Hydroxyapatite (HA)-binding peptides are selected using combinatorial phage library display. Pseudo-repetitive consensus amino acid sequences possessing periodic hydroxyl side chains in every two or three amino acid sequences are obtained. These sequences resemble the (Gly-Pro-Hyp)x repeat of human type I collagen, a major component of extracellular matrices of natural bone. A consistent presence of basic amino acid residues is also observed. The peptides are synthesized by the solid-phase synthetic method and then used for template-driven HA-mineralization. Microscopy reveal that the peptides template the growth of polycrystalline HA crystals ˜40 nm in size.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to the field of artificial bone synthesis based on hydroxyapatite binding sequences and peptides.
2. Related Art
A fundamental challenge in the field of biomineralization is to identify the short protein motifs which can specifically nucleate on or bind to the target materials. Although various protein matrices including collagens, osteopontin, and enamelogenin found in bone and dentin have been extensively studied and shown for specific nucleation of the target inorganic biominerals, understanding of the role of specific protein motifs are still limited. See L. Addadi, S. Weiner, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl. 31, 153 (1992); S. Weiner, L. Addadi, J. Mater. Chem. 7, 689 (1997); G. He, T. Dahl, A. Veis, A. George, Nat. Mater. 2. 552 (2003); C. E. Ye, K. R. Rattray, K. J. Warne, J. Gordon, J. Sodek, G. K. Hunter, H. Goldberg, J Bio. Chem. 278, 7949 (2003); and S. Mann, Biomimetic Materials Chemistry; VCH: New York, (1996). The long encrypted peptide chains hinder direct incorporation of protein matrices into functional building blocks in organic/inorganic hybrid composite materials.
One of the most promising methods to identify the specific short peptide binding motifs against the unknown inorganic or organic surfaces is phage display. See Whaley, S. R.; English, D. S.; Hu, E. L. Barbara, P. F. Belcher, A. M. Nature 405, 665 (2000) and Lee, S.-W.; Mao, C.; Flynn, C. E.; Belcher, A. M., Science, 296, 892 (2002). Phage display is a directed evolution process for identifying short peptide binding motifs against target materials. These binding peptides can potentially template the nucleation and growth of magnetic, optical, electrical materials, self-assemble these materials in various environments, or make them biocompatible. See C. Mao, D. Solis, B. Reiss, S. Kottmann, R. Sweeney, A. Hayhurst, G. Georgiou, B. Iverson, A. Belcher, Science, 303, 213 (2004); B. Reiss, C. Mao, D. Solis, K. Ryan, T. Thomson, A. Belcher, Nano Lett., 4, 1127 (2004). Phage display peptide libraries have emerged as a powerful method in identifying such peptide agonists and antagonists. See, for example, Scott et al. (1990), Science 249: 386; Devlin et al. (1990), Science 249: 404; U.S. Pat. No. 5,223,409, issued Jun. 29, 1993; U.S. Pat. No. 5,733,731, issued Mar. 31, 1998; U.S. Pat. No. 5,498,530, issued Mar. 12, 1996; U.S. Pat. No. 5,432,018, issued Jul. 11, 1995; U.S. Pat. No. 5,338,665, issued Aug. 16, 1994; U.S. Pat. No. 5,922,545, issued Jul. 13, 1999; WO 96/40987, published Dec. 19, 1996; and WO 98/15833, published Apr. 16, 1998 (each of which is incorporated by reference).
In such libraries, random peptide sequences are displayed by fusion with coat proteins of filamentous phage. Typically, the displayed peptides are affinity-eluted against an antibody-immobilized extracellular domain of a receptor. The retained phages may be enriched by successive rounds of affinity purification and repropagation. The best binding peptides may be sequenced to identify key residues within one or more structurally related families of peptides. The peptide sequences may also suggest which residues may be safely replaced by alanine scanning or by mutagenesis at the DNA level. Mutagenesis libraries may be created and screened to further optimize the sequence of the best binders. See Lowman (1997), Ann. Rev. Biophys. Biomol. Struct. 26: 401-24.

Hydroxyapatite-binding peptides for bone growth and inhibition

The Regents of the University of California


The present invention provides, among other things, new bicyclic heterocyclic compounds, compositions comprising these heterocyclic compounds, methods of making the heterocyclic compounds, and methods of using these heterocyclic compounds for treating or preventing a variety of conditions or diseases associated with lipoprotein metabolism.

Cholesteryl ester-transfer protein (CETP) is an important player in metabolism of lipoproteins such as, for example, a high density lipoprotein (HDL). CETP is a 70 kDa plasma glycoprotein that is physically associated with HDL particles. It facilitates the transport of cholesteryl ester from HDL to apolipoprotein B-containing lipoproteins. This transfer is accompanied by transfer of triglycerides in the opposite direction. Thus, a decrease in CETP activity can result in an increase in the level of HDL cholesterol and a decrease in the level of very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) and low density lipoprotein (LDL). CETP can therefore simultaneously affect the concentrations of pro-atherogenic (for example, LDL) and anti-atherogenic (for example, HDL) lipoproteins.
Human and clinical studies have shown that inhibitors of CETP can be effective in elevating HDL levels by 30-60%. And, epidemiological studies have shown that decreased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) is a powerful risk factor for coronary artery disease (CAD). Gordon et al., Circulation, 79, pp. 8-15, 1989; Despres et al., Atherosclerosis 153: 263-272, 2000. Elevating HDL-C has been shown to decrease this risk and it is estimated that each 1 mg/dl (0.02 mmol/l) elevation of HDL-C is associated with a 2-3% reduction in coronary heart disease (CHD) risk, a magnitude comparable to that for low density lipoprotein (LDL) lowering. It has been recommended that serum HDL-C levels of >40 mg/dl be considered as a therapeutic target in primary and secondary prevention. This goal appears to be particularly important in patients with low serum HDL-C levels and ischemic heart disease (IHD) or its equivalents, even if the therapeutic target for serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels (<100 mg/dl) has been achieved.
It is believed that the anti-atherogenic role of HDL is in part due its ability to promote the efflux of free cholesterol from cells and to transport it to the liver, a process termed reverse cholesterol transport. HDL could protect against atherosclerosis by several other mechanisms. For example, several studies showed HDL to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. Oxidative products of lipid metabolism induce inflammatory cell recruitment in vascular cells. HDL particles carry enzymes that retard LDL oxidation, including paraoxonase, platelet-activating factor acetylhydrolase, and lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase. These enzymes degrade pro-inflammatory, oxidized phospholipids, limiting their accumulation in LDL. In addition, apoA-I can bind oxidized lipids and remove them from LDL. Further, HDL also can act as a carrier vehicle for small molecules, including bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) thus regulating the inflammatory effects of LPS. In animal models of endotoxic shock, HDL attenuates organ injury and adhesion molecule expression. Thus elevating HDL is not only anti-atherogenic but it could also potentially be anti-inflammatory.
Existing therapies such as, for example, HDL-elevating therapies and anti-atherosclerosis therapies have limitations including serious toleration issues. There is a present need to find alternative therapies including methods of preventing or treating conditions or diseases associated with lipoprotein metabolism such as, for example, atherosclerosis.

Heterocyclic compounds and their pharmaceutical compositions


Sealing devices such as packers comprise an expandable sealing element that is inflated and/or deflated by an electrically-activated pump disposed in a wellbore so that the sealing element can be set and retrieved from the wellbore. The pump is disposed downhole in close proximity to the expandable sealing element and is electronically associated with a surface processing unit located at the surface of the wellbore. In certain embodiments, an electric motor electronically associated with the surface processing unit drives the pump to flow a fluid into a chamber of the expandable sealing element to inflate the expandable sealing element and pumps the fluid out of the chamber of the expandable sealing element to deflate the expandable sealing element. Multiple sealing elements can be disposed on a tool or work string and all can be addressable and individually and separately controlled by the surface processing unit.

1. Field of Invention
The invention is directed to sealing devices for isolating an annulus of an open-hole or cased oil, gas, and/or water wellbore and, in particular, to electronically set and retrievable sealing devices for use in open-hole formations that are capable of being electronically inflated and deflated.
2. Description of Art
Packers for isolating intervals and/or sealing the annulus of wellbores are known in the art. For example, some packers include an expandable elastomeric sealing element such as a rubber casing or balloon. These types of packers expand and, thus, seal to the inner wall surface of a wellbore by pumping a fluid into the rubber casing to expand the rubber casing into contact with the wellbore.
Some of these types of packers also include a swellable material within the rubber casing so that the swellable material, and not the fluid pressure itself, inflates the rubber casing. In these packers, the swellable material is contacted by hydraulic fluid or other fluid so that the swellable materials absorb the fluid and expand. In one type of these packers, for example, hydraulic fluid is pumped down a string of tubing having the packer secured thereto. The hydraulic fluid travels down the bore of the string of tubing and through a port that is in fluid communication with an inner cavity of the rubber casing. Swellable materials disposed within the rubber casing are contacted by the hydraulic fluid. As a result, the swellable materials absorb the fluid and expand. As the swellable materials expand and hydraulic fluid is pumped into the rubber casing, the rubber casing expands to seal the wellbore. After expansion, hydraulic fluid pressure is decreased and the rubber casing remains held in the expanded position solely by the swellable materials having absorbed the fluid.
Other packers are formed of an elastomeric material that is compressed or otherwise forced into the inner wall surface of the wellbore such as by expanding casing or axially compressing the elastomeric material that is disposed along an outer wall surface of the packer assembly.

Electronically set and retrievable isolation devices for wellbores and methods thereof


Provided is a method of installing a tile mosaic upon a vertical concrete surface. The method includes providing a plurality of tiles, a tile support, and a concrete form. The plurality of tiles are adhered to the tile support to define a mosaic assembly. The tiles are positioned on the tile support corresponding to the mosaic. The mosaic assembly is connected to the concrete form, and concrete is poured within the concrete form such that a portion of the tiles become embedded within the concrete. The tile support is subsequently detached from the concrete form and the concrete form is removed from the hardened concrete. The tile support is additionally removed from the plurality of tiles to reveal the mosaic on vertical surface of the concrete structure.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to concrete products and more particularly to methods for creating an aesthetic surface on a concrete product, including fabricating a module for use in creating the aesthetic surface upon a generally vertical concrete face and a method of installing the aesthetic surface upon the generally vertical concrete face utilizing the module.
2. Description of the Related Art
As is well known in the building and construction trade, concrete is extensively utilized as a building material for industrial, commercial and residential applications. Due to its durability, water resistance, and cost economy, concrete has gained wide spread use. With this widespread use, the public is currently demanding variations in color, surface texture and overall appearance of concrete so that the concrete possesses improved aesthetics similar to more conventional and costly surfaces such as stone, mosaic, and terrazzo.
In order to meet this demand, the concrete trade has developed various coloring and surface finishing techniques to enhance the aesthetics of concrete. Examples of such finishing techniques include salt finish, multiple broom finish, form press finish (e.g. stamped concrete), and exposed aggregate finish.
In addition to the extensive use of concrete in building and construction, the use of mosaics in flooring, walls, and other decorative structures and elements has also become significantly widespread. Such products typically include a picture or decorative design. The design is made by completing several steps. First, with regard to flooring, for example, the flooring surface must be prepared, which may include leveling the surface. Secondly, an adhesive, such as mortar or a tile adhesive, is spread upon the surface. After the adhesive is in place, small individual colored mosaic pieces, such as stone or tile, are set into the surface. Once the adhesive is substantially dried, a grouting product is then set between the mosaic pieces to create a uniform surface and further secure the mosaic pieces to the surface. The resultant product is frequently very beautiful and may be very ornate and detailed. However, due to the extensive amount of time and several additional steps that such a product requires in comparison to other flooring products, mosaic flooring are usually quite expensive. Further, construction of mosaics in walls and other decorative structures and elements may also be quite laborious and expensive.
Although concrete and mosaic products have advanced significantly over recent years to meet the demands of customers and innovative builders, there is no current concrete product for use in flooring, walls, or other decorative structures and elements that makes the creation of mosaics more affordable or efficient than the basic process described above.
Therefore, there exists a need in the art for an improved process of creating mosaic products that is more cost and time efficient, particularly for creating a mosaic upon a vertical surface. Various aspects of the present invention are directed toward addressing this particular need, as will be discussed in more detail below.


The invention is directed to devices and containers for emitting volatile compositions.

It is generally known to use an electrical device to evaporate a perfume and/or fragrance composition into a space, particularly a domestic space, e.g., a living room, to provide a pleasant aroma. There are a variety of such devices on sale, for example the AIRWICK® Diffuser ACTIF® (manufactured by Reckitt Benckiser) or the AMBI-PUR® fragrance diffuser (manufactured by Sara Lee). Generally, these devices include an electrical heating element for evaporating a perfume or fragrance composition which is stored in a container. Typically, the container is either threadably connected or clipped to the device during use.
It has been observed that a person using this type of device can quickly become accustomed to the perfume or fragrance and, after a while, he or she will not perceive the fragrance strength as being as intense and may not notice it at all. This is a well-known phenomenon called habituation. A solution to this problem is proposed in copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/417,462 and Ser. No. 10/417,456 both to Kvietok et al, filed Apr. 16, 2003, in U.S. provisional patent applications Ser. No. 60/507,772 and 60/507,807 to Kievtok et al., both filed Oct. 1, 2003 and in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/820,284 to Woo et al., filed Apr. 8, 2004, all assigned to The Procter & Gamble Company. Kvietok et al. discloses method and devices for emitting volatile compositions. One example emitting device of Kvietok et al. uses a first heating element and a second heating element for heating corresponding first and second wicks which are respectively in communication with a first and a second volatile composition. The device of Kvietok et al. allows the first and second volatile compositions to be vaporized in various sequences, either random or non-random.
The inventors have observed that the positioning of the first and second wicks relative to the first and second heating elements has an impact on the volatilization rate of the respective volatile compositions. For example, if the first wick is not properly positioned relative to the first heating element, the volatilization rate of the first volatile composition can either increase or decrease. This unwanted higher or lower volatilization rate of a first volatile composition relative to the volatilization rate of a second volatile composition can result in a partial loss of the desired effect of a first volatile composition. In addition, due to this unwanted higher or lower volatilization rate of the first volatile composition, over time, the first or second volatile composition can be totally vaporized while a significant amount of the other composition is still left in the container. Although a similar problem can exist with emitting devices capable of continuously vaporizing a single volatile composition if the single wick is not properly positioned, it can either stay unnoticed or can be easily compensated by decreasing or increasing the amount of heat applied to this single wick.
The inventors have found that with emitting devices capable of vaporizing at least two volatile compositions via at least two separate wicks, it is desirable that the volatilization rate of each volatile compositions be controlled.
The inventors have found that it is possible to remediate to this problem via the attachment mechanism used to connect the container(s) to the emitting device.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a suitable mechanism for releasably connecting containers to a device for emitting volatile compositions.
It is also an object of the invention to provide containers having at least a first and a second volatile composition which are operably connectable to an emitting device.
It is another object of the invention to provide a method for emitting a first and a second volatile composition with an emitting device.

Device and containers for emitting volatile compositions

Abstract: In one embodiment, the invention is directed to a device that includes a holding mechanism for substantially concurrently and releasably retaining two containers.

Abstract: In one embodiment, the invention is directed to a first container having a first volatile composition and a second container having a second volatile composition where the first and the second containers are operably connected to each other to form a cartridge.

Abstract: In one embodiment, the invention is directed to a method of emitting a first and a second volatile composition.


A particulate composite powder wherein each composite powder particle comprises a substrate particle surrounded by fine particles of metal oxide bound to the surface of the substrate particle by a binding agent containing at least one of metallic soap and wax, the amount of fine particles of metal oxide being between 10 and 30 wt % and the amount of said binding agent being between 0.5 and 5 wt % based on the total weight of substrate particles, fine particles of metal oxide and binding agent.

This invention relates to a composite powder based on substrate particles coated with micronized metal oxides particles. The composite powder is particularly useful in cosmetics and skin care compositions. Most specifically, the invention relates to compressed powder cosmetics effective in protecting the skin against ultraviolet (UV) rays.
Known compressed powder foundations characterized by anti-ultraviolet protection incorporate in their formulations micronized titanium dioxide having a mean particle size of less than 100 nm. To achieve the desired protection from harmful ultraviolet rays, as much as 10% by weight or more of micronized titanium dioxide is used. The use of high amounts titanium dioxide having a mean particle size of less than 100 nm tends to result n agglomeration in the cosmetic, which in turn diminishes the protection against UV rays write also making the composition excessively opaque on the skin, a phenomenon known as "whitening effect". In addition, such compressed powder foundations have a scratchy and rough feel during and after application to the skin.
Another approach for imparting anti-UV protection to cosmetics is by incorporating liquid organic UV screeners such as octyl dimethyl PABA and ethylhexyl p-methoxy cinnamate. However, the use of such liquid UV screeners is limited to oil-based lotions and emulsion-type cosmetics. It is not possible to attain the desired protection from UV rays by using liquid organic UV screeners alone in compressed powder foundations.
Compressed powder foundations containing a composite of micronized titanium dioxide and thermoplastic bead-shaped powders are also known. A composite material is generally known as a complex material in which two or more individual substances are combined by physical and/or chemical means to form a single homogeneous material possessing structural and/or functional properties not present in any of the individual components. In the abovementioned known composite of titanium dioxide and thermoplastic bead-shaped powders, as much as 30% by weight of the micronized titanium dioxide powder can be embedded on the surface of the thermoplastic powders. To attain the desired protection, a compressed powder foundation must contain up to 20% of this composite. The use of such relatively large amount of bead-shaped powder in compressed powder foundations not only presents problems with the compressibility of the composition, but also causes instability of the cosmetic in the container during transportation, particularly transportation by the cosmetic user. In addition, since the shape of the beads is spherical, the bead-shaped powders come off from the skin very easily and do not provide prolonged protection from UV rays when such protection is essential.
A method has been known for preparing and using titanium coated mica in published unexamined Japanese Patent Application (Application No. 5-87545). This method discloses mica only as a substrate and focuses on the relative transparency of the coated pigment as compared to conventional titanium coated mica or pearlescent pigment in general. In addition, this method uses titanyl sulfate as a starting chemical to form titanium dioxide, which means all the reaction must be carried out in an aqueous medium. This slurry process involves additional filtration, drying, and calcination at a temperature up to 900.degree. C. to convert the hydrous oxide coating to crystalline oxide. Because of the high temperature of the calcination involved in this process, the base substrate is limited to materials capable of being stable at such high temperature. Moreover, the cost associated with the series of steps involved makes the use of the micronized titanium dioxide coated mica too expensive as a cosmetic substrate.
A method for preparing and using predispersed pigments on the flaky particulate by using a so-called "ordered mixture" mechanism is also known and is disclosed in a laid-open Japanese Patent Application (Application No. 5-214257). This method only concerns the dispersion mechanism of pigments having a particle size of less than 5 micron in substrates having an aspect ratio of 10 to 120. There is no indication in this method of the use of micronized titanium dioxide as a coating agent serving as a UV screener, and this method does not describe the use of a binder system.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,772,331 discloses a method for preparing colored flaky pigments comprising flaky substrates having a finely divided color pigment material adhered on the surfaces thereof by means of a high molecular weight organic binder. The patent limits the binder to high molecular weight organic compounds such a polyethylene glycols, polypropylene glycols or polyvinyl pyrrolidones having a molecular weight of from about 500 to 160,000. Since all the reaction must take place in the liquid medium, this method presents not only the potential problem of agglomeration of the colored pigments during the drying process, but also the problem that the cost associated with the filtration, drying, and pulverizing steps makes the material produced from this process too expensive for use as a cosmetic substrate.

Particulate composite, method of producing thereof, and cosmetic containing particulate composite


Embodiments of the present disclosure describe methods, apparatuses, and systems for management of voice services for user equipments (UEs) in coverage enhancement (CE) mode B. A cellular protocol stack (CPS) of the UE may indicate to an internet protocol (IP) multimedia services (IMS) circuitry of the UE that the UE is operating in the CE mode B (or will be operating in the CE mode B when it awakes from idle mode). The IMS circuitry may receive an SIP invite from an IMS server to invite the UE to engage in a mobile terminated (MT) call. In response to the SIP invite, the IMS circuitry of the UE may reject the SIP invite and deregister the UE from voice services. Other embodiments may be described and claimed.

A user equipment (UE) may be able to operate in a variety of coverage modes, such as a normal coverage mode, a coverage enhancement (CE) mode A, and/or a CE mode B. The UE may determine whether to operate in normal coverage or CE, e.g., based on radio conditions on the wireless communication network. In idle mode, the UE doesn't inform the network about which coverage mode it is operating in. While operating in CE, when the UE wants to establish a connection with an access node (e.g., evolved Node B (eNB) or next generation base station (gNB)) of the wireless communication network, the access node configures the UE for either CE mode A or CE mode B. For example, the UE may operate in CE mode A in poor radio conditions, and may operate in CE mode B in even poorer radio conditions.

Management of voice services for user equipments in coverage enhancement (CE) mode B


Backplane communication system including a backplane and a rack assembly having an array of electrical connectors with respective mating ends. The backplane communication system also includes a plurality of guide pins that each have a cross-sectional diameter taken transverse to an axis of the guide pin. The backplane interfaces with the rack assembly such that the guide pins extend through guide holes of the backplane and the electrical connectors are aligned with mating windows. Each of the guide pins has a leading segment that extends through the corresponding guide hole and a trailing segment that is disposed within the corresponding guide hole. The cross-sectional diameter along the trailing segment is greater than the cross-sectional diameter along the leading segment.

The subject matter herein relates generally to a backplane communication system having a rack assembly with an array of electrical connectors and a backplane having windows that align with the electrical connectors.
Backplane or midplane communication systems, such as those used with network systems, servers, data centers, and the like, include large circuit boards that are known as backplanes or midplanes. The terms "backplane" and "midplane" may be used interchangeably with respect to the subject matter described herein. The backplanes may be used to interconnect communication devices, such as daughter card assemblies. The daughter card assemblies include line card assemblies and switch card assemblies. In such communication systems, an array of high-speed differential electrical connectors mounted to the backplane mate with electrical connectors of the daughter card assemblies to transmit data signals through the backplane communication system.
In a conventional backplane communication system, the backplane is a large circuit board having conductive traces that interconnect the electrical connectors of the backplane. More recently, the conventional backplane communication systems have been replaced by cable backplane systems. In a cable backplane system, cable connectors are mechanically mounted to a large circuit board or similar structure, such as sheet metal, to form a rack assembly. Instead of traces, the cable connectors are communicatively coupled to one another through communication cables. The cable connectors may function in a similar manner as the electrical connectors of the conventional backplane communication system and interconnect the daughter card assemblies.
There has been a general market demand to increase the throughput of such communication systems, which has led to an increase in the overall size of the communication systems, the number of electrical connectors used, and/or the density of electrical connectors used. Such changes, however, often create new challenges. For example, during the assembly of a cable backplane system, the backplane may be positioned alongside the rack assembly such that the electrical connectors extend through windows of the backplane. However, due to the size of the backplane and/or the number of electrical connectors, misalignment may occur between the electrical connectors and the backplane as the rack assembly approaches the backplane or vice versa. If excessive force is used to couple the backplane and the rack assembly when the electrical connectors are misaligned, the backplane and/or the electrical connectors may be damaged.
Accordingly, a need remains for a backplane communication system that reduces the risk of damaging the electrical connectors and/or backplane during assembly of the backplane communication system.

Backplane communication system and rack assembly of the same


Systems and methods for determining a high-precision geo-fence boundary for a business utilizing the property boundaries of a business are provided. The property boundaries for a business are obtained, and the longest diagonal of the polygon of the property is determined. This diagonal is used as a diameter to create a circle for a primary geo-fence monitoring area for the business. When a user enters the primary geo-fence monitoring area, a location updating feature of the mobile device can be activated to get the real time coordinates of the mobile device. The real time coordinates of the mobile device can then be used to accurately determine if the user is actually in the polygon of the business property.

In today's highly competitive business world, maintaining current customers and obtaining new customers to grow a business are a necessity. Businesses are always looking for ways to increase revenue, and increasing its sales to customers, both current and new, through advertising plays a large part in many business's plans for growth. Advertising has shown to be an effective method to inform, persuade or remind target buyers of the business' goods, services or goodwill, with the ultimate goal being that an advertisement will result in the sale of the goods or services. Studies have confirmed that the more that an advertisement can be made relevant and timely for a particular intended recipient, the more likely that it is to be successful. Location-based service (LBS) providers allow a business to provide a location-based service, e.g., coupon, advertisements, brochures, information, etc., to customers that are both timely and relevant. For example, a smart-phone (or other networked mobile device) user may register with the LBS provider to be provided with a service when the user is in the proximity of a selected business. LBS providers can also assist a business to provide rewards for those customers that patronize the business' location on a frequent basis. When a customer physically visits the business' location and registers his visit using a networked mobile device (often referred to as electronically checking-in, the customer can earn points toward some type of reward, e.g., coupon, special offer, etc.
Geofencing is an important technology for location based service providers. A geo-fence is a virtual perimeter for specified geographic location point. When a device with location awareness ability enters or exits a geo-fence, some type of event is triggered to the device, typically via e-mail or text message. Most of the current geofencing solutions utilize a radius around a location point as the virtual perimeter to trigger events. Such radius based solutions (and other similar solutions) are simple and work well for some location based services, such as, for example, proximity marketing, e.g., sending a coupon when the device comes within a one mile radius of a store). However, such radius based solutions do not work well for many services that require high-precision geo-fence solutions. For example, a business may only want to send coupons or offers to a customer once the customer has actually entered the store, or allow a customer to check-in only when they have actually entered the store's property. The radius based geo-fence may either miss the trigger (if the radius is too small) or send a wrong trigger (if the radius is too large).

Method and system for determining high precision geo-fencing using business property boundaries


The present invention relates to a pharmaceutical composition of a biologically active agent and a block copolymer composed of a poly(ethylene oxide) forming hydrophilic segment and a poly(butyl (alkyl)acrylate-co-(alkyl)acrylic acid) that is capable of forming supramolecular assemblies or micelles under favourable conditions. The supramolecular assemblies or micelles formed from said polymers associate or dissociate reversibly upon changes in the environmental pH. The pharmaceutical compositions of the present invention contain hydrophobic drugs, cations or polycationic compounds, which can be delivered to the body by oral route or other routes of administration.

Amphiphilic block copolymers having optimal hydrophilic and hydrophobic segments self-assemble spontaneously in aqueous environment forming micelles or supramolecular assemblies. These supramolecular assemblies exhibit core-shell architecture wherein the hydrophobic part forms the core and the hydrophilic part forms the corona. Recently, polymeric micelles have been widely used as drug delivery carriers for parenteral administration. Micellar drug delivery carriers have several advantages including biocompatibility, solubilization of hydrophobic drugs in the core, nanometric size ranges which facilitate extravasation of the drug carrier at the site of inflammation, site-specific delivery etc. (see for example Torchilin VP, J Controlled Release, 2001, 73 137–172; Kataoka et al, Adv Drug Deliv Rev, 2001, 47, 113–131; Jones et al, Eur J Pharm Biopharm, 1999, 48, 101–111).
A large number of amphiphilic block copolymers, having nonionic and/or charged hydrophobic and hydrophilic segments, that form micelles are reported in the literature. Examples of some widely used block copolymers for parenteral delivery include poly(ethylene oxide)-b-poly(D,L-lactide), poly(ethylene oxide)-b-poly(ε-caprolactone), poly(ethylene oxide)-b-poly(aspartic acid), poly(N-vinyl pyrrolidone)-b-poly(D,L-lactide) etc.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,322,805 describes polymeric drug carrier micelles prepared from amphiphilic block copolymer having a hydrophilic poly(alkylene oxide) component and a biodegradable hydrophobic component selected from a group consisting of poly(lactic acid), poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid), poly(ε-caprolactone) and a derivative thereof. These micelles are capable of solubilizing hydrophobic drug in a hydrophilic environment.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,338,859 describes polymeric micelle compositions where the hydrophilic component includes poly(N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone) and the hydrophobic component is selected from a group consisting of polyesters, polyorthoesters, polyanhydride and derivatives thereof. The polyester group can be selected from poly(D,L-lactic acid), poly(glycolic acid), lactide/glycolide copolymers, poly(s-caprolactone) and derivatives thereof. The micelle composition contains a therapeutic agent which can be an antitumor compound, hydrophobic antibiotic, hydrophobic antifungal agent, an immunomodulator, an antiviral drug, or the like.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,383,811 describes formation of complexes of polyions such as DNA with polyampholytes i.e. polymers possessing both cationic and anionic moieties, and delivery of the complex into the cell.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,210,717 describes a composition composed of mixed polymeric micelles made of amphiphilic polyester-polycation copolymer and an amphiphilic polyester-sugar copolymer for delivery of nucleic acids into targeted host cells. The polyester-polycation forms an electrostatic interaction with polyanionic nucleic acids, and the polyester-sugar copolymer directs the micelle-nucleic acid complex to cells in vivo.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,429,200 describes delivery of polynucleotides to cells using cleavable reverse micelles. Other molecules such as polymers, and surfactants containing disulphide linkages can be included into the complex micelles to enhance the delivery.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,510,103 describes block copolymers having the hydrophilic and hydrophobic segments forming micelles and entrapping the hydrophobic drugs by physical methods. The hydrophilic segment is preferably poly(ethylene oxide) and hydrophobic segment is preferably poly(ε-benzyl-L-aspartate) while the preferred drug is adriamycin.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,955,509 describes use of poly(vinyl-N-heterocycle)-b-poly(alkylene oxide) copolymers in micelle containing pharmaceutical formulations. These copolymers respond to pH changes in the environment and can be used to deliver therapeutic compounds at lower pH values. The micelles of these polymers remain intact at neutral pH, e.g. at physiological pH, while they will release the contents when exposed to a lower pH environment such as in the tumor.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,497,895 describes hyperbranched micelles containing a core of mucic acid esters for the encapsulation of hydrophobic molecules. These polymers are useful for the transdermal delivery of the entrapped agent in a controlled manner.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,387,406 describes compositions of the poly(oxyethylene)-poly(oxypropylene) block copolymers for oral delivery of biological agents.
Nishiyama et al (Pharm Res 2001, 18, 1035–1041; J Controlled Release 2001, 74, 83–94) have described the use of poly(ethylene oxide)-b-poly(α,β-aspartic acid) block copolymers forming micelles by interaction with an antitumor drug, specifically cisplatin.
Though the majority of these polymers can be used for oral delivery of bioactive agents, what is presently lacking are amphiphilic polymers capable of forming supramolecular assemblies that respond to an environmental stimuli such as pH change, thereby entrapping the contents in the micelle core at a low pH, such as that prevailing in the stomach, and rapidly releasing the contents at a higher pH, such as that prevailing in the intestine.
In our earlier filed U.S. patent application (Ser. No. 09/877,999, Jun. 8, 2001) we describe a series of ionizable diblock copolymers useful for the delivery of bioactive agents. A series of the polymers in this patent application partially fulfills the above requirement. These polymers are different from those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,955,509 in that they form supramolecular assemblies at low pH, that could be dissociated upon increase in the pH above pKa of the carboxyl group. Another characteristic of these polymers is the presence of nonionizable and reversibly ionizable groups in the hydrophobic segment, where, hydrophobicity can be changed by controlling the ionization.

pH-sensitive block copolymers for pharmaceutical compositions


A position detecting apparatus for magnetically detecting the position of, for example, a cylinder rod of a construction or industrial machine, a piston of an automotive engine or a scaler of a magnetic scale, improved to reduce a delay of response of processing through a low-pass active filter. To this end, the apparatus has a mean value calculating circuit (22) which calculates the mean value of an output voltage from a detecting circuit (10) and delivers the mean value to a comparator circuit (32) as a reference voltage. In addition, diodes (D.sub.1, D.sub.2) for charging the capacitors (C.sub.1, C.sub.2) of the low-pass active filters constituting the mean value calculating circuit can be connected in parallel with resistors (R.sub.1, R.sub.2) of the filters.

Hitherto, for the purpose of detecting the position of a cylinder rod of a construction or industrial machine, a position detecting apparatus has been often used in which a variation in the magnetic characteristics is created at a predetermined spacing along the cylinder rod or a detecting rod connected thereto, by attaching magnets to the rod or varying the magnetic permeability at the predetermined spacing, whereby the displacement or position of the rod is detected on the basis of the change in the magnetic characteristics. The change in the magnetic characteristics can be detected by various detecting means such as, for example, a detecting means using a Maxwell bridge circuit. The Maxwell bridge circuit has four sides, one of which is formed by a coil having a reference inductance L.sub.1, and a coil having an unknown value of inductance L.sub.3 is inserted in another side of the bridge. In operation, an adjustment is conducted to nullify the output voltage between the output terminals, thereby determining the inductance L.sub.3.
More specifically, a known position detecting apparatus incorporating a Maxwell bridge circuit has a detecting rod made of a magnetically permeable metal. The detecting rod has a plurality of magnetic permeability changing portions which are formed by locally increasing or decreasing magnetic permeability at a predetermined pitch along the rod. The detecting rod is received in the coil having the unknown inductance L.sub.3. When the detecting rod is axially moved to cause the magnetic permeability changing portion to pass through the coil, the self-inductance L.sub.3 of the coil is changed to cause a difference between the voltage across this coil and the voltage across the coil having the inductance L.sub.1. Consequently, an A.C. voltage produced by this phase difference is obtained from the output terminals, and the amount of displacement, i.e., the position, of the detecting rod is determined on the basis of the zero-cross point of the A.C. voltage.
The voltage between the output terminals of the Maxwell bridge circuit should be zero when there is no displacement of the detecting rod. Actually, however, a voltage appears between the output terminals even when there is no displacement of the detecting rod, due to variations or fluctuations of various factors such as the sensor sensitivity, the state of mounting of the detecting rod, the magnetic permeability of the detecting rod, and the characteristics of the circuit elements, as well as the temperature at which the detecting apparatus operates, with the result that the zero-cross point is deviated. Thus, the output voltage obtained from the Maxwell bridge circuit in response to an axial movement of the detecting rod is the sum of the A.C. voltage generated as a result of passage of the magnetic permeability changing portion through the coil and a D.C. voltage (offset voltage) which is attributable to the offset of the zero-cross point caused by fluctuations in the factors such as the sensor sensitivity and the characteristics of the circuit components. Therefore, the determination of the position or displacement of the detecting rod through the detection of the zero-cross point of the A.C. output voltage from a Maxwell bridge circuit essentially requires that the offset voltage component be removed from the output voltage of the Maxwell bridge circuit.
There are two methods for removing the offset voltage: a method called A.C. coupling method which utilizes a capacitor, and a method called voltage adjusting method which uses a trimmer resistor. The A.C. coupling method, which relies upon charging and discharging of a capacitor, suffers from various disadvantages such as the generation of a delay of a phase or delay of zero-cross of the A.C. voltage due to inferior follow-up characteristics. Furthermore, it is impossible to pickup an A.C. component from the output of the Maxwell bridge circuit, when the frequency of the A.C. component is as low as several Hz or less. On the other hand, the voltage adjusting method which employs a trimmer resistor essentially requires a complicated voltage adjustment, particularly when the frequency of the output voltage of the Maxwell bridge circuit is changed or when the center of the amplitude of the output is varied due to a variation in the offset voltage. This problem is serious, particularly when a cylinder rod is used directly as the detecting rod, since in such a case the offset voltage is varied as a result of a change in the temperature of the detecting rod, with the result that the adjustment of the voltage is further complicated.
In view of these drawbacks of the known art, the present inventor has proposed a method in which, as shown in FIG. 6, a mean value of the output voltage of the detecting circuit including a Maxwell bridge circuit is used as a reference voltage of a comparator circuit.
Referring to FIG. 6, the detecting circuit 10 is composed of a Maxwell bridge circuit 12, a phase detector 14 and a differential amplifier 16, and is connected to the output of an oscillator 18 which serves as an A.C. power supply. The oscillator 18 produces a high-frequency voltage of, for example, 60 KHz, and applies this voltage to the Maxwell bridge circuit 12 and also to the phase detector 14. A voltage appearing between the output terminals a and b of the Maxwell bridge circuit 12 is amplified by a differential amplifier 16, the output of which is delivered to the phase detector 14.
The phase detector 14 determines the phase difference between the output voltage of the oscillator 18 and the output voltage of the differential amplifier 16 and produces, as its output signal, a voltage corresponding to the phase difference. The output voltage of the phase detector 14 is delivered to a noise filter 20 for removing the noise of the output voltage and also to a mean value calculating circuit 22.
The mean value calculating circuit 22 is composed of a low-pass active filter of voltage controlled voltage source type (referred to as VCVS, hereinafter) having Butterworth characteristic, and is composed of an RC passive circuit 24 and an operational amplifier 26. The output of the operational amplifier 26 is delivered to a voltage holding circuit 28. The voltage holding circuit 28 receives a one-shot pulse from a voltage holding timing generating circuit 30 which produces voltage holding timing on the basis of the output from the noise filter 20. Upon receipt of this one-shot pulse, the voltage holding circuit 28 stores the mean voltage which is outputted from the mean value calculating circuit 22 and holds this value until the next one-shot pulse is received. The voltage holding circuit 28 also delivers this mean voltage as a reference voltage to a comparator circuit 32 which also receives the output from the noise filter 20.
Using the mean value of the output from the detecting circuit 10 as the reference voltage of the comparator circuit 32, it is possible to automatically adjust the offset voltage appearing between the output terminals a and b of the Maxwell bridge 12.
The low-pass active filter of VCVS type which forms the mean value calculating circuit 22 has a time constant R.sub.1 R.sub.2 C.sub.1 C.sub.2 and the frequency f.sub.0 is expressed by: ##EQU1##
This frequency f.sub.0 is the center frequency of the filtering. The frequency of the output voltage of the detecting circuit 10 is varied by the velocity of the movement of the detecting rod which is not shown and which is received in the coil L.sub.3 of the Maxwell bridge circuit 12. Therefore, when the mean value of the output voltage of the detecting circuit 10 is calculated by the mean value calculating circuit 22, it is necessary to change the center frequency f.sub.0 of the low-pass active filter in accordance with the velocity of the movement of the detecting rod. It is quite difficult to vary the center frequency f.sub.0 in accordance with the velocity of movement of the detecting rod. It is therefore desirable that the low-pass active filter be capable of smoothing all the frequencies which are outputted from the detecting circuit 10 in accordance with any change in the velocity of the movement of the detecting rod.
On the other hand, the velocity of the movement of the detecting rod is low when the movement is started, as in the case of a cylinder rod. The use of the low-pass active filter is therefore necessary for determining the mean value of the output voltage of the detecting circuit 10. Actually, however, the velocity of the detecting rod varies over a wide range and so does the frequency of the output voltage of the detecting circuit 10. Therefore, when the mean value of the output of the detecting circuit in the high-speed range is calculated with the aid of the low-pass filter, a delay of smoothing calculation (delay of response) is caused due to time constant, although the calculation for determining the mean value is carried out.
FIG. 7 illustrates an example of such a delay in the response. It will be seen that 300 m sec is required until the mean value calculating circuit 22 outputs the mean value of the output voltage of the detecting circuit 10 after the moment at which the detecting rod which has been kept stationary starts to move.
The present invention is aimed at overcoming the above-described problems of the prior art. An object of the present invention is to provide a position detecting apparatus which is capable of reducing delay of response of the low-pass active filter.

Position detecting apparstus having a mean value calculating circuit including a low pass filter


A bus arbitration system and method allocates total bus bandwidth between latency sensitive and latency insensitive interfaces by utilizing windows to divide the total bandwidth into latency sensitive and latency insensitive portions. Each interface is initially allocated top-up numbers of latency sensitive and latency insensitive tokens to proportionally allocate bus accesses between the interfaces according to their requirements. For an interface having access to the bus, the number of tokens is decremented for each successful bus transfer.

PCI Bus Specification allows for arbitration among connected devices to allocate access to the shared system bus resources. Typically, arbiters provide requesting devices access to the shared PCI bus and use some form of Round Robin or Weighted Round Robin algorithms.
In a weighted round-robin scheme, for any given connection between a master and slave, the amount of access each master has to a given slave can be selected.
In a fairness-based arbitration scheme, each master-slave pair has an integer value of "shares" for bus transfers. If conflicting requests to access a particular slave occur, the master that has the highest fairness setting is granted access to the slave. After the master-slave pair exhausts its share assignment, control of the slave is granted to the master-slave pairs with lower share assignments. A fairness based arbitration scheme tries to prevent starvation.
For example, if master A, a DMA controller, has 1 share of access to a RAM slave port and master B, the a processor, has 2 shares of access to the same RAM slave port, the DMA controller can access the slave 33% of the time (assuming both masters continually request transfers to the shared slave). The arbitration settings do not have to be sequential values. For example, an arbitration setting of 9 for one master, and 1 for another allots 90% and 10% access, respectively.
These allocation methods monitor and use the arbitration signals specified in the PCI specification, REQ#, FRAME#, IRDY#, which indicate the beginning and end of a bus transaction.
The standard Round Robin technique does not dynamically allocate access to the bus to take into account the different bandwidth requirements of devices that are latency sensitive and devices with high traffic flows. For example, a device implementing iscochronous traffic, such as voice over IP (VoIP) requires low-latency access to the bus to maintain voice quality. However, this device does may not be a high traffic device so it doesn't need to consume much of the total bus bandwidth. On the other hand, a high traffic device, such as a PCI bridge is not as latency sensitive but needs to be allocated more bus bandwidth. Compounding the problem is the unpredictable nature of bus access requests which makes static systems inefficient. In a round robin system low-latency devices may be kept off the bus for too long and high-traffic devices may not be allocated enough bus cycles. For example, in the round robin example described above, the bandwidth is allocated statically between the two devices but there is not provision for low-latency access.
Accordingly, new bus arbitration techniques are required to dynamically balance the conflicting needs of high traffic devices and low latency devices.

Advanced bandwidth allocation in PCI bus architecture


The object is to provide a zoom lens system having a zoom ratio of 2.5 or more, compactness and high optical performance, applicable to a plurality of imaging devices with different image heights. According to one aspect of the present invention, a zoom lens system applicable to a plurality of imaging devices having different image heights with each other by partially sharing zooming trajectories without changing an optical element of the zoom lens system.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a zoom lens system and in particular to a zoom lens system suitable for a video camera and an electronic still camera using a solid-state imaging device applicable to a plurality of imaging devices with different image heights.
2. Related Background Art
Recently, in a rapidly spreading field of a digital camera or a video camera, lenses for such camera are required to be compact and have high optical performance as those for general cameras. On the other hand, since imaging devices have various image sizes, the optical system has to be redesigned upon changing the size of the imaging device.
A zoom lens, for example, is ideally designed for a particular image height for a certain imaging device and other image heights of the other imaging devices are not taken into consideration.
In order to solve the problem, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-121738 proposes that when an imaging device having other image height than designed one is used, it is coped with removing a part of optical elements from the zoom lens.
However, in the example disclosed in the above patent document, when the image height of the imaging device is changed, since the zoom lens copes with removing a part of the zoom lens components, there is a possibility that optical performance become worse for a plurality of imaging devices having different image heights. Moreover, a mechanism for removing a part of optical elements has to be arranged, so that there is a problem that the zoom lens system becomes complicated and large.


An apparatus is provided for inverting heavy objects, the apparatus including: a retaining assembly, including two opposing retaining members each having rotational pins extending from the ends thereof, the rotational pins all reside together in a cross plane extending parallel with a longitudinal axis of the retaining assembly, and the retaining members are spaced apart a consistent distance, a base member, including two open double bearing components positioned at opposite ends of the base member, each open double bearing component including two side-by-side troughs, and a securing member, operable to lock the retaining assembly into a secure position with respect to the base member.

Inversion of heavy objects may be needed to enable workers or craftsmen convenient access to each working surface of the object. Often the weight or size of the object itself may create a potential for the object to, fracture, crack, snap, or otherwise become damage when it is moved. For example, when manufacturing granite countertops, it is often desirable or necessary to work on both the top and bottom surfaces of the counter top. Moreover, the design of the countertop may be such that significant holes or grooves may be cut into the granite (such as a hole cut out for a sink, or a groove cut out for acceptance of metal support structures). When the weighty counter top is inverted, the counter top may break due to the force of its own weight during the inversion process. In addition, the weight of the counter top may make it difficult or substantially impossible for only one or a few workers to invert the counter top. Therefore there is a need for supporting devices of heavy objects that provide access to upper and lower surfaces.

Apparatus for inverting heavy loads and method of using same


A resistance switching RAM logic device is presented. The device includes a pair of resistance switching RAM cells that may be independently programed into at least a low resistance state (LRS) or a high resistance state (HRS). The resistance switching RAM logic device may further include a shared output node electrically connected to the pair of resistance switching RAM cells. A logical output may be determined from the programmed resistance state of each of the resistance switching RAM cells.

Integrated circuit (IC) device scaling has passed a point in which shrinking device node size may no longer be feasible. New IC devices and technologies are key to push the advance of semiconductor and IC device research. Due to the popularization of handheld devices, battery powered devices, and the like, low power technologies are primed for advances. Traditionally, a logic gate refers to a volatile silicon device which requires electrical power to maintain its value. Utilization of such traditional logic gates are therefore inefficient in finite or low power applications.

Non volatile resistive memory logic device

International Business Machines Corporation


A system and method are provided for initiating the reassembly of received packet fragments in a multilink communication network. The method comprises: receiving packet fragments with corresponding sequence numbers; counting the number of fragments received since the initiation of a pervious packet fragment reassembly; and, initiating packet fragment reassembly in response to the fragment count. Some aspects of the method further comprise: establishing a threshold; and, comparing the fragment count to the threshold. Then, initiating packet fragment reassembly includes initiating packet fragment reassembly when the fragment count equals the threshold. Other aspects of the method comprise tracking a RFC-1990 M value. Then, establishing a threshold includes establishing a WITH_M_UPDATE threshold. Initiating packet fragment reassembly includes initiating packet fragment reassembly in response to the combination of: the fragment count equaling the WITH_M_UPDATE threshold; and, the M value changing since the initiation of a pervious packet fragment reassembly.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to serial data and optical communication networks and, more particularly, to a system and method for more efficiently initiating packet reassembly in a multilink communication network.
2. Description of the Related Art
Packets, or packetized groupings of digital information can be transmitted using multilink network protocols such as MLFR, Multi Link Frame Relay, or MLPPP, Multi Link Point to Point Protocol. These multilink protocols allow the aggregation of multiple physical channels, T1/E1 links for example, into a single virtual link called a bundle. This ability to aggregate links allows a network to increase its bandwidth beyond a T1/E1 rate without having to purchase a T3 line. On the transmitting end of a network employing the multilink protocol, packets are fragmented, given a multilink header, which includes a sequence number, and transmitted on any of the links that compose the bundle. Each link is an independent link that may or may not share a common geographical path with other links.
At the receiving end of a multilink network, packet fragments are resequenced using the sequence number contained in the multilink header and recombined into the original packet. Since each link of a bundle may have a different geographical path, the arrival order will likely not match the transmission order. Reassembly of these fragments into the original packet requires memory and processing resources. Determining whether a packet fragment is late, due to transmission time differences between links, or lost due to network errors can quickly and accurately be performed using a value called M. However, determining when to begin reassembly of fragments can significantly affect network performance because of inherent memory bandwidth and processing resource limitations.
In multilink systems, a decision must be made to determine if a late arriving packet is lost. Request for Comments (RFC)-1990 is a specification defining an algorithm that determines when a late arriving packet can accurately be considered lost using a calculated value labeled "M". As defined in RFC-1990, which was advanced to standard status by the Internet Engineering Task Force in December 1999, a single twelve or twenty-four bit value must be maintained for each link within a bundle.
Conventional implementations of the multilink protocol reassemble packet fragments after all fragments for the packet have arrived. In a typical Internet flow of packets this method can result in processing fragments in a bursty pattern. This bursty processing pattern can easily overwhelm processing resources resulting in network delays and excessive memory usage.
It would be advantageous if received multilink packet fragments could be reassembled more efficiently.
It would be advantageous if these received packet fragments could be reassembled with a minimum of memory usage or processing delays.

System and method for initiating multilink fragment reassembly


A concentrate aqueous composition for removing Type I and Type III rouge from various stainless-steel items. The liquid composition comprises oxalic acid, a phosphonic acid, and various amines. The use of an amine has been found to provide synergistic results in removal of the noted types of corrosion from various stainless-steel items that include medical instruments, machines, equipment, pipes, tools, mixing and storage vessels, and the like.

When stainless-steel has not been maintained properly, it can be susceptible to corrosion. Development of corrosion in various items as in manufacturing equipment, piping, machines, tools, etc., can shorten the life span of such items. This corrosion material is commonly known as rouge, and comprises iron oxides, such as ferric oxide (Fe2O3), ferrous oxide (FeO), and magnetite (Fe3O4).
The process by which corrosion material is removed from stainless-steel surfaces is often referred to as "derouging." The efficacy of the derouging process can be evaluated by measuring the solubility of iron oxide in solution or by visual or gravimetric evaluation of rouge removal from stainless-steel surfaces.
Previously, U.S. Pat. No. 3,854,996 (Frost et al., Haliburton Company) described removing magnetite scale with an aqueous solution consisting of polyphosphonic acid, or an alkali metal or amine salt of such acid. The pH of the solution was adjusted using ammonium hydroxide preferably to a pH range between 9 and 10.25 and was used for scale removal at a temperature between 180° F. and 300° F.
Several currently-marketed products have some efficacy in removing corrosion consisting of ferric oxide, known as "Type I Rouge". However, it is much more challenging to remove corrosion consisting of magnetite. In industry, the magnetite corrosion material is often known as "Type III Rouge" and generally forms in the presence of high temperature steam. Weaker acids, such as acetic acid and citric acid, do not solubilize magnetite well and are not efficacious in removing magnetite corrosion material. Stronger acids, such as hydrochloric acid or hydrofluoric acid, are reported to have better efficacy in removing corrosion material, but can cause further damage to stainless-steel and have significant safety and handling concerns. Other compositions which have corrosion removal capability, such as described in the aforementioned patent, require higher use temperature and longer treatment times (up to 24 hours) and can include the use of ammonium hydroxide in the process.

Liquid product for stainless-steel corrosion remediation


A method and system is provided for avoiding data bus contention between EDO DRAM banks during a burst cycle to a memory page crossing a memory bank boundary. Each memory bank has output drivers configured to selectively drive data on a common data bus. The disclosed method and system contemplate decoding memory addresses into bank select signals and comparing the bank select signals for the current memory cycle to the state of the bank select signals in the previous cycle. If the current access is to a different bank, then the cycle is delayed and a disable signal is pulsed active to the EDO DRAM, disabling the output drivers. The memory page is kept open in the memory banks to allow bursts across bank boundaries. The current cycle is then allowed to continue to completion and data bus contention is avoiding while crossing the bank boundary.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a computer system and, more particularly, to a memory subsystem within the computer system employing extended data out (EDO) dynamic random access memory (DRAM). Even more specifically, this invention relates to the prevention of bus contention between EDO DRAM banks during burst accesses having a non-deterministic length.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
Modern computer systems often employ extended data out (EDO) dynamic random access memory (DRAM) in order to obtain faster memory cycle times. The basic operation of EDO DRAM devices and the addressing of such devices by row address strobe (RAS) signals and column address strobe (CAS) signals and the design of controllers for such devices, is generally understood in the art of memory control/access and, for sake of brevity, need not be repeated.
EDO DRAM continues to drive the addressed data on its data lines after CAS is unasserted. This extended output drive allows the device(s) accessing the memory to latch the data during the CAS precharge time of the next memory cycle, resulting in a shorter cycle time. Multiple banks of memory are desirable for improved capacity and performance. However, if multiple banks of EDO DRAM are employed, a data bus contention problem may arise when memory accesses switch from one bank to another during burst accesses. The contention problem arises because the previously selected EDO DRAM bank continues to drive the data bus. When the newly selected memory bank begins to drive data for the addressed location, both banks will be contending for, and driving, the bus.
Therefore, it is necessary to turn off the output drivers of the previously selected bank before the newly selected (current) bank begins to drive the data bus. Several solutions have been utilized to turn off the previously selected bank's output drivers to avoid contention.
One such solution is not to use EDO-type DRAM and instead employ a type of memory that does not continue to drive the bus, such as regular fast page mode DRAM. This solution has the disadvantage of losing the performance benefits of EDO DRAM.
Another solution is to use the output enable (OE) pin for the EDO DRAM to turn off the output drivers when switching to a new bank. However, the OE pin is normally not required for use in normal operation, and thus is usually not driven by the memory controller device. The OE pin on each EDO DRAM is usually hardwired to an enabled state. Therefore, to employ this solution, extra pins would need to be added to the memory controller device to drive the OE pins of the EDO DRAM for each separate memory bank. However, extra pins may not be available to the memory controller. At the very least, it is expensive to support the extra pins needed to drive the OE signals. Therefore, it is desirable to have a solution that turns off the EDO DRAM output drivers by using signals already in use, thus avoiding the addition of more pins to the memory controller.
Another solution is to only access the system memory with burst cycles that always end on a bank boundary. When the burst cycle ends on a bank boundary, both RAS and CAS are unasserted to that memory bank. The EDO DRAM output drivers turn off when both RAS and CAS are unasserted. However, it may be advantageous to employ burst cycles of a non-deterministic length. If the burst length is non-deterministic, then it cannot be guaranteed that the burst will end on a bank boundary.
An example of a system employing non-deterministic burst lengths is a system in which a central processing unit (CPU) and a graphics controller both access memory in a shared memory architecture. The graphics controller may have an internal first-in first-out (FIFO) storage to maintain the screen image without interruption when the CPU is accessing system memory. When the graphics controller obtains access to system memory, it will perform a burst access cycle to fill its FIFO. The length of the burst required to fill the FIFO will vary depending on system operation. Limiting the FIFO to bursts of determined length may result in the graphics controller being "starved" for memory. Thus, it is desirable to employ a non-deterministic burst length to optimize graphics controller accesses. It is easily understood that other types of devices and architectures could benefit from non-deterministic burst lengths.
Therefore, it is desirable to have a memory system that employs EDO DRAM in multiple banks, but avoids data contention when switching between banks. For improved performance, it is also desirable to leave the memory page open (not deassert RAS) when switching banks so that page hits may continue. It is further desirable to avoid data contention without requiring additional control signals to the memory controller device. Furthermore, it is desirable for such a system to support burst accesses of a non-deterministic length to memory.

Method and system for supporting non-deterministic burst lengths in a memory system employing extended data out(EDO)DRAM


A synchronizing apparatus comprises a normal lock synchronization detecting unit for detecting synchronization by detecting from demodulated data a synchronization pattern in a normal lock state, and a pseudo lock synchronization detecting unit for detecting synchronization by detecting from the demodulated data a synchronization pattern in a pseudo lock state.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for detecting synchronization by detecting a synchronization pattern from data demodulated by a demodulating unit in which a pseudo lock can occur, and a method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, there is a system for digital-modulating/demodulating and transmitting data. The receiving side of this system demodulates a received signal in a demodulating unit, and detects synchronization (takes synchronization) by detecting a synchronization pattern from the demodulated data.
For example, assume that one frame of transmission data is configured by eight packets each of which is composed of 204 bytes, the first byte of the first packet is a synchronization byte "B8", and the first bytes of the remaining 7 packets are respectively "47" as shown in FIG. 1. In this case, taking synchronization means the detection, from demodulated data, of the beginning of a frame by recognizing a pattern of synchronization bytes such as "B8", "47", "47", . . . .
If the synchronization byte "B8" shown in (a) can be detected when the transmission data shown in FIG. 1 is obtained as demodulated data, the synchronization byte subsequently exists every 204 bytes. Therefore, frame synchronization can be taken and no problems are posed if the synchronization byte continues to be detected.
However, the values "B8" and "47", which are the synchronization bytes, naturally exist also as data. Accordingly, if "B38" shown in (b) is detected as a synchronization byte, the synchronization byte "47" does not exist after 204 bytes from "B38", leading to a detection miss of the synchronization byte. Therefore, the recognition of the pattern of synchronization bytes is remade from scratch. Additionally, even if the recognition is remade from scratch, the byte detected next as the synchronization byte is not always the normal synchronization byte, which can possibly cause the repetition of a detection miss of the synchronization byte.
Thus, Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Publication No. 2001-057549) proposes an apparatus for preventing the recognition of a pattern of synchronization bytes from being remade from scratch at a time point when a detection miss of a synchronization byte occurs, by providing a plurality of synchronization state machines each of which does not detect the same position of a synchronization byte.
As a factor to delay frame synchronization, an occurrence of pseudo lock is cited. The pseudo lock is a phenomenon that a carrier reproduction loop within a demodulating unit locks in a pseudo manner in a state where a phase shifts in units of 90° such as 90°, 180°, or 270° relative to an expected value.
One example of the pseudo lock in a case where a phase shifts in units of 90° every one symbol is described with reference to FIG. 2. The example shown in this figure is an example of the case of QPSK (Quadrature Phase Shift Keying).
Here, assume that data "0" exists in the first quadrant in a normal lock state as shown on an IQ (I: In phase, Q: Quadrature phase) plane of the upper left of FIG. 2. In this case, the data "0", which should originally exist in the first quadrant, moves to the second quadrant as shown on the IQ plane of the upper right of FIG. 2 if the phase shifts by 90° (rotates by 90° in the counterclockwise direction) after one symbol. If the phase further shifts by 90° after the next one symbol (after two symbols), the data "0", which should originally exist in the first quadrant, moves to the third quadrant as shown on the IQ plane of the lower right of FIG. 2. If the phase still further shifts by 90° after the next one symbol (after 3 symbols), the data "0", which should originally exist in the first quadrant, moves to the fourth quadrant as shown on the IQ plane of the lower left of FIG. 2. Then, if the phase still further shifts by 90° after the next one symbol (after 4 symbols), the data "0" restores to the original state. Thereafter, this state transition is repeated every one symbol. Even if the phase shifts by 90°, 180° (90°×2), or 270° (90°×3) relative to an expected value as described above, it is determined that the normal lock occurs in the demodulating unit. This is because the position where the symbol point exists does not shift although its data differs. However, in this example, the data in the first quadrant makes a transition of "0"→"3"→"2"→"1" every one symbol. Accordingly, it cannot be expected that the synchronization bytes "B38" and "47" are not normally output from the demodulating unit, which naturally leads to unsuccessful frame synchronization.
In the meantime, in a case of QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation), multilevel data is represented by the amplitudes (levels) of I and Q axes as in the case of 16QAM shown in FIG. 3. For example, if the amplitudes of I and Q are respectively 2, 3 is presented as data.
Here, an example of a case of 16QAM, in which a phase shifts in units of 90° every one symbol, is described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4 as another example of the pseudo lock.
Originally, one packet is configured by a synchronization byte and data. Here, explanation is provided by assuming that one packet is configured only by a synchronization byte for ease of explanation. Additionally, although the synchronization byte in the above description is configured by 8 bits such as "B38" and "47", the synchronization byte is assumed to be configured only by low-order 4 bits here.
In FIG. 4, in a normal lock state, when the synchronization byte is output in accordance with a symbol clock, normal synchronization bytes are output as shown in "normal lock" in this figure, and frame synchronization successfully completes.
However, since the phase rotates in the pseudo lock state as describe above, values like expected values are not output, and those shown in the "pseudo lock" in this figure are output.
Here, assume that data "8" is output in the pseudo lock state when I and Q are −1 and 1 respectively on the symbol clock (1). In this case, I and Q become 2 and −2 respectively, and data "7" is output on the symbol clock (2) in the normal lock state, whereas I and Q become 2 and 2 respectively due to the phase rotated by 90° in the counterclockwise direction, and data "3" is output in the pseudo lock state.
Additionally, on the symbol clock (3), I and Q become 2 and −2 respectively and data "7" is originally output in the normal lock state, but the phase further rotates by 90° in the counterclockwise direction, and I and Q become −2 and 2 respectively, and data "B" is output in the pseudo lock state. At this time, the phase shifts by 180°, because it proceeds by 2 clocks from the original position of "7".
Furthermore, on the symbol clock (4), I and Q become 2 and −2 respectively and data "7" is output in the normal lock state, but the phase still further rotates by 90° in the counterclockwise direction, and I and Q become −2 respectively, and data "F" is output in the pseudo lock state. At this time, the phase shifts by 270°, because it proceeds by 3 clocks from the original position of "7".
On the symbol clock (5), the phase comes full circle, and restores to the original position. Therefore, I and Q become 2 and −2 respectively, and data "7" is output.
Since data output from the demodulating unit is destroyed in the pseudo lock state as described above, frame synchronization cannot be taken as it is.
Accordingly, a conventional process for once releasing a lock and for making a lock again occur is performed with a predetermined control, if pseudo lock occurs and frame synchronization cannot be taken within a predetermined time period.
Additionally, for frame synchronization enabled to be taken in a shorter time, by way of example, Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent Publication No. 2000-278344) proposes a quadrature phase demodulating circuit, which detects pseudo lock by detecting that a carrier reproduction loop is locked and a frame of a baseband signal is asynchronous, in order to quickly detect an occurrence of the pseudo lock.
However, when the pseudo lock once occurs, the process for once releasing a lock and for making a lock again occur is conventionally performed as described above. Therefore, the process is again performed, which causes a wasteful overhead. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that the normal lock state occurs next.

Synchronizing apparatus and synchronizing method