A tip for a turbine component, turbine rotor blade or tip of a blade, is disclosed. The tip includes a tip plate configured to be coupled at a tip end of an airfoil chamber; and a tip rail extending radially from the tip plate, the tip rail disposed near or at a periphery of the tip plate. The trip rail includes a cooling structure constituting at least a portion of the tip rail. The cooling structure is in fluid communication with the airfoil chamber, and includes a plurality of repeating, three dimensional unit cells. Each unit cell defines a flow passage that is in fluid communication with the flow passage of at least one other unit cell. The flow passages of the 3D unit cells create a tortuous cooling passage in at least a portion of the tip rail.

The disclosure relates generally to turbine components, and more particularly, to a turbine component, turbine rotor blade or tip that includes a tip rail including a cooling feature employing three dimensional unit cells to create a tortuous cooling passage.
In a gas turbine engine, it is well known that air is pressurized in a compressor and used to combust a fuel in a combustor to generate a flow of hot combustion gases, whereupon such gases flow downstream through one or more turbines so that energy can be extracted therefrom. In accordance with such a turbine, generally, rows of circumferentially spaced turbine rotor blades extend radially outwardly from a supporting rotor disk. Each blade typically includes a dovetail that permits assembly and disassembly of the blade in a corresponding dovetail slot in the rotor disk, as well as an airfoil that extends radially outwardly from the dovetail.
The airfoil has a generally concave pressure side wall and generally convex suction side wall extending axially between corresponding leading and trailing edges and radially between a root and a tip. It will be understood that the blade tip is spaced closely to a radially outer turbine shroud for minimizing leakage therebetween of the combustion gases flowing downstream between the turbine blades. Maximum efficiency of the engine is obtained by minimizing the tip clearance or gap such that leakage is prevented, but this strategy is limited somewhat by the different thermal and mechanical expansion and contraction rates between the turbine rotor blades and the turbine shroud and the motivation to avoid having excessive tip rub against the shroud during operation.
In addition, because turbine rotor blades are bathed in hot combustion gases, effective cooling is required for ensuring a useful part life. Typically, the blade airfoils are hollow and disposed in fluid communication with the compressor so that a portion of pressurized air bled therefrom is received for use in cooling the airfoils, as a coolant. Airfoil cooling is quite sophisticated and may be employed using various forms of internal cooling channels and features, as well as cooling holes through the outer walls of the airfoil for discharging the cooling air. Nevertheless, airfoil tips are particularly difficult to cool since they are located directly adjacent to the turbine shroud and are heated by the hot combustion gases that flow through the tip gap. Accordingly, a portion of the air channeled inside the airfoil of the blade is typically discharged through the tip for the cooling thereof.
It will be appreciated that conventional blade tips include several different geometries and configurations that are meant to prevent leakage and increase cooling effectiveness. Conventional blade tips, however, have certain shortcomings, including a general failure to adequately reduce leakage and/or allow for efficient tip cooling that minimizes the use of efficiency-robbing compressor bypass air. One approach, referred to as a "squealer tip" arrangement, provides a radially extending rail that may rub against the tip shroud. The rail reduces leakage and therefore increases the efficiency of turbine engines.
However, the rail of the squealer tip is subjected to a high heat load and is difficult to effectively cool—it is frequently one of the hottest regions in the blade. Tip rail impingement cooling delivers coolant through the top of the rail, and has been demonstrated to be an effective method of rail cooling. However, there are numerous challenges associated with exhausting a coolant through the top of the rail. For example, backflow pressure margin requirements are difficult to satisfy with this arrangement (especially on the pressure side wall, where there are holes connected to low and high pressure regions—the top and pressure side walls of the rail, respectively). Hence, it is a challenge to create losses in the tip passage to back-pressure the coolant flow, and at the same time, sufficiently cool the rail, since losses reduce the amount of cooling fluid used in this region. Further, the outlet holes must exhibit rub tolerance yet provide sufficient cooling to the rails. For example, the outlet holes must be tolerant of tip rub but also sufficiently large that dust cannot clog them.
Another challenge with tip cooling is accommodating the different temperatures observed in different areas of the tip rail. For example, the rail in the pressure side wall and aft region of the suction side wall are typically hotter than other areas. Current tip rail cooling configurations create only discrete cooling passages within the rail that create localized cooling, but also create additional undesired temperature gradients. Further, as the tip rail rubs away, the current discrete cooling hole arrangements' performance can become unreliable.
Additive manufacturing has been employed to create cooling passages that provide cooling in a tip rail. Additive manufacturing (AM) includes a wide variety of processes of producing a component through the successive layering of material rather than the removal of material. As such, additive manufacturing can create complex geometries without the use of any sort of tools, molds or fixtures, and with little or no waste material. Instead of machining components from solid billets of material, much of which is cut away and discarded, the only material used in additive manufacturing is what is required to shape the component. However, current AM applications for tip rail cooling have only provided the aforementioned discrete cooling passages that create localized cooling, undesired temperature gradients, and inability to maintain cooling performance during rub.

Tip rail with cooling structure using three dimensional unit cells


An arrangement for expanding a cargo box of a pick-up truck vehicle is provided. The arrangement includes a wall that defines a cabin space on an internal side and a cargo box end on an external side, and the wall is arranged to be translateable from a first position to a second position. A latch mechanism is provided and attached to the wall. The latch mechanism is arranged to maintain the wall in the first position. A release mechanism is coupled to the latch mechanism and arranged to selectively release the wall from the first position such that the wall can translate into the cabin and towards a front of the vehicle to a second position and extend a length of the cargo box.

Generally, pick-up truck vehicles today are available in a variety of cabin and cargo box arrangements to offer a variety of options for potential customers' needs. Common cabin configurations include, among others, crew and quad cab configurations. These configurations generally result in lengthening the cabin so as to accommodate a rear seat assembly. Often, when one of these configurations is selected, a smaller cargo box, such as a short bed, is selected in an attempt to offset the increased cabin length so as to not increase an overall length of the vehicle. This overall configuration of a crew cab or quad cab accompanied by a shorter box has certain benefits such as not increasing the overall length of the vehicle, but it also has certain drawbacks such as less cargo storage space.
In addition, in the club, crew and quad cabin configurations that include a rear seat arrangement, often there is not an abundance of interior cabin storage. The rear seat arrangements in these interior cabin configurations generally take up a majority of the interior space provided behind the front seats and therefore provide little or no space for storage.
Thus there is a need for a vehicle cabin and cargo bed arrangement that overcomes the aforementioned and other disadvantages.

Expandable cargo box arrangement for a vehicle


A device for application of a hair product includes an applicator portion configured to be loaded with hair product and at least one finger fastener associated with the applicator portion. The applicator portion may include a container and be configured to apply the hair product to at least one strand of hair in response to manual pressure exerted on the container when the device is moved longitudinally relative to the strand of hair. The finger fastener may be configured to allow the device to be fixed to at least one finger of a hand.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for application of a hair product, such as a highlight product. The device according to the invention may be particularly suitable for self-application of a dyeing product to strands of hair.
2. Description of the Related Art
"Highlight" dyeing is a treatment in which only certain parts of the head of hair are impregnated with dyeing product. Once the dyeing treatment is completed, the head of hair obtains a non-uniform colour effect. Because the head of hair has colour shades brighter or darker than the natural or overall shade of the head of hair, some particular movements of the head of hair may become emphasized.
There are several types of dyeing products for hair. Exemplary types of hair dyeing products include temporary dyeing, semi-permanent dyeing, and permanent dyeing referred to as oxidation.
Dyeing products may be in the form of a cream, a foam, or a liquid with a more or less high viscosity. Dyeing products in liquid or gel form may be applied, optionally after mixing, by using a porous means such as foam (e.g., a foam sponge). The most viscous and the most paste-like products are contained in bowls after mixing a bleaching powder and an oxidant in the bowl.
In order to apply these products that are contained in bowls, known application devices use either a comb or a thin brush, or a combination of the two. Such devices are described, for example, in French Patent Publication No. 2,764,488 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,691,720.
At least some known comb and/or brush devices generally suffer from drawbacks, in particular, due to the fact that they are used by approaching the head of hair from its outside, that is to say, on top. As the applicator subsequently moves relative to the strand of hair from the root to the tip, the product is deposited essentially on the surface of the strand of hair, and not very much inside. During this movement, however, experience has shown that the user tends to lift the applicator and make it depart from a path following the curvature of the skull. For this reason, a number of hairs become separated from the applicator and fall back onto the head of hair. If, for example, a dyeing product is used, these hairs will not be dyed. The result obtained is sometimes far from satisfactory.
In the case of self-application of the product by a user, at least some known devices may be difficult for the user to handle and may make highlights difficult to apply on the rear of the head. This is because these devices may be difficult to position accurately when applying hair product to a portion of hair that is outside the user's direct field of view.
Furthermore, when using a thin brush and depositing a very paste-like product, it may be difficult to spread the product over the whole length of the strand of hair.
An additional known device is described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,705,499, which discloses an applicator in scissor form, having two branches hinged about a pivot. This patent describes a first branch having two comb rows, between which a pad impregnated with product is placed, and a second branch formed by a brush that can bear against the impregnated pad. Conventional applicators of this general type are expensive and complex to produce, since they are obtained by assembling a plurality of mechanical parts. Furthermore, the hinge of the branches of such an applicator often poses a problem when hairs or some of the product obstructs the hinge of the two branches.
In other conventional applicators, such as those described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,722,706 and German Patent Publication No. DE-28,34,801, the applicators are made from a glove or a fingerstall provided with a dispenser level with an inner face of the hand or the finger-bone. In these applicators, the dispenser is impregnated with product.
These conventional applicators also pose a problem, since they are made of a material that is necessarily different from the dispenser capable of coating the product. In particular, the gloves or fingerstalls of these applicators are made of an impermeable material, whereas the dispensers are made of materials that are permeable to the product. Furthermore, the gloves are not easy to handle for self-application of the product to the head, since the liquid with which the dispenser is impregnated can easily trickle down along walls of the glove without ever coating the head of hair. Fingerstalls, moreover, present an additional problem because they may inadvertently rotate around the finger, in particular during a longitudinal movement along a strand of hair.
For these and other reasons, there is a need for alternative approaches that may limit or avoid one or more drawbacks of the related art.

Device, method, and system for application of a hair product


Among other disclosed subject matter, a computer-implemented method relating to providing content on a page includes receiving information for providing content for an access device in response to a navigation from a first page to a second page. The content is to be included in the second page. The method includes accessing query information stored on the access device, the query information based on a first query that was submitted from the access device to a search provider before navigating to the first page. The method includes providing the content for inclusion in the second page, the content selected using at least the received information and the accessed query information. A computer-implemented method can include recording search query information for a user; retrieving the search query information; and using the search query information to determine content for display to the user.

Advertising in online mediums have some similarities with traditional print-based advertising. For example, it is usually desirable to target the advertisement to the intended or expected audience, because advertisers generally prefer to invest in advertising if it reaches many potential customers, as opposed to persons who have little or no interest in the product or service being advertised. In print media, this targeting could be based on the general knowledge about who the readers are, or market investigations can be performed on the readers to more accurately determine their interests.
In the online environment, the users likewise have particular interests and disinterests, and publishers sometimes try to match the advertisement displayed on a page to the particular viewer as well as possible. However, much of the information required to understand who the viewers are may not be known or readily available and thus the advertisement targeting may be based on little or no relevant information.

Providing content using stored query information


The subject invention relates to systems and methods that augment node-based programming languages to facilitate efficient data manipulation of hierarchical data structures. In one aspect, a query or general purpose language system is provided. The system includes a query component to interact with hierarchical node-based data collections and a language extension component to augment the query component to facilitate interactions with the node-based data collections. The language extension component supplies various functions to filter the data collections at a granular level, re-shape the data collections, sort the data collections, or extend the data collections with computed nodes.

As increasing amounts of information are stored, exchanged, and presented employing a node-based language such as XML, for example, the ability to intelligently query such data sources becomes progressively more important. For instance, one of the great strengths of XML is its flexibility in representing many different types of information from diverse sources. To exploit this flexibility, an XML programming language should at a minimum provide features for querying, retrieving, and interpreting information from these diverse sources.
A standard mechanism for querying XML documents employs the XPath language. However, XPath, as defined by the W3C XML Query Working Group, lacks a number of critical concepts required for practical application. For instance, XPath lacks the ability to filter data at a desired level of granularity, to easily re-shape the data, to sort the data, and to extend the data with computed nodes. XML Query (XQuery), attempts to address a number of these issues but imposes a heavy burden on the query developer and in many cases still suffers from some of the data manipulation shortcomings in XPath.
With respect to XQuery, it is designed to perform as a language in which queries are concise and easily understood. It is also flexible enough to query a broad spectrum of XML information sources, including both databases and documents. The Query Working Group has identified a requirement for both non-XML query syntax and XML-based query syntax, whereby XQuery is designed to meet the first of these requirements. In general, XQuery is derived from an XML language referred to as "Quilt", which in turn borrowed features from several other languages, including XPath, XQL, XML-QL, SQL, and OQL, for example.
The basic building block of XQuery is an expression, which is a string of characters. The language provides several types of expressions which may be constructed from keywords, symbols, and operands. In general, the operands of an expression are other expressions. Thus, XQuery is considered a functional language, which implies that expressions can be nested with full generality. However, unlike a pure functional language, it does not allow variable substitutability if the variable declaration contains construction of new nodes. Also, XQuery is a strongly-typed language in which the operands of various expressions, operators, and functions conform to the expected types.

Enhancing node-based query languages to support common relational mapping patterns


A dedicated application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) is described that can be integrated into a mobile device (e.g., a mobile phone, tablet computer). The dedicated ASIC can provide an embedded low-power micro-controller to offload machine vision processing and other image processing from an application processor (AP) of the mobile device. Effectively, the offloading of image processing can enable the mobile device to save battery life and improve performance by utilizing lower speed buses and lower power consumption than would otherwise be consumed if the AP were to be utilized. In various embodiments, the ASIC can be used to either connect a single camera or multiple synchronized cameras depending on the application.

Digital cameras and photography have become an important part of everyday life for countless people. Digital cameras are being included in more and more devices and the quality of the images they capture is improving at a rapid pace. Aside from dedicated cameras, devices such as personal computers (PCs), mobile phones, tablet computers, laptops and electronic goggles are often equipped with some sort of image capturing apparatus. All of this technological integration presents ever more opportunities for utilizing imaging data for a variety of different purposes.
One interesting area of technology that has benefited significantly from digital cameras has been in the field of portable devices, such as tablet computers and mobile phones. Many phones and tablets today have multiple cameras integrated therein (e.g., a front-facing camera and a rear-facing camera). These cameras can provide a large amount of imaging data and therefore present significant opportunities for performing image analysis and other computations. However, a number of limitations and concerns still exist for such mobile devices. For example, in recent years, many users have viewed the battery life of a mobile device as being poor. This has been due in part on the large number of features and components that have been integrated into the portable device. Accordingly, manufacturers have been looking to improve the battery life of their mobile devices.


There is provided an objective lens used for a plurality of types of optical discs having a front surface and a rear surface, each of which includes an inner region and an outer region. The outer region has a surface shape which suppresses a coma caused when a beam used for a first optical disc is incident thereon obliquely with respect to an optical axis of the objective lens. The inner region is configured such that, at a boundary position between the inner region and the outer region, the coma caused when a beam used for a second optical disc is incident on the inner region obliquely at a first angle with respect to the optical axis is less than the coma caused when the beam used for the second optical disc is incident on the outer region obliquely at the first angle with respect to the optical axis. Further, an inclination θ2A of the inner region and an inclination θ2B of the outer region of the rear surface satisfy a condition:−2.5<θ2B−θ2A<0.0.  (1)

The present invention relates to an objective lens used for an optical disc drive, which is capable of recording data to and/or reproducing data from a plurality of types of optical discs having different recording densities and having different thicknesses of cover layers.
There are various types of optical discs on which digital information is recorded at various densities, respectively. For example, a DVD (digital versatile disc) has a recording density higher that that of a CD (compact disc) or a CD-R (CD Recordable) and has a cover layer thinner than that of the CD or CD-R.
When recording/reproducing operation for the DVD having a higher recording density is performed, a smaller beam spot diameter is required on a data recording layer of the DVD relative to a beam spot used for the CD having a lower recording density. For this reason, the optical disc drive is configured such that an NA (numerical aperture) is changed to a higher value to obtain a smaller beam spot diameter when the DVD is used and that the NA is changed to a lower value to obtain a larger beam spot diameter when the CD or CD-R is used.
A condition of a spherical aberration in an optical system of the optical disc drive changes depending on a thickness of the cover layer of the optical disc being used. Therefore, it is required to correct the spherical aberration caused when the optical disc is changed to another one having different thickness of the cover layer.
The diameter of the beam spot decreases as a wavelength of a laser beam incident on the objective lens decreases. Therefore, in general, a laser beam having a wavelength ranging from 635 nm to 660 nm is used for the DVD, and a laser beam having a wavelength ranging from 780 nm to 830 nm is used for the CD. By using such wavelengths, a relatively small beam spot is obtained when the DVD is used, and a relatively large beam spot is obtained when the CD is used.
In general, the optical disc drive is provided with a light source configured to emit laser beams having different wavelengths in order to support different types of optical discs.
Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. 2001-243651 discloses an objective lens configured to suitably converge incident laser beams onto data recording layers of a plurality of types of optical discs having different thicknesses of cover layers, respectively. On one of lens surfaces of the objective lens disclosed in this publication, a diffracting structure having a plurality of ring-shaped minute steps is formed. In an optical system disclosed in the publication, each of two collimated laser beams having different wavelengths is incident on the objective lens.
In order to form beam spots more suitable for recording data to and/or reproducing data from the plurality of types of the optical discs, the objective lens is required to be corrected for a coma as well as the spherical aberration. The coma is caused when off-axis light is incident on the objective lens (i.e., when a beam is incident on the objective lens obliquely with respect to an optical axis of the objective lens).
However, the objective lens disclosed in the publication 2001-243651 can not suitably correct the comas for all of the plurality of types of optical discs. More specifically, the objective lens disclosed in the publication is configured to adjust balance of the coma considering the intended use of an optical disc drive including the objective lens.
Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. 2003-156682 discloses an objective lens configured to support the plurality of types of the optical discs and to reduce the coma caused when off-axis light is incident thereon. Each of lens surfaces of this objective lens has an inner region and an outer region located outside the inner region.
The inner region is a region for attaining an NA for a second optical disc having a lower recording density. The outer region is a region for attaining an NA for a first optical disc having a recording density higher than that of the second optical disc. The inner region and the outer region of each of the lens surfaces of the objective lens have different shapes.
In the publication, it is described that the coma caused when the off-axis light is incident on the objective lens is reduced by the above mentioned structure. However, in the publication No. 2003-156682, no explanation is made on how to configure the shapes of the inner region and the outer region of each lens surface to effectively reduce the coma.


Provided is an image encoding apparatus that generates a prediction block according to an intra prediction mode, generates a residual block, transforms the residual block to generate a transform block, quantizes the transform block to generate a quantized transform block, scans the quantized transform block to generate one-dimensional (1D) quantized coefficients, and entropy-codes the 1D quantized coefficients. When a size of the transform block is 8×8, the quantized transform block is divided into a plurality of sub-blocks, the plurality of sub-blocks and coefficients of each sub-block are scanned using a same scan pattern determined according to the intra prediction mode. A scan pattern for scanning flags indicating non-zero coefficients of each sub-block is the same as the scan pattern for scanning non-zero coefficients of each sub-block.

In image compression methods such as Motion Picture Experts Group (MPEG)-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4 and H.264/MPEG-4 Advanced Video Coding (AVC), one picture is divided into macroblocks to encode an image. Then, the respective macroblocks are encoded using inter prediction or intra prediction.
In intra prediction, a current block of a current picture is encoded not using a reference picture, but using values of pixels spatially adjacent to the current block. An intra prediction mode with little distortion is selected by comparing a prediction block generated using the adjacent pixel values with an original macroblock. Then, using the selected intra prediction mode and the adjacent pixel values, prediction values of the current block are calculated. Difference between the prediction values and pixels values of the original current block are calculated and then encoded through transform coding, quantization and entropy coding. The intra prediction mode is also encoded.
Intra prediction are generally classified into 4×4 intra prediction, 8×8 intra prediction and 16×16 intra prediction for luminance components and chrominance components.
In 16×16 intra prediction according to related art, there are four modes of a vertical mode, a horizontal mode, a direct current (DC) mode and a plane mode.
In 4×4 intra prediction according to related art, there are nine modes of a vertical mode, a horizontal mode, a DC mode, a diagonal down-left mode, a diagonal down-right mode, a vertical right mode, a vertical left mode, a horizontal-up mode and a horizontal-down mode.
Each prediction mode has indexed according to the frequency of use of the respective modes. The vertical mode that is mode 0 shows the highest possibility of being used most frequently for performing intra prediction on a target block, and the horizontal-up mode that is mode 8 shows the highest possibility of being used most infrequently.
According to H.264 standards, a current block is encoded using a total of 13 modes, that is, 4 modes of the 4×4 intra prediction and 9 modes of the 16×16 intra prediction. A bit stream of the current block is generated according to an optimal mode among these modes.
However, when some or all values of pixels adjacent to current block do not exist or are not already encoded, it is impossible to apply some or all of the intra prediction modes to the current block. Also, when there is a large difference between adjacent reference pixels, a difference between a prediction block and an original block becomes large. Therefore, the coding efficiency is degraded.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Image encoding apparatus adaptively determining a scan pattern according to an intra prediction mode


Phythophthora species which infect potatoes may result in the devastating disease potato late blight or in pink rot. Primers specific for Phythophthora infestans (late blight), and for Phytophthora erythroseptica and Phytophthora nicotianae (pink rot) have been designed which are useful for detecting the presence of the microorganisms by polymerase chain reaction methods. The primers were derived from the internal transcribed spacer region of Phytophthora ribosomal DNA and may be used to confirm the presence of the microorganisms or to distinguish among them.

1. Field of the Invention
Phytophthora is a fungal plant pathogen which causes devastating diseases of potatoes, including late-blight disease. This disease occurs in potato plants in the field as well as in storage. Fungicides have been utilized to control the pathogen, however, new strains have become resistant, resulting in extensive crop loss. This invention relates to novel primers which can be used to detect pathogenic Phytophthora species and to distinguish among the pathogenic species.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
Potato late blight caused by Phytophthora infestans (P. infestans) has become extremely severe in recent years due to the influx of a new more variable pathogen population. Extensive crop loss from late blight disease has occurred in many areas of the U.S. and Canada with the occurrance of both foliar destruction and the rotting of blighted tubers in storage. Often, tubers which are asymptomatic but contain latent P. infestans infection are placed in storage and are eventually partially or totally lost as infections develop and are exacerbated by secondary infection with other pathogens such as Erwinia carotovora subsp. carotovora (bacterial soft rot). A rapid, accurate test is thus needed to identify Phytophthora species in the field, in harvested tubers and in seedlots to determine levels of infection and to detect the pathogen when no visible symptoms occur. This enables growers to decide whether to harvest a crop or to declare it a loss. Results of such a test may also dictate the control measures a grower may invoke early in the season to control late blight, as well as provide confirmatory data about the presence of pathogens in seedlots which could affect certification and/or sale. Such a test is also needed to identify the specific organisms present in the tubers, i.e. to differentiate late blight from other tuber diseases such as pink rot and Pythium leak.
Microbiological and immunological assays as well as visual examinations have conventionally been utilized for detecting the presence of Phytophthora species in infested samples. However, these methods have suffered from an inability to clearly distinguish one species from another. For example, potato late blight infection can easily be confused with pink rot, and misdiagnoses may occur which could cause improper acceptance or rejection of seedlots during seed certification.
Various molecular approaches have been used to differentiate Phytophthora species, including use of random genomic fragments (Goodwin et al. 1989. Phytopathology. vol. 79, pp. 716-721; Goodwin et al. 1990. Appl. Environ. Micro. vol. 56, pp. 669-674), mitochondrial DNA (Forster et al. 1988. Mycologia. vol. 80, pp. 466-478; Forster et al. 1990. Exper. Mycol. vol. 14, pp. 18-31) and ribosomal DNA (Lee and Taylor. 1992. Mol. Biol. Evol. vol. 9, pp. 636-653; Lee et al. 1993. Phytopathology. vol. 83, pp. 177-181). For detection, tests based on the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) are the most rapid and sensitive available, and amplification by PCR for Phytophthora detection has been carried out by various investigators. Ersek et al. (1994. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. vol. 60, no. 7, pp. 2616-2621), for example, have reported amplification of DNA from P. parasitica and P. citrophthora with species-specific primers, and Niepold and Schober-Butin (1995. Microbiological Research. vol. 150, pp. 379-385) have disclosed primers derived from the repetitive sequence of P. infestans which were effective for detecting that species. In addition, a PCR-based detection method has been described for the raspberry root rot fungus P. fragariae var. rubi based on a highly repetitive fragment containing the small subunit ribosomal RNA gene (Stammler and Seemuller. 1993. Z. Pflanzen. Pflanzenschutz. vol. 100, pp. 394-400).
The search has continued, however, for additional primers which are useful in a rapid and sensitive assay for the detection of the pathogen and for distinguishing between species of Phytophthora which are potato pathogens.

Species specific method for the PCR detection of phythophthora

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of Agriculture


‘GRUSALVUL’ is a new and distinctive Salvia plant which is characterized by a broad upright growth habit, a broad inverted triangular plant form, an abundance of pink flowers borne on long inflorescences that sit above the foliage, and plants bearing a large number of inflorescences at once. The new variety propagates successfully by stem cuttings and has shown to be uniform and stable in the resulting generations from asexual propagation.

Parentage: 'GRUSALVUL' is a hybrid seedling selection resulting from the controlled pollination of Salvia x sylvestris 'Rianne' (Community Plant Variety Rights grant number 41746), the seed parent, with Salvia nemorosa 'Pink Friesland' (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 18,152), the pollen parent, at a commercial nursery in Rockanje, the Netherlands in July of 2017. The crossing was made by the inventor in July of 2017 at a commercial greenhouse in Rockanje, the Netherlands. In September of 2017, one seedling was observed which exhibited unique growth and foliage characteristics. The seedling was isolated for further evaluation in order to confirm the distinctness and stability of the characteristics first observed. Upon confirmation of distinctness and stability, 'GRUSALVUL' was selected for commercialization.
Asexual Reproduction: Asexual reproduction of 'GRUSALVUL' was first accomplished in September of 2017 by rooting softwood stem cuttings at a commercial greenhouse in Rockanje, the Netherlands. Five successive generations have shown that the unique features of the instant cultivar are stable and reproduce true to type.


The invention relates to the technical field of supplies, in particular to a storage box, comprises a foldable box main body, the bottom of which is provided with a substrate made of soft material, and further comprising a soleplate supporting the box main body, the soleplate being detachably disposed on the substrate. The box main body is also movably connected with a lug plate for resisting against the soleplate. For the storage box disclosed by the invention, during transportation or when not in use, the box main body may be folded conveniently for storage, so that a small space is occupied and convenience and practicality are realized; and when the storage box is unfolded to accommodate articles, four edges of the soleplate placed inside the box main body are resisted against sides of the box main body so that the box main body is kept unfolded.

As one of accommodation tools frequently used in daily work, life and learning, storage boxes may allow accommodation of office supplies, cosmetics, documents, small tools, clothes, shoes and other small items conveniently, so that people may enjoy more convenient, conformable, clean and tidy home life and work.
There are various kinds of storage boxes at present. Although the storage boxes, made of hard material, have firm structure and also convenience in storage of articles, they may occupy a large space during the transportation or when not in use as they cannot be folded for storage; and, although the storage boxes, made of soft material, can be folded for storage, they have a disadvantage of poor stability. On this basis, storage boxes made of combination of hard material and soft material have been developed and researched. The box main body of such a storage box is generally made of hard material and provided with foldable fold lines, while the box main body is made of high-flexibility material and the bottom of the box main body is detachably provided with a hard soleplate. The foldable storage of the storage box may be realized conveniently as long as the hard soleplate is taken out.
An existing foldable storage box generally comprises a soleplate and four side plates. Side edges of the side plates are connected in turn to form a cylindrical shape, and each of the joints may be folded over at will. A substrate for connecting and sealing the bottom edges of all side plates is provided. The substrate is made of high-flexibility material, on which the soleplate is detachably disposed. Two opposite side plates are provided with a folding portion, respectively, along which the side plates may be folded inward.
When the above foldable storage box is unfolded for use, the soleplate is placed inside the box main body formed by the side plates to support the side plates and form a firm chamber with the side plates, which is convenient for accommodating articles. When required to be folded for storage, the storage box may be folded conveniently just by taking the soleplate out and then folding the side plates inward. Such foldable storage box has good effect when placed on a flat plane for use. However, when such foldable storage box is placed in an uneven place or a rugged place, the side plates are not in contact with the placement plane, instead, only the soleplate is in contact with the placement plane; or, the foldable storage box will lose the support of the placement plane during the moving process, so that the soleplate will move under the action of an external force because the soleplate is detachably connected with the substrate, thereby influencing the use effect. More seriously, the soleplate will turn over further not to support the side plates, so that the side plates are likely to have folding deformation to result in an instable structure, as a result, the foldable storage box cannot be used.


A laser apparatus is disclosed. The apparatus includes a Neodymium-doped lasing material having first and second surfaces and a passive Q-switch optically coupled to the second surface. The first-surface is substantially transparent to a pump radiation and substantially reflective to laser radiation generated by an interaction between the pump radiation and the Neodymium-doped lasing material. The laser radiation is characterized by a vacuum wavelength corresponding to an atomic transition from the 4F3/2 level to the 4I9/2 level of Neodymium in the lasing material. The second surface transmits at least a portion of the laser radiation. The lasing material and Q-switch are configured to produce pulses of the laser radiation characterized by a pulse length of greater than zero and less than about 1.5 nanoseconds and a pulse repetition rate greater than about 100 kHz. A PQSL laser, an apparatus for generating blue light and a display system based on the laser apparatus are also disclosed.

Color display systems often rely on three separate sources to produce three primary colors of light. The intensities of the three primary colors can then be varied and mixed to produce various different colors in a color image. The eye's perception of color is related to the response of three different types of cells in the retina. Each type of cell responds to a different portion of the electromagnetic spectrum.
For the specific purpose of display or projection systems the best wavelength for "blue" light is about 450 nm (in vacuum). Such light is actually perceived by the human eye as a purplish-blue color as opposed to a pure blue. "Pure" blue light is typically characterized by a wavelength in the range of about 460 nm to about 480 nm. The reason for using 450 nm can be explained using the chromaticity diagram of FIG. 1. Given three colors that can be located on the chromaticity diagram, it is only possible to create by addition colors which are on the interior of a triangle created by placing corner points at the three colors. It is clear from FIG. 1 that a wavelength of 450 nm is ideal. A display system based on a wavelength of 470 nm would create a situation where a number of well saturated purples and red-purples are outside the triangle and, thus, not accessible to the display system.
A single laser which has output at the three colors of red, green and blue would be valuable for projection displays. Development of such lasers has been hampered by difficulties in producing blue light at sufficient power levels for use in a display. One current approach to generating high power levels of blue light is to use Nd:YAG lasers operating at 1064 nm. The output of the laser is frequency doubled with a nonlinear crystal to 532 nm. The frequency-doubled output then pumps an OPO. One of the OPO output wavelengths is then summed with the 532-nm light to create the blue. Thus 2 nonlinear steps in 2 separate crystals are required to produce blue light from infrared laser light. Since each step requires crystals, and has limited efficiency, the overall system is expensive and inefficient. Furthermore, Nd:YAG lasers require water-cooling and resonator structures, which add to the complexity, bulk and cost of the system.
For such lasers, and a number of other applications, it is desirable to have a single-frequency, pulsed laser source at an infrared wavelength suitable for conversion to blue light. High repetition rates are often needed, e.g., in image display systems because the time between pulses must be smaller than the duration of a modulation state of the light modulator that produces the image. For example, if the display presents data one pixel at a time, and if there are 1 million pixels, with an image refresh rate of 30 Hz, then a repetition rate of greater than 30 MHz is needed to avoid a situation where there is less than one pulse per pixel. If the display presents data one column of pixels at a time, then the laser repetition rate can be about 1000 times slower, or about 30 kHz, since the column of pixels contains 1000 pixels. However, even for systems where one column of pixels is presented at a time, it is desirable to have the pulse repetition rate greater than 1 MHz, so that very large pixel counts can be used at high refresh rates, and so that there are no pattern artifacts due to some pixel columns receiving more pulses of light than others.
Furthermore, a single frequency of oscillation for the infrared radiation is desirable so that conversion of the infrared light to blue light is efficient. If multiple frequencies are present, it may not be possible to optimize the frequency converter for each infrared frequency, and efficiency is reduced.
There is a need, therefore, for compact, efficient and inexpensive blue lasers, displays that use such lasers, and sources or methods of producing pulsed infrared light for use in such lasers.

High repetition rate passively Q-switched laser for blue laser based on interactions in fiber


A temperature controlling method and apparatus for a refrigerator by controlling the velocity of a rotary blade are provided. In the temperature controlling method, a fuzzy model for inferring an equilibrium velocity corresponding to the rotation velocity of the rotary blade, required for the temperature equilibrium within a refrigeration compartment, is constituted and then the fuzzy inference is performed based on the fuzzy model using the change in temperature measured at a predetermined number of portions within the refrigeration compartment to calculate the equilibrium velocity, thereby controlling the rotation velocity of the rotary blade according to the calculated equilibrium velocity. Accordingly, temperatures of each portion are accurately inferred from the fuzzy model using the values of temperature changes sensed by only a small number of temperature sensors and then the rotation velocity of the rotary blade is appropriately controlled according to the inferred positions into which cool air is to be discharged. As a result, the cool air is appropriately discharged into each portion according to the distance between the rotary blade and a target position, so that the optimal temperature equilibrium is obtained in the refrigeration compartment.

The present invention relates to a temperature controlling method and apparatus for a refrigerator in which temperature of a refrigeration compartment is evenly controlled by precisely discharging cool air into a position to be cooled according to the distance from a rotary blade thereto by a fuzzy inference and the learning by a neuron network.
Generally, since the load of the items being refrigerated is different at different portions of the refrigeration compartment in a refrigerator, particularly, in a large refrigerator, it is difficult to evenly maintain temperature within the refrigeration compartment. Accordingly, research into a method for evenly controlling the temperature of the refrigeration compartment has been performed as the storage capacity inside the refrigerator increases. In one such method, the discharge of cool air is controlled by rotating a rotary blade attached to the rear wall of the refrigeration compartment. Here, the cool air is discharged into a high-temperature portion to even out the temperature within the refrigeration compartment. The rotary blade determines a cool air discharge direction according to its stationary position (a predetermined stationary angle) or continuously rotates at a constant velocity to discharge cool air like a ventilation fan.
However, since the ventilation force by the rotation of the rotary blade is constant in a refrigerator having the rotary blade, the discharge of cool air cannot be controlled according to the distance from the rotary blade to a target area to be cooled. In other words, when intending to discharge cool air to a front portion of the refrigeration compartment, far from the rotary blade, the rotation velocity of the rotary blade should be increased to discharge the cool air into the front portion. Meanwhile, when intending to discharge cool air to a rear portion of the refrigeration compartment, near the rotary blade, the cool air discharging velocity should be reduced by rotating the rotary blade at a low velocity or stopping the rotation of the rotary blade altogether. However, the conventional rotary blade cannot appropriately control the cool air discharging velocity due to the constant rotation velocity thereof.
Also, as a precondition for controlling the cool air discharging velocity through the controlling of the rotation velocity of the rotary blade, temperatures of each portion should be precisely measured according to the distance from the rotary blade to each portion. However, in the conventional refrigerator having only two temperature sensors positioned at upper and lower portions of the refrigeration compartment, it is difficult to precisely measure the temperatures of each portion. Also, even though the temperatures of each portion are inferred by the fuzzy inference to some degree of accuracy, the conventional refrigerator cannot correct specific errors of every product, which may occur during the mass production thereof, so that there are limitations to the accuracy of the inference.

Temperature controlling method and apparatus for refrigerator using velocity control of rotary blade


Embodiments are directed to a host structure that includes a waveguide configured to deliver measurement light to a compartment at least partially within the host structure. The compartment is configured to reversibly engage a fluidic optical cartridge. The host structure also includes a detector configured to receive and process output light emanating from the fluidic optical cartridge as well as electronics to process signals from the detector.

The present disclosure relates generally to articles and methods that involve light emanating from objects as they travel through a fluidic channel. Various techniques have been proposed for analyzing light emanating from objects. One such technique describes a fluidic structure with a channel along which is at least one sensing component that can obtain information about objects traveling within the channel, such as droplets or other particulates carried by fluid. A sensing component includes one or more detectors that can detect a range of photon energies that emanate from the objects. A processor can receive information about the objects from the sensing components and use the received information to obtain spectral information. Analyzers with time variation based on coded spatial modulation have also been disclosed.
Flow cytometers have been developed that can utilize light emanating from objects, for example, biological particles, to determine particle size and to identify component particles in fluids such as, for example blood. Typically, the fluid is obtained from a living specimen and then is analyzed in a laboratory by a flow cytometer. Many such flow cytometers are known and are commercially available but most of these flow cytometers are not useful for point-of-use applications.


The present invention describes a process for producing 10-deacetyl baccatin III from a solution containing a solvent reactive with hydrazine hydrate and a spectrum of taxanes. The solution is contacted with hydrazine hydrate thereby converting some taxanes therein into 10-deacetyl baccatin III. The process can target taxanes having an ester functionality on at least one of the C-10 and C-13 positions. The hydrazine hydrate cleaves the ester functionality of the taxane solute, The process may be used to produce 10-deacetyl baccatin III from a biomass extract by contacting the biomass extract with a mixture of a solvent and a hydrazine hydrate. The solvent may have a functional group that is cleaved by hydrazine. Acetate solvents are contemplated.

The present invention generally relates to the purification of a biomass extract to form useful materials. More particularly, the present invention is directed to the conversion of unwanted taxanes in a biomass extract to taxanes that can be used in the synthesis of paclitaxel. Specifically, the present invention relates to the conversion of unwanted taxanes into 10-deacetyl baccatin III, a useful precursor in the formation of paclitaxel.
Various taxane compounds are known to exhibit anti-tumor activity. As a result of this activity, taxanes have received increasing attention in the scientific and medical community. Primary among these is a compound known as xe2x80x9cpaclitaxelxe2x80x9d which is also referred to in the literature as xe2x80x9ctaxolxe2x80x9d. Paclitaxel has been approved for the chemotherapeutic treatment of several different varieties of tumors, including refractory ovarian and metastatic breast cancers. Clinical trials, including those for the treatment of lung, head, neck and other cancers, indicate that paclitaxel promises a broad range of potent anti-leukemic and tumor-inhibiting activity. Further development of this pharmaceutical lead and identification of its superior analogs is crucial to continued advancement of cancer chemotherapy.
Paclitaxel has the formula and numbering as follows:
Paclitaxel is a naturally occurring taxane diterpenoid which is found in several species of the yew (genus Taxus, family Taxaceae). Unfortunately, the concentration of this compound is very low. The species of evergreen yew are also slow growing. Even though the bark of the yew trees typically exhibit the highest concentration of paclitaxel, the production of one kilogram of paclitaxel requires approximately 16,000 pounds of bark. Thus, the long term prospects for the availability of paclitaxel through isolation are discouraging.
Accordingly, numerous efforts have been directed to the partial synthesis of paclitaxel from closely related precursor compounds. While the presence of paclitaxel in the yew tree is in extremely low concentrations, there are a variety of other taxane compounds, such as Baccatin III, cephalommanine, 10-deacetyl baccatin III, etc., which are also able to be extracted from the yew. Some of these other taxane compounds are more readily extracted in higher yields.
In order to successfully synthesize paclitaxel, convenient access to a chiral, non-racemic side chain and an abundant natural source of a usable baccatin III backbone as well as an effective means of joining the two are necessary. However, the esterification of the side chain to the protected baccatin III backbone is difficult because of the sterically hindered C-13 hydroxyl in the baccatin III backbone which is located within the concave region of the hemispherical protected baccatin III skeleton. Techniques have been developed for the partial synthesis of paclitaxel from the naturally occurring diterpenoid substances baccatin III and closely related 10-deacetyl baccatin III (xe2x80x9c10-DAB IIIxe2x80x9d), which accordingly have become important precursors for use in synthetic routes to paclitaxel. Baccatin III and 10-DAB III have the formulas as follows:
10-DAB III is more abundant in nature than is baccatin III. Indeed, a relatively high concentration of 10-DAB III can be extracted from the leaves of the yew as a renewable resource. Co-occurring with paclitaxel, baccatin III and 10-DAB III in biomass are several closely related taxanes containing the same diterpenoid structure element of baccatin III or 10-DAB III. They are removed as side stream products during usual purification procedures for paclitaxel or 10-DAB III. These side stream products include cephalomannine, nitine, taxol C, 7-xylosyl taxols, 10-deacetyl taxol, and several other taxanes and non-taxanes. As shown in Table 1, many of these taxanes have the same general backbone structure as follows:
Although these side stream products have general structures similar to the structures of paclitaxel, baccatin III and 10-DAB III, they are currently left over as unusable waste products of the purification processes for paclitaxel or 10-DAB III. Accordingly, it would be desirable to convert such leftover side stream products into usable materials for paclitaxel synthesis, thereby to increase the availability of this important anti-cancer agent.
Only a few methods have been reported for the selective hydrolysis of the various ester groups present in paclitaxel. Magri et al have reported on the selective reductive cleavage of the C-13 side chain of paclitaxel, using tetrabutyl ammonium borohydride (Journal of Organic Chemistry, 1986, 51, 3239-3242). U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,202,448 and 5,256,801 to Carver et al. teach the conversion of partially purified taxane mixtures into baccatin III and 10-DAB III using a borohydride reducing salt in the presence of a Lewis acid.
The selective hydrolysis of the benzoate group at C-2 has been achieved by three research groups. In one method by Chen et al, a 7,13-diprotected baccatin III with Red-AI afforded the corresponding 2-debenzoylated derivative in 78% yield (Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett. 1994, 4, 479-482). In another method, reported by Chaudhary et al, hydrolysis of 2xe2x80x2,7-diprotected paclitaxel with NaOH under phase transfer conditions formed the corresponding 2-debenzoylpaclitaxel derivative in moderate yield (J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1994,116, 4097). In a third method, reported by Datta et al, selective deesterification of baccatin III derivatives at C-2 and C-4 was achieved in 69% and 58% yields respectively with potassium tert-butoxide as base (J. Org. Chem., 1994, 59, 4689-4690).
Appurba Datta, Michael Hepperle, and Gunda I. Georg have also reported, in J. Org. Chem, 1995, 60, 761-63, selective deesterification processes to remove the C-10 and C-13 ester functionalities of pure cephalomannine and paclitaxel by hydrazinolysis. That work was encouraged by a recognition that both ammonia and hydrazine are used for the removal of ester groups under mild conditions wherein acetates are preferentially cleaved over benzoate groups. Datta, Hepperle and Georg reported that a solution of paclitaxel in 95% ethanol that was treated with hydrazine monohydrate at room temperature for two hours yielded 10-DAB III as the only product obtained. The 10-DAB III product was formed by cleavage of the ester linkages of paclitaxel at C-10 and C-13. Datta, Hepperle and Georg extended this reaction to a National Cancer Institute mixture of mainly paclitaxel and cephalomannine with some other minor impurities, which cleanly yielded 10-DAB III when reacted with hydrazine monohydrate. The reactions reported by Datta, Hepperle and Georg utilizing a hydrazine monohydrate solution in 95% ethanol were at a pH of about 10, such that the hydrazine monohydrate, a strong base, is reactive to cleave ester groups similarly to other basic nucleophiles.
However, there remains a need to provide simple and efficient methods to convert sidestream products from extraction processes, which generally result in highly acidic biomass extracts, into usable products such as 10-DAB III. In particular, there remains a need for a process to convert a complex mixture of taxanes, such as one containing cephalomannine, 10-deacetyl taxol, baccatin III and several other taxanes in a relatively unpurified or partially purified form, to 10-DAB III which can be purified and utilized for semi-synthesis purposes to synthesize paclitaxel and its analogs. The present invention is directed to meeting these needs.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and useful process for the conversion of sidestream products from taxane extraction processes into usable products for paclitaxel synthesis.
It is another object to provide a simple and efficient method to convert a complex mixture of taxanes into paclitaxel precursor products.
It is yet another object to produce useful synthetic precursors from a biomass extract using desirable solvents.
A still further object is to produce relatively pure 10-DAB III from a mixture of taxanes such as cephalomannine, 10-deacetyltaxol, baccatin III and several other taxanes.
Yet another object is to produce 10-DAB III useful in paclitaxel synthesis from a biomass extract containing taxanes that have ester functionalities at the C-10 and/or C-13 positions.
According to the present invention, then, a process is provided for producing 10-deacetyl baccatin III, comprising contacting a first solution including a solvent and a spectrum of taxanes with a hydrazine hydrate, thereby to convert into 10-deacetyl baccatin III some taxanes in said solution that are not 10-deacetyl baccatin III, wherein the solvent is one that is reactive with hydrazine hydrate. More particularly, the solvent may include a functional group that is cleaved by hydrazine, such as an ester functionality. Specifically, the solvent may be an acetate solvent such as isobutyl acetate, isopropyl acetate or ethyl acetate. The first solution may be concentrated or diluted to a ratio of 1.0 mL of solvent per 0.10 g of total dissolved solids in the first solution prior to contacting the first solution with the hydrazine hydrate. The hydrazine hydrate is preferably hydrazine monohydrate, in a range of from 0.6 mL to 4.0 mL of hydrazine monohydrate per 1.0 g of total dissolved solids in the first solution, and preferably approximately 2.0 mL of hydrazine monohydrate per 1.0 g of total dissolved solids.
A biphasic solution may be formed by the step of contacting the first solution with a hydrazine hydrate, and 10-deacetyl baccatin III may be recovered from the biphasic solution by separating an organic layer and an aqueous layer thereof. Preferably, the biphasic solution is stirred for 45 minutes to one hour at ambient temperature prior to separating the organic and aqueous layers. The organic layer may be contacted with activated carbon or passed through an adsorption column, and 10-deacetyl baccatin III may be crystallized from the organic layer using acetonitrile as an anti-solvent, and re-crystallized from methanol using acetonitrile as an anti-solvent.
The present invention also provides a process for producing 10-deacetyl baccatin III from a biomass extract that contains as a constituent thereof at least one taxane that has an ester functionality on at least one of the C-10 and C-13 positions. The process comprises contacting the biomass extract with a solvent, thereby to form a first solution that contains at least one taxane solute that has an ester functionality on at least one of the C-10 and C-13 positions, where the solvent is one that is reactive with hydrazine hydrate; and contacting the first solution with a hydrazine hydrate, thereby to cleave the ester functionality of the taxane solute. The biomass extract may be derived from a plant of the genus Taxus, and is preferably adsorbed onto a suitable substrate, such as silica gel, silica, sand or diatomaceous earth, prior to contacting the biomass extract with the solvent.
Additionally, the present invention provides a process for producing 10-deacetyl baccatin III from a biomass extract derived from a plant of the genus Taxus, comprising contacting the biomass extract with a mixture of a solvent and a hydrazine hydrate, thereby to convert into 10-deacetyl baccatin III some taxanes in the biomass extract that are not 10-deacetyl baccatin III, wherein the solvent is one that is reactive with hydrazine hydrate.

Efficient process for the production of 10-DAB III by selective hydrazinolysis of various taxanes


An apparatus, system, and method are disclosed for servicing storage requests for a non-volatile memory device. An interface module is configured to receive a storage request for a data set of a non-volatile memory device from a client. The data set is different from a block of the non-volatile memory device, and may have a length different from a block size of the non-volatile memory device. A block load module is configured to load data of at least the block size of the non-volatile memory device. A fulfillment module is configured to service the storage request using at least a portion of the loaded data.

Hard disk drives typically read and write data in blocks corresponding to sectors on a magnetic disk. Other data storage devices similarly use fixed size data blocks. Storage clients frequently use partial blocks of data, but such use causes access to and/or transfer of full blocks in order to use the partial blocks. Transferring full blocks is inefficient, as more data may be transferred than the client will use. This results in increased traffic on limited-bandwidth data buses, increased use of host memory, and increased processing overhead.
Using smaller block sizes may reduce the inefficiencies of transferring unused data. Storing data at a smaller granularity, however, can increase the metadata overhead associated with tracking and managing the data.


A folded horn enclosure including a unitary throat and horn pathway which is optimized for ⅛th space placement when operated as a stacked pair. The enclosure uses at least 2 different flare rates and is suitable for standing vertically and horizontally, and further allowing stacking of 2 enclosures to form a full-sized corner horn.

The present invention relates to folded horn loudspeaker enclosures. Specifically, it relates to front-loaded low frequency horn enclosures that may be used in various radiating angles comprised of at least one or more acoustically reflective surface. The present invention is relatively equally efficient standing vertically or horizontally regardless of the acoustic load present.
The current invention relates directly to my previous U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/900,534 titled "Convertible Folded Horn with Improved Compactness" and can be considered a contribution over my previous invention in that it provides essentially the same level of performance and efficiency, is easy to construct, and provides the increase utility of being able to operate effectively whether placed horizontally or vertically which provides the ability to better operate as a single-driver unit with a smaller footprint depending on the placement, along with an optional upgrade path to a stacked pair as desired.
Front-loaded corner horn enclosures of the prior art have typically not been designed with the idea of effectively operating either vertically or horizontally in other radiating angles in addition to placement in a corner. Although rectangular-shaped horn enclosures might find themselves occasionally placed in a corner for enhanced low frequency response, such enclosures are not particularly optimized for corner operation, and while gaining a low frequency acoustic advantage of some degree from the proximate corner wall/floor boundaries, the rectangular outward shape of such an enclosure does not particularly provide an efficient use of the corner space; nor does it maximize the potential acoustic benefits of such a placement; and further, it does not lessen or prevent the deleterious effects of cabinet and/or horn mouth diffraction; the effects of which may be compounded by the common inability of a rectangular parallelepiped form with a rectangular footprint to effectively and efficiently couple acoustically with the reflective surfaces provided by a corner.
Typical corner horns of the prior art tend to be configured and optimized for corner placement and operation only. The current invention provides several advantages over such prior art; for instance, a smaller footprint can be achieved standing the present invention on its side without altering its performance which provides a slightly taller platform for a high frequency cabinet to propagate sound waves to a seated audience especially in free-standing placement away from walls and corners, but also retaining the ability to efficiently use the space of a corner or a wall-and-floor placement, if so desired. Additionally, retaining the ability to stack enclosures as a dual-driver pair in a corner while remaining competitive in the arena of overall height and general footprint size of other commercially available corner horns of the same general low frequency cutoff provides the same performance and power handling capabilities as the cited prior art device but provides the extra advantage of a smaller footprint size with more effective overall platform height for high frequency propagation when operated as a single-driver unitary cabinet.
It is therefore highly desirable to have a folded horn enclosure of relatively small proportions and footprint size (dependent on placement), capable of horizontal or vertical placement, capable of effective acoustic coupling to at least one reflective surface or combination of surfaces, such as a floor, floor-and-wall, or an environment corner as needed. Further, the ability to stack in various configurations and provide dual drivers the ability to couple electrically and acoustically provides a distinct performance advantage.

Folded horn enclosure with unitary pathway


A wireless station that includes an access point apparatus detection section which detects a usable access point apparatus from among a plurality of access point apparatuses; an allowance area calculation section which calculates an allowance area according to received signal strength indicator, frequency, and frequency bandwidth of a radio wave transmitted by a rogue access point apparatus whose frequency bandwidth overlaps with that of the usable access point apparatus, as well as according to received signal strength indicator, frequency, and frequency bandwidth of a radio wave transmitted by the usable access point apparatus; and an access point apparatus selection section which selects one access point apparatus based on the allowance area.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a wireless station and a method for selecting an access point apparatus using the wireless station, and more particularly to a method for selecting, by a wireless station within a wireless LAN (Local Area Network), an access point apparatus, and a wireless station which implements this method.
2. Description of the Related Art
It has hitherto been known that in selecting an optimum access point from among a plurality of access point apparatuses, a wireless station in a wireless LAN system selects an access point apparatus generating a highest signal strength by use of received signal strength indicator of a radio wave generated by an access point apparatus.
However, even when an access point apparatus having a highest received signal strength indicator is selected, since interferences occur between the plurality of access point apparatuses, an optimum access point apparatus is not always selected. Specifically, because a radio wave generated by an access point apparatus has a predetermined frequency bandwidth, when the center frequencies of radio waves generated by the plurality of access point apparatuses are close to each other, the frequency bandwidths overlaps. Consequently, interferences occur.
It is known that when such interferences between a plurality of access point apparatuses are detected by a computer (a radio station), the presence of the interferences (the presence of channel occupancy by a noise) is displayed in a display section of the computer (Patent Document 1—Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. 10-093616).
According to Patent Document 1, when it is determined that channel occupancy by a noise has been in progress for a predetermined time period, a display is given in the display section of the computer to notify an administrator that the channel occupancy is caused by a noise.
However, the invention of Patent Document 1 is limited to displaying of interference detection by a radio station and notifying it to an administrator. Consequently, an optimum access point apparatus cannot be selected. Specifically, the wireless station only evaluates the extent of interference with respect to a firstly-connected access point apparatus, and cannot carry out an evaluation to identify an optimum access point apparatus for the wireless station.

Techniques for selecting an access point apparatus based on an allowance area


A system and computer-implemented method to test end-to-end performance of a server, wherein the method includes transmitting from a processing device of a remote test system, to at least one monitor device, a proxy-based test for execution by the at least one monitor device to emulate end-user communication using a protocol via one or more networks with a web-based server coupled to the at least one monitor device. The method further includes receiving by the processing device, from the at least one monitor device, responses by the web-based server to the proxy-based test, and performing by the processing device automated web application testing to measure characteristics of communication between the at least one monitor device and the web-based server, the communication including user-emulated messages from the at least one monitor device executing the proxy-based test to the web-based server and corresponding responses from the web-based server.

In a network configuration, a server using a particular protocol can provide a service to user devices, such as portable computing devices (e.g., smart phones, tablets, and laptops) or stationary computing devices (such as desktop computers or computer terminals). The quality of experience (QoE) of an end user is of great concern to all parties involved of provision of the service.
However, conventional network monitoring is limited to measuring aspects of performance and availability of servers and networks, without the ability to measure end-to-end performance of a service provided by the server using a server-based protocol from a user perspective, including availability of network resources. In conventional monitoring, one or more monitoring devices may be distributed about the network, each have limited computing resources. Measurements performed by a single monitoring device are limited due to reliance on limited computing resources of the monitoring device, limiting the ability of the monitoring device to monitor multiple external dependencies of a network resource provided by a server or availability of the network resource that may affect QoE of an end user. This further limits the ability of the single monitoring device to measure end-to-end performance of a service provided by the server.
Such conventional methods and systems have generally been considered satisfactory for their intended purpose. However, there is still a need in the art for a method to increase the computing resources of one or more network monitoring devices to increase the ability to monitor QoE of an end user using a service provided by a server and end-to-end performance of the service.

System and method for distributed testing of end-to-end performance of a server


A vehicular exhaust structure is provided for exhausting gas used for cooling down a battery arranged under a seat in a vehicle into a luggage compartment of the vehicle behind the seat and including an underfloor storage box arranged under a deck board. The structure includes an exhaust duct and an exhaust conduit. The exhaust duct is arranged behind the battery with an inlet thereof located at a first end facing the battery and an outlet thereof located at a second end facing upward. The exhaust conduit includes a box section communicated with the outlet of the exhaust duct and defined by surfaces of a front portion of the underfloor storage box arranged over the outlet of the exhaust duct. One of the surfaces faces a back surface of a backrest of the seat and has a through hole that opens toward a front side of the vehicle.

A known vehicle with an on-board battery as a power source, such as a hybrid vehicle and an electric vehicle, has a battery temperature control system that control a temperature of the on-board battery (battery pack) by blowing air to the battery. The air blown to the battery needs to be cooled down and exhausted. For such a purpose, an exhaust duct is provided in a luggage compartment of the vehicle. The exhaust duct extends from the luggage compartment to the outside and thus the exhaust air from the battery is discharged to the outside of the vehicle.
One example of such vehicles is described in Japanese published patent application No. 2010-149647.
The configuration with which the exhaust air from the battery is discharged to the outside of the vehicle may require a long exhaust duct. If the exhaust duct is long, the exhaust duct takes up a large part of space in the luggage compartment and thus a size of usable space in the luggage compartment decreases. This is not desirable. A configuration in which space between assembly parts of the luggage compartment (e.g., an underfloor storage box and a vehicle body is configured as a part of an exhaust path (instead of an exhaust duct) to reduce a length of the exhaust duct.
If the space between assembly parts of the luggage compartment is used as a part of the exhaust path, the airtightness of the exhaust path is low in comparison to an exhaust duct. Exhaust gas may leak from an unexpected part of the exhaust path such as space between assembly parts.
The leaking exhaust gas may make occupants of the vehicle uncomfortable. For example, cool air may be forced into the occupant side by the leaking exhaust gas and the occupants feel uncomfortable with the cool air. If a spare tire in the luggage compartment of the vehicle is exposed to the exhaust gas, the occupants may feel uncomfortable due to the smell of the spare tire.


Techniques and devices are provided related to insert assemblies that may be used in conjunction with microfluidic devices. In one embodiment, the insert assemblies include a functional material, such as a solid stationary phase, that may be coupled to a microfluidic pathway via the insert assembly. In this manner, solid stationary phase materials that may be challenging to directly apply to a microfluidic device may be separately enclosed inside the insert element prior to assembly into a microfluidic device, such as a microfluidic chip.

Multiple processes in chemistry employ a solid stationary phase for purification, filtering or separation of reagents or reagent mixtures. Conventional implementations may include columns packed with a resin containing beads or porous media of a certain size, with a functionalized surface, and/or specific material properties. Solid stationary phases are often implemented in chromatography. For example, solid stationary phases may be used in partition, normal-phase, displacement, reversed-phase, size-exclusion, ion-exchange and bioaffinity chromatography. Other implementations are solid phase extraction (SPE) and ion exchange columns as they are used e.g. in radiochemistry for purification and concentration of radioactive species.
Microfluidic technology has applications in chemistry, biochemistry, biology, physics and pharmaceutics. Microfluidic techniques typically involve small sample volumes, e.g., in the range of several nanoliters to hundreds of microliters, and offers advantages such as low reagent consumption, efficient thermal control, small system footprint at a high level of functionality integration and versatile, disposable microfluidic core components. Whereas microfluidic systems have developed over several decades, only a few microfluidics based products have succeeded and entered the market. Challenges in microfluidics may relate to system reliability, the micro-to macro interface, system control, readout, overall system complexity, manufacturing complexity and resulting cost of microfluidic consumable products, and the implementation of conventional chemical methods utilized during analysis, synthesis and purification of chemical compounds. With regard to the incorporation of chemical techniques into microfluidic environments, the implementation of stationary phases and beads onto microfluidic chip devices suitable for mass production is particularly challenging.

Insert assembly for a microfluidic device


A mechanically self-stabilized cavity length controller for use within a ring laser gyroscope, including piezoelectric elements which are employed to move mirrors and effect a change of the laser path length. More particularly, a cavity length controller consisting of component parts fabricated from dissimilar materials, and configured so as to largely cancel any thermally-induced dimensional variations by virtue of the differential thermal expansion rates of the various component parts. The cavity length controller also includes two piezoelectric plates affixed to opposite sides of a deformable diaphragm which is coupled to a mirrored surface within the cavity. To correct for any nominal, thermally-induced cavity variations which might still be evident in a cavity employing the controller, an electrical potential is applied to the piezoelectric plates, causing the radial expansion of one plate and the simultaneous radial contraction of the other, thereby deforming the diaphragm. This deformation results in a corresponding shift in the displacement of the coupled mirrored surface. Such a shift would effectively vary the length of a laser path which included the mirrored surface.

The present invention provides a mechanically self-stabilized cavity length controller for use within a ring laser gyroscope, including piezoelectric elements which are employed to move mirrors and effect a change of the laser path length. More particularly, a cavity length controller consisting of component parts fabricated from dissimilar materials, and configured so as to largely cancel any thermally-induced dimensional variations by virtue of the differential thermal expansion rates of the various component parts. The cavity length controller also includes two piezoelectric plates affixed to opposite sides of a deformable diaphragm which is coupled to a mirrored surface within the cavity. To correct for any nominal, thermally-induced cavity variations which might still be evident in a cavity employing the controller, an electrical potential is applied to the piezoelectric plates, causing the radial expansion of one plate and the simultaneous radial contraction of the other, and thereby deforming the diaphragm. This deformation results in a corresponding shift in the displacement of the coupled mirrored surface, effectively varying the length of the cavity which includes that mirrored surface.
Ring laser gyroscopes measure rates of rotation by detecting phase shifts in two counter-rotating beams of laser light within a cavity having a length equal to an integral number of wavelengths of the laser light being used. The cavity would include a lasing element, a light sensing element, and an arrangement of mirrors for directing the laser light into a closed path or "ring" within the cavity. The difference in travel time around the cavity for each of the beams (which is indicated by the number of phase shifts detected by the light sensing element) is directly proportional to the rotation of the cavity. This rotation-induced travel time difference is known as the Sagnac Effect. In order to insure that accurate measurements of rotation can be made with such a gyroscope, it is important that the distance which the beams travel around the cavity (the cavity length) be maintained constant to within about 0.001 of the wavelength of the laser light being used (a typical laser gyroscope employs a laser having a wavelength on the order of 600 nm).
The majority of modern ring laser gyroscope cavities are fashioned from ceramic glasses having extremely low coefficients of thermal expansion ("CTE"). Mirrors are placed within the cavity to direct the laser light into a closed path. While the use of low CTE glass minimizes the effect of temperature cycling upon the physical dimensions of the cavity, it does not eliminate it. It is therefore necessary to vary the positions of the mirrors within the cavity so as to compensate for the expansion and contraction of the cavity, and maintain a constant path length for the laser.
Cavity Length Controllers ("CLCs") are devices which alter the position of one or more of the mirrors contained within a ring laser gyroscope, and thereby introduce a controlled change in the cavity length. This cavity length adjustment has been effected in previous CLCs through the application of a direct current ("DC") voltage across a piezoelectric element. This element, which expands or contracts in response to applied voltages, would be coupled to cause the translation of a mirrored surface within the cavity and thereby produce a specific change in the cavity length. The applied voltage would then be adjusted to effect changes in the cavity length which would cancel thermally-induced cavity variations. In addition to the DC voltage applied across the piezoelectric element of a CLC, an alternating current ("AC") voltage is also typically applied. The AC voltage modulates the mirror controlled by the CLC about the position selected by the DC voltage. This positional modulation provides an error signal which is used to maintain the path length at a constant.
Ironically, one of the prime sources of thermally-induced cavity length variation has been the CLCs themselves. Prior art CLCs have typically contained components fabricated from materials having a higher CTE than the ceramic glasses which make up the remainder of the cavity. This increased length variation has made it necessary for the CLCs to compensate for greater distances, which for piezoelectric CLCs translates into a higher voltage being required for application to the piezoelectric element within them.
In a typical square laser cavity employing two prior art CLCs (such as ones having the configuration disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,677), potentials in excess of 200 V would have to be applied to each of the CLCs in order to compensate for cavity length variations over a -55.degree. C. to +70.degree. C. temperature range. This type of high-voltage requirement has limited the temperature ranges over which laser gyroscopes employing prior art CLCs could reliably operate (as many applications of ring laser gyroscopes are in vehicles or weapon systems, available power is usually at a premium). In addition, since the amount of thermal expansion of a laser cavity is directly proportional to the size of the cavity, limitations which these high-voltage requirements place upon achievable mirror displacement have prohibited the application of piezoelectric CLCs in larger laser cavities.
Accordingly, it is the object of the present invention to provide for a piezoelectric CLC which exhibits high dimensional stability over a wide range of temperatures, thus reducing the need for large mirror displacements, and associated high-voltages that need be applied to the CLC in order to effect them. This will allow CLCs having the invention's configuration to maintain a constant path length within a laser cavity over a greater range of temperature for any given voltage restriction, and to be implemented in laser cavities of almost any size.

Cavity length controller for ring laser gyroscope applications


A diffuser includes multiple vanes rotatable about pivot pins between multiple positions. A mounting plate supports a backing plate. The vanes are arranged between the backing plate and the shroud. The pivot pins are in a slip fit relationship with the backing plate, vanes and shroud and are threadingly received by bosses in the mounting plate. The mounting plate and pivot pin arrangement better enables the backing plate and shroud to remain parallel with one another during deflection of the backing plate and/or shroud. Structure, such as integral protrusions and/or bolts, extend from between the backing plate and shroud through apertures in the vanes to better contain the vanes in the event of a catastrophic failure.

This application relates to a variable area diffuser. In particular, this application relates to a variable area, vane-type-diffuser suitable for use in a compressed air system for an air conditioning pack.
Variable area diffusers utilize multiple vanes that are rotated between different angular positions to vary the throat size of the diffuser. Variable area diffusers can be used in conjunction with, for example, superchargers to vary the flow through an air conditioning system of an aircraft at various altitudes.
The variable area diffuser may be subjected to very high stresses, for example, as the compressor is driven at high speed. The diffuser structure must pass a containment test in which the compressor rotor is rotated at very high speeds until the rotor disintegrates. The debris must stay within its housing so that the debris does not create a hazard to surrounding areas, components or personnel.
Another problem with the diffuser operation is that the structure adjacent to the vanes, such as a backing plate and/or shroud, deflects. It is desirable to maintain a clearance of only a few thousandths on either side of the vane throughout the operation of the diffuser. Deflection of the structure surrounding the vanes can create a binding condition compromising the operation of the diffuser.
What is needed is an improved variable area diffuser with improved operation under applied loads and improved containment of debris in the event of rotor failure.


This invention relates generally to the field of antifungal agents and a pharmaceutical preparation containing those agents which appear to be potentially useful in the field of antifungal therapy. More particularly, this invention relates to the discovery of remarkably unexpected properties for a series of macrocyclic lactone polyethers (spongistatins) which are derived from the marine sponges Spongia sp. and Spirastrella spinispirulifera and which inhibited growth of yeasts and filamentous fungi in disk diffusion and broth macrodilution (for spongistatin 1) assays. Spongistatins 2-7 likewise demonstrated antifungal activity in disk diffusion methods. Therapeutic dosage forms are also described for the treatment of infections caused by Candida Albicans, Cryptococcus neoformans, Candida lusitaniae, Candida parapsilosis, Candida tropicalis, Candida glabrata, Issatchenkia orientalis, Rhodotorula mucilaginosa, Aspergillus fumigatus, Rhizopus ologosporus, and other yeast and filamentous fungi including strains resistant to amphotericin B, ketoconazole and flucytosine.

Marine organisms are proving to be very productive sources of new therapeutic agents. Indeed, some of today's most promising anticancer drugs in clinical or preclinical trials have been isolated from marine invertebrates or their associated microbes. (Flam, F. 1994. Chemical prospectors scour seas for promising drugs. Science 266:1324-1325; Pettit, G. R. 1994. Marine animal and terrestrial plant anticancer constituents. Pure & Appl. Chem. 66:2271-2281). The spongistatins are a family of macrocyclic lactone polyethers recently isolated from marine Porifera. Spongistatins 1-3 were discovered in Eastern Indian Ocean Spongia sp. (Pettit, G. R., Z. A. Cichacz, F. Gao, C. L. Herald, and M. R. Boyd. 1993). Isolation and structure of the remarkable human cancer cell growth inhibitors spongistatins 2 and 3 from an Eastern Indian Ocean Spongia sp. J. Chem. Soc. Chem. Commun. 14:1166-1168; Pettit, G. R., Z. A. Cichacz, C. L. Herald, M. R. Boyd, J. M. Schmidt, and J. N. A. Hooper. 1993. Isolation and structure of spongistatin 1. J. Org. Chem. 58:1302-1304), and spongistatins 4-7 in the Southeast African marine sponge, Spirastrella spinispirulifera. (Pettit, G. R., C. L. Herald, Z. A. Cichacz, F. Gao, M. R. Boyd, N. D. Christie, and J. M. Schmidt. 1993. Antineoplastic agents 293. The exceptional human cancer cell growth inhibitors spongistatins 6 and 7. Nat. Prod. Lett. 3:239-244; Pettit, G. R., Z. A. Cichacz, F. Gao, J. M. Schmidt, M. R. Boyd, N. D. Christie, and F. E. Boettner. 1993. Isolation and structure of the powerful human cancer cell growth inhibitors spongistatins 4 and 5 from an African Spirastrella spinispirulifera (Porifera). J. Chem. Soc. Chem. Commun. 24:1805-1807). All of the spongistatins have exceptionally potent and selective inhibitory activity against a subset of the U.S. National Cancer Institute's human cancer cell lines. (Pettit, G. R., Z. A. Cichacz, F. Gao, C. L. Herald, and M. R. Boyd. 1993. Isolation and structure of the remarkable human cancer cell growth inhibitors spongistatins 2 and 3 from an Eastern Indian Ocean Spongia sp. J. Chem. Soc. Chem. Commun. 14:1166-1168; Pettit, G. R., Z. A. Cichacz, C. L. Herald, M. R. Boyd, J. M. Schmidt, and J. N. A. Hooper. 1993. Isolation and structure of spongistatin 1. J. Org. Chem. 58:1302-1304; Pettit, G. R., C. L. Herald, Z. A. Cichacz, F. Gao, M. R. Boyd, N. D. Christie, and J. M. Schmidt. 1993. Antineoplastic agents 293. The exceptional human cancer cell growth inhibitors spongistatins 6 and 7. Nat. Prod. Lett. 3:239-244; and Pettit, G. R., Z. A. Cichacz, F. Gao, J. M. Schmidt, M. R. Boyd, N. D. Christie, and F. E. Boettner. 1993. Isolation and structure of the powerful human cancer cell growth inhibitors spongistatins 4 and 5 from an African Spirastrella spinispirulifera (Porifera). J. Chem. Soc. Chem. Commun. 24:1805-1807).
The isolation and elucidation of spongistatins 1-7 are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,328,929 (2, 3, 4 & 6), 5,393,897 (5 and 7 inter alia), and 5,436,400 (1).
Because of their availability, it was of interest to determine whether these macrocyclic lactones might also have other interesting therapeutic activity. The increase in antibiotic resistant microbes and our paucity of effective antifungals, in addition to a growing population of immunocompromised patients, indicated a critical need for novel antimicrobial agents and it was with this goal in mind that we discovered the antifungal activity of the spongistatins.

Antifungal activity of the spongistatins

Arizona Board of Regents, a body corporate, acting on behalf of Arizona State University


A stackable stamp assembly used to form images on a surface includes a substantially congruent and releasably engageable base, intermediate members, and cover assembly. A stamp is attached to each of the intermediate members. The intermediate members are dish-shaped so that the stamp of an upper member is received within the member disposed immediately below when the members are stacked one on top of the other. The assembly may also includes ways to facilitate the alignment of the assembly with the surface on which an imprint of the stamp is to be made.

In recent years, stamping has become increasingly sophisticated due to the intricacy of the available stamp impressions, the use of multiple stamps (i.e. overlapping several stamp impressions) and of various types of inks. In general, stamping devices consist of a rubber stamp attached to an opaque handle and/or mounting plate, and of a separate inking pad for applying ink to the stamp. Frequently, an office or home will have several of these stamping devices as well as one or more inking pads. These prior art configurations typically occupy significant space on a desk, and are prone to being misplaced due to the small size of their components. Also, when multiple stamp impressions are made, it is often difficult to accurately position the stamping device relative to the surface on which the impressions are to be made.
Some of these shortcomings have been recognized by those skilled in the art specifically, U.S. Pat. No. 3,090,304 issued on May 21, 1963 to Sulkie discloses a stamp assembly having a plurality of nested cup-shaped elements (each having tapered sides), and a base support. Each cup-shaped element also includes a mounted inking pad on the inside bottom of the cup and an interchangeably mountable rubber stamp on the outside bottom of the cup. When the cup-shaped elements are nested one on top of the other, each rubber stamp is in contact with the inking pad of the cup below. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 2,891,472 issued on Jun. 23, 1959 to Holzer also covers a nested stamp assembly. As can be readily appreciated, however, the nested cup-shaped configuration of Sulkie and Holzer typically increases the height of the assembly, thereby requiring a base support to increase its stability. In addition, such configurations do not include features to facilitate the alignment of the stamp with the receiving surface.
Thus, it is desirable to provide a stamp assembly which can alleviate the problems associated with prior art devices by providing more efficient storage and handling of the assembly components, and by facilitating the use of these devices, without undesirably increasing their cost.