There are disclosed hydrating beverages for animals comprising water, glycerol, sodium, and potassium, with the potassium being present in an amount sufficient to provide in the blood plasma, when said beverage is ingested at rest, during exercise, and after exercise/dehydration, a potassium level of between about 5 to 8 meq/l and excretion of potassium in the urine. Also disclosed is the method of rehydrating animals by administering said beverage after dehydration.

The present invention relates to hydrating beverages and to the method of enhancing hydration in animals, particularly humans.
It has long been known that glycerol can be used to enhance hydration in humans and other animals suffering from the dehydration effects of physical exertion, exposure to above normal heat, hydration stress, and the like. The use of glycerol acts to prolong fluid retention and thus have water available for sweating, cell hydration, and maintenance of blood plasma volume.
Beverages utilized to rehydrate humans for exercise purposes are commonly referred to as xe2x80x9csports drinksxe2x80x9d.
The use of electrolytes alone or in conjunction with a sugar and water was originally used for hydration, but it was found that the use of a glycerol therewith provided superior hydrating effects.
In some instances where enhanced exercise endurance and performance are desired, such glycerol-containing solutions are taken prior to and during exercise as well as after exercise.
While generally satisfactory, all of these prior art electrolyte and glycerol-containing solutions and beverages are not totally effective for a variety of reasons.
One is that such prior art compositions fail to address the problem of muscle fatigue. It is known that one of the results of exercise, both during and after exercise, is muscle fatigue. The glycerol, sugar, and level of potassium previously used do not address the attenuation of such muscle fatigue.
Potassium is known to play a major role in overcoming the effects of muscle fatigue since substantial amounts thereof are lost from the contracting muscles during exercise and there is also a rapid decrease in plasma potassium after the cessation of exercise. Present hydrating fluids and beverages containing glycerol contain low levels of potassium, and they fail to provide a level of potassium sufficient to maintain an adequate blood plasma level of potassium to combat muscle fatigue, namely between about 5 and 8 meq/l, and potassium excretion in the urine during exercise recovery.
A low extracellular potassium concentration can cause muscular weakness, changes in cardiac and kidney function, lethargy, and even coma in severe cases. There are no reserves of potassium or sodium in the animal body and any loss beyond the amount of intake comes from the functional supply of body cells and tissues. The kidney is the key regulator of potassium and sodium and while the kidney can, with a low intake of sodium, reduce excretion thereof to a very low level to conserve the supply in the body, potassium is not so efficiently conserved.
The existing glycerol containing rehydrating fluids and beverages are also deficient in that they fail to ameliorate the harmful effects of the large amounts of free radicals generated during exercise.
Further, such existing fluids and beverages do not have any mechanism to delay release of glycerol for a longer period of time during rest, exercise, or recovery from exercise/dehydration so as to maximize its hydrating properties during exercise recovery.
The present invention provides hydrating beverages and a method for enhancing hydration in animals; preferably with delayed release of some glycerol after ingestion while at the same time attenuating muscle fatigue and, preferably, destroying harmful free radicals.
Briefly and broadly stated, the present invention comprises a hydration beverage for humans and animals comprising water, glycerol, sodium, and potassium, wherein the potassium is present in an amount sufficient to maintain a specified level of potassium in the blood plasma and potassium excretion in the urine.
The instant hydration beverage is also appealing in that it can be used as ready to drink product (off the shelf) and thus instantly consumable when needed.
The invention also comprises the method of enhancing hydration in animals as hereinafter described.
While the instant invention is applicable to animals generally it will be further discussed and described with respect to humans and rehydration of humans at rest, during exercise, and after exercise/dehydration. It will also be further discussed in connection with enhanced rehydration in exercise situations. Such rehydrating beverages, as noted above, are commonly referred to as xe2x80x9csports drinksxe2x80x9d. Also, all the constituents of the beverages are approved for human consumption.
With respect to the hydrating beverages hereof, the essential constituents are water, glycerol, sodium, and potassium, the potassium being present in an amount sufficient to provide during rest, exercise, and after exercise/dehydration a blood plasma potassium level between 5 and 8 meq/l and potassium secretion in the urine. It is also preferred to include sweetening agents, antioxidants to destroy free radicals generated during exercise, and certain salt-containing compounds which give a delayed release of glycerol during the recovery period.
As to the sweetening agent used, any sugar or sweetening material conventionally used in rehydrating beverages can be utilized and in their usual concentrations. Examples are glucose, sucrose, high fructose corn syrup, mixtures thereof, and the like. For dietetic beverages the known artificial sweeteners can be substituted for the agents. Since many who exercise do not want to ingest excess calories, the level of sugars used is kept low, preferably about 2 to 4% by weight of the beverage. However, there are often exercise related needs for the ingestion of greater levels of carbohydrates, especially in the recovery from long duration exercise where carbohydrate (glucose) is needed to replace muscle glycogen. In such instances a range up to about 12% carbohydrate by weight can be utilized to meet this increased need.
The glycerol is also that conventionally used and the amounts thereof can vary widely. While amounts up to 6% by weight or higher can be used it has been found that for a small number of individuals such a level of glycerol can cause headaches, blurred vision, light-headedness, and/or nausea. Further, for purposes of taste it has been found that the higher levels of glycerol tend to give the beverage an unpleasant aftertaste. Accordingly, in order to avoid certain undesired symptoms for some and an unpleasant taste, it is preferred to maintain the glycerol concentration below 5.5%/by weight, most preferably at 5.1%/by weight.
The sodium can be used as levels conventionally utilized in rehydrating fluids and beverages; i.e., about 20 meq/l and higher, although the higher levels may cause the beverage to taste too xe2x80x9csaltyxe2x80x9d to the consumer. A preferred level is about 15 to 20 meq/l. Any of the sodium salts commonly used in rehydrating fluids can be used with sodium chloride, sodium citrate, sodium benzoate, other sodium salts and mixtures thereof being suitable.
It is the amount of potassium used that is critical to the instant invention since it addresses the issue of attenuation of muscle fatigue due to exercise and prevention of a post-exercise exercise rapid fall in blood potassium levels. With the instant invention a level of potassium is used in the beverage which will maintain in the blood plasma, after the ingestion of the beverage, during rest, exercise and after exercise/dehydration, a blood plasma level between about 5 to 8 meq/l and excretion of potassium in the urine. A level of at least about 6 meq/l in the beverage will provide such levels in normal, average humans. Levels as high as 50 meq/l and higher of potassium can be used. However, such higher levels may be contraindicated with certain individuals who have certain kidney and adrenal gland disorders, hypertension, and certain heart disorders such as frequently occurring abnormal heart rhythms. Suitable sources of potassium are the edible salts thereof such as chloride, sorbate, citrate, and the like and mixtures thereof, particularly with a potassium glycerophosphate as discussed below.
It has also been found that improved results before, during, and after exercise from the dehydrating and muscle fatigue problems of exercise are had when certain edible water-soluble alkali metal salts are utilized. These are the edible water-soluble salts of glycerol-containing acids, such as glycerophosphoric acid. Most suitable are sodium glycerophosphate and potassium glycerophosphate.
The advantages of these salts is that while the alkali metal portion thereof becomes available promptly upon ingestion of the beverage, the glycerol is not promptly available, but must await hydrolysis of the glycerophosphate to release the glycerol. The result is a delayed release of glycerol into the blood stream extending the length of time glycerol can exert its beneficial effects during the recovery period.
When these alkali metal glycerophosphates are used, the amounts utilized are those which will supply a portion of the alkali metal, preferably potassium, within the ranges set forth above. As to the glycerol, since it is delayed in its release the beverages can contain amounts thereof way above levels of 5% to 6% or more. A delayed release of glycerol decreases the likelihood for the beverage to have an unpleasant aftertaste and also decreases the development of undesired effects such as previously noted.
A further advantage of using the glycerophosphates is that they also provide phosphate ion which is beneficial in rehydration, as well as supporting muscle metabolism during exercise.
As previously noted another result of exercise is the greatly increased production of destructive free radicals which are harmful. To negate such harmful effects it is preferred to include at least one edible antioxidant in the beverage which will react readily with the free radicals and destroy them before they can damage the body.
Suitable antioxidants include vitamins A, C, and E, beta carotene, selenium, coenzyme Q 10, pycnogenol, L-glutathione, superoxide dismutase, bioflavonoids, and antioxidants found in plants such as garlic. Of these, vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is preferred because it has the additional benefit of acting as a buffer in the beverages, thereby combating acidosis.
The amounts of antioxidant use can vary widely, but care must be taken to ensure that the amount of antioxidant used does not adversely affect the taste of the beverage.
It will be evident that the amount of water added is that required to provide the proper concentration of the active components for the size of the container for the beverage, normally, such beverages, as with other drinks, come in a container holding at least about 8 fluid ounces of the beverage.
The beverage can also contain, as is usual in these beverages, citric acid, natural and artificial flavors, preservatives, natural and artificial colors and the like, in their usual proportions for their usual effects.
The method of the instant invention is largely evident from the foregoing description. For enhanced rehydration at rest, during exercise, and after exercise/dehydration, an average human being need only ingest, after dehydration due to exercise and/or thermal stress, a beverage of the instant invention described above containing the active components thereof It will be evident that the volume and rate of beverage needed to be ingested increases with the risk for dehydration. As is known, the amount ingested is related to the fluid volume needed to maintain normal body weight. This is highly individual and may require ingestion of between 8 and 24 fluid ounces of the beverage every hour during the dehydration stress. Also, when concerned with rehydration it has been more effective to ingest a volume of beverage about 1.5 times the weight loss from dehydration rather than the usual ingestion of a fluid volume equal to the weight loss from dehydration.
The invention will be further described in connection with the following examples which are set forth for purposes of illustration only.


Micromechanical devices are formed on a substrate using a sacrificial layer deep X-ray lithography process to produce a rotating microrotor which is driven magnetically. The rotor typically has a diameter of a few hundred microns or less and is formed as a free structure which is assembled onto a hub formed on a substrate. Stator pole pieces are formed on the substrate of a ferromagnetic material surrounding the rotor, and are also preferably formed by a deep X-ray lithography process followed by electroplating of a ferromagnetic material such as nickel. The stator pole pieces are supplied with magnetic flux, such as from a current flowing through a conductor surrounding the magnetic pole pieces which is integrated with the pole pieces on the substrate. Separate electromagnets can also be utilized to provide the magnetic flux to the pole pieces to provide a rotating magnetic field in the region of the rotor to drive the rotor.

Deep X-ray lithography involves a substrate which is covered by thick photoresist, typically severally hundred microns in thickness, which is exposed through a mask by X-rays. X-ray photons are much more energetic than optical photons, which makes complete exposure of thick photoresist films feasible and practical. Furthermore, since X-ray photons are short wavelength particles, diffraction effects which typically limit device dimensions to two or three wavelengths of the exposing radiation are absent for mask dimensions above 0.1 micron. If one adds to this the fact that X-ray photons are absorbed by atomic processes, standing wave problems, which typically limit exposures of thick photoresist by optical means, become an non-issue for X-ray exposures. The use of a synchrotron for the X-ray source yields high flux densities--several watts per square centimeter--combined with excellent collimation to produce thick photoresist exposures without any horizontal run-out. Locally exposed patterns should therefore produce vertical photoresist walls if a developing system with very high selectivity between exposed and unexposed photoresist is available. This requirement is satisfied for polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) as the X-ray photoresist and an aqueous developing system. See, H. Guckel, et al., "Deep X-Ray and UV Lithographies For Micromechanics" Technical Digest, Solid State Sensor and Actuator Workshop, Hilton Head, S.C., Jun. 4-7, 1990, pp. 118-122.
Deep X-ray lithography may be combined with electroplating to form high aspect ratio structures. This requires that the substrate be furnished with a suitable plating base prior to photoresist application. Typically this involves a sputtered film of adhesive metal such as chromium or titanium which is followed by a thin film of the metal which is to be plated. Exposure through a suitable mask and development are followed by electroplating. This results, after cleanup, in fully attached metal structures with very high aspect ratios. Such structures were first reported by W. Ehrfeld and co-workers at the Institute for Nuclear Physics at the University of Karlsruhe in West Germany. Ehrfeld termed the process "LIGA" based on the first letters of the German words for lithography and electro-plating. A general review of the LIGA process is given in the article by W. Ehrfeld, et al., "LIGA Process: Sensor Construction Techniques Via X-Ray Lithography" Technical Digest IEEE Solid-State Sensor and Actuator Workshop, 1988, pp. 1-4.
A difficulty with the original LIGA process is that it can only produce fully attached metal structures. This restricts the possible application areas severely and unnecessarily.
The addition of a sacrificial layer to the LIGA process facilitates the fabrication of fully attached, partially attached, or completely free metal structures. Because device thicknesses are typically larger than 10 microns and smaller than 300 microns, freestanding structures will not distort geometrically if reasonable strain control for the plated film is achieved. This fact makes assembly in micromechanics possible and thereby leads to nearly arbitrary three-dimensional structures. See H. Guckel, et al., "Fabrication of Assembled Micromechanical Components via Deep X-Ray Lithography," Proceedings of IEEE Micro Electro Mechanical Systems, Jan. 30-Feb. 2, 1991, pp. 74-79.


A Brillouin Optical Time-Domain Analysis (BOTDA) distributed sensor system and method use a continuous wave (cw) Stokes wave interrupted with a dark pulse for improved spatial resolution. The cw Stokes wave causes a continuous depletion of the pump wave. The dark pulse causes the depletion to stop for the duration of the pulse. Brillouin interactions are measured during the dark pulse. Very narrow dark pulses can be used because sufficient Stokes wave energy is maintained. The system produces a stronger time-domain signal and narrower linewidth Brillouin spectra than traditional techniques using a bright Stokes pulse. Narrower measurement pulses can be used leading to improved spatial resolution. A quasi-cw Stokes wave can be used to reduce the effect of stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) in long measurement fibers. The system can be used for distributed strain or temperature measurements.

The spatial resolution of a conventional Brillouin Optical Time-Domain Analysis (BOTDA) distributed sensor system is generally limited by a combination of linewidth broadening and reduced signal strength associated with the use of short optical pulses [See Fellay, A., Thévenaz, L., Facchini, M., Niklès, M., and Robert, P., "Distributed sensing using stimulated Brillouin scattering: towards ultimate resolution", OFS'96, pp. 324-327, 1996 and Bao, X., Brown, A., DeMerchant, M., and Smith, J., "Characterization of the Brillouin-loss spectrum of single-mode fibers by use of very short (<10-ns) pulses", Optics Letters, Vol. 24, No. 8, pp. 510-512, 1999]. Maximum spatial resolutions of 1 m are typical of such systems, although some progress has been made toward further enhancements [See Bao, X., Brown, A., DeMerchant, M., and Smith, J., "Characterization of the Brillouin-loss spectrum of single-mode fibers by use of very short (<10-ns) pulses", Optics Letters, Vol. 24, No. 8, pp. 510-512, 1999.; Brown, A. W., DeMerchant, M. D., Bao, X., and Bremner, T. W., "Spatial resolution enhancement of a Brillouin-distributed sensor using a novel signal processing method", Journal of Lightwave Technology, Vol. 17, No. 7, pp. 1179-1183, 1999 and Brown, A. W., Smith, J. P., Bao, X., DeMerchant, M. D., and Bremner, T. W., "Brillouin scattering based distributed sensors for structural applications", Journal of Intelligent Materials Systems and Structures, Vol. 10, pp. 340-349, 1999.] with a resolution in the 500 to 100 mm range having been reported.
For this reason, other methods such as frequency-domain reflectometry [See Garus, D., Gogolla, T., Krebber, K., and Schliep, F., "Brillouin optical-fiber frequency-domain analysis for distributed temperature and strain measurements", Journal of Lightwave Technology, Vol. 15, No. 4, pp. 654-662, 1997] and correlation-based methods [See Hotate, K., and Tanaka, M., "Distributed fiber Brillouin strain sensing with 1-cm spatial resolution by correlation-based continuous-wave technique", IEEE Photonics Technology Letters, Vol. 14, No. 2, pp. 179-181, 2002] have been proposed to obtain higher resolution. In both cases, however, improved resolution has come at the cost of acquisition speed and/or overall sensing length. There is a need, therefore, for a system and method of obtaining centimeter resolution from a time-domain pump and probe configuration that does not compromise acquisition speed or sensing length.

System and method for resolution enhancement of a distributed sensor


The present technique discloses a method and system generating three dimensional animation in gaming engine. A CAD tool is used to generate 3D animation of kinematic assembly and it also stores the information related to complex joints and constraints of each component of the kinematic assembly. Then, it extracts information related to the co-ordinates of each component of the kinematic assembly in unit time and generate transformation matrix for each of those components. This transformation information is stored in JSON file. The gaming engine receives this JSON file from the CAD tool and convert the transformation matrix into gaming engine understandable pattern based on the co-ordinate system supported by the gaming engine. The gaming engine stores this converted transformation matrix into Quaternion representation. Then, the gaming engine applies tangential continuity to the Quaternion representation of each of the components of kinematic assembly to generate the 3D animation in gaming engine.

For creating any immersive experience for any engineering scenario, having an animation explaining the working process of any mechanism or a product is very important. In gaming engine, animations are important to portray object movements and behaviors. Animations are important to give life to the game characters and objects. However, gaming tools does not have any provision to work with mechanism and constraints and hence it is difficult to generate three dimensional animations in gaming engines.

Method and system for generating three dimensional animation in gaming engine


To provide a compact fuel tank including a fuel pump in accordance with one or more embodiments. For example in an embodiment, a motorcycle includes a tank rail forming an upper part of a body frame, a fuel tank having a pair of tank sections disposed across the tank rail in a vehicle width direction and mounted on and across the tank rail, and a fuel pump disposed in the fuel tank for supplying fuel to an engine, in which a mounting surface for the fuel pump is formed on a bottom of one of the pair of tank sections and the mounting surface is formed to be tilted in an in-and-out direction with respect to the vehicle width direction.

In a conventional motorcycle provided with a fuel pump, the fuel pump may be positioned inside the fuel tank as it occupies an additional space. For example, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2004-027937 discloses a fuel tank with an opening provided on its bottom through which a fuel pump is inserted to be accommodated therein. The fuel pump is placed on a lid and the lid together with the fuel pump are assembled on the fuel tank around its opening and secured while sealing therebetween.
A fuel tank as described in the above example has a wide bottom. Accordingly, if a fuel pump is mounted on such a bottom, no problems generally would occur. However, there are some cases as conventionally known that a fuel tank is mounted across a tank rail disposed above a body frame. In this case, a tank section is formed to be divided into a left and a right part in a vehicle width direction across the tank rail. In such a case, each bottom of the individual fuel tank sections tends to be narrow, which makes it difficult to secure a sufficient width dimension for mounting the fuel pump. In the case that the width dimension is simply extended for mounting the fuel pump, the dimension of the whole fuel tank becomes too large in the vehicle width direction, which is not practicable.


Method and apparatus for lifting sod, in which grass blades of the sod are inserted between one or more clamps. The clamps are closed to grip the grass blades and the clamps are then moved, with the sod suspended therefrom, to a desired location. The clamps can if desired also grip the thatch, and/or a portion of the soil, of the sod slab.

Practical automatic sod harvesters, in which sod is harvested from the ground and stacked on a pallet, have existed for about 40 years. Originally, such harvesters formed the cut sod into rolls which were stacked on pallets, moved to a site where sod was needed, and then laid. However, there are various disadvantages associated with rolling the sod, and therefore an alternative method of sod handling became popular, in which the sod was simply cut into slabs (i.e. flat lengths of sod) which were stacked on pallets and handled in that form. Leaving the cut sod in flat slabs tends to impose less severe mechanical stresses on the sod, and in addition more sod can be stored in a smaller space. However, lifting the slabs automatically has proven difficult.
Various methods have been suggested for lifting sod slabs and for moving the slabs once lifted. One such method, suggested by the present applicants, was to pierce the sod slabs with hooks which could then be used to lift and move the slabs. However, the hooks, in use, in some cases protrude below the bottom surface of the sod slab and can in some situations create awkwardness in handling the slab. In addition, release of the sod slab from the hooks can sometimes be difficult.
In addition, once the sod slabs are stacked on a pallet and have been moved to a worksite where the sod is to be laid, it may not always be practical to employ hooks to lift the sod slabs in order to lay them. Therefore, to date, the sod slabs have usually been handled manually, which is a labor intensive and costly job.

Method and apparatus for lifting sod from the top


A ceramic drill bit comprising a cylindrical shank and a shaped portion extending axially in line with the shank and having a free end forming the tip of the bit, a relief face extending from each main cutting edge with a relief angle lying in the range 4° to 10° approximately relative to a plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the bit, and two notches forming two secondary cutting faces extending from the central edge with positive cutting angles lying in the range 1° to 7° approximately relative to the axis of rotation of the bit.

At present, because of their great hardness and ability to withstand high temperatures, ceramics are being used increasingly for making cutting tools. As a general rule, known ceramic cutting tools that enable high speed machining to be performed on very hard materials, such as those described in document EP-B1-0 477 093, are milling cutters and lathe tools. Unfortunately, the stresses that can be applied to a drill bit (drilling depth, swarf removal, intensity and direction of cutting forces) during a drilling operation are greater than those that might be applied, for example, to a lathe tool or to a cutter during a milling operation. These stresses make it more difficult to provide ceramic bits for drilling at very high speeds in very hard materials.
Numerous manufacturers propose ceramic drill bits in their catalogs, and document U.S. Pat. No. 5,641,251 describes one such bit. Although those bits provide improved performance compared with conventional bits made of high-speed steel or of tungsten carbide, they are limited in their utilizations and they do not enable very high speed drilling to be performed in materials as hard as superalloys. Because of the low toughness of ceramic materials, ceramic bits present lower torsional strength and compressive strength than metallic bits, e.g. made of tungsten carbide, with these mechanical characteristics causing ceramic bits to be brittle when drilling in hard materials or when drilling at high speeds of advance or at high cutting speeds. Work has been undertaken to improve the mechanical characteristics of ceramic-based materials: document U.S. Pat. No. 4,789,277 describes ceramics in which fibers (or whiskers) of silicon carbide (SiC) are introduced to improve their mechanical characteristics. In addition, it is known and recommended to ensure that the cutting edges of drill bits are always made with zero or negative angles so as to protect the cutting edges from wear, thereby increasing the lifetime of a ceramic bit.
Nevertheless, such bits are still of limited use in terms of the materials they can drill and of the cutting and advance speeds of the bits. When drilling materials as hard as refractory materials such as superalloys based, for example, on nickel and cobalt (having a Vickers hardness number of about 440) and when the cutting and advance speeds are very high, for example when the cutting speed is greater than about 400 meters per minute (m/min) and when the speed of advance is greater than 0.04 millimeters per revolution, the twisting and axial compression forces that are generated and applied to prior art bits are such that they will inevitably break. In addition, the cutting forces exerted by such bits on the workpieces to be drilled, and the friction between the radially-outer surfaces of the bits and the inner cylindrical surfaces of the drilled holes lead to thermal stresses in the bits and the workpieces to be drilled that cause accelerated degradation of the bits and deformation of the workpiece when attempts are made to drill at high speed in very hard materials.
In addition, with increasing depth of a hole being drilled, the twisting forces applied to ceramic bits become ever greater, firstly because there is an ever increasing outside area of the bit rubbing against the inner cylindrical surface of the drill hole, and secondly because when drilling at high speeds, prior art ceramic bits cannot evacuate a large quantity of swarf efficiently, thereby leading to clogging phenomena in the bit, and consequently increasing the twisting forces applied to the bit and increasing the risks of it breaking. These drawbacks generally make it impossible to drill holes at high speed to a depth that is greater than the diameter of the bit.


Techniques for configuring a programmable integrated circuit (IC) include determining design elements of the programmable integrated circuit that need to be configured prior to run-time operation of the programmable IC. A user interface provides for configuring one or more parameters for each of the determined design elements that need to be configured. Thereafter, the design elements are configured based on the one or more parameter values specified through the user interface.

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. Electronic systems and circuits often include integrated circuits (ICs) fabricated on a single substrate that provide a variety of advantages over discrete component circuits. However, traditional design and manufacturing approaches for integrated circuits are often complex and consume significant resources.
In the past each given IC design was static. More recently, the semiconductor industry has developed a wide range of programmable integrated circuits. The programmable integrated circuits can be customized by system designers to perform a wide variety of tasks. Such configurable integrated circuits include field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs), field programmable analog arrays (FPAAs), and the like.
The configurable design elements of ICs may require configuration of operating parameters prior to run-time operation. Specifying operating parameters generally requires a time consuming and error prone process. For example, the configuration of programmable ICs typically involves complex interactions with complicated command structures and syntaxes that are not readily comprehensible or user friendly. Accordingly, there is a continued need for improved design techniques for use with programmable ICs and systems that include such ICs.

Configuration of programmable IC design elements


A resistor element includes a cylindrical, insulating ceramic substrate, a spiral resistor formed on said ceramic substrate, first and second lead wires inserted into the open ends of said ceramic substrate, a connector for making electrical connections between said resistor and said first and second lead wires, a layer of inorganic material which covers said ceramic substrate, said resistor and said connector, and a layer of resin material which covers the outer surface of said inorganic material layer. This resistor element is advantageously applied to a thermal type of flow rate sensor.

This invention relates to a resistor element and, more specifically, to a resistor element designed to detect the flow rate of a fluid.
As well known so far in the art, some resistor elements used for a thermal type of flow rate sensors adapted to detect the amount of intake air in automotive engines, etc. include an alumina pipe around which a thin film or wire of platinum is spirally wound and a lead wire electrically connected with this thin film or wire and connected to both ends of the alumina pipe. Such resistor elements are provided with a protecting layer on the thin film or wire of platinum so as to protect it. In general, the protecting layer is formed of glass whose surface is so smooth that heat exchange can take place efficiently between the resistor element and the flow of a fluid, e.g., air without disturbing the flow of the fluid.
However, problems with the conventional resistor elements are that even though the glass layer having a smooth surface is used as the protecting film, atmospheric soot, dust, oil, water, etc. are deposited onto the protecting film in the form of a layer, which then acts as a heat insulator, making heat exchange between the thin film or wire of platinum and the surrounding air stream worse. This will in turn result not only in deterioration of the output characteristics of the detection signal showing the flow rate of air but in a slow response of the detection signal as well.
Another type of flow rate sensors, e.g., a wire-heating type of flow rate sensor using a single wire of platinum as a heating wire, is known as well. In order to avoid dust deposition, dust or oil deposits are burned off by the heated wire.
However, the above heating technique cannot be applied to a resistor element having a glass protective layer, because the glass protective layer cannot stand up to high temperature. Nor can this technique be applied to a resistor element including a platinum film, because the platinum film breaks when exposed to temperatures so high as to burn off deposits. Hence, this heating technique cannot be applied to the present resistor element for flow rate sensors.
In order to solve these problems, this invention seeks to provide a resistor element which is so unlikely to adsorb atmospheric foreign matters such as dust that its responsiveness and output characteristics can be improved.


The disclosure relates to a platinum alloy comprising (a) 55 to 63 wt. % of platinum, (b) 2 to 10 wt. % of cobalt, and (c) 27 to 43 wt. % of copper. The disclosure further relates to a platinum alloy comprising (a) 70 to 79.5 wt. % of platinum, 2 to 10. wt. % of cobalt, and (c) 10.5 to 28 wt. % of copper. The platinum alloys have excellent mechanical and optical properties for use in the production of ornamental articles such as rings, necklaces, earrings, watch bands, watch bodies and other jewelry. The disclosure further relates to a method of preparing the platinum alloys and their use in the production of ornamental articles. Still further the disclosure relates to ornamental articles comprising the platinum alloy and a method of production thereof.

Platinum is a precious metal and is relatively expensive. In recent years platinum has come into increasing prominence as a metal used for jewelry fabrication. Platinum for fine jewelry is commonly sold in high concentrations of over 85 percent by weight.
Pure platinum metal (Pt1000) is soft and does not have the mechanical strength for most jewelry applications. For this reason, in most jewelry applications various kinds of platinum alloys are employed. Platinum alloys are desirable for their neutral color when combined with gems, they are hypo-allergenic, they have high tensile strength, and a pleasurable heft due to their high-density.
The jewelry industry uses three main classes of platinum alloys. These classes are Pt950, Pt900 and Pt850. These alloys have a platinum content of 95, 90 and 85 wt. %, respectively. Commercially available alloys frequently used in the fabrication of jewelry include Pt/Ir 900/100 (90 wt. % platinum and 10 wt. % iridium), PtCu950 (95 wt. % of platinum and 5 wt. % of copper) and PtCo950 (95 wt. % of platinum and 5 wt. % of cobalt).
Various high platinum content jewelry materials are known in the art. The term "high platinum content" as used herein refers to platinum alloys having a platinum content equal or greater than 85 wt. %.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,165,983 describes an alloy for fabricating jewelry containing at least 95 wt. % platinum, 1.5 to 3.5 wt. % gallium, and a balance of at least one of indium, gold, palladium, silver, copper, cobalt, nickel, ruthenium, iridium and rhodium. U.S. Pat. No. 5,846,352 describes a heat-treated platinum-gallium alloy for fabricating jewelry containing 1 to 9 wt. % gallium and a small amount of palladium. Japanese published patent application JP 61-133340 describes an alloy for fabricating jewelry consisting of 84 to 96 wt. % platinum, 1 to 10 wt. % gallium, 0.5 to 10 wt. % copper, and 0.01 to 5 wt. % cobalt. Japanese published patent application JP 61-034133 describes an alloy for fabricating jewelry containing 84 to 96 wt. % platinum, 0.5 to 10 wt. % cobalt, 0.5 to 10 wt. % copper and 0.01 to 0.5 Y, B, CaB mischmetal.
Although such alloys have satisfactory mechanical and optical properties that make them suitable for jewelry fabrication, these alloys are expensive to produce due to their high platinum content.
There are also a number of low platinum content jewelry materials known in the art. The term "low platinum content" as used herein refers to platinum alloys having a platinum content smaller than 85 wt. %.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,048,492 describes a platinum alloy composition for use in jewelry products containing about 58.5 wt. % of platinum, 26.5 to 36.5 wt. % of palladium and 5 to 15 wt. % of either iridium, copper or ruthenium. U.S. Pat. No. 2,279,763 describes a ductile platinum alloy containing 10 to 80 wt. % of platinum, 12 to 90 wt. % of palladium, and 1 to 15 wt. % of ruthenium.
A disadvantage of known low platinum content jewelry materials is that they often have inferior mechanical and physical properties compared to the high platinum content jewelry materials. In particular, the castability of known low platinum content jewelry materials is not as good as that of high platinum content alloys. Also, the color of known low platinum content jewelry materials differs from the typical "platinum color" of Pt950 alloys that is desired by most customers of fine jewelry. Hence, low platinum content jewelry materials are often rejected by customers for aesthetical reasons. In fact, it is very difficult to produce a low platinum content jewelry material that combines both the mechanical strength and workability as well as the optical properties of high platinum content materials.
Due to the potential improvements in properties and performance of such alloys, there is a need for additional alloys suitable for use in jewelry and art applications.
Another disadvantage of known low platinum content jewelry materials is that they generally comprise alloys of platinum and at least one other precious material such as palladium and/or ruthenium, which are themselves relatively expensive materials, so that jewelry made from known low platinum content materials is still relatively costly.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a platinum alloy composition suitable for jewelry that is less expensive than the platinum that is presently available, yet still provides a platinum jewelry item with desirable technological and optical properties.
It would also be desirable to provide low platinum content alloys consisting essentially of platinum and non-precious metals in which the platinum content comprises 58.5 wt. % or 75 wt. % to correspond with 14 karat or 18 karat on a 24 karat scale in order to facilitate an understanding in the minds of consumers (who are familiar with the karat scale from its use in connection with gold alloys) of the weight percentage of platinum contained in the alloys.

Platinum alloy and method of production thereof


A heat dissipation device including a driving module and a heat dissipation sheet is provided. The heat dissipation sheet has a connection portion and a swing portion and is connected to the driving module by the connection portion. When the driving module receives an input voltage to drive the connection portion, the connection portion drives the swing portion to swing back and forth so as to generate a heat dissipation airflow.

Technical Field
The invention relates to a heat dissipation device and a control method thereof. Particularly, the invention relates to a heat dissipation device capable of swinging a heat dissipation sheet to generate a heat dissipation airflow and a control method thereof.
Related Art
In recent years, along with development of technology, portable electronic devices such as notebooks (NB), tablet PCs and smart phones, etc. become popular in the consumer market. Along with continuous improvement of operation performance of the portable electronic device, heating power of electronic components in the portable electronic device is also increased.
In order to prevent temporary or permanent failure of the electronic components due to overheat, or avoid overheat of a casing of the portable electronic device to cause user's discomfort, a cooling fan is generally disposed in internal of the portable electronic device to dissipate heat. The conventional cooling fan generates a heat dissipation airflow by rotating fan blades thereof. Due to the design of the fan blades, the cooling fan cannot be effectively thinned, which is not complied with a current thinning design trend of the electronic devices. Moreover, the conventional cooling fan has a greater power consumption during operation, which decreases power durability of the portable electronic device.

Heat dissipation device and control method thereof


A testing and alert device for power leakages of a computer includes a basic input/output system (BIOS) chip located on a motherboard of the computer, a south bridge chip connected to the BIOS chip, and an alarm device controlled by the BIOS chip. The south bridge chip has a first general purpose input/output terminal capable of being coupled to a ground of an exterior power source. The BIOS chip is capable of detecting the input signal of the first general purpose input/output terminal of the south bridge chip and outputting an alarm command to initiate the alarming device when the input signal from the first general purpose input/output terminal is at a high level.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to testing and alert devices and methods and, more particularly, to a testing and alert device and method for power leakages of a computer.
2. General Background
As people become more dependent on information obtained from the Internet, computers play an increasingly significant role in our day-to-day activities. Typically, computers have metal enclosures. In use, computers are connected to a 220V city power source. If the computer is not well grounded, the computer enclosure may experience static electricity, that is, power leakage, thereby affecting users' safety when using computers. Under normal circumstances, the computer power supply is connected to a city power source socket with good grounding to conduct the static electricity to ground, thereby ensuring computer's safety. However, the computer may be in an unsafe power environment and connected to a power source with improper grounding. As a result, computers may experience power leakage, thereby damaging the computer's motherboard as well as putting the safety of users at risk.
What is needed, therefore, is a device and method for power leakages of a computer to overcome the above-described shortcoming.

Testing and alert device and method for power leakages

Hong Fu Jin Precision Industry (ShenZhen) Co., Ltd.


A method of making a photoresist with rare-earth sensitizers is provided. The rare-earth sensitizer could be a salt or a rare-earth complex. According to the invention, photoresist composition is useful to pattern circuits by visible light.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to the fields of semiconductor fabrication, lithography, and polymer chemistry. More particularly, the invention relates to rare-earth photoresist compositions and a method of making the same. The product is suitable for use in visible light lithography.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the manufacture of patterned devices, such as semiconductor chips and packaging applications, the process of etching different layers which constitute the finished product is among the most crucial steps involved. One method widely employed in the etching process is to overlay the surface to be etched with a suitable photoresist, and then to immerse the substrate and photoresist in a chemical solution which attacks the substrate to be etched while leaving the photoresist intact. There are two types of photoresists: i) a positive resist is one which on exposure to imaging light is capable of being rendered soluble in a solvent in which the unexposed resist is not soluble, ii) a negative resist is one which is capable of polymerizing and/or insolubilizing upon exposure to imaging light. Typically, the exposing light for an UV photoresist, is a mercury vapor source emitting a broadband emission in the ultraviolet region which comprises of G line at 436 nm, H line at 405 nm and I line at 365 nm. Generally, the major output wavelength of the source is an I line at 365 nm. Recent research in the field of lithography is oriented towards the search for photoresist compositions that are sensitive to laser light. Deep-UV (DUV) lithography uses 248 nm and 193 nm exposure wavelengths supplied by KrF and ArF excimer lasers. Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography, working at 13.5 nm with soft X-ray plasma sources, is under development. Dedicated photoresists for each wavelength have been devised. Examples of conventional resins for photoresists are phenol resins in which a part or the whole of hydroxyl groups are protected by groups such acetal or ketal (KrF photoresist), methacrylic acid resins in which an acid-labile ester group is introduced to carboxyl group (ArF photoresist) and the like.
The photosensitivity of photoresists is brought up to a practical value by addition of photosensitizers. U.S. Pat. No. 5,225,312 to Dixit et al. discloses a positive photoresist with coumarin dyes. In addition, examples of some photoresists with other organic dyes are provided in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,376,150 to Bolli et al.; 5,976,770 to Sinta et al.; 5,128,232 to Thackeray et al.; and 5,492,790 to Hishiro.
E. Pavel et al. has published in Optics Communications 291 (2013) 259-263 a method describing "2 nm Quantum Optical Lithography" by application of quantum multiphoton confinement effect in fluorescent photosensitive glass-ceramics containing rare-earths. The breaking of the diffraction limit was possible by using novel materials such as fluorescent photosensitive glass-ceramics.
The benefit of the present invention is the replacement of high intensity light sources with low power laser diodes.
The object of the present invention is to provide a photoresist with improved sensitivity to visible light. In order to accomplish this object, there is provided a composition which contains rare-earth (RE) compounds.
It is believed, therefore, that a new photoresist composition will represent a significant advancement in the art.


A fiber laser system includes at least one optical fiber with a core and a cladding and is operative at a first wavelength larger than 2000 nm. The operative first wavelength is preferably chosen to maximize transmission through the atmosphere. At least one optical pumping system includes one or more pumping fiber lasers also doped with thulium for pumping the optical fiber. The pumping system is operative at a second, shorter wavelength close to the first wavelength for low quantum defect pumping. The core of the optical fiber is doped with thulium at a doping concentration greater than one weight % to reduce absorption losses in the core.

High power fiber lasers are being developed for applications such as industrial laser materials processing (e.g., metal cutting and welding) and military directed-energy and laser radar systems. IPG Photonics, Inc. (Oxford, Mass.), for example, has produced a 10-kW-cw-power YLS-10,000-SM fiber laser based on ytterbium-doped silica fibers operating around 1070 nm. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,593,435 and 7,848,368 incorporated herein by this reference.
There is concern, however, that such high-power lasers, operating at wavelengths less than about 1400 nm, can cause eye damage to personnel subject to stray power from lasers, since even a small fraction of the power can be focused onto and cause damage to the retina.


An aircraft (10) having a cabin (14) with a plurality of potable-water-using stations (22) that drain graywater to a transfer tank (24). The graywater ejection system pressurizes the transfer tank (24) at appropriate times and/or places, so that graywater can be ejected through a drainmast (26) without the help of gravity. This graywater ejection system eliminates the need for a discharge line from the transfer tank (24) and frees the aircraft's fuselage (12) from having an inconvenient port associated with such a discharge line.

An aircraft will typically include one or more potable-water-using stations (e.g., sinks, basins, beverage makers, ice makers, etc.) and each station will usually include a drain line for graywater. Graywater is a specific form of waste fluid that is no longer suitable for drinking but does not include septic wastes (i.e., it does not interact with toilet water). Graywater can include, for example, unfinished beverages poured down sinks and/or hand-washing water from lavatories.
An aircraft will usually include some type of graywater ejection system. In certain aircrafts and/or in certain aircraft orientations, graywater can gravity drain to a drainmast. If gravity draining is not always possible and/or practical, graywater can be stored in a tank, and a discharge line can extend from this storage tank to a port on the aircraft's fuselage. When the aircraft is grounded, the port can be opened by airline personnel and the stored graywater discharged from tank and into an appropriate sewer.


A memory device comprises a plurality of banks of storage locations accessible in response to access requests. Data refresh means are provided for refreshing data stored in the storage locations within prescribed times, whereby the memory device autonomously perform a refresh. A cache memory is embedded in the memory device. The cache memory has a plurality of cache storage locations for storing data contained in recently accessed storage locations. Access control means control the access to the storage locations and to the cache storage locations in response to the access requests: an access request is diverted to the cache memory whenever access to anyone of the recently accessed storage locations is requested. Any cache storage location is freely associable to any storage location in any bank, the association between any cache storage location and a storage location in the plurality of banks being established by a storage location association table in the access control means.

DRAMs are widely used for temporary storage of large amounts of data, thanks to the simplicity and compactness of the memory cells. A DRAM memory cell consists in fact of a selection transistor and a charge-storage capacitor, in which the information is stored in form of an electric charge. The selection transistor allows accessing the storage capacitor for either writing the information therein or reading the stored information.
Compared to SRAMs, which have memory cells formed by four or even six transistors, DRAMs occupies substantially less semiconductor area and are therefore cheaper devices.
A problem of DRAMs, not encountered in SRAMs, is the need of periodically refreshing the information stored in the memory cells. Unavoidable leakages in the storage capacitors cause a decrease in time of the charge stored therein and, eventually, the loss of the information.
Refreshing the information involves reading the information stored in each memory cell and then rewriting the same information, thereby restoring the prescribed electric charge in the storage capacitors. The external device, for example the microprocessor controlling the DRAM needs to access twice every single memory location, firstly for reading the data stored therein and then for rewriting the read data. This operation increases significantly the workload of the microprocessor.
DRAMs have been proposed capable of autonomously carrying out the refresh of the memory cells, thus relieving the microprocessor of this burden.
One such DRAM is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,999,474. The memory comprises several banks of DRAM cells and a control circuit for accessing and refreshing the DRAM cells. The DRAM banks can operate-independently of each other, so that parallel operations such as read, write and refresh can take place in different DRAM banks simultaneously. An SRAM cache is incorporated in the DRAM, for storing the recently accessed data. When access is requested to the recently accessed data present in the SRAM cache, the latter is accessed instead of the DRAM banks, so that the refresh operation can go on in the DRAM banks.
The SRAM cache has the same storage capacity and organization as a DRAM bank, and is configured as a direct map cache: a one-to-one positioning correspondence exists between the SRAM cache locations and the memory locations in the DRAM banks.
A limitation of the direct-mapping scheme is that two steps are necessary to access a memory location: in a first step a cache tag is accessed, to determine the DRAM bank associated with the accessed SRAM cache location; in a second step the bank number retrieved from the cache tag is compared to the bank number included in the access address, to ascertain whether the content of the accessed memory location is already present in the SRAM cache or not. This two-step access process increases the memory access time.
Another limitation of the cache direct-mapping scheme is that the cache memory must have at least the same storage capacity as a DRAM bank (same number of memory locations). This has a significant impact in terms of semiconductor chip area. The SRAM cache occupies an area at least approximately four times the area of a DRAM bank: the area occupied by the SRAM cache can be comparable with the overall area occupied by the DRAM banks.
An additional limitation of the cache memory being configured as a direct-map cache, involving a highly inflexible allocation scheme based on a rigid positioning correspondence between the DRAM locations and the cache locations, is the high number of cache misses, especially when sequences of adjacent DRAM locations need to be accessed.
A further limitation of the cache direct-mapping scheme is the inefficient exploitation of the SRAM cache storage capacity. Already allocated cache locations need to be replaced even if the cache is still partially empty. This increases the power consumption of the memory device, especially when a write-back from the SRAM cache into the DRAM banks takes place.

Semiconductor memory with self-refresh capability


A method of manufacturing plates assembleable in a stack to provide a mold to form fastener elements includes applying a photoresist material to at least one side of the plate. The photoresist material is exposed to light. Portions of the photoresist material are removed based on the light exposure. Acid is applied to the plate, dissolving portions of the plate exposed to the acid and creating cavities.

This invention relates to molding methods and products and to the making of molded hook fasteners for engaging low loft fabrics.
In the field of molded hook fasteners, typically a series of adjacent rows of hooks forms one side of a fastener and a mating member provides loops or anchored fibers with which the hooks engage.
A fastener element with rows of hook members is typically formed with a molding tool that has no moving parts. The hooks are pulled from their mold cavities by distorting the hooks. For molding continuous strips of such hook members, a rotating molding roll is employed while for discrete items, injection molding techniques are employed. Improvements applicable to such molds and to the processes of molding these hook members may be useful in molding other products.


A process of stabilizing an olefin metathesis product mixture, preferably, against double bond isomerization and thermal and chemical degradation. The process involves (a) contacting an olefin metathesis product mixture comprising one or more olefins produced in a metathesis process, a metathesis catalyst comprising a catalytic metal and one or more ligands, optionally, one or more metathesis catalyst degradation products, and optionally, one or more metals derived from sources other than the catalyst or catalyst degradation product(s), with an adsorbent, more preferably carbon; or alternatively, (b) subjecting the olefin metathesis product mixture to a two-step distillation, preferably, including short path wiped-film evaporation. A stabilized olefin metathesis product mixture to a two-step distillation, preferably, including short path wiped-film evaporation. A stabilized olefin metathesis product mixture is disclosed containing one or more olefins obtained in a metathesis process and having a total concentration of metal(s) of less than about 30 parts per million by weight.

In a first aspect, this invention pertains to a process of stabilizing an olefin metathesis product mixture, preferably, against double bond isomerization and thermal and chemical decomposition. In a second aspect, this invention pertains to a stabilized olefin metathesis product composition. In a third aspect, this invention pertains to methods for removing metals from an olefin metathesis product mixture.
Olefin metathesis processes commonly involve the conversion of two reactant olefins in the presence of a metathesis catalyst into one or more product olefins that are different from the reactant olefins. If the two reactant olefins are chemically different compounds, then the process is referred to as "hetero-metathesis." If the two reactant olefins are chemically identical compounds, then the process is referred to as "homo-metathesis." In a different, but yet related manner, olefin metathesis processes also include ring-opening metathesis polymerization reactions wherein an unsaturated cyclic compound is ring-opened and polymerized to form an unsaturated polymer. In yet another type of olefin metathesis process, a reactant alkene and reactant alkyne can be cross-metathesized to form a conjugated 1,3-diene. The prior art discloses homogeneous and heterogeneous metathesis catalysts that comprise at least one catalytically active metal, such as ruthenium, molybdenum, tungsten, or rhenium, and one or more ligands complexed to the metal(s).
Metathesis processes find utility in converting olefin feedstocks of low commercial value into unsaturated products of higher commercial value. By way of example, a long chain internal olefin, such as methyl oleate, obtainable from seed oils, can be metathesized with a lower olefin, such as a C2-8 olefin, preferably ethylene, in the presence of a metathesis catalyst to yield two product olefins of intermediate chain length, for example, 1-decene and methyl 9-decenoate. Intermediate length α-olefins, such as 1-decene, are useful in the preparation of poly(olefin) polymers. Alpha, omega (α,ω) ester-functionalized olefins, such as methyl 9-decenoate, can be converted into polyester polyepoxides, polyester polyalcohols or polyester polyamines, all of which find utility in the preparation of thermoset polymers, such as epoxy resins and polyurethanes.
Olefin metathesis product mixtures typically comprise one or more product olefins, a metal-ligand metathesis complex catalyst, optionally, metathesis catalyst degradation products, optionally, metathesis reaction by-products, and optionally, unconverted reactant olefins. As noted hereinabove, the metathesis catalyst comprises at least one catalytically active metal complexed to a catalytically active combination of one or more organic and/or inorganic ligands. Metathesis catalyst degradation products include ligand degradation products obtained when the ligand is oxidized by residual oxygen or otherwise reacted in a disadvantageous manner during the metathesis process. Metathesis degradation products may also include metal-ligand degradation product complexes. Finally, metathesis catalyst degradation products may also include catalytically inactive complexes produced when the catalytic metal binds to any available ligand to form a catalytically inactive complex. Olefin metathesis product mixtures may also contain extraneous metals added as catalyst promoters to the metathesis process or leached into the metathesis reaction from a catalyst support, a heterogeneous catalyst, or reactors and conduit pipes.
Homogeneous catalysts, while particularly active and selective, present a problem in that for economical purposes, the catalyst (including catalytic metal) should be recovered from the olefin metathesis product mixture. More importantly, it has been recognized that metathesis catalysts and catalyst degradation products destabilize olefin metathesis product mixtures against isomerization (double bond migration), which produces undesirable isomeric by-products different from the target products or the reactant olefins, as the case may be. Such undesirables reduce product selectivity and waste raw materials. The destabilization is generally more pronounced at elevated temperatures. Since product separation by distillation typically requires a higher temperature than that of metathesis, destabilization is more likely during the separation process. As a further disadvantage, metathesis catalysts and catalyst degradation products can destabilize olefin metathesis product mixtures against thermal and chemical decomposition. Over time, during storage or at elevated temperatures, undesirable thermal or chemical reactions may occur, further resulting in unrecoverable raw material losses and low product olefin yields. Such adverse effects are generally attributed to the presence of the catalytic metal(s) in the metathesis catalyst and catalyst degradation products. Similar adverse effects can also be induced by promoter metals that are deliberately added to the metathesis reaction to enhance catalyst performance or by extraneous metals that leach into the metathesis reaction mixture from catalyst supports, heterogeneous catalysts, metallic reactors, pipes, and conduits. Accordingly, efforts have been made to stabilize olefin metathesis product mixtures against double bond isomerization and decomposition resulting from metal contaminants.
H. D. Maynard and R. H. Grubbs disclose in Tetrahedron Letters, 40 (1999), 4137-4140, purification of ring-closing metathesis products of metathesis reactions utilizing a ruthenium catalyst. The purification involves treating the metathesis product mixture with a water-soluble phosphine, specifically, tris(hydroxymethyl)phosphine, followed by extraction with water so as to remove ruthenium into an aqueous phase. Disadvantageously, this method reduces the concentration of ruthenium by only one order of magnitude when an excess of 10 equivalents of water soluble phosphine is employed.
Leo A Paquette et al. discloses in Organic Letters, 2 (9) (2000), 1259-1261 the addition of lead tetraacetate to ring-closing metathesis product mixtures followed by filtration over silica gel to remove the colored ruthenium catalysts and impurities. The method teaches reduction of ruthenium residues by a factor of about 56. Disadvantageously, this method requires the use of lead tetraacetate under anaerobic conditions and thereafter a separate filtration step.
Yu Mi Ahn et al. discloses in Organic Letters, 3 (9) (2001), 1411-1413, a method of similar efficiency that involves treating the crude olefin metathesis product mixtures with triphenylphosphine oxide or dimethyl sulfoxide, followed by column chromatography on silica gel. Disadvantageously, this method employs a large quantity of triphenylphosphine oxide or dimethyl sulfoxide, both of which increase costs and add recovery steps to any commercial plan.
An earlier reference, U.S. Pat. No. 6,156,692 (filed 1997), drawn to a ring-opening polymerization of a cyclic olefin, discloses work-up of a crude polyolefin product over Darco™ brand charcoal. The reference teaches decolorizing the polymer, but does not address the problem of stabilizing an olefin metathesis product mixture against double bond isomerization and decomposition. Moreover, the final concentration of ruthenium in the polymer product (86 parts per million to 0.047 weight percent) is not sufficiently low to provide stabilization against double bond migration and decomposition.
In view of the prior art, it would be desirable to discover an improved method of stabilizing an olefin metathesis product mixture. It would also be desirable to discover an improved method of removing metals from olefin metathesis product mixtures. It would be more desirable if the improved method did not employ expensive reagents that require recovery. It would be even more desirable if the improved method did not employ large quantities of solvents or fluids that also increase costs and require recovery and recycle. It would be most desirable if the improved method could reduce the concentration of metal(s) in metathesis product mixtures more efficiently than prior art methods. At a high efficiency of metal removal, olefin metathesis product mixtures are more likely to be stabilized against double bond isomerization and chemical and thermal decomposition.

Stabilization of olefin metathesis product mixtures


A transport stream transmitter receives a jittered stream of network frames carrying a stream of transport packets. The transport stream transmitter de-encapsulates the stream of transport packets from the network frames and dejitters and transmits the stream of network frames.

Modern subscriber television systems (STS) transmit digital content, which is packetized, from a headend to a subscriber. The digital content is typically provided in a format such as MPEG or in other packet formats known to those skilled in the art. Operators of STS prefer to provide programs in digital format because digital programs provide superior fidelity and lower bandwidth in comparison to analog programs. However, packetized digital programs must be properly synchronized for the subscriber to be able to properly access them.
Briefly described, an encoder receives an analog program and encodes the program into its constituent video and audio elementary streams, which are packetized and known as packetized elementary streams (PES). The packets of the PES are variable length, and the packetized elementary streams include timing information so that the packets of audio content can be properly synchronized with the packets of video content by a decoder when the program is accessed by a user.
In a typical STS, instead of variable length packets, fixed length transport packets are transmitted from the headend to the subscriber by packetizing the variable PES packets into one or more transport packets. Again, the transport packets include timing information so that a subscriber having a digital subscriber communication terminal (DSCT) can decode the program. The DSCT uses the timing information to match the frequency of its internal clock to the frequency of the clock of the encoder that generated the transport packets. However, at the headend, jitter is often introduced into the transport streams of a program because, among other things, multiple transport streams of different programs are multiplexed together, and because routing through the headend and other processing introduces variable delay. Thus, what is sought is a method and apparatus for removing jitter from the transport streams of a program such that the DSCT receiving the program can synchronize the elementary streams of the program.
STS's also provide a service known as video-on-demand (VOD), in which a subscriber can request a prerecorded program or movie or instance of service. For the purposes of this disclosure a program or movie or other instance of service that is provided to a subscriber or offered by a STS to the subscriber is referred to as a program. VOD programs are often stored in a VOD pump, which is typically located at the headend of the STS. The stored VOD programs include the timing information used for synchronizing the clock of the subscriber's DSCTs with the clock of the encoder that packetized the program. Typically, a VOD pump does not output a requested program at the steady stream rate of the encoder. Instead, the VOD pump clumps multiple transport packets into a network frame and transmits the network frame to a transmitter, such as a quadrature amplitude modulator (QAM), for transmission to the subscriber's DSCT. Consequently, at the transmitter the transport streams are jittered by both variable delay in the transmission pathway between the VOD pump and the transmitter and by the clumping of multiple transport packets into a single network frame. Thus, what is also needed is a system and method for reducing jitter by correcting for variable delay and by compensating for clumping of transport packets in network frames.


A very compact zoom lens system is provided which has a zoom ratio of 10.times., a bright f-number of 1.4 and a wide angle of view of 59 degree or greater although having a fewer number of lens. The zoom lens system comprises from the object side to the image side: a fixed first lens unit having a negative power lens, a positive power lens and a positive power meniscus lens; a second lens unit having an aspherical surface, having a negative power lens, a negative power biconcave lens and a positive power lens and performing zooming by moving; a fixed third lens unit having an aspherical surface and having a positive power lens, a positive power lens and a negative power lens; and a fourth lens unit having an aspherical surface, having positive power and moves according to zooming and a movement of an object point. The image side surface of the most image side lens of the third lens unit is a concave surface having strong power to the image side. When the focal length at the wide-angle limit is fw, the angle of view at the wide-angle limit is .omega., the focal length of the first lens unit is f1 and the focal length of the second lens unit is f2, the following condition is satisfied: EQU 0.17<(fw.times.tan.omega.)/(f1.times..vertline.f2.vertline.).sup.1/2 <0.39.

Size reduction of image pickup devices and size reduction of lens systems is greatly demanded in today's video camera market. Moreover, it is an important factor that electronic still-video cameras which have appeared in recent years with the spread of multimedia personal computers are inexpensive and small in size. On the contrary, for the manufacturers, it is necessary to reduce the cost in order to have competitive power in the market. In order to reduce lens systems in cost, it is necessary to provide a construction of lens system which has a minimum number of lens elements and is capable of maintaining performance the same as or higher than that of conventional lens systems while having a minimum number of lens elements.
For these reasons, it has conventionally been a problem how a zoom lens system is provided to be is small in size and high in resolution but has a fewer number of lens elements.
A conventional zoom lens system will be described.
FIG. 32 is a view showing the structure of a conventional zoom lens system for use in a video camera described, for example, in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication Number Hei 6-109975. The zoom lens system shown in the figure comprises a first lens unit 321 serving as a condenser unit, a second lens unit 322 serving as a zooming unit, a third lens unit 323 serving as a condenser unit, a fourth lens unit 324 serving as a focusing unit, an equivalent glass plate 325 corresponding to a crystal filter or a faceplate of an image pickup element, etc., and an image forming plane 326.
The first lens unit 321 fixed in relation to the image forming plane 326 has imaging function, and the second lens unit 322 moved back and forth along the optical axis varies the magnification thereby to vary the focal length of the overall lens system. The third lens unit 323 which is a stationary unit condenses light diverged by the second lens unit 322, and the fourth lens unit 324 moved back and forth along the optical axis has focusing function. Moreover, the variation in position of the image plane caused by the movement of the second lens unit 322 during zooming is corrected by the movement of the fourth lens unit 324 so as to image in a fixed position, whereby the image plane is always maintained in a fixed position.
However, in the conventional zoom lens system as described above, what is called f-number is 1.6 or higher although the number of lens elements is ten and the zoom ratio is approximately 10.times.. Therefore, it cannot cope with the insufficient sensitivity which is a problem in reducing of image size. Moreover, although having a small number of lens elements, its overall length is comparatively large and it lacks compactness. For this reason, it is a problem that the conventional zoom lens system cannot fulfill the harsh demand for zoom lens systems for video cameras which is to be smaller in size and has higher performance. Moreover, it is difficult for the conventional zoom lens design technique to produce a zoom lens system which fulfills all of a large aperture, a high magnification, a smaller size and a higher resolution.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.