A plurality of processing chambers are connected to a common chamber (103 in FIG. 1), and they comprehend a processing chamber for oxidation (107), a processing chamber for solution application (108), a processing chamber for baking (109), and processing chambers for vapor-phase film formation (110, 111). Owing to a thin-film forming apparatus of such construction, it is permitted to fabricate an EL (electroluminescence) element employing a high-molecular EL material, without touching the open air. Thus, an EL display device of high reliability can be fabricated.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a thin-film forming apparatus which is employed for the fabrication of a display device having an EL (electroluminescence) element (hereinbelow, termed "EL display device"), and to a method of fabricating the EL display device as employs the thin-film forming apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, researches have been vigorously made in EL display devices each of which has an EL element as a spontaneous emission type element. In particular, notice has been taken of an organic EL display device which employs an organic material as an EL material. The organic EL display device is also called the "organic EL display (OELD)" or "organic light emitting diode (OLED)".
Unlike a liquid crystal display device, the EL display device is of spontaneous emission type and therefore has the merit of involving no problem on a view angle. In other words, the EL display device is more suitable than the liquid crystal display device as a display which is used outdoors, and its application in various forms has been proposed.
The EL element has a construction in which an EL layer is sandwiched in between a pair of electrodes, and in which this EL layer has a multilayer structure ordinarily. Typically mentioned is the multilayer structure of "hole transporting layer/light emitting layer/electron transporting layer" proposed by Tang et al., Eastman Kodak Company. The multilayer structure exhibits a very high emission efficiency, and most of the EL display devices being currently under research and development adopt this structure.
Herein, a predetermined voltage is applied to the EL layer of the above structure by the pair of electrodes, whereby light is emitted owing to the recombination of carriers taking place in the light emitting layer. There are two sorts of schemes for the light emission; a scheme wherein the EL layer is formed between two stripe-like electrodes disposed orthogonally to each other (simple matrix scheme), and a scheme wherein the EL layer is formed between pixel electrodes connected to TFTs and arrayed in the shape of a matrix, and a counter electrode (active matrix scheme).
Meanwhile, the EL materials of the hole transporting layer, the light emitting layer, etc. are broadly classified into two; a low molecular material, and a high molecular material. While materials mainly including Alq3 have been known for a low-molecular light emitting layer for a long time, a high-molecular (polymeric) light emitting layer has been noticed especially in Europe in recent years. Typically mentioned are PPV (polyphenylene vinylene), PVK (polyvinyl carbazole), polycarbonate, etc.
The reasons why the high-molecular EL material is noticed are the points that it can be formed into the layer by a simple method of forming a thin film, such as spin coating process (also termed "solution application process"), dipping process, printing process or ink jet process, and that it is higher in the thermal stability as compared with the low molecular material.
Usually, the low-molecular EL material is formed into the layer by vacuum evaporation. That is, ordinarily the EL material is successively stacked without breaking a vacuum in a vacuum evaporator. Besides, an electrode of small work function is employed as the electrode acting as the cathode of the EL element, and also this cathode is ordinarily formed in succession to the EL material.
The EL material is extraordinarily liable to oxidize, and the oxidation is readily promoted even by the presence of a slight water content till the degradation of this EL material. In case of forming the EL element, therefore, the surface of the anode thereof being the lowermost layer is first preprocessed to eliminate moisture etc., whereupon the EL material and the cathode are successively formed on the anode without breaking a vacuum. On this occasion, the EL material and the cathode are sometimes deposited on the selected parts of the anode by employing a shadow mask or the like, and all the processing steps are performed in an evacuated processing chamber even in such a case.
This holds true also of the high-molecular EL material. Even in case of the spin coating process etc. which are not a thin-film forming expedient in a vacuum, it is important for the suppression of the degradation of the EL material that the EL material is prevented from being exposed in the atmospheric air which contains moisture.

Method of fabricating an EL display device, and apparatus for forming a thin film

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.


The present invention relates to a detoxifizyme with the activity of transforming aflatoxin and the gene encodes thereof. Firstly a novel protein is isolated and purified, named aflatoxin-detoxifizyme (ADTZ), which has the activity of transforming aflatoxin. The ADTZ gene is obtained through specific primers, and the gene is purified and sequenced. The gene encoding of ADTZ is cloned from the total RNA of Armillariella tabescens. The recombinant protein is expressed and purified through various expression systems using genetic engineering methods. The said detoxifizyme has bioactivity of transforming AFB1, reducing mutagenic effects of AFB1. It has great potential for the manufacturing of feed or food and development of anti-tumor medicament.

Aflatoxins, a group of toxic mycotoxins, including Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), Aflatoxin M1 (AFM1), Aflatoxin G1 (G1) etc., are produced by many species of Aspergilus. Aflatoxins are toxic and carcinogenic to animals and humans. Aflatoxins are widely present in grain, feed, and food, and the harmful effects to human beings are: (1) direct poisoning by consumption of untreated aflatoxins contaminated food; (2) poisoning by consumption of poultry, milk, etc. indirectly from untreated aflatoxins contaminated feed; (3) waste and disposal of crops or nuts contaminated with aflatoxins.
Because of these harmful effects, detoxification of aflatoxins has been studied for years. Some methods of transforming aflatoxins already exist, for instance: (1) Ammonization method: this method is used for wet feed. Because of the large amount of residual ammonia, it is banned in food processing by FDA. The application on feed is also limited. (2) NaOH method (for vegetable oil): due to high equipment investment, oil consumption, and cost, the method is no longer in use (3) White soil adsorption method: no longer in use because of higher labor cost, pollution etc. (4) Extraction method (for peanut powder, cotton seed, etc): it isn't widely used because of the high cost associated with extracting, recovering the solvent. (5) Heat method (268° C.): cost for heating and lose of flavor and nutrients make it less practical. (6) Biological method: bacteria or immobilized bacteria are used to resolve aflatoxins. Bacteria can destroy the nutrients of food; and the products and their toxicities are not well understood. Thus this application is limited to only a few types of feed and peanut oil. (7) Ultraviolet method: strong ultraviolet oxidation used to destroy aflatoxins is not consistent and high energy consuming. (8) Ultra-filtration method: it isn't practical due to high equipment cost and rigorous technical requirement. (9) Enzyme method: clone of liver cytochrome oxidase P450 in E. coli was used to transform aflatoxins (Brown D W, etc. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sc. USA. 1996).
To summarize, the chemical or physical methods to transform aflatoxins often require harsh conditions, but results in lower value for the treated grain, feed, and food. These methods are often not efficient and economical, thus difficult for large scale applications. P450 enzyme method does promote the metabolism of aflatoxins, but it may also lead to higher toxicity of AFB1 to human. Because of the specificities and high efficiencies of enzymes, more research is focused on enzymes that can transform aflatoxins directly.

Detoxifizyme with activity of transforming aflatoxin and the gene encodes thereof

Guangzhou Co-Win Bioengineering Co., Ltd.


A light emitting diode (LED) driving apparatus and an LED driving method suitable for driving an LED load are provided. The LED driving apparatus includes a driving circuit, a feedback circuit, and a control chip. The driving circuit provides a driving voltage to one terminal of the LED load according to a pulse-width modulation (PWM) driving signal. The feedback circuit generates a feedback voltage according to a voltage on the other terminal of the LED load. The control chip is configured to generate the PWM driving signal and adjust the duty cycle of the PWM driving signal in response to the feedback voltage. If the control chip determines the PWM driving signal with a threshold duty cycle continues being output over a preset period of time, the control chip determines that the current leakage phenomenon occurs on the LED load and stops generating the PWM driving signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a capacitive load driving technology, and more particularly, to a light emitting diode (LED) driving apparatus and an LED driving method.
2. Background
The boost converter, the buck-boost converter, or the buck converter based on the pulse-width modulation mechanism is generally used as the driving circuit in the existing LED driving apparatus. No matter which one of the above is used, the designers usually need to design some protection mechanisms to safeguard the driving stability of the LED load.
For example, the protection mechanisms, such as short circuit protection mechanisms or over-voltage protection mechanisms are generally adopted. Among these mechanisms, the short circuit protection of the LED component is to limit current to avoid the current caused by a short circuit from being too large, and the over-voltage protection is to limit voltages to avoid the driving voltage of the LED load from being too large.
However, among the existing protection mechanisms, there is no protection mechanism against the current leakage phenomenon of the LED load. Specifically, the so-called current leakage phenomenon may be caused by the broken connection lines in the LED load and the resultant short to ground or caused by the insulating abnormality of the LED string and the resultant short to ground. In the existing LED driving apparatus, the LED load is not protected from being affected by the above-mentioned situations, and therefore the large current induced by the current leakage phenomenon may do harm to the LED load.

Light emitting diode driving apparatus capable of detecting whether current leakage phenomenon occurs on LED load and light emitting diode driving method thereof


A method of preparing a bioactive polypeptide in a stable, inactivated form, the method comprising the step of treating the polypeptide with ozonated water in order to oxidize and/or stabilize the cysteine residues, and in turn, prevent the formation of disulfide bridges necessary for bioactivity. The method can involve the use of ozonated water to both oxidize the disulfide bridges in a bioactive polypeptide, and to then stabilize the resultant cysteine residues. Optionally, and preferably, the method can involve the use of ozonated water to stabilize the cysteine residues, and thereby prevent the formation of disulfide bridges, in a polypeptide produced by recombinant means in a manner that allows the polypeptide to be recovered with the disulfide bridges unformed.

Bioactive polypeptides are typically obtained by either the recovery and purification of natural products, or by synthesis using its genetic counterpart. Typically, the polypeptides, whether purified from natural sources or synthesized using recombinant technology, are ultimately provided in a form having the intended bioactivity.
Occasionally, however, it is desirable to prepare otherwise bioactive polypeptides in their inactive form, in which they can be used for other in vivo purposes, such as the preparation of vaccines. In other situations, the bioactivity of the polypeptide itself may be a particularly toxic one, so as to make the recovery of the active polypeptide either unnecessary, or unduly difficult and dangerous.
Typically, even toxic polypeptides are first recovered in their native, active forms, and thereafter subjected to processes intended to either temper the bioactivity, or render the polypeptide completely inactive. Examples of such processes include heating the polypeptide (e.g., denaturation), oxidation (e.g., by peroxide, catalase treatment), and the like. Such processes, however, are typically non-specific in nature, generally irreversible, and potentially quite damaging to the polypeptide.
Certain proteins can be inactivated by the cleavage of disulfide linkages, for instance using a suitable reducing agent (e.g., 2-mercaptoethanol) to provide a corresponding pair of cysteine residues. Cleavage of disulfide linkages within a protein will typically result in the unfolding of the protein. Unless maintained in the cleaved and unfolded state (e.g., in the presence of urea), the disulfide bonds are often able to spontaneously reform, although not always pairing the same original residues (resulting in a malfolded product).
Ribonuclease, for instance, contains four disulfide bonds that can each be cleaved in the manner described above. Under appropriate conditions, the molecule can spontaneously reform in a manner that provides 95-100% of the original activity. On the other hand, if the three disulfide bonds of insulin are cleaved under similar conditions, the molecule will spontaneously reform to provide only 5-10% of the original activity. Hence, the linear amino acid sequence of a protein is not necessarily the sole determinant of the protein's folding pattern and activity.
The recovery of neurotoxins is a prime example of the difficulties involved in handling and using bioactive molecules. See, generally, "Cloning, Characterization, and Expression of Animal Toxin Genes for Vaccine Development", L. A. Smith, J. Toxicol.-Toxin Reviews, 9(2), 243-283 (1990). The Smith article describes, for instance, the related properties of a number of toxins from animal origin (p. 247), and the slow progress made to date in developing such vaccines.
The venom obtained from snakes such as those of the genus Naja has been found to contain a number of different physiologically active, and potentially useful, polypeptides having enzymatic and/or toxic effects. A number of these toxins have been purified and modified for the purpose of determining their molecular structure and mode of action.
In order to safely use such toxins, for instance, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,888,977, 4,162,303 and 4,126,676 (each naming Sanders) disclose detoxified venom compositions. The compositions are detoxified by oxidation using catalase or peroxide, in a manner said to retain the neurotropic activity of the modified venom compositions. The Sanders patents discuss compositions derived from the venom of the Bungarus genus, the Naja genus and a combination of both genuses. Included in such patents are methods for determining the potency and atoxicity of such modified neurotoxins.
Neurotoxin polypeptides in their detoxified but neurotropically active form have been considered for the treatment of certain viral infections. Detoxified polypeptides have been considered, for instance, for use in the treatment of certain disorders such as the neurological disorder amyotrophic lateral sclerosis ("ALS"), a disease characterized by slow progressive degeneration of lower motor neurons. See, for instance, "The Use of Sanders Neurotoxoid I (Modified Snake Venom) in the Treatment of Recurrent Herpes Simplex of the Cornea: Progress Report", Clark, W. B., et al., Southern Medical Journal 55(9):947-951 (1962).
A variety of polypeptides, including toxins, have also been cloned and expressed by genetic engineering. See, for instance, the above-cited Smith article, which (beginning at page 257) describes a number of efforts directed at cloning snake venom toxin genes.
Conventional methods for preparing inactive polypeptides (e.g., detoxified neurotoxins) continue to suffer from a number of drawbacks. Among these drawbacks are the contaminants that frequently accompany the detoxified preparations. Another drawback relates to the fact that neurotoxins, unlike most polypeptides of a similar size, tend to be quite soluble in solvents commonly used for protein precipitation, thereby limiting the usefulness of conventional purification techniques. Yet another drawback relates to the use of any nonspecific means for rendering a polypeptide biologically inactive, since such means can often lead to the destruction of all properties of the molecule, including such desirable properties as immunogenicity and antiviral activity.
What is clearly needed is a method for the preparation of inactivated bioactive polypeptides, such as neurotoxins, in a manner that avoids the drawbacks associated with prior methods. To applicants knowledge, there have been no teachings in the art of the use of genetic engineering techniques, particularly in the manner provided herein, to prepare inactive forms of bioactive molecules such as neurotoxins.


A lockout system for a motor vehicle is provided. The system can include a source of input that identifies a status of a driver of the motor vehicle. The system can further include a source of passenger input that indicates if at least one passenger is present in the motor vehicle. The system can also include a lockout control module operable to disable the operation of the motor vehicle if at least one passenger is present in the motor vehicle, based on the status of the driver.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Currently, the operation of a motor vehicle is restricted to individuals who have reached a certain age and who have passed certain examinations relating to the operation of the motor vehicle. In some instances, the operation of the motor vehicle may be further restricted based on the age of the individual or experience level of the individual. For example, in the case of a young driver or inexperienced driver, the young driver or inexperienced driver may be restricted to operating the motor vehicle during daylight hours, without passengers for some period of time specified by local and/or state regulations as a collision preventative measure.
Studies have also shown that young drivers or inexperienced drivers tend to be more distracted by passengers in the motor vehicle. Thus, it may be desirable to provide a motor vehicle lockout system that restricts the operation of the vehicle if passengers are present.

Method and apparatus for motor vehicle lockout


A device for handling a load hoisted between two locations offset both vertically and horizontally is described. In particular the device is useful for transferring an outboard motor between an operating location on a dinghy and a storage location on a larger boat. The device makes use of existing lifting devices such as sail halyards and winches and provides both guidance and stabilization of the motor during the transfer.

Large boats commonly tow or carry a smaller boat or dinghy for use as a tender to the larger boat and an outboard motor is commonly used as a means of propulsion for the dinghy. Usually when the larger boat is under way or the dinghy is otherwise not being utilized, most operators prefer that the outboard motor is removed from the tender and stored on the boat to minimize the risk of losing or damaging the outboard motor. Unfortunately, for many boaters and boats, various combinations of the weight of the outboard motor, obstacles such as rigging and railings, wave-induced motion of both vessels and/or the physical capabilities of the boaters can make any lifting of the outboard motor from the dinghy and the subsequent return of the outboard motor to the dinghy difficult.
One solution to this problem is the use of a lifting device such as a crane or davit installed on the boat to provide the power or mechanical advantage for lifting or lowering the weight of the outboard motor. Such devices occupy space on the deck, railing or transom of the boat, and may impede the use of particular locations of the boat or simply detract from the aesthetic appearance of the boat. Moreover such systems may not be accommodated on some boats where the required deck or railing space is not available. Still further, such existing lifting devices often do not provide good stabilization of the outboard motor movement relative to the boat due to various factors including wave-induced motion of the boat. In this case, collision between the outboard motor and the main boat can result, causing damage to either or both. Further still, the costs of purchase and installation of such devices is elevated due to the mechanisms required and mechanical forces involved.
There is also a significant concern for many boaters, particularly older and physically less-capable boaters, of recovering a person who may have fallen overboard at sea. For many man-overboard victims, either as a result of the time spent in the water and/or their physical limitations, they are incapable of assisting themselves when a recovery vessel has come alongside to retrieve them from the water. In these situations, the people on the recovery vessel must be able to lift a potentially incapacitated and very heavy person on board. Still further, particularly in rough seas, there is a significant risk of injuring the victim against the sides of the vessel.
While many boats have existing hoisting mechanisms such as sail halyards and winches which can be used as a means for lifting or lowering a heavy load such an outboard motor or a person, the use of such systems on their own do not provide a means for controlling both the lateral and vertical movement of the load which will often result in an unsafe handling of the load.
As a result, there has been a need for an improved system for lifting and controlling heavy loads onto boats and particularly, for ease of handling of outboard motors and other loads such a person who has fallen overboard.
A review of the prior art reveals that various lifting systems have been designed and utilized in the past for boats for lifting and handling cargoes such as outboard motors as well as man-overboard recovery systems. For example, Forespar Products (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.) market various davit lifting systems for outboard motors such as the Motor Mate™ system. As well, there are numerous man-overboard products on the market that aid in the recovery of a man-overboard victim.
A review of the patent literature reveals U.S. Pat. No. 4,705,179, U.S. Pat. No. 5,020,708, U.S. Pat. No. 4,545,770, U.S. Pat. No. 4,545,559, U.S. Pat. No. 4,465,423, U.S. Pat. No. 4,232,627, U.S. Pat. No. 4,880,345, U.S. Pat. No. 5,590,618, U.S. Pat. No. 5,137,481, U.S. Pat. No. 5,297,835, U.S. Pat. No. 5,558,382 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,645,307 which relate to various outboard motor handling equipment.
However, these systems do not provide simple but effective systems for controlling both the vertical and lateral movement of the load towards and onto the vessel.

Device for handling a load hoisted between two locations offset both vertically and horizontally


An augmented-reality system for providing information relating to a wearable medical device and/or a patient wearing a medical device. An augmented-reality enabled computing device includes an image acquisition device, a user interface operatively coupled to the image acquisition device, the user interface configured to receive streaming images of a scene having one or more predetermined recognizable features, and a processor operably connected to the user interface. The processor is configured receive the streaming images, analyze the one or more predetermined recognizable features to determine a context of the scene, retrieve information relating to at least one of the medical device and the patient wearing the medical device, the information corresponding to the determined context of the scene, and augment the received streaming images with contextual information relating to at least one of the medical device and the patient wearing the medical device.

The present disclosure is directed to providing information related to a medical device, and more particularly, to providing information using an augmented or virtual reality device.
To protect against various health conditions such as cardiac arrest and other cardiac health ailments, some at-risk patients can wear a prescribed medical device for an extended period of time. For example, for patients at risk for cardiac events, they can be prescribed a non-invasive bodily-attached ambulatory medical monitoring and treatment device, such as the LifeVest® wearable cardioverter defibrillator available from ZOLL Medical Corporation. To remain protected, the patient wears the device nearly continuously while going about their normal daily activities, while awake, and while asleep.
When worn, the medical monitoring and treatment device can continually monitor one or more of the patient's physiological signals, recording information related to the monitored signals. Based upon detected or measured changes in the patient's physiological signal(s), the medical monitoring and treatment device can take one or more actions such as providing an alarm or a treatment to the patient. For example, for a wearable cardioverter defibrillator, the treatment can include a therapeutic shock.
However, many of the functions of the wearable medical devices can be confusing to a patient, even simple functions such as properly putting on the wearable medical device, and there may be no intuitive way for a patient to access support information related to the wearable medical device in a simple and timely manner.

Augmented reality information system for use with a medical device


A coating device is provided which has a bar which coats a coating liquid on a strip-shaped body conveyed in a given direction, and a dam-shaped member disposed at an upstream side of the bar so as to face the bar. Also provided is a coating method which, in the coating device, supplies the coating liquid from between the dam-shaped member and the bar so as to carry out coating. A flow rate of the coating liquid passing through a gap between the strip-shaped body and the dam-shaped member is set to be 3 m/min or more. A flow rate of the coating liquid passing through a gap between the bar and the dam-shaped member is set to be 5 mm/sec or more.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a coating device and a coating method. In particular, the present invention relates to a coating device and a coating method in which, even when coating a highly viscous coating liquid onto a strip-shaped body while conveying the strip-shaped body at high speed, local absence of the coating liquid due to the accompanying air which is brought in together with the strip-shaped body does not arise.
Moreover, the present invention relates to a coating device and a coating method in which, in a coating device which has a bar which coats a coating liquid on a strip-shaped body conveyed in a given direction and a dam-shaped member disposed at the upstream side of the bar, can effectively prevent problems at the coated surface which are caused by stuck matter which arises at the dam-shaped member at the upstream side.
2. Description of the Related Art
A planographic printing plate undergoes processes as follows to be fabricated. Commonly, at least one face of an aluminium web formed of pure aluminium or an aluminium alloy is dressed. Then an electrolytic oxidation layer is formed at that face as necessary, and thus a support web is formed. Next, a platemaking layer-forming liquid, such as a photosensitive layer formation solution, or a heat-sensitive layer formation solution, is coated onto a surface at the side of the support that has been dressed and is dried, and a photosensitive or heat-sensitive platemaking layer surface is formed.
Generally, a bar coater is employed for coating a coating liquid, such as a photosensitive layer formation solution, or a heat-sensitive layer formation solution, at a belt body, such as the aforementioned support web.
Conventionally, this bar coater is generally equipped with a bar and a coating section. While the bar is in contact with a lower surface of a continually running web, the bar rotates in a direction the same as the running direction of the web, or a direction opposite thereto. While the web is running, the coating section discharges the coating liquid at an upstream side from the bar, relative to the running direction of the web, and forms a coating liquid pool, thus coating the coating liquid onto the lower face of the web. The upstream side relative to the running direction of a web is hereafter referred to simply as "the upstream side".
The bar coater may be a bar coater disclosed in Utility Model Registration No. 2,054,836 includes a dam plate which is provided in proximity with a bar at the upstream side of the bar, and is formed such that thickness at an upper end portion thereof becomes thin toward a downstream side in the running direction of the web. The upper end portion of the dam plate curves toward the bar, and includes a flat face with a length of 0.1 to 1 mm at a peak portion thereof. Another bar coater may be one disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication (JP-B) No. 58-004589, which includes a first dam plate which is formed such that thickness at an upper end portion thereof becomes thinner toward a downstream side. This bar coater is also provided with a second dam plate at the downstream side of the bar. The downstream side in the running direction of a web is hereafter referred to simply as "the downstream side".
When the running speed of the support web becomes higher, an entrained air layer, which is a film of air that follows along and runs with the support web, that is, entrained air, is formed at the surface of the support web.
In either of the above-described bar coaters, when an entrained air layer is formed at the surface of the support web, the entrained air layer is carried into the coating liquid pool. As a result, the coating liquid is not applied to the surface of the support web uniformly, and coating of the coating liquid is not carried out stably, causing film discontinuities.
When the flow rate of the coating liquid which flows out from the gap between the bar and the dam plate is low, the flow of the coating liquid which overflows from the dam plate to the upstream side is intermittent, and is not uniform along the direction in which the dam plate extends, i.e., the widthwise direction of the strip-shaped body which is passing above the dam plate.
Accordingly, at the upstream side edge portion at the dam plate, the phenomenon of drying and sticking arises in which the coating liquid, which has adhered to the dam plate, dries out and sticks thereto. The stuck matter which arises due to this drying and sticking is a cause of various problems in surface quality at the coated surface on which the coating liquid is coated, such as coating streaks which are stripe-like defects, the adhesion of stuck matter in which the stuck matter comes off of the dam plate and adheres to the coated surface, and the like.

Coating device, and coating method using said device


An oral pharmaceutical composition comprises a core containing a drug, a first inner layer coating on the core which contains a drug, and a second inner layer coating on the first inner layer coating which also contains drug. This oral pharmaceutical composition is used especially for treating intestinal diseases.

(1) Field of Invention
The present invention relates to an oral pharmaceutical composition. In particular, the present invention relates to an oral pharmaceutical composition that acts to deliver drug throughout the small and large bowel.
(2) Prior Art
In the pharmaceutical arts it is often desirable to prevent the dissolution of drugs within the stomach. This may be to protect the stomach from the irritating effects of the drug or to protect the drug from being chemically degraded by the gastric juices of the stomach. This is routinely accomplished by applying enteric (gastric resistant) coating materials which allow drug dissolution to occur in the small intestine, the large intestine, or a portion of the small or large intestine. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,780,318 an oral pharmaceutical composition is disclosed which comprises a core containing the active therapeutic compound and a carrier, a diffusion membrane, an outer layer and a flavored or colored layer applied outside. In that way the active compound begins to release only in the colon and not in the small bowel; however, this composition does not uniformly expose both bowels to the drug. Moreover, no current method exists which allows uniform and complete exposure of both the small and large intestine to drug while at the same time preventing dissolution of the drug in the stomach. No commercially available drug preparation is known to applicants that delivers drug at the low pH ranges that exists in the upper intestinal tract, and also in the lower intestinal tract and colon in the same dosage form.

Bilayered oral pharmaceutical composition with pH dependent release


In one embodiment, an antivirus mechanism builds an automaton of a virus using a pattern and a set of rules. The antivirus mechanism may then scan a binary file to detect an engine of the virus by matching the automaton with a plurality of disassembly codes derived from the binary file. The pattern may comprise a data structure including a name of a particular virus, and information for detecting the virus using the disassembly codes.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to computer systems, and more particularly but not exclusively to techniques for combating computer viruses.
2. Description of the Background Art
The threat posed by computer viruses to computer systems is well documented. A computer virus code can corrupt or delete important files, send e-mails without user authorization, render a computer inoperable, or cause other types of damage to a computer. From the old Disk Operating System (DOS) battlefield to the current Windows 32-bit (Win32) arena, the evolving virus technology has taken the battle between virus writers and antivirus experts to greater heights. Known and skilled virus coders continue to generate new types of viruses that can escape antivirus programs.
Polymorphic viruses are characterized by having the constant part of the virus body (except the data areas) encrypted using different encryption methods. Metamorphic viruses, on the other hand, do not have a decryptor, nor a constant virus body but are able to create new generations that look totally different. Virus code obfuscation on the host program with the use of complex techniques has been a common method of hiding viral codes. Random garbage code (code that does not change the behavior of the program) insertion and do-nothing-loops code generation are among the complex techniques that a clever virus coder uses to build virus codes.
Antivirus product developers are constantly keeping track of the latest virus technology advances. However, most commercial antivirus products are still inadequate in detecting all possible forms of infections given the elusive complexity of viruses. Most of these products rely on an old virus matching technology called "scan string." In this approach, the string represents virus pattern on a specific location of the file. When applied to metamorphic viruses, this method will absolutely fail since metamorphic viruses do not contain any constant scan strings and are mutated throughout its infection generations.
Another conventional technique used to combat viruses is the so-called "byte searching," which is just another form of scan string. In this approach, the antivirus program continuously parses consecutive locations of the file to search for certain byte sequences. The drawback of this approach is that it is too slow, considering that it searches the whole code portion of the file for specific byte sequences. In small files with small code portions, the technique may not yield significant results. But, on large files with large code portions, a noticeable scanning performance drop down will be apparent right away.
An existing method that is used to detect a combination of polymorphic and metamorphic viruses is the so-called "manual decryption." In this technique, the polymorphic decryptor is reversed to come up with the virus-decrypted code. This method also suffers from scanning speed. Because the decryptor of a combination of polymorphic and metamorphic viruses typically does not reside on a fixed location, the antivirus program needs to search for it. Just like byte searching, this method entails too much scanning time overhead.
There are also non-commercial tools that attempt to use geometric detection methods based on modifications that a virus has made to a file structure. These tools check for virus signatures and modifications of section headers, and advantageously filter normal and viral files right away. However, these tools do not provide the exact identification of the virus since they do not derive their detection on the virus code itself. Since the detection is not exact, it is also prone to false positives.
Emulators have also been used to combat computer viruses. Emulators allow virus codes to execute in a controlled environment. The virus codes that are being monitored can then be examined periodically or only when special instructions are executed. The effectiveness of emulators to detect viruses depends on how these emulators are implemented. Aside from metamorphism, any virus could easily place trigger conditions at the start of its code before executing its infection routine. Emulators that follow only one path could easily miss other samples that were not able to execute the infection routine due to the infection condition. Another major drawback of this technique is its scanning speed. When applied to viruses that insert many do-nothing loops before the actual virus code, the detection speed definitely suffers.

System and method for securing computers against computer virus


The present invention provides a colouring pre-mix for use in colouring of a cosmetic composition and a coloured cosmetic composition including the same, wherein the colouring pre-mix includes 45-80 wt-% benzyl benzoate; 20-49 wt-% dipropylene glycol; 0.00001-5 wt-% colouring plant extracts; and optionally 0.00001-5 wt-% colorants; with the provision that the content of benzyl benzoate exceeds the content of dipropylene glycol, wherein all data given in wt-% refer to the total weight of the colouring pre-mix.

It is known to impart colour to a cosmetic composition by addition of colorants or pre-formulated colouring compositions. Among the colorants used to impart colour to a cosmetic composition colorants derived from natural resources like e.g. colouring plant extracts attain more and more attention. However, in order to ensure widespread utility of pre-formulated colouring compositions, pre-formulated colouring compositions are needed that exhibit suitable stability and lead to coloured cosmetic compositions which are washable from fabrics.

Colouring pre-mix for use in colouring of a cosmetic composition


A double cup for a tapered roller being has a concave intervening surface between the small diameter ends of its tapered raceways. The cup is produced by roll forming a tubular blank at ambient temperature into a ring form having the raceways and the concave intervening surface. The presence of the concave intervening surface leaves only a shallow discontinuity in the exterior surface of the ring form, and that discontinuity is machined away with the removal of only a minimal amount of stock. The cup weighs less than cups with straight intervening surfaces.

This invention relates to roll forming metal and more particularly to a process for forming a multirow bearing race by roll forming and to a race and bearing formed thereby.
An antifriction bearing widely used in transportation equipment and elsewhere has a unitary outer race, two inner races, and tapered rollers arranged in two rows between the outer race and the two inner races, there being a separate row around each inner race. The unitary outer race, more commonly referred to as a double cup, has a pair of tapered raceways which are presented inwardly and taper downwardly to a cylindrical intervening surface or small inside diameter (SID), while the inner races or cones each have tapered raceways that are presented outwardly. Typically, the double cups are machined from tubing or forged rings, but owing to the taper of the raceways, the machining removes a considerable amount of metal. This makes the manufacture of double cups time-consuming and expensive.
To a lesser extent double cups are formed in a cold rolling operation, but this also requires a considerable amount of machining and stock removal. In this regard, the roll-forming begins with a cylindrical blank of plain rectangular section (PRS blank--FIG. 1). The roll forming produces a ring form having tapered raceways and the cylindrical intervening surface between those raceways. But to acquire the raceways and the intervening surface, the metal of the blank must be displaced outwardly beyond the ends of that surface, and this leaves the exterior surface of the ring form with a groove located immediately outwardly from cylindrical intervening surface. The groove in turn renders the ring form difficult to guide during subsequent grinding. As a consequence, the ring form is machined on its exterior to remove an amount of metal sufficient to eliminate the groove. This results in almost as much stock removal as does machining from a tube or forged ring.

Roll-formed bearing race and process for producing the same


A relative refractive index difference Δ1 between a center core region and a cladding layer is 0.30% to 0.35%, a relative refractive index difference Δ2 between an outer core layer and the cladding layer is −0.10% to −0.04%, and Δ1:Δ2 is 2.5:1 to 7.5:1. A diameter of the center core region is 9.0 μm to 10.5 μm, and a ratio of diameters of the center core region and the outer core layer is 0.20 to 0.35. A cutoff wavelength is 1310 nm or shorter, a zero dispersion wavelength is 1285 nm to 1345 nm, and at a wavelength of 1550 nm, an MFD is 10.5 μm or larger, a transmission loss is 0.185 dB/km or lower, and a bending loss is 15 dB/m or lower.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical fiber used as an optical transmission line for an optical communication.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a conventional optical transmission line for an optical communication, a standard single-mode optical fiber (SMF) defined in the ITU-T (International Telecommunication Union Telecommunication Standardization Sector) G. 652 is most commonly used.
For an optical fiber used as an optical transmission line for a long-haul optical communication, a transmission loss far lower than that of the standard SMF is required to extend a transmission distance and to reduce a load to an optical amplifier as an optical repeater. In addition, a nonlinearity even lower than that of the standard SMF is required to suppress a quality degradation of an optical signal due to a nonlinear optical phenomenon and to make a transmission distance even longer. Furthermore, particularly for an optical fiber used in an optical fiber cable installed as a land transmission line, a low bending loss is required because a bending and a lateral pressure are applied on the optical fiber at the time of setting it in a slot of a cable.
As an optical fiber that realizes a low transmission loss, an optical fiber in which the core region is made of pure silica glass that does not contain germanium and the cladding layer is doped with fluorine and an optical fiber in which the core region is doped with chlorine and the cladding layer is doped with fluorine have been disclosed (see, for example, International Publication No. 00/42458 pamphlet). The pure silica glass mentioned above means a silica glass in which no dopant for controlling the refractive index is doped.
However, the convention optical fiber that realizes a low transmission loss requires a massive amount of fluorine at the time of manufacturing the fiber because the whole cladding layer is doped with fluorine. As a result, there has been a problem that the cost of the optical fiber is increased.
In addition, because a variety of technologies for using the standard SMF as an optical transmission line have been accumulated, an optical fiber that realizes low transmission loss and low nonlinearity while maintaining equivalent characteristics to those of the standard SMF is being required.


A virtual enigma cipher system is described herein that allows for symmetric encryption and decryption of data. During encryption, a plurality of wheels representing sequences of data are used to encrypt a message. The plurality of wheels includes at least one dynamic wheel, which is generated based on a password, and a plurality of static wheels. During encryption, the unencrypted message is iterated from beginning to end. During each step of iteration, the encrypted payload value for a particular position is determined by performing an exclusive or (XOR) operation between the value of the unencrypted message at the position, and the values of the wheels at their respective wheel pointer positions. The particular position is then incremented, as are the wheel pointer positions, and iteration continues until the entire unencrypted message has been encrypted as part of the encrypted payload. Padding data and the message length are appended to the encrypted payload. During decryption, the steps are reversed.

The approaches described in this section are approaches that could be pursued, but not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated, it should not be assumed that any of the approaches described in this section qualify as prior art merely by virtue of their inclusion in this section.
Secure encryption and decryption techniques are desirable to improve system security in the storage and transmission of sensitive data. Prior cipher techniques for encryption have numerous shortcomings that allow for malicious users to break the encryption using brute force techniques or by recognizing patterns in the encrypted data.
Enigma machines can be used to perform symmetric encryption and decryption of data. An enigma machine contains a series of rotatable wheels containing a circular sequence of characters or data. The wheels are used to map a particular set of unencrypted data to an encrypted value. In a traditional enigma machine, the configuration of the rotatable wheels is fixed. This means that the encryption techniques are prone to brute force hacking if a pattern can be detected in the encrypted data that can be used to determine the configuration of the wheels. Additionally, in an enigma machine, each rotatable wheel is rotated incrementally one at a time. Once a particular wheel has finished a complete revolution, the next wheel advances a single step, similar to an odometer. This slow incrementing of the wheels in an enigma machine limit the complexity of the encryption algorithm, thereby making the encryption more prone to brute force decryption tactics. Additionally, enigma machines can be difficult to use with streaming data, as it can difficult to determine the end of data in a streaming context. What is needed is a virtual enigma machine cipher system that cures these shortcomings, thereby improving system security and allowing the system to be used for streaming data.
While each of the figures illustrates a particular embodiment for purposes of illustrating a clear example, other embodiments may omit, add to, reorder, and/or modify any of the elements shown in the figures.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A method of embedding a printable medium is provided, and includes embedding the printable medium with one or more position codes. A method of reconstructing an image presentation system also is disclosed, and includes scanning portions of the image presentation system and orientating the portions according to one or more position codes embedded on the printable medium of the image presentation system.

A document is usually shredded to render it unreadable and/or to prevent the document from being easily reassembled into its original form. Methods used to destruct documents include, for example, standard strip shredding or crosscut shredding, in which case the document is usually cut or torn into fine strips. There may be times when it is desirable to maintain the permanence of certain official documents, such as stock certificates or historical documents. In such case, should the document be accidentally or unintentionally shredded, or otherwise destructed, it would be desirable to recreate the document into its pristine condition.
Heretofore, reconstructing a shredded document can involve extremely tedious measures. One approach has been to align shredded portions one by one next to each other and determine whether images on the shredded portions match up. Once two portions are found to match up, additional portions may be added until the document is completed. For a one page document, such method may prove satisfactory, but for larger documents in which there have been generated a multitude of strips the task of reassembling the document, shredded portion by shredded portion, becomes impractical.
Moreover, once the proper positions of the shredded portions have been determined, the shredded portions must be fixed into those positions in order to recreate a document which resembles its original. This has been accomplished, for example, by attaching the shredded portions together with an adhesive tape or the like and running a photocopy of same. Alternatively, or additionally, the reassembly of the shredded portions has been scanned in by a scanner and an image generated by a computer. In either case, the reassembling of the shredded portions in the first place usually results in a degradation of the print quality from that of the original document. Of course, optical character recognition (OCR) may be used to recreate textual portions of a document, but OCR is unsatisfactory for documents containing non-textual images and still does not avoid the inconvenience of having to piecemeal reassemble the shredded portions of the document.

Method to create and reconstruct image presentation system

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A signal processing apparatus has a search unit for searching input program information in accordance with a predetermined search condition, an assignment unit for assigning a code to a program corresponding to the program information searched by the search unit, and a processing unit for executing a process for the program in accordance with the code assigned by the assignment unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a signal processing apparatus, and more particularly to a signal processing apparatus having a plurality of processing means for performing a plurality of functions.
2. Related Background Art
In present digital satellite TV broadcasting using communication satellites, electric program guide (EPG) data is transmitted together with video data and the like for subscriber services. Also in future digital satellite TV broadcasting using broadcast satellites or in ground wave digital TV broadcasting, similar services are expected (hereinafter, digital satellite TV broadcasting and ground wave digital TV broadcasting are collectively called "digital TV broadcasting").
A TV receiver received EPG data displays the program information on its display unit or on an external display apparatus. A user selects a desired program from the displayed program information to automatically switch between programs or reserve a program or record a program in a recording unit connected to the TV receiver.
Digital TV broadcasting can broadcast several hundreds of channels. It is difficult for a user to find a desired program from such a very large number of programs. If EPG data is searched in accordance with the search conditions set by a user or if desired programs are registered as preferred programs, the user can find the desired program easily.
In analog TV-broadcasting, compressed reservation codes are used in practice in order to facilitate a program reservation. With this method, a program can be reserved only by entering a specific code from a remote controller, the specific code being written in each program frame of a TV program column of a newspaper, a magazine or the like. This reservation code contains compressed information such as a program date and time, a broadcasting time, and a channel. A program reservation can be made by entering a number having several digits.
For the program selection, program reservation, program search and the like by using an EPG screen, however, it is necessary to perform a complicated user operation such as a screen change, a screen scroll and the like by using a cursor key, an enter key and the like.
If an EPG screen, a program reservation setting screen or the like occupies a large area of the display, a user is disturbed by this screen to listen and view the program. If while one user listens or views a program, another user wants to display such screen, the user listening or viewing the program is disturbed.
With the program reservation method using a reservation code, the number of digits of each reservation code is large. Specifically, if a program has a broadcast start and end time such as 6:02 to 6:58, the number of digits increases and the input work is not easy.

Signal processing apparatus and method, signal processing system, and printer


For measurement and display of auditory evoked potentials of the brain, pickup electrodes (A, Ref), an amplifier circuit (1 . . . 5) and an evaluation facility (7) are used to display the time trend of midlatency auditory evoked potentials (MLAEP) and simultaneously therewith, during measurement of the information signals, the time trend of early brain stem auditory evoked potentials (BAEP), which is displayed at a higher time resolution as compared to the information curve. For this purpose an amplifier circuit is used the isolation stage (8) of which is arranged in a way so that the total gain of the amplifier unit (1, 3) connected between electrode assembly (A, Ref) and isolation stage (8) amounts to between approximately 1000 and 4000. A further improvement is achieved by connecting the inputs of the amplifier circuits, which are connected to one pick up electrode (A, Ref) each and to a reference potential (ground) via an input terminating resistor, to a current generator included in an impedance measuring circuit for measuring electrode impedance.

This invention pertains to a method and a test assembly for measurement and display of stimulus-evoked potentials of the brain, especially for monitoring analgesia and anesthetic depth.
During surgery it has to be assured that the patient will not wake up from general anesthesia and especially that pains during surgery or other surgical manipulations will neither be perceived during surgery nor remembered postsurgically by the patient. The fright caused by an experience like this may result in a so-called post-traumatic stress syndrome. For this reason, it is of great interest to measure and display suitable parameters which determine anesthetic depth and analgesia to enable anesthetists to control anesthesia more precisely than previously and to reduce patient strain to a minimum. In particular, undesired awakenings of the patient during anesthesia have to be realized as early as possible.
We know different methods to detect wake stages during general anesthesia. The most important (1) are the so-called PRST-score, calculated from changes of blood pressure, heart rate, sweating and tear production, and (2) the isolated forearm method, during which one of the patient""s forearms is isolated against anesthesia by interrupting the blood flow by means of, for example, a hemomanometer cuff. To monitor conciousness the patient will then be examined whether he is able to adhere to simple commands during surgery. Furthermore, an EEG processing method is known, which evaluates EEG frequency and amplitude changes occurring during wake and anesthetic stages. However, the PRST score is not always a reliable method to detect intraoperative wake stages. The isolated forearm method can only be applied over a short period of time and is consequently not suited to indicate motor responses of the patient during long-lasting procedures. The processed EEG and its resulting parameters (median frequency and spectral cut-off frequency) are not optimally suited for this purpose, too.
Stimulus-evoked EEG signals, such as visually evoked potentials, somato-sensory evoked potentials and auditory evoked potentials, which will undergo dose-dependent suppression during general anesthesia, are better suited to fulfill this task. With midlatency auditory evoked potentials this dose-dependent effect becomes especially obvious. Auditory evoked potentials consist of a series of positive and negative voltages generated at different sites along the auditory pathway which can be picked up by electrodes at the skull. They reflect collection, transmission and processing of acoustic information from the cochlea via the brain stem to the cerebral cortex. Early auditory evoked potentials are generated by structures of the peripheral auditory pathway and the brain stem. They give evidence of stimulus transduction and primary stimulus transmission. It is known that early auditory evoked potentials remain almost stable during anesthesia in contrast to dose-dependent suppressed midlatency auditory evoked potentials.
In general, stimulus evoked potentials are well suited for monitoring anesthetic depth as well as for recording further neurophysiological functions. Change of the time course of the measured potentials in comparison to the unchanged potentials make it possible to draw conclusions for the neurophysiologic function to be observed. Previously, it has been difficult to apply this method practically. This was due to the fact that there were no satisfying possibilities for measuring and evaluating the potentials, especially when the measurement could not be performed under laboratory conditions but, for example, in the operating room. Under suboptimal conditions many difficulties may occur. Maybe the staff is not familiar with recording of evoked potentials or the anesthetist does not know how to interpret the recorded curves. It needs experienced experts to assess the results and to operate the equipment mentioned. Furthermore, the electrodes have to be applied simply and quickly. Other problems may occur by interference due to specific instruments in the operation room and by signals of other equipment induced into the electrodes. Besides, attending measures on the patient may give rise to movement artifacts.
Amplifier circuits, normally used for recording cerebral potentials, may be a further source of problems. They normally consist of an instrumentation amplifier, which transfers the incoming signal (typically 0.5 to 10 xcexcV) via a high-pass filter, a mid-amplifier, a low-pass filter and a post-amplifier to an A/D converter coupled with an evaluation unit. Patient and analysis unit must be isolated from each other by, for example, an isolation amplifier, type BF or CF, to prevent inadmissible currents from passing through the electrodes if external voltages are applied.
In known circuits, this isolation unit is located either after the first amplifier stage, i.e. after a gain between 10 and less than 100, or after total gain of up to 106 or after the A/D converter. This results in various disadvantages. In the first case extremely small signals pass through lines which impose a capacitive load on the driving amplifier and consequently may give rise to signal distortion. Furthermore, interference decoupling is limited, even with low driver impedance. However, if isolation is intended to be introduced after total gain, decoupling of interference will be good; indeed, the required number of components does not allow for the desired miniaturization of the circuit. Consequently, the distances to the recording sites are longer than desired for optimal recording. Besides, coupling of the output signals into the input circuit can not definitely be avoided in small sized amplifiers with high gains (from about 5000 onwards). Gains, as high as those required for measurement of evoked potentials, may cause a feedback from the amplifier output to its input, either via direct capacitive coupling or via the supply voltage. This feedback is especially disturbing if the terminating impedance of the input amplifier is high or asymmetrical. A feedback loop will change the frequency vs. time behavior of the amplifier system so that instabilities may occur which may give rise to amplifier oscillations. This is aggravated by the fact that these effects will often only give rise to minimal changes of the entire amplified signal, but will have considerable effect on the portion to be measured, which is xe2x80x9chiddenxe2x80x9d in the entire signal. For example, the brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEP) having a signal amplitude of 1 xcexcVss cannot be recognized in the spontaneous EEG, which has an amplitude of 20 xcexcVss to 50 xcexcVss. The BAEP can best be measured by means of averaging, provided that the spontaneous portion of the EEG averaged over time does not correlate with BAEP and that the BAEP portions occur time-synchronous after the stimulation signal. This cannot be assured, if the time behavior of the amplifier is subject to change or non-linearities due to intermodulation distortion occur. The recording signals are distorted or disappear during averaging. Another side-effect is that common mode rejection deteriorates due to positive feedback on the input. Furthermore, the system can encounter an unfavorable operation point for a short period due to common mode interference such as mains hum, monitor interference and transients. Often these instabilities are hardly visible in a single signal sweep but show their effects after averaging. The signal to noise ratio can deteriorate considerably so that the measured signals can not be analyzed any more.
The invention is intended to avoid the problems mentioned and to provide a method, and a test assembly, which allow easy, reliable and trouble-free measurement of neurophysiological signals, so that correct measurements can be performed which can be reliably assessed and which do not require experienced experts for operating the instrument being part of the test assembly.
This task is fulfilled by the features states with the patent claims.
According to a further aspect of the invention, the time trend of the evoked potentials from the brain stem (BAEP) will be displayed with a higher resolution as compared to the information signals during measurement and display of the potentials related to the function measured (MLAEP).
It is of special importance, that the reference curve or other curve (i.e. availability of reference or other curve data) are displayed during the measurement or simultaneously with the information signals. Just as the information curve, the display is automatically controlled by the computer integrated in the evaluation unit.
The invention allows for easy and reliable evaluation of the recorded signals, even under sub-optimal conditions, e.g. during surgery. This is especially useful for monitoring anesthetic depth. As the curve of the brainstem evoked potentials does not change during anesthesia and can be evaluated reliably due to a higher time resolution, it can be taken as a standard for the quality of the recorded information signals. Deterioration of the reference curve can be assumed to be due to bad recording conditions.
The evaluation of the signals will be most favorable and informative due to the fact that according to this invention the evoked stimuli will be repeated periodically or stochastically and that the actual information curve is displayed after a predefined time or number of recording periods but has been averaged over a considerably greater period of time or a considerably higher number of previous recording periods. In this context it is useful that for averaging over a predefined number of recording periods the average values of the signals recorded over a considerably lower number of recording periods will be compared automatically with each other and will be averaged themselves whereby averages that differ greatly from the majority of the other averages will be neglected. By correlating sub-groups, artifacts can be detected more easily and can be eliminated.
It may be of special advantage, if the time trend of the variation of a characteristic peak of the midlatency auditory evoked potentials (MLAEP) and/or the latency of this peak and/or the automatically calculated quotient of these two factors is displayed.
Furthermore it is useful that the time trend of a variable instrument factor is calculated by the evaluation unit and displayed simultaneously with the time trend of the recorded values. This is an additional feature which assures good quality of the measurement.
For evaluating the evoked potentials the typical amplification should be between 105 and 106. According to a further aspect of the invention, the total gain of the amplifier part between the electrodes and the isolating amplifier is considerably higher than 100 but less than 104. The post-amplifier between the isolation amplifier and the evaluation unit takes over the remaining amplification. If, for example, the gain prior to the isolation amplifier is between 1000 and 4000, a post-amplification of more than 25, but typically between 100 and 1000, is required. This allows for the best possible compromise between the highest achievable common mode rejection (gain as high as possible before isolation stage) and a minimal coupling into the input (gain as low as possible before isolation stage). With gains of about 1000, the common mode rejection ratio can amount to 150 dB.
At the same time, the input and output circuits will be decoupled after 1000 fold gain due to the isolation stage, so that instabilities of the amplifier will no longer be expected. The output signal with the highest amplitude will then be decoupled from the supply voltage of the input circuit. At the same time, the output signal will be treated as a common mode signal by the input circuit. A further improvement can be achieved if the ground of the output circuit is connected to earth. This will considerably simplify operation of the test assembly.
The direct test assembly furthermore provides the advantage that the required amplifier circuit can be optimally miniaturized without having to cope with disadvantages such as long leads to the recording sites, signal distortion, insufficient noise decoupling and noise signals, etc.
Reliability can also be improved with further steps of development by connecting an impedance circuit for recording electrode impedance to the inputs of the amplifier circuits which, after having exceeded a limit value and/or after having reached a certain difference between e.g. the active and the reference electrode, will generate a warning signal. Wrong electrode impedances which are mainly due to the contact between electrodes and skull can cause recording errors in connection with the invention-type amplifier of the invention.
As already mentioned, the invention is not only suitable for determining anesthetic depth but also for recording any visually evoked potentials. The following description of the invention is mainly based on measurements of auditory evoked potentials for monitoring anesthetic depth.

Method and apparatus for measuring stimulus-evoked potentials of the brain


A fastener, for use with a sheet-shaped member, comprises a tubular shank, a plurality of holding pieces extending outward from a first end of the shank, a flange extending outward from a second end of the shank, and a plurality of stud-engagement pawls extending into the interior of the shank. The shank has a length less than that of a stem of a stud fixed to a mounting member with which the fastener is to be engaged. When the stud is fully inserted into the tubular shank, the sheet-shaped member is fastened to the stud and the stud stem protrudes from a surface of the sheet-shaped member. The protruding portion of the stem allows an auxiliary member to be mounted thereto.

The present invention relates, in part, to a fastener capable of fastening a sheet-shaped member, such as a noise-insulating member (e.g., silencer) for use in the cabin of an automobile, to a mounting member, such as a body panel of an automobile or an interior panel (e.g., a panel for the interior of an automobile), and serving as a spacer in mounting an auxiliary member, such as an air-conditioner component.
Fasteners for use in fastening a sheet-shaped member to a mounting member, such as a body panel of an automobile, are known. Such a fastener may be first attached to a mounting hole of the sheet-shaped member. Then, the fastener attached to the sheet-shaped member can be engaged with a stud fixed to the mounting member to fasten the sheet-shaped member to the mounting member. Such a fastener is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication Nos. 8-54010 and 8-159118.
A fastener disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 8-54010 includes a shank having a hook-shaped holding arm, wherein the shank is inserted into a mounting hole of a member while bending or folding the hook-shaped holding arm, and the hook-shaped holding arm is unfolded after passing through the mounting hole to allow the fastener to be attached to the member. While this fastener can be conveniently attached to the member by an operation only from one side of the member, the holding arm protrudes substantially from the member, and it is necessary to assure a space for receiving the holding arm, and to permit the holding function, which takes effect only after the holding arm is resiliently unfolded.
A fastener disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 8-159118 is attached to a member by unfolding a pantograph-shaped head thereof. However, attaching this fastener to a member requires not only an insertion operation from one side of the member but also another operation from the opposite side thereof.
Conventional fasteners can be used to attach a sheet-shaped member to a mounting member, such as a body panel having a stud fixed thereto. However, most conventional fasteners are not constructed to allow an auxiliary member, such as an interior panel or air-conditioner component, to be mounted to the stud associated with the fastener. Moreover, conventional fasteners do not have a spacer function to prevent a sheet-shaped member from being flattened out, or to prevent a sheet-shaped member from adversely affecting positioning accuracy of an auxiliary member.

Fastener for use with sheet-shaped member and assembly using the fastener


In a measuring room 1, a three-dimensional measuring apparatus 2 for measuring an object, a control apparatus 3 for driving and controlling the three-dimensional measuring apparatus 2, and a host computer 4 for transmitting a measurement instruction to the control apparatus 3 and receiving measured information therefrom are disposed. In an operating room 7, which is disposed at a remote place of the measuring room 1, a remote operating apparatus 9 and a CAD/CAT system 10 are disposed. The remote operating apparatus 9 is connected to a host computer 4 through a LAN. The CAD/CAT system 10 is linked to the remote operating apparatus 9. The remote operating apparatus 9 generates a measurement instruction in response to an input operation on a measurement instruction screen and transmits a part program generated by the CAD/CAT system 10 to the host computer 4. The remote operating apparatus 9 and the host computer 4 are communicated by a communication protocol of TCP/IP.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a remote control measuring system suitable for remote-controlling a three-dimensional measuring apparatus or the like.
2. Prior Art
As an offline teaching supporting system that generates a part program that defines a measurement procedure of a numerically controllable three-dimensional measuring apparatus, a CAT (Computer Aided Testing) system is known. The CAT system automatically generates a measurement and operation procedure of a three-dimensional measuring apparatus corresponding to CAD (Computer Aided Design) data of a measurement object. With the CAT system, even inexperienced operators can effectively generate part programs. In addition, with the CAT system, the operation efficiency of the three-dimensional measuring apparatus can be prevented from decreasing.
However, in the conventional CAT system, unless a part program is temporarily stored as a file, the part program cannot be used. Moreover, in the offline teaching mode, the three-dimensional measuring apparatus should be driven and controlled program by program. Thus, if an error takes place in the three-dimensional measuring apparatus that is operating, the measurement of the apparatus cannot be continued. Furthermore, in the operation of the three-dimensional measuring apparatus, the content of the measurement procedure cannot be changed.
Moreover, even if a measurement procedure has only several measurement points, a part program file should be generated. Thus, the operation of the CAT system is troublesome. Furthermore, unless a measured result is converted into a file, it cannot be fed back to the CAT system.
When a three-dimensional measuring apparatus disposed in a measuring room whose inner temperature is strictly controlled is remote-controlled from another operating room, special-purpose cables should be connected from a numeric control apparatus of the three-dimensional measuring apparatus to a host computer and an operating panel disposed in the operating room. Data should be transmitted at a high transmission rate between the control apparatus and the host computer. In addition, many signals should be exchanged. Thus, the number and/or radius of cables connected between the control apparatus and the host computer becomes large. When the cables are extended from the measuring room to the operating room, the cable connections become complicated. Moreover, to prevent the cables from being affected by noise and signal attenuations, the lengths of the cables should not exceed several meters. Conventionally, the remote control is limited for a very short distance between two adjacent rooms.


A method and an arrangement for an intelligent adaptive x-ray imaging system, in which the exposure conditions of the object to x-rays is dynamically controlled and optimized in real-time in order to provide the optimum diagnostic information. The arrangement splits the imaging beam into two separate fan beams that scan over the object in a single pass, where the first beam (scout) collects information from the object, that is analyzed to control the intensity or spectral quality or spatial distribution of the second beam (I-ImaS). The CMOS image sensors deployed in the arrangement are able to process detected information either on-chip or within a field programmable gate array, so as to compute a measure related to the diagnostic value of the information.

Imaging systems able to control the X-ray source output are known to exist, in particular the use of automatic exposure control (AEC) is available on many systems to avoid over exposure. See for example D. B. Plewes, E. Vogelstein, 'A scanning system for chest radiography with regional exposure control: Practical implementation', Medical Physics, volume 10 number 5, 655-663, 1983.
Similarly, computed tomography (CT) systems adjust the exposure at each view to ensure the dynamic range of response of the detector array is used most efficiently, as set out in L. Jangland, E. Helmius, 'Automatic exposure control on CT systems', Radiology, volume 201, 792S, 1996, U. Nyman, T. L. Ahl, M. Kristiansson, L. Nilsson, S. Wettemark, 'Patient-circumference-adapted dose regulation in body computed tomography. A practical and flexible formula', Acta Radiologica, volume 46 number 4, pages 396-406, 2005, and T. H. Mulkens, P. Bellinck, M. Baeyaert, D. Ghysen, X. Van Dijck, E. Mussen, C. Venstermans, J. L. Termote, 'Use of an automatic exposure control mechanism for dose optimization in multi-detector row CT examinations: Clinical evaluation', Radiology, volume 237 number 1, 213-223, 2005.
A chest radiography scanning system has been described by Odelft, whereby the radiation intensity distribution is adapted to ensure optimum exposure at all points. This system is described in H. Vlasbloem, L. J. Schultze Kool, 'AMBER: A Scanning Multiple-Beam Equalization System for Chest Radiography', Radiology, volume 169, 29-34, 1988.
A mammography system has also been proposed, which would use information gained from the leading edge of a scanning beam to modify the scan velocity in M. Åslund, B. Cederström, M. Lundqvist, M. Danielsson, 'AEC for scanning digital mammography based on variation of scan velocity', Medical Physics, volume 32 number 11, 3367-3374, 2005.

Intelligent adaptive x-ray imaging system


A toothpaste composition contains a dentifrice base which includes at least a detergent and an abrasive or polishing agent, and a mixture of aloe vera and chlorophyll. The toothpaste composition is useful in preventing gingivitis, controlling plaque and stimulating the growth of new tissue while reducing the hazards of bacterial contamination.

Gingivitis, peridontal disease and diseases of the associated structures, i.e., interdental ligament and bone, alveolar bone and of tooth structure itself all have a common etiology; plaque. Plague in the oral cavity is ubiguitous and its control is critical not only to control inflammation, but also maintenance of healthy gums and fresh breath. Accordingly, this invention is directed to the control of plaque when used in a conscientiously applied program of oral hygiene care. It comprises a specific chlorophyll, aloe vera gel dentifrice in the form of a toothpaste.
It is known that chlorophyll possesses positive anti-bacterial actions and will stimulate growth of new tissue while reducing the hazards of bacterial contamination. The beneficial action of water soluble chlorophyll in oral sepsis has been reported by S. L. Goldberg, American Journal of Surgery, 62:117, (1943), wherein its curative action of pyorrhea, Vincent's angina, and gingivitis are discussed. U.S. Pat. No. 3,892,853 of Henry H. Cobble teaches the use of aloe vera gel by physicians and dentists in relieving pain and in promoting healing of topical and other lesions. Other toothpastes use aloe vera as an inhibiter and killer of bacteria which are known to cause plaque. This has also been noted to have a natural antibiotic action.
Also U.S. Pat. No. 4,748,022 of John A. Basciglio has introduced a composition and method for use in the treatment of pain and inflammation associated with lesions of skin and mucous membranes such as herpes simplex, herpes labialis, herpes progenitalis, chicken pox lesions, sensitivity of gingival tissue due to procedures for etching teeth with hydrochloride, swollen gums, cheilosis, oral traumatic injuries, aphthous ulcer by applying to the lesion an effective amount of topical composition comprising diphenhydramine HCL, lidocaine HCL, aloe vera gel, propilis in sufficient base to raise the pH to 8.9. Also pertinent is Japanese Patent No. 0116814 in which compositions are obtained by mixing 0.01 to 2 weight per cent of one menthol and or carevone with 0.01 to 1 weight per cent of aloe plant extract.
The chemistry of aloe vera gel has thus been investigated on and off for the past several decades, nevertheless, few studies have been well controlled and confirmed. Substances reported to occur in aloe vera gel include polysaccharides containing glucose, mannose, galactose, xylose, arabinose, tannins, steroids, organic acids, antibiotic principle(s), glucuronic acid, enzymes: oxidase, catalase, and amylase, trace sugars, calcium oxalate, a protein containing eighteen amino acids, "wound healing hormones", biogenic stimulators, saponins, vitamins, chloride, sulfate iron, calcium, copper, sodium, potassium, magnanese, zinc, etc.
It is commonly believed that the moisturizing emollient and healing properties of aloe vera gel are due to the polysaccharide present. The major polysaccharide present has been determined to be glucomannan. This glucomannan is a polysaccharide similar to guar and locust bean gums. Other polysaccharides containing galactose and uronic acids as well as pentoses are also present. It is believed probable that the gel's beneficial properties are not due to the polysaccharides alone, but rather from a synergistic effect of these compounds with other substances present in the gel. Still other research claims that a few of the basic components in aloe vera gel can also be found in DMSO, Dimethylsulfonic oxide, a wood pulp derivative which is currently used for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and related complaints. Two constituents of both the gel and DSMO are: lignin, a wood-like pulp which has the remarkable ability to penetrate the human skin; and monosulfonic acid, an anthracene derivative found in the anthraquinone family of aloe vera and chemical chain derivative of DSMO. An enzyme derivative from amylase and a closely related variation of alpha amylase, is also thought to exist in both the gel and DSMO. Alpha amylase is well known for its penetrating, pain-killing effectiveness in dealing with arthritis, bursitis and strain in muscle tissue. Some vitamins from the B-complex group i.e., B-1, niacinamide, B-2, B-6, ascorbic acid, vitamin C, and choline, the principal constituent of lecithin, have also been observed in aloe vera gel.
Photochemical reaction of chlorophylls per se include: a) reduction, b) oxidation, c) photosensitization, d) reversible photo-bleaching, e) sensitized oxidation reduction reactions not involving oxygen; insensitized oxidations involving oxygen. In 1920 the study of chlorophyll sensitized oxidation of various organic compounds by oxygen was begun by Noack, Meyer, Gaffron, and others. Sensitized reactions involving oxidants other than oxygen were first systemically studied by Bohi, who observed the bleaching of a number of azoyls and other oxygents in the presence of chlorophyll, phenylhydrazine and light. It has been noted that there is an energy transfer in vitro, chlorophyll involving a singlet excited chlorophyll molecule which may lose energy by radiationless transfer to a nearby molecule. Chlorophyll may also receive energy by transfer from some other exited molecule. An energy transfer from chlorophyll to chlorophyll is thus possible in concentrated solution. It has also been observed that a triplet state energy also occurs not only by the foster process, but also by an electron.
There has also been noted a cage effect, where the radicals formed and the reaction such as those previously mentioned are prevented from separating very far by the resistance in the medium. It was therefore concluded that there is a large probability that they will react to regenerate starting materials, this is the so-called "caged effect".
The existence of a long lived state of chlorophyll, intermediate energy between ground and first excited singlet states was originally postulated to explain the kinetics of photo-chemical reactions. In addition, there are rate limitations wherein less chlorophyll forms into a complex with a reagent in the dark. The rate constance for the bimolecular reactions are limited by the number of collisions per second between the reactive species.
Phosphorescence has also been studied, although its magnetic susceptibility has not been measured. The enhancement of phosphorescence by paramagnetic metal and copper pheophytins supports this belief. Energy transferred from a chlorophyll to an acceptor reaction has been demonstrated with reasonably certainty utilizing carotenoids. Unlike the one electron oxidation of chlorophyll, which usually reverses immediately upon cessation of illumination, reduction of chlorophyll leads to a stable non-radical product. Regarding energy requirements for the condition of the occurrence of primary reactions of chlorophyll: It was determined that for energy transfer reaction, the acceptor must have an excited electronic state of the proper multiplicity with energy less that that of the excited state of chlorophyll. More concerned, however, is the evidence of sensitized oxidations involving oxygen. The chlorophyll share with many other dyes the ability to sensitize the oxidation of organic substances by molecular oxygen. The only apparent requirement of a sensitizer is an existence of an excited state of sufficiently long lifetime to react with oxygen. Among the compound whose oxidation by chlorophyll, its derivatives, and other porpyhrins have been studied are benzidine, p-toluenediamine, aliphatic amines, phenylhydrazine, diphenylamine, and phenylendiamine, benzyl alcohol, pyruvic acid, ascorbic acid, cysteine, polyphenols, and cytachrome, ergosterol, serum protein, cseine, tyrosine, phenol, and uric acid which are oxidized to endoperoxides. This oxidation was found to have occurred in low 0.sub.2 pressure, even when the dye in substrate was absorbed into different silica gel particles. Another mechanism thus favored a primary photochemical reaction between the sensitizer chlorophyll and the reductant allythilurea. It is also argued that an electron transfer from a photoexcited dye to 0.sub.2 does the initial step in sensitizing oxidants as well as inflorescence quenching.
The complex chemical reactions of chlorophyll when mixed with aloe vera were carefully evaluated herein. In this connection, U.S. Pat. No. 3,878,197 of Ray H. Maret disclosed the process for extracting and stabilizing juice from leaves of the Aloe vera plant. The gel was removed by trimming the rind and aloe layer from the leaf. The remaining gel digested under ultraviolet radiation at ambient temperature to produce biologically sterile and chemically stable extract of composition having characteristics similar to fresh aloe vera.
Moreover, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,853,213 and 4,952,392, Thame teaches an oral hygiene composition for reducing plaque and for the prevention and treatment of periodontal diseases wherein the composition comprises at least 0.03 per cent by weight of an extract of the perennial herb periwinkle. Aloe vera extract and chlorophyllin copper complex are referred to as being combinable with the periwinkle in a toothpaste composition.


A computer system provides, via a network, at least one telephone feature to a telephone of a user. The computer system receives instructions regarding the telephone feature via the network from a graphical user interface operating on a computer of the user. The network may include a bi-directional protocol layer and a uni-directional protocol layer. The computer system may send a refresh request to the graphical user interface to prompt the computer to request an update.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a system for managing calls and, more particularly, to a system for managing calls for a telephone of a user using a computer of the user connected via a network to a service provider.
2. Background of the Invention
Conventionally, a single-line telephone, such as an ordinary residential telephone, does not have multiple-line telephone features, such as the ability to receive more than one call at a time, to hold a current call, or to transfer a current call. To obtain multiple-line telephone features, a user conventionally has two choices. First, the user purchases a multiple-line telephone, which may include purchasing associated telephone switching hardware and software. This option, however, is potentially very costly to the user. Second, the user purchases multiple-line telephone features from a local service provider. For example, Verizon of New York, N.Y. offers a service known as CENTREX, which provides several multiple-line features. With the CENTREX service, if a user wishes to access a multiple-line telephone feature from a single-line telephone, the user must press one of the asterisks-codes via the keypad of the telephone or perform a flash via the hook state. With this option, however, a user must memorize an asterisks-code for each subscribed-to multiple-line telephone feature. Further, the accessing of the asterisks-codes may be awkward for a user during a telephone call if the keypad for the telephone is located in the handset of the telephone because the user must remove the handset from the ear and mouth of the user to access the asterisks-codes via the keypad in the handset.


A method for reinforcing fabric edges to prevent raveling or fraying of a release liner fabric during cutting and subsequent use. The method is carried out by coating the yarn crossovers with a flexible, thin film of a radiation polymerized resin and then curing the coating system at high production speeds. The fabric is cut in those areas where the cured coating is applied, thereby providing a band or border of cured resin of sufficient width to prevent raveling of the fabric edge. The method is particularly suitable for the fabrication of release liners used for the protection of rubber sheeting for manufacturing automobile tires.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to reinforcing the edges of a fabric panel. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method of coating the edges of a release liner fabric to prevent raveling or fraying during cutting and subsequent use.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Woven fabrics that are made from thermoplastic yarns tend to disassemble along the cut edge when cut and subsequently handled. This disassembly occurs as the result of the untangling of the warp and weft yarns and is commonly known as raveling.
Raveling significantly reduces the efficiency of subsequent article handling operations such as winding and unwinding and shipping and seriously reduces the strength of the fabric at its edges. Release liners fabricated from fabrics with edges having untangled warp and weft yarns tend to pull apart when stressed during handling. This phenomenon is generally referred to as raveling. When this deficiency, particularly in strength, occurs in release liners for shipping rolled rubber sheeting for use in manufacturing tires, unacceptable damage to the release liner causes shorten life of the liner and possible contamination of the rolled rubber sheeting.
Various physical procedures have been proposed and adopted to prevent edge raveling. These include fusing the warp and weft yarns along the cut edge by various means during the cutting process. Processes known to be commonly used in this regard are based on hot-die slitting and laser cutting methods. Generally, these methods are unacceptably slow or add significant costs to the production of the finished article.
Fabric typically used for release liners in shipping rolls of calendared rubber sheeting for manufacturing tires for automobiles and other vehicles must satisfy a number of unique and demanding requirements. Fabrics that are useful for release liner construction are required to be strong, lightweight, resistant to abrasion and have good release from the rubber stock.
Typically, conventional release liners meeting the above objectives are made of coated fabrics like siloxane-coated nylon or acrylic-coated polyester. In either case, the release liner fabric panel requires fabric edge reinforcement to provide longer service life.

Release liner fabric having edge reinforcement