Production of purified, parenterally administrable starch by washing starch containing more than 85% amylopectin in order to remove surface-localized proteins, lipids and endotoxins, dissolving the starch in aqueous medium, molecular weight reduction by shearing, and optionally removal of residual water-soluble proteins, preferably by anion exchange chromatography.

Many drugs have to be administered parenterally, in particular by injection, since they are either subjected to degradation or are insufficiently absorbed when they are given, for example, orally or nasally or by the rectal route. A drug preparation intended for parenteral use has to meet a number of requirements in order to be approved by the regulatory authorities for use on humans. It must therefore be biocompatible and biodegradable and all used substances and their degradation products must be non-toxic. In addition, particulate drug preparations intended for injection have to be small enough to pass through the injection needle, which preferably means that they should be smaller than 200 μm. The drug should not be degraded in the preparation to any great extent during production or storage thereof or after administration and should be released in a biologically active form with reproducible kinetics.
One class of polymers which meets the requirements of biocompatibility and biodegradation into harmless end products is the linear polyesters based on lactic acid, glycolic acid and mixtures thereof. These polymers will also hereinafter be referred to as PLGA. PLGA is degraded by ester hydrolysis into lactic acid and glycolic acid and has been shown to possess excellent biocompatibility. The innocuous nature of PLGA can be exemplified, moreover, by the approval by the regulating authorities, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, of several parenteral delayed release preparations based on these polymers.
Parenterally administrable delayed release products currently on the market and based on PLGA include Decapeptyl™ (Ibsen Biotech), Prostap SR™ (Lederle), Decapeptyl® Depot (Ferring) and Zoladex® (Zeneca). The drugs in these preparations are all peptides. In other words, they consist of amino acids condensed into a polymer having a relatively low degree of polymerization and they do not have any well-defined three-dimensional structure. This, in turn, usually allows the use of relatively harsh conditions during the production of these products. For example, extrusion and subsequent size-reduction can be utilized, which techniques would probably not be allowed in connection with proteins, since these do not, generally speaking, withstand such stringent conditions.
Consequently, there is also a need for controlled release preparations for proteins. Proteins are similar to peptides in that they also consist of amino acids, but the molecules are larger and the majority of proteins are dependent on a well-defined three-dimensional structure as regards many of their properties, including biological activity and immunogenicity. Their three-dimensional structure can be destroyed relatively easily, for example by high temperatures, surface-induced denaturation and, in many cases, exposure to organic solvents. A very serious drawback connected with the use of PLGA, which is an excellent material per se, for delayed release of proteins is therefore the need to use organic solvents to dissolve the said PLGA, with the attendant risk that the stability of the protein will be compromised and that conformation changes in the protein will risk leading to an immunological reaction in the patient, which can produce both a loss of therapeutic effect, through the formation of inhibitory antibodies, and toxic side effects. Since it is extremely difficult to determine with certainty whether a complex protein has retained its three-dimensional structure in every respect, it is very important to avoid exposing the protein to conditions which might induce conformation changes.
Despite intense efforts aimed at modifying the PLGA technology in order to avoid this inherent problem of protein instability during the production process, progress within this field has been very slow, the main reason probably being that the three-dimensional structures for the majority of proteins are far too sensitive to withstand the manufacturing conditions used and the chemically acidic environment formed with the degradation of PLGA matrices. The scientific literature contains a large number of descriptions of stability problems in the manufacture of microspheres of PLGA owing to exposure to organic solvents. As an example of the acidic environment which is formed upon the degradation of PLGA matrices, it has recently been shown that the pH value in a PLGA microsphere having a diameter of about 40 μm falls to 1.5, which is fully sufficient to denature, or otherwise damage, many therapeutically usable proteins (Fu et al, Visual Evidence of Acidic Environment Within Degrading Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) Microspheres, Pharmaceutical Research, Vol. 17, No. 1, 2000, 100–106). Should the microspheres have a greater diameter, the pH value can be expected to fall further owing to the fact that the acidic degradation products have more difficulty in diffusing away and the autocatalytic reaction is intensified.
A number of attempts to solve problems caused by exposure of the biologically active Substance to a chemically acidic environment during the biodegradation of the microsphere matrix and organic solvents in the manufacturing process have been described. In order to avoid an acidic environment during the degradation, attempts have been made to replace PLGA as the matrix for the microspheres by a polymer which produces chemically neutral degradation products, and in order to avoid exposing the biologically active substance to organic solvents, either it has been attempted to manufacture the microspheres in advance and, only after they have been processed and dried, to load them with the biologically active substance, or attempts have been made to exclude or limit the organic solvent during manufacture of the microspheres.
By way of example, highly branched starch of relatively low molecular weight (maltodextrin, average molecular weight about 5000 Da) has been covalently modified with acryl groups for conversion of this starch into a form which can be solidified into microspheres and the obtained polyacryl starch has been converted into particulate form by radical polymerization in an emulsion with toluene/chloroform (4:1) as the outer phase (Characterization of Polyacryl Starch Microparticles as Carriers for Proteins and Drugs, Artursson et al, J Pharm Sci, 73, 1507–1513, 1984). Proteins were able to be entrapped in these microspheres, but the manufacturing conditions expose the biologically active substance to both organic solvents and high shearing forces in the manufacture of the emulsion. The obtained microspheres are dissolved enzymatically and the pH can be expected to be kept neutral. The obtained microspheres are not suitable for parenteral administration, especially repeated administrations, for a number of reasons. Most important of all is the incomplete and very slow biodegradability of both the starch matrix (Biodegradable Microspheres IV. Factors Affecting the Distribution and Degradation of Polyacryl Starch Microparticles, Laakso et al, J Pharm Sci 75, 962–967, 1986) and the synthetic polymer chain which cross-links the starch molecules. (Stjärnkvist P., Laakso T. and Sjöholm I. (1989) Biodegradable microspheres, XII: Properties of the crosslinking chains in polyacryl starch microparticles, J. Pharm. Sci. 78, 52–56). Moreover, these microspheres are far too small, <2 μm in diameter, to be suitable for injection in the tissues for-sustained release, since tissue macrophages can easily phagocytize them. Attempts to raise the degradation rate and the degree of degradation by introducing a potentially biodegradable ester group in order to bond the acryl groups to the highly branched starch failed to produce the intended result and even these polyacryl starch microspheres were biodegraded far too slowly and incompletely over reasonable periods of time (BIODEGRADABLE MICROSPHERES: Some Properties of Polyacryl Starch Microparticles Prepared from Acrylic acid Esterified Starch, Laakso and Sjöholm, 1987 (76), pp. 935–939, J Pharm Sci.)
Manufacture of starch microspheres with the use of non-chemically-modified starch using an oil as the outer phase has been described (U.S. Pat. No. 4,713,249; Schröder, U., Crystallized carbohydrate spheres for slow release and targeting, Methods Enzymol, 1985 (112), 116–128; Schröder, U., Crystallized carbohydrate spheres as a slow release matrix for biologically active substances, Bio-materials 5:100–104, 1984). The microspheres are solidified in these cases by precipitation in acetone, which leads both to the exposure of the biologically active substance to an organic solvent and to the non-utilization, during the manufacturing process, of the natural tendency of the starch to solidify through physical cross-linking. This leads, in turn, to microspheres having inherent instability, since the starch, after resuspension in water and upon exposure to body fluids, will endeavour to form such cross-links. In order for such a water-in-oil emulsion to be obtained, high shear forces are required and the microspheres which are formed are far too small to be suitable for parenteral sustained release.
EP 213303 A2 describes the production of microspheres of, inter alia, chemically unmodified starch in two-phase aqueous systems, utilizing the natural capacity of the starch to solidify through the formation of physical cross-links, and the immobilization of a substance in these microspheres for the purpose of avoiding exposure of the biologically active substance to organic solvents. The described methodology, in combination with the starch quality which is defined, does not give rise to fully biodegradable particles. Neither are the obtained particles suitable for injection, particularly for repeated injections over a longer period, since the described starch quality contains far too high quantities of foreign vegetable protein.
That starch is, in theory, a very suitable, perhaps even ideal, matrix material for microparticles has been known for a long time, since starch does not need to be dissolved in organic solvents and has a natural tendency to solidify and since there are enzymes within the body which can break down the starch into endogenic and neutral substances, ultimately glucose, and since starch, presumably owing to the similarity with endogenic glycogen, has been shown to be non-immunogenic. Despite intense efforts, starch having properties which enable manufacture of microparticles suitable for parenteral use and conditions which enable manufacture of fully biodegradable microparticles under mild conditions, which allow sensitive, biologically active substances, such as proteins, to become entrapped, has not been previously described.
Starch granules from natural sources contain impurities, such as starch proteins, which makes them unsuitable for parenteral administration. In the event of unintentional depositing of insufficiently purified starch, such as can occur in operations where many types of operating gloves are powdered with stabilized starch granules, very serious secondary effects can arise. Neither are starch granules intrinsically suitable for repeated parenteral administrations, for the reason that they are not fully biodegradable within acceptable time spans.
Starch microspheres made of acid-hydrolyzed and purified starch have been used for parenteral administration to humans. The microspheres were made by chemical cross-linking with epichlorohydrin under strongly alkaline conditions. The chemical modification which was then acquired by the starch leads to reduced biodegradability, so that the microspheres can be fully dissolved by endogenic enzymes, such as α-amylase, but not converted fully into glucose as the end product. Neither the manufacturing method nor the obtained microspheres are suitable for the immobilization of sensitive proteins, nor is such acid-hydrolyzed starch, which is essentially based on hydrolyzed amylose, suitable for producing either fully biodegradable starch microspheres or starch microspheres containing a high load of a biologically active substance, such as a protein.
Hydroxyethyl starch (HES) is administered parenterally to humans in high doses as a plasma substitute. HES is produced by starch granules from starch consisting broadly exclusively of highly branched amylopectin, so-called "waxy maize", being acid-hydrolyzed in order to reduce the molecular weight and being subsequently hydroxyethylated under alkaline conditions and acid-hydrolyzed once more to achieve an average molecular weight of around 200,000 Da. After this, filtration, extraction with acetone and spray-drying are carried out. The purpose of the hydroxyethylation is to prolong the duration of the effect, since non-modified amylopectin is very rapidly degraded by α-amylase and its residence time in the circulation is around 10 minutes. HES is not suitable for the production of fully biodegradable microspheres containing a biologically active substance, since the chemical modification leads to a considerable reduction in the speed and completeness of the biodegradation and results in the elimination of the natural tendency of the starch to solidify through the formation of non-covalent cross-linkings. Moreover, highly concentrated solutions of HES become far too viscous to be usable for the production of microparticles. The use of HES in these high doses shows that parenterally usable starch can be manufactured, even though HES is not usable for the manufacture of microspheres without chemical cross-linking or precipitation with organic solvents.
WO 99/00425 describes the use of heat-resistant proteolytic enzymes with wide pH-optimum to purify starch granules from surface-associated proteins. The obtained granules are not suitable for parenteral administration, since they still contain the starch proteins which are present within the granules and there is a risk that residues of the added proteolytic enzymes will be left in the granules. Neither are the granules suitable for the manufacture of parenterally administrable starch microspheres in two-phase aqueous systems, since they have the wrong molecular weight distribution to be able to be used in high enough concentration, even after being dissolved, and, where microspheres can be obtained, they are probably not fully biodegradable.
The use of shearing to modify the molecular weight distribution of starch, for the purpose of producing better starch for the production of tablets, is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,455,342 and WO 93/21008. The starch which is obtained is not suitable for parenteral administration owing to the high content of starch proteins, which might be present in denatured form after the shearing, and neither is the obtained starch suitable for producing biodegradable starch microspheres for parenteral administration or for use in two-phase aqueous systems for the production of such starch microspheres. Shearing has also been used to manufacture hydroxyethylstarch, as is disclosed in WO 96/10042. However, for similar reasons such hydroxyethylstarch is not either suitable for parenteral administration or for the production of microspheres as referred to.
A process for the production of parenterally administrable starch preparations having the following features would therefore be particularly desirable:                a process by means of which a substantially fully biodegradable and biocompatible starch can be produced, which is suitable for administering parenterally and upon whose degradation chemically neutral endogenic substances are formed;        a parenterally acceptable starch which is suitable for the production of substantially fully biodegradable i starch microparticles.
Objects such as these and other objects are achieved by means of the invention defined below.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Abstract: Purified starch and microparticles based on such starch.


The invention relates to a method for allocating frequencies to base stations in a mobile telephone network, especially a method for automatically resetting frequencies already allocated in the case of non-saturated base stations and re-allocating frequencies to said base stations. Firstly, frequencies are allocated to base stations using any known prior art method. In the case where no non-saturated base station is present, a complete frequency plan is obtained. However, if some base stations are not saturated, the inventive method is carried out: the current frequency allocation is reset and a new frequency allocation is carried out automatically. A parameter, the resetting extent parameter, is used to determine to which extent the resetting method is implemented.

The invention relates to a method for allocating frequencies to base stations in a mobile telephone network, and in particular to a method for automatically resetting already allocated frequencies in the event of non-saturated base stations and reallocating frequencies to the base stations.
In conjunction with the expansion of an existing mobile telephone network, for example by adding new base stations, it may happen that several of the newly added base stations are non-saturated after a frequency has been allocated, which is typically performed with the help of EDP-supported methods. In other words, a lesser number of frequencies than required are (can be) allocated to the base stations.
There are essentially two reasons why these base stations are non-saturated after a method for allocating frequencies has been applied. On one hand, it may involve base stations which cannot reach saturation due to a combination of the network structure and the planning parameters; on the other hand, it may involve base stations which cannot receive the allocation of the desired number of frequencies that are free from interference due to earlier allocations of frequencies to "old" base stations. In the second case, there remains in principle the possibility to achieve a saturation of the base stations by retuning "old" frequency allocations, which would then allow an allocation of frequencies to the newly added stations. This second possibility has hitherto been performed manually by the mobile network planners. Manual processing not only requires that stations preventing an allocation are identified, but also requires determination of an optimal new allocation of frequencies.

Method for assigning frequencies to base stations of a mobile telephone network


A smooth, greaseless skin ointment especially prepared for irritated skin, which protects, adheres and simultaneously is easily washable without causing skin damage. The ointment base is a blend of polyethylene glycols. It is combined with a bioadhesive which works synergistically to allow the blended ointment base to adhere to wet and moist areas, while not being so adhesive as to cause damage when removed in washing. Specifically a blend of polyethylene glycol polymers is prepared to provide good skin feel and drag, a polyvinyl ether anhydride salt bioadhesive is added and a polyvinylpyrrolidone is also used as a dispersant, and feces and urine toxicant binder. Optionally minor amounts of dimethicone can be added.

This invention relates to a skin protectant, usually for use after skin cleansing. It is a protectant that is especially designed for irritated or compromised skin.
Ointments to be used on irritated skin in order to eliminate the pain and irritating feeling are known. Most are petrolatum based and contain a zinc oxide pigment in order to enhance wound healing.
A significant problem in use of these presently available skin protectants, which are ointment based and contain zinc oxide, is that they in fact do not ideally protect compromised areas. Moreover, the presence of zinc oxide, often compounds the problem of difficulty of removal during wound cleansing. Put another way, because the zinc oxide is somewhat difficult to remove, a nurse applicator is apt to over scrub in cleansing in order to remove zinc oxide. As a result, irritation is exacerbated, skin may be compromised or torn, and the ultimate healing process is delayed.
Problems such as those above described are very common in association with chronic diarrhea, enzymatic drainage, or incontinence. For use with these three problems particularly, a skin protectant needs to one which is greaseless, which provides a good moisture barrier, and one with excellent adhesion to both moist and dry skin.
It is a primary objective invention to provide a skin protectant which is especially designed for use with irritated skin normally associated with chronic diarrhea, enzymatic drainage or incontinence.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a skin protectant which adheres to both moist and dry skin, and yet which can be easily removed during wound cleansing, without compromising or tearing the skin.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a non-greasy ointment that does not contain zinc oxide.
A further objective of the present invention is to provide an ointment especially usable for compromised or torn tissue which has just the right amount of drag or feel, such that it can be applied to provide a pleasant feeling and for good adherence and yet not being so tacky as to tear skin.
A yet further object of the present invention is to provide a skin protectant which is not petrolatum based, and which is easy to formulate suitable for tubular dispensers.
The method and manner of accomplishing each of the above objectives as well as others will become apparent from the detailed description of the invention which follows.

Protectant for irritated skin containing polyethyleneglycols, polyvinylether salt anhydride and polyvinylpyrrolidone


An electro-optical sensing device for detecting the presence and concentration of an analyte in a liquid or gaseous medium includes a pair of indicator elements positioned to receive radiation from a radiation source and transmit radiation to a pair of photosensitive elements. The indicator elements each contain indicator molecules having an optical characteristic responsive to the presence of an analyte; however, one of the indicator elements is covered by an analyte-impermeable chamber that renders the indicator element insensitive to the presence of the analyte in the medium outside the chamber so that it can be used as a reference to cancel environmental and systemic variables that affect both indicator elements. The chamber preferably holds an analyte-containing fluid in contact with the reference indicator element so that the indicator elements operate under nominally identical conditions. The indicator element used to measure the analyte in the external medium is preferably also covered, but in a manner that provides direct contact between the analyte and the indicator element.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to electro-optical sensing devices for detecting the presence or concentration of an analyte in a liquid or gaseous medium. More particularly, the invention relates to an electro-optical sensing device having a signal channel responsive to the presence of an analyte in a liquid or gaseous medium and a reference channel that is not responsive to the presence of the analyte in the medium.
2. Discussion of the Background Art
U.S. Pat. No. 5,517,313, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, describes an electro-optical sensing device that detects the presence and amount of an analyte using fluorescence of an indicator molecule. Broadly speaking, in the context of the field of the present invention, indicator molecules are molecules having one or more optical characteristics affected by the local presence of an analyte. In one embodiment of the device according to U.S. Pat. No. 5,517,313, a light source is located at least partially within a layer of material containing indicator molecules that fluoresce when illuminated by the light source. Alternatively, the light source is located at least partially within a wave guide layer such that light emitted by the source strikes and causes the indicator molecules to fluoresce. A high-pass filter allows fluorescent light emitted by the indicator molecules to reach a photosensitive element while filtering out scattered light from the light source.
The fluorescence of the indicator molecules employed in the device described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,517,313 is modulated, i.e., attenuated or enhanced, by the local presence of an analyte. For example, the orange-red fluorescence of the complex tris(4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline)ruthenium(II) perchlorate is quenched by the local presence of oxygen. Therefore, this complex can be used advantageously as the indicator molecule in an oxygen sensor. Indicator molecules whose fluorescence properties are affected by various other analytes are known as well.
In the sensing device described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,517,313, the material containing the indicator molecules is permeable to the analyte. Thus, the analyte can diffuse into the material from the surrounding test medium, thereby affecting the fluorescence of the indicator molecules. The light source, indicator molecule-containing material, high-pass filter, and photodetector are configured such that fluorescent light emitted by the indicator molecules impacts the photodetector such that an electrical signal is generated that is indicative of the concentration of the analyte in the surrounding medium.
In order to make accurate measurements based on a single variable, such as analyte concentration, the design of the sensing device must isolate the effects of analyte concentration from all other variables that may influence operation of the device. One way to do this is to measure all other influential variables using specific transducers, and assuming the relationship is well defined and predictable, compensate for these factors mathematically. Importantly, this method requires a means of measuring the influential variable specifically, and a detailed mathematical model describing and predicting its behavior over time.
In the example of the indicator molecule Ruthenium tris-biphenylphenanthroline, for example, the relationship between indicator fluorescence and oxygen concentration is described by the Stern-Volmer equation:I/IO=1+KSV[pO2]where I/IO is an intensity ratio, pO2 is oxygen concentration, and KSV is the Stern-Volmer constant. If the output from a sensor constructed using this type of indicator were recorded from within an environment which isolated all variables except oxygen concentration, we should see a plot as shown in FIG. 1. One can employ the Stern-Volmer plot as shown to measure an intensity in the presence and absence of oxygen (the analyte) and then find the corresponding oxygen concentration from the x-axis using the plot as a calibration curve.
In reality, however, KSV is a function of temperature, and in most practical applications, the temperature of the test medium can be expected to change substantially. The temperature can also change very rapidly. To account for the temperature sensitivity of KSV, the Stern-Volmer relationship can be represented by a series of curves, as shown in FIG. 2, corresponding to different temperatures.
Introduction of a second variable such as temperature thus makes measurement of the first variable (i.e., analyte concentration) much more difficult. It is necessary to know the temperature accurately in order to know which of the Stern-Volmer plots to use for finding the correct oxygen concentration from a measured intensity value.
An example of another influential variable is signal drift. Drift is less predictable than temperature because a multitude of known, and often, unknown, factors are causative. One of many such drift examples is illustrated by photo-oxidation in the case of the indicator Ruthenium tris-biphenylphenanthroline. Photo-oxidation, or photo-bleaching, is a well described degradation which occurs when a (typically photochemical) reaction occurs between the indicator and ambient oxygen. (In the case of the indicator Ruthenium tris-biphenylphenanthroline, the photodegradation occurs due to singlet oxygen.) This degradation reaction results in the covalent and permanent alteration of the indicator molecular structure. Once oxidized, the indicator loses it known performance characteristics and its sensitivity to the intended analyte. If a variable drift component due to photo-oxidation is superimposed over the previous temperature dependent variable shown in FIG. 2, the result is a complex plot of the type shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 3 shows what a Stern-Volmer calibration plot looks like under the influence of only three variables—changing oxygen concentration, changing temperature, and changing amplitude as a result of ongoing drift due to photo-oxidative degradation. It is not possible to know which of the plots to use for finding oxygen concentration without knowledge of the temperature and the amount of degradation experienced by the sensor.
Yet another example of error that may be introduced is from variable excitation light levels. Since the excitation light source directly "pumps" the fluorescence detected from the indicator, any fluctuation or degradation in the source light will directly be introduced as error into the calibration. Light source drift can be caused by transient changes in the sensor power supply or due to simple operational life degradation in the light source itself. Some means of correcting for this drift is necessary to making an accurate analyte measurement from sensor-supplied data.
From the above, it will be appreciated that, in order to design an electro-optical sensing device for the purpose of measuring a single analyte, some means of correcting for kinetic, molecular stability, and system influences which would otherwise introduce error into the measurement is required. These influential factors can become complex and are highly interdependent. For example, an increase in temperature will also tend to increase the rate of degradation due to photo-oxidation. There are many more known and often unknown influential factors than the three examples described. The result is a very complex and difficult to understand series of interdependent variables that directly affect the accuracy of a measurement by an electro-optical sensing device.
One method of correcting for the matrix of potential variables is to construct a reference channel that is responsive to all variables except the presence of the analyte in the external environment. The output from the reference channel may then be used to cancel the effect of such variables on the sensing channel, for example by taking the ratio of the sensing and reference channel outputs. In the absence of any change in the amount of analyte in the external environment, this ratio should remain constant over time so that, if the ratio is plotted, the result would be a flat line. This ensures that any change in the output ratio is due entirely to any change in the amount of analyte in the external environment.
Several examples of using a reference channel in this manner during analyte detection are known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,612,866, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a fluorescent oxygen sensor having a reference channel containing the same indicator chemistry as the measuring channel, except that the reference channel is coated with varnish to render it impermeable to oxygen. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/383,148, filed Aug. 26, 1999 and entitled "Optical-Based Sensing Devices" (which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,330,464 on Dec. 11, 2001), the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses another fluorescent oxygen sensing device having a reference channel that starts out with the same base chemistry as the sensing or signal channel but is further processed to block oxygen diffusion, for example by coating the reference channel with a material that is impermeable to oxygen.
This approach, however, may induce other differences between the channels that cannot be canceled by taking the ratio of the outputs. For example, the output from the reference channel may be increased or decreased due to reflectivity of the coating material. If the gain stages for each channel are designed the same, one could be running at substantially higher levels than the other due to differences in reflectivity. In addition, ambient light that might be present in the external environment at the same wavelength as the fluorescent emission would probably not be picked-up by the reference channel and, thus, would probably not be canceled.
Yet another difference may stem from the fact that surface chemical properties of the coating create the dominant properties of the reference channel whereas the chemical properties of the indicator material or matrix create the dominant properties of the sensing channel. Susceptibility to dust and condensation, chemical compatibility, and wear, would be expected to create other differences.
It is also expected that mechanical micro-thermal influences driven by surface turbulence would be different in a reference channel that has been "blanketed" and protected. Moreover, specific absorption or diffusion characteristics may be different. The rate of photo-oxidation would be expected to be dramatically different as the light scattering or absorbing influence from the coating may intensify the excitation flux on the indicator molecule. This would result in different rates of photo-bleaching thereby removing a key benefit sought from use of the reference channel.
Importantly, the inherent solubility of the analyte within the coating material will establish the concentration as seen by the reference channel. For example, if the analyte is oxygen, the inherent solubility of the coating material for oxygen will be the oxygen level maintained at the interface between the coating material and the top surface of the reference channel. Assuming this solubility results in an equilibrium concentration much less than the concentration of oxygen in air, then the reference channel will "see" a relatively anoxic environment. It will therefore perform as if it were in an anoxic environment. If the indicator molecule were a Ru complex as mentioned above, then the fluorescence of the reference channel will be much greater than the signal channel at sensor baseline because of the inverse relationship between oxygen quenching and fluorescence intensity. Further, because there is less oxygen in equilibrium with the reference channel on average in this example, the rate of photo-oxidation (beyond the previously described light scatter influence) will be reduced by the ratio of oxygen in the coating versus oxygen in air. Any chemical reaction with alteration of, or inclusion of, the chemical components of the coating material within the indicator matrix upon initial application will alter the performance characteristics relative to the signal channel.
FIG. 4 illustrates an optical sensing device 10 of the same general type as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,330,464 having an excitation source 12 in the form of an LED mounted on a substrate 14 within a housing 16, a pair of indicator membranes 18A and 18B mounted over openings 20A and 20B formed in the housing, and a pair of photosensitive elements 22A and 22B on opposite sides of the LED. The indicator membranes have the same base chemistry, however, the indicator membrane shown on the right in FIG. 4 is coated with a material 24 that is impermeable to oxygen in an attempt to form a reference channel.
FIG. 5 is a graph of actual test results for a sensing device of the type shown in FIG. 4 illustrating significantly different responses for the signal and reference channels over an extended period of time during which the sensing device is exposed to ambient air having a constant oxygen concentration. It can be seen that the ratio of the signal and reference channel outputs is not a flat line as desired, but an increasing function that makes interpretation of the results complex.
In addition to the foregoing, there are other methods of using a reference during analyte detection. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,861,727 and 5,190,729, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference, describe oxygen sensors employing two different lanthanide-based indicator chemistries that emit at two different wavelengths, a terbium-based indicator being quenched by oxygen and a europium-based indicator being largely unaffected by oxygen. U.S. Pat. No. 5,094,959, the entire disclosure of which is also incorporated herein by reference, describes an oxygen sensor in which a single indicator molecule is irradiated at a certain wavelength and the fluorescence emitted by the molecule is measured over two different emission spectra having two different sensitivities to oxygen. Specifically, the emission spectra which is less sensitive to oxygen is used as a reference to ratio the two emission intensities. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,462,880 and 5,728,422, the entire disclosures of which are also incorporated herein by reference, describe a radiometric fluorescence oxygen sensing method employing a reference molecule that is substantially unaffected by oxygen and has a photodecomposition rate similar to the indicator molecule. Additionally, Muller, B., et al., ANALYST, Vol. 121, pp. 339–343 (March 1996), the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a fluorescence sensor for dissolved CO2, in which a blue LED light source is directed through a fiber optic coupler to an indicator channel and to a separate reference photodetector which detects changes in the LED light intensity.
In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 4,580,059, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a fluorescent-based sensor containing a reference light measuring cell for measuring changes in the intensity of the excitation light source—see, e.g., column 10, lines 1, et seq. Furthermore, U.S. Pat. No. 4,617,277, the entire disclosure of which is also incorporated herein by reference, describes an absorbance-based sensor for carbon monoxide, in which a reference element reflects light from a source to a reference photocell to determine when a measuring element needs replacement due to irreversible color change.
There remains a need in the art for an electro-optical sensing device with a reference channel that responds in essentially the same manner as the measuring channel to all environmental and systemic factors except the presence of an analyte of interest in the external environment.

Electro-optical sensing device with reference channel


A security indication spanning tree system and method is presented. In one embodiment the asset value of a network node is determined. The exposure rating of said network node is ascertained. The impact risk to a preferred functionality due to an attack from another network node is analyzed. A spanning tree schematic of a network including the network node is created, wherein the spanning tree schematic includes an indication of the asset value.

Electronic systems and circuits have made a significant contribution towards the advancement of modern society and are utilized in a number of applications to achieve advantageous results. Numerous electronic technologies such as digital computers, calculators, audio devices, video equipment, and telephone systems have facilitated increased productivity and reduced costs in analyzing and communicating data, ideas and trends in most areas of business, science, education and entertainment. Frequently, electronic systems designed to provide these advantageous results are realized through the use of networked resources that facilitate leveraged use of centralized utility and data resources by distributed components. While the leveraged utilization of the centralized resources is advantageous, organization and maintenance of the centralized resources is usually very complex and often susceptible to the spread of detrimental intrusive attacks.
Centralizing certain resources within a distributed network typically provides desirable benefits. For example, centrally storing and/or processing information typically reduces wasteful duplicative storage and/or processing resources at each remote networked system. In addition to increasing efficiency, the functions provided and supported by centralized resources typically have significant economic value. The ever increasing demand for centralized type services is largely attributable to the ever growing cost of specialized information technology services and the increasing complexity of managing mission critical Enterprise and Internet applications. Interruptions in services and support for important applications implemented by the centralized resources due to intrusive attacks can be very costly. In supporting desirable flexibility and extensibility, centralizing resources can involve handling diverse applications, architectures and topologies (e.g., associated with a multi-vendor environment). Managing the infrastructure of a large and complicated centralized networked resource environment and protecting the resources from intrusive attacks raises many challenging operational issues.
Providing security for important centralized network assets is usually very important and also often complex. Offering ubiquitous access to a diverse set of centralized resources introduces challenges associated with protecting the centralized resources from intrusive attacks (e.g., that can detrimentally affect service quality). Modern networks can be very extensive and typically include numerous potential points of attack for intrusion. If an attack is able to "infiltrate" or overcome security measures at a particular point there is often an opportunity for the attack to spread rapidly and relatively unimpeded throughout a network. The devices in a network can be configured or associated to provide functionality and/or service for a variety of applications. Attacks directed to a single device or aspect of a network can be very harmful. The spread of the attack or intrusion throughout a network internally to impact applications implemented on and/or supported by the network can be devastating.
Intrusion attempts directed towards centralized resources are usually initially directed at penetrating from a single point or device and then to spread from that device to other devices in a centralized resource network or "internal" network. Traditional intrusion protection systems typically focus on preventing the initial breach of an individual component from devices outside internal networks. For example, a host intrusion detection system (HIDS) usually tries to detect intrusion on a host. A HIDS is usually limited to sensing very localized events and often only detects events on a particular host system and no where else. Another example of security system is a network intrusion detection system (NIDS). The NIDS usually tries to detect intrusions directed at traffic on a network segment. For example, NIDS are usually limited to sniffing network traffic at individual switching points. While NIDS may often be deployed to service a rather significant part of a network, it is usually limited to deployment at individual network egress points. While traditional intrusion protection often provides an initial line of defense or intrusion protection, breaching individual component security measures often occurs at an undesirable rate.
The most significant damage resulting from an intrusive attack on a component of a network usually occurs as a result of an intrusive attack spreading throughout the network. For example, an attack may be initially directed towards a relatively unimportant and/or unprotected component of a network. In and of itself the initial attack on a "weak" component may have little or no practical affect on the performance and functionality of the components in supporting various applications and systems, including important applications and systems. This may even be a reason for not expending security protection resources to protect the component. However, if the attack spreads from the "weak" component to a more critical component (e.g., a component that provides significant functionality for supporting important applications and systems), it could have a very significant affect on crucial performance and functional support. Even if significant resources are expended to protect the important component from attacks outside the network, they are essentially wasted if the component is susceptible to attacks from other components within the network. This is a significant consideration since once an initial breach is made, attacks typically spread in traditional systems and networks with little or no opposition.
Identifying devices in a centralized resource network or internal network that support important applications and are relatively more susceptible to attack internally is often complicated. Traditional attempts at preventing the spread of an attack usually involves manual coordination and analysis of individual alarms and potential impact on other devices in a system. Prior attempts at stopping the spread of an attack are usually laborious and often requires a significant level of knowledge and expertise on the priority of different applications and the functionality particular network components contribute to the applications. The complexity of a network and the numerous different applications and/or systems that rely on a component can also increase susceptibility to flaws associated with human error, which tends to increase when attempting to identify the important and susceptible internal centralized resources during an intrusive attack.

Security indication spanning tree system and method

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


Methods and systems for controlling an electric motor are provided herein. The system is configured to be coupled to a power supply. The electric motor system includes a rectifier, an electric motor, and a microcontroller. The rectifier is configured to convert an alternating current (AC) voltage input to a direct current (DC) voltage. The microcontroller is configured to extract power from a generator device.

The embodiments described herein relate generally to motors, and more particularly, to methods and systems for controlling power delivered to an electric motor.
Electric motors are used in a variety of systems operating in a variety of industries. Electric motors are used to power products such as fans used in heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems (HVAC). Energy losses occur during a thermodynamic cycle of refrigerant in a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system. Some of the dissipated energy may be recovered or regenerated using a low power turbine-generator assembly. Typically, energy is regenerated back to an electrical grid. Regeneration to the grid requires extra components, which can make it impractical and inefficient to regenerate energy to the grid. Moreover, known systems that regenerate energy rely on the regeneration source to "compete" with a conventional power supply to provide energy to the electric motor. That is, the regeneration source can only provide power to the electric motor when its terminal voltage is greater than the terminal voltage of the conventional power supply. Accordingly, until the amount of generated voltage reaches and exceeds the amount of power being supplied by the power supply, the regenerated energy is not used. Such known systems result in wasted energy and lack of control of supplying power to the electric motor.

Methods and systems for controlling power to an electric motor


A data synchronization method includes checking first to-be-checked information stored in an active area of a first board to obtain a first check result and second to-be-checked information stored in an active area of a second board to obtain a second check result before data synchronization, where the first board and the second board are include in an out-of-band management device, determining an active board and a standby board from the first board and the second board according to the first check result and the second check result, and synchronizing data in an active area of the active board to a standby area of the standby board. Hence, the method can be implemented to ensure validity of data synchronization.

Out-of-band management is a hardware-based management mode in which a management interface is provided using a dedicated hardware module or a special remote management card, and a device is remotely maintained and managed using a dedicated data channel.
In the server field, high-reliability, high-density, and high-performance servers that are transaction-oriented and computation-oriented are increasingly popular in some highly risky industries (such as a government, finance, electric power, petroleum, and operators). Because purchase and maintenance costs of this type of server are very high, higher requirements are imposed on reliability, maintainability, and availability of this type of server. Therefore, for this type of server, a redundancy design method is usually used in an out-of-band management layer such that when one set of systems are faulty, another set of systems may be started immediately to replace the faulty systems and implement normal running of services.
A redundancy design of an out-of-band management device for a server usually may use two completely same sets of hardware systems and software systems, where one set is used as an active device, and the other set is used as a standby device. The two sets of devices actually both run. The active device is in a work state, and the standby device is in a sleep state. To ensure consistency of system running, the software system of the active device synchronizes some key information (such as user management information and alarm information) to the standby device. In this way, when the system of the active device is faulty and the active device is changed to a standby device, the standby device may directly become an active device to implement seamless switching between the active device and the standby device, and replace the faulty system to continue running the services, without affecting any operation or configuration performed by a user.
As can be learned from the foregoing description, data synchronization between the active device and the standby device plays a core role in the redundancy design. It is found in practice that, in a process of data synchronization, some uncertain factors, for example, a misoperation of the user or sudden power-off, easily occur, and the uncertain factors cause data synchronization failure. Because data synchronization has a feature of replacement and overwriting, once the data synchronization fails, data can be hardly recovered. Consequently, a data loss is caused, and data synchronization is invalid.

Data synchronization method and out-of-band management device


The present application provides a method for a WiFi AP and a WiFi STA. For the WiFi AP, the method includes: being connected by a plurality of WiFi STAs s; performing a grouping operation upon the WiFi STAs; and configuring an ID of each of the WiFi STAs according to a result of the grouping operation. For the WiFi STA, the method includes: connecting to a WiFi AP; receiving an AID from the WiFi AP; and determining the time to exit doze state for receiving beacon according to the AID.

When a WiFi station (STA) connects to a WiFi access point (AP), the WiFi STA may enter the doze state to save power and wake up periodically to receive beacons to know if there is any buffered data in the WiFi AP. If there is any buffered data in the WiFi AP, the WiFi STA should send a packet to retrieve the buffered data. However, as the number of WiFi STAs increases, all WiFi STAs would receive beacons and send packets at the same time, resulting in a higher chance of signal collision, thereby lowering the overall efficiency and resulting in higher power consumption. Therefore, a method is needed to improve the above-mentioned issue.

Method for grouping WiFi STAs and associated apparatus


To suppress a fluctuation in resistivity around a target value to thereby stably manufacture high resistivity silicon single crystals having almost the same resistivity values in a manufacturing method wherein a silicon raw material is molten to manufacture a high resistivity silicon single crystal in the range of from 100 to 2000 Ω cm with a CZ method. In a case where poly-silicon produced with a Siemens method using trichlorosilane as raw material is used as the silicon raw material, an impurity concentration in the silicon raw material is selected so as to be controlled in the range of from −5 to 50 ppta method in terms of (a donor concentration—an acceptor concentration) and the selected poly-silicon is used. In a case of a MCZ method, the poly-silicon is selected in the range of from −25 to 20 ppta and the selected poly-silicon is used. Instead of the raw material, poly-silicon produced with a Siemens method using monosilane as raw material is used. Alternatively, a silicon crystal manufactured with a CZ method or a MCZ method using poly-silicon raw material is used.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a manufacturing method of a high resistivity silicon single crystal used in a substrate for a radio frequency communication device or the like.
2. Prior Art
In recent years, a demand for a high resistivity substrate has been built up in company with proliferation of a radio frequency communication device used in a short distance wireless LAN. A compound semiconductor technology using GaAs or the like has been conventionally used in more of cases on a substrate of a RF (Radio Frequency) circuit requiring a high resistivity. Such a compound semiconductor substrate, however, has been very expensive.
While a silicon CMOS was thought unsuitable for an RF circuit because of a high power consumption, it has become applicable to an RF circuit due to a great miniaturization and a progress in designing in recent years. Hence, attention has been focussed on a high resistivity silicon wafer excellent in an RF characteristic and economy, such as a mirror finished silicon wafer made from a high resistivity crystal grown with a Czochralski method (CZ method), an SOI (Silicon on Insulator) wafer or the like in place of a substrate made of a compound semiconductor such as GaAs.
A high resistivity silicon wafer can be obtained from a high resistivity silicon single crystal manufactured with a CZ method. In manufacture of a silicon single crystal with a CZ method, the silicon single crystal, as having been well known, is pulled up while being rotated from a silicon melt formed by melting a silicon raw material in a quartz crucible. The silicon raw material is in more of cases poly-silicon rods produced with a Siemens method using especially trichlorosilane as a raw material, which also applies to a case where a high resistivity silicon single crystal is produced without exception.
It has been found that in such a single crystal manufacturing method, however, high resistivity silicon single crystals, in a case where being produced, fluctuate in resistivity around a target value, which trend becomes more conspicuous with an increase in resistivity.
That is, a poly-silicon raw material used in manufacture of a single crystal with a CZ method has been recently of a sufficiently high purity, and while not only is a trace of a dopant added to the high class row material to thereby secure a predetermined resistivity, but a high quality crucible is used and a crucible rotational speed, a pressure in a pulling furnace and the like are also adjusted to thereby obtain a single crystal of a low oxygen concentration, a problem has arisen of a fluctuation in resistivity, which has not been encountered in manufacture of crystals of a common resistivity.

Manufacturing method of high resistivity silicon single crystal


An optical disc apparatus includes: a converging section for converging a light beam and irradiating a rotating information medium with the converged light beam; a moving section for moving the converging section, thereby moving a converging point of the converged light beam in a direction perpendicular to an information surface of the information medium; a converging state detection section for generating a focus servo signal which represents a converging state of the light beam on the information medium based on reflected light or transmitted light of the light beam from the information medium; a focus servo control section for controlling the moving section based on the focus servo signal, so that the light beam reaches a predetermined converging state on the information medium; and a focus pull-in section for turning ON the control by the focus servo control section, wherein the focus pull-in section turns ON the control by the focus servo control section in a case where the focus pull-in section determines that the converging point of the light beam is located in the vicinity of the minimum velocity position on the information medium axial deviation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical disk apparatus for optically reproducing/recording a signal from/to an information medium (e.g., an optical disc) using a light beam from a light source such as a semiconductor laser. More particularly, the present invention relates to an optical disc apparatus which performs a focus servo.
2. Description of the Related Art
In order to optically reproduce/record information from/to an information medium using a light beam from a light source such as a laser, it is necessary to perform a focus servo so that the focal point (converging point) of the laser beam always stays on the information surface of the information medium. In order to achieve this, an operation called a focus pull-in is performed. That is to move an object lens, prior to the focus servo, so that the focal point of the laser beam is brought to the information surface of the information medium.
According to a conventional method such as described in Japanese Laid-open Publication No. 62-33340, if the focus pull-in fails, the rotation and the phase of the disc is shifted and the focus pull-in is attempted again. FIG. 20 shows an optical disc apparatus performing the focus servo by a focus pull-in in such a manner.
The optical disc apparatus in FIG. 20 includes an optical system for irradiating a light beam on a disc 101 (i.e., an information medium) and forming a light beam spot 111 thereon. The optical system includes a light source 103, e.g., a semiconductor laser, for generating a light beam 110 and a converging lens 107. The optical disc apparatus further includes a disc motor 102 for rotating the disc at a predetermined number of revolutions. The light beam 110 emitted from the light source 103 is converged by the converging lens 107, whereby the light beam spot 111 is formed on the information surface of the disc 101. A focus actuator moves the converging lens 107 in a direction perpendicular to the disc surface, thereby changing the position of the focal point of the light beam. The reflecting light from the light beam spot 111 on the disc 101 passes through the converging lens 107 and then enters a 4-region photodetector 109.
The 4-region photodetector 109 is divided into four regions A to D. The signals detected by the diagonally positioned regions are added together by an adder 121, whereby summation signals are created. Specifically, the signals detected by the regions A and D are added to create a summation signal A+D, and the signals detected by the regions B and C are added to create a summation signal B+C. The summation signal B+C is then subtracted from the summation signal A+D, whereby a differential signal is created. A focus error signal FE is created from the differential signal by using an astigmatic method in which the differential signal is smoothed by a low pass filter (LPF) 123. The focus error signal FE is input to a digital signal processor (DSP) 125, and then through filter calculation such as adding, multiplying, shift processing by a focus servo control section 125a, a drive signal FOD is created and output from the DSP 125. The current of the drive signal FOD is amplified by a focus driving circuit 126, thereby driving a focus actuator 127. Accordingly, the focus servo is achieved.
During a reproducing/recording of the information, the optical disc not only rotates but also moves up and down in a direction perpendicular to the information surface of the disc, i.e., axial deviation occurs. Referring to FIG. 21, the problem of the focus pull-in will now be described in the case where the axial deviation is significant. FIG. 21 shows the relationship between the focal point of the light beam and the position of the information surface on the disc.
As shown in FIG. 21, in the case where the relative speed of the information surface of the disc to the focal point is great due to the axial deviation during a high-speed rotation of the disc, the focus servo can not follow the axially deviating motion of the disc and therefore the focus pull-in fails. As a result, the focus servo is not achieved. In order to solve this problem, in the conventional example shown in FIG. 20, the rotation phase of the disc is detected using a rotation phase detector 112 and the focus pull-in section 125b in the DSP 125 repeatedly conducts the focus pull-in attempt by changing the movement of the focal point of the converging lens, as shown by a through d in FIG. 21. Based on the detected rotation phase of the disc, the focus pull-in is repeated. When the rotation phase of the lens comes to the point where the relative speed of the information surface of the disc to the focal point becomes minimum, the focus servo is achieved.
When a disc is rotated for high-speed reproduction, the acceleration of eccentricity and the acceleration of axial deviation of the optical disk increase in proportion to the square of the rotation speed of the disc. In order to follow this acceleration of the axial deviation, the gain crossover point of the servo system and the thrust of the actuator are increased according to the conventional method. However, a significant axial deviation of the disc reduces the range of the disc rotation phase in which the speed of the axial deviation is at or below the level at which a successful focus pull-in is possible. Therefore, it is possible to change the focus point of the light beam by small steps. This reduces the possibility of obtaining the rotation phase in which a successful focus pull-in is possible. As a result, the number of focus pull-in attempts increases and thus it takes longer before a successful focus pull-in.


An embodiment of a stacked structure includes: a first substrate that includes a first electrode; a second substrate that includes a second electrode; and an adhesive resin material that is provided between the first substrate and the second substrate and includes a plurality of conductive vias, the plurality of conductive vias electrically connecting the first electrode and the second electrode.

A stacked structure is known in which two printed wiring boards are bonded to each other with a prepreg sandwiched between them. Electrodes are provided on the printed wiring boards, and conductive vias corresponding to the electrodes are provided to the prepreg. That is, the prepreg includes conductive vias.
Recently, short circuit easily occurs between conductive vias accompanying micro-fabrication. The short circuit between conductive vias leads to short circuit between electrodes, and since the short circuit between electrodes cannot be repaired, a stacked structure in which such short circuit occurred is discarded. Therefore, occurrence of short circuit leads to decrease in yield.
Patent Literature 1: Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2006-49412
Patent Literature 2: Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2008-294246
Patent Literature 3: Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2011-96900
Patent Literature 4: Japanese Patent No. 2603053

Stacked structure and manufacturing method of the same


A notebook computer with low-frequency electrotherapy is provided. A low-frequency massage device including a pulse generator and massage pads is disposed in the mainframe of the notebook computer. The pulse generator is electrically coupled to a power supply of the mainframe, which supplies power for the pulse generator, and the massage pads are selectively connected to a low-frequency generator, such that while operating the notebook computer, a user attaches the massage pads on suitable parts of his/her body to enjoy the low frequency electrotherapy massage.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a notebook computer, and more particularly to a notebook computer which provides low-frequency electrotherapy massage for users.
2. Related Art
Gradually popularized notebook computers are used not only for common word processing and Internet, but also for multi-media entertainments, such as playing videos and games. That is to say, a user may operate a notebook for a long time, and often use the notebook computer for both working and entertaining for more than ten hours per day. Such long-time operation usually causes neck and shoulder pain and excessively high load to elbows and wrists. The user cannot fully relax himself/herself after leaving the notebook computer to have a rest for only several minutes.
Although massage devices, such as massage chairs and massagers, may provide physical stimulation for the user to achieve muscle-relaxing effect, such device are all mechanical devices, have a large volume, and cannot be carried conveniently. Moreover, generally, in a situation for computer operation, it is impossible for the user to use such vibrating mechanical massage devices.
In addition, a low-frequency electrotherapy device is used to stimulate nerves and acupoints, promote blood circulation, and especially give massage to the user to relieve shoulder and muscle soreness. The low-frequency electrotherapy device is an independent module, and contacts with the predetermined parts of the body of the user through two low-frequency therapeutic pads or massage pads. The user may control the low-frequency electrotherapy device to output pulse currents with different intensities to the massage pads by controlling the mainframe, thereby producing different massaging and stimulating effects.

Notebook computer with low-frequency electrotherapy


A system, method, and program of the invention enables a software programming tool to automatically populate a specified directory, such as a working directory of a specified application, with files matching a certain file type, e.g., *.gif, *.jpeg, or matching a general file description, e.g., pictures, images, spreadsheets, text. The files may reside within any directory accessible to the computer system running the specified application. When running the specified application, a user has access to all of the files matching the specified type or description from the one directory. The functionality of the tool is invoked each time the application is launched, without further user interaction, so that any newly created files matching the file type or general description are automatically copied or moved to the specified one directory.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to automatically populating an application's directory with files having a specified type from other directory locations; and more specifically, to a system, method, and program for scanning selected directories, when a given application is launched, for desired types of files and placing the files in a specified location for use by the given application in response to a user's previously configured request for such types of files.
2. Description of the Related Art
Most applications have a working directory for only the files and resources that the application owns or that have been created by the application. However, these same applications also are capable of using files/resources created by other applications. These other files/resources can exist in the default working directories of other applications, or they can be downloaded from across a communication link and placed in a user's download directory. As such, these other files/resources can be located anywhere on a user's system, including on removable media. For example, a print shop application program may have clip art on a CD.
A problem arises when these files/resources get lost; or when considerable time is taken up trying to find all of the desired files from among a plurality of applications that may have such files in their own working directories.
Some applications, at start up, may ask the user the name of the directory the user wants as the application's working or base directory for putting the working tools, dictionaries, help, etc., into. However, these files are already known to the application. The application does not go out and search for other files that may be located in other directories of other applications. Other applications may ask the user for the path name of desired files, but the user must already know the location, i.e., path name, of the files.
Virtual file systems exist today which are an abstraction of a physical file system. A virtual file system provides a consistent interface to multiple file systems, including local and remote file systems. The interface allows a user to view the directory tree on the running system as a single entity even when the tree is made up of a number of diverse file system types. For example, an application named image_app may have a working directory as "image_app/" having other directories virtually mapped to it under a virtual file system implementation.
However, such a mapping is not flexible or changeable from application to application. That is, a user would still have to take the time to locate files within the virtual file system that may be desired by the user for a given application.
It would be desirable to be able to retrieve all of a user's desired files from one directory or location while executing a given application, even when some of the files reside outside of the one directory, without requiring the user to specify the path name of each file at the time the file is needed for the application.

Automatically populating an application's working directory with files having a specified type from other directory locations

International Business Machines Corporation


Systems, methods, and computer program products for facilitating managing foreign currency exposure, such as that with respect to transactions in financial interests involving foreign currency exchange across multiple electronic trading platforms, financial systems, accounting systems or the like. Users may monitor their net foreign exchange (“FX”) exposure in different currencies and on different value dates due to trading in foreign exchange, foreign currency-denominated equities, fixed-income securities, commodities, services, goods and other transactions involving foreign currency exchange. Various tools may be provided for monitoring and managing FX exposures across multiple trading platforms through ready access to FX liquidity sources as well as for conducting financial transactions involving foreign currency exchange, such as FX hedging or other types of transactions.

In the modern global economy, trading in financial interests, commodities, equities and services frequently occurs across diverse geographic markets and involves transactions requiring foreign currency exchange. In these types of transactions, traders are exposed to the additional risk of loss due to unfavorable, and often sudden, fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates. To mitigate these foreign exchange exposures, traders in securities and other financial interests frequently engage in various forms of foreign exchange hedging or other complementary foreign exchange transactions in, for example, options, futures, other financial interests, services, goods, and/or other assets in order to set off possible currency exchange risks.
These trading strategies typically require traders to monitor multiple transactions having foreign exchange elements thereto across multiple disparate electronic trading platforms. An apparent lack of integration between such trading platforms, as well as dissimilar user interfaces, diverse trading tools, and different financial notations provided by these electronic trading platforms impose additional burdens on the traders in conducting often complex and time-sensitive financial transitions having various forms of foreign exchange risks associated therewith.

System and method for facilitating foreign currency management


An LED illuminator has a seat and multiple LED modules mounted on the seat. The seat has multiple chambers, each of which has two opposite sidewalls, a bottom, two through holes and an opening. The two through holes are respectively defined on the sidewalls and the opening is defined the bottom. The LED modules are respectively mounted on the sidewalls of the chambers on the seat and standing on the seat at an inclined angle to allow lights pass through the openings of the chambers. Therefore, each chamber has two light sources from two opposite sidewalls and the lights of the two lights source pass through the opening of the chamber. The LED illuminator provides a wide illuminating angle.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an illuminator, and more particularly to an LED illuminator.
2. Description of Related Art
Since the natural resources are drying, some new substitute energy resources are proposed but cannot immediately fulfill all requirements for human. Therefore, to save natural resources becomes a very important issue. Accordingly, many electronic devices or equipment are improved to decrease power consumption. For example, if a conventional tungsten lamp consumes 100 units of electronic power, only 5 units of electronic power is transformed into light and the rest of the electronic power is transformed into the heat. Thus, the transforming efficiency of the conventional tungsten lamp is bad. Additionally, the heat sink or coolers are also required to dissipate the heat generated from the conventional tungsten lamp. Some of the heat sink or cooler are driven by electric power. Since the conventional tungsten lamp has the low transforming efficiency, a substitute lighting source "LED" is more and more popular for the illuminator.
As mentioned above, LEDs have low power consumption, long usage term, etc. However, the LEDs also have disadvantages, such as a narrow illuminating angle and a fixed lighting direction while a light source of the illuminator should have wide illuminating angle and uniform illuminance.
Therefore, in order to use the LED as the light source of the illuminator, removing the disadvantage of the LED for the illuminator is important.


A detonator (100) assembled from a housing (112), an output charge (144) and an initiation means (110, 120, 58, 54) includes a pulverulent ignition charge (46a) disposed in direct initiation relation to the initiation means, and an output charge (144) that may contain a pulverulent deflagration-to-detonation transition (DDT) charge (144a) and a base charge (144b). The ignition charge (46a) has an average particle size of less than 10 microns, or even less than 5 microns, e.g., 1 to 2 microns. The initiation means may include a semiconductor bridge (18) and the ignition charge (46a) may be compacted with a force of less than about 5880 psi, e.g., with a force of 1000 psi.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to detonators comprising ignition charges and a method for assembling such detonators.
2. Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 4,727,808, issued Mar. 1, 1988, to Wang et al, discloses an electrically-initiated detonator, an igniting means such as fuse head (9) or an electric resistance wire, low energy detonating cord, NONEL tube or safety fuse (see column 4, lines 41-44 and column 7, lines 21-28) and an initiating charge in initiation relation thereto. The initiating charge comprises a secondary explosive, such as PETN (pentaerythritol tetranitrate), RDX (cyclo-1,3,5-trimethylene-2,4,6-trinitramine), or a mixture thereof, with a particle size that may be below 30 micrometers (.mu.m) and which may be pressed to a density in the range of 1.2 to 1.6 grams per cubic centimeter (g/cc) (see column 5, lines 11-32). The initiating charge is used to initiate the base charge of the detonator. An intermediate charge may be disposed between the initiating charge and the base charge and may have an even lower density, e.g., to 0.8 to 1.4 g/cc (see column 5, lines 33-45). Example 7 shows a test employing PETN at 5 to 15 .mu.m particle size and a tamping of 133 kg (about 8660 psi) for a containment shell having an outer diameter of 6.5 millimeters (mm) and a wall thickness of 0.6 mm.
The "igniting means" mentioned in the Wang et al Patent draw or emit large amounts of energy relative to low energy initiation elements such as SCBs. Further, given the types of igniting means contemplated by Wang et al, the function time for the detonators disclosed therein will be on the order of about 50 microseconds. Because of this prolonged function time, the Wang et al detonators need to provide the confinement and empty chamber in the detonator to prevent the detonator shell from being destroyed by the gaseous products of the ignition charge before the detonation reaction is initiated in the base charge. In the embodiment of FIG. 13, the hollow interior of safety fuse 16 provides the empty chamber for this device.
Fyfe et al, in a paper entitled "BNCP Prototype Detonator Studies Using a Semiconductor Bridge Initiator", discloses the use of BNCP (tetraammine-cis-bis(5-nitro-2H-tetrazorato-N.sup.2) cobalt (III) perchlorate) for use in electric detonators incorporating a semiconductor bridge (SCB) in welded 304 stainless steel confinements. One test device comprised 25 milligrams of BNCP pressed to 10,000 pounds per square inch (psi); another comprised 49 milligrams of BNCP pressed to 20,000 psi. Ignition sensitivity tests for two different particle sizes of BNCP, 15 and 25 microns, performed with a rise time of 15 microseconds, showed that the larger particles took about twice as long to ignite as the smaller particles at 3.5 amps and, at 1.5 amps, the smaller particles ignited but the larger particles did not. In addition, at a fifty-microsecond rise time, the smaller particles were less temperature-sensitive than the larger particles.
The SCB employed by Fyfe et al measured 90.times.270.times.2 .mu.m, and consumed several millijoules of energy to ignite the BNCP. The reported 1 watt, 1 ampere no-fire of these detonators indicates that the BNCP charge was acting like a heat sink that quickly dissipated the ohmic heating of the SCB at the 1 watt, 1 amp no-fire current. Such heat absorption under no-fire conditions indicates that the BNCP was highly compacted.
A manufacturer of BNCP has published product literature suggesting the use of BNCP in place of lead azide as a primary explosive initiating charge and that BNCP is a DDT explosive with a theoretical maximum density of 2.03 g/cc.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,484,960 to Rucker, dated Nov. 27, 1984, discloses a bridgewire detonator comprising a boron/ferric oxide ignition composition. The ferric oxide particles are in the 0.2 to 1.2 .mu.m range. In the example, the ignition composition is loosely loaded into a blasting cap shell in contact with the bridgewire.
Conventional assembly methods for detonators generally comprise sequentially disposing various detonator elements within a metallic detonator shell. Some of the elements comprise pulverulent reactive materials, e.g., the base charge generally comprises a pulverulent secondary explosive, and such materials are typically tamped into the shell at pressures of 10,000 psi or greater. Other components in the detonator may comprise prefabricated units such as a delay unit or an electronic initiation unit which may be pressed into the detonator shell and which may contain compressed pulverulent material therein.

Detonator with loosely packed ignition charge and method of assembly


A kitchen sink with a frame and at least one basin are prefabricated as separate parts. For the connection between frame and basin(s), one of the two parts has undercut zones and the connection takes place through pressing the other part into an undercut zones mentioned, or into an interference fitting area.

The invention is based on a metallic kitchen sink with an elevated surrounding edge area, which functions as a frame, and at least one basin, wherein the frame and the basin are prefabricated as separate parts and then joined with each other.
Such kitchen sinks are chiefly manufactured as add-in sinks, so that they can be inserted into an appropriate opening of a work plate. In the same way, these kitchen sinks can also, however, be manufactured in the form of a complete panel which replaces the work plate. In addition to the one basin further basins, of various sizes if desired, can be installed. Usually at least one drip element is also integrated into the sink.
With the construction described in the introduction, where the frame and the basin are produced separately, it is necessary to weld the basin into the frame, from which very expensive after-finishing results. Above all, the welding areas over the entire perimeter of the welded-in basin must be ground and polished, especially brushed. Frequently, the entire sink is also brushed. These jobs are associated with a high expenditure in time and money, and are also problematic with regard to environmental pollution owing to the harmful substances resulting from the grinding and polishing.
In addition, it is also known, to manufacture the sink from a single plate in a deep drawing process, so that welding-in the various basins becomes unnecessary. The deep drawing process, however, has the following disadvantages: First, the freedom of configuration is greatly restricted; particularly the depth and shape of the basin are limited because the ductility of the steel sheet is restricted. Second, for reasons of drawing technology, a relatively large radius must be maintained in the transition from basin to frame, as must a certain flange width between adjacent basins.


A color electrophotographic apparatus arranged as follows is disclosed. A plurality of image forming units (1BK, 1C, 1M, 1Y) each including a developing device having an electrostatic latent image holding member and toner of a different color are employed. Each of the image forming units is arranged to be displaceable so as to be moved to the same image forming position for positioning. At the image forming position, the image forming unit is exposed to light image by an exposure device for image formation, with its toner image being transferred onto a transfer material through a confronting transfer transport device. The image forming unit at the image forming position is sequentially exchanged, and by the reciprocation of the transfer material through the transfer/transport device, toner images of respective colors are transferred as overlapped through positioning for coincidence, onto the same transfer material.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to electrophotography, and more particularly, to a color electrophotographic apparatus which may be applied to a color copying apparatus, color printer or the like.
Generally, for forming a color image by electrophotography, it has been a practice to form a color image by overlapping toner images of yellow, magenta, cyan and black respectively on a transfer material. As the method for effecting the overlapping of such toner images over the transfer material, there have been generally employed a transfer drum system in which the transfer material wound on a transfer drum is rotated and repeatedly brought into the same image forming position, whereat toner images of respective colors successively formed are overlapped for transfer, and a continuous transfer system wherein a plurality of image forming sections are disposed side by side, and the transfer material transported by a transport belt or the like is caused to pass through the transfer position of each image forming section, thereby to successively transfer and overlap the toner image of the respective colors to obtain the colored image.
One example of color image forming apparatuses employing the former transfer drum system is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication Tokkaihei No. 1-252982, which will be referred to as a prior art (1) hereinafter.
Referring to FIG. 16, general construction and function of the color image forming apparatus of the prior art (1) will be briefly explained.
In FIG. 16, the conventional color image forming apparatus includes a housing H, and a photosensitive drum 201 having a photosensitive material layer provided on its outer peripheral surface, and rotatably provided at generally a central portion of the housing H. Around the photosensitive drum 201, there are sequentially disposed various processing devices such as a corona charger 202, a developing section 203, a transfer drum 204, and a cleaner 205, etc. The developing section 203 further includes a Y developing unit 206 for forming a yellow toner image, an M developing unit 207 for forming a magenta toner image, a C developing unit 208 for forming a cyan toner image, and a K developing unit 209 for forming a black toner image, which are arranged to rotate so that the respective developing units may be successively brought into a position confronting the photoreceptor drum 201 at which the developing may be effected During functioning, the transfer drum 204 and the photosensitive drum 201 confronting each other are rotated in directions indicated by arrows at constant speeds.
In the first place, upon starting of the functioning, the photosensitive drum 201 is rotated in the direction of the arrow, and the photosensitive surface thereof is uniformly charged by the corona charger 202. Thereafter, a laser beam BM modulated by a signal for forming a first yellow image is projected as shown by a chain line onto the surface of the photosensitive drum 201 so as to form an electrostatic latent image thereon, which is further developed by the developing unit 206 for yellow initially confronting said photosensitive drum 201, and thus, the yellow toner image is formed. By the time when the yellow toner image thus formed arrives at the position confronting the transfer drum 204, a copy paper sheet as a transfer material (not particularly shown) fed from a paper feeding section 211 has already been wound on the outer periphery of the transfer drum 204, with the leading edge of the copy paper sheet being grasped by a claw portion 212, and timing is so arranged that the yellow toner image on the photosensitive drum 201 confronts and meets a predetermined position of the copy paper sheet, thereby to from the toner image.
After the yellow toner image on the photosensitive drum 201 has been transferred onto the copy paper sheet by the action of the transfer charger 213, the photosensitive surface of the drum 201 is cleaned by the cleaner 205 to prepare for the image formation in the subsequent color. Sequentially, the magenta, cyan, and black toner images are formed in the similar manner, and in such case, the developing section 203 causes each of the respective developing units used according to the colors, to confront the photosensitive drum 201 so as to be ready for the development. The transfer drum 204 has a diameter sufficient to wind a copy paper sheet of the maximum length therearound, and also, to provide enough time to allow exchange of the developing units between images of the respective colors.
The projection of the laser beam BM for the image formation of the respective colors is so timed that the toner image of each color on the photosensitive drum 201 and the toner image already transferred onto the copy paper sheet on the transfer drum 204 confront each other, with positional coincidence as the drums 201 and 204 rotate. Thus, the toner images of four colors are transferred in the overlapped state onto the copy paper sheet on the transfer drum 204, and thus, the color image is formed on the copy paper sheet. After the toner images of all colors have been transferred, the copy paper sheet is separated from the transfer drum 204 by a separating claw 214, and fed through a transport section 215, to a fixing device 216 so as to be fixed with the above toner image, and then, discharged out of the apparatus.
Meanwhile, another example of color electrophotographic apparatuses based on the latter continuous transfer system is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication Tokkaihei No. 2-16580, which will be referred to as a prior art (2) hereinafter.
FIG. 17 shows a printer portion which is an image forming section of the copying apparatus disclosed in the above Tokkaihei No. 2-16580 as the prior art (2).
In the arrangement of FIG. 17, four image forming sections 222BK, 222C, 222M and 222Y respectively having photosensitive drums 223BK, 223C, 223M and 223Y, and exposure devices 221BK, 221C, 221M and 221Y, etc. for the image formation in four colors are aligned side by side, and a copy paper sheet transported by a transport belt 227 passes through respective transfer sections for the photosensitive drums so as to be overlapped with the toner images. Digital signals sent from an image reading section (not shown) are applied to the printer section, and fed to the laser exposure devices of respective color signals, i.e., 221BK for black, 221C for cyan, 221M for magenta, and 221Y for yellow. Since each of the image forming sections 222 has similar construction, only the image forming section 222C for cyan will be described hereinbelow, and like parts in other image forming sections being designated by like reference numerals with suffixes of respective colors for brevity of explanation.
The image forming section 222C has the photosensitive drum 223C besides the exposure device 221C, and around said photosensitive drum 223C, there are sequentially disposed a corona charger 224C, a developing device 225C, a transfer charger 226C, etc. in the known manner as in a conventional electrophotographic copying apparatus. The photosensitive surface of the photosensitive drum 223C uniformly charged by the corona charger 224C is formed with an electrostatic latent image for the cyan image through exposure by the exposure device 221C, and the latent image is developed into a visible toner image by the developing device 225C. The copy paper sheet (not particularly shown) transported by a transfer belt 227 is successively fed to the photosensitive drums 223BK, 223C, 223M and 223 Y respectively formed with the visible toner images of the respective colors, and is transferred with the toner images by the action of the transfer charger 226, whereby a full color image is obtained on the transfer sheet.
Furthermore, as another method for forming a color image by overlapping toner images of different colors on a transfer material, U.S. Pat. No. 4,905,084 discloses a method for overlapping toner images by repeating transfer through reciprocating displacement of the transfer material with respect to a photosensitive material.
In the conventional arrangements as described above, by the transfer drum system of the prior art (1), the transfer drum is employed for positioning and overlapping toner images of different colors. By rotating the transfer drum at the same speed with respect to the photosensitive drum, and further, by coinciding timing thereof with respect to the leading edge of the image, mutual positions of the toner images in the respective colors are registered in the case where the color image is to be formed.
In the known arrangement as described above, however, the copy paper sheet must be wound onto the transfer drum, requiring the diameter of the transfer drum to be larger than a predetermined size, with the construction thereof being very complicated, and thus, the apparatus tends to be on a large scale. Moreover, tough or hard paper such as a post card, cardboard or the like can not be employed, since such paper is difficult to be wound onto the transfer drum.
On the other hand, in the continuous transfer system as in the prior art (2) in FIG. 17, since the image forming positions corresponding to the number of colors are provided and the copy paper sheet is only required to successively pass therethrough, the transfer drums are not necessary. However, in this case, due to the fact that the image forming positions equal to the number of colors are required, the exposure means for exposing images onto the photosensitive drum is necessary by the number of colors, and thus,. cost of the apparatus is undesirably increased. Moreover, in the above arrangement, as is also disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication Tokkaihei No. 1-250970, high accuracy is required for the positioning of the respective colors of the exposure devices, and thus, particular structure and complicated arrangements are necessary for the image exposure system. Further, since the image forming positions are present separately at a plurality of places, positioning of respective colors on the transfer material also becomes difficult, and together with the difficulty in the positioning for the exposure devices as described earlier, color shift or deviation tends to be large.
Additionally, in the arrangement disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,905,048 referred to earlier in which the transfer material is reciprocatingly displaced, since the intersection of the developing section with the belt is prevented so that toner images in various colors may be formed on one photosensitive member, there have been such problems that (1) the size of the photosensitive member tends to be large, (2) a spacing/contacting mechanism between the photosensitive member and belt is required in addition to the change-over mechanism of the developing units for respective colors, thus complicating the construction and control therefor, and (3) maintenance work for the replacement, etc. of such mechanisms also becomes complicated.
2. Description of the Prior Art

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A dishwasher for treating dishes according to at least one cycle of operation and having a tub at least partially defining a treating chamber and defining an access opening, a sprayer providing a spray of liquid into the treating chamber, a liquid recirculation system defining a recirculation flow path for recirculating the sprayed liquid from the treating chamber to the sprayer, and an air supply system having a conduit configured to function as an overflow conduit.

Contemporary dishwashers for use in a typical household include a tub for receiving soiled dishes to be cleaned. A spray system and a recirculation system may be provided for recirculating liquid throughout the tub to remove soils from the dishes. The dishwasher may have a controller that implements a number of pre-programmed cycles of operation to wash dishes contained in the tub. A problem in such dishwashers is the overflow of liquid over a portion of the tub such that the liquid escapes the tub and leaks within the home.