A cyclonic separator and methods of cyclonic separation which provide for a band pass separation of particles. That is, a cyclonic separator able to remove particles from an air stream that are greater than a predetermined minimum (which is greater than zero) while being smaller than a particular maximum. This band pass separation may be performed with the inclusion of a secondary vortex break on a cyclonic separator. Also discussed are cyclonic flow systems which provide for less deposition of aerosolized particles onto the cyclonic flow generator and related structures to improve likelihood of particles of interest being provided to an attached detector.

1. Field of the Invention
This disclosure relates to the field of cyclonic separators and the use of cyclonic flows to separate and isolate particles. In particular, this disclosure relates to the designs of cyclonic separator systems that allow particles in a particular size band to be collected and transferred to a separate flow as well as designs that lead to the reduction of particle buildup in the cyclonic flow generator and related components.
2. Background of the Invention
The cyclonic separator is a well known general technology having applications from scientific research to today's bagless vacuum cleaners. The principle of operation is theoretically quite simple; the cyclonic separator uses rotational motion, and changes in rotational motion velocity to precipitate particles out of an air flow. In the case of a vacuum cleaner, the cyclonic motion deposits particles of a particular size or larger into a collection bin, then returns the air flow to the outside. In this way the dust and particles captured by the vacuum cleaner can be collected and disposed of.
Since the use of anthrax in the United States mail in October 2001, government organizations have become increasingly interested in detecting dangerous substances such as microorganisms, chemicals, or biological warfare agents which could be unleashed on the United States to promote the agenda of a terrorist organization.
The transmission of agents is particularly of concern when used in aerosolized form where early detection may be difficult. Because large buildings, subway systems, and the like utilize air circulation systems in relatively self contained environments there is increasing concern that the ventilation systems of these environments could be used in an attack to spread a dangerous warfare agent quickly and in a manner that is difficult to detect. This scenario raises the level of interest in aerosolized contaminant detection.
The detection of aerosolized contaminants also commands great interest because it provides for a relatively easy and unobtrusive way to monitor objects which might contain a warfare agent. No matter how careful a person is, generally some particles of an agent are released into the atmosphere when that agent is being packed, transported, or loaded in preparation of its being unleashed. The inability to completely contain the agent has led to a plethora of searching devices to detect warfare agents as well as other potentially aerosolized substances released from the surface of an item. Bomb- or illegal drug-sniffing dogs searching for such residue on luggage or packages are one such technology of this type where the dog's nose can detect a minute amount of particles aerosolized by the object's passing.
Another way to obtain samples of particulates that may be present in or on an object, is to use air to directly aerosolize the residue and carry it to a detector. Air may be purposefully flowed over objects of interest to dislodge and collect the minute particles without risk of damage or loss of privacy. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/449,612, the entire disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference, describes embodiments of a system for obtaining aerosolized samples of materials on or potentially included in mail.
One of the leading problems with aerosolized samples produced by these methods and even those produced through other actions, however, is that there is a large amount of air involved, even in a small application, and that air naturally includes a huge number of particles which are not of interest. Pollens, dust, pollutants, atmospheric microorganisms and other materials are always in the air to be sampled, thus making detection of the particles of interest more challenging.
Further, detectors sensitive to particular biological or chemical items of interest, generally have to process every particle they are provided with. As the air will naturally include many particles which are not of interest, it is desirable to separate out as many of those particles as possible before providing the air to the detector while still allowing particles potentially of interest to be provided to the detector. Uninteresting particles can clog the detector over time, increasing the amount of maintenance required or decreasing the detector's life. It is therefore desirable to remove them from the air stream provided to the detector.
Still further, to detect a multitude of chemical or biological materials, it may be necessary to have multiple different types of detectors. Each detector must process every particle in the air stream provided to it to determine its relevance. Where each detector is provided the air flow sequentially, detection may be too slow and cumbersome, especially where large air flow volumes need to be monitored. Further, depending on the type of detector, if too many uninteresting particles are present, detection of particles of interest could become too attenuated.
Because of problems such as the above, most chemical and biological systems utilize some form of particle separator to eliminate particles which are known to not be particles of interest. For example, if a particular microorganism is being sought to be detected, particles which are dramatically smaller or dramatically bigger than the microorganism do not need to be tested. Traditionally, the particles have been separated using filters or cyclonic separators. Both these systems have a very noticeable problem, however, in that they cannot provide particles in a size range that does not include one of the small or large size extremes. A cyclonic separator will trap all particles of the desired size and larger, whereas a filter can only allow passage of particles of the desired size and smaller, trapping those particles of a larger size. These methods also have the problem that they require regular checking to prevent clogging. In sum, this generally means that particles either above or below a particular size may be analyzed, but there is no reasonable way to get particles in a particular range or band.
These methods also have trouble in applications where there are a substantial number of particles present which are either larger or smaller than the particles of interest and which cannot be well separated by the chosen methodology. In particular, if the desired particle is quite small and the system is operating in a dusty environment where there are a large number of uninteresting particles of relatively large size, a cyclonic separator will generally provide too many particles to a detector, while a filter will rapidly become clogged and fail.
Beyond the problems of inefficient separation, there is also the problem that filter media and cyclonic separators will often stop particles of interest through deposition, either on the filter media (particularly if it is getting clogged) or on the surface of the cyclonic separator or related structures during the cyclonic separation. Such trapping of particles of interest means that trace amounts which may need to be detected, are instead confined to the separator and its related structures.

Cyclonic separator with secondary vortex break


A corrugated plastic service pipe 20 is inserted together with a flexible guide assembly 22 through an accessible end 11 of a steel service pipe 14, 10, which extends from the end 11 to a main 18. The flexible guide assembly 22 comprises a flexible guide element 24 and a flexible spring guide 26. The element 24 extends through a nose-piece 32 having an outer part secured to the pipe 20 and an inner part 36. The spring guide 26 carries a sensor 60 at its tip which emits a signal when the sensor enters the main 18. When the pipe 20 is correctly positioned fluid sealant 70 is injected into the space between the pipe 20 and the pipe 14, 10. When the sealant has solidified sufficiently, the guide assembly 22 is withdrawn through the pipe 20, the inner part 36 being separated from the outer part 34 to allow withdrawal of the spring guide 26.

More particularly, the invention relates to installing a plastic service pipe in an existing steel service pipe. Typically, the service pipe is a gas service pipe but the invention is not limited to such an application but is applicable to water, fluid waste disposal or other service pipes, for example.
A method is known for replacing an existing steel service pipe extending from a main to a meter. The meter is removed and a plastic service pipe is inserted through the open end of the steel service pipe and advanced up to a point adjacent the main. The plastic pipe has a sealing head at its leading end. Fluid sealant is fed to the space between the plastic pipe and the steel service pipe. The sealing head sealingly engages the interior of the steel service pipe and has a seal. When the fluid sealant has solidified the seal is broken by the pointed end of a flexible rod inserted through the plastic pipe.
In such a known method the plastic service pipe has a cylindrical wall. The plastic service pipe has some flexibility allowing it to be inserted past a swept bend between the vertical and horizontal runs of the steel service pipe.

Apparatus for assisting in the insertion of an elongate plastic pipe within an existing pipe


A carbon nanotube field effect transistor includes a substrate, a source electrode, a drain electrode and a carbon nanotube. The carbon nanotube forms a channel between the source electrode and the drain electrode. The carbon nanotube field effect transistor also includes a gate dielectric and a gate electrode. The gate electrode is separated from the carbon nanotube by the gate dielectric, and an input radio frequency voltage is applied to the gate electrode.

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are long, thin cylindrical carbon molecules with novel properties, making them potentially useful in a wide variety of applications (e.g., nano-electronics, optics, materials applications, etc.). CNTs are essentially single sheets of graphite (a hexagonal lattice of carbon) rolled into a cylinder. CNTs range from approximately 0.6 to 5 nanometers (nm) in diameter, and can be as long as a few centimeters. They exhibit extraordinary strength and unique electrical properties, and are efficient conductors of heat.
CNTs have a very broad range of electronic, thermal, and structural properties that vary based on the different kinds of nanotubes (e.g., defined by its diameter, length, and chirality, or twist). They simultaneously have the highest room-temperature mobility and saturated electron velocity of any known substance.
Conventional field effect transistors (FETs) are non-linear devices. There are two primary sources of non-linearity in conventional FETs. First, conventional FETs have a depletion region in the channel which varies in size with applied gate voltage. As a result, the gate-source capacitance varies with voltage, and charge in the channel is a non-linear function of gate voltage. Second, the carrier velocity is a non-linear function of the electric field. The combination of these two effects results in a drain current that is a non-linear function of the gate voltage.
Linear amplifiers made with conventional FETs burn a lot of power. The standard method of building linear amplifiers from conventional FETs is to use a large source-drain bias. However, the large source-drain bias can result in a large electric field along the length of the channel. As carriers flow down the channel, they gain sufficient energy to stimulate optical phonons. As a result, the carrier velocity saturates and becomes nearly independent of the source-drain and gate biases. However, the total charge in the channel is still a nonlinear function of the gate voltage. The gate bias is then chosen at a point where the second and/or third derivatives of the drain current are minimized. This point varies with device geometry. This approach minimizes the non-linearity of the FET in that it maximizes the second and/or third order intercepts, but a large source-drain voltage is required and a significant amount of power is dissipated generating optical phonons.


An improved hair shampoo stimulator device is provided in which each bristle is shaped similar to a finger tip, for the purpose of safely stimulating the scalp of a person without damaging the hair.

The instant invention relates generally to liquid dispensing brushes and more specifically it relates to ail improved hair shampoo stimulator device, which provides each bristle looking like a finger tip to safely stimulate the scalp of a person.
There are available various conventional liquid dispensing brushes which do not provide the novel improvements of the invention herein disclosed.


A system and method of detecting a vehicle trailer. The method includes sensing a first vehicle condition that indicates a movement of the vehicle, and sensing a second vehicle condition that indicates an angle of the vehicle. The method also includes determining a disturbance from the movement and the angle of the vehicle, and detecting a trailer presence when the determined disturbance is above a threshold.

Embodiments of the invention relate to a method and device for detecting the presence of a trailer or semi-trailer of a motor vehicle.
Stability is a primary concern for a vehicle towing a trailer, especially when the vehicle towing the trailer is traveling at high speed or making a turn. Since the trailer significantly affects the dynamics of the towing vehicle, many control systems use techniques to improve the stability of the towing vehicle especially when a trailer is present. For example, systems such as anti-lock braking system ("ABS"), tire control system ("TCS"), and vehicle dynamics control ("VDC") are configured to perform different functions for the vehicle and the trailer in order to improve stability. Furthermore, the towing vehicle can better control its transmission if the presence of a trailer is known.
Existing methods used to detect the presence of a trailer generally require additional sensors and hardware to be installed on the towing vehicle. In some cases, the vehicle can require additional hardware including electronic circuits and relays, which can increase the cost of the vehicle and/or trailer. In some other cases, the towing vehicle uses a current measurement of its brake lights to detect the trailer presence. In some other cases, signals from an electronic stability program ("ESP") are used to detect a trailer oscillation (the program assumes that a trailer is present).

Trailer presence detection system and method


A current generator that provides a first current level to read a configuration parameter of a field device. The current generator also provides a second current level. The first current level is lower in amperage than the second current level. The first current level does not operate the field device. The second current level operates the field device. A current sensor is connected in circuit with the field device. The current sensor reads the configuration parameter associated with the first current level. A method is provided that creates a current that reads a configuration parameter. The current has less than a minimum amplitude to operate necessary to operate a field device. The configuration parameter is read from the field device through employment of the current. The field device is configured through employment of the configuration parameter.

1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to the sensing and configuration of devices, and more particularly, to the sensing and configuration of devices through the use of a reduced current.
2. Description of the Related Art
A number of protocol specifications, like the HART® (Registered Trademark of the HART Communications Foundation) communication protocol, are designed to support digital communications. These digital communications can be used for the measurement of various processes and parameters of various control devices. These digital communications, within these protocol specifications, typically occur over a traditional range of 4-20 milliAmps (mA). Generally, these digital communications provide host control systems with process and diagnostic information associated with a field device. The digital communications can occur as the host control system monitors and controls an industrial process.
One purpose of such protocol specifications is to establish standards so that "hosts" {or "input/output (I/O) masters"} can communicate with field "devices" ("slaves") developed by different vendors. One subset of the protocol specifications is classified as having "common functions." "Common functions" requires that the host or device have to meet all standards within this subset of protocol specifications. This allows the host to require only a single interface layer to support a variety of field devices from many different vendors.
However, other components of the protocol specification are classified as "device-specific," and are defined by the individual device manufacturer. Since at least some of the digital data that will be passed between a host or I/O Master and the field device is specific to the given field device type, it is important to know what kind of field device is connected to the host control system prior to using the field device within an industrial process in real-time.
In other words, due to the nature of device-specific components of field devices, it is necessary to obtain and verify pertinent information regarding the identification of the field device prior to configuration load and execution. Generally, configuration load and execution can be defined as the initialization of the field device for use in the field, and the actual employment of the field device. Pertinent information can include a unique identifier for a given field device, the vendor name for the field device, the firmware revision installed in the field device, the tag name (that is, the pseudonym) for the field device, description of the field device, and the various range limits that the field device can measure or apply. Without the above information derived from the initial start-up of a field device, it is difficult to integrate device specific data into a real-time process control strategy.
Typically, input devices are current sourcing type, and output devices are a current sinking type. A sensor is an example of an input device and a valve is an example of an output device. Employment of a "base signal" of the sourcing current provides at least two functions. It provides the power to charge up, and initially configure, the field devices, and the base signal also is the carrier over which digital information is conveyed. For a current sinking device, the I/O master should drive the current for providing the "base" signal associated with these protocols. Therefore, for output devices, the host or I/O master provides a minimal specified current in order for the digital communication, with aid of the protocol specifications, to function.
Conventional protocol specifications required users to initially load a control configuration (perhaps with the use of wrong initial control configuration), activate the control strategy, and drive the output (sourcing) current to a base amount required for communication with the field device. This occurred over a traditional range of 4-20 mA. Only then could the actual device identification and configuration data be collected. However, as can be appreciated, this could lead to significant errors in implementing an initial real-time control strategy.
An alternative approach, used in other conventional protocol specifications, was to always provide a minimal current of 4 mA. However, this approach is not acceptable, as it is unsafe to power up a field device that is not initially configured. In any event, a user would have no control of the output devices if a problem would cause the field device to render itself unresponsive to the current.
In conventional technologies, to run field devices, current is applied to the field device after configuration, as after configuration it is controllable. However, during a 4 mA power up to the field device, current is applied even without any configuration, and therefore is no way to control the field device. However, if anything goes wrong after applying the 4 mA current, there is no way to control the field device. Another issue is that in this prior art scenario, the minimal current will be omnipresent, which can create safety problems.
Therefore, there is a need to safely and securely establish communication with a field device and acquire the field device identification data using a current modulated signaling technique, prior to a configuration load.

System and method for the safe automatic detection of a field device communicating with current modulated signal


The inability to settle mining tailings, pulps, slurries, and other wastes in form of hard sediments and forced storage of jelly-like sludge in tailings ponds have a great economic and environmental impact. This feature is caused by suspension force arising due to high neutral pressure. The drag caused by friction between sinking solid particles and immovable water generates the upward directed suspension force that decreases the unit weight of solid particles, and they settle extremely slowly. On sufficient concentration of solid particles they become weightless and further settling is ceased. The solid particles remain suspended for a long time. The suspension force can be destroyed by greater oppositely directed seepage force. For this purpose the suspension is supplied into a container with permeable member, low pressure acting on its downstream surface is ensured, and passage of liquid through the permeable member is initiated. A downward directed seepage force is formed in the permeable member. A rather rapid settling of solid particles occurs, and dense sediment is obtained. A number of auxiliary methods can be used, such as vibration for destroying loose structure formed by rigid angular grains, diluting of thick suspensions for initiating seepage, vacuuming for increasing the hydraulic gradient in open containers, applying supplementary hydrostatic pressure above the permeable member for increasing the hydraulic gradient in closed containers, and using conveyors for continuous processing. The method can be used for purification of liquids by settling the impurities.

The present invention relates to settling of thick suspensions.
Suspensions are formed in many types of technology, usually as industrial wastes. Among suspensions are tailings, pulps, refuse, and contaminated earth. Tailings are the most important Types of wastes from both economical and ecological standpoints.
For better extraction of ores the rocks are ground to silt- and clay-size fractions. After ore benefaction the tailings are transported to tailings ponds for storage. The solid concentration in the initial slurry is different. The slurry discharged from the mill contains usually from 15 to 55% of solids.
The suspension in tailings ponds settles with decelerating rate. The mass is separated into supernatant and rather dense slurry containing higher concentration of solids.
Following the initial period of settling, the process becomes extremely slow. An idea of the duration of the process may be gained from the distribution of unit weights of sludge in tailings ponds. The following data refer to a disposal of tar sand tailings. The accumulation of tailings began in 1966; the measurements were made in 1977.
______________________________________ Depth din meters 6.1 13.7 18.3 21.3 Unit weight .gamma..sub.m in tons per m.sup.3 1.20 1.31 1.38 1.44 ______________________________________
Relationship between d and .gamma..sub.m is linear. That testifies to continuing of settling, because a definite value of unit weight in the whole mass corresponds to the critical state. Condensation of tailings after 11 years of settling is far off the end. The tailings of the pond are in the subcritical state (see below).
The time of total settling of solids to a compact deposit that can support load is unknown. It is supposed that the time of total settling is varying anywhere between 100 and 1000 years. This time period is too long to be checked.
Mine tailings represent the largest tonnage of industrial waste produced. Billions of tons of wastes are produced annually. Unused tailings are stored in tailings ponds. The area and volume of tailings ponds increase everywhere. Tailings ponds occupy the floor of valleys. Valuable material goes to waste. Tailings ponds and contaminated earth represent a serious and major environmental problem. The visual effect of the landscape of tailings disposal is despondent. However the major ecological effect is the surface and ground water pollution. The contaminated water contains heavy metals, mill reagents, sulfur compounds, etc. Uranium tailings are a serious source of radioactive contamination.
Tailings ponds collect all precipitation falling in basins upstream of tailings dams. The fresh rain and melted snow water is mixed with the polluted technological water of tailings and gets contaminated too. Its ecological effect cannot be overestimated.
Tailings ponds may cause major disasters on bursting of tailings dams. The bursting of tailings dams is not infrequent. During last decades such failures occurred at El Cobre Dam, Chile in 1965, coal waste pile in Aberfan, Wales, England in 1966, Mufalire mine in Africa in 1970, coal refuses at Buffalo Creek, West Virginia in 1972, Mochikoshi Dam, Japan in 1978, etc.
Twenty years ago Fitch wrote: "There exist no models, theories, or design procedures, which could be accepted as well proven at the present time. We hope that we are making progress, but those applying existing theories or procedures for practical design should accept none as gospel." Very little has been changed during time elapsed.

Method for settling of suspensions with use of seepage force and vibrations


The present invention provides compositions that are capable of being dispersed in a target medium. The compositions include characteristic use particles entrapped within a physical entrapment phase, wherein the physical entrapment phase is dispersible in the target medium. Accordingly, the compositions of the present invention physically prevent the agglomeration or self-association of the characteristic use particles. Also disclosed are processes for manufacturing compositions that are capable of being dispersed in a target medium.

Small characteristic use particles, i.e., particles having an average diameter of less than about 15 μm (microns), have been used in numerous applications to impart certain desirable characteristics to a target medium. Target medium, as used herein, means any liquid, semi-solid or solid medium to which the characteristic use particle is added. Characteristic use particle, as used herein, means a particle of a material that confers a desired benefit. For example, small amounts (e.g., about 1 to 2% by weight) of powdered or small particle size polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) have been incorporated in a variety of compositions to provide the following favorable and beneficial characteristics: (i) in inks, PTFE provides excellent mar and rub resistance characteristics; (ii) in cosmetics, PTFE provides a silky feel; (iii) in sunscreens, PTFE provides increased UV shielding or SPF (sun protection factor); (iv) in greases and oils, PTFE provides superior lubrication; and (v) in coatings and thermoplastics, PTFE improves abrasion resistance, chemical resistance, weather resistance, water resistance, and film hardness.
Without wanting to be limited by any one theory, it is believed that these small characteristic use particles are able to impart their desirable characteristics as a result of the unique chemical properties of the materials of which they are comprised. Unfortunately, those same unique chemical properties typically cause the particles to agglomerate or self associate. Additionally, when the characteristic use particles are placed in chemically distinct media, such as a hydrophobic characteristic use particle in a hydrophillic medium, agglomeration or self-association is well known to occur. Characteristic use particles are, therefore, typically difficult to disperse and stabilize. For example, it is well known that PTFE is very difficult to disperse and stabilize (i.e., suspend) in target fluid systems (e.g., water, oils, solvents, coatings, and inks) and target semi-solid or solid systems (e.g., polymers, plastics, nylon). As a result, special chemical additives referred to as compatibilizing agents (e.g., surfactants, wetting agents, surface treating agents, etc.) are typically employed to assist dispersion and/or suspension of these particles in the target fluid, semi-solid or solid system. In addition to added cost, these compatabilizing agents can cause deleterious effects or alter the performance of the target system in which they are incorporated. In general, the compatibilizing agents are molecules having (i) at least one portion that is a chemical group that strongly associates with, or the surface of, a characteristic use particle and (ii) at least one other portion that is a chemical group that associates with a target medium. They serve, therefore, to chemically alter the surface properties of the characteristic use particle by forming an intermediary phase between the self-associating material and the other chemicals in the target medium, typically through complex chemical interactions, such as covalent bonding, ionic interactions, hydrogen bonding, hydrophillic interactions, hydrophobic interactions, van der Waals interactions and the like. Thus, there is a need to develop new dispersion methods and compositions to eliminate the need for these compatibilizing agents that function via these complex chemical interactions.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide methods and compositions, which disperse self-associating materials in a target medium using less than the typical amounts of compatibilizing agents for the material being dispersed in the target medium. Thus, the instant compositions and methods do not rely solely on chemical interactions in order to prevent agglomeration.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Physical methods of dispersing characteristic use particles and compositions thereof


Methods for diagnosing and monitoring systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) or scleroderma by determining, in a blood sample from the individual being diagnosed or monitored, complement component C4d deposited on surfaces of red blood cells in the sample, and optionally also determining complement receptor CR1 deposited on the red blood cell surfaces. For diagnosis this is compared with the quantity of C4d (and optionally CR1) present on red blood cells of normal individuals. For monitoring it is compared with a value in a sample or samples previously obtained from the individual patient. The comparison may be made with individual values for C4d and CR1 and/or with a ratio of the two found in normal individuals.

This invention relates to the diagnosis and/or monitoring of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and with systemic sclerosis (scleroderma). The invention also provides means for distinguishing between the two diseases and helps doctors distinguish SLE and scleroderma from other diseases.
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) or lupus is the prototypic autoimmune disease resulting in multiorgan involvement. This anti-self response is characterized by autoantibodies directed against a variety of nuclear and cytoplasmic cellular components. These autoantibodies bind to their respective antigens, forming immune complexes which circulate and eventually deposit in tissues. This immune complex deposition causes chronic inflammation and tissue damage.
Diagnosing and monitoring disease activity are both problematic in patients with SLE. Diagnosis is problematic because the spectrum of disease is broad and ranges from subtle or vague symptoms to life threatening multi-organ failure. There are other diseases with multi-system involvement that can be mistaken for systemic lupus, or vice versa. Criteria were developed for the purpose of disease classification in 1971 (Cohen, AS, et al., 1971, Preliminary criteria for the classification of systemic lupus erythematosus. Bull Rheum Dis 21:643-648) and revised in 1982 (Tan, EM, et al., 1982. The 1982 revised criteria for the classification of systemic lupus erythematosus. Arth Rheum 25:1271-1277.) and 1997 (Hochberg, MC. 1997. Updating the American College of Rheumatology revised criteria for the classification of systemic lupus erythematosus. Arth Rheum 40:1725). These criteria are meant to ensure that patients from different geographic locations are comparable. Of the eleven criteria, the presence of four or more, either serially or simultaneously, is sufficient for classification of a patient as having SLE. Although the criteria serve as useful reminders of those features that distinguish lupus from other related autoimmune diseases, they are unavoidably fallible. Determining the presence or absence of the criteria often requires interpretation. If liberal standards are applied for determining the presence or absence of a sign or symptom, one could easily diagnose a patient as having lupus when in fact they do not. Similarly, the range of clinical manifestations in SLE is much greater than that described by the eleven criteria and each manifestation can vary in the level of activity and severity from one patient to another. To further complicate a difficult diagnosis, symptoms of SLE continually evolve over the course of the disease. New symptoms in previously unaffected organs can develop over time. There is no definitive test for lupus and, thus, it is often misdiagnosed.
Monitoring disease activity is also problematic in caring for patients with lupus. Lupus progresses in a series of flares, or periods of acute illness, followed by remissions. The symptoms of a flare, which vary considerably between patients and even within the same patient, include malaise, fever, symmetric joint pain, and photosensitivity (development of rashes after brief sun exposure). Other symptoms of lupus include hair loss, ulcers of mucous membranes and inflammation of the lining of the heart and lungs which leads to chest pain. Red blood cells, platelets and white blood cells can be targeted in lupus, resulting in anemia and bleeding problems. More seriously, immune complex deposition and chronic inflammation in the blood vessels can lead to kidney involvement and occasionally failure requiring dialysis or kidney transplantation. Since the blood vessel is a major target of the autoimmune response in lupus, premature strokes and heart disease are not uncommon. Over time, however, these flares can lead to irreversible organ damage. In order to minimize such damage, earlier and more accurate detection of disease flares would not only expedite appropriate treatment, but would reduce the frequency of unnecessary interventions. From an investigative standpoint, the ability to uniformly describe the "extent of inflammation" or activity of disease in individual organ systems or as a general measure is an invaluable research tool. Furthermore, a measure of disease activity can be used as a response variable in a therapeutic trial.
Two of the most commonly used instruments are the Systemic Lupus Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI) (Bombardier, C., D. D. Gladman, et al. (1992). Derivation of the SLEDAI. A disease activity index for lupus patients. The Committee on Prognosis Studies in SLE. Arth Rheum 35: 630-40), and the Systemic Lupus Activity Measure (SLAM) (Liang, M. H., S. A. Socher, et al. (1989). Reliability and validity of six systems for the clinical assessment of disease activity in systemic lupus erythematosus. Arth Rheum 32: 1107-18). The SLEDAI includes 24 items representing 9 organ systems. The variables are obtained by history, physical examination and laboratory assessment. Each item is weighted from 1 to 8 based on the significance of the organ involved. For example, mouth ulcers are scored as 2, while seizures are scored as 8. The laboratory parameters that are included in the SLEDAI include white blood cell count, platelet count, urinalysis, serum C3, C4 and anti-dsDNA. The total maximum score is 105. The SLAM includes 32 items representing 11 organ systems. The items are scored not only as present/absent, but graded on a scale of 1 to 3 based on severity. The total possible score for the SLAM is 86. Both the SLEDAI and the SLAM have been shown to be valid, reliable, and sensitive to change over time (Liang, M. H., S. A. Socher, et al. (1989). Reliability and validity of six systems for the clinical assessment of disease activity in systemic lupus erythematosus. Arth Rheum 32:1107-18), and are widely used in research protocols and clinical trials. These indices are particularly useful for examining the value of newly proposed serologic or inflammatory markers of disease activity in SLE.
Despite the obvious utility of these instruments, there are some drawbacks. First, there is not always complete agreement between the SLAM and the SLEDAI in the same set of patients. There are several possible reasons for these discrepancies. Unlike the SLEDAI, the SLAM includes constitutional symptoms such as fatigue and fever, which may or may not be considered attributable to active SLE; this activity index relies on physician interpretation. In addition, the SLEDAI does not capture mild degrees of activity in some organ systems and does not have descriptors for several types of activity such as hemolytic anemia. For these and other reasons, most studies incorporate more than one measure of disease activity.
A general review of the state of the art can be found in Ramsey-Goldman, R. and Manzi, S. Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. In: Goldman and Hatch, Ed. Women and Health. Academic Press, San Diego, Calif. 2000: 704-723.
Systemic sclerosis (scleroderma) is a chronic disorder of connective tissue characterized by inflammation and fibrosis and by degenerative changes of the blood vessels, skin, gastrointestinal tract, lung, heart and kidney. Scleroderma is a disabling and life-threatening disease. Criteria have been developed for the classification of patients with scleroderma (Masi AT, Rodnan GP, Medsger TA Jr, et al. Preliminary criteria for the classification of systemic sclerosis (scleroderma). Arth Rheum 1980; 23:581-590). These criteria are intended for description of large series of patients in research studies and not for diagnosis of individual patients. The major criterion is sclerodermatosus skin changes (thickening of the skin) in any location proximal to the digits. With the addition of any two or three minor criteria [sclerodactyly (skin thickening involving the digits), digital pitting scars, bibasilar pulmonary interstitial fibrosis] the sensitivity for the diagnosis increases. However, nearly 10% of individuals with definite scleroderma do not satisfy these criteria (Medsger T A Jr. Comment on scleroderma criteria cooperative study. In: Black C M,. Myers A R, eds. Current Topics in Rheumatology: Systemic Sclerosis. New York: Gower Medical Publishing, 1985:16-17).
The status of a scleroderma patient or "severity" of his/her disease at a given time represents some combination of irreversible changes or "damage" and potentially reversible changes or "activity." Inflammation, early in the course of disease, leads to fibrosis and scarring later. If one could accurately detect the inflammatory activity, early intervention may prevent future irreversible damage. However, it is often difficult for clinicians to distinguish disease damage from disease activity. In part, this may be because clinical evidence of activity can be extremely subtle. In addition, there is no reliable laboratory marker of inflammation. Cross-sectional and longitudinal assessment of disease damage and activity are essential in evaluating the natural history of disease and in measuring the effectiveness of interventions, both in individual patients and in clinical trials. A review of this disorder can be found in Medsger T A Jr. Systemic sclerosis (scleroderma): clinical aspects. In: Koopman W J, ed. Arthritis and Allied Conditions. 13th ed. Philadelphia: Lea and Febiger, 1997: 1433-1464.
The complement system consists of a complex network of more than 30 functionally linked proteins that interact in a highly regulated manner to provide many of the effector functions of humoral immunity and inflammation, thereby serving as the major defense mechanism against bacterial and fungal infections. This system of proteins acts against invasion by foreign organisms via three distinct pathways: the classical pathway (in the presence of antibody) or the alternative pathway (in the absence of antibody) and the lectin pathway. Once activated, the proteins within each pathway form a cascade involving sequential self-assembly into multimolecular complexes that perform various functions intended to eradicate the foreign antigens that initiated the response.
The classical pathway is usually triggered by an antibody bound to a foreign particle. It consists of several components that are specific to the classical pathway and designated C1, C4, C2, (in that order in the pathway).
In the classical pathway, the first component C1q is bound to an antigen-antibody complex, activating the pathway. This event is followed by sequential activation of the two serine proteases C1r and C1s. Activated C1s has two substrates, the final two proteins of the classical pathway, namely C4 and C2. Protein C4 is cleaved into C4a and C4b. Protein C2 is cleaved to form C2a and C2b. Fragments C4b and C2a assemble to form C4b2a, which cleaves protein C3 into C3a and C3b, which completes activation of the classical pathway.
Fragments C4b and C3b are subject to further degradation by Factor I. This factor cleaves C4b to generate C4d and also cleaves C3b, to generate iC3b followed by C3d. Thus, activation of the classical pathway of complement can lead to deposition of a number of fragments, including C4d and iC3b on immune complexes or other activating surfaces. These fragments are ligands for complement receptor type 1 (CR1) on erythrocytes or red blood cells.
There have been inconsistent reports regarding complement proteins and SLE. One manifestation that has been reported in patients having SLE is a diminished expression of the complement receptor CR1 on erythrocytes [E-CR1] as compared to normal individuals. This has been reported, for example, by Ross et al., J. Immunol., Vol. 135, p. 2005 (1985), Corvetta et al., J. Rheumatol., Vol. 18, 1021 (1991) and by others. Other studies seem to show there is no correlation. Iida et al., J. Exp. Med. 155, 1427 (1982) noted that the CR1 number on erythrocytes varied inversely with disease activity, with lower numbers occurring during periods of most severe manifestations of SLE, and higher numbers being observed during periods of remission in the same patients.

Diagnosis and monitoring of systemic lupus erythematosus and of scleroderma

University of Pittsburgh - Of the Commonwealth System of Higher Education


A convertible seating unit for a motor vehicle is provided. The convertible seating unit comprises a seat having an upper surface, a front edge and a rear edge. The convertible seating unit further includes a back support comprising a first back support panel and a second back support panel. Each of the first and second back support panels has a first edge and a second edge, and an upper surface and a lower surface. The second edge of the first back panel is hingeably connected to the first edge of the second back panel to define a first hinge axis. The first edge of the first back panel is hingeably connected to the seat proximate the rear edge of the seat to define a second hinge axis.

Motor vehicles, particularly trucks, are increasingly used as multipurpose vehicles. Accordingly, such motor vehicles are used to transport passengers, personal items, and business items. While the needs of a particular user may differ depending on occasion, and from one user to another, all users require a safe and secure method of transporting passengers and items in the motor vehicle. Thus, there is a need to provide a diversified storage system for motor vehicles. There is also a need for in-vehicle storage units that make efficient use of both passenger space and provide storage space. Finally, there is a need to provide a system that is easily and quickly adaptable to both transport and storage needs.

International Truck Intellectual Property Company, LLC


A thermoplastic resin composition including 7% to 64% by mass of rubber-containing graft copolymer (A), 2% to 35% by mass of thermoplastic elastomer (B), 0.5% to 90% by mass of another thermoplastic resin (C), and 0.5% to 20% by mass of inorganic compound (D) (total (A)-(D) is 100% by mass). The copolymer (A) is a graft copolymer in which 35 to 80 parts by mass of rubber-like polymer (a1) is graft-polymerized with 20 to 65 parts by mass of vinyl-based monomer mixture (a2) containing an aromatic-vinyl-based monomer and a vinyl-cyanide-based monomer. The content of polymer (a1) in the total 100% by mass of the components (A)-(D) is 2% to 35% by mass, and a difference between the content of the polymer (a1) in the total 100% by mass of the component (A) to the component (D) and the content of the elastomer (B) is within 15% by mass.

Rubber-reinforced aromatic-vinyl-based resins typified by ABS resins have an excellent physical-property balance between impact resistance and formability and excellent formed article appearance and, therefore, are widely used for OA equipment, home appliances, sundry goods, construction materials, and the like.
Of these, OA equipment such as personal computers and printers and home appliances such as cameras, videos, vacuum cleaners, and washing machines, which are frequently used or operated with hand, and car interior parts such as door trims and glove boxes, which are frequently touched with passenger bodies, are required to have favorable feelings such as cushioning properties and hand feeling while stiffness of the part is maintained.
To satisfy such requirements, some products are produced by bonding a facing material having flexibility to a core member having stiffness and performing slush molding or the like. However, since the slush molding includes a large number of steps and raw materials are expensive, the slush molding is used for producing just some products (refer to PTL 1).
It is known that a formed article having an excellent surface touch feeling due to not only having excellent mechanical strength and formed article appearance, but also having high cushioning properties, highly soft touch feeling, and reduced feeling of stickiness is obtained by mixing a thermoplastic elastomer to a rubber-reinforced aromatic-vinyl-base resin having a rubber portion composed of a diene-based resin and silicone rubber or ethylene⋅α-olefin-based rubber (refer to PTL 2 and PTL 3). However, a formed article having excellent surface glossiness and having slip resistance and touch feeling excellent in grip feeling has not been obtained.
PTL 4 proposes a formed article that is composed of a thermoplastic resin composition containing a specific rubber-reinforced vinyl-base resin and a thermoplastic elastomer and that has an MIU value of 0.4 or more as a thermoplastic resin formed article having excellent mechanical strength and formed article appearance such as surface glossiness and having slip resistance and touch feeling excellent in grip feeling. However, this thermoplastic resin formed article is not sufficient in the performance, such as repetitive bending property, and a further improvement in the strength of a formed article for a casing is desired.    PTL 1: Jp 2013-159122 A    PTL 2: Jp 2016-199729 A    PTL 3: Jp 2017-8227 A    PTL 4: Jp 2019-73645 A

Thermoplastic resin composition having improved bend/wrinkle resistant properties and formed article thereof


A vacuum actuated mechanical latch is attachable to a hermetically sealable container. The latch is attached, formed, or otherwise integral with the door of the container. The latch is easily engaged and disengaged by processing equipment. Also, the latch is designed to minimize the amount of abraded particulate and further isolate any particulate generated. Further, when the door is latched to the container, the latch is not easily overcome by jarring or bumping. The lead-in surface of the latch is angled to minimize friction when the latch is forced into a first locking position.

I. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a mechanical latch for securing a door or lid to a container. More specifically, this invention relates to a vacuum actuated mechanical latch, which latches the door to the container, retaining the door in a hermetically sealed position. Jarring or bumping the container will not disengage or release the latch from the container.
II. Discussion of the Related Art
The sensitivity to contamination of materials used to produce semiconductors is a significant problem faced by semiconductor manufacturers. Standardized Mechanical Interface (SMIF) systems have been designed to reduce contamination from airborne particles and vapors during the processing, transportation or storage of these sensitive materials. A SMIF system includes a hermetically sealable container used to transport a semiconductor substrate made from the sensitive materials. A SMIF cassette is typically used to confine the semiconductor substrate within the SMIF container. The semiconductor substrate may include a wafer, LCD, flat panel display, and or memory disks. For discussion purposes, and without limitation, reference will be made to semiconductor wafers.
During the processing, transportation and storage of semiconductor wafers, it is critical that the semiconductor wafers be isolated from damaging particulate. The size of the particulate that is damaging to the semiconductor wafer is determined by the geometry of the semiconductor. As the geometry of the semiconductor decreases, the size of the particulate to be eliminated likewise decreases. The presence of vapors or static discharge in the environment also impairs the production of semiconductors, including the wafers themselves. Hence, use of materials having low outgassing characteristics is desired.
It has been found that slight abrasions to the SMIF system containing semiconductor wafers can generate damaging particulate. Static electricity may attract the abraded damaging particulate to the inside surfaces of the SMIF container or to the semiconductor wafers themselves. When particulate has attracted to the inner surface of the SMIF container, moving the container may cause particulate to become airborne, landing on the semiconductor wafers and later damaging the semiconductor wafers. Circulating and filtering air or other gas within the SMIF container does not readily remove the particulate from the inner surfaces of the SMIF container. Although the SMIF container may be cleaned, it is difficult to clean the container entirely of particulate attracted to the inner surface of the container.
The maintenance of an adequately clean environment during the transportation, processing and storage of semiconductor wafers is crucial. Automated processing equipment has been developed to minimize contact and exposure of the semiconductor wafers to damaging particulate. Likewise, containers or isolation structures have developed which protect the wafers and can be manipulated robotically by the processing equipment. Typically, the isolation structure or SMIF container is hermetically sealed from the external environment by a door or lid and is opened only when engaged in a clean mini-environment by the port door of a processing tool. In this way, risk of contamination is substantially reduced. Thus, it is important that the door of the SMIF container remain hermetically sealed, unless disengaged by the processing equipment in a clean environment.
Once a hermetic seal is formed, the door must remain secured to the container. Various latching arrangements have been developed to secure the door to the container, while minimizing the amount of mechanical movement and particulate generation. One such device is disclosed by Gallagher et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 5,291,923 (the '923 patent). This patent discloses a flexible, collapsible, membrane or bladder type seal. A vacuum is applied through a manifold to the interior of a closure member used to seal a SMIF container. When the vacuum is applied, the seal collapses thereby allowing the door to be removed. When the vacuum is released, the seal slowly expands to its original shape. To decrease the amount of time it takes for the seal to expand to its original shape and seal the door to the container, a positive pressure may be applied.
The arrangement disclosed by Gallagher et al. has proven to be effective in various circumstances. However, severe bumping or jarring can cause the door to disengage from the container, contaminating the semiconductor wafers stored within the container. Such bumping and jarring occurs all too often in the typical manufacturing facility. Also, the vacuum arrangement increases the necessary time for the processing equipment to release or engage the door to the container. Hence, a need exists for a latching member that may be engaged or disengaged quickly, that is not as easily disengaged by jarring or bumping.
Various mechanical latches, such as that disclosed by Parikh et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,724,874 have been used with some success. However, efforts to design such latches to eliminate the generation of particulate when the latch is engaged and disengaged have been unsuccessful. As mentioned above, any amount of particulate generated may be damaging to the semiconductor wafers.
Hence, a need exists for a latch which, among other things: (1) may be engaged and disengaged efficiently by processing equipment; (2) is not easily overcome by bumping or jarring the container; (3) minimizes generation of contaminating particulate during actuation of the latch; and (4) isolates and removes particles abraded from the latch so such particles do not contaminate the contents of the container. The present invention provides such a latch.


A decision-feedback equalizer for use in a receiver unit for receiving an incoming data stream and for providing a stream of bit data outputs includes a plurality of asynchronous comparators and a fastest decision detector unit operatively coupled with the asynchronous comparators. Each of the asynchronous comparators is configured to receive an input signal and to directly provide a comparison result output in an asynchronous manner. The fastest decision detector unit is configured for receiving at least a subset of the respective comparison result outputs of the asynchronous comparators and for forwarding the comparison result of one of the asynchronous comparators towards the output of the decision-feedback equalizer. The fastest decision detector unit is configured to select a given one of the asynchronous comparators as one which firstly provided its comparison result output.

The present invention relates generally to the electrical, electronic and computer arts, and, more particularly, to implementations of decision feedback equalizers for high-speed data transmission.
Modern data networks require high-speed data communication with serial link data rates of more than 10 Gbit/s. In this bandwidth range, a further increase of serial link data rates is challenging due to the limited general bandwidth. The general bandwidth is usually determined by dielectric losses and reflections on the transmission channel which result in a widening of the transmitted signal pulses over more than one unit interval, so that the received signal is distorted by intersymbol interference (ISI).
These signal distortions are usually compensated for by means of equalizing functions in the receiving circuitry, such as feed-forward equalizing and decision-feedback equalizing. A decision-feedback equalizer (DFE) is capable of reducing signal distortions while leaving noise and cross-talk unaffected.
In general, a decision-feedback equalizer is included in the data path of incoming data and is substantially configured to compensate for the effects of one transmitted pulse onto one or more succeeding pulses of the incoming data stream of digitalized data samples. The general concept of a decision-feedback equalizer implementation is to provide at least one comparator used to translate the single pulses of the stream of digitalized data samples into a bit stream. By means of the comparator, the digitalized data samples are each compared with a respective variable threshold value, which may be generated depending on the preceding (history of) data samples tapped from the output of the decision-feedback equalizer. The variable threshold value is obtained by delaying the bit outputs of the decision-feedback equalizer by one or more clock cycles in a number of delay stages, by weighting each of the delayed bit outputs of the decision-feedback equalizer after each stage by a predetermined (preset) coefficient and by then adding the results. The coefficients are adapted to a standard pulse response of the specific transmission channel.
An additional approach, known as speculation or loop-unrolling, is to precompute the variable threshold values for each pattern of delayed DFE bit outputs. Speculation or loop-unrolling for DFE is a technique that implements all possible weighted summations at the output of a finite impulse response (FIR) filter in the DFE feedback path in order to reduce the critical path time of the DFE coefficients' summation time. All possible combinations of N post-cursors (N taps) intersymbol interference terms are accordingly generated in a speculative decision-feedback equalizer of the order N, so that a total of 2N combinations or speculations are generated, where N is an integer. The correct decision is selected among the 2N speculations on the basis of the last N decisions. This approach should help to save area and power impact of the line of adding circuits. However, hardware complexity grows exponentially with the number N of taps; i.e., the number of considered historical data samples. As for each of the threshold values a separate comparator latch is needed, the outputs of which are to be selected by a multiplexer, the overall circuitry has the disadvantage of requiring a large circuit area and having high power consumption.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,121,186 B2 discloses a speculative digital DFE circuit which is operable to reduce intersymbol interference without the timing constraints exhibited by existing DFE circuits. In particular, speculative digital DFE circuit operates to pre-calculate two competing adjustment feedback values-one based on a speculation that the result from processing the succeeding bit (i.e., a decision output) will be logic "1" and the other based on a speculation that the result from processing the succeeding bit will be logic "0." Once the result from the succeeding bit is available, the pre-calculated adjustment feedback value corresponding to the correctly speculated output value can be immediately selected to process the subsequent input bits. In this way, latency between determination of a succeeding bit and providing a data dependent input for processing a subsequent bit can be greatly reduced as the time required to perform adjustment calculations is effectively eliminated from the latency.

International Business Machines Corporation


A system for controlling implement position including a method for controlling movement of an implement is disclosed. The method includes determining a first parameter configured to affect control of the implement with respect to a first timing. The method also includes determining a second parameter configured to affect control of the implement with respect to a second timing. The second timing is shorter than the first timing. The method also includes selectively establishing a third parameter as a function of the first and second parameters when the second parameter is greater than a predetermined value. The method further includes controlling a position of the implement as a function of the third parameter.

Mobile machines, such as, for example, dozers, tractors, rippers, plows, and/or scrapers, often include one or more material engaging implements configured to manipulate material, e.g., transport, cultivate, dig, or otherwise disturb the ground and/or material piles. The material often includes soil, rocks, sand, and/or materials which affect the material's characteristics, e.g., hard, soft, rocky, homogeneous, or other properties known in the art. Machines, powered by an engine operatively connected to one or more traction devices, typically traverse a site that has changing terrain, such as, varying grades, e.g., inclines or declines, and the material associated with the site often has varying characteristics, e.g., soft soil changes to hard soil or a mixture of soil and relatively small rocks changes to a mixture of soil and relatively large rocks. The magnitude of resistance an implement applies to machine movement is influenced by the depth at which an implement engages the material and the characteristics of the material. That is, an implement that engages soft soil at a shallow depth applies relatively less resistance to machine movement than an implement that engages hard soil at a deep depth.
Too much or too little resistance may be undesirably cause machine vibration or poor engine operation, e.g., the loading on the engine is too large or small. Typically, manual control of a machine and associated implements with respect to changing terrain and changing material characteristics is complicated and requires a significant amount of skill. An operator typically adjusts the depth an implement engages the material or penetrates the surface thereof, e.g., a depth of cut, in response to changing material characteristics so as to operate the machine within a desirable set of conditions, e.g., below an engine torque limit.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,518,044 ("the '044 patent") issued to Wiegardt et al. discloses a vehicle with a control system for raising and lowering an implement. The control system of the '044 patent senses parameters, including wheel slip, engine speed, and draft force. The control system of the '044 patent determines parameter error signals as a function of the sensed parameters and predetermined threshold values. The parameter error signals are combined into a composite error signal representing a vehicle load. The system of the '044 patent also determines a position error signal as a function of a desired operator position command and a sensed implement position. The system of the '044 patent compares the composite load error and the position error and operates to raise or lower the implement in response to the more positive error.
The reactionary control of the system of the '044 patent may inadequately respond to both steady state and transient load changes. Additionally, the composite error of the system of the '044 patent may be undesirably slow with respect to rapid changes in loads encountered by the implement. Furthermore, the system of the '044 patent may determine the composite error via a complex algorithm.
The present disclosure is directed to overcoming one or more of the shortcomings set forth above.

System for controlling implement position


A computed tomographic imaging apparatus performs three-dimensional (3D) image reconstruction of a region of interest of an object using a plurality of processors for processing successive sets of cone beam measurement data that are acquired by scanning about the object with a cone beam radiation source and an area detector. A central memory has stored therein a plurality of subsets of pre-calculated image processing information, and the plurality of processors are responsive to a given sequence of successive ones of the subsets of pre-calculated image processing information for converting the cone beam measurement data to Radon derivative data on a plurality of Radon .phi.-planes. In a preferred embodiment each of the processors has a first input coupled for receiving in a broadcast manner the successive sets of cone beam measurement data, and a second input coupled for receiving the subsets of pre-calculated image processing information in a given sequence so that each one of the plurality of processors converts the cone beam measurement data broadcast to its second input into Radon derivative data for a respective subset of the Radon .phi.-planes.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to computed tomographic (CT) imaging apparatus that performs three-dimensional (3D) image reconstruction by processing cone beam measurement data representative of an object, and more specifically, to a fast and efficient multiprocessor arrangement for performing the image reconstruction processing.
2. Description of the Background Art
Recently a system employing cone beam geometry has been developed for three-dimensional (3D) computed tomographic (CT) imaging that includes a cone beam x-ray source and a 2D area detector. An object to be imaged is scanned, preferably over a 360.degree. angular range and along its entire length, by any one of various methods wherein the position of the area detector is fixed relative to the source, and relative rotational and translational movement between the source and object provides the scanning (irradiation of the object by radiation energy). The cone beam approach for 3D CT has the potential to achieve 3D imaging in both medical and industrial applications with improved speed, as well as improved dose utilization when compared with conventional 3D CT apparatus (i.e., a stack of slices approach obtained using parallel or fan beam x-rays).
As a result of the relative movement of the cone beam source to a plurality of source positions (i.e., "views") along the scan path, the detector acquires a corresponding plurality of sets of cone beam projected measurement data (referred to hereinafter as measurement data), each set of measurement data being representative of x-ray attenuation caused by the object at a respective one of the source positions. After completion of measurement data acquisition, the measurement data is processed for reconstructing a 3D image of the object.
As compared with the processing required for reconstructing an image when using an x-ray source supplying parallel or fan beams, the processing of the measurement data acquired when using a cone beam source is computationally much more complex. This is because when using a parallel or fan beam source, the measurement data is already directly representative of a 2D Radon transform of a cross-section of the object. However, this is not the case when using a cone beam source, and complex processing of the acquired measurement data is required to develop appropriate Radon transform data. Such processing for exactly reconstructing an image of the object typically, comprises:
1) conversion of the measurement data to Radon derivative data. This may be accomplished using the techniques described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,257,183 entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONVERTING CONE BEAM X-RAY PROJECTION DATA TO PLANAR INTEGRAL AND RECONSTRUCTING A THREE-DIMENSIONAL COMPUTERIZED TOMOGRAPHY (CT) IMAGE OF AN OBJECT issued Oct. 26, 1993, hereby incorporated by reference,
2) conversion of the Radon derivative data to Radon data at polar grid points using, for example, the technique described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,446,776 entitled TOMOGRAPHY WITH GENERATION OF RADON DATA ON POLAR GRID POINTS issued Aug. 8, 1995, also hereby incorporated by reference, and
3) performing an inverse 3D Radon transformation of the Radon data using known techniques, such as those described in detail in the forenoted U.S. Pat. No. 5,257,183 for reconstructing image data that, when applied to a display, provides a view of the 3D CT image of the object.
Although the theory for exactly reconstructing an image using cone beam measurement data is generally known, such as from the US patents noted above, a practical implementation of the processing turns out to be quite problematic. Not only is the amount of measurement data to be processed very large and rapidly acquired in accordance with a timing that is mainly determined by the geometry of the scan path, but, as noted above, the calculations required on the acquired data are quite complex. The most computationally expensive part of the object reconstruction is the calculation of the Radon derivative data (steps 1 and 2 noted above). As noted in the above US patents, as well as in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 5,463,666 entitled HELICAL AND CIRCLE SCAN REGION OF INTEREST COMPUTERIZED TOMOGRAPHY issued Oct. 31, 1995, hereby incorporated by reference, for calculating the value of the Radon data at a given Radon sample point, it is typically necessary to process the measurement data acquired from several source positions, with the measurement data from each source position developing a contribution to the final value for that sample point by way of data combination. Typically one needs to calculate about 100.times.10.sup.6 line integral derivatives during object reconstruction. Since each line integral derivative requires the calculation of two single line integrals (because one uses the difference between two closely spaced line integrals to calculate a single line integral derivative) 200.times.10.sup.6 single line integral calculations are required. However, before one can even begin to perform these line integral derivative calculations, one has to compute for each Radon sample which source positions will provide the measurement data that must be processed, and determine the extent of the lines on the measurement data along which the integration must be performed. In order to compute the contributing source positions, one has to intersect the source scanning path with the Radon integration plane as explained in the forenoted U.S. Pat. No. 5,463,666. When using a spiral scan path, this requires the solution of transcendental equations, which are computationally expensive. The complexity of these above-noted calculations leads to severe bottlenecks in processing of the measurement data, so as to prevent rapid and efficient image reconstruction.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/940,489, entitled A REDUCTION OF HITLIST SIZE IN SPIRAL CONE BEAM CT BY USE OF LOCAL RADON ORIGINS, filed Sep. 30, 1997, incorporated herein by reference, describes a rapid and efficient technique for processing the acquired measurement data to develop the Radon derivative data. A spherical coordinate system (r, .theta., .phi.) defining a Radon space partitioned by a plurality of vertically oriented co-axial .phi.-planes is used to facilitate a subsequent inversion processing of the Radon data. Instead of performing all of the conversion calculations "on the fly", this new technique makes use of a pre-calculated "relative hitlist" for speeding up the conversion.
Briefly, the relative hitlist comprises a memory of pre-calculated image reconstruction processing information which is used to greatly aid the conversion of the measurement data to Radon data. The hitlist information is determined primarily by geometric parameters of the imaging apparatus, and are therefor already determined before imaging operation of the apparatus. Such parameters are the pitch and other characteristics of the source/detector scan path, the dimensions of the object, the detector resolution, and the sampling of the scan path and the Radon space. These parameters define the line integrals which need to be calculated in the measurement data to develop the desired samples of the Radon data. Thus, the hitlist information indicates the correspondence between points in Radon space and the source positions that contribute thereto, parameters that define the line integrals that need to be calculated in the measurement data acquired at each of the source positions, as well as other information useful for image reconstruction processing. Typically the imaging system manufacturer will pre-calculate the hitlist information and store it in a memory. The hitlist information is used during run-time (imaging) operation of the apparatus to assist the conversion processing of the acquired measurement data into the many samples of Radon derivative data needed to fill up the region of Radon support for proper reconstruction of the object. Furthermore, due to a symmetry that is induced in the subsequent Radon inversion processing, the information that is stored for only one of the Radon space .phi.-planes can be used for calculating Radon derivative data for all of the other Radon space .phi.-planes. Accordingly, the memory requirements for the hitlist are greatly reduced. Use of the pre-calculated hitlist results in a great improvement in the speed and efficiency of the image reconstruction processing as compared to conversion processing without use of a hitlist.
It would be desirable to provide an efficient multi-processor arrangement for carrying out image reconstruction processing which uses such pre-calculated information.

Fast and efficient multiprocessor implementation for exact for an exact cone beam image reconstruction


Methods of remediating a subterranean formation comprising directing vibrational waves at a portion of the subterranean formation containing fines; allowing the vibrational waves to displace at least a portion of the fines; and introducing a consolidating agent into the portion of the subterranean formation through a well bore that penetrates the portion of the subterranean formation.

The present invention relates to methods for treating a subterranean formation. More particularly, the present invention relates to the use of vibrational waves in combination with a consolidating agent in remedial treatments of a subterranean formation.
In a typical subterranean well, damage to the surrounding formation can impede fluid flow and may cause production levels to drop. While many damage mechanisms plague wells, one of the most pervasive problems is fines clogging formation pores that usually allow hydrocarbon flow. As used herein, the term "fines" refers to loose particles, such as formation fines, formation sand, clay particulates, coal fines, resin particulates, crushed proppant or gravel particulates, and the like. These fines can also obstruct fluid flow pathways in screens; preslotted, predrilled, or cemented and perforated liners; and gravel packs that may line a well. Fines may even restrict fluid flow in openhole wells. For example, in situ fines mobilized during production can lodge themselves in formation pores, preslotted liners, screens, and gravel packs, preventing or reducing fluid flow there through.
Well-stimulation techniques have been developed to at least mitigate the problems caused by fines. One such technique is matrix acidizing. In matrix acidizing, pumps may inject thousands of gallons of acid into the well to dissolve away precipitates, fines, or scale on the inside of tubulars, in the pores of a screen or gravel pack, or inside the formation. Any tool, screen, liner, or casing that comes into contact with the acid should be protected from its corrosive effects. A corrosion inhibitor generally is used to prevent tubulars from corrosion. Also, the acid must be removed from the well. Often, the well must also be flushed with pre- and post-acid solutions. Aside from the difficulties of determining the proper chemical composition for these fluids and pumping them down the well, the environmental costs of matrix acidizing can render the process undesirable. Additionally, maxtrix acidizing treatments generally only provide a temporary solution to these problems. Screens, preslotted liners, and gravel packs may also be flushed with a brine solution to remove solid particles. While this brine treatment is cheap and relatively easy to complete, it offers only a temporary and localized respite from the plugging fines. Moreover, frequent flushing can damage the formation and further decrease production.
Acoustic stimulation is another technique that has been developed as an alternative to address these problems. In acoustic stimulation used for near-borehole cleaning, vibrational waves transfer vibrational energy to the fines clogging formation pores. In some instances, these vibrational waves may be generated using a pulsonic device, such as a fluidic oscillator. The ensuing vibration of the fines displace them from the pores, thereby allowing increased fluid flow there through. Fluid flow, including production-fluid flow out of the formation or injection-fluid flow into the formation from the well, may cause the particles to migrate out of the pores, clearing the way for greater fluid flow. Acoustic stimulation may also be used to clean preslotted liners, screens, and gravel packs.

Remediation of subterranean formations using vibrational waves and consolidating agents


System and method for integrating Web Services using a Web Services Structured Methodology are described. Embodiments of a Web Services Structured Methodology may be used to integrate Web Services in Enterprise and Cross-Enterprise business systems, and to integrate legacy systems (e.g. legacy mainframe systems) with Web Services in Enterprise and Cross-Enterprise business systems. Embodiments may provide an integrated Web Services architecture design mechanism that may be used for Enterprise and Cross-Enterprise integration of Web Services. Embodiments may be used for Legacy Mainframe Integration and Interoperability with Web Services.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to computer software, and more particularly to integrating Web Services in business systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
The term Web Services has quickly become a buzzword in the market. There are true successes, and also much hype about Web Services technology solutions. Much of the market hype focuses on what it can do, rather than on integration. Some generalize that Web Services technology can address all types of business problems. Web Services technologies are a good technology enabler for legacy system integration and cross-platform interoperability, but may not necessarily be the perfect solution to all types of business problems. Such Web Services interest has coincided with the proliferation of XML and Java technology and Business-to-Business (B2B) commerce. The key attraction of Web Services comes from the business drivers of cost reduction and B2B integration. There are many aspects of the changing economic landscape and emerging trends that support the potential use of Web Services, especially in the financial services and B2B commerce areas.
Web Services technology and associated vendor products have evolved greatly over the past few years, from SOAP 1.0 to SOAP 1.2. New related technologies emerge from time to time, such as the earlier releases of the Java Web Services Developer Pack™ (including JAX Pack) and Apache Axis. Java™ has become the de facto lingua franca of Web Services. Previously, developers needed to build their own application infrastructure tools to handle security, exceptions, and logging. They also needed to write programming routines to handle message acknowledgement and exception handling routines to ensure SOAP messages were reliably exchanged. Today, new Web Services tools such as Java Web Services Developer Pack™ and Apache Axis provide many built-in Web Services security features, SOAP messaging capabilities, and SOAP server infrastructure tools. These technologies have changed the previous Web Services programming model and landscape.
Web Services technologies enable the reuse of business functionality provided by mainframes and legacy systems. They help protect past investments of business functionality developed on legacy and proprietary platforms and ease building "killer" applications based on existing customer and account data kept by these legacy systems. "Killer" applications may create user stickiness by aggregating useful and timely customer and account information from different data sources that may run on legacy systems using Web Services as the technology enabler.
Many systems are deployed without a reliable, scalable architecture and thus suffer from capacity and performance issues. Some of them do not have reusable components. Many Web Services initiatives begin and end with SOAP-UDDI programming yet lack a framework for reusable components, scalability, and performance management. Therefore, it may be desirable to provide a generic Web Services solution that leverages application component framework and technical infrastructure investment by focusing on opportunities that can leverage reusable components and that leverages limited component frameworks, distributed services, and platform and network engineering resources.
There are prior art architectures labeled under Web Services. There are Web Services architectures published by various technology vendors. These architectures include, but are not limited to, Sun ONE™ Architecture Framework, IBM's Web Services Architecture, and Microsoft's Global XML Web Services Architecture. At least some other prior art architectures are primarily a rebranding of vendor product architectures. Prior art Web Services architectures generally lack structure and guiding principles; a product architecture that lacks structure and guiding principles is not useful for scalable and reliable Web Services.
Prior art Web Services literature typically addresses how to build SOAP programs or lab prototypes. There are Web Services architectures available in the prior art, but these are typically vendor product architectures, rather than generic Web Services reference architectures. Therefore, it may be desirable to provide a generic Web Services solution to interoperate with legacy mainframe applications and/or to integrate with Business-to-Business applications.
Web Services Related Technologies
eXtensible Markup Language (XML) is a tag language, derived from the Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) and endorsed by W3C, to describe business data in human-eligible format and is intended to facilitate machine-to-machine or system-to-system communication over the Internet. The XML data construct can be defined and validated (with XML parsers) by XML 1.0 syntax (for example, Document Type Definitions [DTDs]), XML Namespaces, or XML Schemas.
DTDs specify rules about the tag names, data structure (for example, string), and permissible elements (for example, repeatable elements). DTDs can be stand-alone or incorporated in an XML document.
An XML Namespace is a collection/group of names—i.e. a prefix added to XML element to differentiate elements with the same name (such as name, customer:name, or buyer:name). Using a unique element, this addresses conflicting names while exchanging XML documents with partners. It is identified by a URI reference, qualified names/elements, and attribute names within an XML document (such as buyer:trade-Header). The syntax is: xmins:_Namespace prefix_URI—
An XML Schema is a more general and flexible way to describe the data structure of an XML document (for example, data type or attributes). Although not required, SOAP uses XML Schema instead of DTD to represent data in the SOAP requests and responses. SOAP can use XML Schema to serialize/deserialize data from parameters to method calls and returned values.
XML documents are usually validated by XML parsers for their well-formedness. There are three major types of parsers:
Document Object Model (DOM)
Simple API for XML
JDOM
Java™ is a platform independent programming language. Java has a "sandbox" architecture that has inherent application security. On the enterprise level, Java 2 Enterprise Edition™ (J2EE™) is the building block for components and integration points. Both Java and .NET have similar programming strengths. Java™ is more popular with cross-platform deployment consideration, yet .NET is also now available on Linux.
The Java™ XML Pack (JAX Pack) is an all-in-one download of Java technologies for XML. Java™ XML Pack brings together several of the key industry standards for XML—such as SAX, DOM, XSLT, SOAP, UDDI, ebXML, and WSDL—into one convenient download, thereby giving developers the technologies needed to get started with Web applications and services.
JAX Pack is a bag of Java-based APIs for developing and managing XML, SOAP, and UDDI:
JAXP—Java API for Parsers
JAXM—Java API for Messaging
JAXB—Java API for Binding
JAXR—Java API for Registries
JAX-RPC—Java API for RPC
JAX Pack is a reference implementation for JAX, and is now part of Sun's Java Web Services Developer Pack.
JAXP is a lightweight Java API library for parsing and transforming XML documents. It is a high-level wrapper for different parsers; it can use Xerces or Crimson as the underlying parser. It allows parsing of an XML document using:
Event-driven (SAX 2.0)
Tree-based (DOM Level 2)
XML documents transformation
XML to XML/other data format using XSL/XSLT
Rendering to PDF or graphics using Cocoon
JAXP provides an interface layer to XML parsers. The reference parser is Apache Crimson, but developers can use other parsers such as Apache Xerces. The reference parser supports both event-driven (SAX) and tree-based XML parsing (DOM).
SAX performs well-formedness validation of XML documents. It can be used for reading specific elements. SAX is based on a specific event and enables sequential read access only (that is, one-time access). The strength of SAX is that documents do not have to be entirely in memory, thus it is fast and efficient. However, it cannot modify elements of the XML document. To parse an XML document, developers define a Java class that extends the DefaultHandler, which will create a new instance of SAXParserFactory. The SAXParserFactory provides handlers such as startElement, endElement, and characters to process different events during the parsing.
The Document Object Model (DOM) is an API for processing XML documents. It defines the logical structure of documents and a way to access and manipulate the documents. The strengths of DOM are that DOM can build documents, navigate their structure while in memory, and DOM can add, modify, or delete elements or content of the XML document. However, the in-memory processing is resource-hungry. To parse an XML document, developers need to define a Java class to create an instance of DocumentBuilderFactory, which will create a new object DocumentBuilder. The DocumentBuilder will then create nodes (objects in the DOM) for different XML elements and tags.
JAXM refers to the Java technology support for sending and receiving SOAP messages, which is based on the SOAP 1.1 and the SOAP with Attachment specifications. It supports higher level and application-specific protocols built on top of SOAP, including multiple transports such as HTTP, SMTP, and so forth. In addition, JAXM supports both synchronous (request-reply) and asynchronous (one-way) mode. JAXM is preferable to JAX-RPC because of its support for asynchronous messaging, multiparty message routing, and reliable messaging (that is, guaranteed delivery). JAXM is a pluggable provider class for the SOAP server. The provider class supports different data transports, such as HTTP, SMTP, and JMS. For example, if Company X sends a SOAP message using a SOAP provider over HTTP to Company Y, the JAXM provider will create a connection to the specified URL endpoint with Company A's SOAP provider, create a SOAP message instance, and get the SOAP envelope and body. With JAXM, developers can make SOAP messaging reliable with message acknowledgement and guaranteed message delivery using JMS.
JAXB denotes Java Architecture for XML Binding. JAXB creates an XML-to-Java binding schema (XJS), which maps XML elements to Java objects, and stores it in XJS files (.xjs extension). You can compile them with a schema compiler called xjc and output the source code to a set of Java classes for marshalling and unmarshalling. An XML-to-Schema Compiler (xjc) is a Unix shell script that invokes com.sun.tools.xjc.Main, which reads in a DTD and a XJS binding schema, and generates a set of Java source files. An XJS binding schema file defines the mapping.
In the JAXB architecture, the utility xjc creates Java source files to bind a DTD or XML Schema to Java data objects. Developers can then add additional program code if necessary and compile the Java source files into Java classes for execution. This can potentially reduce some coding effort and processing time to transcode XML elements in an XML document using JAXP. JAXB version 1.0 supports both DTD and XML Schema. Developers can use the same xjc compiler to generate Java binding files for an XML Schema under Windows or Unix. Using JAXB to bind an XML Schema to the Java data structure, developers can probably write less program code using an XML parser (such as DOM or SAX) to transform XML content into Java data objects. This is a considerable benefit to the productivity.
JAXR is a standard Java API for accessing diverse and heterogeneous Business Service Registries. It is a unified information model for describing business registry content. It provides multi-layered API abstractions for simple, high-level, business API, and flexible, low-level, generic API. It is the enabling technology for Web Services and peer-to-peer computing in the J2EE™. In the JAXR architecture, a JAXR client is basically a registry client (RC) that is connected to the registry service (RS) via a JAXR pluggable provider. The JAXR provider is able to use any capability-specific interfaces such as ebXML provider or UDDI provider that is specific to a particular Service Registry platform. Developers can also write their own JAXR provider class to accommodate any new Service Registry platform. In this way, the JAXR client only needs to use one single set of program code to access different service registries; it need not be rewritten and recompiled.
JAX-RPC stands for Java API for XML-based Remote Procedure Calls (RPC). JAX-RPC enables Java technology developers to build Web applications and Web Services incorporating XML-based RPC functionality according to the SOAP 1.1 specification. JAX-RPC allows distributed client/server mode over the Web using the Standard Web Services technologies: SOAP, WSDL, and HTTP. Using the JAX-RPC API and the tools, it simplifies the creation of a Web Service for a Java programmer as it hides all the complexities of generating SOAP and WSDL, but provides tools to generate these using Java Interfaces and some additional configuration information. All the code to map Java data type information to XML/SOAP is generated by the tools "wscompile" and "wsdeploy" from Java Web Services Developer Pack (JWSDP) 1.0.1 (which supersedes the tool "xrpcc" in JWSDP 1.0). The JAX-RPC runtime will take care of the transport. In the JAX-RPC architecture, in order to invoke a remote business service, the client program needs to install a "stub," which enables it to communicate with the remote application service via the remote "ties." Both the client and the remote server (services) need to install JAX-RPC runtime, which enables both ends to exchange SOAP messages. This is a typical Remote Procedure Call model.
Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration (UDDI) typically denotes a Service Registry such as a business Yellow Page for an e-business service. It also denotes a standard specification for service discovery and description. There are at least three public operator nodes: Microsoft, IBM, and Ariba. SAP provides a public UDDI node as well.
The UDDI registry enables businesses/corporations to register public information about themselves (such as service type, products, URL) and provides service categories or classifications using standards code such as NAICS (North American Industry Classification System, a product code classification system for trading used by the U.S. Census Bureau) and UN/SPSC (United Nation Standard Products and Services Classification, a product classification system developed by Dun & Bradstreet).
There are primarily three types of information: (1) White Pages—business names, description, contact information; (2) Yellow Pages—business categories using standard codes such as NAICS, UN/SPSC, and geographical taxonomy; and (3) Green Pages—information model to store implementation information of business processes, service descriptions, and binding information. The UDDI information model is a data model that encapsulates the business information of business organizations and service details.
In UDDI, a business entity contains the definition of business services (White Pages), and each business service contains a binding template (Yellow Pages) that shows the service end-points URL. The information in the binding template is also stored in the UDDI information model tModel and tModelInstance objects, which are accessed during the service discovery process. The same information in the binding template is also referenced in the Implementation section of the WSDL document (Green Pages). The Implementation section is also referenced in the Interface section of the WSDL document. If developers want to store the WSDL document in the UDDI Service Registry, they can reference the Interface section in the tModel object.
SOAP stands for Simple Object Access Protocol. The original specification has three parts: extensible envelope (headers and body), simple type marshalling schema, and HTTP RPC protocol. The SOAP RPC layer acts as a client proxy that initiates SOAP calls, creates SOAP envelope and message body, and exchanges with the SOAP server. The logical components of the "tier" are elaborated as the SOAP server. The SOAP server handles message routing, marshals, and unmarshals the SOAP messages via RPC router servlet and message router servlet (these are transport listeners). All SOAP messages are transported on top of HTTP or HTTPs, and can even be bound to JMS using customized pluggable providers.
The SOAP client sends a SOAP RPC request to the RPC router servlet. The RPC router servlet looks up the Deployment Descriptor from the service manager. Upon successful retrieval, the RPC router servlet locates the configuration details and passes the request to appropriate pluggable provider. For instance, the pluggable provider is an EJB provider, and it invokes the remote business service via RMI/IIOP protocol.
Web Services Description Language (WSDL) uses XML to describe Web Services by:                End-points operating on SOAP messages        SOAP messages containing either document-oriented (for example, XML doc) or procedure-oriented information (for example, XML-RPC)        Operations and messages        Bindings of network protocol and message format to end-points
WSDL also defines network accessible services functionality, such as protocol and deployment details. It is submitted to W3 as a basis for XMLP Web Service metadata definition. In a WSDL document, the service (service endpoint URL), operation name (the remote business service), message name (input or output), and the type (data type) are usually of interest to developers, as they are the key information to build a Web Services client.
WSDL documents can be stored in the UDDI registry. There is a close relationship between the UDDI information model and the WSDL documents. SOAP clients look up the UDDI registry for a specific business service and find the service key and the associated service end-points from the WSDL or the tModel. Then they can invoke the business service remotely. In a WSDL document, the service name is mapped to the BusinessService attribute of a tModel, the port name to the BindingTemplate, and the service interface section to the tModel and tModelInstanceInfo attributes.
Electronic Business XML Markup Language (ebXML) is an international initiative to define a framework for finding, exchanging, developing, and implementing business services. It focuses on B2B and Small Medium Enterprise needs, and is backed up by standards bodies (such as OASIS, UN CE/FACT) and communities (such as the Open Applications Group or OAG).
As an example of using ebXML, two business applications may want to exchange business documents in a reliable manner. Both ends need to establish a trading partner agreement (e.g. using CPP, CPA) prior to document exchange. The sender business application initiates a connection, sends the business documents in ebXML manifest (which is wrapped in a SOAP envelope using SOAP 1.1 with Attachment), and waits for message acknowledgement from the recipient business application. The ebXML architecture also allows business process collaboration using a business process specification shared between the business applications.
A typical ebXML message makes use of the SOAP messaging as the transport and routing protocol. An ebXML message may include a payload (usually called Manifest), which is wrapped by a SOAP envelope (including a SOAP envelope and SOAP body). ebXML encapsulates the SOAP envelope and the payload under a MIME structure, and thus allows capturing either text or binary objects (such as a picture, or an EDI message) in the payload.
Currently, Service Registry has two variants: UDDI and ebXML. OASIS supports both variants. UDDI Service Registry has been on the market for some time. IBM, Microsoft, HP, and SAP manage the public UDDI Service Registry nodes. Although they are intended to be a public Service Registry, most people use them for testing instead. There are also a few open-source implementations of UDDI Service Registries, including UDDI registry from Sun's Java Web Services Developer Pack. Most J2EE™ Application Server vendors also provide UDDI Service Registry. ebXML Service Registry is a standards-based Service Registry. Its functionality is similar to UDDI. In addition, it supports service contracts (that is, CPA, CPP) and workflow-related entities (as per ebXML specifications).

System and method for integration of web services