A means of automatically dispensing air tubing on demand of the user, then retracting it, upon signal by the user. The spool is highly portable and conducive to use in a non-hospital environment because of its simplicity and ease of operation. As the user translates, the air tubing length between the user is increased. As the user moves toward the air supply, the tubing can be retracted.The instant invention may be fastened to a wheelchair or may be carried on the person of the user to facilitate its employment.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is an accessory for use by individuals who must rely on oxygen therapy to provide them with a greater degree of mobility, safety and comfort. The device is a portable and inexpensive, automatically retractable gas tubing feed spool. It provides a means of automatically dispensing air tubing, on demand of the user, then retracting it, upon signal by the user.
Many persons rely on oxygen for medical treatment. Ambulatory persons who are not confined to bed most often find it difficult to contend with 25 to 50 feet of air tubing as they move about. Air supplies are contained within heavy tanks, which cannot be as mobile as the user. By providing a convenient means of controlling the dispensation of the tubing, an improvement in medical treatment can be realized.
The instant invention may be fastened to a wheelchair, attached to a walker or may be carried by the user to facilitate its employment. It acts as an intermediary between the mobile user and the immobile air supply. As the mover translates, the air tubing length between the user is increased. As the user moves toward the air supply, the tubing can be retracted.
The instant invention may be fastened to a wheelchair or may be carried on the person of the user to facilitate its employment.
2. Description of the Related Art
The Prior Art encompasses a variety of reel type devices for wire, cable and other cord-type products. Also included are reels for intravenous feeding apparatus for use with tubing, including reels for spool and retraction mechanisms. Hospitalization for some patients sometimes requires that the patient receive oxygen therapy for conditions which result from oxygen deficiency. There exist retractable tubing reels employed in conjunction with an oxygen supply tank and nasal oxygen catheter for use in hospitals. Those devices facilitate the conveyance of the oxygen through tubing apparatus that allows for retraction of the tubing. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,392,808 (Pierce).
The Prior Art does not include devices, which provide for portability and cleanliness outside the hospital environment. Specifically, the devices, and reasonable combinations thereof, show the art restricted to heavy and fixed devices, which do not serve the ambulatory patient in the setting of the home, office or public facilities. This is particularly relevant in the times of expanding home health care where hospitalization is being minimized. It is also particularly relevant in these times of the expanding numbers of elderly, those most often susceptible to respiratory ailments. There exists, then, the need for such a device that is encompassed in the present invention, and not in the Prior Art or the reasonable extensions thereof

Automatically retractable gas tubing feed spool


A coating material for a silicon carbide-based honeycomb structure, the coating material including from 20 to 75% by mass of ceramic powder (A), the ceramic powder (A) including from 55 to 95% by mass of silicon carbide and from 5 to 30% by mass of silicon dioxide as chemical components.

As a product supporting a catalyst for cleaning harmful substances such as nitrogen oxide (NOx) and carbon monoxide (CO) in an exhaust gas of motor vehicles or as a filter for collecting fine particles in the exhaust gas, a honeycomb structure made of heat-resistant ceramics is used. The ceramic honeycomb structure has thinner partition walls and lower mechanical strength because of higher porosity. Therefore, for the purposes of compensating for the strength and preventing breakage, a slurry (hereinafter referred to as a coating material) containing ceramic powder is applied on an outer periphery of a honeycomb structure (cell structure) which has been ground to have a constant diameter, dried, and fired to provide an outer wall (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).
When the coating material is applied to the outer periphery of the honeycomb structure and dried, cracks may be generated due to a difference in shrinkage between a surface of the coating material and the inside. The cracks in the outer wall cause a decrease in the strength of the ceramic honeycomb structure, and when a catalyst is supported on the outer wall, a catalyst liquid may be leaked from the cracks. Therefore, in a step of drying the coating material, in general, the generation of cracks in the coating material is monitored and a correction work (re-painting) is manually carried out.
To address this problem, Patent Document 3 discloses that sink marks (a phenomenon in which a substrate is exposed in a streaky or small hole shape in a coating material) and coating failure are suppressed in the production steps by employing a coating material for a honeycomb structure, in which D90/D10 of inorganic particles contained in the coating material is from 5 to 50, D10 is 50 μm or less, and D90 is 4 μm or more.
Further, Patent Document 4 discloses that drying cracks in a drying step are suppressed such as by using a ceramic powder aggregate having an average particle diameter of from 23 to 39 μm and a particle size distribution width of from 15 to 33.

Coating material, outer periphery-coated silicon carbide-based honeycomb structure, and method for coating outer periphery of silicon carbide-based honeycomb structure


A worm gear unit is fitted to an output shaft of a motor rotation unit. A bearing supports the output shaft rotatably and makes contact with the worm gear unit, which is applied with thrust load and moved to an other side. A yoke has a bottom portion surrounding the motor rotation unit on one side and having a shaft hole through which the output shaft passes. An axial hollow is formed in the bottom portion by press working to be coaxial with the shaft hole and to open on the one side to accommodate the bearing. A projected piece is formed simultaneously with the axial hollow in the press working. The projected piece is projected inward in a radial direction toward the axial hollow and located between the motor rotation unit and the bearing in the axial direction.

Conventionally, an electric actuator may have a configuration including a worm gear, which is equipped directly to an output shaft of a motor to reduce its size. In the configuration, in which a worm gear is directly equipped to an output shaft of a motor, a thrust load is transmitted from a worm wheel. Thus, the thrust load is directly transmitted to the output shaft. Therefore, the output shaft is intensely urged with the thrust load in the axial direction. Therefore, the output shaft and the worm gear may be moved with the thrust load in the axial direction. In consideration of the present state, an additional configuration is needed to regulate movement of the output shaft and the worm gear.
For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration in which a collar-shaped thrust support portion is equipped to a worm gear. The thrust support portion is greater than a thread of the worm gear in diameter. The thrust support portion is equipped with first and second thrust bearings on both sides in the axial direction to regulate movement of the output shaft and the worm gear. It is noted that, the configuration of the Patent Document 1 needs a special worm gear including the thrust support portion, in addition to the first and second thrust bearings. Accordingly, the configuration of Patent Document 1 may incur additional cost.
Alternatively, another configuration is conceivable in which, as shown in FIG. 4, a worm gear unit 101 is regulated from moving in the axial direction of to an other side. Specifically, the configuration of FIG. 4 enables a worm gear unit 101 to make contact with a bearing 103 of a motor 102 in the axial direction, thereby to regulate movement of the worm gear unit 101 toward the other side in the axial direction. It is noted that, movement of the worm gear unit 101 to the one side in the axial direction may be regulated with, for example, a regulating member 104. The regulating member 104 is a separate component from an electric actuator 100 and is fixed to the one side of the worm gear unit 101 in the axial direction.
It is noted that, in the configuration, the worm gear unit 101 makes contact with the bearing 103 to move the bearing 103 toward an armature coil 105. Consequently, a thrust clearance between the bearing 103 and the armature coil 105 may be eliminated to lock rotation of the motor 102. In consideration of this, it is further conceivable to provide a bearing retainer configuration, which retains the bearing 103 around the armature coil 105 in order not to enable the bearing 103 to move toward the armature coil 105. The bearing retainer configuration may be provided by, for example, crimping the yoke 106 and/or welding a separate component on the yoke 106. It is further noted that, the additional bearing retainer configuration may also incur additional cost.


A packaging laminate includes an impermeable outer layer, an inner layer having a gas transmission rate greater than that of the outer layer, and an adhesive layer therebetween. The adhesive layer includes an adhesive resin, a curing agent and a butylated phenolic antioxidant. Migration of the butylated phenolic antioxidant through the laminate inner layer exposes a product stored in contact therewith to an antioxidant thereby decreasing the rate of product oxidation.

Packaging materials for foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals and air sensitive components can prolong the shelf life of such products with the inclusion of an antioxidant. A packaging material containing an antioxidant also must satisfy various material properties illustratively including moistureproofness; rigidity; light shielding; having a printable surface; sealability; flatness; slip characteristics; physical properties such as break strength, tear strength, impact puncture strength, wear resistance, and heat seal strength. In order to satisfy these various packaging material requirements, it is common to resort to a laminated film composition. Unfortunately, antioxidant species which are compatible with conventional packaging material compositions tend to be volatile organic molecules. As a result, under conditions necessary to extrude a packaging material laminate, antioxidants incorporated therein exhibit considerable volatility. The volatility of an antioxidant during extrusion not only inefficient but also creates volatile organic component (VOC) emissions. Thus, there exists a need for a packaging film laminate incorporating an antioxidant which is produced through a process that lessens antioxidant volatility.


This invention relates to a composition for additives which can be employed in animal feeds, or as growth promoters, or as nutraceuticals, or as prebiotics, or as additives for the control and prophylaxis of pathogenic bacteria in the intestinal tract of animals or farmed animals. An immunomodulatory and promoter composition for controlling the population of undesirable bacteria of the intestinal microbiota, comprising the components indicated below:    (a) Fructooligosaccharides (FOS);    (b) Galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS);    (c) Mannan-oligosaccharides (MOS);    (d) 1,3 and 1,6 Beta-glucans.

The intestinal microbiota consists of a complex of several species of microorganisms, which live in the intestinal tract, mainly in the large intestine, reaching approximately 1.1013 cells, making it the largest reservoir of microorganisms in both animals and humans. Among the benefits that the microbiota can give to the host is the greater use of energy and nutrients from food, since they are not fully digested and absorbed during the passage through the gastric system, and may still contain many nutrients when they reach the intestinal tract. Fermentation, one of the major benefits of undigested carbohydrates fermented in the large intestine, is to promote the formation and subsequent absorption of short chain fatty acids. Among these short chain fatty acids, the most important are the butyric acid, which is metabolized by the intestinal colon epithelium, the propionic acid, which is metabolized by the liver and used as a substrate for production of glucose in the process of gluconeogenesis, and the acetic acid, which is absorbed from muscle tissue and other tissues, and used as an energy source. In addition, intestinal bacteria also synthesize vitamin B and vitamin K. Human and domestic animal bodies carry around trillions of microorganisms in their intestines and not all species have been identified, varying greatly from subject to subject. Most of the bacteria belong to the genera Bacteroides, Clostridium, Fusobacterium, Eubacterium, Ruminococcus, Peptococcus, Peptostreptococcus, and Bifidobacterium. Genres such as Escherichia and Lactobacillus are present to a lesser extent. In addition to bactéria, fungi are also present, which include Candida, Saccharomyces, Aspergillus, and Penicillium. The Archaea is another great microbial class present in the intestinal microbiota.
As already mentioned, the bacteria in the intestinal microbiota fulfill several useful and beneficial roles to hosts, whether humans or animals, which include, among them, the ability to metabolize non-digestible saccharides, regulate lipid metabolism, and biosynthesize vitamins. However, this benefit goes much further, since the existence of a beneficial microbial population works by stimulating cell growth, suppressing the growth of harmful microorganisms, training the immune system to respond only to pathogens, and promoting the defense against some diseases. Pathogens can cause undesirable pathologies, besides representing a trend to allergies caused by excessive reactions of the immune system, due to the predominance of C. difficile and S. aureus, and the lower predominance of beneficial microorganisms such as Bacteroides and Bifidobacterium.
Salmonella is a genus of bacteria commonly called salmonellae, which belong to the Enterohacteriaceae family. They are gram-negative, rod-shaped bacteria, mostly mobile (with periurachal flagella), non-sporulated, encapsulated, having fimbriae, most of which do not ferment lactose. Salmonellae are an extremely heterogeneous genus, composed of three species, Salmonella subterranea, Salmonella bongori and Salmonella enterica, the latter with about 2,610 serotypes.
The intestinal tract of man and animals is the main natural reservoir for this pathogen, with bird-origin food being important transmission routes.
The most important to human health are Salmonella typhi (Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi) that causes systemic infections, typhoid fever and endemic disease in many developing countries, and Salmonella Typhimurium (Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium) and Salmonella Enteritidis (Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis) is the most common cause of salmonellosis-type gastroenteritis, transmitted by food to humans.
Escherichia coli is a Gram-negative, facultative anaerobic bacillus, and do not produce spores. They have fimbriae or adhesins that allow their fixation, preventing them from being washed out through urine or diarrhea. They are part of the human microbiota and are mostly non-pathogenic. However, some strains are considered pathogenic for producing enterotoxins. They have lipopolysaccharide (LPS), like most Gram-negative bacteria, which disproportionately activate the immune system and excessive vasodilatation caused by the cytokines produced, which can lead to septic shock and death in cases of septicemia.
The number of people infected with E. coli has increased year by year. Excessive use of antibiotics, even at levels that promote growth in animal production for human consumption, has led to the emergence of large populations of pathogenic microorganisms, resistant to antibiotics.
Antibiotics are the oldest and most successful substance used for the manipulation of the intestinal microbiota. When used in sub-dosages, they eliminate only the most sensitive individuals from some unwanted species of bacteria in the intestinal microbiota. As these subjects are eliminated, a greater efficiency in the feed conversion is achieved. That is a higher animal weight production with the same amount of food. For this reason, they are known as growth-promoting antibiotics, or GPAs. The disadvantage of this application is that the use in sub-doses promotes microbial resistance to the active principle, selecting only resistant microorganisms, which can be a very serious public health aggravating factor. This is because the resistance characteristic given by the genes of these microorganisms can be transmitted from one microorganism to another, reaching even the population of the human microbiota through the consumption of contaminated food.
In 2006, the European Union began to ban the use of antibiotic growth promoters used in animal feed. The United States also decided to ban the use of antibiotic growth promoters in animal feed from January 2017.
To date, much of the replacement of growth-promoting antibiotics has been made by short-chain organic acids, especially butyric acid. In addition to them, essential oils, tannins, and other bactericidal substances have also been used. However, they can produce side effects in animals, such as chronic headaches and heartburn. In addition, unique bactericidal substances, such as those mentioned, have a great chance of going through the same process of selection of "resistant" subjects, as is happens with antibiotics. There are already signs of adaptation of certain species and serotypes of Salmonella and E. coli, which are also becoming resistant to organic acids, showing that the replacement of growth-promoting antibiotics requires more complex products that attack harmful bacteria on several fronts and through different modes of action, to prevent them from becoming resistant to the product.
Among the several possible fronts for attacking undesirable bacteria, such as Salmonella and E. coli, are the prebiotics agglutination bacteria, like MOS (Mannan-Oligosaccharides), immune modulators such as Beta-glucans and prebiotics that promote competitive exclusion, such as that caused by the bifidogenic effect of prebiotics such as FOS (Fructooligosaccharides) and GOS (Galacto-oligosaccharides), among others. The best thing would be to ally these 3 fronts of attack in one single product.
Synergy between these compounds, MOS, Beta-glucans, FOS and GOS (among other prebiotics that has a bifidogenic effect) contribute to a greater diversity and greater predominance of populations of beneficial bacteria in the intestinal microbiota, which hinders the proliferation of pathogens. This beneficial population diversity operates on 3 major fronts, i.e., through 3 different mechanisms of action. First, as a direct antagonism or competitive exclusion, by which beneficial or probiotic bacteria will produce bioactive peptides, as well as bacteriocins with antimicrobial activity. Through these defense mechanisms, the beneficial bacteria gain space to expand their populations, to the detriment of the spaces occupied by the undesirable bacteria. Prebiotics like FOS and GOS are saccharides fermentable only by certain beneficial bacteria. Due to the use of these sugars selectively, beneficial bacteria produce organic acids, which decrease intestinal pH, increase the epithelial barrier and reduce the possibility of pathogen adhesion to it. To prove this effect, studies with Lactobacillus acidophilus and salivarium show their activity against the bacteria of the genera Listeria and Salmonella (Preidis et al, 2011). Second, with the immunomodulatory action, which is promoted by both the beneficial bacteria and the Beta-glucans, by activating the innate and adaptive immune system. Beta-glucans stimulate the production of macrophages and their phagocytosis activity, including undesirable bacteria that adhere to the intestinal walls or invade the lymphatic system. In addition, we have the production of short chain fatty acids, which are products of the metabolism of beneficial bacteria, which send signals to the brain to "feed" the immune system. Among these fatty acids, butyric acid is the main acid metabolized by the intestinal epithelium, which acts by stimulating the process of apoptosis and the production of protective mucus that is very important to maintain the integrity of the intestinal walls. And third, with the mechanism of bacteria agglutination by the MOS. Manoses contained in MOS permanently adhere to the adhesins of type 1 fimbriae of bacteria of the genera Salmonella and E. coli, preventing them from attaching to the intestinal walls and causing enteritis. This is a mechanism of physical attraction that, depending on the quality of the MOS, can agglutinate with a reasonable intensity most of the varieties and serotypes of these undesirable bacteria.
The agglutinating effect of bacteria harboring type 1 fimbriae promoted by MOS can be considered a physical attack against these bacteria. In practice, the action of MOS can be understood as that of a physical trap to capture these bacteria in the digestive tract. Therefore, they are prevented from attaching to the walls of the intestine and causing enteritis, of which scarring calluses reduce the nutrient absorption capacity of the intestine.
The immunomodulatory effect of beta-glucans can be considered a physiological attack of the organism against these harmful bacteria. It is manifested in the form of faster healing of enteritis produced on the walls of the intestine by these bacteria, allowing a quick overlay of these walls by the protective mucus.
The competitive exclusion produced by prebiotics having a bifidogenic effect, as FOS and GOS, can be considered a chemical and environmental attack against undesirable bacteria, especially Salmonella, and E. coli, Clostridium and others. It occurs by multiplying the populations of desirable bacteria, mainly of the genera Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, at the end of the intestinal tract. The bacteria of these genera are acidogenic, so causing an increase in the acidity of the intestinal tract, which is intolerable for undesirable bacteria that inhabit this region of the digestive tract, especially Salmonella and E. coli. In addition, these beneficial bacteria produce bacteriocins and other bioactive peptides, which act as natural antibiotics.
Therefore, the urgent replacement of animal feed antibiotics with prophylactic additives of pathogens in the human and animal microbiota indicates that one of the possibilities is the use of prebiotics in animal feed.
Prebiotics are defined as non-digestible food ingredients that benefit health as they stimulate the growth or activity of beneficial bacteria in our colon or intestinal tract.
Fructooligosaccharides (FOS) and galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS) are the most extensively studied prebiotics and have a proven bifidogenic effect.
Fructooligosaccharides or FOS are prebiotics which is also called oligofructose or oligofrutans, since they are the fructose oligosaccharides that can be used as sweeteners. They emerged in the 1980s as a response to consumers' tendency to employ low-calorie sweeteners. Commercially produced Fructooligosaccharides (FOS) are obtained by the extraction and hydrolysis processes of the inulin molecule present in many plants and by the enzymatic reaction of transfructosylation of the sucrose molecule. Inulin is a fructose polymer, or polyfructose, with a degree of polymerization of from 10 to 60. Inulin can also be hydrolyzed into smaller molecules by chemical and enzymatic methods, generating blends of oligosaccharides with the general structure Glucose-Fructose or Gli-Frun (abbreviation GFn) and Frum (Fm), with n ranging from 2 to 9 and IV ranging from 2 to 10. This process occurs naturally in nature, so these oligosaccharides can also be found in many vegetables such as artichoke, chicory, and agave. The compositions of the commercial products may comprise kestose (GF2), nistose (GF3), fructofuranosyl-nistose (GF3), inulobiose (F2), inulotriose (F3) and inulotetraose (F4). The second type of FOS is obtained by transfructosylation by p-fructofuranosity (invertase) and fructosyltransferase enzymes present in many microorganisms, such as Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus sp., Aureobasidium sp. This process generates a mixture of the general formula GFn, with n ranging from 1 to 5. All these isomers and oligomers are called FOS.
In vitro propagation studies show that the higher the concentration of short-chain polymers in FOS, i.e., the smaller n in the GFn general formula, the greater the bifidogenic effect of FOS. This means that FOS composed of short-chain polymer chains, such as GF2, GF3, and GF4, cause a larger population growth of bacteria of the genus Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria.
Because their molecular conformation contains glycosidic linkages, fructooligosaccharides resist hydrolysis by enzymes of the gastrointestinal system and gastric juice and bile salts. In the colon, they are fermented by anaerobic bacteria. They represent low-calorie food and still contribute to the dietary fiber fraction.
FOS and inulin are present in many plants and foods such as blue agave, banana, onion, chicory, garlic, asparagus, yacon, honey, leeks, as well as grains and cereals such as wheat and barley. The highest concentrations of FOS are found in chicory, artichoke, yacon, and blue agave.
In Japan, since 1990, FOS has been recognized as an important prebiotic, capable of increasing the health of the gastrointestinal tract and has been proposed as a supplement for the treatment of fungal infections.
Many studies show that FOS and inulin promote increased absorption of calcium, and other minerals such as magnesium in the small intestine. This occurs due to the fermentation of these sugars by the microbiota, resulting in a lower pH or acid. As they are the most soluble minerals in acid pH, they allow a better use by the organism, so they can be better assimilated to enter the bloodstream.
Galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS) are known as oligogalactosylactose, oligogalactose, lactulose, oligolactose or transgalacto-oligosaccharides (TOS), and belong to the class of bifidogenic prebiotics as well. The composition of the galacto-oligosaccharide (GOS) fractions varies according to the chain length and type of bonds, between the monomer units. In general, they are produced by the enzymatic conversion of lactose, a component of bovine milk, by the enzyme β-galactosidase. But they can also be produced by chemical isomerization of lactose, as is the case of lactulose and are naturally present in soybeans.
GOS generally comprises a chain of galactose units resulting from transgalactosylation reactions, with a terminal glucose unit. However, the degree of GOS polymerization may vary markedly, ranging from 2 to 9 monomer units depending on the type of β-galactosidase enzyme used. The GOS molecules present in soybean differ from the GOS produced enzymatically because they are alpha-galacto-oligosaccharides. Among them are raffinose, stachyose, verbascose, and melibiose. They comprise galactose molecules attached to the sucrose molecules by a-1,6-type bonds. However, in the same way as the other class, they are also resistant to the enzymes of the gastrointestinal system and are fermented by the intestinal bacteria.
For birds and fish, i.e., for non-mammals, lactose itself is considered a prebiotic with bifidogenic effect and is covered by the designation GOS. The reason is that non-mammals do not produce lactase, which is the enzyme capable of digesting lactose, which allows it to reach intact the large intestine and be fermented by the bacteria of the genus Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria. The "prebiotic" effect of lactose is explained by the fact that bacteria of the genus Salmonella do not metabolize lactose, whereas the genus Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria do, indirectly provoking the 3 mechanisms of action incited by them, as already mentioned.
Also due to the glycosidic bonds present in the GOS, they are widely resistant to hydrolysis by saliva and enzymes of the digestive tract or intestine, therefore reaching almost the end of the large intestine, practically intact. The human intestine contains about 300 to 500 different bacterial species types, which can be divided into beneficial, such as Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus, and harmful, such as Clostridium, Salmonella, and Escherichia coli, for example. Galacto-oligosaccharides or GOS, because they are prebiotics defined as nondigestible food ingredients that benefit the host bacteria, stimulate their growth and activities in the colon. One of the ways to aid health is that they produce organic acids through their fermentations. In short, they inhibit the growth of harmful bacteria, stimulate immune functions and the absorption of essential nutrients and the synthesis of certain vitamins.
Studies indicate that GOS supports much to improve the absorption of Calcium in the intestinal tract of humans and animals, and there are indications of the possibility of improving the absorption of Magnesium.
Interest in the use of mannan-oligosaccharides (MOS) to improve gastrointestinal health began in the 1980s. Scientists at the time found that the MOS mannose inhibited infections caused by Salmonella. Studies have shown that Salmonella can bind to mannose by projections of type 1 fimbriae, therefore reducing the risks of pathogenic colonization in the intestinal tract. Different types of mannose sugars interact differently with type 1 fimbriae. The form present on the walls of Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells (branched maims alpha-1,3 and alpha-1,6) are effective in the pathogenic connections. When they bind to mannose, the bacteria are physically and definitively captured by the MOS-containing particles and loaded out of the digestive tract along with the fecal bolus. The way of measuring the efficiency of each MOS source is by the amplitude and intensity of agglutination, for the several species and serotypes of Salmonellae and E. coli.
MOS is particularly important for animals, since intestine health allows a better absorption of the feed components. For many decades, antibiotics have been added to the composition of animal feeds in non-therapeutic prophylactic levels to prevent disease, to improve the feed conversion rate of feeds and to accelerate growth, therefore increasing the profitability of animal farmers. Today, there is a worldwide trend that desires to prevent this management, because it greatly increases the number of bacteria resistant to antibiotics, which are transmitted and can cause serious risks for humans. This fact has fueled interest in the development of functional foods, with MOS being among the main prebiotics capable of replacing antibiotics in animal feeds. Studies have shown that MOS impairs bacterial fixation in the intestinal wall of chickens, pigs and laying hens, and the reduction in the prevalence and concentration of several types of Salmonella (causing zoonosis in animals whose symptoms are diarrhea) as well as Escherichia coli (E. coli), Clostridium, among others. Researchers also found that MOS provokes increased mucus production by protecting intestinal microvilli in animals.
β-glucans comprise a group of β-D-glucose polysaccharides that occur naturally in the walls of cereal, yeast, bacterial and fungal cells, exhibiting different physicochemical properties depending on their source.
Typically, β-glucans have a linear structure with 1,3 β-glycosidic type bonds, ranging in their molecular weights, solubility, viscosity, branching, gelling properties, therefore causing several effects on animal physiology.
Several studies report the potential health effects of β-glucans. Oat fibers containing β-glucans, when ingested daily by at least 3 g, can lower levels of saturated fats in the blood and reduce the risk of heart disease. Other studies indicate that cereals containing β-glucans, such as oats can also act as immunomodulators, and act as food/ingredients that can lower cholesterol. β-glucans can be used as nutraceuticals, texturizing agents in cosmetics, supplements of soluble fibers, among others.
β-glucans represent arrangements on the six sides of the D-glucose rings connected linearly at each position carbon, varying from the source, although most commonly β-glucans include glycosidic bonds of type 1,3 in their structure. Although theoretically β-glucans are D-glucose polysaccharides linked by β-type glycosidic bonds, not all β-D-glucose polysaccharides are categorized as β-glucans. For example, cellulose is not a typical β-glucan because it is insoluble and does not exhibit the same physical and chemical properties of other cereal or oat β-glucans. β-glucans can present ramifications composed by proteins like the case of Polysaccharide-K.
Beta-glucans and mannans are part of the cell wall structure of yeast and fungi. For the industrial extraction of these elements and production of probiotics, the most common and desirable are those extracted from yeasts of the genera Saccharomyces and Candida.
JPS 61199752 document uses a culture of polished rice inoculated with Atereobasidium strains to obtain food enriched with Fructooligosaccharides and beta-1,3-1,6-glucans.
US 2002061345 document relates to a process for obtaining a poultry feed additive for the prevention of gastric disorders or intestinal diseases comprising filtration of beer yeast raw material containing oligosaccharides and polysaccharides and may also contain beta-glucans.
JPH 10215790 document of 1997 teaches the use of oligosaccharides as MOS, FOS, GOS; and acidifying agents such as propionic acid, formic acid, and citric acid, as well as bacteria producing lactic acid, butyrate, and Bifidobacteria, in feed undergoing heat treatment.
JPH 10276740 document of 1997 teaches the preparation of food or beverage containing beta-1,3-1,6-glucans, obtained from an Aureobasidium solution containing Fructooligosaccharides.
WO 0008948 document relates to a carbohydrate blend for dietary or pharmaceutical foods having component (A) in 90% of the blend, which may comprise oligosaccharides having 2 to 6 units or monosaccharides; and component (B), composed of polysaccharides containing more than 7 units, representing 10% of the total blend, 80 to 100% of (A) being GOS, and 80 to 100% of the carbohydrate (B) being FOS.
WO 2012021783 and WO 2013142792 documents address the dry stabilized composition of biological material containing carbohydrates and proteins comprising hydrolyzed proteins, the carbohydrates being polysaccharides, oligosaccharides, or disaccharides and the like.
US 2012121621 document relates to synergistic compositions comprising prebiotic components selected from the fructose polymers GFn and Fm, either containing a terminal group glucose (G), or without a terminal glucose group, and one or more components of a group of prebiotics consisting of modified starch and partial hydrolysates thereof, partially hydrolyzed inulin, natural oligofructoses, Fructooligosaccharides (FOS), lactulose, galactomannan and suitable partial hydrolysates thereof, indigestible polydextrose, acemannan, several gums, nondigestible dextrin and partial hydrolysates thereof, trans-galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS), xylo-oligosaccharides (XOS), beta-glucan and partial hydrolysates thereof, together, if desired, with phytosterol/phytoestanol components and their suitable esters and, if desired, other plant extracts, mineral components, vitamins and additives.
Many products of the prior art are presented as compositions, which relate to the use of several prebiotics in an alternative manner. For example, a specific composition may contain FOS or GOS or MOS. And not cumulatively, as for example, a composition containing FOS and GOS and MOS.
Many products of the prior art are presented as compositions which represent product with consequent characterizations of the type of process of obtaining the prebiotic, with type of raw material (sugar cane, or maize, or agave, or rice), type of yeast and enzymes employed, different, as well as process conditions like temperature, fermentation time, additives employed etc., also different from each other.
Generic prebiotic terms, such as FOS, MOS, GOS etc., hide complexities in their compositions, and are rarely pure. And even pure, several polymers carry the generic name of the group to which they belong, as is the case of lactulose and of the lactose itself, which are called by the man of the art as being GOS. Apart from this, the man of the art calls FOS a product as if it was a simple compound and not a complex mixture of polymers, and still of different origins, and make comparisons of its performances against the microorganisms in general, not considering that the MOS by example, has better action on bacteria with fimbria type 1, beta-glucans serve to stimulate phagocytosis, and FOS and GOS have bifidogenic effects. The effects of FOS, MOS, GOS, and Beta-glucans cannot be compared linearly, neither individually nor with each other.
Apart from this, FOS often comprises in its MOS formulation, due to its own process of obtaining (mannan-oligosaccharides originating from the cell walls of the yeast used to obtain the FOS).
The most limiting factor for the industry is the price of the prebiotic to be used, which makes it impossible to use as a replacement for antibiotics and organic acids, which are much cheaper, and present good efficiency, but cause the development of resistance by bacteria. In addition, to side effects for animals, such as chronic headaches and heartburn, and humans as antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Immunomodulatory and growth promoting and controlling composition of intestinal microbiota undesirable bacteria and its use


A pump impeller for use in industrial pumps of the centrifugal type is disclosed in which the vanes of the pump impeller are particularly configured to maintain pumping efficiency as the vane wears over continuous use or operation of the pump. The impeller vane is configured to continuously present an aggressive cutting surface at the leading edge of the vane even though the vane may become degraded and worn through continuous use.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to centrifugal pumps, particularly of the chopper type, and specifically relates to an impeller vane configuration particularly suited for use in a chopper pump.
2. Description of Related Art
Various industries involve or require the processing of solid waste material into a form that can be disposed of in a suitable manner. Certain solid wastes containing or comprising, for example, plastics, metals, animal byproducts and other hard or stringy materials present a particular challenge to processing that material into a disposable form. Therefore, centrifugal pumps of the type known as chopper pumps are typically employed in processing such solid waste material into a reduced size that can be disposed of or processed further as needed.
Impellers used in chopper pumps are characterized by having vanes that are structured with a cutting edge that is positioned to interact with one or more cutting members, generally termed cutter bars or anvils, located at or near the intake of the pump. The interaction of the cutting edge of the impeller vanes and the cutter bar, or anvil, causes cutting and chopping of the solid materials in the influent slurry, thereby reducing the size of the solids. The solids are further directed toward the vanes of the impeller from where the material is expelled out of the pump through a pump outlet.
A minute space exists between the cutting edge of the impeller vanes and the cutter bar which defines the area of interaction where the cutting and chopping of solids occurs. With continued operation of the chopper pump, the solids begin to wear down the cutting edge of the impeller and the minute space between the impeller vanes and the cutter bar widens. Action must then be taken to reduce the space again to improve the cutting action on the solids.
In conventionally known impellers used in chopper pumps, the impeller vanes are configured with a radially extending leading edge that, in radial (i.e., longitudinal) cross section, is curved at its outward extremity. The leading edge of the vane defines the cutting edge of the vane. Examples of such prior art impellers are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,842,479 to Dorsch and U.S. Pat. No. 5,460,483 to Dorsch. The curvature of the leading edge in such prior art impeller vanes changes as the cutting edge of the impeller vanes wears down. That is, the angle of the cutting edge becomes less aggressive rendering the cutting edge less effective in providing a cutting action on the solids.
Further, prior art impeller vanes have a body portion which is oriented parallel to the rotational axis of the impeller. As such, the vanes are less efficient in directing flow radially outwardly for expulsion of fluid and solids from the pump.
Thus, it would be advantageous in the art to provide a vane configuration for an impeller used in centrifugal pumps, and especially chopper pumps, which is structured with a cutting edge that does not lose its cutting efficacy as the impeller wears down, and one which is configured to improve fluid flow through the impeller.

Impeller vane configuration for a centrifugal pump


A self-propelling harvester thresher has a threshing unit, a hurdle shaking unit located after the threshing unit, a crankshaft, a plurality of transporting prongs which are drivingly controlled by the crankshaft and arranged above the hurdle shaking unit, a rake associated with the transporting prongs and including a plurality of individual passively turnable fingers arranged at a distance from one another so that the transporting prongs pass during an operation between the fingers, and a structure for drivingly positively controlling a turning movement of the fingers.

The present invention relates to a self-propelling harvester thresher with hurdle shakers located after a threshing device, and with transporting prongs which are drivingly controlled from a crankshaft and arranged above the hurdle shakers. A stationarily arranged turnable rake is associated with a transporting prongs and composed of a plurality of individual fingers which are spaced from one another and are individually passively turnable. The transporting prongs pass through intermediate spaces between the fingers during the operation.
Such harvester thresher is disclosed for example in the German patent document DE-OS 24 26 731. As shown in particular in FIG. 1 and disclosed in the associated specification text, a rake which is composed of a plurality of parallel fingers is supported by a spring around a stationary axle, which must guide the harvested product stream supplied from the threshing mechanism in direction of the hurdle shaker. The transporting prongs located above the hurdle shaker must loosen the product mat and support the transporting action of the hurdle shaker. The rake is relatively short to provide a sufficient high space for passage of the harvested product between the downstream end of the rake and the hurdle shaker. As a result, the transporting prongs pass through the rake in the first phase of their transporting stroke. Such an arrangement has the danger that the transporting prongs during their return stroke can displace the harvested product and press it behind the rake. Over a long time, an accumulation is formed and prevents a required turning movement of the rake. A stoppage of the harvester thresher and the expensive manual elimination of the accumulated product is a result of such an operation.

Self-propelling harvester thresher with hurdle shaker and transporting prongs above the latter


In a maintenance method of an inkjet printer comprising an air discharge device which discharges air accumulated in ink supply paths with pressurized air and an ink vacuum device which vacuums ink from an inkjet head, the pressurized air is in a high pressure mode when the air discharge device is used. The pressurized air is in a low pressure mode when the ink vacuum device is used. The driving time and the rotational speed of a drive motor which drives an air pump are controlled according to the capability and the ambient temperature of the air pump which generates the pressurized air.

(1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an inkjet printer and a maintenance method thereof. It specially relates to a technique of discharging air accumulated in supplying paths of ink and to a cleaning technique of a printing head.
(2) Background Art
Various inkjet printers which can print texts and images with plural colors of ink supplied from ink cartridges of plural colors have been used.
In order to give positive pressure to ink, some types of ink cartridges, wherein ink is supplied through tubes, are constituted to reserve ink in bags made of thin films in ink reservoirs, to have air chambers outside of the bags and to supply pressurized air into the air chambers.
An air supply system which generates this pressurized air has an air pump, a drive motor which drives the air pump, an air tube extending from the air pump, plural branched-paths branched from the air tube to plural ink cartridges and a pressure regulator, a relief valve or an orifice connected to the air tube in the vicinity of the air pump for pressure adjustment.
For example, Sato et al (Japanese Patent No. 2703647) discloses an inkjet printer comprising such an air supply system described as above constituted with a relief valve for pressure adjustment an air temperature sensor which detects air temperature and a pressure sensor which detects pressure of pressurized air in an air tube. It discloses an art to correct driving voltage for driving a pump driving motor according to air temperature detected by the air temperature sensor when pressurized air is to be generated before or after an usage of the printer.
Kumagai (Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. 10-138506) discloses an inkjet recording apparatus comprising an air supply system described as above having a pressure regulator and changeover valves inserted in branched-paths disposed therein.
These kinds of air supply systems have been used to vacuum ink from nozzles to clean nozzles of printing heads. In other words, these kinds of air supply systems have been used to facilitate ink vacuum by increasing pressure on ink when au ink vacuum from nozzles is conducted.
However, if the pressure on ink applied with these kinds of air supply systems is too high when an ink vacuum from nozzles of an inkjet printer is conducted, ink leaks unnecessarily. If the pressure is too low, on the other hand, ink vacuum cannot be sufficiently conducted.
These air supply systems described above can be also used to discharge air accumulated in ink supply paths. Accumulated air can be discharged by opening some parts of the ink supply paths temporary while the ink supply paths are pressurized by the air supply system.
However, if the pressure on the ink supply paths applied by the air supply system is not enough to discharge air accumulated in the ink supply paths, air cannot be discharged sufficiently. Moreover, it takes longer to discharge air. On the other hand, if the pressure of pressurized air is too high, ink leaks unnecessarily from an air vent, and noise generated by the air supply system becomes louder.
Generally, appropriate air pressure applied to vacuum ink is mainly to prevent a destruction of a meniscus when a vacuum cap is removed from a head, and is lower than appropriate air pressure for an air discharge from ink supply paths. If air pressure generated by an air supply system is set appropriately for an ink vacuum, the air pressure is not enough for an air discharge and air cannot be discharged sufficiently. Contrary, if air pressure generated by an air supply system is set appropriately for an air discharge, the air pressure becomes so high that it causes an unnecessary ink leakage when ink is vacuumed.
Moreover, the pressure of pressurized air generated by the air supply system and flow rate thereof, vary depending on environmental temperature and variations in characteristics of air pumps constituting the air supply systems. These variations sometimes cause problems described above when an ink vacuum and an air discharge from ink supply paths are conducted.
This invention was made in consideration of above described issues, and one of its purposes is to provide an inkjet printer wherein unnecessary ink leakage does not occur when an ink vacuum from nozzles of a printing head and a discharge of air accumulated in ink supply paths are conducted, wherein an ink vacuum and an air discharge can be sufficiently conducted, and wherein noise generated by an air supply system is reduced, and to provide a maintenance method of such inkjet printer.

Inkjet printer and maintenance method thereof


Capped bottles filled with a composition are loaded into pack carriers therefor in apparatus in which the bottles are conveyed in a continuous series in two spaced apart lines to respective metering starwheels, each with an associated application starwheel, and each starwheel with an associated retentive curved guide means along an arc thereof, at a loading zone while a continuous series of the pack carriers or clips are advanced on a conveyor between the bottle lines to the loading zone. At the loading zone the respective metering starwheels each move the bottles consecutively past the guide means to the associated application starwheel and the application starwheels are mutually spaced sufficiently close on either side of each pack carrier passing in between them to force successive bottles simultaneously from each line into the respective back to back pockets. The arms of the application starwheels during rotation act upon the pair of bottles just inserted to advance the pack carrier on a flat surface and index the pack carrier for the insertion of each successive back to back pair of bottles and then to move the loaded pack carrier to a discharge point or to another conveyor for further handling. The bottles during transport by the starwheels are carried thereby, the bottle rims just below the caps or other upper enlargements of the bottles resting on the upper edges of the starwheels. The apparatus and method are capable of loading up to 1000 bottles per minute, depending on bottle size.

Various pack carriers are known for the packaging and transport of items such as bottles and cans of beverages like soft drinks and beer, or small electric light bulbs like those used on Christmas trees. These pack carriers usually encircle the neck of the item and are made of somewhat flexible plastic material or cardboard or other paper product. And it is believed that these pack carriers are filled or loaded manually, or the pack carrier is formed or shrunk around the item.
A novel type of pack carrier particularly adapted for storing and transporting a plurality of individual serving size, or larger, containers of, e.g., dietary formulations or nutritional supplements, or other liquid products, is described in to be pending U.S. Pat. No. 5,191,975. This pack carrier is characterized by having a longitudinal central section with a plurality of laterally extending, back to back, means for gripping and resiliently holding containers of uniform size and shape, typically four to eight containers per pack carrier. The means for gripping each container consists of a pair of opposed gripping members, each pair forming an opening for receiving and retaining a container. Such pack carriers are preferably formed of a durable polymeric composition so as to be reliable, durable and/or sterilizable and reusable. Suitable materials of construction for the pack carriers include clear polyethylene terephthalate glycol copolymer, high impact polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride and polyethylene terephthalate or other polymeric materials that are durable and suitable for molding the pack carrier in a single piece. The pack carriers may also be formed of a heavy gauge wire or light rod that is springy in character, usually of a ferrous metal. Such pack carriers are taught in U.S. Pat. Nos. 331,194, 331,698, 331,699 and 332,401. An assembly of such a pack carrier and a plurality of containers is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 332,395.
It is desired to provide a suitable apparatus and method for high speed assembly of capped containers, filled with a liquid composition, into pack carriers with characteristics like or similar to those of the pack carriers described in the pending patent application and the various design patents. So far as is known, no such apparatus and method exist.

Apparatus and method for high speed assembly of bottles into pack carriers


The segments of the vanes of a stator and the blades of a rotor for a gas turbine engine are dampened by utilizing braided wire cable that is affixed to adjacent segments such that each of the wire strands forming the cable is allowed to move relative to each other to dissipate the vibratory energy inflicted on the stator or rotor. The ends of the cable are welded or heated and then tapered to facilitate fitting into a sleeve or collar which in turn is affixed to the adjacent segments by braze, weld or the like.

As is well known in the gas turbine technology, the stators for the compressors, the compressor rotors, the stator for the turbine rotors and the turbine rotors are all subjected to extreme vibrations when the engine is operated and particularly when in gas turbine engines powering aircraft. It is also well known that there has been and continues to be a great emphasis of solving the vibration problems that are associated with gas turbine engines. While dampers are frequently employed to dissipate the vibratory energy, these damper take on many different configurations, sizes and shapes of many different materials. This patent application addresses the vibration problems of the stator and the rotor of gas turbine engines when these devices are fabricated as segments, either in segments consisting of single vanes or blades or segments consisting of multiple vanes or blades.
It is also well known that commercially available braided wire has heretofore been utilized to dampen vibrations in devices utilized for securing pipes, tubes, rods and the like mounted on gas turbine engine cases. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,950,970 granted to myself and McGhee on Sep. 14, 1999 entitled CABLE CLAMP DAMPER teaches the use of braided wire to clamp pipes to the casing of an aircraft gas turbine engine and the damping is a result of the individual strands of the braided wire rubbing against each other to dissipate the energy of the vibrations. It is noted that in these teachings the problem being addressed is the attachment of the tubes or pipes or the like to a case that is subjected to extreme vibrations. This invention begins where those teachings leave off. The problem being solved by this invention is dissipating the energy of the vibrations that are induced in a stationary stator or a rotary rotor where the hardware is made in segments. In other words, the braided wire of this invention is not utilized to hold the segments in place inasmuch as there are other means that perform this function. But rather, the concept of this invention addresses the problem of solving the problem associated with the extreme vibratory motion of the individual segments of a segmented vane or a segmented blade configuration of the stator or rotor of a gas turbine engine.

Braided wire damper for segmented stator/rotor and method


A catheter system suitable for electrophysiology mapping and radiofrequency ablation of cardiac tissue comprises a catheter shaft having a distal end, a proximal handle, and at least a lumen extending therebetween, wherein a distal section of the shaft is either a fixed curve type or a deflectable type; and safety means being provided to maintain the integrity of the catheter by holding the long tip electrode in place, wherein the safety means is a long tip electrode with an extended flexible stem having at least one open groove or slot on the stem.

Symptoms of abnormal heart rhythms are generally referred to as cardiac arrhythmias, with an abnormally rapid rhythm being referred to as a tachycardia. The present invention is concerned with the treatment of tachycardias which are frequently caused by the presence of an "arrhythmogenic region" or "accessory atrioventricular pathway" close to the inner surface of the chambers of a heart. The heart includes a number of normal pathways for the propagation of electrical signals from the upper to the lower chamber of the heart, which are necessary for performing normal function. The presence of arrhythmogenic region or accessory pathways can bypass or short circuit the normal pathways, potentially resulting in very rapid heart contractions, referred to here as tachycardias.
Cardiac mapping is used to locate aberrant electrical pathways and currents emanating within the heart. The aberrant pathways cause the heart muscle contractions to take on abnormal and life threatening dysrhythmias. Intracardiac mapping requires careful positioning of a plurality of catheters of multiple electrodes within the heart. For example, Webster, Jr. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,960,134 shows the general use of a catheter. It is important for a catheter to move into and out of the heart chamber freely without any obstruction or potential complications of components disengagement from the catheter shaft.
Treatment of tachycardias may be accomplished by a variety of approaches, including drugs, surgery, implantable pacemakers/defibrillators, and catheter ablation. While drugs may be the treatment of choice for many patients, they only mask the symptoms and do not cure the underlying cause. Implantable devices only correct the arrhythmia after it occurs. Surgical and catheter-based treatments, in contrast, will actually cure the problem, usually by ablating the abnormal arrhythmogenic tissue or accessory pathway responsible for the tachycardia. It is important for a clinician to be able to accurately steer the catheter to the region for ablation. Once at the region, it is important for a catheter to intimately contact the tissue site to effectively control the emission of energy to ablate the tissue within the heart.
Regardless of the type of mapping means or ablation means used, the clinician is called upon to remotely move, rotate, push, pull, and manipulate the catheters in various ways. First, a catheter is inserted into a major vein or artery, usually in the neck or groin area. It is then guided into the chambers of the heart by appropriate manipulation through the vein or artery. The distal section of a catheter must be maneuverable by a user from the proximal end of the catheter, so that the electrodes at the distal section can be positioned against the tissue at the desired location to assure that all aberrant electrical pathways are mapped and later ablated.
Development of prior catheters has focused upon the requirements of electrical continuity and interference problems. However, the mechanical and safety considerations have been overlooked. A conducting wire is soldered to the long tip electrode or the band electrode. The electrode with a conducting wire is thereafter placed and secured onto the catheter shaft, mostly by adhesives. The adhering force between a long tip electrode and the catheter shaft is proportional to the contact surface area. It has been reported that the long tip electrode might sometimes disengage from the distal section of the catheter shaft.
The frequency of the tip electrode disengagement becomes more often when a longer electrode is used for atrial flutter applications. In an atrial flutter procedure, a long tip electrode of 8 mm length or longer is generally required. In this case, the contact area for gluing between the stem of the electrode and the inner surface of the catheter shaft is not proportionally increased. The electrode is generally prone to separating from its main catheter shaft body because of inadequate contact area and subsequently gluing strength. The long tip electrode might inadvertently be separated from the catheter shaft and left behind in a patient's heart or in a circulation system. The prior development has overlooked the important need to provide a safe, intact catheter system having safety means in addition to the gluing force. It is the objective of this invention to provide the needed safety means for the electrophysiology cardiovascular catheter system having a long tip electrode.

Catheter system having closely spaced distal bipolar electrodes


A method of fast dynamic channel allocation call admission control for radio link addition includes a pre-code allocation process, a signal-independent code allocation process, and a post-code allocation process. The pre-code allocation process receives and processes a request message, retrieves the new cell identification from the message, and retrieves the old cell identification and system information from a centralized database. The code allocation process checks the availability of a code set in the new cell, generates timeslot sequences for the available timeslots, and assigns a code set to the available timeslots in a timeslot sequence, wherein a successful assignment is a solution. The interference signal code power (ISCP) is calculated for each solution and the solution having the lowest weighted ISCP is selected as an optimal solution. The post-code allocation process stores the new radio link information in the database and creates a response message with new allocation information.

In wireless communication systems, RRM is generally responsible for utilizing the air interface resources. RRM is used to guarantee quality of service (QoS), to provide efficient use of the radio resources, and to increase system capacity. RRM consists of admission control, handover, power control, and congestion control functionalities. Admission control can be divided into user admission control and call admission control (CAC). User admission control accepts or rejects the radio resource control (RRC) connection requested by a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU). Call admission control accepts or rejects a request to establish or modify a radio access bearer (RAB) in the radio access network (RAN). Call admission control is located in the controlling radio network controller (C-RNC).
There are two dynamic channel allocation (DCA) functions, slow DCA and fast DCA (S-DCA, F-DCA). The S-DCA allocates the radio resources to cells while the F-DCA allocates the radio resources to bearer service. The F-DCA call admission control functions are responsible for efficiently allocating or changing the allocations of physical resources. When a request for physical resources is received, the call admission control will accept or reject the request based on the availability of physical resources and interference level in the cell. The request can be accepted only if both uplink and downlink call admission control admit it. Otherwise, the request is rejected.
Handover is used to switch a radio link from one cell to another without interruption of the call in order to maintain the required QoS. The radio link addition procedure is used to establish physical resources for a new radio link in a Node B for which a WTRU already has a communication context when a handover is taking place.
In order to guarantee the QoS and minimize the interference, a certain F-DCA call admission control algorithm is currently implemented. But the previous implementation of the F-DCA call admission control algorithm has several limitations. One limitation is that it is difficult to be reused by other RRM functions since the main interface function is large, and the inputs to the code allocation function (which forms the core function of the F-DCA call admission control algorithm), are dependent on the signal message. A second limitation is that the past implementation of the F-DCA CAC algorithm is generally only suitable for real time (RT) service.
It is desirable to provide an optimized implementation of the F-DCA CAC algorithm for radio link addition which is suitable for real time (RT) service and non-real time (NRT) service, and which overcomes the disadvantages of the known algorithms.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method of fast dynamic channel allocation call admission control for radio link addition in radio resource management


A backflow preventer (1) having a mounting housing (2) that is inserted into a fluid conduit (3) is provide and includes at least one sealing ring (4) which is supported within an annular groove (5) located on the outer circumference of the mounting housing (2) and has a sealing effect between the mounting housing (2) and the fluid conduit (3). The backflow preventer provides that the sealing ring (4) can be moved counter to a restoring force from a sealing position into a leakage position so as to compensate pressure when the backflow preventer (1) is closed and a fluid volume is sealed on the outflow side, thereby conteracting an excessive increase in internal pressure.

The present invention relates to a backflow prevention device having a mounting housing that can be inserted into a fluid conduit or line, as well as at least one sealing ring that is held in an annular groove provided on the outer circumference of the mounting housing and that provides a seal between the mounting housing and the fluid conduit.
Backflow prevention devices of this sort are used in gas lines, water lines, or similar supply lines in order to prevent the fluid from flowing back against the intended direction of flow. Thus, check valves are increasingly also being installed in water lines in order to counteract the penetration of contaminated water into the freshwater supply line in housing of a vacuum.
The use of check valves of this sort in the area of thermostat valves often has the problem that when the cold water side or warm water side is shut off, the water that is enclosed between the closed check valve on the one hand and the likewise closed valve seat on the other hand is strongly heated by external influences, and therefore increases in volume until system pressures arise that result in damages at the weakest part of the supply line, and thus in many cases at the check valve. Ultimately, this can result in a closing of the supply line, or a similarly undesirable cross-flow.
A check valve is already known that has, on the end surface of its closing element, a domed attachment having a lateral exit opening (see. WO 93/01435). The bypass channel leading to the exit opening of the attachment, which functions as a pressure relief valve, is closed by a valve sealing piece that is lifted when the internal pressure increases, opening the exit opening to the fluid flowing back through the bypass channel. However, a disadvantage here is that the known backflow prevention device has, in addition to the required seals on its housing circumference and on the valve seat of its check valve, an additional sealing zone in the area of the pressure relief valve, which can possibly result in functional failures. Also, because this pressure relief valve protrudes past the valve element of the check valve, the backflow prevention device known from WO 93/01435 cannot be used unproblematically with a flow regulator or with other sanitary insert parts connected immediately upstream at the flow inlet side.


A method is provided for selectively accessing first and second event histories that are merged together. A graphical user interface displays events within the merged history. Access may be selectively provided to a last event immediately preceding a merge juncture within the sequential history associated with the first or the second history via the graphical user interface when the merged event is accessed. In addition or in the alternative, access may be selectively provided to the merged event via the graphical user interface when the last event associated with the first or second history is accessed. Additional interrelated methods, apparatuses, computer program products and computer systems are described.

Data files associated with transaction histories of objects are often generated by multiple data entry sources. Based on factors such as heterogeneous data entry systems, data entry error, and the like, multiple histories may be generated for a single object (rather than adding to an existing history). When separate histories are identified, they can be merged into a single set of linked data files. However, the ability to easily access the data files (e.g., the source material) associated with the merged histories is limited and/or burdensome.
With health records systems, the object may be an individual (e.g., a patient) and the data files may be associated with entries within a medical history. For example, a patient may obtain treatment at a first facility which generates or updates a first treatment record with information pertaining to the first facility treatment. When the patient subsequently obtains treatment at a second facility, the first treatment record may, for example, mistakenly not be associated with the patient and a second treatment record is then generated. At a later date, the existence of two separate treatment records is identified. These records are then merged so that all information pertaining to the patient's treatment is linked together. The point at which the documents are merged is identified within the merged histories as a merge juncture.
When viewing the data files associated with the patient on a viewer (e.g., a browser or other user interface for displaying information within the data files pertinent to a patient's medical history), a user may access one or more data files corresponding to specific events within the medical history through a table of contents (or master index), or alternatively, a user may access events in sequential (e.g., chronological) order. When accessing data files in sequential order, a graphical user interface typically provides buttons such as back, forward, first, last, and the like which indicate the next data file to be viewed. With some viewers, two sequential data files are displayed in a side-by-side fashion in order to identify the changes made between the two data files.
Conventional viewers typically only manage linear progression of events. As a result, when a merged history is accessed, a user may have problems traversing the merged history. For example, when a data file associated with a merge event is displayed and a user seeks to traverse back to a prior event, an error may result. In addition, conventional viewers do not have the ability to readily display events from all histories in a side-by-side fashion.
Furthermore, a related problem associated with conventional data file viewer systems is that they provide limited navigational functionality. Typical navigations actions that may be taken via the graphical user interface of the viewer include (i) accessing a linked document by activating a link embedded within the data file; (ii) returning to the last viewed data file by activating a back button; and (iii) accessing the last viewed data file prior to the activation of the back button by selecting a forward button. While such functionality is useful for a simple viewing of data files, with this configuration, a user does not fully appreciate the interrelationship among data files in complex systems. Therefore, additional time must be spent to identify and to access various data files that are closely associated. These efforts consume extra processing power and are inefficient.
Accordingly, it will be appreciated that there remains a need for an improved technique for providing selective access to all portions of a merged event history. It will also be appreciated that there remains a need for an improved data file viewer that identifies and provides selective access to data files that were displayed in a complete history.

Technique for selectively accessing events within merged histories


The present invention provides a magnesium alloy material, having superior mechanical properties without using special production equipment or processes, and a production process thereof. The magnesium alloy material of the present invention composed of an Mg—Zn—RE alloy comprises essential components in the form of 0.5 to 3 atomic percent of Zn and 1 to 5 atomic percent of RE, with the remainder comprising Mg and unavoidable impurities. The Mg—Zn—RE alloy has a lamellar phase formed from a long period stacking ordered structure and α-Mg in the alloy structure thereof. The long period stacking ordered structure has at least one of a curved portion and a bent portion and has a divided portion in at least a portion thereof. Finely granulated α-Mg having a mean particle diameter of 2 μm or less is formed in the divided portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a magnesium alloy material and a production process thereof, and more particularly, to a magnesium alloy material having high mechanical strength and a production process thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, since magnesium alloy materials have the lowest density and lightest weight among practically used alloys while also having high strength, they are being increasingly used in applications such as chassis of electrical products as well as automobile wheels, underbody parts and around-the-engine parts.
Since parts used in automobile-related applications are particularly required to have high mechanical properties, materials of specific shapes are produced by a single roll process or rapid solidification process using magnesium alloy materials to which elements such as Gd or Zn have been added (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H06-041701, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2002-256370, and Michiaki Yamasaki and three others. "Novel Mg—Zn—Gd Alloys in which a long period stacking ordered Structure is Formed by High-Temperature Heat Treatment", Summary of Presentations at the 108th Spring Conference (2005) of the Japan Institute of Light Metals, Japan Institute of Light Metals, 2005, p. 43-44).
However, although the above-mentioned magnesium alloy materials allow the obtaining of high mechanical properties in specific production processes, these production processes have a disadvantage of requiring special equipment and having low productivity, while also having a problem of the existence of limitations on those members that can be used practically.
Therefore, processes have been proposed that allow the obtaining of magnesium alloy materials having practically useful mechanical properties even if plastic forming (extrusion) is carried out from ordinary dissolving and casting having high productivity without using special equipment or processes as indicated in the above-mentioned publications in the case of producing magnesium alloy materials (see, for example, International Publication Nos. WO 2005/052204, WO 2005/052203 and WO 2006/036033 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2006-97037). The magnesium alloy materials disclosed in these publications have a long period stacking ordered structure within their structure and are known to allow the obtaining of high mechanical properties.

Magnesium alloy material and production process thereof

NATIONAL UNIVERSITY CORPORATION KUMAMOTO UNIVERSITY


An underground sprinkler with a pop-up head and a corresponding underground casing has two differentiated cylindrical parts, closed by a corresponding cover fixed to the pop-up sprinkler head, which, being a part coupled to the piston, pops-up due to the effect of the water pressure pushing the piston in a portion calculated for this purpose and which is so maintained for as long as the pressure lasts, to be recovered by the action of a permanent draw-spring when the pressure stops.

The background of the invention mainly refer to those existing sprinklers of the American trademark "Rain Bird", of Anthony Manufacturing Corp., which is the owner of currently lapsed patent number U.S. Pat. No. 4,182,494, filed in 1978, corresponding to: "ANTI SIDE SPLASH DRIVE ARM FOR AN IMPACT DRIVE SPRINKLER", constituting the basis for underground sprinklers with a pop-up spray head.
Based on these sprinklers, currently the "MAXI-PAW" models are found, among which the "AG-5" prototype shows a traditional watertight or closed body with downwardly decreasing diameters, and a filtering element joined to the piston shifting with it when it moves up or down.
The piston in question is prismatic and retained by means of a nozzle which screws into the inner wall of the casing and which has a head in the shape of a hexagonal nut, assembled by means of a socket wrench, and several spray head arc controllers, which are composed of corresponding omega-shaped metal strips which pressure fit in said grooves, are assembled in respective circular grooves on the outside of the top end of the piston.
The sprinkler shaft is fixed to the sprinkler head by a corresponding threaded fitting. It is a head which in this case comprises a diffuser blade of a special design, and arms loaded with respective counterweights; an interchangeable spray nozzle of different colors, and the corresponding cover assembled on the head by means of the traditional crampon-anchoring cap.

VYR-Valvuleria y Riegos Por Aspersion, S.A.


A compound time-multiplexed video transmission processing system transmitting and receiving a signal corresponding to luminance signal for driving a video display includes a transmit processor for processing a received luminance signal to produce a time-multiplexed mixed field signal based on a high frequency signal corresponding to a high frequency portion of the input luminance signal received during a previous field and a half bandwidth signal received during a current field, and a receive processor for processing the mixed field signal to produce an output luminance signal based on the high frequency portion and the half bandwidth signal. The transmit processor includes circuitry for storing the high frequency portion of the input luminance signal from the previous field. The system produces an artifact in the mixed field signal, which is evenly distributed in the output luminance signal in a predetermined processing sequence. A method for processing luminance signals is also disclosed.

A variety of techniques and systems are known for processing video signals to allow transmission of compressed video information between sites and for regenerating full bandwidth video signals at a receiving site. Intra-Field time-multiplexed video transmission (TMVT) is one technique, which offers good quality video performance at reasonably low cost. It will be appreciated that TMVT systems operate without producing temporal artifacts, since all processing takes place in the same video field. However, TMVT systems suffer from a loss of spatial resolution which results in somewhat blurry images reminiscent of consumer grade video tape. The video images encoded by TMVT systems is often characterized as being 37 soft."
Some of the "softness" exhibited by systems employing TMVT processing can be attributed to the distance between lines in an interlaced video field. The correlation between adjacent lines is an important factor in TMVT processing, since the high frequency portion of the video scene is 2:1 decimated on a line basis by the transmitter. The information for the missing lines is then generated by interpolation in the receiver. The fidelity achieved by interpolation is directly related to the correlation between the high frequency lines present in the signal arriving at the receiver.
Another factor affecting the perceived spatial resolution of the video image produce by TMVT systems is the use of vertical filters on both the transmitter and receiver sides of the system. Serial implementation of vertical filters seriously limits the vertical impulse response of the system. While operation without a transmit side vertical filter would leave the coder/decoder (codec) pair open to vertical aliasing due to the decimation process, this artifact would not seem to be serious, especially in a codec whose input is a comb-filter decoded NTSC video signal, since the comb filter is actually a vertical filter.
Yet another factor affecting the spatial resolution of the video image is the uneven error dispersal, which is quite evident in video images produced using TMVT processing. As shown, for example, in FIG. 1, all of the interpolation error is concentrated in one line of the two line pair which makes up the TMVT transmission format. When interlaced with the other field forming the NTSC video frame, the lines containing interpolation errors appear as pairs, producing an artifact that is generally characterized as "line crawl."
FIG. 2 illustrates a conventional intra-field TMVT transmitter, which is implemented using digital low-pass filtering of the input luminance signal. The TMVT transmitter 1 comprises a horizontal low pass filter 2 receiving a luminance signal and generating a half bandwidth signal, a subtractor 3 receiving the luminance signal and the half bandwidth signal and generating a high frequency signal corresponding to the high frequency component of the luminance signal, and a vertical low pass filter 4 receiving the high frequency signal and providing a filtered high frequency signal. Transmitter further comprises a demultiplexer 5 operatively connected to an adder 6 and a multiplexer 7, which is also connected to the output terminal of adder 6. It will be noted that adder 6 is also connected to filter 4 so that adder 6 receives both the filtered high frequency signal as well as the half bandwidth signal.
During operation, filter 2 generates a half bandwidth signal from the received luminance signal. The half bandwidth signal is subtracted from the luminance signal in subtractor 3, which yields the high frequency luminance component, i.e., the high frequency signal received by filter 4. This high frequency component is vertically filtered and 2:1 decimated, by techniques well known to those of ordinary skill in the art, and added to alternate lines of the low frequency luminance signal, i.e., the half bandwidth signal produced by filter 2 and supplied to adder 6 via demultiplexer 5. The resultant lines produced by adder 6 are of full bandwidth and are transmitted by a transmitter (not shown) as such. The other lines, which contain only half bandwidth signals, are horizontally 2:1 decimated, time compressed, preferably by multiplexer 7, and then multiplexed with the full bandwidth lines produced by adder 6 for transmission. The resultant signal produced by multiplexer 7 is an intra-field TMVT signal.
FIG. 3 illustrates a conventional intra-field TMVT receiver processor 10, which performs a complementary function, and which comprises a demultiplexer 11 connected to a horizontal low pass filter 12, a subtractor 14 and a multiplexer 17, all receiving the full bandwidth portion of the intra-field TMVT signal. Demultiplexer 11 is also connected to a time expansion circuit 13 which receives the half bandwidth portion of the intra-field TMVT signal. Subtractor 14 also receives a low frequency signal from filter 12 and generates a high frequency component signal provided to adder 16 via vertical low pass filter 15. As shown in FIG. 3, adder 16 is also connected on an input side to expansion circuit 13 and on an output side to multiplexer 17.
During operation, the received intra-field TMVT signal is demultiplexed in demultiplexer 11 into full and half bandwidth lines. The full bandwidth lines are filtered so that the high frequency part may be separated by subtractor 14 in a manner similar to that described above. The half bandwidth lines are horizontally 1:2 time expanded and filtered in expansion circuit 12. The high frequency component signal produced by subtractor 14 is then vertically interpolated from the adjacent lines and added to the expanded half bandwidth signal generated by expansion circuit 13. These interpolated lines, which are the lines produced by adder 16, are then multiplexed with the received full bandwidth lines from demultiplexer 11 by multiplexer 17, producing the resultant output luminance signal.

Mixed field time-multiplexed video transmission system and method