An SMD diode holding structure includes a plastic and a plurality of metal holders. Two ends of the plastic from a function area and a notch. The metal holder has a base portion and a connecting pin portion. The top and bottom surfaces of the base portion are exposed to the function area and the notch. The top surface of one base portion in the function area is connected with an LED chip, and the bottom surface of another base portion in the notch is connected with the anti-ESD chip. The LED chip, the anti-ESD chip, and the base portion are connected with a conductive wire. The function area is covered with a first sealing compound, and the notch is covered with a second sealing compound. Light emitted from the LED chip is uniformly reflected in the function area, and the brightness is uniform.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an LED. In particular, this invention relates to an SMD diode holding structure and a package thereof that improves the brightness and can be easily manufactured.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 shows the SMD (surface mount device) diode packaging structure of the prior art. On two metal holders 11, a plastic 12 is molded and has a concave portion in the interior of the plastic 12. An LED chip 13 is located on one of the metal holders 11 in the plastic 12. The LED chip 13 and the two metal holders 11 are connected with two conductive wires 14. In order to prevent the LED chip 13 from being damaged by static electricity, another metal holder 11 is connected with an anti-ESD chip 15. The anti-ESD chip 15 is connected with the metal holder 11 via another conductive wire 14′. Finally, the plastic is covered with epoxy resin 16. By exerting a voltage on the two metal holders, the LED chip 13 emits light and is protected by the anti-ESD chip 15.
However, in the SMD diode packaging structure of the prior art, due to the heights of the LED chip 13 and the anti-ESD chip 15, light emitted from the LED chip 13 has a high reflective rate between the wall in the plastic 12 and the metal holder 11. Moreover, when light passes through the anti-ESD chip 15, light is easily affected by the height of the anti-ESD chip 15, thereby light-shielding and light-absorbing effects are generated. The reflective rate is bad and the brightness of the LED is not uniform.
In order to solve the problem, Taiwan patent M261831, granted on 11 Apr. 2005, discloses an LED anti-ESD packaging structure. The LED anti-ESD packaging structure includes a holder 21 having a concave portion 211 on one surface of the holder 21, a protective element 22 fastened in the concave portion 211 via a pasting material 23 and connected with the holder 21 via a conductive wire 24, a molding element 25 packages the concave portion 211 and forms an arched concave cup 251 on a second surface that is disposed opposite to the concave portion, and an LED chip 26 that is fastened into the arched concave cup 251 via a pasting material 23′ and connected with the holder 21 via two conductive wires 24′. When a voltage is exerted on the metal holders 21, the LED chip 26 emits light. By respectively fastening the protective element 22 and the LED chip 26 onto the holders 21, the light-shielding and light-absorbing effects caused by the protective element 22 are avoided.
The protective element 22 in the described LED anti-ESD packaging structure is fastened in the concave portion 211 via conductive silver glue. Next, the protective element 22 is connected with the conductive wire 24 and is fastened in the concave portion 211 of the holding structure by a pasting material 23. The molding element 25 packages the concave portion 211, the protective element 22, and the pasting material 23 by using an injection method or a molding method, thereby forming the arched concave cup 251. Finally, the holder 21 located on the other surface is fastened with the LED chip 26 and is connected with the conductive wires 24′.
However, in the manufacturing process, there are the following drawbacks:
1. The concave portion 211 is formed on the holder 21 via a punching method or an etching method. When the conductive wire 24 is wired, the holder 21 vibrates and the pulling force is unstable. The unstable force could cause the microdamage of LED/anti-ESD chips structure.
The product is unreliable.
2. The concave portion 211 has a concave-cup shape (as shown in FIG. 2). If too much of the silver glue that is used for fastening the protective element is applied, the silver glue will overflow the wall of the concave portion 211 and become attached to the side of the protective element 22. Electricity-leakages occur and a short circuit may ensue.
3. Whatever kind of material the molding element 25 is made of, the molding element 25 needs to reach a high temperature and a melting status to package the holders 21, the concave portion 211, the protective element 22 and the pasting material 23. In the packaging process, the pasting material 23 will deteriorate due to the high temperatures.

SMD diode holding structure and package thereof


A high efficiency class-AB amplifier is disclosed. The amplifier comprises a first input stage and a second input stage, both coupled to a class-AB biasing mesh and an output stage, wherein the outputs of the first and second input stages are directly coupled to the output transistors in the output stage. In one embodiment, a first gate of the first input stage and of the second input stage are coupled together to receive the same input and a second gate of the first input stage and of the second input stage are coupled together to receive the same input. In another embodiment, the first input stage and second input stage may further comprise cascode transistors for coupling the two input stages to the class-AB biasing mesh. In yet another embodiment, a 3V supply is used and 1V transistors are used to improve gain and 3V transistors are used to protect the 1V transistors.

Class-AB amplifiers are used in power-sensitive applications where the processed analog signals present a large crest factor (i.e. large ratio between average and peak instantaneous values) and/or large peak currents are required. One example of such an application is a line driver. Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a high level diagram (100) of a conventional class-AB amplifier used as a line driver. In FIG. 1, a voltage amplifier (102) is connected in a feedback circuit and applies an input signal VSIG (104) to a load resistor, RL (106), supplying all the needed load current while isolating the signal source VSIG (104) from the load (106). As is known in the art, for a high open-loop gain in the amplifier (102), the voltage applied on the load resistor (106) will be approximately equal with VSIG (104), the needed large current being supplied by the amplifier.
As opposed to class-A amplifiers, class-AB amplifiers have biasing currents that are signal-dependent in such a way that, when required by a large signal peak, they can source or sink tens of times more current than their quiescent bias currents. One example of class-AB amplifiers well known to those skilled in the art is the two-stage, Miller-compensated designs with a feed-forward-biased class-AB output stage (OS) and a class-A input stage (IS). See Johan H. Huijsing, "Operational Amplifiers: Theory and Design," Kluwer Academic Publishers, Boston 2001. These amplifiers have large low-frequency gain, small output impedance and a unity-gain bandwidth that is not signal dependent since the input stage transconductance is produced by a class-A current. With an output stage consuming low power, the power dissipated by the class-A stages in front of the output stage becomes important.
Referring now to FIG. 2, there is shown a high level diagram of a conventional feed-forward class-AB amplifier (200). In general, the class-AB amplifier (200) comprises an input stage (202) and an output stage (204) coupled together by a connecting stage (206), also referred to as a class-AB biasing mesh. The class-AB biasing mesh (206) provides the class-AB biasing to the output stage (204) and shifts internal signal phases in the correct way to fully exploit the gain of the class-AB output stage (204). As is known to those skilled in the art, the class-AB biasing mesh (206) does not provide active gain, so the power it burns does not increase the open-loop gain at all frequencies, and thereby reduces power efficiency.
Referring now to FIG. 3, there is shown a schematic diagram (300) of a conventional feed-forward class-AB amplifier which implements a folded-cascode. The amplifier in FIG. 3 comprises an input stage (302) and an output stage (304) coupled to a class-AB biasing mesh (306). In this example, the class-AB biasing mesh (306) is coupled to the input stage (302) through an intermediate stage designed as a folded-cascode (308). The intermediate stage (308) improves the low-frequency gain of the amplifier due to its cascodes and supplies the class-AB biasing mesh (306) with the in-phase current signals needed to drive the gates of the NMOS (310) and PMOS (312) transistors of the output stage (304). As is known to those skilled in the art, the class-AB biasing works by closing two translinear loops by means of biasing the "pm" (314) and "nm" (316) nodes with two voltages generated as the sum of the two gate-source voltages. In quiescent state, the two drain currents in the mesh transistors are designed to be equal and the translinear loops bias the output stage (304) to its quiescent current. When the input stage (302) is tilted, the signal currents drawn into or from the two ends of the mesh are equal and in phase so the total current in the two mesh transistors does not change. The mesh is tilted as well, so the ratio of the two currents in the NMOS and the PMOS mesh transistors is changed. This makes the output stage (304) tilt by either sinking or sourcing current. For example, if the current in the output NMOS transistor increases, then the current in the PMOS transistor decreases. At the limit, the PMOS transistor still drives a minimum current guaranteed by design, so the amplifier recovers very quickly from the fully-tilted state.
For a large-bandwidth amplifier, the intermediate folded-cascode stage only plays a role in supplying the class-AB biasing mesh with the two needed in-phase signal currents. The power consumption in this intermediate stage is at least two times the power of the input stage for slew-rate and linearity reasons. This amounts to a significant power wasted in the intermediate stage without actual improvement of amplifier performance.
Therefore, what is needed is a class-AB amplifier which eliminates this intermediate stage and does not waste power or current between the input stage and the class-AB biasing mesh, thereby increasing the power efficiency of the amplifier.


An improved method of reinforcing concrete is provided. A plurality of carbon fiber tubules may be added to the cementitious slurry so as to increase the cured concrete's tensile strength and resistance to corrosion.

The present invention relates to concrete reinforcement and, more particularly, to an improved process of reinforcing concrete by using carbon fiber tubules so as to increase the cured concrete's tensile strength and resistance to corrosion.
It has long been known to insert metal into fabrications of cementitious materials. Basic steel reinforced concrete has been used for over a century. It is outdated and is the major cause of present day infrastructure failure. Basic steel reinforced concrete can manage pressure from around 10 MPa, 1450 psi, to 40 MPa, 5800 psi. Steel fiber reinforced concrete is a new micro reinforcement addition to the process of reinforcing concrete, and has a pressure range between 750 MPa, 108,778 psi, and 2850 MPa, 413,357 psi. Carbon fiber is roughly 10 times stronger than steel.
However, corrosion of steel reinforcements in concrete is a common form of deterioration in cold climates and sea-side environments. The process of carbonization in the curing of concrete lowers the pH of the cement pore solution so as to become more acidic, causing the reinforcement steel rebar or steel fibers to corrode. Once the steel reinforcement is compromised the concrete is useless.
As can be seen, there is a need for an improved method of reinforcing concrete by using carbon fiber tubules so as to increase the cured concrete's tensile strength and resistance to corrosion.


A method for responding to a change in electric power demand includes (1) charging an energy storage subsystem from an electric power grid, (2) discharging the energy storage subsystem into the electric power grid at a discharge rate that is less than a maximum rate of discharge of the energy storage subsystem, and (3) adjusting the discharge rate in response to a signal selected from the group consisting of a signal to provide a regulation up service and a signal to provide a regulation down service. An energy storage system includes an energy storage subsystem for storing electric power, an interface for interfacing the energy storage subsystem with an electric power grid, and a controller configured to control operation of the interface in response to a signal to provide a regulation up service and a signal to provide a regulation down service.

An electric utility typically provides electric power to a large group of customers located in its service area. The electric power demand caused by the customers typically varies widely. Some of these variations in electric power demand are predictable. For example, electric power demand during the summer may be expected to peak on weekdays during late afternoon or early evening as residential customers return home and switch on their air conditioning systems. Other load demands, however, may not be predictable. For example, a utility may experience a sudden drop in electric power demand due to tripping of a circuit breaker controlling a major feeder circuit.
Electric power demand variations are problematic to electric utilities. For example, it may be impossible for an electric utility's electric generation equipment (e.g., a coal fired power plant) to respond quickly to a change in demand for electricity, resulting in undesired voltage and/or frequency fluctuations. As another example, an electric utility may not have adequate generation capacity to meet a peak electric power demand, and the utility may therefore be forced to purchase electric power at a high price from another party to cover the shortfall.
Accordingly, energy storage systems have been proposed to compensate for changes in electric power demand. Such systems may provide electric power to an utility's electric power grid ("regulation up") when additional electric power is needed, such as during times of peak electric power demand. As another example, such systems may absorb or store electric power from the utility's electric power grid ("regulation down") when required or when desired, such as when electric power demand suddenly drops.

Energy storage systems and associated methods


Systems, methods and apparatus are provided through which a solid-state X-Ray detector is electronically scrubbed and a flat-field X-Ray exposure of the solid-state X-Ray detector is simulated in reference to an adjusted bias of the solid-state X-Ray detector. The simulation yields a gain image of the solid-state X-Ray detector which is in turn suitable for calibrating the solid-state X-Ray detector without projecting an X-Ray beam onto the solid-state X-Ray detector.

Solid-state X-Ray detectors having electronic sensors of X-Ray electromagnetic energy, rather than chemical film-based sensors. The solid-state X-Ray detectors are often referred to as electronic X-Ray detectors.
One type of conventional solid-state X-Ray detector consists of an array of pixels composed of switches as FETs (field effect transistors) and light detectors such as photodiodes, the pixels being constructed of amorphous silicon, over which Cesium Iodide (CsI) is deposited. CsI absorbs the X-rays and converts them to light, which is then detected by the photodiodes. The photodiode acts as a capacitor and will store charge. Initialization of the detector takes place prior to an X-Ray exposure, when during the course of "scrubbing" the detector, each photodiode is charged to a known voltage. The detector is then exposed to X-Rays which are absorbed by the CsI. Light that is emitted in proportion to the X-Ray flux then partially discharges the photodiode. After the conclusion of the exposure, the voltage on the photodiode is restored to the initial voltage. The amount of charge required to restore the initial voltage on the photodiode is measured, which becomes a measure of the X-Ray dose integrated by the pixel during the length of the exposure.
In accordance with the array like structure of the detector, the detector is read, or scrubbed, on a scan line by scan line basis. Reading of the detector is controlled by the FET switch associated with each photodiode. Reading is performed whenever the image produced by the detector contains valuable data. Valuable data includes images that contain exposure data and images that contain offset data. Scrubbing is very similar to reading except that the data is not informative, and is therefore discarded. Scrubbing is performed to maintain proper bias on the diodes during idle periods, or to perhaps reduce the effects of lag, which is incomplete charge restoration of the photodiodes, among other reasons. Scrubbing must restore charge, but by definition, the charge need not be measured. If the charge is measured, the data can be simply discarded.
A distinct benefit of the architecture of the solid-state X-Ray detector is that the presence of the switching element minimizes the number of electrical contacts that would need to be made to the detector. If no switching elements were present, at least one contact for each pixel would need to be present on the detector. A detector with over 1 million pixels would be impossible to develop or produce. The switching element reduces the number of required contacts to no more than the number of pixels along the perimeter of the array. The pixels in the interior of the array are "ganged" together along each axis of the array. An entire row of the array is controlled simultaneously when the scan line attached to the gates of all the FETs of pixels on that scan line is activated. Each of the pixels on that scan line is connected to a separate data line, through the switch, which is used by the read out electronics to restore the charge to the photodiode. As each scan line is activated in turn, all of the pixels in that scan line have the charge restored to the respective photodiode simultaneously by the read out electronics over the individual data lines. Each data line is associated with a dedicated read out channel.
The bias voltage to which the photodiodes are charged is simply the difference in potential between the voltage at a common contact, and the voltage of the photodiode's respective data line. In order for the photodiode to store the charge on the capacitance of the photodiode, the photodiode is reverse biased, meaning the common contact connects all of the photodiode's anodes together and is more negative in potential than any of the data lines. While the read out channel often will maintain the potential of the associated data line at what is known as a virtual ground, the read out channel may in fact be at some actual potential slightly above or below ground potential. This may be due to the architecture, implementation, or perhaps simply process variation of the read out channel design.
Each pixel in the detector, and each readout channel will have variations in gains and offset relative to other pixels and readout channels. Consequently, in order to present the best image quality, X-Ray images have these variations normalized or corrected, before the image is presented for patient diagnosis. Offset readings, requiring no X-Rays, can be taken any time, and in fact to get the most accurate offset reading, a "dark" image is often acquired close in time to the X-Ray image. As part of the correction, the "dark" image is subtracted from the X-Ray image. Gain calibration and correction, however, requires X-Ray images. Prior to the first patient, one or more "flat field" X-Ray images are acquired, with nothing between the X-Ray tube and the detector. If there were no gain, offset or X-Ray flux variations over the surface of the detector, and no gain or offset variation in the readout channels, all of the pixels would report exactly the same value. However, this is known not to be the case. This flat field X-Ray image is then used to normalize all of the individual pixels (after offset correction) to nearly the same value. The factor used to normalize each pixel then becomes a gain "map." By default, because the readout channels are used to acquire these images, the gain and offset variations of the readout channels are also corrected by the gain map, offset correction and no special separate treatment of gain and offset variations of the readout channels are required. This gain map is then used to normalize all of the diagnostic X-Ray images that are acquired subsequently.
Detectors are composed of discrete detecting or imaging elements numbering in the millions of which at least one of the imaging elements will be defective. Recognizing that the probability of fabricating a defect free panel is very low, a special interpolating correction is performed for those pixels whose offset or gain values fall outside an acceptable range. These "bad pixels" are replaced by a combination of neighboring pixels. The bad pixels are identified in the offset image by an offset being too high (too much leakage, for example) or an offset being too low (saturated). In the gain image, the bad pixels may be saturated (high) or may not react enough to the X-Ray stimulus to be considered viable. However, this calibration also requires X-Rays.
In order to maintain optimum image quality, frequent calibration is encouraged. However, this requires user intervention, to generate the X-Rays at a time when there is nothing "in the beam" in front of the detector. During calibration, the system is not available for use, resulting in loss of productivity of the X-Ray system. Furthermore, because human intervention is required, mistakes are often made which may adversely affect image quality until the next calibration is performed.
For the reasons stated above, and for other reasons stated below which will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the present specification, there is a need in the art to calibrate the gain of the solid-state X-Ray detectors without projecting an X-Ray beam onto the detector in order to generate normalized images from the solid-state X-Ray detectors. There is also a need in the art to identify bad pixels in the solid-state X-Ray detectors without projecting an X-Ray beam onto the detector. There is furthermore a need in the art to calibrate solid-state X-Ray detectors without interrupting productive use of the X-Ray system.

Systems, methods and apparatus to calibrate a solid state X-ray detector


A scanned light display system includes a light source operable to emit light and a curved mirror positioned to receive at least a portion of the light. The curved mirror is configured to substantially collimate the received light. The substantially collimated light is scanned to form an image by moving at least one of the light source and the curved mirror relative to each other. Alternatively, the scanned light display system includes a light source operable to emit light, a curved mirror positioned to receive some of the light, and an optical element positioned to receive light reflected from the curved mirror. The optical element is configured to substantially collimate the reflected light. The substantially collimated light is scanned to form an image by moving at least one of the light source, the curved mirror, and the optical element. Scanning mirror assemblies and methods of making are also disclosed.

A variety of techniques are available for providing visual displays of graphical or video images to a user. In many applications cathode ray tube type displays (CRTs), such as televisions and computer monitors, produce images for viewing. Such devices suffer from several limitations. For example, typical CRTs are bulky and consume substantial amounts of power, making them undesirable for portable or head-mounted applications.
Matrix addressable displays, such as liquid crystal displays and field emission displays, may be less bulky and consume less power. However, typical matrix addressable displays utilize screens that are several inches across. Such screens have limited use in head mounted applications or in applications where the display is intended to occupy only a small portion of a user's field-of-view. Such displays have been reduced in size at the cost of increasingly difficult processing and limited resolution or brightness. Also, improving resolution of such displays typically requires a significant increase in complexity.
Another form of display is a scanned beam display. Various scanned beam displays have been disclosed in the art, such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,467,104 of Furness et al., entitled VIRTUAL RETINAL DISPLAY, which is incorporated herein by reference. In one example of a scanned beam display, a scanning source outputs a beam of coherent light that is reflected by a mirror in a MEMS scanner onto a viewer's retina. The scanned light enters the viewer's eye through the viewer's pupil and is directed onto the retina by the cornea and lens. The intensity of the light from the light source is modulated as the beam is scanned horizontally and vertically so that the viewer perceives an image. In other examples, the scanning source may include one or more modulated light emitters that are rotated through an angular sweep to scan the light onto the viewer's retina. One example of such a scanner suitable for either type of display is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,557,444 to Melville et al., entitled MINIATURE OPTICAL SCANNER FOR A TWO-AXIS SCANNING SYSTEM, which is incorporated herein by reference.
Scanned beam displays are sometimes used for partial or augmented view applications in which a portion of the display is positioned in the user's field-of-view to create an image that occupies a region of the user's field-of-view. The user can thus see both a displayed virtual image and a background image. If the background light is occluded, the viewer perceives only the virtual image. Applications for see-through and occluded scanned beam displays include head-mounted displays and camera electronic viewfinders, for example.
A common requirement of scanned beam displays has been the need to collimate the light into a beam having a relatively low numerical aperture, i.e., a small divergence angle, prior to scanning the beam across the field-of-view. Unfortunately, providing a collimated, low numerical aperture beam of light frequently employs relatively expensive coherent light sources such as lasers, or edge-emitting light emitting diodes ("EELED"). Such collimated light sources may result in low optical efficiency and have the effect of producing a dimly lit display.
Scanned beam displays frequently require a complex set of optics to generate a scanned beam image. In one example, light from a low numerical aperture light source is collected by a set of optics to form a beam. This light beam is then directed to a bi-axial scanner, which scans the light beam into a set of optics that images the light beam onto an exit pupil expander ("EPE") placed at an intermediate image plane. The expanded image is then conveyed by another set of optics that translates positional information from the EPE into angular information at the viewer's pupil. In such displays, the scanner outputs angular information that is converted to positional information at the EPE, only to have this positional information converted back to angular information through the viewing optics. The large number of optical components used by these types of complex imaging systems results in displays that are relatively bulky and expensive.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Scanned light display system using large numerical aperture light source, method of using same, and method of making scanning mirror assemblies


Connection plates for constructing buildings are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a connection plate includes a generally planar insert member and a support member. Insert member has a first side configured for receipt in a slot defined by a structural member and a second side configured for receipt in a slot defined by another structural member. First and second sides collectively define inner and outer edges. Support member is coupled to first and second sides is generally perpendicular to insert member in two directions. Either (1) a portion of inner edge corresponding to first side is angled relative to a portion of inner edge corresponding to second side and support member is coupled to inner edge; or (2) a portion of outer edge corresponding to first side is angled relative to a portion of outer edge corresponding to second side and support member is coupled to outer edge.

Brackets and plates are often used in the construction industry to couple one member to another member. Brackets and plates may perform an aligning function to ensure the coupled members are appropriately positioned, and may further resist horizontal pivoting between the coupled members.
One prior art plate 100 used in the construction of metal buildings is shown in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the prior art plate 100 may be used to couple a structural member 200 (e.g., a column) and a structural member 202 (e.g., a rafter). When placed in slots 201, 203 defined by the structural members 200, 200, the prior art plate 100 has proven to be effective in aligning the structural member 200 and the structural member 202, which may greatly reduce the amount of time required to erect a building. In addition, the prior art plate 100 may provide some resistance against the structural member 202 moving in directions 205a, 205b relative to the structural member 200. Nevertheless, the prior art plate 100 may provide little structural support to keep the rafter member 202 from buckling in relation to the column 200 in direction 205, and the prior art plate 100 may provide insufficient resistance against the structural member 202 moving in directions 205a, 206b relative to the structural member 200 unless the prior art plate 100 is unacceptably thick. As the thickness of the prior art plate 100 increases, the weight and cost of the prior art plate 100 increase and the width of the slots 201, 203 must increase.

Connection plate for use in constructing a metal building


Methods and apparatus for unified account metadata management are disclosed. A storage medium stores program instructions that when executed on a processor generate a graph representation of metadata associated with a client account of a provider network. At least a portion of the metadata is obtained using an internal mechanism of the provider network. The graph comprises a plurality of nodes (representing resources associated with the client account) and a plurality of edges (representing configuration relationships). The instructions when executed provide a visualization of resources and configuration relationships of the graph; and in response to a graphical interaction with the visualization, issue a command to a network-accessible service of the provider network to implement a configuration modification associated with a resource represented in the graph.

More and more computing applications are being migrated to cloud environments, in which resources of a provider network are typically deployed to provide a variety of multi-tenant and/or single-tenant services to large numbers of users. Provider network resources may support a number of basic infrastructure services providing virtual or physical compute servers, storage devices, networking devices and the like, as well as more complex layered services built on top of the basic services. One service may provide virtualized compute servers, for example, another may provide block storage volumes, another may provide key-value based storage objects, while other services may utilize such more basic infrastructure-oriented services to provide more complex entities such as load-balanced compute/storage clusters or farms, relational or non-relational database servers, content-distribution services, private networks in the cloud, and the like.
A given client may often utilize a number of different provider network services, and may in some cases have hundreds or even thousands of different, often-interrelated resources allocated at a given time. Some resources may be associated with a multiplicity of services—e.g., a client may obtain a networking resource such as a virtual network interface from one service, and deploy that virtual network interface for a database provided by another service. Similarly, a given storage resource acquired by a client may be utilized concurrently for storing data associated with several different services.
At least in some provider network environments, user interfaces such as web-based consoles are typically provided to enable clients to view and administer aspects of the services they are using, and the resources that have been allocated to them. Such consoles and other similar tools are often designed to focus primarily on a single service, however. Users of such interfaces may have to switch back and forth between different consoles or other interfaces as they try to manage their services and resources usage. Often, especially as the number of resources associated with a client account increases, it may not be easy to obtain an intuitive big-picture view of the services in use by, and the resources assigned to, the client account.
While embodiments are described herein by way of example for several embodiments and illustrative drawings, those skilled in the art will recognize that embodiments are not limited to the embodiments or drawings described. It should be understood, that the drawings and detailed description thereto are not intended to limit embodiments to the particular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope as defined by the appended claims. The headings used herein are for organizational purposes only and are not meant to be used to limit the scope of the description or the claims. As used throughout this application, the word "may" is used in a permissive sense (i.e., meaning having the potential to), rather than the mandatory sense (i.e., meaning must). Similarly, the words "include," "including," and "includes" mean including, but not limited to.


The application discloses an electronic operating device (100) arranged to protect communication between a consumer application (125) and a network-connected consumer device (300). The operating device protects a command message by signing the command message with a private key obtained from a key storage of the operating device (optionally also encrypting the command message with an encryption key), and sends the protected command message to the network controller (200). The network controller performs the verification of the signature of the command message such that legacy consumer devices without cryptographic capability can be used. The signature ensures that only authorised devices (100) can send commands to the consumer device (300).

Increasingly, consumer devices and other devices relating to consumer usage of products and services are becoming directly connected to the Internet by implementing standard Internet protocol suites, such as the Transmission Control Protocol ("TCP"), and/or Internet Protocol ("IP"), or they may be configured to establish or participate in other communication channels including Internet gateways (e.g. a mesh network for utilities services with indirect Internet access through a neighborhood Internet gateway), Wi-Fi networks and indirect communications protocol suites including but not limited to wired, or wireless home area network ("HAN") technologies, where the HAN often is referred to as the "private IoT network". A HAN connects in-home digital devices into a common network. The HAN can be used for intra-network connectivity but regularly includes connectivity to the internet (e.g. for but not limited to user based web browsing) and access to internet hosted services. A HAN is also referred to as a local network, or a home area network.
Commonly, the environment of connected Internet capable devices is denominated as "Internet of Things" (hereinafter "IoT"), where in the sense of Internet capable consumer devices "things" (hereinafter "IoT device", or "IoT devices") may refer to all thinkable kinds of consumer devices, including but not limited to thermostats, alarm security systems, sensors, actuators, medical devices, household appliances, Smart TV's, ordinary consumer electronics, utility meters, mobile phones, personal computers and tablets. IoT devices may sense, receive, or transmit data or information as well as communicate with other devices, networks or computers, where each IoT device in a private IoT network may be uniquely designated by an identifier, such as identification code or a digital address.

Devices, methods and systems to augment the security environment of internet-capable consumer devices


Methods and materials for increasing abiotic stress tolerance in plants are disclosed. For example, nucleic acids encoding abiotic stress tolerance-increasing polypeptides are disclosed as well as methods for using such nucleic acids to transform plant cells. Also disclosed are plants having increased tolerance to abiotic stress and methods of increasing plant yield under abiotic stress conditions.

Environmental abiotic stresses diminish productivity of agricultural crops. Drought is a well-known example of an abiotic stress that periodically or chronically affects farming operations. Plants exposed to low water or drought conditions typically have low yields of plant material, seeds, fruit and other edible products. Some areas of the world consistently have low rainfall and limited irrigation opportunities, and therefore have problems growing sufficient food crops for their population.
Another type of abiotic stress relates to high salt levels in soil. If salt concentration exceeds a relatively low threshold, many plants suffer from stunted growth, necrosis, and even death, which results in reduced overall yields of plant material, seeds, fruit and other valuable products.
Yet another abiotic stress could be caused by lower than optimal soil fertilization. Nitrogen, as it could be supplied by nitrogen-containing fertilizers, is an essential, limiting nutrient required for plant growth. Fertilizer supplements are effective in increasing crop yields, yet their heavy use is detrimental to the environment, their application is costly, and their supply limited in some parts of the world. Thus, there is an ongoing need for methods and materials that allow increased harvest output for crops grown under various abiotic stress conditions.

Methods of increasing crop yield under abiotic stress


A computer-implemented method and related device are disclosed for determining a plurality of operating scenarios of an energy system. The method comprises obtaining a plurality of performance measures of the energy system as a function of time corresponding to a plurality of sets of values of input variables. The method comprises clustering the plurality of sets of values of the input variables and the performance measures associated therewith into groups and defining a descriptor for each of the groups. The method also comprises outputting the descriptors of the groups for use in an online prediction or offline estimation of the energy system.

Energy sources, such as distributed renewable energy sources, can pose technical challenges in the integration thereof, in the prediction of energy yields and in the balancing of an intermittent energy production with energy consumption demands. For example, it may be challenging to accurately predict a net energy production or consumption as this may depend on stochastic factors that may be difficult to predict, e.g. on local weather conditions such as clouds, the ambient temperature, the wind direction, and/or the wind strength.
Such challenges may extend over various temporal and spatial scales. For example, a consumer, e.g. a prosumer, may want to balance a local production, such as an energy production from solar energy, with a local energy consumption in order to reduce energy costs, for example by using a lower capacity tariff, and/or to improve self-sustainability, e.g. to improve the independence of non-local energy sources.
Distribution system operators (DSO) may want to locally balance a production and a consumption, e.g. on the level of a feeder and a transformer, to facilitate the management of a grid and/or to achieve a reduction or deferment of investments in grid upgrades. Such balancing may be particularly desirable in view of an increasing share of variable energy sources, e.g. of renewable energy sources.
Balancing responsible parties (BRP) may need to balance the consumption of their customers with their own production portfolio, e.g. which may comprise intermittent and/or difficult to predict energy sources.
For example, the total photovoltaic energy harvesting capacity world-wide can be estimated to be over 300 GWp, with 100 GWp in Europe, and a rapid growth can be expected as countries transition to cleaner electricity sources. In the current electricity market, TSOs have the responsibility of balancing, and currently they apply a penalty for aggregators if they make errors in their projection up to 540€/MW which is a fluctuating price. Better yield prediction models may benefit all the involved players financially on the long-term, e.g. prosumers/operators, DSOs and TSOs.
Therefore, a need exists for good short-time forecasting models and methods to achieve a good matching of the consumption and the production in a smart electrical grid. Such forecasting models may relate to the short-term prediction of production and/or consumption. Furthermore, ramp regulators may be used to limit a load on a network and to improve the stability thereof. Such ramp regulators may also need an adequate short-term forecasting of the production side.
The accurate estimation of energy yields has become an important challenge for power plants and/or grids that are strongly dependent on stochastic phenomena. For example, wind farms and solar plants depend heavily on meteorological variables such as wind, clouds, and solar irradiation distribution, which can vary both locally and globally for a given site. An efficient on-line plant control may require a prediction over a few days, e.g. in an efficient implementation that does not lead to substantial time and resource overheads. Furthermore, a good estimate of the yearly energy-yield prediction may be needed for planning future investments. For a long-term estimation, more time and resources may typically be available than for on-line prediction systems, but the computational requirements may also be much higher.
State-of-the-art models for yield estimation may rely on simplifications of stochastic phenomena to reduce the modelling effort and the computational time. As a result, yields may be systematically underestimated, e.g. due to the introduction of empirical loss percentages and margins to avoid overestimation. These margins may be typically around 10% for temporal resolutions below 1 h, which could constitute an unacceptable loss for a larger site.
However, a detailed modelling of all the dynamic effects affecting the power plant or grid may be difficult to achieve using state-of-the-art approaches. For example, the stochastic parameters that affect the performance, e.g. the energy yield, of an energy system might not allow for a fully analytical approach in which accurate results are obtained in a reasonable time. Post-processing of meteorological data to estimate a yearly energy yield may be a computationally intensive problem and the online estimation for controlling purposes, e.g. by maximum power point (MPP) tracking, may be nearly impossible without applying simplifications or approximations to reduce the complexity of the stochastic and/or dynamic factors influencing the system.
MPP trackers may use hill-climbing algorithms to maximize an instant power production. For example, by maximizing the instant power generation, the time-integrated power yield, i.e. the total produced energy, may also be tuned to some extent. However, energy producing systems, such as photovoltaic cells and modules, may be governed by thermal time constants in the order of seconds to minutes. The current state of the system, together with current environmental conditions, can affect future states. Therefore, maximizing the instant power may not always guarantee that the total energy outcome is optimal.
The ambient conditions to which a photovoltaic module is subjected during its operational life may significantly affect the performance of the module in the field. Variations of these conditions, e.g. year-by-year, daily, hourly and even in the second range, may have a non-negligible impact. Ambient conditions that are typically considered as the most important in this respect are moisture, temperature, and insolation.
The operational temperature has a strong impact on the potential energy yield of such modules, either through a reduction of the operational lifetime (e.g. reliability issues related to thermal cycling), or through suboptimal performance of the different cells in the module. Thermal cycling can mechanically stress the module and may cause cracking and delamination of the different layers in the module over time. Furthermore, the overall module temperature directly impacts the module performance, e.g. increased temperatures at the cell level negatively impact the overall performance, e.g. by a drop in open-circuit voltage (Voc). Local spatial and/or temporal variations in illumination and/or temperature can cause mismatch between photovoltaic cells that are connected in series. The temperature can also significantly depend on insolation levels, such that the ambient conditions that affect the performance can be difficult to take into account due to their intricate correlations.
One can use solar resource databases of global horizontal radiation in prediction (or historical evaluation) of a photovoltaic energy system. However, radiation data from satellites may be significantly biased, depending on the place and the applied method. For example, photovoltaic forecasting services may provide regional day-ahead forecasts with hourly resolution to a grid operator. However, for operational monitoring and energy management, site specific forecasts may need to be available in, substantially, real-time and with a high time resolution. For example, time series models and ground-based sky images may be used for short-term predictions, while, for longer forecast horizons, forecasts based on cloud motion vectors from satellite data may be used.
In energy systems comprising photovoltaic components, dynamic shading, e.g. due to moving aerial objects, may need to be taken into account in detail. Such dynamic shading substantially affects, for example, the performance of flat silicon panels with fixed bypass diodes. Smart panels may, at least to some extent, alleviate the influence of this effect, but accurate modelling of the remaining impact is still useful.
Thermal behavior of the modules may also have a major effect on the performance. Intra-module temperature gradients can cause mismatches between cells, leading to loading issues. This is also directly influenced by changes in the ambient temperature. While cooling, e.g. due to ground winds, may improve the module output, this is another thermal factor that is difficult to model accurately, e.g. under fully dynamic conditions. For example, the air flow at the surface of the modules may be non-linear and non-uniformly distributed. Experiments in wind tunnels have also shown that a non-negligible heating effect due to the friction in the boundary layer close to the module surface may exist.
Photovoltaic forecasting techniques can rely on black-box models. For example, a large volume of training data may typically be used to calibrate and tune the prediction models for a given set of measurement variables, such as meteorological data, e.g. a macroscale temperature, wind conditions and/or data derived from satellite images. Typically, such black-box models may use some form of neural network algorithms. The tuned black-box models can then be used to extrapolate the expected energy yield in a runtime situation. However, a black-box approach may imply an unsafe extrapolation, since the behavior of the model under untrained conditions cannot be guaranteed. On the other hand, a physics-based bottom-up approach could ensure a sound behavior of the model within the bounds of the physical properties taken into account, but, in accordance with state-of-the-art methods, would be difficult or infeasible to implement due to the computational complexity.
Furthermore, simplified engineering models for photovoltaic arrays and systems can be used. However, the module parameters are typically determined using module-specific flash tests for different temperatures and irradiance levels or field measurements. Therefore, such models may be unreliable, particularly when applied to a measured sub-hourly irradiance value. For the overall photovoltaic system, prior-art models may allow the modelling of an inverter efficiency as a function of DC power and voltage. However, simple models may not be available for more complex distributed topologies, such as module-integrated DC-DC converters with a central DC-AC conversion step.
State-of-the-art PV cell, module and array modelling may be based on the conventional equivalent circuit models, in which parameters are determined from data sheets for standard test conditions (STC). Specific deviations from the STC, such as due to the solar spectrum, reflection losses and/or the temperature distribution over the module are sometimes neglected. For example, spectral effects can introduce an uncertainty on the system yield of up to 5% annually. While information for spectral modelling can be inferred from satellite data, such methods may still require an extensive validation.
The photovoltaic module temperature is determined by environmental factors, and its influence on the energy yield depends on the solar cell technology. Thermo-electric and multi-dimensional simulation models can be used for photovoltaic devices. Thermal models of a photovoltaic module have also been disclosed to predict the performance and efficiency of the cell. However, such models may rely on some assumptions, such as a uniform temperature of each layer with negligible thermal capacitance and similar simplifications for transient simulations.
A need exists in the art for combined validated models that account for fine-grained spatial and temporal optical, thermal and electrical phenomena on the level of a photovoltaic module. For yield calculations, inverters may be modelled by their efficiency as a function of DC power and voltage. The interaction with the photovoltaic array may be described by the MPP tracking efficiency and assessed according to EN 50530.
Uncertainty information for the modelling chain from irradiance data to power yield can be of importance for photovoltaic project finance. The estimated standard deviation of photovoltaic yield calculations, in accordance with prior-art methods, can be around 4.5%, with estimated standard deviations between 0.5% and 3% in the modelling steps.
For approaches focusing on energy yield forecasting over longer periods, e.g. with a relatively low resolution, such as using hourly data, the errors on short-term non-linearities and thermal effects may be averaged out. Thus, a reasonable accuracy can be achieved using relatively simple techniques, e.g. black box regression models. However, even for forecasting over longer time frames, a higher time resolution may be desirable.
Therefore, a clear need exists in the art for more detailed and more accurate energy system models, such as solar resource models, e.g. to quantify the meteorological influence on the performance of current and new solar cell technologies. This includes a need for accurate but fast models for the solar spectrum and the direct/diffuse relationship. For PV cell, module and array modelling, a model can incorporate reflection, the spectrum, temperature distribution and shading effects. A realistic electrical-thermal-optical module model, e.g. using 3D finite element modes allowing for steady state and transient calculations, may be desirable. For the inverters, a need exists for accurate models integrating the dependency of inverter efficiency on DC voltage and the MPP tracking efficiency. Long-term dynamic and discrete parameters, such as degradation or forced outage, can be taken into account in the models, e.g. by stochastic modelling. However, it would be beneficial to improve on the models currently available for the emerging distributed topologies, such as module-integrated DC-DC converters with a central DC-AC conversion step.

Method and device for determining energy system operating scenario

KATHOLIEKE UNIVERSITEIT LEUVEN, KU LEUVEN R&D


The present disclosure provides compositions and methods for promoting stem cell and/or progenitor cell proliferation and/or differentiation. The provided compositions may be useful in treating a disease or condition that is related to mucosal barrier function, e.g., wound healing, treating skin conditions (e.g., atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, bed sores, or condition related to the aging of skin), treating a lung disorders (e.g., asthma), a condition related to improving mucosal barrier function, and/or treating injury to GI mucosa in a subject in need thereof. The present disclosure also provides methods for promoting the proliferation and/or differentiation of stem cells and/or the progenitor cells in a subject in need of such treatment by administering a composition. The ability to stimulate the proliferation and/or differentiation of stem cells and/or the progenitor cells in vivo, ex vivo and/or in vitro provides tremendous benefit. The present disclosure can be used to increase stem cell populations in in vivo, ex vivo and/or in vitro. Stem cell transplantation provides treatments and/or cures of many disease states, degeneration and/or injury.

Human intestinal epithelial cells are generated from a fixed population of stem cells functionally situated in the lower portion of the intestinal crypts, including fast cycling crypt base columnar cells (CBCs) and more quiescent "+4" cells above Paneth cells in mice.14-16 These stem cells give rise to absorptive enterocytes, mucus cells, Paneth cells, and enteroendocrine The differentiation of each cell type occurs when cells either move upwards into the villus (absorptive, mucus, and endocrine cells) or concentrate downwards at the bottom of the crypt (Paneth cells). The multiple mechanisms responsible for these complex events are not fully understood.
Radiation and/or chemotherapy can cause severe damage to the lining of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Moderate to high doses of radiation and/or chemotherapy result in the destruction of cells with clonogenic potential, which are essential for the continuous replacement of cells that are shed from the top of the villi during the normal proliferation, maturation, and differentiation process.
Toxic effects of radiation exposure and/or chemotherapy on the gastrointestinal system cause symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, electrolyte imbalance and dehydration, and adversely affect a patient's health in the course of cancer therapy. Radiation exposure affects intestinal epithelial cells undergoing rapid mitosis in submucosal crypts. In therapeutic radiation exposure, gastrointestinal toxicity quite often becomes a dose-limiting factor for treatment and can affect a patient's quality of life. Therapeutic compounds and supportive care are often used to minimize toxicity, but these approaches are not fully effective.
There has been a growing interest in developing mitigation agents for short-term and long-term GI toxicity in cancer patients and victims of radiation disasters.5,15,34,37 There are only two FDA approved agents; Neupogen® and Pegfilgrastim (Granulocyte-colony stimulating factor) are the two FDA-approved medical countermeasures that are currently available to treat radiation syndrome. Both work to increase survival in patients exposed to myelosuppressive doses of radiation. However, there are no agents that specifically address gastrointestinal toxicity. Treatment of GI toxicity is mostly symptomatic, with antidiarrheals used to prevent fluid loss, smectite to absorb bile salts, opioids to relieve stomach or rectal pain, steroids to relieve inflammation, and in extreme cases parenteral feeding to correct malabsorption of nutrients and electrolytes. Other agents that could potentially be used for mitigating GI toxicity are; 1) statin and/or angiotensin-converting enzyme, these agents have been found effective when used during radical pelvic radiotherapy works by its anti-inflammatory, antifibrotic, and antithrombotic actions; 2) antioxidants such as vitamin E and/or selenium; 3) teduglutide, a glucagon-like peptide-2 analogue that must be given prior to radiation; 4) Sucralfate, a highly sulphated polyanionic disaccharide helps in epithelial healing, but has not been shown to be useful in radiation-induced GI toxicity; 5) nitroxides such as hydroxylamines (tempol), works by its antioxidant properties; 6) dithiolthione (Oltipraz), works by increasing sulfhydryl in cells; 7) isoflavone (genistein), a tyrosine kinase inhibitor and antioxidant; 8) Cox-inhibitors (celecoxib, aspirin), work by increasing Cox2 activity and prostaglandin synthesis; and 8) probiotics, a preparation containing viable and well defined microorganisms in large numbers to alter hosts microflora and may have some effect on radiation-induced GI toxicity,5 (Stacey, R. & Green, J. T. Radiation-induced small bowel disease: latest developments and clinical guidance. Ther. Adv. Chronic Disease, 5, 15-29, doi:10.1177/2040622313510730 (2014).
The crypt to the villus migration takes between 5-7 days. Therefore, gastrointestinal toxicity manifests itself in the first week following radiation exposure and/or chemotherapy and is the most significant dose-limiting factor in cancer therapy. Even at low doses, a continuous loss of the villous and brush border of the small bowel is observed within days after irradiation and/or chemotherapy. While crypt cells can rapidly repopulate the region following mild to moderate doses of irradiation and/or chemotherapy, they became lost at a logarithmic rate after irradiation and/or chemotherapy at high doses.
Irradiation and/or chemotherapy is particularly destructive to the villous epithelium, where nutrient and electrolyte absorption occurs. The villous epithelium undergoes a continuous cellular loss and regeneration process, in which a constant supply of immature enterocytes, originating from progenitor cells located within the lower poles of the crypts of Lieberkuhn, migrate out of the proliferative compartment at the base of the crypt to the top of the villous. During their short lifespan, these enterocytes gradually mature along the crypt-villous axis into villous cells. Radiation and/or chemotherapy therapy destroys not only the existing villous cells, but also stem cell and/or progenitor cells from which new villous cells form, and thus, can deplete almost the entire villous epithelium even at moderate doses.
Mature and differentiated villus cells are involved in fluid absorption secondary to sodium, chloride, and nutrient absorption, whereas the less differentiated, immature epithelial cells located in the crypt are predominantly involved in chloride (Cl−) secretion and fluid loss. The lack of absorptive villus epithelial cells leads to a malabsorptive state in which unabsorbed nutrients, electrolytes, and water are dumped into the distal segments of the GI tract, resulting in nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.
Stem cell-mediated repopulation of villus cells through proliferation of in situ cells and/or potential migration into tissues via the circulation of progenitor cells from distant sites is responsible for recovery from acute irradiation and/or chemotherapy effects at the tissue level.11-13 Therefore, the loss of crypt stem cells or villus endothelial cells is thought to be responsible or radiation and/or chemotherapy-induced intestinal damage.
Damage to the GI tract not only results in the malabsorption and loss of nutrients, minerals, and fluids, but also disrupts intestinal barrier function. The leaky gut allows for easy entry of pathogens and other antigenic substances from food into the systemic compartment, across the mucosal barrier, causing inflammation, bacteremia, and endotoxemia. For instance, acute radiation enteritis, diarrhea, and abdominal pain can develop within days post irradiation even at doses as low as 5-12 Gy (a conventional fractionated course of radiation uses 1.8-2 Gy per fraction), although GI toxicity usually occurs at higher doses. Chronic radiation enteritis can develop between 18 months and 6 years after radiotherapy, while it may develop even 15 years later.27-29
Treatment options for radiation and/or chemotherapy enteritis are limited. Conventional treatment regimens include the administration of antidiarrheals to prevent fluid loss, smectite as an adsorbant of bile salts, opioids to relieve stomach or rectal pain, and steroids to relieve inflammation.
A common approach in the therapy of radiation and/or chemotherapy enteritis is using total parenteral nutrition (TPN) to provide intestinal rest; however, whether parenteral nutrition satisfies the nutritional needs of patients, or actually has therapeutic effects on radiation and/or chemotherapy-induced enteritis remains to be determined. Although TPN may correct nutrition imbalance in certain patients, severe radiation and/or chemotherapy induced enteritis may still develop.37 TPN also causes intestinal atrophy, usually within 48 hours of administration. TPN also weakens mechanical and immunological barriers.38
The formulation used in U.S. Pat. No. 8,993,522 works by correcting rehydration via amino acid-coupled sodium transport, decreasing anion secretion from the crypt by choosing a set of amino acids with anti-secretory property, and by tightening the mucosa by using the amino acids that were shown to tighten the mucosal barrier.
A need exists for improved compositions for the treatment of irradiation and/or chemotherapy-induced GI injury secondary to loss of proliferating stem and/or progenitor cells. There is also a need for compositions for treating a disease or conditions that is related to mucosal barrier function, e.g., wound healing, treating skin conditions (e.g., atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, bed sores, or condition related to the aging of skin), treating lung disorders (e.g., asthma), improving mucosal barrier function, and/or treating injury to GI mucosa in a subject in need thereof.

Amino acid compositions and uses thereof

UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA RESEARCH FOUNDATION, INC.


There is disclosed a runner for a Francis-type hydraulic turbine where each runner blade has an outlet edge with two stress relieving grooves cut through the blade from the outlet edge adjacent the crown and the band. The grooves each present an opening across the outlet edge and the grooves each extend a predetermined distance from the outlet edge into the blade.

The present invention relates to hydraulic machines and in particular to improvements in runner blades for Francis-type machines.
Conventional Francis-type runners comprise a crown with a concentric band or ring and an array of blades extending between and interconnecting the crown with the ring. The runner is rotated about the axis of the crown by the action of water passing through a plurality of flow paths formed between each pair of adjacent blades in the array of blades. Each of the blades has a leading flow dividing edge which defines the line of demarcation between a suction surface leading in the direction of rotation and a trailing pressure surface trailing in the direction of rotation. This edge, at the inlet of the blades, is normally oriented to slope from the band toward the crown to advance in the direction of rotation of the runner. Water enters the periphery of the runner and passes over the blades and leaves the runner axially at the trailing outlet edges of the blades.
More recently, WO 98/05863 published Feb. 12, 1998 to Bilidal et al discloses a runner for a Francis-type hydraulic turbine where each blade has an inlet edge and an outlet edge. The blade is characterized, in the direction of turbine rotation, by the junction point of each blade inlet edge at the band being located forwardly of the inlet edge attachment point for that blade at the crown, and the junction point of each blade outlet edge at the crown being located forwardly of the outlet edge attachment point for that blade at the band. Because of the twisting aspect between the inlet edge and the outlet edge of the blade, this blade is commonly referred to as the "X-blade".
The blades of the aforementioned Francis-type runners may be subject to failure adjacent the junctions of the trailing outlet edge of the blade with the crown and band due to fatigue and/or high stress concentrations adjacent the junctions. In the past, to reduce stress concentrations in the runner blade adjacent these junctions, the blade had a cutout or notch located in the trailing edge of the blade adjacent each of the band and crown. However, this cutout may adversely affect the hydraulic flow of water past the blade which is not acceptable in some applications.
There is a need for an improvement in a runner blade that does not significantly alter blade contour, reduces stress concentrations adjacent the junctions of the blade outlet edge to the crown and the blade outlet to the band, and does not adversely affect the hydraulic flow of water past the blade.

Stress relief grooves for Francis turbine runner blades


A new variety of Cortaderia plant particularly distinguished by having a broad inverted triangle shape with arching leaves and greyed-green inflorescences, long green leaves with yellow-green stripes, moderate vigor and hardiness to at least USDA zone, is disclosed.

The present invention comprises a new and distinct cultivar of pampas grass, botanically known as Cortaderia selloana, and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name 'Silver Star'. The new cultivar originated as a whole-plant mutation from Cortaderia selloana 'Pumila' (unpatented). The new cultivar was found in the breeder's nursery in Boskoop, The Netherlands, in 2000.
The new cultivar was created in 2000 and has been asexually reproduced repeatedly by division in Boskoop, The Netherlands over a five-year period. 'Silver Star' has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The present invention has been found to retain its distinctive characteristics through successive asexual propagations.
Plant Breeder's Rights for this cultivar were applied for with the European Union on Jan. 24, 2006.


A cognitive computer system and method for managing a mark-up language document by a cognitive conversational agent. The computer-implemented method comprises: receiving text input associated with a conversation initiated by a user via a remote device interface; generating a set of variables associated with a context of the user based on a conversation flow; identifying a data use intent of the user based on the set of variables and the context; determining based on the identified data use intent, a required visualization of data; in response to determining a required visualization of data, obtaining a relevant data or information to be visualized; generating a visualization object containing the relevant data and visualization information; modifying in real time, a mark-up language based document using the visualization object; and transmitting the markup language based document including the visualization object for display via the remote device interface.

Currently, nearly every enterprise or company is dealing with a large amount of inconsistently defined data that sits in multiple different systems around the organizations. Consequently, the speed with which leaders can access their information has become critical in today increasingly data-driven economy. However, a problem exists in the sense that much time may elapse before all relevant information needed is in place before a decision maker can make an important informed decision.

Real-time cognitive modifying a mark-up language document

International Business Machines Corporation


A remotely actuable refrigerator door lock has a body portion attached to the cabinet and a door portion attached to an edge of the door. A latch in the body portion engages a strike plate in the door portion and can be remotely lifted to open the refrigerator. The door lock assembly is connected to a remote host computer via a USB or ethernet connection. Temperature and/or humidity in the refrigerator is compared with a predetermined limit, and in the event the sensed value is beyond the limit, the remote opening functionality is disabled, and a microprocessor automatically generates and sends a warning message. A key lock can provide access in the event of an adverse temperature or humidity event. The host computer keeps an audit trail of the times and personnel accessing each refrigerator. The system may be used in hospital for controlling access to pharmaceuticals or may be used in a weight loss program.

This invention relates to an electronically actuated lock that mounts on the front door of a refrigerator to limit access to the refrigerator. The invention is more specifically directed to a refrigerator door lock that connects to a remote computer system, e.g., in a hospital or health care facility, to secure pharmaceuticals that need to be refrigerated, and to facilitate keeping an audit trail of access to the refrigerator. The invention may also be employed as an adjunct to a weight loss program.
In general, pharmaceuticals are delivered to patients when needed, and those that need to be kept refrigerated are stored in a refrigerator in the pharmacy of the hospital or other facility. However, it is more convenient and better use of the nurse's time and efforts to keep the pharmaceuticals at the patient locations, i.e., in the patient's room or ward, or in the cluster of rooms where the patient is located. However, those drugs that need refrigeration cannot simply be stored in a secured dispensing cabinet at the room or nurse station, but have to be kept in a refrigerator until needed. The refrigerator is either unsecured, or is kept locked with a key lock, with the key distribution limited only to certain persons in the nursing staff and pharmacy staff. Any record of access to the refrigerator would have to be maintained on a paper record, or by separately keying in information on separate computer work station. There is also no means provided to ensure that the refrigerator is kept locked, to alarm if the refrigerator is left open or unlocked, or to monitor the refrigerator's operating temperature.
Another object is to provide for notification, by electronic means (e.g., text message or email message), of the pharmacy department when the pre-specified environmental conditions within the refrigerator have not been met.
It would be desirable to employ a refrigerator as a pharmacy cabinet at the patient location in which medications that have been prescribed for a patient can be loaded by pharmacy staff and stored securely until administered to the patient, which will automatically keep track of access to the refrigerated cabinet, and which can be accessed by the nurse staff electronically (e.g., using wireless means). It is also desirable to ensure that the refrigerated cabinet is kept secure, and that the operating temperature is sufficiently cool. However, no measure exists, up to the present, to carry this out.
It is also desirable to integrate the refrigerator lock with the continuous monitoring of the internal temperature (and/or humidity) of the refrigerator, and to take steps to prevent materials from being distributed from the refrigerator if conditions indicate that the contents may potentially be compromised.
A similar problem exists for selectively locking and unlocking a food storage refrigerator at specific meal times in a weight loss or weight control problems.

Remotely actuated refrigerator lock with thermal spoilage protection


Provided is a wind power generation system including: a wind power generation apparatus that includes at least a duct having a longitudinal cross section formed in a substantial streamline shape, the longitudinal cross section being cut along a central axis, an impeller placed in the duct, and a power generator that generates power by rotation of the impeller; an anemovane installed so as to be able to measure a wind direction and/or wind power in a vicinity of the wind power generation apparatus; a rotating pedestal that supports the wind power generation apparatus so as to be rotatable along a supporting surface; and a control device that controls a rotational angle of the rotating pedestal based on the wind direction and/or the wind power measured by the anemovane.

Recently, from consideration for global environment, concern about power generation apparatuses utilizing clean energy has been growing. As one of such power generation apparatuses, a wind power generation apparatus is proposed. The wind power generation apparatus is an apparatus that rotates an impeller by wind power, and converts rotational energy obtained by the rotation of the impeller into electric energy.
It is said that a power generation amount of the wind power generation apparatus is proportional to the cube of wind velocity, and in order to improve the power generation amount and power generating efficiency, various studies are performed. For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses that a cross section of a duct provided around an impeller is formed in a streamline shape from a front end to a rear end of the duct, so that the velocity of wind flowing into the duct from a front surface side of the duct is increased, and an power generation amount is improved.
For example, Patent Literature 2 discloses that a position of an impeller in a duct having a streamline shaped cross section is devised, Patent Literature 3 discloses that a ratio between each of the opening diameter (intake port diameter) of a front end of a duct and the opening diameter (exhaust port diameter) of a rear end, and the inner diameter of the duct is devised. For example, Patent Literature 4 discloses an aggregate of wind power generation apparatuses including a plurality of wind power generation apparatuses, such ones as disclosed in Patent Literature 1. According to Patent Literature 4, a support that supports the aggregate is provided through a bearing so as to be rotatable to the earth's surface, and the support is rotated by wind power received by an outer peripheral surface of the duct, so that the wind power generation apparatuses turn in the direction from which wind blows.

Wind power generation system including a streamlined duct


A disk brake for a vehicle, in particular a commercial vehicle, including an application device, which is used to apply a brake lining to a brake disk by at least one or two actuating spindles running parallel and at a distance from one another in a bridge. The application device has an anti-friction roller, which is supported on a pivotable lever of the application device. The disk brake is configured in such a way that the anti-friction roller is fixed as a separate component radially and axially on the lever and is held by an anti-friction roller holder that is fixed to the lever. The anti-friction roller holder is provided with cage return guides, which, when the lever is pivoted back into an initial position, likewise press the journal bearings into an initial position.

The present invention relates to a disk brake for a vehicle, in particular a commercial vehicle, having a brake application device which is arranged in a brake caliper and by way of which a brake lining can be pressed against a brake disk during braking via at least one or two control spindles which are arranged in a bridge in parallel and at a distance from one another.
The brake application device has a cylindrical roller, which is in contact with a rotary lever of the brake application device, which lever is configured as an eccentric in the supporting region with rotary bearings of the brake caliper. The cylindrical roller is fastened in an axially and radially secured manner as a separate component, and the cylindrical roller is held by a cylindrical roller holder which is fastened to the lever.
In a disk brake of the above type, which can preferably be actuated by compressed air or electronically and can be installed, in particular, in commercial vehicles, the brake application device includes the rotary lever, a bearing shell which is connected to the lever, and the cylindrical roller, which extends parallel to the brake disk and forms a pivot axis for the lever. The cylindrical roller lies in the bearing shell.
For the axial and radial fixing of the cylindrical roller, it is known to provide bearing lugs on the bridge, which are usually formed from sheet metal and in which the cylindrical roller is held. Together with a correspondingly shaped contact face, the bearing shell, which is riveted to the lever and is likewise composed of sheet metal, forms the bearing for the cylindrical roller.
However, disadvantages result, in particular during assembly. The assembly proves to be complicated and, therefore, counterproductive to economic and inexpensive manufacturing.
As assemblies are preinstalled, which are joined together during final assembly, every assembly which is to be manufactured separately is associated with corresponding manufacturing expenditures together with the costs which result from that.
The known disk brake also leaves something to be desired in functional terms, as exact positioning of the cylindrical roller with respect to the lever by the fastening of the cylindrical roller to the bridge is not ensured.
A disk brake of the above type is known from U.S. Pat. No. 6,311,809 B1, in which the lever is supported on rotational bearings, which are in contact with the brake caliper. As the brake actuation increases, there is the risk that the rotational bearings, which are configured as needle bearings, are guided out of their contact region, with the result that the functionality is at least restricted.
The present invention is, therefore, based on the object of developing a disk brake of the generic type in such a way that it can be manufactured more inexpensively while improving its function.
This object is achieved by providing a disk brake having a brake application device which is arranged in a brake caliper and by way of which a brake lining can be pressed against a brake disk during braking via at least one or two control spindles which are arranged in a bridge in parallel and at a distance from one another.
The brake application device has a cylindrical roller, which is in contact with a rotary lever of the brake application device, which lever is configured as an eccentric in the supporting region with rotary bearings of the brake caliper. The cylindrical roller is fastened in an axially and radially secured manner as a separate component, and the cylindrical roller is held by a cylindrical roller holder which is fastened to the lever.
The cylindrical roller holder is provided with cage return guides, by way of which, when the rotary lever pivots back into an initial position, the rotational bearings can likewise be pressed back into an initial position.
As a result of this structural configuration of a disk brake, the lever assembly can be preinstalled as a complete unit, while there is then no more installation work to be performed in this sense on other components, for example the bridge assembly. This naturally results in manufacturing advantages, because it is possible to dispense completely with installation processing of the bridge.
The invention is of particular significance, in particular, in view of disk brakes of this type being manufactured in great numbers.
This applies equally to final installation, in which the disk brakes are assembled. Here too, there is a simplification in the work sequence with the consequence of an appreciable reduction in costs.
The functionality of the disk brake is also improved by the refinement according to the invention, as it is possible to position the cylindrical roller very precisely with respect to the lever. As a result, tolerance-induced actuating problems of the brake application device are avoided overall and, as a result of which, the functional reliability of the disk brake is increased.
According to one advantageous aspect of the invention, there is provision for, in each case, one bearing lug to be provided at the end, preferably at both ends, of the bearing shell, which is riveted to the lever. A bearing journal, which is attached concentrically at the respective end of the cylindrical roller, lies in said bearing lug.
The bearing shell is usually formed from sheet metal, preferably as a punched part, with the result that it is possible to attach the bearing lugs without additional manufacturing expenditure, that is to say the bearing lugs can also be formed during punching of the bearing shell.
Particularly simple assembly results if, in order to fasten the cylindrical roller to the lever, a separate cylindrical roller holder is provided which holds the cylindrical roller in the region of the bearing journals on the side which lies opposite the bearing shell. The cylindrical roller holder is, moreover, connected fixedly to the lever, for example by riveting.
The cylindrical roller holder can be configured such that it at the same time assumes the function of the return guide for rotational bearing cages. The rotatable lever is mounted on a brake caliper using the rotational bearing cages.
In the case where, given an appropriate design of the disk brake, rotational bearings are used, a single component may be used as the return guide for the cages and to hold the cylindrical roller. The single component can both be manufactured as a simple punched sheet metal part and can also be assembled with little expenditure.
Further advantageous configurations of the invention are described and claimed herein.

Disc brake for a vehicle, in particular a commercial vehicle

Knorr-Bremse Systeme fuer Nutzfahrzeuge GmbH


A wall covering panel for a nose of an aircraft. The panel comprises a rigid carrying framework preferably having an alveolar structure obtained by 3-D printing, a décor carried by the carrying framework and an acoustically and thermally insulating padding fixed to the carrying framework, and also attachments for fixing the carrying framework to the primary structure of the aircraft. Preferably, the panel also integrates systems, such as electrical route portions or ventilation route portions that traverse the panel from one side to the other or lead to an outlet equipment item also integrated in the panel. Only the carrying structure of the panel, which carries the décor, the insulating padding and any route portions and equipment items, is fixed to the primary structure of the aircraft. The number of attachments is low; the kitting-out and the finishing of the nose of the aircraft are greatly simplified.

The nose of a known aircraft contains, from the interior towards the exterior of the aircraft (i.e., in a centrifugal direction):    liner panels, which are henceforth principally produced from composite material (carbon, for example) then decorated by painting or application of a decorative film,    various systems elements, in particular, electrical circuit elements and air circuit elements,    an insulation layer,    the primary structure of the aircraft (including the frames).
The systems elements and the insulation layer are individually and directly fixed to the primary structure of the aircraft using dedicated attachments.
Thus, the kitting-out and the finishing of an aircraft nose require a very high number of components (fixed and movable supports) and installation operations prior to the final placing of the liner panel itself (which is also fixed to the primary structure of the aircraft using dedicated attachments). The kitting-out and the finishing of the nose of the aircraft is a manufacturing aspect that accounts for a great deal of time.

Wall covering panel for an aircraft with integrated insulation


A protector adapted to accommodate a transparency inserted therein in a moist state, the transparency drying out while in the protector and being thereafter maintained in clean, dust-free and dry condition so that it is useable with an overhead optical projector which casts the image carried by the transparency onto a viewing screen. The protector is constituted by an open-ended, rectangular sleeve formed of moisture-impermeable transparent synthetic plastic film material of high strength having front and rear panels between which the inserted transparency is sandwiched, and a sheet of hygroscopic transparent acetate film which is interposed between the moist transparency and the front panel. The sheet act to absorb moisture from the transparency and to dissipate it, thereby drying out the transparency.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to protectors for storing overhead transparencies, and more particularly to a protector of this type adapted to accommodate a transparency inserted therein in a moist state, the transparency drying out while in the protector and being thereafter maintained in a clean, dust-free and dry condition so that it may be used with an overhead optical projector which casts image carried by the transparency onto a viewing screen.
2. Status of Prior Art
When lecturing before a class, making a business presentation in a board room or in some other setting imparting information to an audience, it is common practice to make use of visual aids in the form of transparencies. These transparencies carry images of charts, graphs, drawings, pictures and other forms of data. The image appearing on a transparency is magnified and cast on a large screen viewable by the audience by means of an overhead optical projector.
A typical transparency for use with an overhead projector is a rectangular film 81/2.times.11 inches in size, the film being about 3 mils thick. In order to maintain the transparency in a clean, dust-free condition, it is conventional to jacket the transparency within a transparent envelope or protector made of polyethylene, polypropylene or other synthetic-plastic film material of high clarity and strength.
The transparency is sandwiched between the clear front and rear panels of the protector. The length of the protector is about the same as that of the transparency, but its width is about a half inch greater to define a side margin in which a set of holes is punched so that the protector can be stored in a ring binder or file.
Thus, when a lecture is to be given in a lecture hall, the lecturer brings to the hall a ring binder containing the transparency protectors that are to be used as visual aids in the course of the lecture. Then after being removed from the ring binder, each transparency protector, at the appropriate time, is placed on the horizontal stage of the overhead projector so that the projected image of the transparency can be cast onto the screen and viewed by the audience.
The envelope or protector disclosed in the Gardlund U.S. Pat. No. 4,402,585 is constituted by a rectangular pocket of transparent polypropylene film which is open along one longitudinal side edge to permit the insertion of a transparency between the front and rear panel of the sleeve. At least one opaque flap is attached in a foldable manner along one of the longitudinal side edges of the pocket, the flap being attached to and spaced a distance from the longitudinal edge such that holes may be punched in the sheet material along the side edge to permit storage in a binder, file or the like.
Transparencies carrying images are developed and printed in an ink jet, bubble jet, thermal transfer or other processing machine and usually emerge from the machine in a moist state, the transparency then being inserted in a protector to maintain it in a clean, dust-free condition. When the protector is made of Mylar polyester or other high strength synthetic plastic film material which is impermeable to moisture, the moist transparency is unable to dry out unless kept in storage for a prolonged period. As a consequence, if the transparency is still moist when the transparency-loaded protector is put to use in an overhead projector, the residual moisture will impair the clarity of the projected image.
To overcome this drawback, it is known to provide a protector formed entirely of breathable acetate film formed of cellulose acetate resin. One such protector is disclosed in the Hichman U.S. Pat. No. 4,810,544. This protector is formed of a blank of diacetate film that is folded to form the front and rear panels of the protector. The rear panel is of greater width to form a flap that is folded over to form a margin at a side edge of the folder which is provided with a set of punch holes so that the protector can be stored in a ring binder or file.
However, acetate film is relatively weak. Hence, in order to prevent tearing of the protector at the punch holes, adhered to the flap is a strip of double-face, pressure-sensitive tape to reinforce the margins of the protector. A protector of this type is more expensive to make than one made of synthetic plastic film material such as polypropylene, for acetate or diacetate, formed by two groups of acetate, is costly. Moreover, the need to add an adhesive tape strip to the diacetate protector adds substantially to the cost of manufacturing this protector.
My above-identified co-pending patent application discloses a protector which is a composite of a front panel formed of breathable cellulose acetate film material and a rear panel formed of transparent, synthetic, plastic film material such as polypropylene of relatively high strength, whereby when the protector is loaded with a transparency in a moist state, the transparency will quickly dry out.
This protector is constituted by an open-ended rectangular sleeve whose dimensions are appropriate to those of the transparency, the sleeve including a front panel formed of transparent, acetate film that is breathable to permit a transparency inserted in the sleeve in a wet state to dry out. Also included is a rear panel formed of a transparent, synthetic plastic film of high strength having the same length as the front panel and joined thereto at one side edge to form a folder to receive the transparency so that it is then sandwiched between the panels. The width of the rear panel is greater than that of the front panel to form a flap that is folded over to define at the other side edge of the sleeve a high-strength margin that can be provided with a set of punch holes whereby the transparency-loaded protector can be kept, when not in use, in a ring binder or file.


A semiconductor storage device includes: a plurality of memory array cells (hereinafter, referred to as cells); a circuit arranged in each of the cells for precharge of each bit line of the cells to a predetermined voltage; and a circuit for comparing, for each bit line, an output voltage of each bit line of the cells selected for reading out data to an output voltage of each bit line of cells selected for reference. When the data is read out, the voltage value for precharge of the bit line of the cells selected for reading out data and the voltage value for precharge of the bit line of the cells selected for reference are temporarily set to different values. Thus, all the output bits of the cells selected for reading out data can be read out by a single read out operation.

As an example of a conventional nonvolatile semiconductor storage device, a flash memory will be described below. An example of an outline of the configuration of a conventionally common flash memory is shown in FIG. 5.
In this example, each memory array cell 51 is composed of a large number of flash memory elements, and feeds the outputs of 1,024 bit lines to a multiplexer 52. Each multiplexer 52 is, on its output side, connected to sense amplifiers 53 that are provided one for every 128 bit lines. That is, each multiplexer 52 is, on its output side, connected to eight sense amplifiers 53. To the inverting input terminal of each sense amplifier 53 is connected a reference cell 54 that outputs a reference current. Here, each sense amplifier 53 is built as a current-to-voltage conversion amplifier.
This conventional flash memory includes a plurality of circuit blocks each including a memory array cell 51, a multiplexer 52, sense amplifiers 53, and reference cells 54 (FIG. 5 shows only two such circuit blocks).
In a read operation from the conventional flash memory shown in FIG. 5, first, from among the plurality of memory array cells, one with which to perform the read operation is selected, and the selected memory array cell then transfers the data stored therein to the multiplexer via 1,024 bit lines. The multiplexer 52 then outputs one chunk after another of the data fed thereto from the memory array cell to the individual sense amplifiers 53. Each sense amplifier 53 then compares the reference current fed from the reference cell 54 with the current fed from the multiplexer, and outputs a voltage that is commensurate with the difference between those currents.
In the flash memory shown in FIG. 5, eight sense amplifier are provided for each memory array cell, and a read operation is performed as described above. Consequently, a single read operation accomplishes the reading of as little as eight-bit data.
By providing more sense amplifiers for each memory array cell, it is possible to increase the number of data bits that can be read in a single read operation. This, however, is undesirable from the viewpoint of compactness because the sense amplifiers, which are of the current-to-voltage conversion type, require a large circuit area. Hence, it is unpractical to provide more than 16 sense amplifiers for each memory array cell. This limits the number of data bits that can be read from a conventional flash memory in a single read operation to eight to sixteen. This is the reason that read operation tends to be slow with conventional flash memories.