A conveyor vehicle having a pair of lateral-feeding conveyors which in a road transport position extend longitudinally along opposite sides of a vehicle frame. A longitudinally-feeding conveyor has a road transport position stacked above the lateral-feeding conveyors. The conveyors have mountings mounting them for pivotal movement to place them in set up positions and expanses of the conveyors fold over to attain compactness.

This invention relates to a vehicle equipped with a conveyor system. The vehicle is movable from one site to another, and the conveyors of the conveyor system then may be set up whereby they may perform their conveying function. A vehicle of this description is referred to herein as a conveyor vehicle.
Describing with more particularity a conveyor vehicle as contemplated herein, in the construction business the need arises for a conveyor system capable of handling differently sized material delivered to a loading zone by transporting this material to different stockpile regions dependent upon the size of material handled. For instance, in the handling of crushed rock and gravel, as is done in the road construction business, frequently crushed material is screened in a screener with material of different size ranges falling from the screener at different locations, then to be carried away from the screener for deposit in distinct stockpiles. In preparing multiple stock piles, maximum production and efficiency are attained if stockpiles produced pursuant to this type of operation have substantial size and contain a large quantity of material. Directly affecting the height and distance separating different piles are the length of the conveyors utilized in conveying away the separated material, and the elevation obtainable in the discharge ends of the conveyors. It should be obvious that a conveyor that conveys material a considerable distance away from the screening operation and permits such material to cascade from a point of discharge having considerable elevation over the ground, produces a substantially larger stockpile than a conveyor of shorter length and having a lower discharge elevation.
A general object of this invention is to provide a conveyor vehicle which includes a mobile vehicle frame adapted for road transport, and a conveyor system of multiple conveyors supported on the vehicle frame featuring a construction which enables relatively long conveyors in the conveyor system to be compactly arranged with the vehicle set up for travel over the road.
Another object is to provide a conveyor vehicle where the vehicle includes multiple conveyors supported on the vehicle frame which are relatively easily adjusted between a road transport position with the conveyors compactly arranged in a supported position on the frame, and a set up position, where the conveyors extend outwardly to the sides and to different regions around the vehicle frame in an optimum position for stockpiling material.
A vehicle as contemplated has good roadability with the conveyors of the vehicle arranged in a road transport position. With the conveyors so arranged, the vehicle is stable without excessive width or height, and easily moved over the highway at conventional highway speeds. With the vehicle moved to a construction site, adjustments are readily made to place the conveyors in a set up position, whereby they may be operated to perform their stockpiling function.
In a particular and preferred embodiment of the invention, the conveyor vehicle has three different conveyors in the conveyor system of the vehicle, namely two lateral-feeding conveyors and a longitudinal-feeding conveyor. With the conveyors in a road transport position to ready the vehicle for moving over the road, the conveyors all occupy a position extending longitudinally along the vehicle frame. In a set up position, the lateral-feeding conveyors are swung to extend outwardly to opposite sides of the vehicle frame and upwardly to a raised elevation. The longitudinal-feeding conveyor is swung to raise its discharge end. All three conveyors are supplied with material to be conveyed at a region located adjacent one end of the vehicle frame. From this region the various conveyors convey different size ranges of material outwardly to different zones to produced the desired stockpiles.


First hardware is for executing first software in response to macros that describe integrated circuitry, and for generating a set of constants in response to the execution of the first software. Second hardware is for receiving the set of constants from the first hardware, and for executing second software in response to the macros and the set of constants, and for estimating a power consumption of the integrated circuitry in response to the execution of the second software.

In very large scale integration ("VLSI") designs of integrated circuitry, power consumption is a significant factor. For example, power consumption has a direct impact on battery life, heat dissipation, packaging requirements, and other design criteria for systems that include such integrated circuitry. Generally, a lower power consumption is desirable. Accordingly, previous techniques have been developed for modeling designs of integrated circuitry, including previous techniques for estimating power consumption of such integrated circuitry.
However, a need has arisen for a method and system for estimating power consumption of integrated circuitry, in which various shortcomings of previous techniques are overcome. For example, a need has arisen for a method and system for estimating power consumption of integrated circuitry, in which power consumption is estimated with higher efficiency and accuracy.

Method and system for estimating power consumption of integrated circuitry

International Business Machines Corporation


The invention relates to a cosmetic based on various natural raw materials, which can be used to counter ageing processes of the human skin. The inventive cosmetic contains 0.1-5% by weight of an extract from a mixture of fig leaves and fruits, 0.1-3% by weight of an extract from pomegranate fruits, 0.001-0.5% by weight of a ground dry mixture of rosemary stems and leaves, 0.01-3% by weight of liposomes containing an extract from peeled musk melons, 0.1-5% by weight of liposomes containing a plankton extract containing the photolyase enzyme, 0.1-5% by weight of liposomes containing 0.1 to 0.5% by weight, in relation to the liposome weight, of a micrococcus lysate containing the UV-endonuclease enzyme; and up to 100% by weight, other active substances, carrier substances, adjuvants or mixtures thereof.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cosmetic based on various natural raw materials, which can be used to counter ageing processes of the human skin.
2. Related Art of the Invention
From the state of the art, numerous cosmetics are known which in some way contain plant-based raw materials in the form of oils or extracts. In most cases, the known advantageous effects of individual plants are used to achieve a corresponding overall effect. The effect of rosemary, provided as an oil or an extract from the leaves and sometimes combined with other plant extracts, is e.g. used quite frequently to include antispasmodic and circulation-stimulating properties. Maritime cosmetics often contain algae extracts. For example, WO98/26755 describes a preparation which contains extracts from the Laminaria saccharina alga, root extracts from Lilium candidum and extracts from Glycyrrhyza glabra and achieves a particular skin-cleansing effect. Rosemary extract is used in WO 00/41674 to counter skin ageing.
The object of the invention is to provide an improved cosmetic with a view to skin ageing.
Another object is to develop a cosmetic which at the same time has an improved moisturizing effect.


A music box comprises a comb having vibrating teeth, a drum having elements for plucking the comb for playing music, a driving source for rotating the drum, a speed governor for regulating rotation speed and a frame for supporting the comb, drum, driving source and speed governor. The speed governor further comprises an accelerating train having two worms and a control device provided on a last row of the accelerating train. A position maintaining element is integrally arranged with the frame for preventing at least the first worm positioned on the driving source side, of the two worms referred to, from moving in the thrust direction. In one form, the music box has a driving source which includes a spring. One end of the spring is engaged with a winding shaft arranged in a spring housing of the spring and the other end is engaged with an engagement section provided on the frame. A contact section is formed on the frame for preventing the other end of the spring engaged with the engagement section from moving out of the spring housing.

a) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a music box in which pins inserted in a drum pluck teeth which vibrate to produce music.
b) Description of the Related Art
In a music box in which pins inserted in a drum pluck vibrating teeth to produce music, the drum rotation is kept constant by transmitting a driving force from a rotating driving source to a speed governor, via the drum. The governor is used for regulating the drum rotation, and is comprised of an accelerating train and a control means. There is known one such accelerating train in which a plurality of worms and worm wheels are provided in the train due to the associated advantage of having a large acceleration rate. For example, when worms are used in the middle of the accelerating train and in the last row, a brake member is provided in the worm used in the last row to rotate it at high speed, as friction resistance for regulating the drum rotation.
Also, a spring used as a driving source for the drum is wound around a winding shaft and is installed in the space called a spring housing constructed by a frame, case, and the like of the music box. The spring is arranged such that one end is inserted into the spring housing (from the outside of the housing) and engaged with the winding shaft projecting inside of the spring housing, and the other end thereof is engaged with an engagement section formed on the outer circumference of the spring housing, thus preventing the other end from entering in the spring housing while winding the spring. A tie section called necking is formed at the other end of the spring engaged with the engagement section. The tie section is formed with a gap created with the engagement section in the direction the spring extends, taking into account processability at the winding of the spring and at the engaging of the other end; the spring in the housing is tightened when being spirally wound around the winding shaft, and is gradually released by the operation of the speed governor to rotate the drum for the play.
In a music box, a worm is supported with allowance in the shaft direction (generally called a thrust allowance), taking into account the capability of assembling the worm and the tolerance of components. However, the worm is shifted by a deviation force generated in the axial direction when it is given a rotation from a worm wheel and rotated at high speed. The direction in which the deviation force is generated varies according to the input direction of the worm, i.e., the direction the worm rotates. For example, when the input to the worm is transmitted from the driving source side, the deviation force moves in the direction of input by placing tangential stress on the shaft; when the input from the driving source side is decreased and the inertial force of the brake, rotating at high speed, becomes large, the deviation force moves in the opposite direction to the above mentioned direction of input tangential stress.
When the moving direction of the worm varies due to the direction of the deviation force generated in such a way, the gap between the worm and the worm wheel becomes large when switching the directions of the deviation force; therefore, the brake does not function well, freeing the driving source and therefore rotating the drum radically. There would be no problem if the thrust allowance of each worm can be made zero, but it is virtually impossible because of tolerance of components and the like. Even if it could be made zero, a support section for supporting the worm is worn out by the deviation force applied on the worm in the direction the deviation force is applied with some material, thus generating the movement in the thrust direction.
The variation in the drum rotation due to a sudden rotation of the drum causes problems in deteriorating sound quality and making it difficult to hear the music. Specifically, when a plurality of worms are used in the accelerating train, the acceleration rate of the accelerating means is large; therefore, the axial movement of the worm provided in the middle of the train due to the deviation force greatly affects the engagement condition with the worm wheel on the deceleration side.
When a spring is used as a driving source for a drum, if the relationship between a first friction resistance (a friction resistance between the outermost peripheral surface of the spring and the inner peripheral surface of the spring housing) and a second friction resistance (a friction resistance between the outermost peripheral surface and a second outer peripheral surface, inner surface by one wind from the outermost) is broken during release of the spring, i.e., during the play, the spring is not released smoothly, and sometimes the edge engaged with the engagement section moves in the direction to push it out of the spring housing. Under such a condition, a clicking noise is generated between the edge of the spring and the engagement section, causing a noise during the play which is another problem while the music is played. On the other hand, if the relationship between the first and second friction resistance is always maintained such as "the first friction>the second friction", the spring can be smoothly released, without causing a problem; however, it is difficult to maintain the friction resistance in the above mentioned relationship. To obtain such a relationship, many attempts are required, providing poor reliability, requiring a longer time to develop a product, and increasing the manufacturing cost.


A leading edge for an airfoil of an aircraft includes a leading plate with a convex side and a concave side, and at least one container filled with a non-Newtonian fluid. The leading edge is configured to be secured to the torsion box of the airfoil. The at least one container is arranged between the concave side of the leading plate and the torsion box of the airfoil. An airfoil is also provided including such a leading edge. A method is provided for assembling such a leading edge.

One of the most critical and restrictive certification requirements for an aircraft is related to behavior and tolerance to the damage which results from an impact with an external flying body, generally in the form of a bird strike.
This undesired situation takes place regularly entailing, for instance, the aero-shape alteration of the airfoil. Further, it makes the area between the nose and the front bulkhead to become pressurized by the ram-air likely causing failure of upward installations.
In an example, according to the European Aviation Safety Agency's Certification Memoranda, an airplane must be designed so as to ensure capability of continued safe flight and landing of the airplane after impact with a 4 lb. bird when the velocity of the airplane (relative to the bird along the airplane's flight path) is equal to the Design Cruise Speed at sea level or a 0.85 factor of the Design Cruise Speed at 8000 feet, whichever is the more critical.
In another example of certification requirements for an aircraft in order to assure operability after a bird impact, the leading edge of lifting surfaces such as the wing, the horizontal tail plane ('HTP') or the vertical tail plane ('VTP') must be able to bear an impact energy equivalent to 8 lbs. (3.628 kg) at a speed of 330 Kts (170 m/s).
In view of the potentially hazardous consequences of a bird strike, current solutions implemented in the aerodynamic lifting surfaces manufacturing industry consist of reinforcing the leading edges of the lifting surfaces with auxiliary elements that provide enhanced resistance against collision.
The leading edge of an airfoil contributes in the aerodynamics and performance of the aircraft. An airfoil may be traditionally divided into a torsion box (the central part of the airfoil, bearing the torsion load due to the lift forces distribution spanwise) and leading and trailing edges positioned front and rear of the torsion box, respectively.
Leading edges are expected to fulfil both mechanical and weight requirements. They must be able to resist impacts (i.e., protect the primary structure) while ensuring the aerodynamic shape, but they may not weigh more than strictly necessary following the well-known principle of reducing weight in aircraft design.
Currently, composite materials, especially those made from carbon fibers and glass fibers, are widely used in the manufacturing of lifting surfaces, due to their advantageous properties over metallic parts. In particular, among those properties is a substantial weight reduction when compared with traditional metallic components, leading to an improvement in the fuel-efficiency. Regarding structural properties, composites also outshine metallic alternatives in terms of strength-to-weight ratio (i.e., specific strength). In addition, they resist compression and do not easily break under tension.
Composites are almost immune to corrosion due to harsh chemicals, and also resistant to many highly reactive chemicals. Further, they can operate under wide variations in temperature and exposure to severe weather while maintaining their shape and size.
Among all the types of fibers used in the aircraft industry, carbon fiber is the preferred choice in most scenarios, due to its excellent overall properties. However, Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics (CFRP) weakness includes significant brittleness.
This results in a poor behavior against potential impacts, if not provided with the proper means for enhancing resistance. In order to achieve the enhanced resistance, several approaches have been developed.
One of the ways implemented in the industry of composite manufacturing for increasing the impact resistance of composite leading edges consists of interlaminar reinforcement by oversizing the layup configuration. That is, the number of carbon fiber layers is increased, while interposing several glass fiber layers, which is known for having a better behavior against impact damage.
However, the designer flexibility for patterning the layup configuration is jeopardized and, as a result, the designer is forced to modify the distribution of layers taking into account the impact damage resistance criteria, which reduces structural optimization.
Other ways for increasing the impact resistance of composite leading edges make use of metallic plates (e.g., steel or titanium) coupled to the outer skin of the leading edge so as to receive direct impact. Also, metallic plates can be installed within the leading edge internal volume located between the concave side of the leading plate and an internal rib/spar of the structural torsion box of the lifting surface.
Therefore, all the known ways for increasing tolerance to impact damage of aircraft composite leading edges consist of solid and rigid materials implemented so as to cooperate with the leading edge plate which receives the mechanical impact, thus absorbing the impact energy. These solid materials jeopardize the structural optimization and contribute to increase the total weight of the aircraft.


A method and apparatus for terminating frame reception in a wireless Local Area Network. A node receiving a frame transmitted on the common channel in a wireless Local Area Network determines the destination address of the frame. If the destination address indicates that the transmitted frame is not intended for that node, the node terminates reception of the frame for a time period at least as long as the time required to transmit the remainder of the transmitted frame. In a further embodiment, the time period can also include at least one Short Inter Frame Space and the time required to send an Acknowledgement frame.

Wireless networks, as standardised by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) in their document 802.11, consist of a number of nodes that transmit units of data called frames on a shared radio channel. Only one node can transmit at once and the allocation of the channel to an individual node, so that it can transmit a frame, is handled by an algorithm specified by the standard.
Each frame consists of header information, optionally followed in time by a payload. The payload is the data which the network was designed to transport from node to node. The header contains the frame type (which describes the frame's role in the protocol), information about the length of the frame, an address field that identifies the intended recipient(s) of the frame and other information required for the correct operation of the protocol.
Stations in an IEEE 802.11 wireless network have hardware for the transmission and reception of the radio signals specified by the standard. This hardware can, in general, only be used on a single radio channel at once. In addition, most hardware of this type has the facility to be switched off when not in use, in a process substantially reducing the power consumption. As wireless LANs are often used in battery powered devices, any mechanism for reducing power consumption is extremely desirable.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to address such power consumption issues.


In a vacuum brake power booster for automotive vehicles, including a stationary booster housing and a control housing which is axially slidable with respect to the booster housing, a sealing ring, arranged between the booster housing and the control housing, has a stop for an actuating piston. The actuating piston is axially slidably mounted on the control housing, and its purpose is actuation of a release switch to release an electromagnetic actuation of the vacuum brake power booster.

The present invention relates to a vacuum brake power booster for automotive vehicles.
German patent application No. 43 24 688 discloses a vacuum brake power booster for automotive vehicles, including a booster housing having an interior subdivided by a movable wall into a vacuum chamber and a working chamber, a control housing carrying the movable wall and accommodating a control valve which is operable by an actuating rod and governs a difference in pressure that acts upon the movable wall, and a solenoid which acts upon the control valve and permits ventilating the working chamber irrespective of the actuating rod.
An object of the present invention is to provide an improved vacuum brake power booster, wherein an actuating piston for the actuation of a release switch, which is used to release the solenoid, is arranged particularly favorably so as to achieve a simple and low-cost manufacture of the vacuum brake power booster.


A stowable and deployable shelter may include a frame structure with a first support arch pivotably attached to a base at a pair of pivot points, and a second support arch pivotably attached to the first support arch via a pair of slidable hinges. The slidable hinges are positioned to translate along the first support arch toward and away from the pair of pivot points. In some embodiments, at least one of the slidable hinges includes a locking mechanism for releasably locking the at least one slidable hinge at a selected location along the first support arch. In some embodiments, the hinges may be fixed instead of being slidable. The support arches support a fabric shell to form an interior of the shelter. The base may include a sled container having runners for sliding through snow or across terrain.

Ice fishermen and outdoor enthusiasts often use portable shelters to protect themselves from the elements. Some portable shelters can be carried by a sled, cart, or other transport device. For example, sled-based shelters can be dragged by the user to a location, where the shelter may be deployed from the sled for use until it is stowed again and dragged to another location. Sled-based shelters typically have a fabric covering attached to a deployable and stowable frame structure. The fabric covering may have one or more doors or openable panels to allow ingress and egress.
Many sled-based shelters have front doors that are cumbersome to access when gear or other objects are positioned between the sled and the door. Accordingly, some sled-based shelters include a side door. However, elements of frame structures in conventional portable shelters often obstruct side doors, which hinders ingress and egress. Conventional sled-based shelters that attempt to address the problem of obstructing the side door utilize excessive parts (such as removable parts that can be lost or damaged) or they require excessive steps during deployment to achieve an unobstructed side door (such as disconnecting and reconnecting elements during deployment).


A memory device include a memory array, a transmitter suitable for outputting data to the outside of the memory device, and a data bus suitable for transmitting data of a selected memory cell in the memory array to the transmitter during a read operation. When successive read commands for the same memory cell are applied, data transmission from the memory array to the data bus is blocked, and data previously loaded in the data bus is outputted through the transmitter.

1. Field
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to a semiconductor design technology, and more particularly, to a memory device and a system including the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
A memory device stores data inputted from the outside, and outputs the stored data to the outside. The memory device includes a plurality of data buses formed therein, through which data are transmitted. The data buses include a global data bus and a local data bus. The global data bus serves to transmit data between a data input/output pad and memory banks and is shared by the memory banks. The local data bus is provided for each of the memory banks.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a conventional memory device.
First, in a write operation, data inputted through a data pad DQ is loaded onto a global data bus GIO through a receiver 102. Then, the data is transferred to the vicinities of memory banks 110 and 120. When the memory bank 110 is selected, the data of the global data bus GIO is loaded onto local data bus pair LIO_B0 and LIOb_B0 of the memory bank 110 by a write driver (WTDRV) 112. Then, the data loaded in the local data bus pair LIO_B0 and LIOb_B0 is written to a memory cell selected in the memory bank 110. When the memory bank 120 is selected, the data of the global data bus GIO is loaded onto local data bus pair LIO_B1 and LIOb_B1 of the memory bank 120 by a write driver 122, and written to a memory cell selected in the memory bank 120.
Second, in a read operation, when the memory bank 110 is selected, data stored in a memory cell selected in the memory bank 110 is loaded onto the local data bus pair LIO_B0 and BIOb_B0, amplified by an I/O sense amplifier (IOSA) 111, and loaded onto the global data bus GIO. Then, the data transferred to the vicinities of the data pad DQ by the global data bus GIO is outputted to the outside of the memory device by a transmitter 101. When the memory bank 120 is selected, data stored in a memory cell selected in the memory bank 120 is outputted to the outside of the memory device through the local data bus pair LIO_B1 and LIOb_B1, an I/O sense amplifier 121, the global data bus GIO, and the transmitter 101.
FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a concern occurring when a read operation is successively performed on the same memory cell, in the conventional memory device shown in FIG. 1. In FIG. 2, it is assumed that an active and read operation is performed for one word line and one bit line.
Referring to FIG. 2, a word line WL is activated in response to an active command at a time point 201. When the word line WL is activated, data of a memory cell corresponding to the word line WL is loaded onto a bit line pair BL and BLb. Referring to FIG. 2, it can be seen that the level of a bit line BL becomes higher than the level of a complementary bit line BLb by charge sharing between the memory cell and the bit line pair BL and BLb. At a time point 202, a bit line sense amplifier is enabled, and a slight potential difference between the bit line pair BL and BLb is amplified by the bit line sense amplifier. Then, the bit line BL has a level corresponding to a core voltage VCORE, which is a high-level voltage used in a cell area, and the complementary bit line BLb has a level corresponding to a ground voltage VSS, which is a low-level voltage used in the cell area.
Time points 203, 204, and 205 indicate sections in which read operations are performed by read commands. During the sections in which the read operations are performed, the voltage levels of the bit line BL and the complementary bit line BLb are transferred to the local data bus pair LIO and LIOb. That is, the local data bus pair LIO and LIOb is driven by the bit line pair BL and BLb. Thus, the voltage level of the bit line BL momentarily decreases, and the voltage level of the complementary bit One BLb momentarily increases. The voltage levels of the bit line BL and the complementary bit One BLb, which are momentarily decreased and increased, are recovered to the original levels by the bit line sense amplifier. When the read operations 203, 204, and 205 are successively performed as illustrated in FIG. 2, the voltage levels of the bit line pair BL and BLb may not be completely recovered, but a voltage difference between the bit line pair BL and BLb may gradually decrease. Then, as indicated by reference numeral 206, the voltage difference between the bit line BL and the complementary bit line BLb may decrease to cause a fail in which the voltage levels of the bit line and the complementary bit line are changed to each other.
During the operation of the memory device, successive read operations on the same memory cell may occur frequently. Thus, a technique capable of preventing a fail caused by successive read operations on the same memory cell is in demand.

Memory device preventing fail caused by successive read operations and system including the same


Delays in event detection in time-varying data can be reduced by predicting the time-varying data and then detecting the event in the predicted data. This finds application in the triggering of medical imaging devices, where physiological events can be detected in the time-varying data. An artificial neural network can be trained to predict data such as ECG signals from which a detection algorithm can accurately predict the occurrence of an event that will serve as a reference point for triggering.

Certain physical phenomena can be characterized by time-varying relationships, some of which may contain repetitive features. On occasion, one may wish to perform an act at a specific point in time, perhaps upon the occurrence of a particular feature. One particular application for this lies in medical imaging.
In imaging applications such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computerized tomographic (CT) scanning, ultrasound, and positron emission tomography (PET), a series of related images should ideally be taken at the point where the heart (or other anatomy of interest) is in a relatively constant posture. This condition can be assured by synchronizing the imaging with a fixed point or phase in the heartbeat cycle. For example, the electrocardiogram (ECG) signal, specifically the R-wave within the QRS event in the ECG signal provides such a reference point, as it occurs when the ventricles are contracted.
Known methods for detecting the occurrence of an event often suffer from a processing delay. By the time such methods indicate that an event has occurred, that event has passed, and the anatomy may have undergone a significant change in position or posture. Preferably, the trigger should immediately follow the occurrence of the event. By predicting the signal some interval of time in advance of when the event will occur, one can compensate for the delay in the event detection process.

Time series prediction for event triggering


A comb for binding documents constituted by sheets perforated along one edge, comprising a strip of material in sheet form which has, along one edge, a plurality of comb-like tabs which can be inserted in corresponding holes formed along the edge of sheets that constitute a document to be bound and are longer than the document is thick. The strip has a width which allows folding on the spine of the document and overlapping on the portion of the tabs protruding from the holes. There is also provided an adhesive layer which affects at least the region where the strip and the portion of the tabs that protrudes from the holes mutually overlap.

The present invention relates to a comb for binding documents constituted by sheets perforated along one edge.
Conventional plastic combs are currently used to bind documents constituted by sheets perforated along one edge with substantially elongated rectangular holes; said combs substantially have a cylindrical shape formed by a strip-like portion, at the edge whereof there protrude tabs which are arranged in a comb-like fashion and can be inserted in the holes, in practice by opening out the cylindrical shape of the comb. The tabs are arranged at their free end below the strip-like portion, so as to obtain an element which mutually joins the various sheets of the documents
This solution has the drawback that it has a comb which protrudes with respect to the thickness of the document, so that in many cases it is difficult to position it correctly in a bookshelf or the like.
Moreover, in order to achieve good binding it is necessary that a wide range of combs sizes are available so as to adapt to the different thicknesses of the document.
A problem which is becoming increasingly felt relates to the disposal of the document, since a comb made of plastics is used and accordingly must be separated again from the document when the latter must be discarded
Other conventional solutions achieve binding of documents by means of combs provided with adhesive material which, generally by applying heat, melts at the spine of the documents, thus providing a coupling element.
With respect to the previous solution, this solution has the advantage that it does not produce thicknesses which protrude with respect to the thickness of the document and therefore it allows easier arrangement in a bookshelf and the like, but on the other hand it does not allow to easily modify the composition of the document if required, since removal of the comb is destructive.
Still another problem is constituted by the fact that the coupling that is ensured is often rather weak, so that it is necessary to resort to metal staples or other elements to join the sheets to each other beforehand, thus constituting a hindrance when turning over the pages of the document.

Comb for binding documents constituted by sheets perforated along one edge


The present invention relates to metalloprotease enzymes isolated from scorpion venom, their nucleic acid and amino acid sequences, and methods of use thereof in the treatment of various diseases, disorders and cosmetic conditions.

Eukaryotic intracompartmental transport and secretory processes require fusion of vesicles with cellular membranes (1, 2, 3). A step leading to fusion of vesicles with cellular membranes is assembly of a tetrameric coiled-coil structure formed from sets of membrane proteins known as SNAREs (4) (soluble N-ethyl maleimide sensitive factor attachment protein receptors) (4). High-resolution structures are available for the final, post-fusion ternary SNARE complex that combines one vesicle protein (v-SNARE) with two target membrane proteins (t-SNARES). The SNAREs responsible for neuronal secretion are among the best-studied examples of this family of proteins. They include the v-SNARE VAMP (vesicle-associated membrane protein) that is located on the secretory vesicle membrane and two t-SNAREs—syntaxin (sx) and SNAP25 (synaptosomal-associated protein 25) present on the target membrane (5, 6).
SNAREs are responsible for selective transport between cellular compartments (7, 8). Alterations or damage to proteins or membranes that perform integral transport functions often produce disabling or irreversible consequences. Failure of the normal vesicular traffic (unless transient), which is the basis for intracellular transport and secretion, results in development of disease (9, 10). As a consequence, toxins that attack this machinery have significant effects on normal cellular processes.
Proteolytic cleavage of SNARE family components is currently known to be associated only with large microbial proteins from the genus Clostridium. These clostridial proteins require intracellular cleavage before they are released as smaller active proteolytic enzymes (23, 24, 25, 26). The present inventors have identified and isolated enzymes from scorpion venom that cleave also the SNARE complex proteins. These enzymes are unique from the clostridial enzymes with respect to their mechanism of cleavage, specific cleavage targets as well as their structure.


An RF transmitter includes a reference signal generator, a signal generator, and a mixer. The reference signal generator provides a reference signal that has a prescribed or desired frequency. The signal generator provides an operating signal in response to a selection signal. The operating signal has a frequency that equals the frequency of the reference signal multiplied by a number. The mixer mixes the operating signal with another signal to generate a transmission signal. An RF receiver includes a first mixer, a second mixer, an integrator/sampler, and a signal generator. The first mixer receives as its inputs an input RF signal and a second input signal, and mixes its input signals to generate a mixed signal. The integrator/sampler receives the mixed signal and processes it to provide an output signal. The signal generator provides an operating signal in response to a selection signal. The operating signal has a frequency equal to the frequency of a reference signal, multiplied by a number. The second mixer mixes the operating signal with a template signal to generate the second input signal of the first mixer.

The proliferation of wireless communication devices in unlicensed spectrum and the ever increasing consumer demands for higher data bandwidths has placed a severe strain on those frequency spectrum bands. Examples of the unlicensed bands include the 915 MHz, the 2.4 GHz Industrial, Scientific and Medical (ISM) band, and the 5 GHz Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (UNII) bands. New devices and new standards emerge continually, for example, the IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.15.3, HiperLAN/2 standards. The emergence and acceptance of the standards has placed, and continues to place, a further burden on those frequency bands. Coexistence among the many systems competing for radio-frequency (RF) spectrum is taking on an increasing level of importance as consumer devices proliferate.
Persons skilled in the art know that the available bandwidth of the license-free bands (and the RF spectrum available generally) constrains the available data bandwidth of wireless systems. Furthermore, data-rate throughput capability varies proportionally with available bandwidth, but only logarithmically with the available signal-to-noise ratio. Hence, to transmit increasingly higher data rates within a constrained bandwidth requires the use of complex communication systems with sophisticated signal modulation schemes.
The complex communication systems typically need significantly increased signal-to-noise ratios, thus making the higher data rate systems more fragile and more easily susceptible to interference from other users of the spectrum and from multipath interference. The increased susceptibility to interference aggravates the coexistence concerns noted above. Furthermore, regulatory limitations within given RF bands constrain the maximum available signal-to-noise ratio and therefore place a limit on the data-rate throughput of the communication system. A need therefore exists for a high data-rate communication apparatus and system that can readily coexist with other existing wireless communication systems, and yet can robustly support relatively high data-rates in a multipath environment.

Ultra-wideband high data-rate communication apparatus and methods


A sense amplifier is constructed to reduce the occurrence of malfunctions in a memory read operation, and thus degraded chip yield, due to increased offset of the sense amplifier with further sealing down. The sense amplifier circuit is constructed with a plurality of pull-down circuits and a pull-up circuit, and a transistor in one of the plurality of pull-down circuits has a constant such as a channel length or a channel width larger than that of a transistor in another pulldown circuit. The pull-down circuit with a larger constant of a transistor is first activated, and then, the other pull-down circuit and the pull-up circuit are activated to perform the read operation.

The dynamic random access memory (hereinafter, referred to as DRAM) which is one example of the semiconductor memory device is mounted in various types of electronic equipment used in our daily life, for example, in a main memory of a large-scale computer and a personal computer and a work memory of digital electronics such as a cellular phone and a digital camera. In addition, with the increasing needs for the lower power consumption and higher performance in the equipment in recent years, the high-performance DRAM capable of achieving the low power consumption, the high-speed operation, and the large capacity has been strongly demanded.
The most effective method to realize the high-performance DRAM is to scale down the cell transistors and the cell capacitors used in a memory cell of the DRAM. The scaling down of the cell transistors and the cell capacitors makes it possible to reduce the size of the memory cell. As a result, the length of the gate line is reduced and the parasitic capacitance of the data line can be reduced. Consequently, the low voltage operation is enabled and the low power consumption can be achieved. Also, since the parasitic capacitance of the data line can be reduced, the sense amplifier can be operated at high speed. Furthermore, the merit obtained from the scaling down is significant, for example, the improvement of the performance of the equipment resulting from the increase of the capacity of the memory. Therefore, the performance of not only the existing products but also the products under development can be improved by the scaling down.
However, due to the further scaling down in the 0.1 um node or the 0.065 um node and 0.045 um node like in the existing product, various side effects occur in addition to the above-described effects of the performance improvement. The side effect includes the malfunction caused when reading a signal of the memory cell due to the variation in device characteristics which is increased by the scaling down. In this case, the variation in device characteristics means, for example, the difference in intensity of the threshold voltage of the cell transistor and the leakage current from the cell transistor (deviation from the average value). As described above, if the variation in device characteristics is large, various problems occur. For example, the data retention characteristics of the DRAM are degraded, and the yield of the chip is reduced. In particular, it is concerned that the variation in threshold voltage of the sense amplifier circuit increases in the future. This is because the data line pitch of the memory cell is very narrow in the recent DRAM and thus the size of the sense amplifier circuit connected to the data line must be reduced in the layout. Therefore, the processing error of the transistors constituting the sense amplifier becomes large, and as a result, the variation in threshold voltage of the pair transistor is increased. Usually, this problem is called the offset of the sense amplifier, and causes a large influence on the performance of the DRAM. In addition, the problem of the offset of the sense amplifier is described in detail in "VLSI Memory Chip Design", pp. 195 to 247, Springer, 2001 by Kiyoo Itoh, and it is well known that the reduction of the offset greatly contributes to the improvement of the yield of the DRAM. Therefore, for the achievement of the performance improvement by the scaling down, the circuit design which can achieve not only the reduction of the processing error but also the reduction of the sense amplifier offset is required as an important technology in the future.
As an example for the solution of the above-described problems, ISSCC2002 Dig. Tech. Papers, pp. 154 to 155 by Sang Hoon Hong et al. discloses the technology for canceling the sense amplifier offset. In this method, the precharge voltage of the data line is corrected by using a current mirror operational amplifier. By doing so, the offset of the sense amplifier can be substantially reduced. However, since the number of devices added to the sense amplifier is vary large and the area of the sense amplifier is increased in this method, the chip size is increased. In addition, since the control signals to be driven are also increased, the timing margin is increased, and thus, the reduction of the operation speed is concerned. Also, "2003 symposium on VLSI Circuits Dig. Tech. Papers, pp. 289 to 292" by Jae-Yoon Simm et al. discloses a charge-transfer type sense amplifier. In this method, the charge accumulated in a peripheral circuit such as a sense amplifier is transferred to a data line on the memory cell side via a switch transistor connected to the data line so as to generate large potential difference in the sense amplifier. Therefore, even when the offset of the sense amplifier is increased, since the potential difference larger than the offset can be applied to the sense amplifier, it stands up well to the variation and is superior in the low-voltage operation. However, also in this method, since a number of additional devices, for example, a precharge circuit and a switch transistor for rewriting are required, the chip size is increased.

Memory device having high speed sense amplifier comprising pull-up circuit and pull-down circuits with different drivability for each


A system for interactive paper is described. Data fragments are captured at locations in a rendered document. A digital version of the document is optionally located. Markup data applied to the capture creates a rich set of interactions for the user. New models for publishing documents and new document-related services are described.

Paper documents have an enduring appeal, as can be seen by the proliferation of paper documents even in the computer age. It has never been easier to print and publish paper documents than it is today. Paper documents prevail even though electronic documents are easier to duplicate, transmit, search and edit.
People read for a variety of reasons: for enjoyment, for education, to research a particular topic, for business-related information-gathering, for reference purposes or to keep in touch with current affairs, to name but a few. Every day around the world, a vast amount of human time, effort and mental energy goes into reading.
Much of this effort is lost. Even those with good memories will remember only a small proportion of the content that they read. A larger proportion may be remembered in a vague way, but finding previously read material again is a difficult task and conveying that vague knowledge to others even harder.
Moreover, printed documents are static. They do afford users the convenience and flexibility we have come to associate with electronic data; the ability to copy, edit, search, classify, annotate and distribute information with ease.
Given the popularity of paper documents and the advantages of electronic documents, it would be useful to combine the benefits of both.


Die-to-die interconnect structures are leveraged to form the inductive component of an LC oscillator, thus yielding an LC tank distributed across multiple IC dies rather than lumped in a single die. By this arrangement, reliance on area/power-consuming on-chip inductors may be reduced or eliminated, and phase-aligned clocks may be extracted from the LC tank within each of the spanned IC dies, obviating multiple oscillator instances or complex phase alignment circuitry.

As integrated-circuit (IC) clock frequencies rise, clock circuit designers are increasingly opting for LC (inductor-capacitor) oscillators instead of conventional ring oscillators. LC oscillators generally exhibit superior noise and jitter performance, but at the cost of increased die-area primarily due to on-chip inductors. Moreover, where clock distribution is required across multiple dies, use of local clock generator circuits increases power consumption.

Area and power efficient clock generation


A front wheel support for a wheel chair, the front wheel support having a curved tube for attachment to a frame member of the wheel chair and a curved part. The curved part has a first portion with a curvature identical to the curvature of the curved tube, and a cross section allowing the first portion of the curved part to fit inside the curved tube. The curved part further has a second portion with a wheel fork seat for mounting a front wheel fork of the wheel chair.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a frontwheel support for a wheel chair.
2. Prior Art
Wheel chairs typically have one or two front wheels. These front wheels are fixed to the frame of the wheel chair by means of a front wheel support. The front wheel support is usually designed to be operated in a upright position where the front wheel fork turns about an axis that is essentially vertical with respect to the ground.
When changing the geometry of the whole wheel chair, e.g. when adjusting the seat heights and inclination, the frame of the wheel chair is tilted with respect to the ground. This leads to a situation where the front wheel support is not longer in an correct upright position. Due to this, the front wheel cannot move and turn as freely as intended. This means that after having modified the wheel chair's geometry, one usually has to adjust the front wheel support to bring the axis in an upright position.
Known wheel chairs require for such an adjustment several screws to be loosened, the support to be adjusted and the screws to be tightened again. Other solutions require special tools. Since the adjustment of known wheel chairs is complicated, authorized dealers or specialists are required to perform this task.


A method for providing a correlation between a periodic analog/digital conversion and an angle-synchronous signal, in which the periodic analog/digital conversion is provided with a timing mark, which correlates with the angle-synchronous signal, and is assigned to an angular position of a device via this timing mark.

To improve the running behavior of an engine, it is useful to have information about a movement of a crankshaft of the engine, i.e., its instantaneous angular position and/or angular velocity. For this purpose, detecting and updating crankshaft-synchronous signals is known. Signals of this type are calculated in an angle-synchronous process known as the syn( ) process, or digitized by external triggering. However, in a periodic calculation and/or detection of signals of this type there is no correlation to a so-called "crankshaft clock" and thus an angle clock of the engine.
The detection of signals is described in the article "Messwerterfassung über Sensoren" [Detecting Measured Values via Sensors] by Don Alfano, Elektronik Informationen, Issue May 2005. This article points out, inter alia, that signals which are detected by a sensor are to be subjected to an analog/digital conversion for further processing. In this instance, a detection of sensor data requires more than a typical analog/digital converter, which is especially the case if linearization is required. Accordingly, an integrating converter having a corresponding analog front end is necessary for optimum operation.


A data processing system and method in a computer network are disclosed for improving performance of a link aggregation system included in the network. Parameters are established which are utilized to determine performance criteria of the link aggregation system. A performance of the link aggregation system is determined by determining the performance criteria. The performance of the link aggregation system changes in response to a flow traffic burden on the link aggregation system changing. The link aggregation system dynamically modifies the parameters in response to the changing performance of the link aggregation system. The link aggregation system is self-tuning and capable of automatically adjusting to a changing flow traffic burden on the link aggregation system.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to data processing systems and, in particular, to a data processing system and method in a computer network for improving performance of a link aggregation system to minimize the number of flush operations. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to a self-tuning link aggregation system included within a computer network.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a networking environment, it is typical that a plurality of devices will be linked together for the purpose of transmitting data from one device to another in the network. In a large network, it would be uneconomical to provide a specific data link connecting each device to each of the other devices in the network. In order to provide connectivity from each device to each of the other devices in the network in an efficient and economical manner, a plurality of methods have been developed.
One well known method of distributing data between devices within a network is through switches. Switches may be utilized within the network to receive data from a plurality of devices and distribute the data to a plurality of devices to reduce the amount of data lines required to distribute data. To utilize switches to communicate between devices, each device has a specific address. Specifically in an Ethernet switching environment, each device in the network has a media access control (MAC) address, which uniquely identifies the device in the network. Frames of data are delivered to a MAC destination address (DA) and senders are recognized by a MAC source address (SA). Each switch, and each port on a switch, supports a finite number of MAC addresses. Ideally, the overall number of MAC addresses distributed by a switch should be large, so the switch can support a large number of devices.
In addition to supporting a large number of devices, a switch should comprise the ability to handle transfer of large amounts of data through a network. For a switch to handle quick transfer of large amounts of data, often link aggregation is utilized in order to allow a switch to support a higher bandwidth interface to increase the rate of data transfer.
Link aggregation is a technique that allows parallel physical links, also called pipes, between switches or between a switch and a server to be used simultaneously, multiplying the bandwidth between the devices. Link aggregation may be further defined as a method of grouping physical link segments of the same media type and speed, and treating them as if they were part of a single, logical link segment. For example, two 100 Mbps links between switches may be grouped into a link aggregation and treated as a single 200 Mbps link to create a higher bandwidth interface between the two switches.
In order to optimize data transmission across a link aggregation, a load balancing scheme is preferably implemented. Load balancing schemes attempt to distribute data in a balanced manner across the links of the link aggregation in order to optimize the available bandwidth. One load balancing technique may measure the bandwidth through each link and adjust data to move through under-utilized links to reduce traffic through over-utilized links. Other load balancing techniques may utilize less hardware through a table with a hashing scheme to distribute data for transmission across the link aggregation.
The load on a single link may become so heavy that the link becomes congested. When the link is congested, one or more flows, also called sessions, must be flushed from the link. Flushing involves stopping a flow, sending a stop message to the end point which was receiving the flow, receiving an acknowledgment, and resubmitting the flow for transmission utilizing a link. The flows that were flushed are then reassigned to links that are not as busy. The performance of a link aggregation is greatly reduced when flush operations occur.
Therefore a need exists for a data processing system and method for improving performance of a link aggregation system to minimize the number of flush operations.
A data processing system and method in a computer network are disclosed for improving performance of a link aggregation system included in the network. Parameters are established which are utilized to determine performance criteria of the link aggregation system. A performance of the link aggregation system is determined by determining the performance criteria. The performance of the link aggregation system changes in response to a flow traffic burden on the link aggregation system changing. The link aggregation system dynamically modifies the parameters in response to the changing performance of the link aggregation system. The link aggregation system is self-tuning and capable of automatically adjusting to a changing flow traffic burden on the link aggregation system.
The above as well as additional objectives, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed written description.

International Business Machines Corporation


A work table and blade cover are provided to assist in changing the blades on a pelletizer blade holder. The work table employs a tabletop and a shaft integrally connected to the tabletop. The shaft is threaded along at least a portion of its length and is sized to be received through the central aperture of the blade holder. A locking means is threadedly received on the shaft and is sized to abut the blade holder around the aperture. The blade cover comprises a sleeve having a threaded aperture and a bolt sized to be threadedly received by the aperture. The bolt can thereby be tightened against a blade within the sleeve to secure the blade in the sleeve.

This invention relates to a work table on which blades on a pelletizer blade holder can be safely and conveniently changed. According to another aspect, the invention relates to a blade cover.
In a pelletizer, hot thermoplastic material is extruded through extrusion orifices in a die plate. The extruded material passes through the orifices in the form of hot thermoplastic rods and into a chamber which can have water circulating therein. The rods are cut into pellets by blades mounted on a rotating blade holder.
The blades must be periodically replaced. This involves first removing the blade holder from the rather cramped chamber which allows little room to maneuver the hands, leading inevitably to cuts and abrasions. The blade holder can then be placed on a table or held by a coworker while the blades are changed. This operation can also lead to cuts and abrasions because of the instability of the blade holder.

Blade-changing work table and blade cover


A natural sweetener formulation comprises fructose, lo han, and inulin.

Natural sweetener formulations have become well-known in the art. Many are prepared from plant materials, such as for example an extract from lo han kuo fruit, and combined with conventional sweeteners like glucose or fructose. Such sweeteners, however, do not build or assist the balancing of the human body's intestinal flora.
It would be desirable to prepare a natural sweetener formulation having the added benefit of promoting the growth of beneficial intestinal micro flora, for improved operation of the gastrointestinal tract.


Disclosed is an apparatus for controlling a tuning point and a tuning circuit having a function of controlling a tuning point, which can selectively tuning each broadcasting signal by using a varactor diode. During a work for tuning points, a tuning voltage is applied to the tuning circuit, and a tuning point voltage with respect to the tuning voltage is stored in a memory section. If the tuning voltage is applied to the tuning circuit, a control section reads tuning point voltage data stored in the memory section, controls a voltage generating apparatus based on the read tuning point voltage data and provides the tuning point voltages for a relevant selected channel to the tuning circuit. Therefore, the work for tuning points in the manufacturing of a tuner can be omitted and the productivity and the function of the tuner are improved.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for controlling a tuning point by a tuning voltage which is applied to a tuning circuit and relates to a tuning circuit having a function of controlling a tuning point.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, a tuner includes a tuning circuit, a mixer and an oscillator. The tuning circuit is tuned to a radio frequency signal of a bandwidth which is selected by a user among a plurality of broadcasting signals which are received via an antenna, and outputs the tuned radio frequency signal to the mixer. The oscillator generates a continuous wave which is equivalent to the radio frequency signal which is tuned by the tuning circuit. The mixer mixes the tuned radio frequency signal from the tuning circuit with the continuous wave signal from the oscillator, and outputs an intermediate frequency signal. Most of the tuning circuits have a function of varying a tuning frequency by using a varactor diode in order to be tuned to a specific bandwidth of the radio frequency signal. In the tuning circuit which includes the varactor diode, the tuning frequency is tuned by applying a tuning voltage which is equivalent to a specific frequency to the varactor diode. The tuning voltage which is applied to the tuning circuit is discretely distributed on the basis of assigned channels. Thus, in order to change the tuning frequency of the tuning circuit, i.e., the channel of the tuner, the tuning circuit can be tuned to each of the channel frequencies by discretely providing the tuning voltage to both terminals of the varactor diode of the tuning circuit.
FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram for showing the circuit configuration of a conventional tuning circuit for a tuner. As shown in FIG. 1, a tuning circuit 10 comprises a varactor diode VD1, an inductor L1 and a first capacitor C1. Varactor diode VD1 is connected in parallel to both inductor L1 and first capacitor C1 in order to configure a bandwidth filter. Varactor diode VD1 is connected to an external voltage source via a lead wire 102 so that a voltage is applied from the external voltage source to varactor diode VD1. When the voltage is applied to varactor diode VD1 via both terminals thereof, the applied voltage changes the capacitance of varactor diode VD1, thereby changing the tuning frequency of tuning circuit 10. Inductor L1 is connected in parallel to varactor diode VD1, and a third capacitor C3 is connected in series to inductor L1. Both second and third capacitors C2 and C3 are transmitting capacitors, and both fourth and fifth capacitors C4 and C5 are capacitors for removing an alternating current signal.
Therefore, working for tuning points is generally required in manufacturing tuners. The working for tuning points is performed by applying the tuning voltage which is equivalent to the specific broadcasting signal to a terminal 104 and by confirming whether or not tuning circuit 10 is accurately tuned to a relevant frequency signal according to the applied voltage. The work for tuning points is a process for confirming whether or not the tuning circuit is accurately tuned by a specific voltage which is applied to varactor diode VD1 of tuning circuit 10. When the tuning circuit has an error with respect to the applied voltage, a tuning frequency of the tuning circuit is adjusted by varying an inductance of inductor L1.
Therefore, the inductance of the inductor should be manually adjusted in manufacturing these tuning circuits and therefore, the productivity of the tuning circuits decreases by the number of the work for tuning points. Also, although the relevant tuning frequency is adjusted to coincide with the tuning voltage, the tuning point is still unstable because of the influence of an environment in practical use.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,867,568 issued to Kenneth A. Merriweather on Feb. 18, 1975, an apparatus for controlling a tuning point for a tuning circuit is disclosed. A controlling circuit for an automatic frequency control system according to this patent comprises a synchronizing separating section for detecting a regenerative synchronizing pulse, a detecting section connected to the synchronizing separating section and for detecting the absence of the detected synchronizing pulse in a specific frequency transmitting bandwidth, and an automatic frequency control cut-off section for effectively disabling an automatic frequency control circuit for varying the tuning frequency in accordance with the absence of the detected synchronizing pulse. According to the description in the U.S. patent, an inductor should be manually adjusted in manufacturing the tuning circuits and thereby the productivity of the tuning circuit decreases by the number of the work for tuning points. Also, although the relevant tuning frequency of the tuning circuit is adjusted to coincide with the channel voltage, the relevant tuning point is still unstable because of the influence of the environment in practical use.

Apparatus for controlling tuning point and tuning circuit having function of controlling tuning point


A human anti-IL-23p19 antibody, including isolated nucleic acids that encode at least one anti-IL-23p19 antibody, vectors, host cells, and methods of making and using thereof have applications in diagnostic and/or therapeutic compositions, methods and devices.

Interleukin (IL)-12 is a secreted heterodimeric cytokine comprised of 2 disulfide-linked glycosylated protein subunits, designated p35 and p40 for their approximate molecular weights. IL-12 is produced primarily by antigen-presenting cells and drives cell-mediated immunity by binding to a two-chain receptor complex that is expressed on the surface of T cells or natural killer (NK) cells. The IL-12 receptor beta-1 (IL-12Rβ1) chain binds to the p40 subunit of IL-12, providing the primary interaction between IL-12 and its receptor. However, it is the IL-12p35 ligation of the second receptor chain, IL-12Rβ2, that confers intracellular signaling (e.g. STAT4 phosphorylation) and activation of the receptor-bearing cell (Presky et al, 1996). IL-12 signaling concurrent with antigen presentation is thought to invoke T cell differentiation towards the T helper 1 (Th1) phenotype, characterized by interferon gamma (IFNγ) production (Trinchieri, 2003). Th1 cells are believed to promote immunity to some intracellular pathogens, generate complement-fixing antibody isotypes, and contribute to tumor immunosurveillance. Thus, IL-12 is thought to be a significant component to host defense immune mechanisms.
It was discovered that the p40 protein subunit of IL-12 can also associate with a separate protein subunit, designated p19, to form a novel cytokine, IL-23 (Oppman et al, 2000). IL-23 also signals through a two-chain receptor complex. Since the p40 subunit is shared between IL-12 and IL-23, it follows that the IL-12Rβ1 chain is also shared between IL-12 and IL-23. However, it is the IL-23p19 ligation of the second component of the IL-23 receptor complex, IL-23R, that confers IL-23 specific intracellular signaling (e.g., STAT3 phosphorylation) and subsequent IL-17 production by T cells (Parham et al, 2002; Aggarwal et al. 2003). Recent studies have demonstrated that the biological functions of IL-23 are distinct from those of IL-12, despite the structural similarity between the two cytokines (Langrish et al, 2005).
Abnormal regulation of IL-12 and Th1 cell populations has been associated with many immune-mediated diseases since neutralization of IL-12 by antibodies is effective in treating animal models of psoriasis, multiple sclerosis (MS), rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, insulin-dependent (type 1) diabetes mellitus, and uveitis (Leonard et al, 1995; Hong et al, 1999; Malfait et al, 1998; Davidson et al, 1998). However, since these studies targeted the shared p40 subunit, both IL-12 and IL-23 were neutralized in vivo. Therefore, it was unclear whether IL-12 or IL-23 was mediating disease, or if both cytokines needed to be inhibited to achieve disease suppression. Recent studies have confirmed through IL-23p19 deficient mice or specific antibody neutralization of IL-23 that IL-23 inhibition can provide equivalent benefit as anti-IL-12p40 strategies (Cua et al, 2003, Murphy et al, 2003, Benson et al 2004). Therefore, there is increasing evidence for the specific role of IL-23 in immune-mediated disease. Neutralization of IL-23 without inhibition of IL-12 pathways could then provide effective therapy of immune-mediated disease with limited impact on important host defense immune mechanism. This would represent a significant improvement over current therapeutic options.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Methods of treatment using human anti-IL-23 antibodies


A system for monitoring a resource in a processing system is disclosed. The processing system includes a display. The system comprises a total resource graphic provided on the display. The total resource graphic represents the total resource. The system includes at least one allocation graphic provided within the total resource graphic. The allocation graphic represents the proportion of the resources allocated to an object. The system and method in accordance with the present invention allows for allocation of a resource across all demands, the relative size of the allocations, and the usage of the resource by the individual demanding operation within a single graphical object. In addition, the object would provide for changes to that allocation by direct manipulation, in addition, the status indicator would provide additional information on demand by the user. The graphical object will provide a single view of the total resource available, the allocation of that resource to individual operations, and the amount of the allocated resource to each operation currently in use. Therefore, in a preferred embodiment, a computer is used to perform the numeric calculations of the allocations and provides a single picture to the user. The user can then derive information regarding the relative importance of any single element. This enables the computer and the user or users to perform the functions for which they are best suited within the operation (computers are best suited to perform calculations; humans users of computers are bested suited to seek patterns and assign relevance to their needs).

Computers are a regular part of the everyday life of many people. Computers are typically used in one's home as well as one's business or work place. A computer monitor is one of the main interfaces used to enable a person to interact with the computer. The computer monitor has a display screen for displaying information, usually in graphic format, to the user. Input devices, such as a mouse and a keyboard, are also devices that are used to interface a user with the computer.
The junction between a user and a computer is commonly referred to as a user interface. A user interface is typically in the form of a set of commands and menus through which a user communicates with the computer. A command-driven interface is one in which a user enters commands. A menu-driven interface is one in which a user selects command choices from various menus displayed, on the screen. The user interface is one of the most important parts in a computer system because it determines how easily a user can make the program do what the user wants. Graphical user interfaces (GUIs) that use windows, icons, and pop-up menus have become standard on personal computers.
User interfaces are typically used in computing environments for easy navigation, control, display of status information, etc., of software programs and applications of a given operating system. One type of user control in computing environments includes resource and event monitoring and tracking of internal resources and events. In one example, a computing environment can be used to monitor external resources or events, such as medical data or manufacturing data. These resources and events need to be monitored and tracked by the user. If the data falls below a threshold or emergency level, the computing environment needs to make the user aware in an efficient manner to avoid detrimental results.
Typically, internal computing resources need to be monitored by an administrative user. In typical computing environments, the resources can fall below ideal and working threshold levels, depending on usage. When the resources fall below these threshold levels, the computing environment can become unstable. This can cause severe problems not only in single user environments, but also in multi-user networking environments.
Many of the most time consuming and critical tasks for computer system operators and users result from the need to monitor a set of related resources for excessive use of limited resources and/or setting of allocation of that resource to multiple operations.
The current practice is either to look at individual reports for each demand, or to look at a composite table showing all the allocations in an alpha-numeric form. In both cases, the user is left with the task of calculating the relative values against a known total available and determining the corresponding importance.
Accordingly, what is needed is a system and method for reducing the time required for monitoring a set of related resources and for allocating the resource to multiple operations in a processing system. The system and method should be easy to implement, cost effective and compatible with existing processing environments. The present invention addresses such a need.

Method and system for monitoring the use of a resource in a processing system


A solar cell module comprises a plate-like first protector having translucency, a second protector, a solar cell element, first to third sealers, and first and second wiring members. The solar cell element is located between the first protector and the second protector. The first sealer covers the solar cell element from a side of the first protector between the first protector and the solar cell element. The second sealer covers the solar cell element from a side of the second protector between the solar cell element and the second protector. The third sealer covers the second sealer from a side of the second protector between the second sealer and the second protector. The first wiring member is electrically connected to the solar cell element and passes through the second sealer. The second wiring member is connected to the first wiring member between the second sealer and the second protector.

Recently introduced is a feed-in tariff system in a renewable energy designed to promote a spread of a solar cell module, for example. In this system, a purchase period (also referred to as a procurement period) is set to ten years to twenty years. Expected accordingly is that used solar cell modules in which the procurement period has been completed are generated in large numbers in the future.
In the meanwhile, a durable life of the solar cell module is supposed to be twenty years to thirty years or so, for example. Thus, the used solar cell modules include a considerable number of solar cell modules which can still generate electrical power sufficiently. Accordingly, a reuse of the solar cell module is considered in terms of reducing an amount of disposal of the solar cell module and an effective use of resources, for example.
However, with regard to the solar cell module which does not sufficiently have a usable period after reuse, for example, there is a possibility that a power generation amount after a relocation of the solar cell module does not meet a cost required for a relocation work of the solar cell module. Herein, the usable period after reuse corresponds to a period after the completion of the procurement period until the durable life elapses.
Proposed accordingly is a technique of performing processing for prolonging the usable period on the solar cell module at the time of reusing the solar cell module.

Solar cell module and method of manufacturing solar cell module


An image data transmission apparatus reads image data from a document placed on a document tray via a line sensor or the like, and transmits the obtained image data to a receiving apparatus either after rotation of the image data or without rotation of the image data wherein whether rotation is performed or not is determined in accordance with the receiving capability of the receiving apparatus and also on the document setting position. If the rotation is required, the reading operation is performed in such a manner that the line density in the secondary scanning direction in the reading operation will become the line density in the principal direction after the rotation so that no degradation in the resolution and processing efficiency occurs.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image data transmission apparatus for transmitting image data, and more particularly, to an image data transmission apparatus that reads a document placed on the apparatus and transmits the image data of the document with a desired line density (resolution).
2. Description of the Related Art
Facsimile equipment is now widely used as an image data transmission apparatus for reading a given document and transmitting the image data of the document. Such facsimile equipment can transmit image data with various line densities such as those given in normal mode (8 pel/mm.times.3.85 line/mm), fine mode (8 pel/mm.times.7.7 line/mm), super fine mode (8 pel/mm.times.15.4 line/mm), and ultra fine mode (16 pel/mm.times.15.4 line/mm) wherein the line density in the principal scanning direction can be set to 8 pel/mm or 16 pel/mm, and the line density in the secondary scanning direction can be set to 3.85 line/mm, 7.7 line/mm or 15.4 line/mm.
Some known facsimile apparatuses have the capability of reading image data from a document of A3 size (297 mm.times.420 mm) in such a manner that the principal scanning is performed in a direction along the shorter sides of the document. In this case, when a A3-size document is placed on facsimile equipment, the principal scanning is normally performed along the shorter sides of the document and the line density in the principal scanning direction is set to 8 pel/mm or 16 pel/mm, whereas the secondary scanning is performed along the longer sides with the line density of 3.85 line/mm, 7.7 line/mm or 15.4 line/mm. The image data acquired by the above scanning operation is then transmitted. However, if an A4-size (210 mm.times.297 mm) document is placed on the facsimile apparatus in such a manner that the principal scanning is performed along the longer sides of the document (hereafter such a document position will be referred to as a "horizontal position", and 90.degree.-rotated document position will be referred to as a "vertical position"), the line density in the principal scanning direction along the longer sides becomes equal to the line density which is obtained in the secondary scanning direction for an A3-size document, and the line density in the secondary scanning direction for the A4-size document becomes equal to the line density in the principal scanning direction for the A3-size document. In this case, the image data obtained in the scanning operation is transmitted after rotating the image data by an amount of 90.degree. so that the transmitted image becomes similar to that obtained when the A4-size document is placed on the facsimile equipment in such a manner that the principal scanning is performed along the shorter sides.
However, in the above-described conventional facsimile equipment, when an A4-size document is placed in the horizontal position on the facsimile equipment so that the principal scanning is performed along the longer sides, the image data is transmitted after rotating the image by 90.degree. regardless of the capability of a facsimile apparatus at a receiving end. This means that the image is rotated by 90.degree. before transmission even if the receiving facsimile apparatus has the capability of printing received image data on A3-size paper or the capability of printing image data on A4-size paper in such a manner that the principal printing is performed along the longer sides of the A4-size paper. An image of a horizontally-positioned A4-size document is always converted into a vertical-position image, although a high speed receiving and printing operation will be achieved if a sending apparatus transmits a horizontal-position image without rotation and a receiving apparatus prints the received image on horizontally-positioned paper.


Systems and methods are disclosed herein for controlling cooling fans in a self-propelled work vehicle having a main frame supported by wheels or tracks. The cooling fans direct ambient air in accordance with at least one inlet in the main frame, and selectively operate in first and second opposing directions. A perception system is supported by the main frame and configured to provide perception data (e.g., perception data) corresponding to a field of vision which includes the at least one inlet and at least a portion of an associated working area. A controller obtains the perception data and automatically determines characteristics relating to contamination of the cooling system based at least On the perception data. The controller further generates output signals to the cooling fans based on at least one of the determined contaminant characteristics, for example a debris location, type, density, and/or quantity as relating to contamination of the cooling system.

Work vehicles as discussed herein may for example include excavator machines, forestry swing machines, skid steer loaders, compact track loaders, and other equipment which modify the terrain or equivalent working environment in some way. These machines may typically have tracked or heeled ground engaging units supporting the undercarriage from the ground surface, and may further include one or more working implements which are used to modify the terrain, independently or in coordination with movement of the machine.
There is an ongoing need in the field of such work vehicles for solutions that provide better operational awareness for the operator. Many forms of construction and agriculture vehicles have cameras (mono or stereo) mounted to the rear of the vehicle to aid the operator or the machine in perceiving what objects may be in the vicinity of the vehicle. In some circumstances, these cameras are located where the inlet to a cooling system is directly within view of the camera. These systems can help an operator to see what is around the vehicle but are only functional when the operator is looking at the monitor.
The cooling systems in work vehicles will eventually become ingested with debris or other contaminants which are collected during operation and accumulate over time. In conventional examples, the contaminants are removed by manually initiating reversal of the direction of operation for the cooling fan(s), and therefore the direction of airflow in the cooling system. This manual actuation may occur upon recognition by the operator that such cleaning is required, or example at predetermined intervals in time.

Self-propelled work vehicle and method implementing perception inputs for cooling fan control operations


The present disclosure relates to methods of using cisplatin active agents in which reduced organ toxicity is observed are provided. In the subject methods, an effective amount is administrated to the host before administration of an effective amount of cisplatin active agents. The cisplatin toxicity reducing agent comprising of stable bismuth(III) complexes or pharmaceutically acceptable salts reduces the levels of undesired toxicity of cisplatin active agents without compromising their anticancer activity. Also provided are methods for use in practicing the subject methods in the treatment of different disease conditions.

Platinum-based anticancer drugs are widely used in cancer chemotherapies. In particular, cisplatin (cis-[PtCl2(NH3)2]) is one of the most effective drugs for testicular cancer with overall cure rate over 90% and it also plays a vital role in the treatment of several other forms of cancer including ovarian, head and neck, bladder, cervical, and non-small-cell lung cancer (Oncology, 1983, 40:372-376; Intl J Pharm, 1987, 40:51-62; Nat Rev Cancer, 2007, 7:573-584). Despite its effectiveness, it suffers significant side effects including nephrotoxicity, neurotoxicity, ototoxicity and electrolyte disturbance, among which nephrotoxicity is the severest one, sometimes even lethal and is the main dose-limiting factor.
Many attempts have been made to minimize the toxicity either by synthesis of new platinum based anticancer drugs or combined chemotherapy. Previous studies demonstrated that an inorganic bismuth salt was able to selectively reduce cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity without compromising its antitumor activity in animal models, and such an effect is positively correlated to the renal expression level of metallothionein (Cancer Res 1987, 15:983-987). Furthermore, pretreatment of a bismuth salt would also allow high dosages of cisplatin to be administrated without apparent toxicity in mice (Cancer Chemother Pharmacol 2004, 53:33-38; Cancer Chemother Pharmacol 1997, 40:358-362). Metallothionein is a cysteine-rich small protein with the function of protection of toxicity of heavy metals, oxidative stress as well as chemical and radiation carcinogenesis (Curr Pharm Biotechnol 2013 14:394-399). Platinum binds to metallothionein (MT) approximately 30 times more tightly than zinc and cadmium. The induction of MT in target organs by certain inducer may serve as an effective approach to mitigate renal toxicity of cisplatin owing to the ability of MT to sequestrate cisplatin as well as to protect against cisplatin-induced oxidative damage (Biochem Pharmaco 1991, 41:369375)
Bismuth is relatively nontoxic metal ion and has been associated with medicine for centuries (Curr Opin Chem Biol, 2012, 16: 74-83; Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 2015, 112: 4187-4188). Bismuth-based complexes have been utilized clinically for the treatment of Helicobacter pylori infection for decades and are also preferentially accumulated in proximal tubular cells of kidney, which are found to be a good MT inducer (Anticancer Res 1992, 12:2303-2307). Thus, there is a high potential that bismuth complexes could readily be introduced in cancer chemotherapy as an antagonist against toxicity induced by platinum-based anticancer drugs, in particular cisplatin.

Bismuth(III) complexes as adjuvants in the treatment of cancer using platinum-based chemotherapy