Data acquisition based on the same MRI encoding pattern is repeated at least once for each R wave occurring at time T0 used as a trigger. The necessary number of data for image reconstruction are extracted as subsets of a complete MRI data set from the resulting plural sets of acquired MRI by temporally retrospecting from the next R wave occurrence time (time T1) after the R wave (time T0) used as the trigger. The extracted data subsets are then rearranged to generate a complete composite MRI data set which is then used for image reconstruction of heart movement associated with end-diastole after the occurrence of the triggering R wave.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an imaging technique for a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus and, more particularly, to a technique used for imaging a coronary artery.
2. Description of the Related Art
A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus is an apparatus which images the chemical and physical microscopic information of a substance or is used for the observation of a chemical shift spectrum by using a phenomenon in which when a group of nuclei having a unique magnetic moment is placed in a homogenous static field, they resonantly absorb energy of an RF field that rotates at a specific frequency.
Recently, in image diagnosis using this magnetic resonance imaging apparatus, magnetic resonance coronary angiography (MRCA) using an imaging method (TrueSSFP/FISP/Balanced FFE method or the like) which uses a steady state has been frequently used. This method can visualize a coronary artery without using any contrast medium. In addition, performing imaging at a period in end-diastole at which a coronary artery stops substantially makes it possible to reduce the disturbance of image quality ground for the movement of the coronary artery. This technique can make a coronary artery to be visualized with a contrast medium and is therefore expected as a method for screening of a coronary artery or the like.
FIG. 7 is a view for explaining a scan series in conventional magnetic resonance coronary angiography (MRCA). As disclosed in, for example, Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication NO. 11-229571, conventional MRCA uses a method of performing imaging by detecting an R wave in an ECG waveform and starting a scan a predetermined delay time after the detection by using the R wave as a trigger, as shown in FIG. 7.
In conventional MRCA, however, even if an optimal delay time (that allows imaging immediately before the detection of the next R wave) is set at the start of imaging, since the heart rate (R-R) of a patient changes, the set condition deviates from the optical condition in actual data acquisition, resulting in a deterioration in coronary artery visualization performance.

Magnetic resonance imaging apparatus and magnetic resonance imaging apparatus control method


An extendable apparatus incorporating a support member slidably retaining at least one extension element which is biased by a tensioning means to remain in a retracted position and means for securing the at least one extension element in a position in which the overall length of the apparatus is extended. The extendable apparatus further incorporating a means for producing light and/or a means for attachment to a multiwheeled vehicle.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to self propelled, multiwheeled vehicles. In its aspects it relates to accessories for multiwheeled vehicles. In one of its aspects, it relates to increasing the comfort level of riding a self propelled, multiwheeled vehicle. In another of its aspects, it relates to increasing the safety of riding a self propelled, multiwheeled vehicle. More particularly it relates to providing a foot rest for either the operator position or the passenger position of a multiwheeled vehicle. In a more particular aspect, the invention relates to telescoping foot rests for self propelled, multiwheeled vehicles and, most particularly, relates to self-retracting, telescoping foot rests for self propelled, two wheeled vehicles.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Most self-propelled, multiwheeled vehicles, such as motorcycles and motorbikes, are now built to accommodate not only an operator of the vehicle but also a passenger who rides on a seating area behind the operator. In both the operator and passenger positions the comfort of the rider can be enhanced by providing a foot rest, commonly called a foot peg, allowing the legs of the rider to be in a position that is more stretched out and thereby more comfortable than the bent knee position most commonly required by the pedal-type foot rests built into most motorized cycles.
A major problem with foot pegs that are added to the profile of one of these vehicles has been the length of the protrusion of the foot pegs from the sides of the vehicle. The foot pegs can become more and more hazardous to a rider, to the vehicle itself and to objects beside the vehicle as the length of the extension is increased unless provision is made to limit the extension of the foot pegs when not in service. This problem has been solved variously by providing folding foot pegs or foot pegs that can be expanded from a telescoped position to an extended position.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,794,353 is typical of road vehicle foot rests shown in the patented art that provide a bar with fold-up portions at its extremities. The bar can be attached to the frame of the vehicle so that the fold-up portions in the extended position provide a foot rest and in the folded position lie against the side of the vehicle. This addresses the problem of shortening the extended foot rest both when in service and when not in service.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,797,791 is another example of a foot peg with a fold-up portion. This foot peg, however, discloses the added benefit of the inclusion of a light at the outer end of the foot peg. The light serves as a safety device by delimiting the width of the vehicle for approaching vehicles.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,524,918 discloses a motorcycle with a footrest for a passenger. This footrest is attached to a portion of the motorcycle to provide relief from the danger of the passenger's legs contacting the hot exhaust pipes of the motorcycle. The footrest is designed, on being screwably released from the telescoped position, to automatically extend by spring action to an increased length. The footrest can be compressed back to its telescoped, i.e. non-extended, length and resecured in that position by a screw mechanism.
As set out above, the prior art discloses extendable foot rests, including lighted foot rests, for self propelled, two wheeled vehicles. U.S. Pat. No. 5,524,918 seems to be unique in its disclosure of a spring-loaded, automatically, extendable foot peg. The terminology "automatically, extendable" describes the fact that the spring loading of the foot peg disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,524,918 automatically extends the foot peg which must be manually, retracted by telescoping the elements of the foot peg and then securing the foot peg in the retracted position using a screw mechanism.
Note that in the following disclosure the terms "automatically retractable" or "automatically telescopeable" are used to denote that the neutral state or state to which the inventive device should return when not in service is with the extendable portion retracted or telescoped with the support portion to shorten the device or, in other words, that, except for being secured in the service position, the device would return to the retracted state.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an extendable apparatus that (1) has a non-extended mode as its usual position which (2) can be secured in an extended position, but which (3) will automatically return to the non-extended position upon release from the extended position. For this disclosure the apparatus can be defined as being automatically, telescopically retractable.
It is another object of this invention to provide a device that can be attached to the body of a self propelled, vehicle having at least two wheels to provide on either or both sides of the vehicle an extendable, foot peg that is automatically, telescopically retractable.
It is a further object of this invention to provide an extendable foot peg device that is automatically, telescopically retractable that can be attached to one side of the body of a self propelled, vehicle having at least two wheels.
Another object of this invention is to provide an extendable foot peg that can be easily returned to the non-extended position while the vehicle is in service.
It is still another object of this invention to provide an extendable foot peg that is automatically, telescopically retractable that has a means for producing light attached to the portion of the foot peg that can be extended.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become evident to those skilled in the art by reference to the following description and drawings and the appended claims.

Retractable foot peg for self propelled, multiwheeled vehicles


A system for selecting an image to accompany text from a user in connection with a social media post. The system includes receiving text from the user; identifying one or more search terms based on the text; identifying candidate images from images in one or more image databases using the search terms, where the candidate images comprise a sponsored image; presenting one or more candidate images to the user, where the sponsored image is presented preferentially compared to other candidate images; receiving from the user a selected image from the one or more candidate images; generating the social media post comprising the selected image and the user-submitted text; and transmitting the social media post for display.

In the age of social media, multimedia messages containing both text and images may convey thoughts and ideas to others, including social or business contacts or to a larger audience. Selecting an appropriate image to pair with text provided by a user may be a challenging and laborious process, given the large number of images available to an internet user.
Other methods of searching for images require the user to select or identify discrete search terms to find the image and/or search amongst all images on the internet. As users become accustomed to the process of creating a multimedia message where the image is suggested by a service, opportunities arise for customization in ways that could benefit publishers, photographers, advertisers, or anyone with a financial, aesthetic, or editorial interest in influencing the images suggested to the user while creating their multimedia message.
Accordingly, an automated method for suggesting and choosing images to pair with a user's text may be desirable. A service to publish and share such thoughts, and to track them so that images for future thoughts may be better chosen, may be similarly desirable.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

System and method for selecting sponsored images to accompany text


An acoustic structure of seat back includes a suspension board element provided therein. The suspension board element, which has a speaker unit provided to a backward surface thereof, is resiliently provided in a seat back frame of the seat back. A sound-conductive cushion element of a flat plate configuration is juxtaposed on a forward surface of the suspension board element. Those seat back frame and sound-conductive cushion element are covered with a foam padding and a trim cover assembly to thereby form such an acoustic seat back structure wherein all the suspension board element, speaker unit and sound-conductive cushion element are resiliently supported within the seat back, as an acoustic and vibration generator unit effective for imparting sound and vibration directly to a back portion of seat occupant.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sound system in an automotive seat, and in particular to an acoustic structure of seat back provided with speakers, wherein a sound is emitted from speakers to an occupant on the seat.
2. Description of Prior Arts
There has been known an automotive seat of the type having speakers provided therein, which allows a sound, such as music, to be emitted from the speakers directly to an occupant on the seat, so that the occupant can fully enjoy the sound with both his or her ears and body. In this kind of seat, as disclosed from the Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2002-346476, the speakers are provided behind a cushion material forming one constituent element of the seat so as to be in contact with a reverse side of the cushion material. While not taught in that literature, normally, the speakers are secured to a spring element typically provided in the seat.
The foregoing conventional acoustic structure of seat has, however, been found defective in that:
(i) the cushion material used is a foam padding material formed from urethane foam for optimal cushioning effect, but, is not suited for imparting the sound therethrough because of its property of absorbing sound and degrading acoustic effect, and
(ii) the sound emitted from each speaker is limited to a region which is substantially compassed by a diameter of the speaker itself, and such limited range of sound emission is directed to the back of an occupant on the seat, as a result of which, the occupant can not enjoy the music satisfactorily, and can not feel such vivid sound as if the music was performed in a real concert hall, neither, due to the foregoing sound absorption by the foam cushion material.
On the other hand, as known from the Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No 2004-97654, there is a seat having exposed speakers in its seat back to enable direct emission of sound to an occupant on the seat. According thereto, a through-bore is formed in both of foam cushion material and top cover member of the seat back and a speaker is secured in the through-bore, so that a frontal side of the speaker is exposed from the frontal surface of seat back and directly faces toward the seat occupant. However, such exposed speakers interfere with the occupant's movement, thus impairing a comfortable seating condition of the seat, and further, the range of sound emission from such exposed speaker arrangement is limited to a narrow space around the seat occupant, so that the occupant can not fully enjoy the sound or music with his or her body.


An optical conductor has several spherically curved light-extraction areas on its surface that are arranged in spaced relationship to one another and have a particular height (h) and a particular radius (R) of surface curvature, wherein h/R ratios of the respective height to the respective radius of all light-extraction areas are substantially equal and lie within a range of 0.1 to 0.45. A lighting system comprises one or more optical conductors and one or more light sources for irradiation of at least one light-injection area of the optical conductor, wherein useful light radiated from the front of the optical conductor can be emitted unscattered from the lighting system and/or interference light emitted outside of a useful light path is absorbable by the lighting system. Some embodiments may be particularly applicable in vehicle lighting systems.

The present disclosure relates to an optical conductor with several spherically curved light-extraction areas on its surface that are spaced apart from one another and have a particular height and a particular radius of surface curvature. The present disclosure also relates to a lighting system comprising one or more optical conductors and one or more light sources for irradiation of at least one light-injection area of the optical conductor. The present disclosure further relates to a method for producing an optical conductor. The present disclosure is particularly suitable for use in vehicle lighting systems.
Some optical conductors are known in the related art. For example, German application DE 10 2012 215 165 A1 discloses a composite decor, particularly for use in decor elements in vehicles, comprising an at least partially light-permeable decor layer and a luminous layer with light-emitting zones of which one or more of these light-emitting zones and the decor layer are movable relative to one another.
German application DE 10 2011 082 343 84 discloses a composite decor with a decor layer and a light-guiding layer, wherein the decor layer is perforated to form openings in the decor layer and the light-guiding layer is provided with interference points acting as individually recognizable luminous points, lines or areas when light is coupled into the light-guiding layer. For all angles of viewing the decor layer of the composite decor it holds true that one or more of the luminous points, lines or areas formed by the interference points are hidden by the decor layer when the decor layer is viewed from one angle, but they are visible from one or more other angles of viewing.
German application DE 10 2014 116 180 A1 discloses a lighting system for vehicle interiors, comprising a light source that emits visible light and a component arranged relative to the light source in such a manner that light emitted from the light source passes through it, and also comprising a transparent substrate with a surface area through which light emitted from the light source passes, and a lenticular screen structure having a plurality of regularly arranged lens elements and being formed on the surface area of the transparent substrate. The system also describes using the lighting system and its component to illuminate the interior of vehicles, wherein three-dimensional lighting effects are generated that can be perceived differently by a viewer/occupant in the interior space, depending on the angle of viewing.


An optical system includes a negative refraction lens and a compensating element. The negative refraction lens is a flat plate formed by a material exhibiting negative refraction, and a surface on which light is incident and a surface from which the light is emerged are formed to be flat and parallel. The compensating element is an optical element which makes light incident at a predetermined angle, emerge at another predetermined angle. A light ray is emitted from an object point on an object plane, and reaches an image point on an image plane after being refracted twice by a negative refraction lens. The light ray is reflected by the compensating element, then refracted at an emergence-side pupil, and reaches the image point upon being reflected once again by the compensating element.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming optical system such as a microscope, a camera, and an endoscope, a focusing optical system such as an optical pickup and a semiconductor exposing apparatus, and a guided-wave optical system such as an optical integrated circuit, and an optical fiber.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, a resolution power of an image detecting apparatus in which an image pickup optical system such as a microscope, a camera, and an endoscope is used has been improved. Particularly, in a field of microscopes and optical recording, an almost no aberration optical system has been realized, and a resolution power as an image pickup optical system has been constrained mainly by a diffraction limit of a visible light.
On the other hand, as it has been disclosed in the Non-Patent Literature 'Physical Review Letters', Volume 85, Page 3966 (2000), by J. B. Pendry, an optical material in which a refractive index takes a negative value (hereinafter, called appropriately as a 'negative refraction material') has been realized. It has been proposed that when the negative refraction material is used, it is possible to form an image having an ultra high resolution beyond the diffraction limit (hereinafter, called appropriately as 'perfect imaging').
As it has been disclosed in Non-Patent Literature 'Physical Review Letters', Volume 85, Page 3966 (2000), by J. B. Pendry, even in a case other than a case in which the refractive index takes a negative value, when a real part of a permittivity or a permeability is a negative value, for electromagnetic waves of a specific polarization state, a negative refraction phenomenon is observed.
Moreover, as it has been disclosed in Non-Patent Literature 'Physical Review B', Volume 62, Page 10696 (2000), by M. Notomi, in a periodic structure such as a photonic crystal, as a result of a photonic band being folded in a reciprocal lattice space, irrespective of being a material having each of the refractive index, the permittivity, and the permeability a positive value, the negative refraction phenomenon has been observed for electromagnetic waves of a specific wavelength and a specific polarization state.
In view of the abovementioned circumstances, in this patent specification, a material which exhibits a negative refraction response for specific electromagnetic waves is called as a 'material exhibiting negative refraction'. It is needless to mention that a term 'material exhibiting negative refraction' is a concept having a wider sense than the negative refraction material.
Apart from the photonic crystals mentioned above, materials such as a metallic thin film, a chiral substance, photonic crystals, a metamaterial, a left-handed material, backward wave material, and a negative phase velocity medium have been known as the materials exhibiting negative refraction.
For a material having a negative value for both the permittivity and the permeability, the refractive index is also a negative value. Furthermore, such materials satisfy Snell's law, when an angle of refraction is extended up to a negative value.
In an image formation (focusing) by a normal lens, a refractive index of a lens has to differ from a refractive index of an outside of the lens, and a lens surface has to be curved, are two requirements.
Whereas, a flat plate which is made of a material exhibiting negative refraction (hereinafter, called appropriately as a "negative refraction lens") can focus the light irrespective of a radius of curvature of the surface being infinite, in other words, in spite of being a flat surface. FIG. 32 shows an image formation relationship by a negative refraction lens 31. Light from an object point 33 on an object plane 32 is focused at an image point 35 on an image plane 34, by the negative refraction lens 31.
In an image forming optical system such as a microscope, an upper-limit value of a theoretical resolution is determined by a diffraction limit. As it has been described in a textbook of optics such as Non-Patent Literature 'Optics', 4th edition (Addison-Wesley, Reading, Mass., 2002) by E. Hecht, according to a Rayleigh criterion, a minimum distance between two resolvable points is λ/NA. Here, λ is a usable wavelength, and NA is a numerical aperture. Moreover, for a structure smaller than the diffraction limit, it can not be resolved by an optical system.
Moreover, a microscope and an optical pickup which improve the resolution by using an objective lens of a liquid immersion, an oil immersion, or a solid immersion (by using an objective lens such as a liquid-immersion objective lens, an oil-immersion objective lens, and a solid-immersion objective lens), has been proposed. An effective NA is increased in these lenses. Accordingly, a value of λ/NA equivalent to the diffraction limit is made small. Here, the numerical aperture NA cannot be increased more than a refractive index of a medium on which the object plane is disposed. Therefore, an upper limit for the numerical aperture is about 1.5 to 2.0.
In this patent specification, when an electromagnetic wave including the light is expressed in an amplitude and phase as a wave, light for which all components of a wave-number vector included in a phase are real numbers is to be called as propagating light, and light for which at least one component is not a real number is to be called as an evanescent wave. Light which has emitted from one point in space includes two light waves namely propagating light which reaches up to a far distance, and evanescent waves which are attenuated at a distance of about a wavelength.
In Non-Patent Literature 'Physical Review Letters', Volume 85, Page 3966 (2000), by J. B. Pendry, which was disclosed in recent years, a negative materials performs a reverse amplification of the evanescent waves which are supposed to be attenuated in a direction in which a component of the wave-number vector is not originally a real number, is disclosed. Therefore, in the image formation by the negative refraction lens 31 shown in FIG. 32, the amplitude of the evanescent waves on the image plane 34 is shown to be restored to the same quantity as on the object plane 32.
In other words, in an optical system shown in FIG. 32, both the propagating light and the evanescent waves are transferred from the object plane 32 to the image plane 34. Therefore, information of the object point 33 is reproduced perfectly at the image point 35. This means that when an image forming optical system in which the negative refraction lens 31 is used, is used, the perfect imaging in which the diffraction limit is not restricted, is possible.
The perfect imaging mentioned above is not true only in theoretical terms. The negative refraction lens was made, and results of experiments have been reported. For example, in Non-Patent Literature 'Physical Review Letters', Volume 84, Page 4184 (2000), by D. R. Smith et al., a metamaterial in which, a rod and a coil made of a metal, smaller than the wavelength are arranged periodically, has been made. Functioning of such metamaterial as a negative refraction lens in a microwave region has been reported.
Moreover, in Non-Patent Literature 'Physical Review B', Volume 62, Page 10696 (2000), by M. Notomi, a method of making a negative refraction material by using a photonic crystal has been disclosed. For example, in a photonic crystal in which, air rods are arranged in a hexagonal lattice form in a dielectric substance, an effective refractive index in a photonic band becomes isotropic and negative. With respect to a frequency band which is suitable for such photonic band, the photonic crystal can be considered as a negative refraction material.
Moreover, it has been known that for many metals, a real part of the permittivity for visible light becomes positive. For example, according Non-Patent Literature 'Handbook of Advanced Optical Technology' by J. Tsujiuchi et al., (published by Asakura Shoten, Japan 2000), silver exhibits a negative permittivity for light of a wavelength in a range of 330 nm to 900 nm. Furthermore, it has been known that a gyrotropic material or a chiral substance having a spiral (helical) structure, exhibits negative refraction under predetermined conditions. In this manner, when a negative refraction lens formed by a negative refraction material is used, it is possible to realize an image forming optical system of ultra high resolution (perfect imaging) which is not constrained by the diffraction limit.
An image formation by a normal lens is shown in FIG. 30. Even when it is a lens of no matter how large the aperture is, it is not possible to make the numerical aperture NA to be greater (higher) than a refractive index of a medium which fill a space on an object side or an image side. In FIG. 30, a lens is kept in air of a refractive index nA, and by using an angle θ1 between a light ray which passes through an edge portion of the aperture and an optical axis of the lens, the numerical aperture expressed by NA=nA sin θ1 can never go beyond nA (almost same as 1).
FIG. 31 is a diagram in which an image formation performance by the lens in FIG. 30 is expressed in terms of a modulation transfer function (MTF). A wave-number vector of a light wave bearing a transfer of an image is let to be k, and a component kv perpendicular to that optical axis is taken on a horizontal axis. Since alight wave component is greater than a wave number expressed by k0=2π/λ(λ is a wavelength of the light wave) becomes an evanescent wave, kv doesn't reach the image plane.
Since a light wave component in which kv is smaller than k0 but greater than k0 sin θ1 is vignetted by a pupil (aperture stop) of the lens, can not reach the image plane, as expected. Eventually, since only a light wave component which satisfies a relationship kv≦k0 sin θ1 can contribute to the image formation, a point image is spread to about wavelength. Moreover, in an actual lens, greater the kv, the MTF is declined due to reflection and scattering at a lens surface.
FIG. 32 is a diagram for describing the image formation by the negative refraction lens 31. As it is shown by dotted lines in the diagram, light emitted from the object point 33 on the object plane 32 forms an image on the image point 35 on the image plane 34, after being refracted at two surfaces of the negative refraction lens 31.
As it has been disclosed in Non-Patent Document 'Physical Review Letters', Volume 85, Page 3966 (2000) by J. B. Pendry, the negative refraction lens 31 can form an image by since not only the propagating light but also the evanescent light , MTF becomes 1 for all the values of kv as shown in FIG. 33. This means that the point image becomes a point. Such a lens is called as a perfect lens, and a phenomenon is called as a perfect imaging.
Even when it is a perfect imaging which is imperfect due to various restrictions (such as a shape error, a refractive index error, and an absorption) in making practically of the negative refraction lens, when it shows superior image forming performance than a conventional lens restricted by the diffraction limit, it is called as a perfect imaging effect.
However, in a case of making the negative refraction lens in reality, a size of the lens in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis has to be finite. Therefore, propagating light which is vignetted by a pupil of the negative refraction lens such as a light ray 36 and a light ray 37 in FIG. 32, is lost from the optical system without contributing to the image formation. When a minimum angle of emergence of a light ray vignetted by a pupil on an object side surface and an image side surface of the negative refraction lens is let to be θ2 and θ3 respectively, then θ2>θ3 in a situation in FIG. 32.
In other words, when an angle of emergence θ of a light ray from the object point increases gradually and exceeds θ3, the light ray is incident on the negative refraction lens, but either exits from a lens side surface as the light ray 37, or is absorbed. When the angle of emergence θ increases gradually and exceeds θ2, the light ray is not incident on the negative refraction lens, as the light ray 36.
A diagram in which the image formation performance is expressed in terms of the MTF upon taking into consideration the vignetting by the pupil of the negative refraction lens 31 in such manner is FIG. 34. Information of a frequency side higher than k0 is transferred by the imaging effect of the evanescent wave, but a component of the propagating light from a lower value out of k0 sin θ2 and k0 sin θ3, up to k0 is lost.
The negative refraction lens has a rare capability of amplifying the evanescent wave, which is impossible in any conventional technology. However, even when it is possible to form an image of an evanescent wave bearing fine information, taking into consideration a restriction in reality that the size of the lens is finite, the perfect imaging effect is lost due to the vignetting by the pupil.


The present invention provides a GLAST knockout mouse lacking the function of an endogenous glutamate transporter GLAST gene, which shows: 1) an intraocular pressure within the normal range; and 2) a reduction in the number of cells in the retinal ganglions when compared with a wild-type normal mouse. Owing to the ocular properties, this knockout mouse is useful as a model for normal tension glaucoma. By using this knockout mouse, a compound useful for the treatment of normal tension glaucoma can be screened.

Normal tension glaucoma is one type of glaucoma and is a disease recently getting attention particularly due to its high prevalence rate. In general, glaucoma is a disease characterized by elevated intraocular pressure (watery fluid pressure within the eyeball) resulting in compression of the optic nerve to produce atrophy and thus impairing the visual performance to narrow the visual field. If it is left untreated, the symptoms will eventually progress to blindness at a high risk. On the other hand, normal tension glaucoma is a pathological condition that mimics the findings on glaucoma with high intraocular pressure (optic atrophy and visual field defects), notwithstanding that the intraocular pressure lies within the normal range (usually 10-21 mmHg in human). In the developed countries, glaucoma is ranked as the second leading cause of vision loss next to diabetes mellitus. The prevalence of glaucoma in the population aged over 40 years is 3.5% in Japan and the number of patients is estimated to be about two million. According to a recent epidemiological survey, reportedly 70% of glaucoma is normal tension glaucoma. Because of slow progress and paucity of subjective symptoms, it is difficult to detect normal tension glaucoma at an early stage. At present, there is no decisive treatment except to further decrease the intraocular pressure.
In recent years, degenerative loss of retinal ganglion cells, namely, neuronal apoptosis, which is induced by a mild and chronic increase of glutamate level, is proposed to be one of the causes of glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy (Harada, T., et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 95, 4663-4666, 1998; Harada, C. et al., Neurosci. Lett., 292, 134-136, 2000).
In the mammalian central nervous system, glutamate is one of the main excitatory neurotransmitters and plays an important role in regulating a higher order function of the brain. On the other hand, it is known that glutamate causes neurotoxicity by an excessive rise, resulting in various neurodegenerative diseases or delayed neuronal cell death after cerebral ischemia. One of the mechanisms for regulating the level of this glutamate is glutamate transporters. Glutamate transporters are functional molecules, the main role of which is to take up glutamate once released from nerve endings into cells and maintain a low glutamate level at the synaptic cleft.
Currently, EAAC1, EAAT4 and EAAT5 (Kanai, Y. & Heidiger, M. A., Nature, 360, 467-471, 1992; Fairman, W. A., et al., Nature, 375, 599-603, 1995; Arrizal, J. E., et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 94, 4155-4160, 1997) present in neurons as well as GLT1 and GLAST (also referred to as GluT-1) present in glial cells (Pines, D. et al., Nature, 360, 464-467, 1992; Mukainaka et al., Biochimica et Biophysica Acta, 1244, 233-237, 1995; Tanaka, K., Neurosci. Res., 16, 149-153, 1993; Tanaka, K., Neurosci. Lett., 159, 183-186, 1993; Storck, T., et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 89, 10955-10959, 1992) are known as glutamate transporters in the mammalian brain. Abnormalities in the function of these glutamate transporters are known to be associated with various neurodegenerative diseases.
Under such circumstances, it has become clear that GLAST is present in Müller cells within the retina and retinal damages after ischemic load are exacerbated in GLAST knockout mice as compared to wild-type mice, based on the experiments using GLAST knockout mice (Watase, K. et al, Eur. J. Neurosci., 10, 976-988, 1998; Japanese Patent Laid-Open Application No. 10-33087). For this reason, it is suggested that GLAST present in Müller cells of the retina would be involved in the onset of glaucoma (Harada, T., et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 95, 4663-4666, 1998). However, unless ischemic load is applied, damage to the retinal tissue is not observed in this GLAST knockout mouse so that the mouse cannot be used as a model for normal tension glaucoma.
For the development of therapeutics for glaucoma and the elucidation of its onset mechanism, genetically chronic glaucoma model mice or high tension glaucoma model rabbits induced by water loading are already available as glaucoma model animals, but no model animal for normal tension glaucoma has ever been known heretofore. Also, there is no report to point out the relation of normal tension glaucoma to GLAST, and the onset mechanism of normal tension glaucoma yet remains unknown.
Accordingly, it is expected that if a model animal for normal tension glaucoma is obtained, the animal will be extremely useful for developing therapeutics effective for the treatment of said disease, establishing a remedy therefor and identifying the cause of said disease or its onset mechanism. However, any model animal for normal tension glaucoma is unknown at present and, such a model animal has been earnestly desired in the medical or pharmaceutical field.

Mouse with deficiency of glutamate transporter GLAST function


A PIN server system interacts with one or more financial institutions to authenticate a mobile phone and-or a user thereof. The PIN server provides to the mobile phone one or more PIN numbers to use in financial transactions involving the one or more financial institutions, and also provides the one or more PIN numbers to the financial institutions in a manner that results in the one or more PIN numbers being associated with one or more accounts of the mobile phone user with the one or more financial institutions.

Bank cards are convenient mechanisms for accessing and transferring funds. This very convenience has opened doors to fraud and theft of funds, using bank cards and/or bank card codes.
One manner of protecting bank card transactions is through the use of authorization codes, also known as PIN codes. One problem with PIN codes is that they are static (difficult to change) and hence tend to be used over and over again over many transactions. As a result, PIN codes are subject to being discovered by others, compromising the security of the funds available via the bank card.

Enhancing bank card security with a mobile device


Systems and methods may be provided for prescription pre-fill processing services, which may include receiving a pre-fill prescription claim request from a pharmacy computer; delivering the pre-fill prescription claim request to a claims processor; and receiving a first approved response from the claims processor, where the first approved response includes first financial coverage information. The systems and methods may also include delivering the first approved response to the pharmacy computer, where a prescription order of the drug or product is prepared for pickup by a customer, where the prepared prescription order is labeled in accordance with the first financial coverage information; delivering a prescription claim reversal request to the claims processor for a second adjudication; and receiving, by switch provider in accordance with the second adjudication, a second approved response that indicates a reversal of the first claim request, where the prepared prescription order of the drug or product remains ready for pickup by the customer.

Prescription filling is typically performed by a pharmacy after receiving a request from a customer having a valid prescription. However, a pharmacy can enhance the customer experience and increase customer loyalty while streamlining its own workflow process by being proactive in anticipating the prescription filling needs of the customer. Accordingly, there is a need in the industry for pre-fill processing services.

Systems and methods for prescription pre-fill processing services


A semiconductor integrated circuit includes an internal circuit, a first external power supply connection terminal, a regulator, an external control terminal, transistors, and a second external power supply connection terminal. The internal circuit has first and second operation modes. The internal circuit is driven with different power supply voltages in the first and second modes. An external power supply voltage is supplied to the first external power supply connection terminal when at least the first operation mode is selected. The regulator steps down the external power supply voltage supplied from the first external power supply connection terminal, and supplies the stepped-down voltage to the internal circuit. The external control terminal receives an ON/OFF control signal corresponding to the first or second operation mode. The transistors set the regulator in an enable/disable state based on the ON/OFF control signal supplied from the external control terminal. The second external power supply connection terminal directly supplies the external power supply voltage to the internal circuit when the second mode is selected.

The present invention relates to a semiconductor integrated circuit having a built-in regulator that steps down an external power supply voltage and supplies it to an internal circuit and, more particularly, to a regulator built-in semiconductor integrated circuit which can be used in both a low-voltage/low-consumption current mode and a high-voltage/high-speed operation mode.
Conventionally, semiconductor integrated circuits having equivalent functions are provided as different chips having different design specifications if they have different conditions for use, e.g., different current consumption and a different operation speed. For example, a semiconductor integrated circuit which has a low operation speed but operates with a low current consumption has a built-in regulator which steps down an external power supply voltage and supplies it to an internal circuit. In contrast to this, in a semiconductor integrated circuit which is designed to achieve a high-speed operation, its internal circuit is driven by a voltage substantially equal to the external power supply voltage, so that it operates at a high speed.
If these semiconductor integrated circuits have a common function, they often have a common internal circuit that achieves a specific function as the semiconductor integrated circuit. In this case, one semiconductor integrated circuit can be desirably used in different modes under different conditions, i.e., different current consumptions and different clock frequencies.
More specifically, if one semiconductor integrated circuit can be used in both the low-voltage/low-consumption current mode and the high-voltage/high-speed operation mode, semiconductor integrated circuits that can be used in different conditions can be manufactured with a common mask. This is preferable in terms of the manufacturing process and manufacturing cost as well. Even if the use conditions differ, since a common internal circuit is used, common software that operates the semiconductor integrated circuit can be used.
FIG. 3 shows the arrangement of a conventional regulator built-in semiconductor integrated circuit. Referring to FIG. 3, a semiconductor integrated circuit 3 has an internal circuit 34 for receiving data I0 to Ip and outputting data O0 to Oq, and a regulator 32 for supplying power to the internal circuit 34. The regulator 32 is built in the semiconductor integrated circuit 3, and steps down an external power supply voltage VDDM, e.g., 5 V, which is supplied to an external power supply connection terminal 31, to 2.8 V and supplies the stepped-down voltage to the internal circuit 34 through an internal power supply wiring 33. This decreases current consumption.
In this arrangement, the semiconductor integrated circuit 3 operates with a 6-MHz clock frequency and decreases power consumption of the internal circuit 34. A terminal 35 is a connection terminal to which a capacitance (capacitor) 36 is connected to stabilize the output voltage of the regulator 32.
FIG. 4 shows the arrangement of the regulator 32 shown in FIG. 3. Referring to FIG. 4, the regulator 32 is constituted by a reference voltage generating circuit 321, a comparator 322, an output control transistor 323, and an output resistor 324. The reference voltage generating circuit 321 generates a reference voltage. The comparator 322 compares the reference voltage with the output voltage of the regulator 32 and outputs a control signal corresponding to a difference between them. The output control transistor 323 controls the output of the regulator 32 based on the control signal output from the comparator 322. The output resistor 324 is connected in series with the output control transistor 323.
In the regulator 32 having the above arrangement, the comparator 322 compares the output voltage with the reference voltage. A difference signal between the output voltage and reference voltage drives the output control transistor 323 to supply a predetermined voltage to the internal circuit 34 through the internal power supply wiring 33. An external voltage is supplied t o the reference voltage generating circuit 321 and comparator 322 through the external power supply connection terminal 31.
In the conventional semiconductor integrated circuit 3 described above, however, since only the voltage which is stepped down by the regulator 32 is supplied to the internal circuit 34 through the internal power supply wiring 33, an external power supply voltage cannot be supplied to the internal circuit 34. Even when the internal circuit 34 can be operated at a high speed with a 12-MHz clock frequency by supplying, e.g., an external power supply voltage 5 V, to it, the semiconductor integrated circuit 3 having the built-in regulator 32 cannot be used in an application that requires a high-speed operation with a higher clock frequency.
This also applies to a case wherein the output voltage of the regulator 32 is variable and the external power supply voltage is to be supplied from the external power supply connection terminal 31 through the regulator 32. More specifically, since a voltage drop occurs in the output control transistor 323, the external power supply voltage of 5 V cannot be directly supplied to the internal circuit 34.
When the external power supply voltage is to be directly supplied from the external power supply connection terminal 31 to the internal circuit 34, a switching transistor must be arranged on the line extending from the external power supply connection terminal 31 to the internal power supply wiring 33. In this case, a power capacity W of the switching transistor must be sufficiently large so that the switching transistor has a current supply ability that can cope with a change in load. Then, a large layout area is needed, leading to a large chip size.

Regulator built-in semiconductor integrated circuit


A valve timing controller includes a driving-side rotary member, a driven-side rotary member, an advancing chamber and a retarding chamber formed as a fluid pressure chamber is partitioned by a partitioning portion provided on an outer circumferential side of the driven-side rotary member, and a phase controlling section. The driven-side rotary member includes an advancing passage communicated to the advancing chamber and a retarding passage communicated to the retarding chamber. The driving-side rotary member is formed of an aluminum-based material. The driven-side rotary member integrally includes an outer circumferential member having the partitioning portion and formed of an aluminum-based material, and an inner circumferential member constituting an inner circumferential side of the outer circumferential member and formed of an iron-based material.

With the above-described valve timing controller, conventionally, the driving rotary member and the driven rotary member are formed of a single material such as an aluminum-based material, e.g. an aluminum alloy or an iron-based material, e.g. an iron-based sintered material, etc. (see e.g. Patent Document 1). Further, for the purpose of precision control of a spacing between the driving-side rotary member and the driven-side rotary member which are moved in sliding contact with each other, it is generally implemented to form the driving-side rotary member and the driven-side rotary member of a common material.


The present application provides a liner for a combustor. The combustor liner may include a mouth, a passage for a flow of fuel, a passage for a flow of air, a first zone for mixing the flow of fuel and the flow of air, and the first zone having a constant diameter. The combustor liner may have at least one transition zone with first and second side walls angled substantially in the same direction, and an off center exit. This configuration will provide a more stable flow when exiting the combustor liner.

Modern gas turbine engines generally must operate under strict emissions guidelines, particularly with respect to nitrogen oxides (NOx). As such, gas turbine engine design must operate at high efficiency without producing undesirable air emissions. Many modern gas turbine engines thus use a very lean, premixed flame for low NOx combustion.
One way to limit turbine emissions is to ensure good mixing of the fuel and the air in the combustor. Proper mixing may involve mixing flow manipulation using dilution tuning or similar methods. Tuning a combustor in the field, however, may be difficult and time consuming. Moreover, the need to tune properly a combustor also may influence the time required for initial commissioning and/or cause other types of delays.
There is thus a desire for an improved combustor and other types of turbine components that promote good mixing of both fuel and air while providing high overall efficiency with limited emissions. Preferably the combustor or the other components may be used with new and existing equipment.


A superscalar microprocessor appends a tag value to each floating point number. The tag value indicates whether the corresponding floating point number is a normal floating point number or a special floating point number. Additionally, the tag value indicates the type of special floating point number represented by the corresponding floating point number. The tag value is stored with the floating point number in a register file of the floating point unit. Tag values are also generated for floating point numbers read from memory. When a floating point core of a floating point unit receives operands from either the register file or memory, the floating point core examines the tag values to determine whether each operand is a normal floating point number or a special floating point number. If either operand is a special floating point number, the floating point core determines the type of special floating point number and applies any applicable special rules. By appending tag values to each floating point number, the floating point unit can quickly determine which floating point numbers are special floating point numbers and the type of special floating point number. This reduces the time necessary to identify floating point numbers and expedites the execution of floating point instructions.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of microprocessors and, more particularly, to tagging floating point values within floating point units of microprocessors.
2. Description of the Related Art
Superscalar microprocessors achieve high performance by executing multiple instructions per clock cycle and by choosing the shortest possible clock cycle consistent with the design. As used herein, the term "clock cycle" refers to an interval of time accorded to various stages of an instruction processing pipeline within the microprocessor. Storage devices (e.g. registers and arrays) capture their values according to the clock cycle. For example, a storage device may capture a value according to a rising or falling edge of a clock signal defining the clock cycle. The storage device then stores the value until the subsequent rising or falling edge of the clock signal, respectively. The term "instruction processing pipeline" is used herein to refer to the logic circuits employed to process instructions in a pipelined fashion. Generally speaking, a pipeline comprises a number of stages at which portions of a particular task are performed. Different stages may simultaneously operate upon different items, thereby increasing overall throughput. Although the instruction processing pipeline may be divided into any number of stages at which portions of instruction processing are performed, instruction processing generally comprises fetching the instruction, decoding the instruction, executing the instruction, and storing the execution results in the destination identified by the instruction.
Microprocessors are configured to operate upon various data types in response to various instructions. For example, certain instructions are defined to operate upon an integer data type. The bits representing an integer form the digits of the number. The binary point is assumed to be to the right of the digits (i.e. integers are whole numbers). Another data type often employed in microprocessors is the floating point data type. Floating point numbers are represented by a mantissa and an exponent. The base for the floating point number is raised to the power of the exponent and multiplied by the mantissa to arrive at the number represented. While any base may be used, base 2 is common in many microprocessors. The mantissa comprises a number of bits used to represent the most significant digits of the number. Typically, the mantissa comprises one bit to the left of the binary point, and the remaining bits to the right of the binary point. The bit to the left of the binary point is not explicitly stored, instead it is implied in the format of the number. Generally, the exponent and the mantissa of the floating point number are stored. Additional information regarding the floating point numbers and operations performed thereon may be obtained in the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) Standard 754. IEEE Standard 754 is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Floating point numbers can represent numbers within a much larger range than can integer numbers. For example, a 32 bit signed integer can represent the integers between 2.sup.31 -1 and -2.sup.31, when two's complement format is used. A single precision floating point number as defined by IEEE Standard 754 comprises 32 bits (a one bit sign, 8 bit biased exponent, and 24 bits of mantissa) and has a range from 2.sup.-126 to 2.sup.127 in both positive and negative numbers. A double precision (64 bit) floating point value has a range from 2.sup.-1022 and 2.sup.1023 in both positive and negative numbers. Finally, an extended precision (80 bit) floating point number has a range from 2.sup.-16382 to 2.sup.16383 in both positive and negative numbers.
The expanded range available using the floating point data type is advantageous for many types of calculations in which large variations in the magnitude of numbers can be expected, as well as in computationally intensive tasks in which intermediate results may vary widely in magnitude from the input values and output values. Still further, greater precision may be available in floating point data types than is available in integer data types.
Several special floating point data representations are defined. These special floating point data representations are referred to as "special floating point numbers." Special floating point numbers may include special encodings for zero, + and -infinity, denormalized numbers, and not a number (NaN). Specific encodings are assigned for each special floating point number. To determine whether a floating point number is a special floating point number, it is necessary to decode the floating point number to determine if the combination of mantissa and exponent represents a special encoding.
For example, although no combination of mantissa and exponent define a value of infinity, a special encoding is defined to represent infinity. Zero may be represented by a mantissa of zero and any exponent, but this representation would use many encodings to represent zero. For example, a single precision number with an 8-bit exponent would have 64 different encodings would represent zero. To make the maximum utilization of the possible encodings, one special encoding is defined to represent zero. NaN is an encoding that represents a number that is not an ordinary number. For example, the square root of a negative number is a NaN. At least one special encoding is defined to represent a NaN. Another special encoding of a floating point number is for numbers that are denormalized. As noted above, the mantissa typically comprises one bit to the left of the binary point and that bit is implied to be a one. If a number is denormalized, the bit to the left of the binary point is zero rather than one. A denormalized number does not have one specific encoding such as the encodings for zero and infinity. A denormalized number has a series of encodings. For example, an encoding where the exponent is all zeros and the mantissa represents the numerical value of the denormalized number can be used. Denormalized numbers are used to represent floating point values less than the normalized minimum number. For example, in a single precision floating point number, a denormalized number may be used to represent a number less than 1.times.2.sup.-126.
Special rules for performing floating point operations with special floating point numbers are defined. These special rules may define a specific result for a floating point operation involving special floating point numbers. For example, the result of any operation with an operand that is a NaN is also a NaN. One divided by infinity is zero and one divided by zero is infinity. Additional rules for performing arithmetic operations with special floating point numbers are defined as IEEE Standard 754. Because special rules exist for performing floating point arithmetic operations with special floating point numbers, it is necessary for the floating point unit to decode each floating point operand prior to returning a floating point result. Unfortunately, the additional step of decoding each floating point operand slows down the operation of the floating point arithmetic unit. What is desired is a way to quickly identify a special floating point number.

Apparatus and method for tagging floating point operands and results for rapid detection of special floating point numbers


A vehicle having a man power driving system in which a driving force by man power is applied through a gear change mechanism to rotate a wheel, an a motor driving system in which the wheel is rotated by a driving force of a motor. The man power driving system is equipped with a torque detector for detecting a man power driving force so as to drive the motor according to a magnitude of the man power driving force detected by the turque detector. A particularly durable gear change mechanism is not required, and thus a common gear change mechanism for bicycle can be used, thereby simplifying construction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle equipped with a man power driving part and a motor driving part, and can run by utilizing a man power driving force assisted by a motor driving force.
2. Description of the Related Art
Heretofore, there has been known a vehicle in which a man power driving part and a motor driving part are provided in parallel with each other, and which controls an output of the motor driving part in response to a change in the driving force by a man power, as shown in the Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 33070/1995 (B62M 23/02). This vehicle is equipped with a change gear, whose high speed stage is adapted to make small a ratio of the output of the motor to the man power, and whose low speed stage is adapted to make the ratio of the output of the motor to the man power greater than that at the high speed stage.
However, with the above-mentioned construction, a resultant force of the man power driving system force and the motor driving system force is applied through a driving shaft, a one-way clutch and a gear change mechanism to a wheel, so that a load thereon is larger than for a common bicycle, that is, a vehicle equipped with only the man power driving system, and thus these parts must be strengthened and improved in durability.
Further, it is necessary to provide the gear change mechanism to an axle of the rear wheel and a motor on the crank shaft, so that the construction of the driving part becomes complex, and in addition, an assembly work becomes very poor, and provision of a braking mechanism results in an increase in the size of the entire construction.
Also, a problem has existed that a change stage of the change gear must be detected to correct the output of the motor driving system to the man power driving force from a controller, thereby resulting in a complex controller.
The present invention is made in view of the above-mentioned disadvantages and it is an object of the invention to provide a vehicle which is simple and compact in construction and good in assembly work and in which the gear change mechanism is not burdened with a load, and a simple control can be performed.

Combination man-powered and motor-driven vehicle


A method and apparatus for creating backup files by creating an overhead segment for each file that is to be backed up and creating a data segment containing the data that is to be backed up for each file. After creating overhead segment and the data segment, the overhead segment is placed into an overhead stream and the data segment is stored in a memory. The overhead segment is also positioned in the overhead stream with a pointer that identifies the location of the data within the memory. As such, the backup file comprises a data segment and an overhead stream.

1. Field of the Invention
This application contains subject matter that is related to the subject matter of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/048,458, filed Jan. 31, 2005. The aforementioned related patent application is herein incorporated by reference.
The present invention is generally related to backup storage systems and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for efficiently generating backup files.
2. Description of the Related Art
To provide data redundancy and security within a computer network, information stored in a server connected to the network is backed up to a storage system on a periodic basis. Generally, a plurality of servers are connected to a backup server. The backup server serves as a primary component in a storage management system whereby timing and control of the backup processes are performed by the backup server. Periodically, information stored in the servers is copied to the backup server. The backup server generally stores the information within a mass storage system or device.
Backup files typically utilize the MICROSOFT Tape Format (MTF). To prepare a file using this format, the backup software retrieves each file that is to be backed up and adds header information. The header information is appended to the beginning of the file along with security information to form an overhead portion of a backup file. Each file to be backed up is added to the backup file with its associated overhead portion until all of the files have their overhead and the file concatenated into the backup file. Such a backup file is provided with an extension entitled. "bkf".
When a set of files is backed up in this matter, the set of files in the .bkf file is referred to as a backup set. Upon the initialization of a backup process, the first backup set is generally a full backup that copies each and every file that is to be backed up into the backup file. Thereafter, incremental backups can be performed to backup only files that are changed with respect to the full backup. These incremental file backups occur on a periodic basis. Each incremental backup creates another backup set. Over time, the backup server will store the full backup as well as each of the incremental backups.
A synthetic full backup can be created using a full backup and subsequent incremental backups. The synthetic full backup is a file that contains the data of a full backup without actually performing a full backup procedure, i.e., copying all the files of a server. The synthetic full backup is formed by copying the original full backup and all the incremental backups to a new .bkf file. This new .bkf file is the synthetic backup. This file can now be used as a full backup with respect to subsequent incremental backups. The creation of synthetic backups is time consuming and requires a substantial amount of storage to enable the various data copies to be used.
If the data is to be restored to the server that was backed up, a synthetic full backup can be copied to the server to restore all of the data that would have otherwise been lost from a server crash or other malfunction.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for an improved process for generating backup files.

Method and apparatus for efficiently creating backup files


A distribution system for digital image content, a method of reproducing digital image content, and a medium recording a program for reproducing digital image content are disclosed. The system comprise: a first distribution means (21) for distributing digital image data (11); a second distribution means (22) for distributing secondary data (12); a first reproduction means (24) for reproducing the digital image data (11); a second reproduction means (25) for reproducing the secondary data (12); and an output means (26) for superimposing the two reproduced data. The secondary data (12) is prepared using a markup language such that a reproduction start point and a reproduction end point correspond to an image frame-specific code for specifying an image of the digital image data (11) and that the secondary data (12) distributable from a different server having a different IP address is reproduced synchronously with the reproduction of the digital image data (11).

In recent years, digitalization of image content such as movies or broadcast programs has been proceeding rapidly. As a result, digitalized image content has been distributed to an audience through digital broadcasting or Internet distribution. In this instance, as image content to be broadcasted or distributed, content in which image date and secondary data are previously and integrally included has been used. With reference to FIG. 1, a conventional distribution method for digital image content will be described. FIG. 1 is an explanatory view illustrating the procedure for preparing, distributing, and reproducing conventional digital content.
As shown in FIG. 1, image data 1 and secondary data 2 such as subtitles are superimposed together to prepare one image master 3. The secondary data 2 incorporated in this image master 3 is treated as image data. Next, the image master 3 is digitalized to prepare a digital master 4. This digital master 4 is a master file for the image content that is distributed through Internet and the like. The image content accommodated in the digital master 4 is reproduced at the receiver side, and is viewed as the digital image content 5.
When the conventional image content is distributed through Internet and the like, digital code is compressed and distributed at the transmitter side, and the compressed digital code is decrypted and reproduced at the receiver side. If the throughput capacity of the receiver side is relatively low, a problem arises in that missing frames and flickering of the subtitles occur at the same time.
Further, when a correction is necessary during the edit until the digital master 4 is prepared, the correcting operation causes a lot of difficulties. For example, if the secondary data requires a correction, the secondary data is firstly corrected, and subsequently, the image master 3 and the digital master 4 are prepared again.
Furthermore, subtitles or advertisements are often superimposed while a digital broadcasting program is on the air. This can be done by synthesizing the subtitles onto the image date at predetermined timings or by switching the image data to the advertisement data. In this instance, the subtitles or the airplay schedules of the advertisements are written on a program schedule table, which is so-called a "cue sheet", and the predetermined subtitles or advertisements are broadcasted on schedule of the air time.
When sound of a foreign film is translated to prepare subtitles, subtitles are prepared for each translating word, and the edit is carried out by the same operation as above. In the aforementioned procedure of the edit, a great effort is required for each translating word, which indirectly discourages a production of multi-kinds of subtitles. Accordingly, in the conventional distribution method for digital image content, there is a drawback in that the operations from edit to distribution require a great effort and a lot of difficulties.

Distribution system for digital image content and reproducing method and medium recording its reproduction program


A small-footprint level wind system enabling a winch to accept and operate tension members of differing sizes, simplifying the system, and reducing the system weight. Comprising an elongate support, a leadscrew, a guide substantially supported by the support, the guide adapted to accept a tension member. The guide designed to move along the support and to transfer tension member forces onto the support. Further comprising a motor, adapted to apply a motive onto the leadscrew, a shuttle connected the guide and leadscrew and adapted to transfer the motive force to the guide, moving the guide along the support. In many embodiments more than one component share the same longitudinal axis. Another aspect is providing direct tension member metering and load sensing within the guide. Another embodiment provides a load-bearing leadscrew without an additional support, instead having a direct connection between guide and leadscrew.

Winches are hauling or lifting devices that are used to play out, or haul in a length of rope, chain, cable, line or other type of tension member. Winches are used in many fields, including marine environments, cranes, mining, and towing. This instant disclosure focuses on marine winches, however, it is to be understood that the invention described herein is applicable to all winch types and sizes. Winches comprise a rotating drum or reel upon which a line is wrapped. All lines used on a winch are referred generically herein as a "tension member". Proper wrapping of the line is crucial for proper operation of the winch. Line wrapping is the process of adding wraps of lines (i.e. a "line wrap") to the winch drum. A line wrap is a single turn of the line around the drum. Line wraps are added consecutively, from one end of the drum to the other. Once complete, a set of line wraps is referred to as a wrap level. A proper wrap level does not have gaps between line wraps and no two line wraps of a single level are on top of or underneath another. In typical winch operation, as tension member is hauled onto the winch drum, the tension member is added in many wrap layers.
Improper wrapping can result in uneven wrap layers, build-up on the drum sides, and 'diving', where the tension member from one wrap layer is forced down into the layer below it. Uneven forces are applied to the tension member when improperly wrapped tension member is played out, applying unnecessary and dangerous stresses to the tension member and the attached gear. In the best cases, stress forces can damage the tension member, reducing lifetime, result in tangling that stops tension member movement, or damaging the winch motor. In the worse cases, stress forces can snap a tension member, resulting in equipment loss and life-threatening snap-back towards the winch and winch operator.
Commonly known solutions to winch level winding are known in the art, and are exemplified by the many commercially available winch and level wind assemblies on the market. One solution to ensure level winding consists of a screw-like cross member parallel to the drum's longitudinal axis, on which a platform with two rollers traverses from one side of the drum to the other. The screw-like cross member need not be a screw as commonly known, but most often comprises a leadscrew, or diamond screw. For simplicity, the screw-like cross member is referred herein generically as a leadscrew, irrespective of its physical properties. A gap is maintained between the two rollers, typically just bigger than the diameter of the tension member to be wrapped, for example, rollers are spaced 0.575 inches apart when wrapping 0.5 inch line. A computer is used to set leadscrew speed to produce a proper wind wrap.
Another common solution is adapting the screw to a diamond screw, which is a self-reversing screw cut with diamond shaped grooves. The diamond screw turns at the same rate as the winch drum, and the pitch of grooves matches exactly to allow a perfect level wind with the drum. However, one specific diamond screw can only work with one matched drum, and is not universal between differently sized winch drums.
An alternative to rollers is a sheave or diverter mechanism mounted to the cross member. A typical sheave level wind comprises a bearing bolt, or pipe through the center of the sheave, around which the sheave rotates, and the load is born by a weight bearing structure, often multiple pipes or rods situated parallel to the winch drum. Sothcott et al. WO 02/06146 exemplifies such a system, as shown in Sothcott's FIG. 4, the load from the tension member is transferred onto the sheave, and then off onto two parallel rod members, and the leadscrew member, totalling three structural members required to move the level wind across the system. Hanson et al. WO 02/038487 is another exemplification of a common sheave level wind system, where the level wind sheave is bolted to a pivot ring assembly, and moves along the drum by means of two, parallel rods.
Drawbacks in the commonly known level wind systems are, significant. Sheave diverter level winds typically have three structures, two offset supports and a leadscrew. The offset between sheave center and weight-bearing supports introduces a significant moment arm. A moment arm is the length between an axis (e.g. the support) and the force acting on it (e.g. the tension member going through the sheave). The longer the moment arm, the more force that is built up. Moment arms are useful when removing a tight fixture (i.e. with a long-handled wrench), but present a serious problem in the moving, highly stressful environments of a marine winch level wind.
Furthermore, due to their construction, the commonly utilized level wind systems cannot take advantage of benefits of a system situated immediate to the spooling device. Namely, a sheave or guide that moves the tension member onto or off of the spool experiences the actual load of the wire as it moves. When weight-bearing is loaded onto a plurality of supports, the load of the wire cannot be easily measured. Common winch apparatuses use a computational method and overall winch assembly weight (including winch drum, motor, and support super structure) to calculate load. A calculated load is significantly prone to error.
It is therefore desirable to reduce the complexity and forces applied to a winch level wind apparatus, while preserving the level wind functionality. An object of the present invention is to overcome the aforementioned problems, and to further improve the functionality of the level winding and winching system.

Universal level wind system for winch assembly


A honeycomb structure includes large-volume cells and small-volume cells with a cell wall therebetween; a plug sealing at either one of end portions of the cells; and a catalyst supported on the cell wall. The large-volume cell has a larger cross-sectional area perpendicular to its longitudinal direction than that of the small-volume cell. The large-volume cell is sealed at one end portion of the honeycomb structure, while the small-volume cell is sealed at the other end portion of the honeycomb structure. The catalyst is supported only on the cell walls forming the large-volume cells, or on both of the cell walls forming said large-volume cells and the cell walls forming said small-volume cells. An amount of the catalyst supported on the cell walls forming the large-volume cells is larger per unit volume than that on the cell walls forming the small-volume cells.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a honeycomb structure.
2. Discussion of the Background
Recently, particulate matters (hereinafter, also simply referred to as particulates), that are contained in exhaust gases discharged from internal combustion engines of vehicles, such as buses and trucks, and construction machines and the like, have raised serious problems as those particulates are harmful to the environment and the human body.
For this reason, various applications in which honeycomb structures, which are made from porous ceramics using silicon carbide, cordierite or the like as materials, are used as filters for capturing particulates in exhaust gases to purify the exhaust gases have been proposed.
With respect to the honeycomb structure of this kind, as shown in FIG. 6, a cylindrical-shaped honeycomb structure 30 having a plurality of cells 31 longitudinally (direction shown by an arrow D in FIG. 6(a)) placed in parallel with one another with a cell wall 33 therebetween has been known. As shown in FIG. 6(b), the cell 31 is sealed at either one of end portions on a flow-in side or a flow-out side of exhaust gases by a plug 32 so that exhaust gases flowing into one cell 31 surely pass through the cell wall 33 to flow out from another cell 31. In other words, when the honeycomb structure 30 is installed in an exhaust gas flow path of an internal-combustion system, particulates in exhaust gases discharged from the internal combustion system are captured by the cell walls 33 upon passing through the honeycomb structure 30 so that the exhaust gases are purified.
WO2004/024294 A discloses the honeycomb structure of this kind, in which cells (hereinafter, also referred to as flow-in side cells), each having a sealed end portion on the flow-out side of exhaust gases, are prepared as cells with a large volume (hereinafter, also referred to as large-volume cells), and cells (hereinafter, also referred to as flow-out side cells), each having a sealed end portion on the exhaust-gas flow-in side, are prepared as cells with a small volume (hereinafter, also referred to as small-volume cells) so that an aperture ratio on the flow-in side of exhaust gases is made relatively greater than the aperture ratio on the flow-out side of exhaust gases.
Moreover, with respect to an exhaust-gas purifying apparatus in which a catalyst is supported on cell walls of the honeycomb structure, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Disclosure No. 2001-207836 A discloses an exhaust-gas purifying apparatus of an internal combustion system in which: a honeycomb filter having a plurality of cells formed therein is provided, and fine pores allowing exhaust gases to pass through are formed in each cell wall between mutually adjacent cells, a catalyst substance is supported inside the cell walls of the honeycomb filter, and the catalyst substance is distributed so as to be supported on the flow-in side of exhaust gases passing through the cell wall in an amount comparatively larger than that of the catalyst substance supported on the flow-out side. The contents of WO2004/024294 A and Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Disclosure No. 2001-207836 A are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.


A device for delivering a liquid additive includes an additive delivery unit and an electronic unit. The additive delivery unit has at least one hydraulic component for delivering the liquid additive. All electrical connections of the at least one hydraulic component are brought together in a first plug connector on the additive delivery unit. The electronic unit has a second plug connector which can be connected to the first plug connector. The first plug connector and the second plug connector are connected to one another and form a plug connection when the electronic unit and the additive delivery unit are connected to one another. A motor vehicle having the device is also provided.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for delivering and dosing a liquid additive. Such a device may be used, for example, in a motor vehicle to feed a liquid additive to an exhaust-gas treatment device of the motor vehicle. The invention also relates to a motor vehicle having the device.
In motor vehicles with diesel internal combustion engines, exhaust-gas treatment devices are used into which a liquid additive is fed. The liquid additive then serves, for example, to reduce nitrogen oxide compounds in the exhaust gas of the internal combustion engine. This takes place with the aid of the method of selective catalytic reduction (SCR method). In the SCR method, a urea-water solution is typically used as a liquid additive and the urea-water solution is converted in the exhaust gas to form ammonia. The conversion of nitrogen oxide compounds in the exhaust gas into non-harmful substances such as water (H2O), nitrogen (N2) and/or carbon dioxide (CO2) then takes place with the aid of the ammonia. At present, a 32.5% (by weight) urea-water solution which is available under the trademark AdBlue® has become established as a liquid additive. A liquid additive used for the purpose of exhaust-gas purification is often also referred to as a reducing agent or a reducing agent precursor.
A device for delivering and dosing a liquid additive for a motor vehicle should as far as possible function in the manner of an (autonomous) black box system. A black box system means a system to which a dosing demand for dosing the liquid additive is transmitted, and which thereupon delivers a liquid additive quantity corresponding to the dosing demand from a tank. In order to satisfy the demand, it is advantageous for electronic components to be provided within the device, which electronic components correspondingly process the dosing demand in order to control, operate, etc. the components of the dosing device accordingly. For example, the information regarding a demanded quantity of liquid additive may be converted into a control variable for the operation of a delivery pump in the device.
Furthermore, a device for delivering a liquid additive should be manufactured with low costs and be as easy as possible to maintain.

Device for delivering a liquid additive and motor vehicle having the device

EMITEC Gesellschaft fuer Emissionstechnologie mbH


A method and apparatus for facilitating running or pulling tubulars from a well bore whereby the manual operations or functions normally performed by a human are undertaken by the THD and may including remote control or manipulation. The THD comprises an elevator assembly (THD) with a main body consisting of upper and lower plates, a scissor assembly and multiple sized die blocks to conform to the tubular diameter. The THD can be used as a transfer elevator to position the tubular for engagement by the make-up assembly, can be outfitted to perform as a safety clamp or restraining device and also configured as a tubular stabbing arm as required by the operation.

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for facilitating the connection of tubulars used in the oil and gas exploration and extraction industries. More specifically, the invention relates to an apparatus for facilitating the handling of tubulars into or out of a well bore.
In the construction of oil or gas wells it is usually necessary to line the well bore with a string of steel pipes commonly known as tubular or tubing or generically as oil country tubular goods ("OCTG"). For purposes of this application, such steel pipes shall hereinafter be referred to as "tubular OCTG". Because of the length of the tubular OCTG required, individual sections of tubular OCTG are typically progressively added to the string as it is lowered into a well from a drilling rig or platform. The section to be added is restrained from falling into the well by some tubular engagement means, typically a spider or the like, and is lowered into the well to position the threaded pin of the tubular OCTG section adjacent the threaded box of the tubular OCTG in the well bore. The sections are then joined by relative rotation of the sections until such time as the desired total length has been achieved.
It is common practice to use a single joint elevator to transfer the tubular from the V-Door to a position above the rotary table whereby it can engage the tubular currently constrained in the rotary table. This traditional method and equipment types have been used extensively around the world for a period in excess of fifty years. While this method is in daily use it is a very dangerous task with personnel having to perform manual lifting and securing of the single joint elevator whilst it is tethered to a steel cable under high loads. The method of restraining the door or latch of the single joint elevator from opening under loads is a manually fitted mechanical pin. However this method relies solely on the operator to ensure the safety restraining pin is secured correctly. Because the single joint elevator can swing violently in rough or bad weather conditions it is not unusual for the safety restraining pin to be dislodged thereby placing the personnel on the rig floor under immense danger of possible falling objects or even a dropped tubular OCTG.
In more recent times, where a top drive may be used, this is a top drive rotational system used for drilling purposes. Where a top drive system is used to make the connection, the use of a set of hydraulically controlled bail arms have been employed to aid the positioning of the manual single joint elevator. However this can be problematic, due to the configuration of the top drive bails in so much as it protrudes or extends insufficient distance on the rig floor and it does not remove the manual intervention to secure the single joint elevator, safety restraining pin and thereby the safety hazard. It is therefore known to make use of an apparatus commonly referred to as a single joint elevator suspended from a steel wire cable or winch assembly used to transfer the tubular from the V-Door to the rotary table or mousehole.
The intention of the present invention is to offer a much-improved method for single joint elevator or tubular handling device for running tubular OCTG into a borehole without the shortfalls in the tools available today.


Provided is a resource allocation method suitable for a downlink control channel of a narrowband MTC UE, and a base station and an MTC UE for executing the method. The method according to embodiments of the present invention includes: allocating one or more MPDCCH-PRB-sets for an MTC UE in order to transmit the MPDCCH, the numbers of PRB-pairs in the MPDCCH-PRB-sets being 2, 4, or 6; and transmitting MPDCCH allocation information to the MTC UE, the MPDCCH allocation information including information indicating the MPDCCH-PRB-sets. The allocated MPDCCH-PRB-sets may be associated with repetition levels.

With the rapid growth of mobile communication and the great progress in technology, the world has stepped into a completely interconnected and interworking network society where any person or anything can obtain information and share data at anytime and anywhere. It is estimated that by 2020, the number of interconnecting devices will reach 50 billion, of which only about 10 billion may be mobile phones and Tablet PCs, and the rest may be machines communicating with each other, instead of machines communicating with human beings. Therefore, designing a system to support a large number of machine communication equipment is a subject in the need of in-depth study.
In the standard of Long Term Evolution (LTE) work item of the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), machine-to-machine communication is called Machine Type Communication (MTC). MTC is a data communication service that does not require human participation. Large-scale MTC user equipment deployment can be used in fields, such as security, tracking, payment, measurement and consumer electronics, and specifically relates to applications including video surveillance, supply chain tracking, smart electric meters, remote monitoring, etc. MTC requires lower power consumption and supports lower data rate and lower mobility. At present, the LTE system is mainly for human-to-human (H2H) communication services. Furthermore, the key to achieve the scale competitive advantage and application prospect of MTC service is that LTE networks support low-cost MTC equipment.
In addition, some MTC equipment needs to be installed in the basement of a residential building or at a position under the protection of an insulating foil, a metal window or a thick wall of a traditional building; as compared with conventional equipment terminals (such as mobile phones, tablet computers, etc.) in LTE networks, the air interfaces of such equipment will obviously suffer from more serious penetration losses. The 3GPP has decided to study a solution design and performance evaluation of MTC equipment with additional 20 dB/15 dB coverage enhancement. Note that MTC equipment located in poor network coverage areas has the following features: very low data rate, very relaxed latency requirement, and limited mobility. For the foregoing features, the LIE network can further optimize some signaling and/or channels to better support MTC services.
In this respect, at a 3GPP RAN #64 meeting held in June 2014, a new work item on Rel-13-oriented even lower complexity and enhanced coverage MTC was proposed (see NPL: RP-140990 New Work Item on Even Lower Complexity and Enhanced Coverage LTE UE for MTC, Ericsson, NSN). In the description of this work item, the LTE Rel-13 system needs to support an MTC user equipment having 1.4 MHz RF bandwidth for uplink and downlink (hereinafter referred to as a narrowband MTC UE) to operate at any system bandwidth (e.g., 1.4 MHz, 3 MHz, 5 MHz, 10 MHz, 15 MHz, 20 MHz, etc.), and provides coverage enhancements for such MTC users. In the system design, low-cost MTC users and enhanced coverage MTC users adopt a unified design scheme.
For enhanced coverage MTC UEs, it is necessary to use enhancement techniques to improve the received signal strength of the physical channel of the MTC UEs. In the discussion of Rel-12MTC, the received signal strength of MTC physical channel is mainly improved by subframe bundling or repeat transmission. The needs of MTC UEs in different geographical locations for coverage enhancement will be different, and the MTC UEs of the same cell can be divided into multiple coverage enhancement levels. The numbers of repeat transmissions required for different coverage enhancement levels are different. The repetition level also can be used to represent the coverage enhancement level. For example, the PRACHs of the enhanced coverage MTC UEs may be divided into four repetition levels (0, 1, 2, 3), corresponding to the coverage enhancement 0 dB, 5 B, 10 dB, 15 dB, respectively.
In the existing LTE system, an LTE UE receives a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) through the control information carried by a broadband physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). Alternatively, the LTE UE receives a UE-specific enhanced physical downlink control channel (EPDCCH) through the control information carried by the broadband physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), and then can receive the PDSCH through the control information carried by the EPDCCH. Since the MTC UE in Rel-13 can only operate at a bandwidth of 1.4 MHz (corresponding to the bandwidth occupied by 6 physical resource blocks (PRBs)/physical resource block pairs (PRB-pairs)) and the broadband PDCCH uses a 20M bandwidth (corresponding to the bandwidth occupied by 100 PRBs), the MTC UE in Rel-13 cannot receive broadband PDCCHs but can only receive narrowband PDSCHs and EPDCCHs (hereinafter, the EPDCCH for the MTC UE in Rel-13 is referred to as MPDCCH). As described above, the allocation information of the existing EPDCCH is obtained through the control information carried by the broadband PDCCH. For the MTC UE in Rel-13, since the broadband PDCCH cannot be received, the allocation information of the MPDCCH cannot be obtained by the existing method. Therefore, for the MTC UE operating at frequency of 1.4 MHz in Rel 13, a new mechanism is needed to configure the physical resources of the MPDCCH.

Physical downlink control channel resource allocation method, and base station and user equipment


Film grain patterns can be modeled in the frequency domain by estimating the cut frequencies that define a 2D band-pass filter. The film grain parameters can be conveyed in accordance with the ITU-T H.264|MPEG-4 AVC standard in an SEI message allowing film grain reinsertion at a decoder.

Motion picture film typically contains signal-dependent noise, often referred to as film grain, resulting from the process of exposure and development of the photographic film. Such noise yields a characteristic quasi-random pattern or texture, caused by the physical granularity of the photographic emulsion. Alternatively, signal-dependent noise can occur as result of subsequent editing of the images. The grain pattern can be simulated for video compression purposes.
The ITU-T H.264|MPEG-4 AVC video compression standard has accepted in its Fidelity Range Extensions Amendment the inclusion of a film grain SEI (Supplemental Enhancement Information) message. The film grain SEI message conveys a series of parameters allowing film grain simulation at the receiver. For the ITU-T H.264|MPEG-4 AVC compression standard, parameters in the SEI message can be specified according to two different models: the auto-regressive model and the frequency-filtering model. Both models allow characterizing the film grain pattern (size and shape), intensity and color correlation through different sets of parameters for different intensity levels. In particular, the frequency-filtering model characterizes the film grain pattern by specifying a set of cut frequencies that define a 2D band-pass filter in the frequency domain. Note that ITU-T H.264|MPEG-4 AVC only standardizes the syntax necessary to transmit the cut frequencies but does not provide a method for computing them for a video sequence with film grain.
Thus, there exists a need for a technique allowing the automatic modeling of the film grain pattern in the frequency domain as specified by the frequency-filtering model in ITU-T H.264|MPEG-4 AVC compression standard. Results for this technique could be used either for automatic film grain modeling applications or as the initialization step for a film grain assisted-modeling process.

Method and apparatus for modeling film grain patterns in the frequency domain


A shelf slide and shelf using a plurality of such slides is shown. The slides are releasably securable to wire supports used to form a display shelf. The slides are made of an extruded material having a lower coefficient of friction than the shelf wires and facilitate the movement of product on the shelf from the rear of the shelf to the front of the shelf under the force of gravity. A universal mounting device for permitting the use of a particularly sized shelf with existing shelf support framework where the existing framework is not sized to support the particularly sized shelf. An air baffle mountable on each shelf is also shown for reducing air flow around the shelves for preventing frost formation on refrigerated products.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to self-facing shelves and in particular to means for reducing friction between the shelf and products being displayed and sold therefrom.
2. Background of the Invention
Self-facing shelves are known and used for the display and sale of merchandise, such as food products retained in a grocery store retail freezer. Such shelves are inclined from back to front so that the goods move by gravity to the front of the shelf as they are removed therefrom by the consumer. Studies have shown that products are much more likely to be sold if the front of the shelf always has product.
A problem with metal shelves concerns the coefficient of friction between the shelf and certain products wherein a greater angle of inclination can be required to assure that a further product will always slide by gravity to the front of the shelf to replace one that has been removed. However, the greater the shelf angle the less product that can be stored in a given space. One approach to avoiding a greater angle of incline has been to make the shelf from a plurality of rigid wires or rods, rather than a sheet of metal, to decrease the total friction by minimizing the amount of physical contact between the product and the shelf. A further approach has involved the use of alternate lower coefficient of friction plastic materials to form the shelf. However, problems arise with respect to material suitability in terms of durability and tooling and material costs. Sheets of low friction material having a plurality of top surface parallel ridges are also known. These sheets can serve as the bottom of a shelf wherein the ridges run from the front to back thereof. Thus, in addition to reducing friction as a function of the physical properties of the material, such sheets also minimize the amount of surface area contact between the product and itself by virtue of the product only being in contact with the apex of the ridges. However, this approach also has problems with respect to manufacturing, and material and tooling costs.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to have a self-facing shelf that provides for reduced friction between the shelf and product, that is durable and that is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and use.
It is also understood that refrigerated food display freezers are made by a number of manufacturers, each having a slightly different shelf width. Thus, retrofitting such freezers with specially designed shelves for the display and sale of a certain product requires a specific adaptation for each freezer model. Such adaptations can be expensive and require a greater inventory of part types as well as greatly increase the chances of ordering, production or shipping errors occurring. Accordingly, it would be desirable to have a strategy for permitting the manufacture of one size of such a specialty shelf that could be used in any of the various freezers that would be encountered.