A supply information management system comprises a reader/writer for writing process information on each of the processes to an IC tag and reading information out from the IC tag, the reader/writer being provided for a station for performing each of processes to supply a diaper product with an IC tag, and a host computer for receiving the information from the reader/writer. In the host computer, a product database which is a set of data elements each associating a serial number of an IC tag with process information thereof is stored and updated on the basis of the information from the reader/writer. The supply information management system makes it possible to specify an individual diaper product and perform a proper and easy management of information on supply of diaper products.

In the field of diaper products such as disposal diapers (i.e. disposable diapers), conventionally, various kinds of products have been used, depending on sex or health and body conditions of wearers, purpose of use or the like. Therefore, in facilities where a large number of diaper products are used, such as hospitals or nursing homes for the aged, much labor and effort is required in operations for stock control of the diaper products or the like.
Japanese Patent Application Laid Open Gazette Nos. 2002-150057 and 2003-58759 propose a technique for stock control and sales management in which a bar code is attached to a disposal diaper and the information (serial number and the like) on the disposal diaper is read out from the bar code.
In general, however, a disposal diaper is provided with elastic members over a wide range so as to be fitted well to the skin of a wearer, and with the elasticity of the elastic members, the disposal diaper has a contracted form as a whole. For this reason, in the case shown in Japanese Patent Application Laid Open Gazette Nos. 2002-150057 and 2003-58759 where a bar code is attached to a disposal diaper, there is a possibility that contraction of the disposal diaper may distort the notation of bar code or hide part of the bar code and the information can not be read out from the bar code.
There are some requests also for stock control or the like of auxiliary absorbent pads such as absorbent pads to be attached inside the disposal diapers, but since the auxiliary absorbent pad is also provided with elastic members over a wide range, there are some cases where the information can not be read out from the attached bar code.
On the other hand, since the disposal diaper is distributed through processes of manufacture, inspection, storage, shipment, sale and the like, being packaged by a package bag or the like, the bar code which is attached to the disposal diaper packaged by a package bag can not be read out. Though it is possible to attach a bar code to a package bag or a packing box, if many kinds of package bags or the like are used, it is necessary to place the package bags in the same direction so that the bar codes thereon should face this side in order to find a specified package bag or the like, and therefore it is hard to increase working efficiency of the above processes.
Further, there is a request for a management system which allows a proper and easy check on information on operation being performed in each of the above processes or the like, for individual disposal diapers, auxiliary absorbent pads or the like.

Diaper product, supply information management system, usage information management system and diaper product management system


A cutter includes radial cutting blades connected by a hinge about which the blades may be rotated between collapsed and extended positions. A rotary body and rotary cap form a handle which holds the inner ends of the blades. The members are mounted for rotation about the hinge axis relative to free blades. Circumferentially spaced stop faces on the body are spaced apart in the axial direction. Circumferentially spaced abutment faces on the cap are spaced apart in the radial direction. The abutment-engaging faces of adjacent free blades are correspondingly spaced apart in the radial direction. To extend the blades, the cap is rotated relative to the body, with the cap and body holding the portions of each free blade between a respective stop face and abutment face for locating the free blades in the extended positions.

Multi-bladed kitchen cutters may be used to divide goods having a circular cross section into sectors for eating. These cutters ensure the even geometric shape of the sectors, and allow the goods to be cut in a single action. Such cutters are relatively large utensils, so it would be advantageous if they could be collapsed when packaged for sale and also when in storage.
U.S. Patent App. No. 2004/0020055 describes a pie cutter with radially-extending cutting blades connected by a hinge, allowing the blades to be rotated between collapsed and extended positions. Operation of this device however, requires grasping the blades to collapse or extend them. Moreover the members joining the radially outer ends of the blades are received between adjacent blades, restricting how closely the blades may be spaced in their collapsed positions. It is an object of the present invention to overcome or substantially ameliorate the above disadvantages or more generally to provide an improved collapsible cutter.


A series of fMRI image frames are acquired along with interleaved navigator signals. The navigator signals are acquired while three orthogonal readout gradients are applied such that a spherical surface is sampled in k-space. The navigator signals are analyzed to measure subject rotational and translational motion during the scan.

The field of the invention is nuclear magnetic resonance imaging methods and systems. More particularly, the invention relates to the reduction of motion artifacts in NMR images using correction methods described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,937,526.
Any nucleus which possesses a magnetic moment attempts to align itself with the direction of the magnetic field in which it is located. In doing so, however, the nucleus precesses around this direction at a characteristic angular frequency (Larmor frequency) which is dependent on the strength of the magnetic field and on the properties of the specific nuclear species (the magnetogyric constant γ of the nucleus). Nuclei which exhibit this phenomena are referred to herein as "spins".
When a substance such as human tissue is subjected to a uniform magnetic field (polarizing field B0), the individual magnetic moments of the spins in the tissue attempt to align with this polarizing field, but precess about it in random order at their characteristic Larmor frequency. A net magnetic moment Mz is produced in the direction of the polarizing field, but the randomly oriented magnetic components in the perpendicular, or transverse, plane (x-y plane) cancel one another. If, however, the substance, or tissue, is subjected to a magnetic field (excitation field B1) which is in the x-y plane and which is near the Larmor frequency, the net aligned moment, Mz, may be rotated, or "tipped", into the x-y plane to produce a net transverse magnetic moment Mt, which is rotating, or spinning, in the x-y plane at the Larmor frequency. The practical value of this phenomenon resides in the signal which is emitted by the excited spins after the excitation signal B1 is terminated. There are a wide variety of measurement sequences in which this nuclear magnetic resonance ("NMR") phenomena is exploited.
When utilizing NMR to produce images, a technique is employed to obtain NMR signals from specific locations in the subject. Typically, the region which is to be imaged (region of interest) is scanned by a sequence of NMR measurement cycles which vary according to the particular localization method being used. The resulting set of received NMR signals are digitized and processed to reconstruct the image using one of many well known reconstruction techniques. To perform such a scan, it is, of course, necessary to elicit NMR signals from specific locations in the subject. This is accomplished by employing magnetic fields (Gx, Gy, and Gz) which have the same direction as the polarizing field B0, but which have a gradient along the respective x, y and z axes. By controlling the strength of these gradients during each NMR cycle, the spatial distribution of spin excitation can be controlled and the location of the resulting NMR signals can be identified.
Object motion during the acquisition of NMR image data produces both blurring and "ghosts" in the phase-encoded direction. Ghosts are particularly apparent when the motion is periodic, or nearly so. For most physiological motion each view is acquired in a period short enough that the object may be considered stationary during the acquisition window. In such case the blurring and ghosting is due to the inconsistent appearance of the object from view to view. Motion that changes the appearance between views such as that produced by a patient moving, by the respiration or the cardiac cycle, or by peristalsis, is referred to hereinafter as "view-to-view motion". Motion may also change the amplitude and phase of the NMR signal as it evolves during the pulse sequence and such motion is referred to hereinafter as "in-view motion".
Both blurring and ghosting can be reduced if the data acquisition is synchronized with the functional cycle of the object to reduce view-to-view motion. This method is known as gated NMR scanning, and its objective is to acquire NMR data at the same point during successive functional cycles so that the object "looks" the same in each view. The drawback of gating is that NMR data may be acquired only during a small fraction of the object's functional cycle, and even when the shortest acceptable pulse sequence is employed, the gating technique can significantly lengthen the data acquisition.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,937,526 describes a method for reducing motion artifacts in NMR images in which the NMR data set used to reconstruct the image is corrected after its acquisition using information acquired concurrently in NMR "navigator" signals. The navigator signals are produced by pulse sequences which are interleaved with the imaging pulse sequences and which are characterized by the absence of phase encoding. The navigator signal is thus a projection along an axis defined by the readout gradient which is fixed in direction throughout the scan. As a result, the navigator signals detect spin motion only along the direction of this readout gradient. A second navigator pulse sequence with an orthogonal readout gradient can also be interleaved throughout the scan, but this further lengthens the scan time and is seldom done. In addition, even when two "orthogonal" navigator signals are acquired during the scan, they do not provide the information required to correct for in-plane rotation of the subject. Such rotational motion is particularly troublesome when imaging certain subjects such as the human heart, or when performing brain function MRI.
The difficulty in correcting for rotational motion has been solved as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,539,312. Navigator signals are acquired using a unique pulse sequence which samples two-dimensional k-space in a circular trajectory. These "orbital" navigator signals are used to correct NMR image data for rotation and translation in a single two-dimensional plane. To obtain sufficient information to correct for all possible rotations and translations, the orbital navigator pulse sequence must be performed three times.
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of the brain is performed by acquiring a time-series of images of one or more anatomic sections of interest. As described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,603,322, algorithms used to extract functional activity from an fMRI time-series are based on the assumption that signal intensity fluctuations in each voxel are dependent only on physiologic changes induced by a functional activation task of known timing. However, image-to-image global head motion invalidates this assumption. Motion occurring over the acquisition of the time-series of images can be conceptually divided into two categories: intra-image motion and inter-image motion. Intra-image motion refers to view-to-view motion which occurs during the period of time that the phase-encoded lines of data necessary to reconstruct a single image are being acquired. This motion can originate from i) respiratory expansion and contraction of the thorax, ii) cardiac-driven pulsatility of the brain, overlying vessels, and cerebral spinal fluid, and iii) bulk rotational and translational head motion. Intra-image motion results in image blurring and ghosting. However, for fMRI studies performed with single-shot EPI acquisition in which all data for one image are collected in under 100 msec, intra-image (view-to-view) motion is not a major problem. Inter-image motion is defined as that occurring between acquisition of successive images in an fMRI time-series and arises from global head movement. It cannot be rectified by fast scanning. Virtually every publication to date addressing in vivo fMRI has at some level acknowledged head motion as a fundamental limitation.

Reduction of motion artifact in NMR images using spherical navigator signals

Mayo Foundation For Medical Education and Research


The present invention relates to electronically assisted drug delivery devices (100). The drug delivery device may include a Gray code type detector for sensing dosage data, wherein the detector comprises a code track consisting of a sequence of alternating markings and a plurality of detectors that are mutually spaced in a direction extending along the code track. The drug delivery device may also include a dosage selector (260) which is moved in a proximal direction upon dose setting and in a distal direction upon dose injection, where the dosage selector is latched in the end of dose position by a latching element, the latching element actuating an end of dose switch for signalling the end of dose state. The drug delivery device may also incorporate power-management arrangements which effectively minimizes power consumption for the incorporated electronic circuitry.

Medical drug delivery devices are used to deliver selected doses of medication to patients. Some medication, such as insulin is self-administered. The typical diabetes patient will require injections of insulin several times during the course of the day.
State of the art drug delivery devices, such as the injection device disclosed in WO 01/95959, provides a user friendly and accurate device wherein most demands as regards patient needs are met. However, purely mechanical working injection devices do not provide the possibility of storing information related to previously injected doses for later retrieval.
Some prior art devices, such as the injection device shown in WO 02/92153, include an electronic dose size identifier and an electronic display which can be used to display the size of a currently set dose as well as the dose size of previously injected doses.
In order to provide more user friendly devices the dosage selector of the injection device should preferably include a rotatable dosage selector which can be dialled in very fine increments. In particular in injection devices for delivery of half-incremental units of a medication, the incremental steps when rotating from one dose size to the next consecutive dose size should preferably be very small. This is of particular importance when dialling larger doses which otherwise usually results in the need of rotating the dosage selector several full revolutions. Such "endless" turning typically will be considered as incurring an unnecessary discomfort. The trend of minimizing incremental dose setting steps in drug delivery devices introduce an increase in the demands regarding the accuracy of the detection system for detecting dose sizes.
Another problem with prior art drug delivery devices, is that monitoring of the end of dose condition, i.e. the specific state where a dosing action is fulfilled, may be somewhat imprecise or unreliable, having consequences for the correct monitoring of dose information.
Another problem when designing different versions of an injection device so as to provide different dose increments for different versions, e.g. full incremental devices and half-incremental devices, is that normally, a large number of components have to be redesigned in order for both versions to perform adequately.
Having regard to the above-identified prior art devices, it is an object of the present invention to provide a drug delivery device which enables improved electronic detection of movements in an injection device.
A further object of the invention is to provide an electronic drug delivery device, which optionally can be equipped with means for transferring data with an external device, where the drug delivery device incorporates a power-management which is effective in minimizing power consumption for the incorporated electronic circuitry, yet allows ease of use during operation of the device.
Yet a further object of the invention is to provide measures for obtaining devices having a superior performance and, at the same time, being manufactured at a reduced cost.

Electronically assisted drug delivery device


HLA-A24-restricted peptides derived from WT1 which have an activity to induce CTLs in vivo, polynucleotides encoding said peptides, cancer vaccines using those peptides or polynucleotides in vivo or in vitro, or the like are provided. The cancer vaccines of the present invention may be used to treat many cancer patients.

Cellular immunities, particularly cytotoxic T cells (referred to as CTLs hereinafter), play an important role in the elimination of cancer cells or virus-infected cells from a living body. CTLs recognize a complex formed between an antigen peptide derived from a cancer antigen protein on a cancer cell (cancer antigen peptide) and an MHC (Major Histocompatibility Complex) class I antigen (referred to as an HLA antigen in the case of human), and thereby attack and injure cancer cells.
Representative examples of cancer antigen proteins are listed in Table 1 described in Immunity, vol.10: 281, 1999. Specific examples include melanosomal antigens such as a melanocytic tissue-specific protein, gp100 (J. Exp. Med., 179:1005, 1994), MART-1 (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 91:3515, 1994), and tyrosinase (J. Exp. Med., 178:489, 1993); as well as HER2-neu (J. Exp. Med., 181:2109, 1995) and cancer markers such as CEA (J. Natl. Cancer Inst., 87:982, 1995) and PSA (J. Natl. Cancer Inst., 89:293, 1997) as cancer antigen proteins other than those from melanomas. Cancer antigen peptides are peptides consisting of about 8 to 11 amino acid residues, generated through the processing of cancer antigen proteins with intracellular proteases (Cur. Opin, Immunol., 5:709, 1993; Cur. Opin, Immunol., 5: 719, 1993; Cell, 82: 13, 1995; Immunol. Rev., 146: 167, 1995). The cancer antigen peptides thus generated bind to MHC class I antigens (HLA antigens) to form complexes, and then the complexes are presented on cellular surfaces, and recognized by CTLs as described above. In development of medicaments for cancer immunotherapy (cancer vaccines) based on cancer cells disruption by CTLs, it therefore is very important to identify a cancer antigen peptide from the cancer antigen protein, which can effectively induce CTLs.
Lots of subtypes exist in MHC class I molecules, and the amino acid sequence of an antigen peptide that binds to the respective subtype obeys a certain rule (binding motif). Regarding the binding motif for HLA-A2, for example, the amino acid at position 2 is leucine, methionine, or isoleucine, and the amino acid at position 9 is valine, leucine, or isoleucine. Regarding the binding motif for HLA-A24, the amino acid at position 2 is tyrosine, phenylalanine, methionine, or tryptophan, and the amino acid at position 9 is phenylalanine, leucine, isoleucine, tryptophan, or methionine. Recently, any peptide sequence expected to be capable of binding to HLA antigens including the motifs as shown above may be searched on databases (for example, BIMAS software; http://bimas.dcrt.nih.gov/molbio/hla_bind/). Accordingly, in order to identify a cancer antigen peptide that can induce CTLs from the cancer antigen protein, peptide regions consisting of about 8 to 11 amino acid in length that match the binding motif or the peptide sequence expected for an intended HLA type are first identified from the amino acid sequence of the cancer antigen protein.
However, peptides that have been identified based on the binding motif or the expected peptide sequence are not necessarily immunogenic. Since an antigen peptide is generated through the intracellular processing of a cancer antigen protein, a peptide not having been generated through the processing cannot be an antigen peptide. Furthermore, since many cancer antigen proteins exist originally in a living body, CTLs may be tolerant to such cancer antigens even if a peptide having the binding motif or the expected peptide sequence is intracellularly generated as a cancer antigen peptide. Those show that, in order to identify a cancer antigen peptide having an activity to induce CTLs, a prediction merely based on the binding motif or the peptide sequence expected for an intended HLA type is insufficient, and an in vivo evaluation for immunogenicity (an activity to induce CTLs) should be important.
A Wilms cancer suppressor gene WT1 (WT1 gene) was isolated from chromosome 11p13 as one of the causative genes of Wilms cancers based on the analysis of the WAGR syndrome that was complicated by Wilms cancers, aniridia, urogenital anomaly, mental retardation, etc. (Nature, 343: 774, 1990). The genomic DNA of WT1 is about 50 Kb, and is composed of ten exons, of which cDNA is about 3 kb. The amino acid sequence deduced from the cDNA is as shown in SEQ ID NO: 1 (Cell., 60:509, 1990). The WT1 gene has been suggested to promote the growth of leukemia cells from the facts that the WT1 gene is highly expressed in human leukemia, and that the leukemia cells are suppressed in their cellular growth by the treatment with WT1 antisense oligomers (Japanese Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 104627/1997). Then, the WT1 gene has been demonstrated to be a new cancer antigen protein of leukemia and solid cancers (J. Immunol., 164: 1873-80, 2000, J. Clin. Immunol., 20, 195-202, 2000) from the fact that the WT1 gene is also highly expressed in solid cancers such as gastric cancer, colon cancer, lung cancer, breast cancer, embryonal cancer, skin cancer, bladder cancer, prostate cancer, uterine cancer, cervical cancer, and ovarian cancer (Japanese Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 104627/1997, Japanese Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 35484/1999). Medicaments for cancer immunotherapy (cancer vaccines) can be preferably applied to as many as possible of cancer patients, and therefore it is important to identify cancer antigen peptides from WT1, which is highly expressed in many kinds of cancer, and to develop cancer vaccines based on those cancer antigen peptides. In this context, WO00/06602 and WO00/18795 describe naturally-occurring cancer antigen peptides composed of a portion of the WT1 protein.
In the course of development of cancer vaccines, evaluation of a vaccine for its in vivo efficacy cannot be conducted using pure-line mice commonly used as experimental animals, and requires an animal model for human expressing an HLA. Specifically, human antigen peptides usable as cancer vaccine induce specific immune responses when presented to an HLA, which is an MHC class I molecule specific for human. Non-human experimental animals lack such an HLA, and therefore are unavailable for in vivo evaluation of cancer vaccines directed to treatment of human. Accordingly, animal models for human expressing an HLA are essential in the evaluation of cancer vaccines for their efficacy as described above.

HLA-A24-restricted cancer antigen peptides

International Institute of Cancer Immunology, Inc.


A nickel base superalloy, having either columnar or equiaxed grain structure, which has significantly improved resistance to hydrogen embrittlement, and to fatigue in air. The material is processed so as to be essentially free of script type carbides, .gamma./.gamma.' eutectic islands and porosity. The processing includes heat treating above the .gamma.' solvus temperature to solution the script type carbides and eutectic islands, followed by HIP to eliminate the porosity.

The present invention deals with improvements to the hydrogen embrittlement resistance of high strength nickel base columnar grain and equiaxed materials. The same principles which provide the improvements to hydrogen embrittlement resistance would also be expected to provide significant benefits to the fatigue behavior of the materials when used in an air atmosphere.
High strenth nickel base superalloys are defined in the context of this invention as nickel base alloys containing more than about fifty volume per cent of the strengthening .gamma.' phase in a .gamma. matrix and having yield strength in excess of 100 ksi at 1000.degree. F. Such alloys find their widest, and heretofore almost exclusive, application in the field of gas turbine engines. To the best of our knowledge, hydrogen embrittlement has only infrequently been a limiting factor in the performance of high strength nickel base superalloys.
In gas turbine engines, hydrocarbon fuels are burned, and free hydrogen may be present at some points during the combustion process, but the relatively low concentration of available hydrogen, and the operating conditions of such engines, have not been found to cause any significant hydrogen embrittlement of the nickel base superalloys.
Recently, however, in the development of the space shuttle main engines, hydrogen embrittlement has been recognized to be a significant problem. The space shuttle main engines are rocket engines which mix and react liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen to form the propellant. These reactants are pumped into the main combustion chamber by turbo pumps which are powered by the combustion products of the reaction of hydrogen and oxygen. The hot side of the turbo pumps, which is exposed to the combustion products of the hydrogen/oxygen reaction, includes a multiplicity of small turbine blades which are investment cast from directionally solidified Mar-M 246 +Hf alloy, an alloy which meets the previous definition of a high strength nickel base superalloy in that it contains more than fifty volume per cent of the .gamma.' phase and has a yield strength of more than 100 ksi at 1000.degree. F. The nominal composition of Mar-M 246 +Hf is 9 Cf, 10 Co, 2.5 Mo, 10 W, 1.5 Ta, 5.5 Al, 1.5 Ti, 1.5 Hf, balance Ni, where each standard chemical symbol represents the weight percentage of the corresponding element. Hydrogen embrittlement of these turbine blades is a problem of great concern and is one of the factors which requires the space shuttle main engine pumps to be rebuilt with substantially greater frequency than originally anticipated.
Hydrogen embrittlement has been most commonly encountered in other fields of metallurgy, involving other metals and other environments. Hydrogen embrittlement occurs at times during electroplating, where hydrogen gas is generated directly on the surface of the part being plated and is absorbed into the part, greatly reducing the ductility of the part. Hydrogen embrittlement is also a factor in some forms of hot corrosion, especially hot corrosion which is observed in oil well drilling wherein deep drilled oil well casings are prone to hydrogen embrittlement as a result of the hydrogen sulfide present in some of the crude petroleum and natural gas which pass through the casings. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,099,992, 4,421,571 and 4,245,698 are typical of the attempts to solve oil well hydrogen embrittlement problems.
Hydrogen embrittlement is encountered in these and other circumstances, and, while the exact mechanism involved is still open to conjecture, the existence of the problem is well documented. Initiation of hydrogen embrittlement cracking in nickel base superalloys has been found to occur at discontinuities in the structure, such as pores, hard particles and interfaces between precipitated phases and the matrix, such as script type carbides and .gamma./.gamma.' eutectic islands. Fatigue crack initiation has also been observed at similar sites in equiaxed superalloy materials, such as PWA 1489, which has a nominal composition of 8.4 Cr, 10 Co, 0.65 Mo, 5.5 Al, 3.1 Ta, 10 W, 1.4 Hf, 1.1 Ti, 0.015 B, 0.05 Zr, balance Ni, with all quantities expressed in weight percent. Strong evidence has been observed for the occurrence of interphase cleavage at the interfaces between the .gamma. matrix and .gamma.' particles, and within .gamma./.gamma.' eutectic islands. These features have been identified as fatigue crack initiation sites in this class of alloys in hydrogen.

Method for making a hydrogen embrittlement resistant .gamma.' strengthened nickel base superalloy material


A method, computer system, and computer program product for performing an asset analysis for at least one asset, using the Required Yield Method (RYM). The method provides first economic data relating to a first economy. The economic data includes a gross domestic product (GDP) per capita growth rate for the first economy. The economic data may further include an expected inflation rate for the first economy over a time interval. At least one asset characteristic (e.g, asset valuation) of each asset of the least one asset is computed. The at least one asset characteristic is a function of a portion of the economic data. The computing is in accordance with the RYM. The computed at least one asset characteristic is transferred to a tangible medium. The at least one asset may include an equity index, a bond, gold, a currency, a derivative, etc.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a method, computer system, and computer program product for asset analysis, including securities and asset valuation and applications thereof, and further including investment portfolio analysis and asset management.
2. Related Art
Current methods and systems lack an understanding of the mechanics underlying the behavior of assets such as equity indexes, bonds, etc., which limits the ability of current methods and systems to analyze characteristics of such assets. Accordingly, there is a need for a methodology for analyzing assets that is grounded in economic theory that underlies the behavior of assets and exhibits a high degree of explanatory power as compared to what exists in the related art.

Asset analysis according to the required yield method


A securing apparatus for securing a cover in a window opening, the securing apparatus engages fastening locations on opposite sides of a window opening. The securing apparatus includes a tube having a first end and a second end. A connector is disposed on the tube at the first end. A precut tube is attached to the connector to engage one of the fastening locations. An end cap is rigidly fixed to the tube at the second end. A threaded shaft is disposed in the tube and projects from the second end through the end cap. A mounting tube is rigidly attached to the threaded shaft, the mounting tube engages another of the fastening locations. An adjusting nut is disposed on the threaded shaft between the end cap and the mounting tube, the adjusting nut adjusts a position of the mounting tube with respect to the tube.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to an apparatus that is used for securing a cover to a window. More specifically, to an apparatus for securing a piece of plywood or corrugated sheet metal in a window opening.
2. Description of the Related Art
The present invention is an apparatus for holding a cover on a window opening. In the event of a hurricane or tropical storm, windows are typically secured with plywood sheets or corrugated metal sheets that are screwed onto a wall or fastened with a nut to studs that project from the wall.
The disadvantages of a securing a window opening as described above are that it is very time consuming to apply the many screws or nuts that are required to hold the cover or panel. This can lead to difficulties in securing all the windows of a domicile prior to the arrival of a storm. It also affords the possibility for an installer to be injured drilling the many holes required to secure a panel.

Apparatus for securing an opening with a removable cover


A powered latch system for a door of a vehicle including a latch assembly, actuatable inside and outside handles, a powered actuator and a door controller that causes the powered actuator to unlatch the latch assembly upon actuation of the inside and outside door handles. The latch assembly may be mechanically unlatched by a user within a vehicle interior even if the powered actuator does not actuate due to a loss of electrical power or other failure. The controller can be programmed to unlatch the latch assembly according to various criteria as required to meet the specific requirements of different markets.

Heretofore, as is known in the art, vehicle door latch assemblies generally include a latch mechanism operable by means of inner and outer door handles. Such latch assemblies can vary in design based on a variety of factors such as the type of vehicle (e.g., car, minivan, truck, etc.), as well as the location of the latch assembly on the specific vehicle. For example, a latch assembly located on a front door of a vehicle may be operable in a single or double pull mode of an inside handle, whereas a latch assembly located on a rear door may require additional child-lock related operability (e.g., no latch over-ride). In Europe, however, the same vehicle may include a rear door latch over-ride. Thus, for a single car, four unique latch assemblies (front/rear, left/right) may be required, with each latch assembly including uniquely designed mechanical features. Moreover, the same vehicle may include yet further latch operation variations when sold in different countries.
For automobiles produced by the millions, reduction of any such variations can result in significant cost savings from design, manufacturing and servicing perspectives. Yet further, streamlining of such functions in one or more latch assemblies can further provide greater flexibility in the ability to customize such functions, and thus greater customer satisfaction.


In a process for demodulation of a received signal that contains, in addition to data to be transmitted, a preset synchronization sequence, the following is done to estimate a frequency shift. At least two nonoverlapping partial sequences of the synchronization sequence are picked off. Using a least-square process, the coefficients of the channel step response at each observation window are determined. The frequency shift, in the form of a phase rotation per symbol, is then estimated.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a process for demodulation of a receiving signal that contains, besides the data to be transmitted, a preset synchronization sequence. The invention relates further to an arrangement for performing the process.
2. Description of the Background Art
In modern data transmission processes, a sequence, known in advance, with largely ideal correlation properties is often used as preamble. This makes it possible to have frame and bit synchronization, an estimate of the channel coefficients and possibly the training of an equalizer.
In practice, because of component tolerances, a frequency shift between the local oscillators in sender and receiver repeatedly occurs. If this frequency shift is not taken into account during demodulation, a noticeable degradation in the performance of data detection must be dealt with. Thus various processes for estimating frequency shift have already been proposed. Known, for example, is the use of a nonlinearity for MSK signals (U. Lambrette and H. Meyr, "Two timing recovery algorithm for MSK," IEEE 1994 p 1155/9), the use of an exponentiation process in PSK signals (S. N. Crozier, "Theoretical and simulated performance for a novel frequency estimation technique," Communication Research Center Ottawa, pp 423-428) or the use of an optimal synchronization sequence that transmits the carrier signal with the help of a sequence of constant data (Oliver C. Mauss, Stefan Feuchtinger, "Low complexity digital down conversion and frequency correction scheme for burst mode digital radio," IEEE 1993, p 621-625).

Method for measuring frequency shift in digital communications using synchronization sequence and channel step response


The present invention is for a method of chemically treating plant biomass with an enzyme system that retains function at low pH and high temperature. Enzyme preparations enriched in xylanase enzymes which retain activity in low pH and high temperature are described. Such preparations may be utilized in a crude unpurified form, and are especially useful in the production of pulp and paper.

Xylan, a major component of hemicellulose, is a polymer consisting of a backbone of .beta.(1,4)-linked D-xylose residues (often acetylated) with .alpha.-L-arabinofuranose and glucuronic acid side chains (Timell, T. E., et al., Wood Sci. Technol. 1:45-70 (1967)). After cellulose, xylan is the second most abundant carbohydrate fraction of plant biomass. Xylan has recently received increased attention as a renewable bioresource.
Being complex, more than one enzyme is required to completely degrade xylan to soluble monomers. Xylan can be hydrolyzed by many hemicellulases, such as, for example, .beta.-1,4-xylanases (EC 184.108.40.206), .beta.-xylosidases and several debranching enzymes (Biely, P., Trends Biotechnol 3:286-290 (1985); Dekker, R. F. H., in Hignehi, T., ed., Biosynthesis and biodegradation of wood components (Academic Press Inc., Orlando), pp. 505-533 (1985); Woodward, J., Top Enzyme Ferment. Biotechnol. 8:9-30 (1984)). The activities of these enzymes play an important role in the decomposition of soil plant litter and have been extensively studied both in bacteria and fungi (Wong, K. K. Y. et al., Microbiol. Rev. 52:305-317 (1988); Poutanen, K. et al., in Enzymes in biomass conversion (ACS Symposium series 460), Leatham & Himmel, eds., American Chemical Society, Washington, D.C. (1991), pp.426-436; Gilbert & Hazlewood, J. Gen. Microbiol. 139:187-194 (1993)).
Various microorganisms secrete enzymes that are capable of degrading xylans, and xylanases have been found in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes (Dekker, R. F. H., Richards, G. N., Adv. Carbohydrate Chem. Biochem. 32:277-352 (1976)). Xylanolytic micro-organisms often produce multiple xylanases to attack the different bonds in these molecules. All the xylanases so far characterized fall into two classes: the high M.sub.r /low pI class and the low M.sub.r /high pI class which coincide, respectively, with the families 10 and 11 of glycosyl hydrolases (Henrissat & Bairoch, Biochem. J. 293:781-788 (1993)).
The cloning of xylanases has been reported from Actinomadura sp. FC7 (Ethier, J. -F. et al., in: Industrial Microorganisms: Basic and Applied Molecular Genetics, R. Baltz et al., eds, (Proc. 5th ASM Conf. Gen. Mol. Biol. Indust. Microorg., Oct. 11-15, 1992, Bloomington, Ind., poster C25); bacteria (e.g. Ghangas, G. S. et al., J. Bacteriol. 171:2963-2969 (1989); Lin, L. -L., Thomson, J. A., Mol. Gen. Genet. 228:55-61 (1991); Shareck, F. et al., Gene 107:75-82 (1991); Scheirlinck, T. et al., Appl Microbiol Biotechnol. 33:534-541 (1990); Whitehead, T. R., Lee, D. A., Curr. Microbiol. 23:15-19 (1991)); and fungi (Boucher, F. et al., Nucleic Acids Res. 16:9874 (1988); Ito, K. et al., Biosci. Biotec. Biochem. 56:906-912 (1992); Maat, J. et al., in Visser, J. et al., eds., Xylans and Xylanases (Elsevier Science, Amsterdam), pp. 349-360 (1992); van den Broeck, H. et al., EP 463,706 A1 (1992), WO 93/25671 and WO 93/25693).
The xylan-containing hemicelluloses in plant biomass are tightly bound to cellulose and lignin. In the pulp and paper industry, in chemical pulping (cooking) of the wood, the major part of the lignin is extracted to get acceptable cellulose pulp product. However, the resulting pulp is brown, mainly because of the small portion of the lignin still remaining in the pulp after cooking. This residual lignin is traditionally removed in a multi-stage bleaching procedure using typically a combination of chlorine chemicals and extraction stages. Peroxide, oxygen and ozone are also used when the use of the chlorine chemicals is wanted to be reduced or avoided totally.
Hemicellulases can be used in enzyme-aided bleaching of pulps to decrease chemical dosage in subsequent bleaching or to increase brightness of the pulp (Kantelinen et al., International Pulp Bleaching Conference, Tappi Proceedings, 1-5 (1988); Viikari et al., Paper and Timber 7:384-389 (1991); and Kantelinen et al., "Enzymes in bleaching of kraft pulp," Dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Technology, Technical Research Centre of Finland, VTT Publications 114, Espoo, 1992). Naturally, in this use, the hemicellulose should be free of cellulases, which would harm the cellulose fibers.
The use of hemicellulose hydrolyzing enzymes in different bleaching sequences is discussed in WO 89/08738, EP 383,999, WO 91/02791, EP 395,792, EP 386,888, EP 473,545, EP 489,104 and WO 91/05908.
Other industrial applications for hemicellulolytic enzymes are in the production of thermo-mechanical pulps, where the aim of the use of hemicellulolytic enzymes is decreased energy consumption. Hemicellulolytic enzymes can be used to improve drainage of recycled pulp or hemicellulolytic enzymes can be used in the production of dissolving pulps (Viikari et al., "Hemicellulases for Industrial Applications, " In: Bioconversion of Forest and Agricultural Wastes, Saddler, J., ed., CAB International, USA (1993)).
The use of hemicellulolytic enzymes for improved water removal from mechanical pulp is discussed in EP 262,040, EP 334,739 and EP 351,655 and DE 4,000,558). When the hydrolysis of biomass to liquid fuels or chemicals is considered, the conversion of both cellulose and hemicellulose is essential to obtain a high yield (Viikari et al., "Hemicellulases for Industrial Applications," In: Bioconversion of Forest and Agricultural Wastes, Saddler, J., ed., CAB International, USA (1993)). Also, in the feed industry, there is a need to use a suitable combination of enzyme activities to degrade the high .beta.-glucan and hemicellulose containing substrate.
To be amenable to enzymatic hydrolysis in vitro, the cellulose-hemicellulose-lignin matrix must be chemically pretreated. One of such procedures involves a thermo-mechanical steam treatment followed by extraction with hot water (Chahal, D. S. et al., J. Indust. Microbiol. 1:355-361 (1987)). A mildly acidic liquor is obtained, which contains water-soluble hemicellulose chains and some lignin derivatives.
However, to ensure further enzymatic hydrolysis of the xylan chains into oligomers or monomers, enzyme systems that are efficient at conditions combining high temperature (such as 70.degree. C.) and moderately acidic pH (around 4.0) are needed. The combination of these two parameters seems however to be harmful for the majority of known xylanases. For instance, at pH 4, xylanase II from the mesophilic actinomycete Streptomyces roseiscleroticus (a low M.sub.r /high pI enzyme) retains less than 5% of the activity it had at pH 6.0-6.5 (Grabski & Jeffries, Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 57:987-992 (1991)). The crude xylanase from Aureobasidium pullulans (Myburgh, J. et al., Proc. Biochem. 26:343-348 (1991)) is acidophilic, having a pH optimum between 3.5 and 4.0 but its activity sharply decreases at temperatures higher than 35.degree. C. The thermostable xylanase from the fungus Thermoascus aurantiacus retains at pH 3.5, only 12% of its maximal activity (Tan L. U. L. et al., Can. J. Microbiol. 33:689-692 (1987)). Another xylanase, a high M.sub.r /low pI enzyme from the extremophile bacterium "Caldocellum saccharolyticum" was shown to be very stable at 60.degree. C. but retained little activity below pH 5 (Luthi, E. et al., Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 56:2677-2683 (1990); Luthi, E. et al., Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 56:1017-1024 (1990). Crude xylanases from various Actinomadura isolates were stable for many hours when incubated at 70.degree.-75.degree. C., but retained less than 15% of their activity at pH 4.0-4.5 and 70.degree. C. (Holtz, C. et al., Antonie van Leeuwenhoek 59:1-7 (1991)).
Thus, there is a need for enzyme preparations that contain xylanases which retain activity under industrial ambient conditions. Especially in the paper manufacturing industry, there is a need for xylanase preparations that are functional in the high temperature, acidic liquor produced by thermo-mechanical steam treatment and hot water extraction.

Thermostable xylanase DNA, protein and methods of use


A selective call system including a system controller, a base station transceiver and a plurality of secondary stations with receivers and low powered transmitters capable of sending spread spectrum signals. Invitations are issued to the secondary stations by the system controller at varying power levels. Only those secondary stations receiving the invitation signal are able to respond. Those secondary stations too far away cannot respond to a low power invitation, and since each secondary station can only respond once, upon a received invitation of increased power, such outer lying secondary stations can respond without interference from closer lying secondary stations.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a selective call system, particularly but not exclusively, to a message transmission system in which long data messages and/or telescript are (or is) transmitted.
2. Description of the Related Art
PCT Patent Specification W094/28685 discloses a paging system which is suitable for sending long data messages at higher rates than is currently normally used and which is an enhancement of, and compatible with, the CCIR Radiopaging Code No 1 alternatively known as the POCSAG paging code. This enhanced paging system, known by the Applicant as the Advanced Paging Operators Code (APOC), has provision for sending address code words and concatenated message code words in cycles having a duration of 6.8 secs. Each cycle comprises a plurality of batches, for example 3 batches of equal duration. Each batch comprises a synchronisation (sync) code word concatenated with n frames, each of which is constituted by m code words.
When transmitting long data messages it is often desired to obtain an indication that a data message has been received successfully and better still to obtain a reply of some sort, however simple. The transmission of acknowledgements to paging messages has been disclosed in the art. In U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/430518 filed Apr. 27, 1995 it is disclosed to transmit responses, that is acknowledgements/simple replies, as spread spectrum signals. By several pagers having different spreading code sequences, they can all respond simultaneously and each response can be recovered at the base station or paging system controller by multiplying the received signal with each of the respective spreading code sequences. The above-mentioned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/430518 also discloses allocating 6 unique spreading code sequences to all the message pagers allocated to the same frame of a batch, with each code sequence having a different meaning, such as:
Code Sequence 1--secondary station in the area for purposes of registration only. PA0 Code Sequence 2--Received last message. PA0 Code Sequence 3--Read message(s). PA0 Code Sequence 4--Answer "Yes". PA0 Code Sequence 5--Answer "No". PA0 Code Sequence 6--Resend last message.
In operation when a system controller has sent a data message to a pager or secondary station, a microcontroller in the addressed secondary station will, if the message has been received and decoded successfully, multiply the reply pulse with, say, Code Sequence 2 and transmit the signal. As the system controller knows to which secondary station a data message has been sent, the protocol will allow a suitable time to elapse before transmitting a further message to that secondary station.
There are other cases where it is desired for a secondary station to send a signal, other than in response to a previous outgoing message, for example to register the presence of a pager in an area covered by a particular base station.
In a selective call system in which data messages are transmitted by a primary station to a secondary station which may roam relative to the primary station and which transmits responses as very low power spread spectrum signals, there is the near/far problem in which strong signals may suppress weak ones. This could mean that a signal which is received relatively weakly at a receiver associated with the system controller may be suppressed by a much stronger signal and in consequence is not detected.


A selective vertical locking mechanism is provided for use with a pair of telescoping tubes. A locking mechanism releasably locks the inner tube relative to the outer tube for adjustment of table height. The locking mechanism includes a housing disposed at the lower end of the inner tube. A locking element with the housing is biased against an inclined ramp fixed within the housing and, though an opening in the housing, against the inner wall of the outer tube, thereby preventing the inner tube from moving downwardly within the outer tube. A push rod and arm, actuated by a handle near the platform, pushes the locking element away from the inner wall or the ramp which allows the inner tube to move downwardly.

This invention relates generally to devices incorporating telescoping tubes having adjustable relative lengths, and specifically to a mechanism for selectively locking the relative positions of a pair of telescoping tubes for providing a combined tubular assembly of differing lengths.
The present type of adjustable tubular assembly is found in a variety of consumer products. One such product is a medical table such as an overbed table with vertical adjustability. However, it is contemplated that the present invention may be used in other products, and is not restricted to overbed tables.
Overbed tables are widely used in hospitals, nursing homes, and the like. It is desirable that the tables be vertically adjustable in order to accommodate beds and chairs of varying heights. Typically, an overbed table consists of a pair of telescoping tubes mounted on a movable stand and having a horizontal tabletop surface mounted to one of the tubes. The height of the table is determined by the relative positions of the tubes between a retracted position and an extended position. The tubes can be locked at, and released from, numerous positions. Several mechanisms for locking a table at a selected height are known in the art.
One such locking mechanism is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,601,246 to Damico. This mechanism employs a wedge and roller clutch mechanism to lock a pair of vertically telescoping tubes. However, this mechanism employs two wedges and at least one and preferably two rollers and, without expensive precision manufacturing of these pieces, it is difficult to make both rollers "grab" simultaneously during adjustment of the height of the table. This results in an echo effect--the second roller grabbing after the first--while attempting to lock the table at the selected height, which tends to hinder precise adjustment of the height. Furthermore, this type of adjustment results in a rough and uneven movement of the tubes relative to each other.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,016,846 and 5,106,043 to Solomon provide for a cam plate type locking mechanism with a single locking plate pivotally mounted to the inner telescoping tube. To lock the inner tube to the outer tube, a spring forces this plate into contact with an interior surface of the outer tube. After repeated uses of the mechanism, the interior surface of the outer tube has numerous dents caused by the locking plate. Hence, operation of the table becomes noisy and operation of the release mechanism may require considerable force.
Accordingly, it is the primary object of the present invention to provide an improved selective locking mechanism for a pair of telescoping tubes which provides for precision adjustment of the relative position of the two tubes.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved overbed table with a selective locking mechanism employing a pair of telescoping tubes, the locking mechanism configured for silent and smooth adjustment of table height.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved overbed table with a selective locking mechanism that is easily released.

Selective vertical locking mechanism for telescoping tubes


An apparatus for processing of an electrical connection terminal for a coaxial cable, wherein the processing is automated and further laborsaving can be achieved in the processing operation. The apparatus comprises a tool means 11 for axially stripping an outer-side insulator layer 5 in a terminal portion of a coaxial cable 1 by a predetermined length and supporting the stripped terminal portion of the coaxial cable, a turn means for tilting an axis Ax1 of the tool means by an angle of α degrees with respect to an axis Ax2 of the coaxial cable to thereby turn the tool means, and an advancing/retreating means for advancing/retreating the tool means on the axis of the coaxial cable, wherein a clearance is provided between an inner-side insulator layer 3 and a mesh-type conductor layer 4 by turning the tool means using the turn means to thereby expand the mesh-type insulator layer into a conical shape 6.

As well known, a coaxial cable is often used in a communication system. A typical coaxial cable has such a constitution that a core wire (internal conductor) has a different mesh-type conductor layer (external conductor) around it organized in a coaxial cylindrical manner via an inner-side insulator layer, the mesh-type conductor layer being covered by an outer-side insulator layer. The coaxial cable has the following problems particularly in forming an electrical connection terminal with respect to the mesh-type conductor layer: 1) layers of the mesh-type conductor layer are so closely attached to the inner-side insulator layer with no clearance therebetween that it is difficult to insert a working tool between the mesh-type conductor layer and the inner-side insulator layer, 2) the mesh-type conductor layer is so closely woven in a mesh-like manner that it cannot be dissolved in a simple manner, 3) it is necessary for the mesh-type conductor layer to be folded because an entire circumference thereof has to be evenly dissolved for an even dissolution, whereas the mesh-type conductor layer is not easily folded, and the like. Therefore, it requires such a complicated process and a lengthened time to form the electrical connection terminal.
Therefore, a main object of the present invention is to provide a method of and apparatus for processing the electrical connection terminal for the coaxial cable, wherein the processing with respect to the electrical connection terminal for the coaxial cable is automated to realize an easier and more reliable processing so that laborsaving can be promoted for the processing operation with respect to the electrical connection terminal for the coaxial cable.

Apparatus for processing electrical connection terminal for coaxial cable


A cell setting apparatus is provided for scheduling a packet data service in a mobile communication system supporting the packet data service. A signaling receiver receives information on a cell to be added to an active set and information on a change in a best cell, from a terminal. A signaling transmitter transmits configuration information for the packet data service and the packet data to a source base station or a target base station. A memory stores information on the active set. A data path decision unit allows the terminal to update the active set and to set configuration information newly set for the packet data service, transmits the information on the cell to be added to the active set to the target base station in response to the information on the cell to be added to the active set, and allows the target base station to perform the packet data service scheduling for the terminal in response to the information on the change in the best cell.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for allowing a target cell to most efficiently perform scheduling on packet data service when a serving cell for the packet data service changes from a source cell to a target cell in a mobile communication system supporting packet data service. In addition, the present invention also relates to a fast cell selection method and apparatus for High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) used in a Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) system. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for allowing a target cell to rapidly perform HSDPA scheduling when an HSDPA serving cell changes from a source cell to a target cell.
2. Description of the Related Art
A mobile communication system has been developed from an early communication system that provides voice service into a high-speed, high-quality wireless data packet communication system that provides data service and multimedia service. The 3rd Generation (3G) mobile communication system, which is currently divided into 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) and 3rd Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2), is now under standardization for high-speed, high-quality wireless data packet service. For example, standardization for HSDPA is being conducted in 3GPP, and under standardization for 1xEV-DV is being carried out in 3GPP2. Such standardization can be considered as an attempt to find a solution for high-speed, high-quality wireless data packet transmission service at 2 Mbps or higher in the 3G mobile communication system, and the 4th Generation (4G) mobile communication system aims at providing the high-speed, high-quality multimedia service.
Generally, the HSDPA scheme refers to a scheme for transmitting control information and packet data through a High Speed Dedicated Shared Channel (HS-DSCH), which is a downlink channel for supporting high-speed packet data transmission, in an asynchronous Universal Mobile Terrestrial System (UMTS) mobile communication system.
HSDPA needs an advanced technology which is capable of increasing adaptability to the channel variation in addition to the conventional technology provided in the existing mobile communication system.
Therefore, Adaptive Modulation and Coding (AMC) and Hybrid Automatic Re-transmission Request (HARQ) for supporting high-speed packet transmission have been proposed in HSDPA.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a process of performing conventional HSDPA serving cell change which uses a Radio Network System Application Part (RNSAP) protocol and a Node B Application Part (NBAP) protocol of WCDMA.
In step 110, a User Equipment (UE) 101 is receiving HSDPA data from a source Node B 102. In step 115, the UE 101 notifies a Serving Radio Network Controller (SRNC) 104 of the fact that a new cell should be added to an active set as a result of monitoring a pilot channel and the like (such an event is called "EVENT 1A" in WCDMA), using an RRC MEASUREMENT REPORT procedure. If the active set is changed, the SRNC 104 sends to the UE 101 a command to change the active set in step 120. Upon receipt of the command, the UE 101 updates the active set and adds the resulting radio link (RL) in step 125, and then proceeds to step 130 where it notifies the SRNC 104 that active set update is completed.
In step 135, the UE 101 notifies the SRNC 104 of the fact that the best cell among the cells included in the active set is changed as a result of monitoring a pilot channel and the like (such an event is called "EVENT 1D" in WCDMA), using an RRC MEASUREMENT REPORT procedure.
Upon recognizing the change in the best cell, the SRNC 104 delivers the information required by a Node B to schedule a UE, such as buffer information, to a target Node B 103 and receives information on the HSDPA resource allocated from the target Node B 103 in step 140, in order to allow HSDPA service to be performed in a new best cell. Step 145 corresponds to a step of instructing the old cell to perform no more HSDPA scheduling. Step 140 and step 145 both use a Synchronous Radio Link Reconfiguration procedure.
In step 150, the SRNC 104 sends to the UE 101 a RADIO BEARER (RB) RECONFIGURATION message with HSDPA configuration information in the new cell. Upon receipt of the RADIO BEARER RECONFIGURATION message from the SRNC 104, the UE 101 delivers an RB RECONFIGURATION COMPLETE message in response thereto to notify the SRNC 104 of correct receipt of the new HSDPA configuration information. Upon receipt of the RB RECONFIGURATION message, the UE 101 monitors High Speed Shared Control Channels (HS-SCCHs) transmitted from the new cell beginning at the arrival of a Connection Frame Number (CFN) included in the message in step 155, to determine whether there is any HSDPA data transmitted thereto.
Because the SRNC 140 used the Synchronous Radio Link Reconfiguration procedure in step 140 and step 145, it sends RL RECONFIGURATION COMMIT messages to the source Node B 102 and the target Node B 103 in step 160, so as to stop HSDPA scheduling in the source cell 102, or the old serving cell, and to start HSDPA scheduling in the target cell 103, or the new serving cell. From now on, the SRNC 140 changes its HSDPA data path from the source Node B 102 to the target Node B 103. Thereafter, the target Node B 103 starts scheduling on the UE 101 in step 165 and step 170.
It can be noted from the foregoing process that there is a considerable time difference between the time where the best cell was changed in step 135 and the time where HSDPA data is actually transmitted from the new best cell 103 in step 165. This problem may be relived to some extent with the use of a method proposed in the present invention in which HSDPA configuration is previously prepared in the target Node B. In addition, it is possible to facilitate fast HSDPA serving cell change by improving the Synchronous Radio Link Reconfiguration procedure performed in the foregoing process.
In the foregoing conventional Synchronous Radio Link Reconfiguration procedure, as the Synchronous Radio Link Reconfiguration procedure commonly defined in RNSAP and NBAP, an SRNC (or Controlling RNC (CRNC)) transmits new radio link configuration information to a Drift RNC (DRNC) (or Node B) along with an RL RECONFIGURATION PREPARE message. Upon receipt of the RL RECONFIGURATION PREPARE message, the DRNC (or Node B) transmits an RL RECONFIGURATION READY message in response thereto to the SRNC (or CRNC) and at the same time, stores the radio link configuration information. Thereafter, upon receipt of the RL RECONFIGURATION COMMIT message for requesting commitment of radio link configuration, the DRNC commits the radio link configuration according to a connection frame number (CFN) included in the received message if the current CFN is equal to the CFN included in the received message.
Currently, because the RL RECONFIGURATION COMMIT message should necessarily include the CFN as shown in Table 1 below, the SRNC delivers this message to the Node B after the best cell is changed, and the new cell performs HSDPA scheduling after a lapse of a predetermined time taking the CFN into account.
TABLE 1IE TypeSeman-AssignedIE/Pres-and Ref-tics De-Critical-Group NameenceRangeerencescriptionCriticalityityMessage TypeMYESignoreTransaction IDM—CFNMYESignoreActive Pattern0FDDYESignoreSequenceonlyInformation

Fast cell selection method and apparatus for high speed downlink packet access system


A surgical clip for illuminating tissue in a surgical field has first and second elongate arms and a connector joining the arms together. The arms are biased to expand laterally outward into an expanded configuration in which the arms engage the tissue in the surgical field with enough force to seat the clip without retracting the tissue. A waveguide illuminator is coupled to the first arm, and has a light input portion, a light output portion, and a light conducting portion extending between the light input portion and the light output portion. Light passes through the waveguide illuminator by total internal reflection, and the waveguide illuminator directs light to the tissue. Methods of using the illuminated clip are also disclosed.

Illumination of body cavities for diagnosis and/or therapy is typically provided by overhead lighting or by headlamps. These forms of illumination can be challenging to use under certain situations. For example, overhead lighting must constantly be adjusted as the physician's position changes relative to the patient, as well as to illuminate different parts of the surgical field. Also, overhead lighting devices may require sterile handles to be attached to the lights in order for the physician to make adjustments without breaching the sterile field. Even then, the light provided by the overhead lamp may not illuminate the work space adequately. Head lamps can be heavy and uncomfortable to use, may require an assistant to help a physician put the headlamp on, and they often generate considerable amounts of heat during use which further limits comfort and can cause burns if an operator accidently mishandles the head lamp. Head lamps also require the physician to constantly adjust head position in order to illuminate the work space, and this can be uncomfortable to the physician.
In an attempt to address some of these issues, surgical instruments such as retractors have been coupled with light pipes such as fiber optics to conduct light from a light source such as a halogen light or a LED light source in order to illuminate a surgical field. For example, some conventional illuminated soft tissue retractors utilize a fiber optic light bundle attached to a retractor handle. The fiber optic bundle provides a very focused light and generates a significant amount of heat. The fiber optics tube is also typically in the line of sight of the user, thereby obstructing a surgeon's view in use. Also, the fiber optic bundle only provides a narrow spot of light and must be constantly adjusted to illuminate the surgical field and minimize glare or shadows. Additionally, the fiber optic bundle requires precision manufacturing and polishing, and the fibers are fragile and can be easily scratched, occluded by blood or other debris, or otherwise damaged in use. Thus fiber optic bundles can also be challenging to use in illuminated surgical systems.
Other materials may be used as waveguides that overcome some of the challenges associated with fiber optic bundles. Exemplary materials such as acrylic or polycarbonate have also been used as waveguides, but these materials have unstable light transmission characteristics under extended use, and the transmission characteristics may change after sterilization using convention techniques. For example, many polymers cross-link and yellow or become brittle after terminal sterilization with radiation. Heat from autoclaving or ethylene oxide sterilization can deform the waveguide. Additionally, precision optical polymers have limited mechanical properties which can limit their use in medical and surgical procedures. For example, some polymers are brittle and can easily shatter during use, or are difficult to process during manufacturing (e.g. hard to injection mold).
In addition to some of the challenges with illumination of a surgical field, surgical instruments such as retractor blades do not always accommodate the anatomy being treated, and the retractor blade and illumination device coupled to the retractor takes up precious space in the surgical field
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide improved illuminated medical devices that provide better illumination of a work space and that reduce or eliminate some of the weight and heat constraints of traditional headlamps and overhead lighting. Such devices conform to the anatomy being treated, are easy to place, and have low profile so they do not take up significant amounts of space, thereby allowing more room for a surgeon's hand or other surgical instruments, and avoiding obstruction of the work space. Additionally, it would be desirable to provide such devices that provide superior lighting to allow visualization of the surgical field, including adjacent tissues such as nerves or blood vessels. Such devices preferably are easy to manufacture, may be single-use or re-sterilizable, and have desired mechanical properties in service. Such instruments also have low profiles so the instrument can fit through small incisions or be positioned in small surgical fields which reduce scarring, improve healing time, and reduce hospital stay. At least some of these objectives will be addressed by the embodiments disclosed herein.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


Some embodiments include an arrangement having a memory tier with memory cells on opposing sides of a coupling region. First sense/access lines are under the memory cells, and are electrically connected with the memory cells. A conductive interconnect is within the coupling region. A second sense/access line extends across the memory cells, and across the conductive interconnect. The second sense/access line has a first region having a second conductive material over a first conductive material, and has a second region having only the second conductive material. The first region is over the memory cells, and is electrically connected with the memory cells. The second region is over the conductive interconnect and is electrically coupled with the conductive interconnect. An additional tier is under the memory tier, and includes CMOS circuitry coupled with the conductive interconnect. Some embodiments include methods of forming multitier arrangements.

Efforts are being directed toward forming multitier arrangements of integrated devices. For instance, a tier comprising memory may be formed over a tier comprising drivers, sense amplifiers, etc. It may be desired to form sense/access lines (e.g., bitlines) which are coupled with memory devices of the upper tier, and which are also coupled with components of the lower tier through interconnects that extend through the upper tier. It would be desirable to develop structures specifically configured to be suitable for such applications, and to develop methods of forming such structures.

Multitier arrangements of integrated devices, and methods of forming sense/access lines


This invention is a process for converting lower alkanes into their corresponding esters and optionally into various intermediates (such as alcohols) and other liquid hydrocarbons. The alkanes are oxidatively converted to oxy-esters at high selectivity and conversion and at practical reaction rates using at least catalytic amounts of certain class "B" metals and/or metal ions defined by the Pearson definition as "soft" or "borderline". Desirable catalysts comprise such metals as Pd, Tl, Pt, Hg, and Au. If so desired, the alkyl oxy-esters may be converted to alcohols or other intermediates such as alkyl halides. The oxy-esters, alcohols, and other intermediates may optionally be converted to liquid hydrocarbons such as gasoline.

The countries of North America currently import significant portions of their needed liquid hydrocarbons from Asia and Africa. Natural gas is abundant on the North American continent but is often present in remote locations. Although natural gas may be liquified and transported for subsequent use, appropriate refrigeration and compression equipment and transportation are quite expensive. Additionally, there are few economically viable technologies available for converting gaseous hydrocarbons to higher molecular weight liquid form materials. This invention includes a highly effective ctalytic step useful in converting methane and other lower alkanes to another, more reactive form which may then be converted to normally liquid hydrocarbons.
It is generally accepted that conversion of methane into a reactive intermediate is the most difficult step in the overall conversion of methane into higher molecular weight hydrocarbons (see, for instance, A.E. Shilov and A. A. Shteinman, "Activation of Saturated Hydrocarbons by Metal Complexes in Solution", Kinetika i Kataliz, Vol. 18, No. 5, pp. 1129-1145, 1977).
Several documents disclose a variety of methods for activating methane to produce other higher molecular weight materials.
Mobil Oil Corporation is assignee in several U.S. patents using sulfur or certain sulfur-containing compounds as the reactants in non-catalytic reactions with methane to produce methyl intermediates which can then be converted to higher molecular weight hydrocarbons.
In U. S. Pat. No. 4,543,434 Chang teaches a process using the following steps: ##STR1## where "[CH.sub.2 ]" is a hydrocarbon having at least two carbon atoms.
Another Mobil disclosure (U. S. Pat. No. 4,864,073 to Han et al.) suggests a carbonyl sulfide-based process in which methane and carbonyl sulfide are contacted in the presence of ultraviolet light under conditions sufficient to produce CH.sub.3 SH. No other reaction initiators are said to be present. The reaction scheme is shown to be: ##STR2## The selectivity of the first reaction is said to be high, i.e., around 81%; however, the conversion appears to be quite low.
A disclosure similar to that in Chang is found in Mobil's U.S. Pat. No. 4,864,074 to Han et al. As in Chang, the methane is contacted with sulfur. The process conditions are changed, however, so that either CS.sub.2 or CH.sub.3 SH is formed. These sulfur compounds may then be converted in the presence of the preferred HZSM-5 zeolite catalyst to produce hydrocarbons having two or more carbon atoms. Also, as was the case with Chang, the step of contacting the methane to produce a methyl-sulfur compound is performed in the absence of a catalyst.
Other methods are known for producing substituted methanes which are suitable for further reaction to heavier hydrocarbons. A thermal methane chlorination process is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,804,797 to Minet et al. A similar process is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,979,470 to Fimhaber et al. although a preference for C.sub.3 hydrocarbon feeds is expressed.
One method shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,523,040 to Olah utilizes either a solid strongly acidic catalyst or a supported Group VIII metal (particularly platinum and palladium) in the gas phase halogenation of methane to produce methyl halides. The patent indicates that monohalides are produced in 85% to 99% selectivity. Olah suggests that subsequent or concurrent catalytic hydrolysis produces methyl alcohol and/or dimethyl ether. Production of methyl oxy-esters is not shown.
The reaction of methane with palladium (II) acetate in trifluoroacetic acid to effect the trifluoroacetoxylation of methane is shown in Sen et al., "Palladium (II) Mediated Oxidative Functionalization of Alkanes and Arenes", New Journal of Chemistry (1989), Vol. 13, No. 10-11, pp. 756-760. A yield of 60% based on palladium was reported when the reaction was practiced using methane as the reactant. Consequently, the reaction with methane utilized palladium as a reactant and not as a catalyst. The extent of methane conversion, selectivity, and reaction rates were not stated.
The Sen et al. article has been criticized in Vargaftik et al., "Highly Selective Partial Oxidation of Methane to Methyl Trifluoroacetate", Journal of the Chemical Society, Chemical Communications (1990), pp. 1049-1050, to the extent that the results were not found to be reproducible. Vargaftik et al. discloses the catalytic oxy-esterification of methane to methyl trifluoroacetate with cobalt in trifluoroacetic acid but shows that palladium is not even suitable for stoichiometric methane oxidation in that process. With Pd, less than 0.1% yield of methyl trifluoroacetate based on palladium (II) trifluoroacetate was obtained.
The Varaftik et al. article discloses that although palladium is ineffective for the conversion of methane to methyl trifluoroacetate, Co.sup.III can be used for this reaction. The Co.sup.III is said to be catalytic in the presence of oxygen. The rate of the reaction was very low, 2.5.times.10.sup.-11 mol/cc sec, (or four to five orders of magnitude away from typical commercial rates of about 10.sup.-6 mol/cc.sec). Only four turnovers of the Co ion were disclosed. The extent of methane conversion was not stated. In addition to Co, other metals were suggested which were said to allow stoichiometric oxidation of methane to methyl trifluoroacetate in varying yields (based on amount of metal charged): Mn (30%), Cu (0.1%), and Pb (10%).
A later publication by Sen et al ("Homogeneous Palladium (II) Mediated Oxidation of Methane", Platinum Metals Review, (1991), Vol 35, No. 3, pp. 126-132) discloses a catalytic system using palladium as the catalyst, peroxytrifluoroacetic acid as the oxidant, and a mixture of trifluoroacetic acid and trifluoroacetic anhydride as the solvent. The reaction rate was low (4.2.times.10.sup.-9 mol/cc.sec) and only 5.3 turnovers of Pd were observed. The extent of methane conversion and selectivity were not stated.
None of these disclosures appear to show a process in which a lower alkane is oxidized to an oxy-ester intermediate using our class of catalysts and acids nor do they show a process combining that step with a step in which the oxy-ester intermediates so-produced are then converted into heavier liquid hydrocarbons. These disclosures further do not show processes achieving high conversion and selectivity for the catalytic oxidation of methane to methyl oxy-esters, particularly at practical reaction rates.

Catalytic process for converting lower alkanes to esters, alcohols, and to hydrocarbons


A process for the preparation of phosphatidylserines, comprising the reaction of phosphatides, such as phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine, with racemic or enantiomerically pure Serine, preferably with (L)-Serine, wherein said reaction is carried out in an aqueous dispersion of said phosphatides in the presence of a phospholipase D (PLD) and of calcium salts.

The present invention relates to a process for the preparation of phosphatidylserines.
More particularly, the invention relates to a process for the preparation of phosphatidylserines starting from natural or synthetic phospholipids, by reacting them with Serine in an aqueous medium.
Phosphatidylserines have manifold importance, in particular in the production of pharmaceutical compositions suitable for the therapy of cerebral involutive disorders of different nature, such as senile decline or vascular pathologies, in the preparation of particular liposome formulations, and, more recently, the commercialisation of dietetic compositions containing natural lecithins, in particular soy lecithin, enriched in phosphatidyl-(L)-Serine, hereinafter referred to as PS, also containing polyunsaturated fatty acid acyl residues.
As industrial amounts of low-cost PS are increasingly needed, applicants carried out an extensive study in order to find conditions for the preparation of this product fulfilling the requirements of practicability on an industrial scale.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,700,668, in, discloses a process for the preparation of PS, which, contrary to those of the prior art (see, in particular, Comfurius P et al., Biochim. Biophys. Acta 488, 36 (1977); Yamane et al., Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1003, 277 (1989); JP-A-63 036,791; JP-A-02 079,990 and J.Chem.Soc. Perkin Trans. 1, 919 (1995)) allows to prepare PS in good yields on an industrial scale also from unpurified starting materials and without need for chromatographic purifications.
The process disclosed in said Patent comprises the reaction of natural or synthetic phosphatides with Serine in a diphasic system consisting of a solution of the starting phosphatide in an organic solvent, typically toluene, and of an aqueous solution containing Serine and phospholipase D. Keeping said system thoroughly stirred, phosphatides are transformed into PS which can be recovered from the organic phase by precipitation with acetone.
A similar process, although providing phosphatidylserine on large scale in good yields, deviates from the present trend for industrial chemical processes involving reduced use of organic solvents and minimizing by-products. This process, in fact, involves the use (and the recycle) of remarkable amounts of organic solvents and their recovery both during the reaction and during the isolation of the end product.
The present invention aims at providing a process for the preparation of phosphatidylserines on an industrial scale, which overcomes the drawbacks mentioned above with reference to the prior art.
This problem has been solved, according to the invention, by a process for the preparation of phosphatidylserines of formula (I)
in which R1 and R2 are independently saturated, monounsaturated or polyunsaturated acyl C10-C30,
X=OH or OM, wherein M=alkali or alkaline-earth metal, ammonium, alkylammonium (including the inner salt),
comprising the reaction of phosphatides of general formula (II)
in which R1, R2 and X have the meanings defined above and R3=CH2xe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94NH2 or CH2xe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94N30 (CH3)3,
with racemic or enantiomerically pure Serine, preferably with (L)-Serine, in the presence of a phospholipase D (PLD), characterized in that the reaction is carried out in an aqueous dispersion preferably in the presence of calcium salts. Serine is usually added to a buffered aqueous dispersions of phosphatides.
The starting material used in the process can be either a synthetic phosphatidylcholine (PC) such as DiMyristoylPhosphatidylCholine (DMPC), or a natural phosphatidylcholine or a mixture of phospholipids such as soy or egg lecithin or one of the commercially available phospholipid mixtures obtained by partial purification of soy or egg lecithin.
As far as the cost of the process is concerned, it is particularly convenient to use starting materials derived from lecithin in view of both their lower cost and the fact that phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), which is an important component of these mixtures, is transformed into PS under these reaction conditions.
The starting material should be thoroughly dispersed in an aqueous medium before the addition of the other reagents, in order to promote reactivity.
The dispersion is carried out keeping the starting phospholipide material under stirring for 1-10 hours at 20-50xc2x0 C. with 3-10 volumes of water or saline solutions.
The use of surfactants in this step promotes the dispersion of the substrate and therefore the reaction rate.
Ionic or non-ionic surfactants can be conveniently used, more conveniently the surfactant is bis(2-ethylhexyl)sulfosuccinate sodium salt (AOT) or Tween 80(R) in amounts from 0.01 to 0.4 g per gram of substrate.
The effect of these surfactants is particularly favourable when using phosphatidylcholines, such as DMPC, which have poor tendency to disperse in aqueous medium.
A further feature of this invention is that it is possible to easily remove the alcohol solvents, and in particular ethanol, which often contaminates the preparations of natural phospholipids (for example Phosphatidylcholine-enriched fractions obtained from soy lecithin) and which interfere in the subsequent reaction of formation of PS as they react in the presence of phospholipase D to give the corresponding phosphatidyl derivatives (such as phosphatidylethanol when ethanol is present in the mixture).
This removal can be conveniently carried out by dispersing the starting phospholipid in an aqueous saline solution, decanting the suspension and removing the liquid phase which contains ethanol dissolved therein.
As aqueous saline solution can be used any saline solution having sufficiently high density to easily separate the starting material, preferably a solution of calcium chloride or of Sodium Acetate/Acetic acid buffer or of both of them.
The starting material aqueous dispersion is added with an aqueous solution containing Serine, Calcium Chloride, a uffer to control pH and phospholipase D.
The amount of Serine will conveniently range from 4 to 20 mols of Serine per mol of phospholipid to be converted nto PS. Serine can be in the D, L or racemic forms to obtain in any case the corresponding phosphatidyl derivatives.
Calcium chloride is the source of calcium ion which favours the Phospholipase D-catalysed reactions; furthermore, the presence of calcium ion induces the separation of Phosphatidylserine in an easily filterable form after completion of the reaction.
The concentration of calcium chloride preferably ranges from 0.05 to 0.5 M.
The pH of the aqueous solution will depend on the origin of the used enzyme and it will preferably range from pH=4 to pH=9 included. In case of enzymes exerting their activity in substantially acid medium, the aqueous solution will be preferably buffered with 0.02M to 0.2M acetate buffer.
An enzyme having a transphosphatidylating activity higher than the hydrolysing activity should conveniently be used as the enzyme for carrying out the reaction; an enzyme of fermentative origin may be advantageously used, more conveniently the enzyme obtained by fermentation of the microorganism deposited at the ATCC under the number 55717.
The enzyme can be used either in the crude form, namely the fermentation mixture after filtering off the microorganism, or, more preferably, after purification by ultrafiltration through membrane with suitable cut-off to remove low molecular weight impurities. The enzyme-rich solution from the ultrafiltration can be used as it is or it can be freeze-dried to obtain the enzyme in the solid form; the enzyme amount preferably ranges from 10 to 100 units per gram of phosphatide (the enzymatic activity is determined with the test described in Biotechn Techn 7 795 (1993)).
The reaction is preferably carried out at 25-60xc2x0 C., most preferably from 40 to 50xc2x0 C.
PS is recovered by filtration of the reaction mixture, washing the solid with water to remove Serine and the present salts.
A particularly advantageous aspect of the process according to the invention is that the reaction product (PS) is separated from the reaction mixture in such a form that the recovery can be effected by simple filtration without need for precipitations by addition of solvents.
The main advantage of the process according to the invention is the possibility, unexpected in view of the prior art, to carry out the transphosphatidylation reaction of phosphatidylcholine and of similar phosphatides in an aqueous medium, to obtain phosphatidylserine of good purity and in highly satisfactory yields.
The features and the advantages of the process of the invention will be further disclosed by the following examples.

Process for the preparation of phosphatidylserines


The present disclosure relates to a guide. The guide includes a handle and a shaft coupled to the handle, the shaft including a lip located at a distance from the longitudinal axis of the shaft and extending a distance from an end of the shaft. A method of tissue repair is also disclosed.

1. Field of Technology
The present disclosure relates generally to arthroscopic soft tissue repair and, in particular, arthroscopic labral repair in the hip joint.
2. Related Art
As shown in FIG. 1, the acetabular labrum 11 is a ring of soft tissue that encircles the acetabulum 10 near the entrance to the acetabular cup or socket 12. In some cases, the labrum 11 is torn off of the acetabulum 10, or acetabular rim 13, and needs to be reattached. Currently, fixation devices, such as suture anchors, are used to reattach the labrum 11 to the acetabulum 10. However, due to complications in visualization of the area of anchor placement, placement of the suture anchor is done blind or without the surgeon being able to see where the anchor is being placed. As shown in FIG. 2, there is a risk that the anchor, or anchor hole 14, may be placed with an incorrect trajectory such that the possibility of it breaking into the articular cartilage 15 of the socket 12 is increased. Not only could this cause damage to the cartilage 15, but it could also lead to damage to the femoral head (not shown), which is housed within the socket 12.
As shown in FIG. 3, in order to avoid damaging the cartilage 15 and femoral head, the anchor hole 14 is placed in a location that is a certain distance X from the acetabular cartilage 15 surface. When the labrum 11 is reattached via use of the anchor 16 and suture 17, the labrum 11 is positioned in a non-anatomic location or off of the rim 13, as shown in FIG. 3. Having the labrum 11 positioned in a non-anatomic location may lead to further problems with the hip joint, specifically the labrum 11 will not be able to perform its primary role of creating a seal against the head of the femur. Therefore, a method and instrument for use therewith that would precisely position the anchor 16 relative to the acetabular cartilage surface 15 is needed.


A method for connecting a local and a remote device using a plurality of telephone lines is disclosed. The remote device calls the local device on one of the telephone lines to establish a first telephone connection. The local device sends the other telephone numbers to the remote device on the first telephone connection. The remote device can then establish additional telephone connections. Once connections are established, the two devices can divide a data stream into smaller components. These components are sent via these telephone connections. These components are received by the receiving devices and combined to recover the original data stream. One of the application of the present invention is videophone.

Telephone is one of the most widely used communication equipments in the world. At first, it was merely a convenient tool to allow people to communicate while they are physically separated. Recently, many new products and services use telephone network as communication medium. Examples are electronic mails, videophone, the World Wide Web, etc. However, many users found out the performance of these products and services are below acceptable level. The main reason for the poor performance is that a large amount of data needs to be delivered from one point to another. Thus, the performance of all these products and services will improve with increasing bandwidth.
An example of the need for bandwidth is the development of teleconference devices that can communicate using regular telephone lines. Many companies have tried to developed videoconferencing products (such as videophones) since 1964. There are three major hurdles in the product development: cost, quality, and connectivity. A successful videoconferencing product must overcome these three hurdles. Currently, most homes are connected with regular phone lines, known in the industry as the Plain-Old-Telephone-System (POTS). The low bandwidth of POTS has been a great road block which keeps vendors from offering an acceptable videoconferencing product to the consumer market.
There were suggestions to use high bandwidth communication channels, such as Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) lines, to carry videophone communications. ISDN line has a bandwidth of 64 kilo-bits per second (Kbps), corresponding to a 1B channel, up to 384 Kbps, corresponding to a 6B channel. Most business videoconferencing products are based on ISDN because of the availability of the needed bandwidth. Unfortunately, ISDN is relatively expensive and is less popular than POTS in practically everywhere in the world. Still, many large corporations can justify installing ISDN-based videoconferencing products because they can save travel expenses and encourage business communications. However, conventional business videoconferencing products are not popular among small businesses, and are definitely unlikely to be justifiable for general public.
There are predictions that ISDN lines will become popular in the future. It is known that POTS takes decades to reach today's wide-spread usage, both domestically and internationally. Assuming that the growth of ISDN follows the historic growth path of POTS, it may take another 30 years before most household are connected to ISDN lines. Thus, it is unlikely that ISDN-based videophones will become popular in the near future.
There are other developing technologies, such as Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL), high bit-rate DSL (HDSL), very high bit-rate DSL (VDSL), Hybrid Fiber Coax (HFC), and Community Antenna Television (CATV). These technologies promise high bandwidth, typically higher than 1 Megabits per second or 1 Gigabits per second. However, they are either not bi-directional, not callable or not widely used.
Based on the above considerations, POTS is the best medium in the foreseeable future in terms of cost and connectivity. The worldwide infrastructure of POTS is mostly complete. Cost is low. The only hurdle is the bandwidth. Thus, it is desirable to develop ways to improve the bandwidth of POTS.
Various modulation schemes have been developed to improve the bandwidth of POTS. An example is the V.34 standard, which allows one single POTS line to communicate at 28.8 Kbps (or in some cases up to 33.6 Kbps). Looking at the technology advancements from the past, it is on the safe side to forecast that eventually faster MODEM modulation schemes over POTS will be introduced and standardized. However, it is recognized that there is a limit as to how fast data can travel along a POTS line.
Another example of the need for higher bandwidth is the Internet. During the past few years, many homes have been connected to the Internet. A typical user of Internet is attracted to beautiful multimedia images offered by the World Wide Web (the Web). However, it is found that retrieving these images over the Web is very slow because of the large data size and low bandwidth of POTS.
It can be seen from the above that it is desirable to increase the bandwidth of telephone communication with minimum cost and inconvenience to users.

Methods and systems for connecting multiple telephone lines between two stations


A first data transmission and a second data transmission from a TPMS monitor are received and stored. The first data transmission and the second data transmission are compared and at least one changing portion of the data transmission is identified based upon the comparison. Sensed data is received from a tire pressure sensor. A data resolution is determined and a third data transmission formed. The at least one changing portion of the third data transmission is replaced with the sensed data according to the resolution. The third data transmission is transmitted including the sensed data.

Tire pressuring monitoring (TPM) devices are used in today's vehicles. A tire pressure sensor senses the tire pressure reading (or other conditions, such as the temperature of the tire). These sensed readings may be communicated to a TPM receiver that is disposed in the vehicle. A display screen may also be coupled to the receiver. When the tire pressure reading falls below a particular threshold, the driver of the vehicle may be alerted, for example, by an alert message being displayed to the driver on the screen. The driver can then take any required action.
The transmissions made from the TPM sensor (transmitter) to the TPM receiver (e.g., in the vehicle) are made according to various types of formats. For instance, different automobile manufacturers use different formats. The formats relate to the positioning of data, the number of bits, the meaning of the bits, the transmission rate, the baud rate, and error-handling approaches, to mention a few examples.
In some approaches, each TPM sensor needs to be manually and individually programmed with the desired transmission format or protocol. Current approaches for programming the individual TPM sensors typically involve the use of a hand-held programming device. An operator manually programs the TPM sensor with the selected protocol or format according to the desired automobile manufacturer. Unfortunately, the manual programming approach is error prone, time-consuming, and inefficient.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity. It will further be appreciated that certain actions and/or steps may be described or depicted in a particular order of occurrence while those skilled in the art will understand that such specificity with respect to sequence is not actually required. It will also be understood that the terms and expressions used herein have the ordinary meaning as is accorded to such terms and expressions with respect to their corresponding respective areas of inquiry and study except where specific meanings have otherwise been set forth herein.

Apparatus and method for cloning tire pressure monitor system information