this interface becomes proprietary due to proprietary enhancements made by the MSC vendors (which typically also supply the HLR). These enhancements are driven by the relatively long time it takes to modify IS-41, and the need to tailor new features provided by MSC 2 on a per subscriber basis. The indication of such tailoring is kept in HLR 6. For example, if a new subscriber feature is introduced in MSC 2, the records in HLR 6 must, at the very least, indicate whether the user is allowed to make use of the new feature, and if so, whether the user has activated the feature. This data is kept in the subscriber profile which now needs modification.
A primary service provider that markets its facilities to secondary service providers has two choices. A first option open to the secondary service provider is depicted in FIG. 2. The figure shows multiple HLRs (22A-22N), each associated with a secondary service provider. Each of HLRs (22A-22N) is configured and managed by a particular reseller. The reseller HLR (22A-22N) is connected to the reseller's customer service data base (24A-24N) similarly to what a "conventional" (primary only) service provider would do. The advantage of this configuration is the fact that the HLR to MSC interface is standardized, and that different resellers do not have access to each other's customer information thus providing the necessary business protection.
FIG. 3 shows a single HLR 32 connected to multiple customer service data bases (34A-34N) on one side, and to a single MSC 30 on the other. The advantage of this configuration is twofold: this model conforms with the IS-41 network model, thus shielding the MSC from some of the new requirements pertaining to use by multiple service providers and at the same time, allows the existing practice of enhancing the interface between the MSC and the HLR, making it possible to quickly bring to market new MSC features. The problems with this approach are:
Potentially, different service providers may access and alter subscriber records that do not belong to them. PA1 The interface between HLR 32 and customer service data base (34A-34N) is proprietary. Therefore, a potentially large number of secondary service providers and a number of MSC/HLR vendors will have to coordinate every time this interface must be modified, in essence providing an ad-hoc standardization forum. This approach will again significantly slow the process of modifying subscriber records of HLR 32, slow the introduction of new features, and make the primary and secondary service providers less competitive when compared to a primary only service provider that has both interfaces (C and P) under its control.

Method and apparatus for supporting multiple service providers using single mobile switching center


An apparatus for treating a tissue site includes a dressing, an oxygen source, a valve, and a negative-pressure source. The dressing is configured to be sealed around the tissue site. The oxygen source is fluidly coupled to the dressing and configured to provide a low flow of oxygen. A first port of the valve is fluidly coupled to the dressing and the valve moves between a closed position preventing flow through the valve and an open position permitting flow through the valve. The negative-pressure source is fluidly coupled to a second port of the valve and provides negative pressure to the second port of the valve at a non-therapeutic level. The valve separates the negative-pressure source from the dressing and selectively opens when a positive pressure is applied on an upstream side of the valve.

Clinical studies and practice have shown that the application of concentrated oxygen to a tissue site can be highly beneficial for new tissue growth or healing, particularly for chronic wounds. For example, hyperbaric oxygen therapy may be particularly beneficial for tissue with poor oxygenation, such as often seen in diabetic foot ulcers.
While the clinical benefits of oxygen therapy are widely known, improvements to therapy systems, components, and processes may benefit healthcare providers and patients.


A system for performing code optimization is described which includes an optimizing analyzer within a compiler to generate a first optimizing transformation and a second optimizing transformation and their satisfying conditions for a compiled code. An optimization transformation module is placed within a linker to determine which of the first and second optimizing transformations should be selected when the compiled code is linked with other compiled codes, and to execute the selected one of the first and second optimizing transformations at link-time. A method of performing code optimization is also described.

Object-Oriented Programming Languages (OOPLs) have been developed to improve the productivity of developing software programs. The OOPLs typically include Java (developed by Sun Microsystems, Inc.) and other programming languages conforming to CLI (Common Language Infrastructure)(developed by Microsoft Corporation). Employing OOPLs, program developers can create small, reusable sections of program code known as "objects". The objects, once created, can be quickly and easily combined and re-used to create new programs.
Compilation for a software program written in such languages typically involves having each of its objects in source code format individually compiled by a compiler into a processor-executable native or machine code file (i.e., compiled object file). The compiled object files are then processed by a linker, which combines the compiled object files to produce a complete executable program. The executable program is then eligible for execution on a computer system.
To improve the performance of the executable program, the program needs to be optimized during compilation. One prior solution to optimize the executable program is to have each of the compilers perform the optimizing transformations to the object file it compiles. Known optimization operations performed by a compiler typically include base binding, function cloning, and partial evaluation.
However, one problem of the above-described prior solution is that the compilers cannot have the knowledge of the entire program (i.e., lacks the "whole program view") during compilation because the program contains object files that are compiled separately. This means that many optimizing transformation operations at compile-time depend on information that is only available at link-time of the program. Thus, even though a compiler is capable of performing an optimizing transformation operation based on a particular piece of information, the compiler may not be able to do so if the required information for the optimization operation is not available at that time. The linker, on the other hand, is not powerful enough to perform any optimizing transformation operation, which typically requires heavy analysis of the program code and knowledge of the target instruction set structure. A linker does not require code analysis and knowledge of target instruction structure during linking.
One prior solution to the above-described problems is to employ a link-time optimizer that optimizes the entire executable program at link-time. However, the prior link-time optimizer is typically a heavyweight tool, which typically makes the link-time optimization much more expensive than the compile-time optimization. In addition, the link-time optimizer needs to perform its own code analysis for the optimizing transformation (i.e., not being able to take advantage of the code analysis performed by the compiler).
Thus, there exists a need for a method and system of performing link-time code optimization without additional code analysis.

Method and system for performing link-time code optimization without additional code analysis


A compound consists of a fractal-like, plain or organometallic array useful for energy storage devices. A dendrimer useful in the synthesis of the fractal-like compound includes a single ligating moiety bound to a surface of each quadrant of the dendrimer. A method of making metallo-based (macro) molecules includes the steps of combining monomers selected from the group consisting of bipyridal- and terpyridal-based ligands with connecting metals and self assembling macrocycles wherein the monomes are interconnected by the metals.

The present invention relates to the melding of iterative synthetic protocols with more mature research arenas for the production of is utilitarian materials. Accordingly, the present invention combines the areas of dendrimers, combinatorial chemistry, and dendrimer-based electrolyte material chemistry and applies the same to the utilitarian arena of electrocomponents and enhanced electrolyte capability in solid state energy storage devices. Hence, each of these fields is addressed as the present invention provides improvements resulting from a synergy of advancements in each of these fields in combination.
By way of background, rapid advancement in the field of "dendritic chemistry" (Newkome et al., VCH: Weinheim, Germany, 1996) has afforded scientists with a new arsenal of techniques for the construction of utilitarian materials. Testament to interest in this burgeoning area is evidenced by ubiquitous literature reports on the subject since its discovery (1978) and commencing rise (mid-1980s). Central to dendritic chemistry is the "iterative synthetic methodology", which has afforded new pathways to the construction of complex, high molecular weight molecules.
The realization of "dendrimers", and related constructs such as "hyperbranched" polymers (Hult et al., 1999) and "dendrimer-polymer hybrids", (Roovers et al., 1999) has thus facilitated advances in the ability to design and build architecturally homogeneous branched molecular assemblies.
There are inherent limitations imposed on these structures due primarily to 1) the repetitive application of a single building block for tier construction leading to functional group uniformity on the surface, as well as the interior, of the branched structure and 2) a lack of interchangeable monomers that would facilitate the incorporation of diverse application oriented functionality and thus allow the creation of utilitarian assemblies.
These limitations are addressed via 1) the development of a "modular" set of application-oriented branched building blocks for dendritic synthesis (Young et al., 1994) aimed directly at enhanced solid-state energy storage and release devices (e.g., lithium battery performance); 2) the use of combinatorial-based tier construction techniques (Newkome et al., Isocyanate-Based Dendritic Building Blocks: Combinatorial Tier Construction and Macromolecular Property Modification, Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. Engl., 1998) for the creation of unimolecular, multi-component assemblies whereby the individual components can act in concert to produce a desired physiocochemical effect, and 3) use of branched architectures to fabricate, template, and stabilize metal and non-metal particles, composites, and clusters.
Specifically, advancement in lithium- and lithium rocking chair-battery efficiency (Lipkowski et al., 1994; Owen, J. R., 1997) is shown to result from 1) improved electrolyte materials based on highly stable, polyethylene glycol functionalized, saturated hydrocarbon-type dendrimers, and 2) significantly reduced inter-electrode separations. Ultimately, this has led to branched assemblies possessing mutually compatible and synergistic units capable of triggered electrochemical discharge. This forms the basis of a logical evolution of iterative chemistry that melds the maturity of classical polymer, organic, and inorganic chemistries, as well as emerging fields that include "C60" technology, with the strengths of dendritic chemistry.
To date, a diverse set of branched monomers have been crafted for the introduction of 1) high-density surfaces and 2) "latent" functionality to be used, or activated, after primary dendritic construction, includingz: terpyridine (Newkome, et al., J. Mater. Chem. 1997; Newkome et al., Chem. Commun. 1998) arylamine hexaester; (Newkome et al., Synlett 1992) arylaminoterpyridyltriester, (Newkome et al., Chem. Commun. 1999) and arylnitroanthraquinonoid (Narayanan et al., 1999; Newkome et al., Designed Monomers and Polymers, 1999; Newkome et al., Macromolecules, 1999; Newkome et al., Macromolecules, 1997).
Additionally, applicants have recently reported the preparation of β-cyclodextrin branched building blocks has recently reported (5) for use in self-assembly studies predicated on molecular recognition and host-guest inclusion. (Newkome et al., Chem. Commun., 1998).
A novel family of isocyanate, 1→3 branched buildings blocks has been developed and reported (Newkome et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,154,853, 1992; Newkome et al., Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. Engl., 1991; Newkome et al., Chem. Commun., 1996; Newkome et al., Tetrahedron Lett., 1997; Newkome et al., Designed Monomers and Polymers, 1997) that allows 1) rapid physiocochemical modifications of diverse macromaterials (Newkome et al., Chem. Commun., 1996) and 2) "combinatorial-based" multiple functional group incorporation. (Newkome et al., Combinatorial Chem., 1999; Newkome et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,886,126, 1999; Newkome et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,886,127, 1999). Each member of this series relies on an isocyanate moiety for monomer connectivity. Steric demands associated with the adjacent branch junctures give rise to unprecedented isocyanate stability. These materials are generally solids that are stable in air, which facilitates handling and storage. For example, the isocyanatotriester is a white crystalline soli (mp 60–62° C.) that reacts readily with amines and requires slightly more vigorous conditions to react with alcohols; its crystal structure has been reported. (Newkome et al., Tetrahedron Lett., 1997).
Eloquent work in the area of self-assembly by Stang (1), Lehn (2), and many others (3–7), has prompted our investigation of the potential to spontaneously construct Ru-based (macro)molecules. More specifically, our goal involved the design and preparation of polyterpyridyl ligands that would form the basis of a "modular building block set" (8) capable of being used to access "higher order" (fractal) architectures. We herein report the construction of a bis(terpyridine) monomer that facilitates the preparation of hexaruthenium macrocycles.
Linear bis(terpyridyl) monomers have been employed for the formation of layered polyelectrolyte films (9), Ru(II)-based dendrimers (10), helicating ligands (11), grids (12), racks (13), and photoactive molecular-scale wires (14), to mention but a few. Whereas, progress in directed synthesis of cyclic rigid structures can be found in "shape persistent" phenylacetylenes (15–17), diethynylbenzeme macrocycles (18), and a 24 phenylene hexagon (19), advances via self-assembly has yielded, for example, chiral (20) and achiral (21) circular helicates, cylindrical cage structures (22), Pt-coordinated bipyridyl squares (23), and metal-templated [2]catenanes (24, 25), and cyclic porphyrin trimers (26).
In view of the above, it is desirable to develop further compounds, and in the larger sense, various means for improving and enhancing electrolyte and electrocomponents in solid state, energy storage devices. It would be desirable to be able to meld together iterative processes utilized in dendritic chemistry with combinatorial processes which have also been highly developed in dendritic chemistry towards multiple unit positioning within dendritic structures and other architectures in order to obtain improvements and enhancements.

Performance of energy storage devices: potential areas for dendritic chemistry involvement


Provided is an induction heat cooking apparatus. The induction heat cooking apparatus includes a rectifying part rectifying an input voltage to output a DC voltage, an inverter switching the DC voltage outputted through the rectifying part to generate an AC voltage, a first heating part operated by the AC voltage applied from the inverter, a second heating part connected to the first heating part in parallel, the second heating part being operated by the AC voltage applied from the inverter, and a switching signal generation part controlling an operation state of each of the first and second heating parts from the inverter according to an operation mode inputted from the outside. The switching signal generation part includes a photo coupler.

1. Field
The present disclosure relates to an induction heat cooking apparatus, and more particularly, to an induction heat cooking apparatus including an inverter, which is constituted by three switching devices, and two resonant circuits and a method for controlling an output level thereof.
2. Background
Induction heat cooking apparatuses having inverters are known. However, they suffer from various disadvantages.

Induction heat cooking apparatus and method for controlling output level thereof


A system for performing a scatter-gather data transfer operation. The system includes a shifter configured to selectively receive, based on a selection signal, one of first data input to the system and second data input to the system prior to the first data being input to the system, perform, based on a shift signal, a shift operation on the one of the first data and the second data received by the shifter, and output first shifted data resulting from the shift operation. A controller is configured to receive a first indication of a start byte location of the first data input to the system, receive a second indication of a length of the first data input to the system, and output, based on the first indication and the second indication, the shift signal. The shift signal indicates to the shifter when to perform the shift operation.

Flexible data scatter-gather is a common data transfer technique. Scatter-gather is widely used, for example, in modern systems-on-chip (SOC) for processes such as direct memory access (DMA), system data management, and the like.
The term "gather" refers to the process of gathering data from multiple buffers. The gather process is conventionally performed by a device referred to as a "packer," and includes "packing" (that is, aligning and concatenating) the data into a single continuous buffer. The term "scatter" refers to the process of scattering data into multiple buffers. The scatter process is conventionally performed by a device referred to as an "unpacker," and includes "unpacking" (that is, separating a data block into multiple blocks for transfer to multiple buffers).
FIGS. 1 through 4 illustrate a conventional scatter-gather DMA operation for a storage system. In FIG. 1, a conventional packer 102 gathers a single file stored in three input buffers 104A,B,C into a single temporary buffer 104D. Then two conventional unpackers 106A,B transfer the file to two different locations by scattering the data from temporary buffer 104D to five output buffers 104E,F,G,H,I. In particular, unpacker 106A scatters the data from temporary buffer 104D to output buffers 104E,F,G and unpacker 106B scatters the data from temporary buffer 104D to output buffers 104H,I.
FIGS. 2 through 4 show the results of the conventional scatter-gather operation of FIG. 1. In FIGS. 2 through 4, each byte of data is represented by a box. Bytes from different input buffers 104A,B,C are represented by different cross-hatching patterns. Empty boxes represent "don't-care" bytes (that is, bytes that are not relevant to the illustrated operation).
FIG. 2 shows the results of the packing operation of FIG. 1 for buffers 104A,B,C,D. In this example, the data bus is eight bytes wide. The source file is 76 bytes long, and is physically stored as three different source blocks in three different physical locations (input buffers 104A,B,C) with different lengths. For source block 0 (represented by vertical cross-hatching), the start address is 0x0002, and the block size is 33 bytes. For source block 1 (represented by horizontal cross-hatching), the start address is 0x0203, and the block size is 3 bytes. For source block 2 (represented by diagonal cross-hatching), the start address is 0x2005, and the block size is 40 bytes. FIG. 2 shows how the blocks have been concatenated and aligned in temporary buffer 104D by packer 102.
FIG. 3 shows the results of the unpacking operation of FIG. 1 for buffers 104D,E,F,G. Unpacker 106A has transferred the file from temporary buffer 104D to output buffers 104E,F,G (referred to herein as destination 0) as three blocks according to specified block lengths and start addresses. In particular, unpacker 106A has transferred destination 0 block 0 to output buffer 104E with a start address 0x4004 and a block size of 20 bytes, has transferred destination 0 block 1 to output buffer 104F with a start address of 0x3007 and a block size of 37 bytes, and has transferred destination 0 block 2 to output buffer 104G with a start address of 0x3203 and a block size of 19 bytes.
FIG. 4 shows the results of the unpacking operation of FIG. 1 for buffers 104D,H,I. Unpacker 106B has transferred the file from temporary buffer 104D to output buffers 104H,I (referred to herein as destination 1) as two blocks according to specified block lengths and start addresses. In particular, unpacker 106B has transferred destination 1 block 0 to output buffer 104H with a start address 0x8003 and a block size of 55 bytes, and has transferred destination 1 block 1 to output buffer 104I with a start address of 0x9002 and a block size of 21 bytes.
FIG. 5 shows a block diagram of a conventional packer 500 for a 64-bit bus. Packer 500 includes a controller 502, a byte shifter 504, a byte mapper 506, two eight-byte buffers 508A,B, and a multiplexer (Mux) 510. Controller 502 operates according to external input control signals Din_valid, Din_loc, Din_len, and Dout_ready, which are generated by a DMA controller or the like, and generates external output control signals Din_ready and Dout_valid, which are provided to a DMA controller or the like. Byte shifter 504 receives input data Din, and shifts that data according to control signal Byte_shift_ctrl provided by controller 502. Byte mapper 506 maps the bytes of the shifted data to buffers 508 according to control signal Byte_map_ctrl provided by controller 502. Multiplexer 510 passes selected bytes of the data from buffers 508 as output data Dout according to control signal Dout_sel provided by controller 502.
Conventional scatter-gather techniques have several disadvantages. Conventional packers and unpackers have different designs with opposite data flows. Therefore conventional scatter-gather systems must employ both, and must employ a temporary buffer 104 between the packers and unpackers. Conventional packers and unpackers also employ a byte mapper 506, which is generally implemented as a large, slow, multi-level multiplexer. The use of a byte mapper requires an internal buffer 508 that is twice the width of the data bus. And because conventional packers and unpackers operate using a push model, they cannot exert back pressure upon the input, and so require a fixed pipeline implementation.

Systems and methods for performing a scatter-gather data transfer operation


Generally, this disclosure describes dynamic route mapping between mobile devices. Techniques may include initiating communication between a first mobile device at a first location and a second mobile device at a second location; receiving a first location indicator by the second mobile device, the first location indicator transmitted from the first mobile device in response to a request from the second mobile device, the first location indicator corresponding to the first location; determining a convergence point based on at least one of the first location and the second location; mapping a travel route from at least one of the first location and the second location to the convergence point; and displaying the travel route on at least one of the first mobile device and the second mobile device.

Many mobile devices, e.g., smart phones, are capable of mapping travel routes in response to a request from a user of the mobile device and may be capable of displaying the user's location (i.e., the mobile device's location) on a displayed map that includes at least a portion of the travel route. A user may also opt-in to allowing the user's location to be displayed to selected other user(s) using, for example, a Locimobile® app or Google Latitude™, by including the selected other users in, e.g., a contact list, associated with the app. The user's location may then be displayed to the other users at intervals and/or in response to a "where is user" request from one or more of the other users.
Although the following Detailed Description will proceed with reference being made to illustrative embodiments, many alternatives, modifications, and variations thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Dynamic route mapping between mobile devices


A simple and easy-to-use method for producing a 2-hydroxyester compound using a cyanohydrin compound, as a raw material, is provided. A method for producing a 2-hydroxyester compound represented by the general formula (1) (provided that ethyl 2-hydroxy-4-phenylbutyrate is excluded), wherein an acid is introduced into a mixture of a cyanohydrin compound represented by the general formula (2), an alcohol, an organic solvent and water:

A 2-hydroxyester compound is an industrially important compound as intermediates of raw materials of medicine and pesticide or raw materials of photographic chemicals. As a method for producing a 2-hydroxyester compound, there is a method for using an amide, an alcohol and a formate ester as starting raw materials; a method for using a 2-hydroxycarboxylic acid and an alcohol; and also a method for using a cyanohydrin compound and an alcohol; or the like. Among these, because a cyanohydrin compound can be easily prepared from an aldehyde and hydrocyanic acid, various methods for producing a 2-hydroxyester compound by using a cyanohydrin compound as a starting raw material have been proposed.
For example, there is a method for producing 2-hydroxyfatty acid esters by a reaction of ketone cyanohydrin and sulfuric acid, followed by estrification of the reaction product and an alcohol, and by the addition thereto of an anhydrous sulfate salt of an alkali metal or the like (U.S. Pat. No. 2,041,820).
In addition, there is also a method for producing a 2-hydroxyester compound in high yield, by subjecting a cyanohydrin compound to a reaction with an acid such as hydrogen chloride or the like, in an alcohol solvent in a first step to synthesize a hydrochloric acid salt of an imino ether, followed by subjecting to hydrolysis by the addition of water, after removing an unreacted acid in a second step (JP-A-4-230241). In a conventional method according to a reaction among 2-hydroxynitriles, an alcohol and hydrogen chloride gas, reaction time is long such as from 12 to 15 hours, and continuous contact of the reaction mixture solution with HCl flow is required during the reaction, which makes operation troublesome and also provides low yield of an ester.

In addition, there is also a method for subjecting a specific cyanohydrin compound to a reaction with water and phosphoric acid, followed by esterification by the addition of an alcohol to the reaction product (JP-A-6-247895). The method is proposed in view of problems that co-occurrence of an etherification reaction of a hydroxycarboxylate ester, which is a reaction product, and an alcohol cannot be avoided, which results in contamination of an alkoxycarboxylate ester, as a byproduct, in a reaction product, when a strong acid such as sulfuric acid or hydrochloric acid is used as an acid, and the method features in using phosphoric acid. A reaction by using phosphoric acid proceeds in high selectivity, because side reactions, which generate etherified substances, are suppressed. As shown in the following formulae, the reaction aims at amidation by action of water and phosphoric acid to a cyanohydrin compound, followed by esterification by an alcohol.

In addition, there is also a method for esterification by subjecting specific amount of water and specific amount of sulfuric acid to a reaction with a specific cyanohydrin compound, followed by the addition of an alcohol to the reaction product (JP-A-6-247896). The method aims at proceeding the reaction in high selectivity by suppressing side reactions generating etherified compounds, by amidation by action of water and sulfuric acid to a cyanohydrin compound, followed by esterification with an alcohol, and while continuously supplying water-containing an alcohol to this reaction mixture, by distillating a hydroxycarboxylate ester generating at the same time.
It should be noted that, in the case where a cyanohydrin compound is used as a raw material, because a nitrogen atom composing a cyano group is reduced and finally converted to ammonia and discharged, ammonium sulfate, ammonium nitrate, ammonium phosphate, ammonium chloride or the like is by-produced corresponding to kind of an acid to be used. As a method for fractionating such an ammonium salt, for example, there is a method for recovering a 2-hydroxyester compound by distillation, by the addition of sodium sulfate to a slurry of a reaction solution containing an ammonium salt, an alcohol, a 2-hydroxyester compound and the like (U.S. Pat. No. 2,041,820), or a method for subjecting a slurry of a reaction solution to solid-liquid separation (JP-A-4-230241).

Method for producing 2-hydroxyester compound

Abstract: (Chemical Formula 1)R1—CH(OH)—COOR2  (1)R1—CH(OH)(CN)  (2)wherein, R1 is a hydrogen atom, a substituted or unsubstituted aliphatic hydrocarbon group having 1 to 12 carbon atoms, which may contain an oxygen atom, a sulfur atom or a nitrogen atom, a substituted or unsubstituted alicyclic hydrocarbon group having 3 to 12 carbon atoms, which may contain an oxygen atom, a sulfur atom or a nitrogen atom, and a substituted or unsubstituted aryl group or aralkyl group having 3 to 14 carbon atoms, which may contain an oxygen atom, a sulfur atom or a nitrogen atom; and R2 is an alkyl group having 1 to 12 carbon atoms, which may contain an oxygen atom, a sulfur atom or a nitrogen atom.


Light olefins are produced from a hydrocarbon feedstock by a steam pyrolysis reaction in the presence of small quantities of essentially pure oxygen and selected catalytic solids to enhance the steam pyrolysis reaction, to promote the combustion of hydrogen to water and to minimize the formation of carbon oxides. The catalysts are characterized by low surface area, by non-alumina supports and by the catalytic oxides of the group IVB, VB and VIB transition metals.

The present invention relates to the pyrolysis of hydrocarbons and particularly to the conversion of paraffins to olefins by a catalytic/oxidative promoted pyrolysis.
The steam cracking (pyrolysis) of hydrocarbons for the production of petrochemicals is almost exclusively carried out in tubular coils located in fired heaters. The pyrolysis section is considered the heart of an olefin plant and has the greatest influence on the economics of the overall plant.
The hydrocarbon feedstock may be any one of the wide variety of typical cracking feedstocks such as methane, ethane, propane, butane, mixtures of these gases, naphthas, gas oils, etc. The product stream contains a variety of components the concentration of which are dependent in part upon the feed selected. In the conventional pyrolysis process, vaporized feedstock is fed together with dilution steam to a tubular reactor located within a fired heater. The quantity of dilution steam required is dependent upon the feedstock selected; lighter feedstocks such as ethane require lower steam (0.2 lb./lb. feed), while heavier feedstocks such as naphtha and gas oils require steam/feed ratios of 0.5 to 1.0. The dilution steam has the dual function of lowering the hydrocarbon pressure and reducing the carburization rate of the pyrolysis coils.
In a typical pyrolysis process, the steam/feed mixture is preheated to a temperature just below the onset of the cracking reaction, typically 650.degree. C. This preheat occurs in the convection section of the ethylene heater. The mix then passes to the radiant section where the pyrolysis reactions occur. Generally the residence time in the pyrolysis coil is in the range of 0.2 to 0.4 seconds and outlet temperatures for the reaction are on the order of 700.degree. to 900.degree. C. The reactions that result in the transformation of saturated hydrocarbons to olefins are highly endothermic thus requiring high levels of heat input. This heat input must occur at the elevated reaction temperatures. It is generally recognized in the industry that for most feedstocks, and especially for heavier feedstocks such as naphtha, shorter residence times will lead to higher selectivity to ethylene and propylene since secondary degradation reactions will be reduced. Further it is recognized that the lower the partial pressure of the hydrocarbon within the reaction environment, the higher the selectivity.
The flue gas temperatures in the radiant section of the fired heater are typically above 1,100.degree. C. In a conventional design, approximately 32 to 40% of the heat fired as fuel into the heater is transferred into the coils in the radiant section. The balance of the heat is recovered in the convection section either as feed preheat or as steam generation. Given the limitation of small tube volume to achieve short residence times and the high temperatures of the process, heat transfer into the reaction tube is difficult. High heat fluxes (Q/A) are used and the operating tube metal temperatures are close to the mechanical limits for even exotic metallurgies. In most cases, tube metal temperatures limit the extent to which residence time can be reduced as a result of a combination of higher process temperatures required at the coil outlet and the reduced tube length (hence tube surface area) which results in higher flux and thus higher tube metal temperatures.
The product gas is sent to a closely connected transfer line exchanger where the temperature is rapidly reduced. This serves to prevent continued reaction which would reduce olefin yields. Following the exchangers, the product gas passes to a separation system. The gas is first cooled to essentially ambient conditions and condensable products removed. It is then compressed to a high pressure to enable separation of lighter products. Prior to separation, any CO.sub.2 formed must be removed from the cracked effluent in order to avoid plugging and contamination problems in the downstream light olefins separation system. This is typically done using caustic scrubbing and the spent caustic must be neutralized prior to discharge to the environment. The other carbon oxide, CO, passes through the separation process but must be removed from the net hydrogen stream if that stream is to be utilized in hydrotreating units. Both of these operations have considerable capital and operating costs associated with them. In the normal pyrolysis process, carbon oxides are a result of the steam reforming reactions between the dilution steam and the hydrocarbon.
Dependent upon the feedstock, the light olefin separation system can be very complex and require a number of distillation towers. Further, the lower the molecular weight of the gas mixture, the higher the pressure and/or the lower the temperature has to be to achieve separation. The hydrogen content of the gas mixture is a key component in defining the molecular weight. The compression for both the product gas and the refrigeration systems represents a major capital and energy cost for the process. The lower the molecular weight, the greater the compression energy required. Thus high hydrogen concentration in the product gas impacts the process in two ways, increasing compression costs due to molecular weight and increasing refrigeration costs due to lower temperature requirements.
The use of oxygen in dehydrogenation processes has been considered in the past. In a typical oxy-dehydrogenation process, rather large quantities of oxygen are used at relatively low temperatures. In these processes, feed and oxygen are passed over a catalyst and reaction occurs. The oxygen quantities are typically high; on the order of 50% by volume or more of the hydrocarbon feed. These quantities are required since the oxy-dehydrogenation reaction is the only reaction occurring at the relatively low temperatures (300.degree.-500.degree. C.) involved. Thus to achieve commercially viable conversions, high oxygen is required. However, at high oxygen concentration, the reaction selectivity is low and high amounts of CO and CO.sub.2 are formed over the mixed metallic oxide catalysts even at relatively low temperatures (300.degree.-500.degree. C.). Selectivity in this case is defined as the oxygen going to water compared to the oxygen resulting in carbon oxides. At these low temperatures, conversion is controlled by oxygen flow and in practice conversion must be limited to maintain high selectivity. These processes are thus generally uneconomic due to low conversion per pass (leading to high recycles), high levels of CO.sub.x formed, and the high cost of their removal. In addition, unlike the conventional process, relatively high concentration of co-product oxygenates are formed which are undesirable in the overall process. Thus in any pyrolysis operation that considers the use of oxygen, it is important that the CO.sub.x products be minimized. The oxygen should selectively react with the hydrogen to as high an extent as possible forming water as opposed to CO.sub.x. The oxidative dehydrogenation reaction is net exothermic compared to the endothermic pyrolysis reaction. Heat removal places an additional limitation on conversion for oxydehydrogenation since, as temperature increases with the higher levels of oxygen required for conversion, selectivity decreases substantially.
The use of smaller quantities of oxygen at elevated temperatures (where pyrolysis reactions are significant) has been considered. See the article, "Oxidative Pyrolysis of Propane", Layokum, Stephan K., Ind Chem. Process Des. and Dev., vol 18, No. 2, 1979. In this case, small quantities of oxygen (2-3% of feed) were added to propane and reacted in an empty laboratory scale pyrolysis tube. Nitrogen was used as a diluent instead of steam. In that article, the authors report slight improvements in primary olefin selectivity (to propylene). Residence times were controlled at 0.1 seconds and reaction temperatures were 600.degree.-700.degree. C. No reference is made to CO.sub.x production or to the impact of such operation on ethylene furnaces and no catalyst was used.
Recently, there have been a number of literature articles that have addressed the use of oxygen for ethane pyrolysis. In all these cases, oxygen is added to the feedstock flow and passed through the reaction tube. No catalyst is involved. The authors discuss the reduction of the total fired energy of the system by utilizing the heat from the combustion reactions. In "Coupling of Thermal Cracking with Non-Catalytic Oxidative Conversion of Ethane to Ethylene", Choudary, V. R., et al., AlChE Journal, June 1997, vol 43, No. 6, the authors examine ethane pyrolysis with oxygen with limited oxygen (0 to 20%), no catalyst, and at low residence times and high temperatures (600.degree.-850.degree. C.). Their studies show substantial increases in CO.sub.x and substantial decreases in selectivity to ethylene as oxygen increases. Increasing oxygen from 0 to 10% by vol of feed increased selectivity to CO from 2% to 7%, selectivity to CO.sub.2 from 0 to 0.3%, and decreased selectivity to ethylene from approximately 75 to 60%. In "Oxidative Pyrolysis of Ethane", Qi Chen et al, Ind Eng. Chem. Res, 1997, 36,3248-3251, the authors also use an empty laboratory scale pyrolysis tube with no catalyst and show that the addition of 7 vol % oxygen to ethane at constant process conditions increases selectivity to CO from essentially 0 to 5%, CO.sub.2 selectivity increased to 0.3%, and ethylene selectivity decreased from 85 to 80%. The increased carbon oxide products formed in the non-catalytic processes have a definite negative effect on selectivity.

Catalytic/oxidative promoted hydrocarbon pyrolysis


The present disclosure relates to methods of enriching beetroot products to increase the nitrate content of the beetroot powder product. The disclosure also relates to beetroot powder products with increased with at least 4% nitrate.

Beetroot (also known as red beet or Beta vulgaris, but not to be confused with sugar beet) products have been very popular the latest years in part due to the surprising discovery that nitrate can reduce blood pressure, help maintain healthy blood pressure, improve athletic performance, reduce oxygen consumption, and generally help with general health, wellness and performance. Because beetroot is one of the vegetables containing the highest amount of nitrate (average range of 1459 [644-1800] mg/kg fresh weight and as high as 4500 mg/kg of dry weight), beetroot has been the prime candidate for the development of natural nitrate containing products that also comply with regulations established by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Advantages of using beetroot as a nitrate source include that it is a natural source and that beetroot can provide nitrate while complying with all standards and regulations established by the FDA and other health organization unlike artificial sources of nitrate like sodium nitrate. Another advantage is that beetroot can be available in "organic" form (according to the standards for "organic foods" established by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) or other organic food standards) for people who are interested in natural, pesticide-free, and additive-free nitrate sources.
Studies on the health benefits of nitrate increasingly emerged in the past 10 years. According to the studies, the minimal dose of nitrate required to produce effects is about 50 mg; however, the majority of studies show more significant results starting at 150 mg with the recommended amount being around 322 mg nitrate/day. It is notable that most of the studies regarding the benefits of nitrate supplementation have been done on beetroot juice. Furthermore, and more importantly, beetroot juice high in nitrate supplementation has been shown to be superior to supplementation with sodium nitrate containing equimolar amount of nitrate for athletic performance as well as for blood pressure reduction.
Despite the many potential benefits of red beet supplementation, it has not been practical for daily supplementation with beetroot products. First, not every person is willing to eat beets every day. Second, many find the "earthy" taste of beetroot, which is due to geosmin found in beetroot, objectionable. Third, beets are naturally high in sugars, containing about 7 g sugars and a total of 10 g carbs per 100 g raw weight. More concentrated beet products, like beetroot juice or beetroot powder have even higher amounts of sugars, containing 9-10 g sugars per 100 ml. This can make consumption of beet products problematic for people who require low carbohydrate/sugar intake, such as diabetics or those looking to lose weight. Finally, the high carbohydrate content per dry weight of beetroot or beetroot powder also makes it difficult to make practical solid products, such as tablets, capsules or powder, that contain an efficacious dose of nitrate from beetroot juice.
All of the current beetroot dry products are either dried beetroot powder product or dried beet juice products. The content of nitrate in existing beetroot powder products is generally low, containing about 0.8 to a maximum of 2.5% of nitrate by weight. Because of the low content of nitrate in existing dried beetroot products, the vast majority does not even state the exact amount of nitrates contained in the product. Using Vernier's nitrate ion-selection electrode, the amount of nitrate in three popular powdered beetroot products marketed as "high in nitrate" actually only contained between 1% and 2.5% nitrate by weight.
Based on the concentration of nitrate in these "high in nitrate" dried beetroot products, it is very impractical to add efficacious amounts of beetroot in dry supplements/food products. To achieve the minimum studied dose of 157 mg nitrate, one would have to consume 15,700 mg or 15.7 g of powder (if the powder contained 1% nitrate), which at minimum would equal between 15 to 20 size 000 capsules. It is not surprising that no beetroot-based supplement to date can practically provide the efficacious dose of nitrate. Thus, the product labels falsely claim the benefits of nitrate administration while containing non-efficacious amounts. Accordingly, there is a long-felt need in the market for products made from beetroot higher in nitrate than 3%, which would allow for convenient administration of efficacious doses of nitrate.

Enriched root powder products and methods of producing thereof


Disclosed is a silver halide photographic material containing at least one dye of formula (Ia), (Ib), (Ic), or (Id): ##STR1## wherein R.sup.1, R.sup.2, R.sup.9 and R.sup.10 may be the same or different and each represents an alkyl group; Z.sup.1, Z.sup.2, Z.sup.3 and Z.sup.4 each represents a non-metallic atomic group necessary for forming a nitrogen-containing hetero ring; R.sup.3, R.sup.4, R.sup.5, R.sup.6, R.sup.11, R.sup.12, R.sup.13 and R.sup.14 may be the same or different and each represents a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group, an aryl group or an aralkyl group; R.sup.7, R.sup.8, R.sup.15 and R.sup.16 may be the same or different and each represents a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom, an alkyl group, an alkoxy group, an amino group or a hydroxyl group; R.sup.3 and R.sup.4, R.sup.5 and R.sup.6, R.sup.11 and R.sup.12, R.sup.13 and R.sup.14, R.sup.3 and R.sup.7, R.sup.5 and R.sup.8, R.sup.11 and R.sup.15, or R.sup.13 and R.sup.16 may be bonded to each other to form a 5-membered or 6-membered ring; and m and n each represents an integer of from 1 to 4; provided that the dye molecule contains at least two acidic substituents.

In the preparation of silver halide photographic materials, coloration of photographic emulsion layers or other layers is often effected for the purpose of absorbing light falling within a particular wavelength range.
If it is necessary to control the spectral composition of the light penetrating into photographic emulsion layers, a colored layer is provided on the support in a position farther from the support than photographic emulsion layers. The colored layer of the kind is called a filter layer. In the case of a multi-layered color photographic material having a plurality of photographic emulsion layers, the filter layer may be positioned intermediate between those emulsion layers.
Blur of images (i.e., halation) may be caused by re-penetration of light which scatters during or after passing through photographic emulsion layers and is reflected on the interface between the emulsion layer and the support or on the surface of the photographic material opposite to the emulsion layer, into the photographic emulsion layers. This may be prevented by a colored layer provided between the photographic emulsion layer and the support or on the surface of the support opposite to the photographic emulsion layer. The colored layer is called an anti-halation layer. In the case of a multi-layered color photographic material, the anti-halation layer may be provided intermediate between the respective layers.
For the purpose of preventing lowering of the image sharpness caused by scattering of light in photographic emulsion layers (this phenomenon is generally called "irradiation"), coloration of photographic emulsion layers is also often effected.
The layers to be colored for these purposes are mostly hydrophilic colloid layers, and in general, water-soluble dyes are incorporated into the layers so as to color them. The dyes must satisfy the following conditions:
(1) they have a suitable spectral absorption in accordance with their use and the object;
(2) they are photochemically inactive. That is to say, they do not have any harmful influence on the chemical properties of silver halide photographic materials. For example, they do not lower the sensitivity of the materials, they do not cause latent image fading, and they do not cause fogging;
(3) they are decolored or dissolved out during the step of photographic processing of the photographic materials which contain them, so that they do not leave any harmful coloration on the processed photographic materials; and
(4) they have an excellent time-dependent storage stability in solutions or in photographic materials.
Many dyes have heretofore been known to satisfy these conditions, and to absorb visible rays or ultra-violet rays. They are suitable for improving the images formed in conventional photographic elements which are sensitized to be sensitive to lights having a wavelength of 700 nm or less. In particular, triarylmethane and oxonole dyes have been used widely.
On the other hand, there is a need for anti-halation and anti-irradiation dyes capable of absorbing light falling within the infrared spectral range for near-infrared sensitized recording materials, for example, for photographic recording materials for recording output with near-infrared lasers.
For instance, one means of exposing photographic materials of this kind is an image forming method by a so-called scanner system. Specifically, an original is scanned and a silver halide photographic material is exposed on the basis of the resulting image signal, so as to form a negative image or positive image corresponding to the image of the original on the photographic material.
Among the recording light sources for such a scanner recording system, semiconductor lasers are used most favorably. Devices for semiconductor lasers are small-sized and low-priced and may easily be modulated. In addition, semiconductor lasers have a longer life than other He-Ne lasers or argon lasers. Moreover, since they emit infrared rays, a light safelight may be used in handling infrared-sensitive photographic materials. Therefore, semiconductor lasers are advantageous with respect to handlability and operability.
However, since no suitable dye is known which absorbs light falling within the infrared spectral range and which satisfies the preceding conditions (1), (2), (3) and (4), especially conditions (3) and (4), there are few photographic materials having a high light sensitivity in the infrared range and having excellent anti-halation and anti-irradiation properties. Therefore, at the present, the characteristics of the semiconductor lasers having the above-mentioned excellent capacity cannot be fully utilized.
Until now, various efforts have been made to find dyes satisfying the preceding conditions, and many dyes have heretofore been proposed.
For instance, examples include the tricarbocyanine dyes described in JP-A-62-123454, JP-A-63-55544, JP-A-64-33547 (the term "JP-A" as used herein means an "unexamined published Japanese patent application"); the oxonole dyes described in JP-A-1-227148; the merocyanine dyes described in JP-A-1-234844; the tetra-aryl type polymethine dyes described in JP-A-2-216140; and the indoaniline dyes described in JP-A-50-100116, JP-A-62-3250, JP-A-2-259753.
However, there are few dyes which sufficiently satisfy all the preceding conditions.


An electromagnetic flowmeter that prevents fluctuations in the frequency of synchronized pulse signals due to momentary fluctuations of the power source voltage. The comparator of an AC synchronizing circuit that generates pulse signals synchronized to the frequency of a commercial power source is given a hysteresis function in which a first threshold value Vth1 and a second threshold value Vth2 are set up in the comparator. The comparator compares the level of divided AC signals from a dividing circuit with the first threshold value Vth1, and if the level of the divided AC signals exceeds the first threshold value Vth1, the level of the synchronized pulse signals is inverted from the “L” level to the “H” level; and if the level of the divided AC signals falls below the second threshold value Vth2, the level of the synchronized pulse signals is inverted from the “H” level to the “L” level.

There is known an electromagnetic flowmeter comprising an exciting coil to create a magnetic field orthogonal to the direction of fluid flow running inside a measurement tube and signal electrodes provided inside the measurement tube. In such a device, the electromotive force generated across the electrodes by the flow of fluid through the measurement tube can be used to determine the fluid flow rate.
The essential parts of a conventional electromagnetic flowmeter are indicated in FIG. 8. In this diagram, a measurement tube 1 comprises a non-magnetic metal pipe 2 (for example, non-magnetic stainless steel pipe) and a lining 3 based on an insulative resin formed on the inside of the non-magnetic metal pipe 2. 4a and 4b are facing signal electrodes provided on the inner peripheral surface of the measurement tube 1.
Further, although not indicated in FIG. 8, an exciting coil that creates a magnetic field is provided orthogonally to the direction of flow of the fluid that flows inside the measuring tube 1, and the facing signal electrodes 4a and 4b are provided orthogonally to the magnetic field that this exciting coil creates (see, e.g., Japanese examined patent application No. 7-9374 of Hei et al., hereinafter "Hei.")
As indicated in Hei, this electromagnetic flowmeter comprises an AC synchronous circuit that generates pulse signals synchronized to the frequency of the commercial power source. The exciting current supplied to the exciting coil and the rate at which flow rate signals are sampled between the signal electrodes are both clocked by the pulse signals generated by this AC synchronizing circuit.
FIG. 9 illustrates the configuration of a circuit that includes the AC synchronizing circuit described in Hei. In this diagram, 5 is a power source circuit, 6 is a dividing circuit, 7 is a comparator, 8 is an even-number frequency divider and 9 is a timing circuit. The AC synchronizing circuit 10 is composed of the power source circuit 5, the dividing circuit 6 and the comparator 7. In this circuit configuration, a single threshold value Vth is set up in the comparator 7. The pulse signal, which the AC synchronizing circuit 10 generates and which is synchronized to the frequency of the commercial power source, will be referred to as the "synchronized pulse signal" throughout the remainder of this application.
FIGS. 10(a)-10(e) illustrate the signal waveforms for the circuit configuration in FIG. 9. In the circuit configuration indicated in FIG. 9, AC signals input from the commercial power source are sent to the dividing circuit 6 through the power source circuit 5, where they are divided by the dividing circuit 6 and made into divided AC signals (FIG. 10(a)). The divided AC signals are sent to the input of the comparator 7. The comparator 7 monitors the level of the divided AC signals. If the level of a divided AC signal exceeds the threshold value Vth, that signal is inverted from the "L" level to the "H" level. If the level of a divided AC signal falls below the threshold value Vth, that signal is inverted from the "H" level to the "L" level. A synchronized pulse signal like that indicated in FIG. 10(b) can thereby be obtained as an output signal from the comparator 7.
Some of these synchronized pulse signals are directly output to the timing circuit 9, and others are frequency-divided in even-number multiples by the even-number frequency dividing circuit 8, and are then output to the timing circuit 9. As a result, as indicated in FIG. 10(c), the frequency-divided synchronized pulse signals from the even-number frequency dividing circuit 8 are output unchanged as first timing signals from a terminal X of the timing circuit 9, and the direction of the exciting current to the exciting coil is switched based on these first timing signals. Moreover, signals like those indicated in FIG. 10(d) are output from a terminal Y of the timing circuit 9 as second timing signals; signals like those indicated in FIG. 10(c) are output from a terminal Z of the timing circuit 9 as third timing signals; and flow rate signals produced between the signal electrodes 4 are sampled based on these second and third timing signals.
Nonetheless, in the conventional electromagnetic flowmeter described above, momentary power source voltage fluctuations are generated by the AC signals input from the commercial power source. For example, as indicated by the code Pz in FIG. 11(a), if the level of the divided AC signal sent to the comparator 7 momentarily changes up and down while at the threshold value Vth, this change is judged to be one waveform of the divided AC signal, and an extra pulse number is generated (refer to FIG. 11(b)). Therefore, the frequency of the synchronized pulse signal will fluctuate. In this case, the first to third timing signals, which take the synchronized pulse signals as a standard, also fluctuate, and a discrepancy is generated between the timing for switching the direction of the exciting current to be supplied to the exciting coil and the timing for sampling the flow rate signals generated between the signal electrodes 4. As a result, the device cannot render accurate flow rate measurements.
Therefore, there is a need for electromagnetic flowmeters that can accurately measure flow rate without producing fluctuations in the frequency of the synchronized pulse signals.


A holder for displaying tubular articles. A body has an integral spear, the spear having a tapered nose and a retention shoulder. A retention disc is snaped over the nose to retain on the holder a tubular article whose least lateral dimension is smaller than that of the body or of the disc.

Especially in the hardware and nursery aftermarkets, there is a wide range of tubular items for sale. Examples are hose fittings such as repair couplings and hose ends, and miscellaneous lengths of tubing with special end fittings, to name only a few. For maximum sales impact and convenience, these are preferably displayed on racks rather than in bins. The presently-preferred rack display is a card which is enclosed with the articles in a shrink wrapping. An aperture in the card passes a hook that is mounted to a rack or pegboard.
In addition to visibility, this arrangement has the advantage that it is inconvenient for a shoplifter. Certainly it is less convenient to steal than the device Which it displays, if only because of its shape and size, Still, however conventional and useful this may be, it still involves the cost of the backing card, the wrapping material, and the labor to assemble it. Also, when assembled its inherent bulkiness takes up considerable volume for shipping, and requires care in packing to keep the packed volume to a minimum.
It is an object of this invention to provide a holder which itself can be attached to a rack. One size of this holder can accommodate a wide range of lateral and axial lengths, all without rattling. Its own dimensions are such that an assembly with it can fit into minimum packing space, but still will be inconvenient for a shoplifter.
It is another object of this invention to hold the assembly in reasonably good alignment for making a neat display, and to hold it against excessive rattling both in storage and while being carried.

Holder for displaying tubular articles on a rack


A test circuit includes an input circuit for inputting data to select a test mode relative to a circuit to be tested and outputting result of selection of the test mode in synchronization with a first clock, a pattern generation circuit for responding to result of selection of the test mode, generating a test pattern in synchronization with a second clock and outputting the test pattern to the circuit to be tested and a comparator circuit for inputting result of test of the circuit to be tested in synchronization with the second clock, and comparing coincidence/non-coincidence between the result of the test and the test pattern supplied to the circuit to be tested. The test circuit further includes an output circuit for holding result of comparison by the comparator circuit and outputting the result of comparison in synchronization with the first clock.

The invention relates to a test circuit such as a built-in self test (hereinafter referred to as BIST) circuit and the like provided with two group of clocks which are different in frequency for testing a circuit to be tested such as a high-speed semiconductor memory and the like, and a semiconductor integrated circuit such as a control chip, a system large scaled integrated circuit (hereinafter referred to as system LSI) and the like, in which the test circuit is built in, and a method of testing the same.
A technology relating to a conventional BIST serving as one of test circuits for testing a semiconductor integrated circuit and the like has been disclosed in JP-A H10-199294, JP-A 2002-174662.
The BIST circuit is a circuit for generating commands of a circuit to be tested (e.g., Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory serving as one of semiconductor memories, hereinafter referred to as "SDRAM"), and it is used, for example, when connected to a tester.
The BIST circuit has a BIST control circuit, and a pattern generation circuit and a data comparator are connected to an output of the BIST control circuit, respectively. An output control circuit is connected to an output of the data comparator. These BIST control circuit, pattern generation circuit, data comparator, and output control circuit are formed on the same semiconductor substrate, respectively.
A test clock outputted from the tester has, e.g., about 40 MHz, and all the circuit blocks inside the BIST circuit operate in synchronization with the test clock, respectively. A clock outputted from the pattern generation circuit is synchronous with the test clock, and has a frequency which is not more than that of the test clock, and the SDRAM is tested in response to this clock.
For example, in cases where an SDRAM to be tested for use in high-speed operation and has an actual operating frequency not less 100 MHz which is faster than the frequency of the test clock, the high-speed SDRAM can not be tested with an actual operating frequency using a low speed tester.
That is, in cases where the high-speed SDRAM is intended to be tested by the conventional BISI circuit with the actual operating frequency exceeding the test clock, the SDRAM can not be tested so far.
Accordingly, when a high-speed SDRAM is to be tested, a high-speed tester capable of generating a high-speed test clock corresponding thereto, and of processing a high-speed test data output signal is needed. However, the speeding up of the semiconductor integrated circuit such as an SDRAM and the like has recently made rapid progress, and hence if a tester is prepared in accordance therewith, cost of equipment has increased and also training for making full use of the tester is needed, resulting in disadvantage and inconvenience.

Test circuit provided with built-in self test function


A method for optimizing queries is described. A query, which includes a first expression for determining whether each of a set of values evaluates to NULL or NOT NULL, is received. At compile-time, a first representation of the query is generated, where the first representation indicates that the query is to be performed based on the first expression. Based on the first expression, a second expression is determined. The second expression is such that the first expression would evaluate to any NOT NULL value if and only if the second expression would evaluate to any NOT NULL value. The second expression, when evaluated, is much more computationally efficient compared with the evaluation of the first expression. Based on the first representation, a second representation of the query is generated, where the second representation indicates that the query is to be performed based on the second expression. Thereafter, the query is executed based on the second representation.

The approaches described in this section are approaches that could be pursued, but not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated, it should not be assumed that any of the approaches described in this section qualify as prior art merely by virtue of their inclusion in this section.
A data item is said to be "NULL", or to have a NULL value, if the actual value of the data item is unknown or not meaningful; otherwise, the data item is said to be "NOT NULL", or to have a NOT NULL value that may be of any datatype that can be associated with the data item. (Thus, a NULL value is not the same as an arithmetic zero or a Boolean FALSE value.) As referred to herein, a data item may be any identifiable portion of data including, but not limited to, a value stored in a particular column of a particular row of a relational table in a relational database, an object stored in a table of an object database, and an instance of Extensible Markup Language (XML) data stored in an XML document.
As used herein, "count( ) query" refers to a query that includes a count( ) operator. Generally, an operator is a set of instructions which, when executed, perform one or more specific operations. An operator may take zero or more input arguments and may be implemented in various ways, such as, for example, as a function, as a subroutine, or as a construct. A count( ) operator, also referred to hereafter as "count operator", is an operator which, when evaluated against a set of data items, returns the cardinality of the set. (The cardinality of a set of data items is typically the number of items in the set.)
Queries that include count operators are widely used and may be, for example, Structured Query Language (SQL) queries, XML Query Language (XQuery) queries, or the SQL/XML queries. A SQL query is a query that conforms to a particular SQL specification. An XQuery query is a query that conforms to an XQuery specification. A draft specification for XQuery is described in "XQuery 1.0: An XML Query Language", W3C Candidate Recommendation 3 Nov. 2005, the entire content of which is hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes as if fully set forth herein. A SQL/XML query is a query that includes one or more operators defined according to a SQL/XML standard, such as, for example, the SQL/XML standard defined in INCITS/ISO/IEC 9075-14:2003, the entire content of which is hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.
Both SQL and the SQL/XML standard provide a count operator that is implemented as a built-in aggregate function which, when evaluated against a set of values, returns the number of NOT NULL values in the set. For example, a SQL count aggregate operator, which is specified in a SQL query that is evaluated against a relational table, would return a number indicating the number of rows from the table that satisfy the condition that the computed input expression to the operator is NOT NULL. The SQL count operator may be evaluated against all rows of the relational table or against a subset of all the rows, where the subset may be determined based on other clauses (e.g. WHERE clause) of the query and any predicates specified therein. In another example, an XQuery count operator, which is specified in an XQuery query that is evaluated against an XQuery data model instance (e.g., a sequence), would return a number of items in the sequence that satisfy the criteria specified in the input expression of the count( ) XQuery query.
Consider, for example, the following SQL/XML query Q0:
Q0. select count(XMLForest(ename) NULL ON NULL)    from empThe XMLForest( ) operator is a SQL/XML function that takes as an input argument the scalar value stored in a particular column of a table and returns an XML instance containing an XML element, where the content of the XML element is a NOT NULL value from the scalar value stored in the particular column and the name of the XML element is the name of the particular column. In query Q0, the "NULL ON NULL" option specified in the XMLForest( ) operator indicates that when the input scalar value argument is a NULL value, the output XML instance is also a NULL value. Thus, when the count( ) aggregate operator is executed against table "emp", query Q0 would count all the "ename" XML elements that are constructed from the values stored in the "ename" column of each row of table "emp". If in a particular row the value stored in column "ename" is a NULL value, then according to the semantics of the XMLForest( ) operator with the "NULL ON NULL" option, no "ename" XML element is constructed for that row and consequently the count operator would not count such a row.
Developers that implement count( ) queries in software applications, as well as the users of such applications, typically expect the count( ) queries to execute very fast since the count queries would do nothing more than accumulate a count and return a number. However, the past approaches for evaluating count( ) queries cannot guarantee that the count( ) queries would be evaluated in an optimal way, and consequently cannot guarantee an acceptably fast execution time for the queries. This disadvantage of the past approaches is particularly severe and noticeable for count( ) queries that are executed against large XML documents to count instances of XML data stored therein or against large object database tables to count objects stored therein.
For example, according to one such approach for evaluating a count( ) query against a set of XML documents, a resulting set of instances of XML data is first materialized. (The materialized instances of XML data may be of any XML datatype, such as, for example, the XMLType datatype defined in the SQL/XML standard, or may be constructed from the object relational storage of XMLType). Then, this approach provides for testing the resulting set of instances of XML data to determine whether the instances are NULL values or not. Finally, the instances of XML data that are NOT NULL values are excluded and the resulting set with the remaining NOT NULL instances of XML data is added for accumulating the count result. The disadvantage of this approach is that the resulting set passed into the count operator has to be materialized and constructed before the determination can be made of whether the XML data instances in the set store NULL values or NOT NULL values. However, materializing and constructing a set of instances of XML data is very expensive with respect to the computational resources used (such as, for example, memory, CPU time, and disk space), especially when the set of instances that needs to be materialized is large. Exacerbating the problem even further, in this approach computational resources must be expended for materializing and constructing all the instances of XML data in the resulting set regardless of whether the materialized or constructed XML data instances are NULL or not, even though whether the base input column values to materialize or construct the XML data instance are NULL or not can be determined during query compile time.
Although the disadvantages related to processing NULL data items are presented above with respect to count( ) queries, it is noted that these disadvantages are not unique to count( ) queries or count operators. Rather, these disadvantages are common to any queries that require performing operations on NULL data items, where the operations may be specified in any expressions, select list items, and/or functional constraints of the queries.
Based on the foregoing, there is a clear need for techniques for optimizing queries that that overcome the disadvantages described above.

Techniques of optimizing queries using NULL expression analysis