Disclosed is a method and system for checking and identifying images and other document components that may not be suitably rendered by an output device or process. The method employs a dual-mode analysis of visual image attributes to determine an aggregate confidence while also checking individual image attributes, to determine whether image content requires adjustment prior to being printed or rendered.

The following patents or publications are noted and are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety:
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,371,615, and 5,357,352, teach a method and apparatus for image-dependent color shifting in electronic documents of color shifted natural scene images.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,363,209, discloses a method and apparatus for improving the appearance of a digitally encoded image having a pictorial scene, and more particularly, a method for improving sharpness within a digitally encoded image having a pictorial scene.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,347,374, is directed toward a method and apparatus for improving the appearance of a digital image having a pictorial scene, and more particularly, toward improving processing time and image quality of an image which is processed by multiple cascaded processing elements.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,450,502, and 5,414,538, teach a method and apparatus for improving the appearance of a digital image having a pictorial scene, and more particularly, a method for improving the contrast within the pictorial screen.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,450,217, discloses a method and apparatus for image-dependent color saturation correction in natural scene color electronic pictures.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,628,843, to Eschbach, et al., issued Sep. 30, 2003 for "Image Enhancement on JPEG Compressed Image Data," teaches a method and apparatus for image enhancement of JPEG compressed image data.
NTX™ Large Format Digital Printing Software, published by Xerox Corporation, © 1998,, which described Xerox ColorgrafX NTX full featured RIP and print software (NTX RIP Software), including automated image quality enhancement.
In production printing, the verification of print data is a common functionality. The pre-press checking tasks include the verification of the existence and accessibility of all document elements, such as fonts and images, the readability of all included formats, etc. An example of such functionality is found in MarkzNet™ as described at http://www.creativepro.com/story/news/11767.html.
In production printing it remains necessary for the producer to "warrant" the correct reproduction of the user content and data, including images. Current pre-press checking extends to the verification of image sizes and resolutions to warrant print quality. However, it is often the case that images are of poor quality, and despite perfect rendering of the input image data, will lead to customer dissatisfaction, even if the images have the correct format and resolution. Common problems with images that cannot simply be identified by current tools are image defects or artifacts, such as improper exposure, poor color balance and/or saturation, lacking sharpness, and the like. In such cases, re-work and lost profits are the end result as the customer is often not "charged" for the full extent of the costs incurred by the production printing shop. As will be apparent from the following description, the term "image attributes" is used to indicate visual attributes of images, such as sharpness, contrast, color balance, as distinguished from image format attributes that relate to file formats, resolutions, etc.
On the other hand, software products such as Xerox' FreeFlow™, or Xerox DocuSP and print software described above is capable, to a certain extent, for analyzing documents and associated images and to automatically make adjustments in image characteristics (e.g., sharpness, color balance and saturation) to improve poor quality images. The system and method described herein take such functions to a higher level, and include not only the analysis of several image characteristics (edge sharpness, color fidelity, saturation, exposure, contrast) alone and in combination, but also include a more rigorous review of such characteristics to determine if intervention is necessary. Then, if necessary, the system and method enable automated and/or manual intervention in order to assure that the output is likely to be acceptable to the customer. It is understood, that manual operation also preferably includes the case where the user applies or agrees to the processing suggested by the system in the process of analyzing the image data.
The motivation is that in print-for-pay or similar scenarios, an expert intervention is normally desired or required if the print data is to be modified. This is to avoid unintended consequences of automated systems. For example, the "bad image" might have intentionally been bad to contrast it with a "good image" somewhere else in the document. It is therefore required that the intended automatic process is verified with a user and that the user can decide on the processing, based on the severity of the processing. For example, small modifications might always be enabled, large ones might always require user input, and/or based on the user preference and job settings (e.g.: jobs for a specific customer will only create user intervention requests for certain operations, whereas jobs for a different customer will always require intervention for changes).
Disclosed in embodiments herein is a method for processing a document for rendering, comprising the steps of: analyzing the content of the document prior to rendering for at least one image attribute; determining, based upon the analyzing step, a confidence that the rendering of the document will produce a desirable output; based upon the confidence, carrying out an adjustment of the document; and rendering the document. It is to be understood that a document might contain any number of images or image-type objects and that analyzing the document always includes the identification of image-tape objects.
Also disclosed in embodiments herein is a method for analyzing a document prior to rendering to determine a confidence that the document will be correctly rendered, comprising the steps of: analyzing the content of the document prior to rendering for a plurality of image attributes; determining an aggregate confidence that rendering of the document will produce a desirable output, including (a) comparing the image attributes as analyzed to at least a first boundary condition associated with each attribute, such that each comparison produces a result that indicates whether the attribute meets the first boundary condition, and (b) aggregating the results from the step of comparing the attributes to the associated first boundary conditions, and taking the aggregate as an aggregate confidence; comparing the image attributes as analyzed to at least a second boundary condition associated with each attribute, such that each comparison produces a result that indicates whether the attribute meets the second boundary condition; if the aggregate confidence and comparison of image attributes indicates the attributes meet all of the second boundary conditions, rendering the document; and otherwise carrying out an adjustment of the document.
Also disclosed in embodiments herein is a system for processing a document to determine if the document will produce a desired result, comprising: port for receiving document data including image data that represents an input digital image; memory for storing said image data; a processor, capable of accessing said memory, for carrying out an analysis of at least one attribute of the image, said processor further determining, based upon the analysis, a confidence that the rendering of the image data will produce a desirable output; an image adjustment system, responsive to the confidence, for carrying out an adjustment of the image; and an output device for rendering the document.

Pre-press production image alert system and method


A method for assessing a state of a living cell using surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is provided. The method may include modifying one or more living eel Is with an alkyne-containing compound to form one or more modified living cells, mixing the one or more modified living cells with a SERS-active material to form a mixture, injecting the mixture into a conduit defined by an inner wall of a hollow core photonic crystal fiber, and detecting a surface enhanced Raman signal from the mixture in the conduit. In preferred embodiments, the alkyne containing compound is linoleamide alkyne (LLA) for the detection of lipid peroxidation or 4-(dihydroxyborophenyl) acetylene (DBA) for the detection of sialic acid expression in cells, both using gold nanoparticles as the SERS-active material.

Living cells are the building blocks of life, as they are the basic unit for all living organisms and must be present for life to exist. By assessing a state of one or more living cells from a living organism, such as detecting presence of certain biomolecules on the living cell and/or monitoring changes in the biomolecules, information such as health conditions about the living organism may be obtained.
An example by which changes in biomolecules on the living cell may be used to assess state of a cell is lipid peroxidation, which refers to the oxidation state of polyunsaturated lipids containing carbon-carbon double bonds. Even though generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is a natural consequence of aerobic energy metabolism and is required for a wide range of normal biological processes, when a living cell's antioxidant capacity is unable to keep pace with the production of ROS, the uncontrolled oxidative stress leads to cells, tissues, and organs injury caused by oxidative damage. This damage has been linked to aging as well as the progression of diseases such as atherosclerosis, neurodegenerative disorders, and cancers.
To this end, methods such as high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), mass spectrometry, fluorescence and colorimetry have been utilized to monitor lipid peroxidation. However, HPLC and mass spectrometry are costly and time consuming, while fluorescence/colorimetric methods involve sophisticated preparation steps.
As a further example, glycans in the form of glycoproteins, glycolipids, glycosaminoglycans or other glycoconjugates may be found on an exterior surface of living cells and play important roles in a variety of cell activities, such as providing structural, modulation, and recognition functions of living cells. In particular, glycans may be correlated with the development and progression of many types of cancer, where changes in the gylcans affect malignant transformation and tumor progression.
Sialic acid is an anionic monosaccharide found at N-glycans, O-glycans and glycosphingolipids, which forms an essential component of glycoprotein and glycolipid on the cellular membrane, and has been used as a tumor associated carbohydrate antigen to identify cancers. For example, overexpression of sialic acid on the surface of cell may indicate malignant and metastatic phenotypes for various types of cancers, while decrease in sialic acid expression may imply erythrocytes of diabetic mellitus. Sialic acid-rich glycoproteins may bind selectin in human organisms such that when they are overexpressed, metastatic cancer cells experience negative charges on their membranes. This may cause repulsion amongst the cells, thereby allowing late-stage cancer cells to enter the blood stream, which further spreads the cancer. In view of the above, accurate monitoring of sialic acid expression on cell surface provides an effective way of studying the malignancy, metastasis of tumor and many other sialic acid related diseases.
Even though efforts have been made to detect and quantify sialic acid using methods such as colorimetric and fluorometric detection, detection sensitivity for colorimetric is low, while fluorometric detection generally suffers from poor discrimination of specific fluorophores, generation of broad emission spectra, and photobleaching. These methods, as well as other methods such as chromatography spectrometry and potentiometric methods, require use of sophisticated equipment and tedious preparations. Furthermore, large amount of cells in the range of about 105 to 109 cells are usually required to sufficiently detect and quantify sialic acid. Development of a simple, reliable and highly sensitive detection and quantification of sialic acid on single cell remains a big challenge.
In view of the above, there exists a need for an improved method for assessing a state of a living cell that overcomes or at least alleviates one or more of the above-mentioned problems.

Method for assessing a state of a living cell

Agency for Science, Technology and Research


A wiring sheet for installing a plurality of wires thereon includes a side plate portion, at which end portions of the wires forming circuits are collectively disposed. The wiring sheet is provided in an electric distribution box along with a main body which houses the wiring sheet therein. The main body includes a side wall for protecting the end portions of the wires exposed from the side plate portion.

This invention relates to a wiring sheet and an electric distribution box in which for example, an electronic unit (electronic control device) for a vehicle is mounted, and a wire-cutting operation can be easily effected, and the invention also relates to a method of cutting wire.
FIG. 13 shows one related electric distribution box.
This electric distribution box 501 includes an upper cover 502 made of a synthetic resin, a lower cover 503 (i.e., a distribution box body), and a wire wiring board 504 and a bus bar wiring board 505 which are received between the two covers 502 and 503 in a stacked manner.
The wire wiring board 504 includes an insulating board portion 506 made of a synthetic resin, a plurality of insulating sheathed wires 507 laid on a surface of the insulating board portion 506, and terminals 508 which extend through the insulating board portion 506, and are press-contacted respectively with wires 507. A press-contacting portion 508a is formed at one end of the terminal 508 while a male tab-like electrical contact portion 508b is formed at the other end thereof.
The bus bar wiring board 505 includes an insulating board portion 509, and a plurality of bus bars 510 installed on a surface of the insulating board portion 509. The bus bar 510 has an integral male tab-like terminal 511 extending upwardly therefrom or an integral male tab-like terminal 511 extending downwardly therefrom.
The terminals 508 and 511 project into corresponding housings 512 and 513 formed at the upper cover 502 and the lower cover 503, and the terminals 508 and 511 are combined with the housings 512 and 513 to form connectors. Connectors (not shown) of external wire harnesses are connected to these connectors.
In the above related electric distribution box 501, however, the wires 507, installed on the wiring board 504, need to be cut one by one, using a tool such for example as a nipper (not shown), and the operation for cutting the wires 507 was not effected efficiently. And besides, there was a fear that the worker forget to cut one or more wires 507, so that a predetermined circuit failed to be formed.
In view of the above circumstances, it is an object of this invention to provide a wiring sheet, an electric distribution box, and a method of cutting wire, in which a wire-cutting operation can be carried out easily, and troubles, such as the failure to cut a wire, are prevented during the wire-cutting process, thereby enhancing the reliability.

Wiring sheet, electric distribution box and method of cutting wires


A direction-agile antenna system is implemented in a wireless network to allow wireless communication devices to establish and maintain wireless data links with each other.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an antenna system, and more particularly, to an antenna system for communications in a wireless network.
2. Background Art
Omni-directional antennas have been implemented in various types of mobile communications devices in a conventional wireless network, for example, a digital mobile telephone network. In addition to voice communications, attempts have been made to provide high speed data communications between various types of apparatus including, for example, desktop computers, laptop computers, servers, peripherals and power management hubs in a wireless network. Compared to voice communications, data communications typically require a large bandwidth, a very low bit error rate, and ability to communicate with multiple devices at different physical locations.
To ensure high speed transmission of data at a very low bit error rate, a relatively high signal to noise ratio (SNR) at radio frequency (RF) is required to carry the data transmitted and received by the various apparatus in a conventional wireless network. Because of the spread of RF power over all directions in space by a typical omni-directional antenna in a conventional mobile wireless device, such as a mobile telephone, communications with such devices may occur only over relatively short distances. Furthermore, in a typical mobile wireless network, the locations of at least some of the communications apparatus are not fixed with respect to each other, thereby further complicating the transmission and reception of data by different apparatus within the network.
It is desirable that high speed data links be established in a mobile wireless network with a high degree of data integrity while obviating the need for high power RF transmissions by mobile communications apparatus. Furthermore, it is desirable that high speed data links be maintained between different mobile communications apparatus in a wireless network even though the spatial locations of the apparatus may not be fixed with respect to each other.
The present invention provides a direction-agile antenna system for communications in a wireless network, generally comprising:
an antenna capable of transmitting an electromagnetic signal in a direction having an antenna gain; and
a controller connected to the antenna, the controller capable of generating a direction-selection signal to steer the electromagnetic signal to a selected direction corresponding to a high gain position in response to detecting an expected signal transmitted within the network.
Advantageously, the direction-agile antenna system in an embodiment according to the present invention is capable of transmitting electromagnetic signals carrying digital data to an apparatus for which a transmission is intended with concentrated power density, thereby allowing a high rate of data transmission with a high degree of data integrity over a relatively long distance, while obviating the need for a high transmitted radio frequency (RF) power level. Furthermore, the direction-agile antenna system in an embodiment according to the present invention allows different apparatus to maintain instantaneous communications within a mobile wireless network even though the spatial positions of the apparatus may not be fixed with respect to each other.

Direction-agile antenna system for wireless communications


A forced air-cooled engine includes a crankcase, a cylinder block, a cylinder head, a cooling fan, and a shroud arranged to cover a portion of the crankcase, the cooling fan, and a portion of the cylinder block and a portion of the cylinder head. Fins are provided at least in a region of the cylinder block covered by the shroud. The shroud includes a facing wall portion that faces the fins. An exhaust opening is provided between the facing wall portion and the cylinder block, and opens away from the cooling fan.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to internal combustion engines and straddle-type vehicles including the internal combustion engines.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventionally known internal combustion engine (hereinafter referred to as an engine) of a vehicle such as a motorcycle includes a shroud for covering a portion of the engine, and a cooling fan for supplying air to inside of the shroud (see JP-A-2008-157222, for example). In such an engine, the cooling fan produces a flow of air inside the shroud. Thus, a portion of the engine is cooled by the air. This type of engine is idiomatically referred to as a "forced air-cooled engine".
JP-A-2008-157222 discloses an air guide cover surrounding the entire peripheries of a cylinder block and a cylinder head of an engine, and a fan for introducing air to inside of the air guide cover. The cylinder block and the cylinder head are provided with fins. In a lower wall of the air guide cover, there is formed a cooling air outlet through which air inside the air guide cover is discharged downward. The air introduced into the air guide cover is divided into air flowing through a region above the cylinder block and the cylinder head, air flowing through a region rightward of the cylinder block and the cylinder head, air flowing through a region leftward of the cylinder block and the cylinder head, and air flowing through a region below the cylinder block and the cylinder head. The divided air, flowing through the region above the cylinder block and the cylinder head, reaches the region below the cylinder block and the cylinder head via the region rightward or leftward of the cylinder block and the cylinder head, and is then discharged downward through the cooling air outlet.
However, in the above-described conventional technique, the air guide cover covers the entire peripheries of the cylinder block and the cylinder head, and the air guide cover is thus increased in size, resulting in an increase in size of the engine.

Internal combustion engine and straddle-type vehicle including the same


The present invention provides a composition of which viscosity does not cause the problem of use at high temperature in the mounting process of electronic device. The present invention relates to a composition for electronic device comprising (a) a (meth)acrylic compound and (c) a particle having a functional group having metal scavenging functionality.

As a mounting technology for a semiconductor chip, a flip chip technology, by which a semiconductor chip is directly connected onto a substrate has been known. In the flip chip mounting, a semiconductor chip and a circuit substrate are connected by means of electrodes (bumps) formed on the element formation surface side of the semiconductor chip. On this occasion, for the sake of reinforcement of the bonding parts and enhancement of the reliability of the connections, an underfill sealant, which is an adhesive composition, is generally filled between the semiconductor chip and the wiring substrate.
As an underfill composition, adhesive compositions containing an epoxy-based compound and/or a (meth)acrylic compound or the like have been known (e.g. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2010-226098). Among them, a composition utilizing a radical curing reaction of a (meth)acrylic compound has an advantage over a composition containing an epoxy-based compound that the reaction rate is higher and the efficiency in producing an electronic device can be enhanced.
Meanwhile, various additives, such as a metal ion binder and an antioxidant, are mixed as needed, into an underfill sealant composition. By this means, the quality of an electronic device can be enhanced by, for example, preventing a metal ion from migrating out of wiring by precipitation (Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 2005-333085 and 2008-98646).
As a method for filling an underfill sealant, it has been known that a method in which a liquid adhesive composition is first applied on a wiring substrate and then a semiconductor chip is mounted to conduct simultaneously electrode connection and sealing; a method (a so-called capillary method) in which electrical connection between an electrode on a semiconductor chip and a substrate is first established and then a liquid adhesive composition is applied on a side or a plurality of sides of the chip for sealing the gap between the wiring substrate and the semiconductor chip by capillarity and the like. By any of the methods, it is required to apply a liquid adhesive composition all over the wiring substrate, and to fill the liquid adhesive composition uniformly in the gap between the semiconductor chip and the wiring substrate, and the like. Therefore, occasionally, a syringe, the substrate and the like are heated to room temperature or higher as needed in order to increase flowability of the adhesive composition.
However, when an underfill sealant utilizing a radical curing reaction is used, there has been a problem in that a curing reaction of an underfill composition may occasionally progress prematurely before carrying out sealing, which leads to inadequate electrode connection or poor work efficiency. Such a problem tends to occur when an adhesive composition is in a state at room temperature or higher as described above, or the composition is in contact with a metal such as copper or an ion thereof contained in an electrode part and the like. In order to overcome the problem, whereas an additive is mixed in an underfill sealant composition or the working temperature is lowered, it has not been sufficient. Consequently, further improvement of an adhesive composition to be used for an electronic device has been sought after.


The present invention provides methods of transforming pineapple cells and plants with carotenoid biosynthetic polypeptide expression regulators that control the accumulation of carotenoids in the transformed cells, and in certain embodiments, the coloration of those cells. The invention also provides for the regeneration of pineapple plants from the transformed cells. In addition, the invention provides pineapple cells and plants that include introduced carotenoid biosynthetic polypeptide expression regulators.

Many fruits and vegetables contain an array of phytochemicals that contribute to good health. Epidemiological, clinical, and laboratory studies suggest that various carotenoids reduce the onset of chronic diseases, including coronary heart disease (Barton-Duell (1995) Endocrinologist 5:347-356), certain cancers (Giovannucci (1999) J. Natl. Cancer Inst., 91:317-331), and age-related macular degeneration (Seddon et al. (1994) J. Am. J. Med. Assoc., 272:1413-1420). Thus, modulation of carotenoid biosynthesis in plants by genetic manipulation should affect the nutritional quality of the crop.
Pineapple plants (Ananas comosus of the Bromeliaceae family) are tropical monocotyledonous plants that have rigid spiny-margined recurved leaves and short stalks with dense oblong heads of small abortive flowers. The fruit of many varieties of pineapple plants is used for human consumption. Some of these varieties include Smooth Cayenne, Red Spanish, Perolera, Pernambuco, and Primavera. The plant is self-incompatible, with long periods between successive fruit generations. As a consequence, conventional breeding to improve fruit quality and other agronomic traits has been difficult.
From the foregoing discussion, it is apparent that transgenic pineapple plants with modified carotenoid levels are desirable. In particular, pineapple plants having elevated carotenoid levels in fruit tissues would enhance the nutritional quality of this important crop. Further, genetically transformed pineapple plants having altered coloration are desirable, inter alia, for product differentiation. These and a variety of other features of the present invention will become evident upon complete review of the following disclosure.

Transgenic pineapple plants with modified carotenoid levels and methods of their production


The present invention relates to an anti-theft CD cartridge includes a long cartridge with a side space for CD and the other side of space for handling, and a buckling device on the center to buckle a stopper to keep the CD on the space safely. The stopper can be opened by a special opening device to take out the CD.

This invention relates to an anti-theft compact disc (CD) cartridge. In particular, this invention pertains to an anti-theft CD cartridge having an opening device to control the removal of a CD to prevent unauthorized removal. CDs are growing in popularity and are replacing the conventional LP due to the CD's quality and durability. Most CDs are placed in small vending areas for the customers to review and make selections. This kind of compact size allows thieves to remove CDs without authorization. It is difficult to detect unauthorized removal of CDs from the cartridges. This problem has become of concern to vendors. However, it is necessary for customers to view CDs for comparison purposes and to read the external packages. If vendors lock CDs in a cabinet to prevent theft, such is not convenient for either the customers or the vendors. If the vendor uses open space for display, it has been found difficult to prevent theft. Additionally, the vendor must spend more time in surveillance and pay additional attention to the care of the CDs.


A tension and compression tester for a fracture stress test of a compact pipe sample having a crack portion formed thereon, comprises: a pair of holders each of which is configured to surround both ends of the compact pipe sample respectively such that the crack portion is interposed between both ends of the compact pipe; fixing portions each of which is disposed between the compact pipe sample and the holder to enhance fastening between the compact pipe sample and the holder; levers each of which is connected with the fixing portion and the holder to deliver tension or bending to the compact pipe sample; and separation preventing portions for fixing both ends of the holder and the lever with each other to prevent separation of the lever and the holder. Accordingly, the tester can conduct both tension and compression tests, while easily applying loads on the sample during the test.

1. Field
Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a tension and compression tester for a fracture stress test of a compact pipe sample, and more specifically, to a tension and compression tester for a fracture stress test of a compact pipe, which is capable of conducting both tension and compression tests while applying loads on the sample with ease through a lever during the fracture stress test of the compact pipe sample.
2. Description of Related Art
It is necessary to obtain the fracture stress of pipe system structure to apply Leak Before Break (LBB) design concept on the pipe system structure such as a nuclear power plant which can generate considerable problems in the society once emergency occurs.
However, it is practically difficult to conduct a full-scale test, considering that it takes numerous pipes and testers to conduct tests, and subsequently requires increased costs and time to obtain the fracture stress of the pipe system structure.
It has been thus suggested to obtain the fracture stress of a material using standard sample tests and evaluate the fracture stress of the pipe system structure based on the obtained fracture stress, rather than testing with numerous pipes and tests.
That is, the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) suggested the Compact Tension (CT) or Single Edge Notched Bending (SENB) sample as a standard sample.
While the standard samples like those mentioned above can provide advantage of standardized sample shapes and testing methods, there is also a limit in the manufacture of the sample due to pipe curvatures and thicknesses.
Further, to obtain the fracture stress, it is necessary to consider the constraint effects from the geometric shapes or dimensions of the sample, and the influence of the constraint effect is greater on the structure like piping. It is accordingly necessary to adjust the constraint effect even when the test is conducted with the standard sample.
Meanwhile, a miniature pipe sample has been devised using portions taken from the real pipes, based on the pipe curvature, thickness, etc. to eliminate need for adjustment of constraint effect influence which is generated due to changes in the size and shape of the sample. However, the sample and the lever deformed during loading, which in turn caused variations in the test results. Further, spacing between the lever and holder or sample caused insufficient loading during loading process.
Further, the existent fracture stress tester for a pipe sample is disadvantageous because it is designed in consideration of loading either in the tension direction or in the compression direction only, and thus can conduct only one type of test. Accordingly, a tester is necessary, which can deliver all of the tension, compression, and bending received from the loader and the lever to the pipe sample during the pipe fracture stress test.

Tension and compression tester for fracture stress test of compact pipe sample

Research & Business Foundation SUNGKYUNKWAN UNIVERSITY


Disclosed are beverage products which contain artificial purple-producing dyes and have an improved, brightened purple color. The beverage products contain a liquid beverage component having a light transmittance of not less than about 30%. The beverage products also contain from about 500 to 1200 ppm of a clouding agent, from about 3.5 to 11.5 ppm of FD&C Blue Dye No. 1 and from about 10.5 to 34.5 ppm of FD&C Red Dye No. 40. The weight ratio of the Red to Blue Dye is from about 2.3:1 to 5.6:1. The purple colored beverages have a Hunter L color of from about 23.9 to 10.0, a Hunter a-color of from about 12.7 to 7.4, and a Hunter b-color of from about -2.1 to 2.0. The present invention is particularly useful when applied to shelf stable beverages.

Grape flavored beverages typically contain natural or artificial colorants which impart a purple color to the beverage. The purple color of such beverages is normally the first sensory quality by which grape flavored beverages are judged by consumers. Consumers initially associate beverage quality, flavor and strength with beverage color. They are conditioned to expect that grape juice or grape flavored drinks have a certain bright purple appearance. Deviation from such an appearance can alter not only one's initial impression of the beverage quality, flavor and strength, but also ones flavor perception when actually consuming the beverage.
This highly desirable bright purple appearance is easily obtained by adding "natural" colorants such as enocianina (grape skin extract) to grape flavored beverages. "Natural" colorants are those obtained from vegetable, animal, or mineral sources or are synthetic duplicates of naturally occurring colorants. There are currently about 21 such "natural" colors approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use as food additives. However, such "natural" colorants are not typically used in shelf stable beverages. Shelf-stable beverages are normally subjected to high temperature sterilization prior to packaging which can destroy these "natural"colorants. Notwithstanding this inability to withstand such sterilization conditions, these "natural" colorants are also degraded when exposed to prolonged ambient temperatures (e.g., store shelf temperatures).
Shelf-stable beverages have therefore been colored with the more heat-stable artificial colorants (FD&C colorants). There are currently about nine FD&C colorants approved as food additives. FD&C colorants tend to be more heat stable than "natural" colorants and can be subjected to sterilization processes as well as prolonged ambient shelf temperatures without substantial degradation. However, the use of FD&C purple-producing colorants in shelf stable beverages has heretofore resulted in blackish or extremely dark-purple colored shelf stable beverages. Dilution of these FD&C colorants can eliminate this undesirable blackish appearance but then results in a commercially undesirable grayish-purple color.
Given the foregoing, there remains a need to provide purple colored shelf stable beverages with a brightened, more desirable, purple coloration.

Purple colored beverages brightened with clouding agents


The present invention provides one or more dichroic dyes which exhibit high solubility in liquid crystal and a high order parameter. The dichroic dyes each have a first substituent having at least one cis-cyclohexane ring and/or a second substituent having at least one trans-cyclohexane ring. The dichroic dye(s) may be provided as a mixture including at least a first dichroic dye having at least the first substituent and a second dichroic dye having at least the second substituent. The dichroic dye(s) may also be provided as a plurality of dichroic dyes, each of the molecules of which has at least the first substituent and the second substituent. The present invention also provides a liquid crystal composition and a liquid crystal element including the one or more dichroic dyes.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a dichroic dye and applications thereof, and particularly relates to a liquid crystal composition and a liquid crystal element using the dichroic dye.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many systems have been proposed for liquid crystal elements (liquid crystal display devices). In particular, guest-host liquid crystal elements are expected to serve as liquid crystal elements providing a bright display. A guest-host liquid crystal element includes a dichroic dye dissolved in a liquid crystal, in which the orientation of the dichroic dye changes in accordance with the movement of the liquid crystal under an electric field, thereby changing the light absorption of the liquid crystal element to display an image.
The guest-host system is described in various documents (for example, see Handbook of Liquid Crystals, Vol. 2A, Chapter 3.4, pp. 257-302, written by B. Bahadur, edited by D. Demus, J. Goodby, G. W. Gray, H. W. Spiess, and V. Vill, published by Wiley-VCH, 1998). Dichroic dyes used in guest-host liquid crystal elements are required to have, for example, appropriate absorption properties, high order parameters, high solubility in host liquid crystals, and durability. In order to satisfy these requirements, dichroic dyes having a substituent containing a cyclohexane ring and a structure similar to that of the host liquid crystal have been reported (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 58-57488 and JP-A No. 2003-113378).
These patent documents report that a trans-cyclohexane ring exhibits a high order parameter, while a cis-cyclohexane ring significantly decreases the order parameter. However, the trans-cyclohexane ring is not sufficiently soluble in a liquid crystal to provide a high contrast display, and improvement has been required in this regard.

Dichroic dye, and liquid crystal composition and liquid crystal device using the same


A magnetic disc storage system employing two stage actuators for simultaneously positioning recording heads over the top and bottom surfaces of the disc is disclosed. The recording heads are fastened to a distal end of respective top and bottom load beams. A base end of the load beams is connected to a voice coil motor (VCM) rotary actuator which simultaneously positions both recording heads over the disc. A silicon microactuator is also fastened to the distal end of at least one of the load beams for positioning the recording heads independent of one another, thereby allowing simultaneous tracking of embedded servo data. Various data formats are provided, including interleaving logical sector numbers, symbols of a logical sector, and segments of a logical sector, between the top and bottom physical sectors of a track. Complexity and cost of the servo controllers is reduced through the use of sliding mode control: a simple, robust and fast control system implemented using simple switching circuitry, small lookup tables, and simplified binary multipliers (shift registers). A dual path read channel implemented in a single integrated circuit is provided for parallel processing the read signals from the top and bottom recording heads.

Magnetic disc storage devices are commonly used by host computer systems to store large amounts of digital data in a non-volatile manner. Typically, the magnetic disc is partitioned into a number of concentric data tracks, where each data track is further partitioned into a number of data sectors. To write and read data to and from a target data sector on a particular track, a recording head (read/write head) is positioned over the track by a servo controller. Then, to write data to the track, the data serves to modulate a current in a write coil of the recording head as the disc spins underneath in order to write a sequence of corresponding magnetic flux transitions onto the surface of the disc. To read this recorded data, the recording head is again positioned over the track and transduces the magnetic flux transitions into an analog read signal comprising a sequence of pulses representing the recorded data. These pulses are then detected and decoded into an estimated data sequence by a read channel and, in the absence of errors, the estimated data sequence matches the recorded data sequence.
The servo controller performs two functions: "seeking" to a selected track, and "tracking" the centerline of the track while reading or writing data to/from the track. These operations are typically carried out using one of two serving methods--"dedicated servo" or "embedded servo". Dedicated servo is typically employed in a multi-disc system where recording heads are positioned over each disc (top and bottom surfaces) by means of a single voice coil rotary actuator. One disc is reserved, or dedicated, for storing the servo data for simultaneously controlling the position of all of the recording heads. Only one recording head is active during each operation because the skew between the discs is too great to allow simultaneous tracking of two surfaces. Another drawback of dedicated servo systems is an inherent constraint on the track density (number of tracks per inch or TPI). The skew between the dedicated servo surface and the other data surfaces disrupts the tracking operation if the track density is too high.
Embedded servo overcomes the TPI limitation of dedicated servo by recording servo data (in the form of intermittent spokes or wedges) embedded between the data sectors on each surface of the disc. In this manner, the recording heads can be positioned independently, which allows accurate tracking even at very high track densities. However, in a multi-surface embedded servo system where the recording heads are positioned by a single VCM rotary actuator, only one recording head can be active during each read or write operation. Again, this is due to the skew between the disc surfaces, and it prevents increasing the throughput of the recording system because it prevents accessing the disc through multiple recording heads simultaneously. As the speed of microprocessors increases and data intense applications proliferate (e.g., audio/video applications), the data transfer rate of storage devices will represent a significant bottleneck.
There are prior art recording devices that address this concern by providing simultaneous access to the disc through multiple recording heads, where each head is controlled independently using separate VCM rotary actuators. On such system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,355,486 entitled "SYSTEM FOR ALLOCATING TASKS BETWEEN TWO ACTUATORS SERVICING THE SAME MAGNETIC DISK MEDIA IN A SINGLE DISK DRIVE." Obviously, the problem with this design is the increased cost associated with the additional hardware for each VCM rotary actuator, as well as the increased cost associated with adding servo control electronics to control the motion of each actuator. Additionally, it requires separate read channels for detecting and decoding the digital data from the analog read signals emanating from each recording head. Due to the skew between disc surfaces, the read channels must operate independently and would likely reside in separate integrated circuits to avoid cross talk and noise as a result of independently clocking each circuit.
There is, therefore, a need for a cost-effective way to simultaneously access multiple recording heads positioned over a disc storage medium in order to economically increase the throughput. It requires efficient use of actuator hardware, as well as cost effective designs for the servo control electronics. Furthermore, it requires efficient data formats and buffering in order to take full advantage of disc access through multiple data streams. Still further, it requires cost effective read channel circuitry that preferably resides on the same piece of silicon within a single integrated chip.

Magnetic disc recording system employing two stage actuators for simultaneous accesses through multiple recording heads


An article containing box structure including an openable housing composed of two cover bodies, a base seat fixedly disposed in the housing, multiple receiving cartridges pivotally connected on the base seat and multiple clamping plates received in the receiving cartridge for clamping a receiving seat which serves to contain a flat or a solid article. After the cover bodies are opened, the receiving seats can be rotated or inclined by different angles so as to show or take out the article received in the receiving seat seat. A handle is connected with the cover bodies, having a profile identical to the periphery of the cover body. The handle can be slided and drawn out for a user to carry the box. The handle can be retracted to attach to the periphery of the cover body without occupying much room.

The present invention relates to an article containing box structure including an openable housing composed of two cover bodies, a base seat disposed in the housing and multiple receiving cartridges pivotally connected on the base seat for containing an article. The receiving seats can be rotated or inclined by different angles so as to show or take out the article received in the receiving seat. A handle is retractably connected to the cover bodies for a user to carry the box.


A device for the selective determination of the quantity of oil mist includes an impactor (1) with a micronozzle (4) for dispensing a predetermined volume of a gas to be tested, a baffle plate (5) arranged downstream of the micronozzle (4) for depositing oil particles. A window (7) is provided on the side of the baffle plate (5) facing away from the micronozzle (4).

A gas detector tube for determining the quantity of oil mist in a gas sample has become known from DE 32 23 742 C2. A certain test gas volume is first drawn by means of a pump through the gas detector tube and the oil mist present in the test gas is deposited on a filter within the gas detector tube. An ampule containing sulfuric acid is then pierced, as a result of which the oil in the filter is dissolved and rinsed into a display layer via a distributor layer. A color display, which is proportional to the quantity of the oil mist filtered out of the test gas, is formed in the display layer.
The drawback of the prior-art gas detector tube is that a color chart is needed for the evaluation of the display in order to make it possible to state the quantity of oil mist. Such a color comparison is not always unambiguous and also depends on the user's individual color perception.

Device and method for the selective determination of the quantity of oil mist


A new and distinct cultivar of Kalanchoe plant named xe2x80x98Leonardoxe2x80x99, characterized by its numerous double red purple-colored flowers; upright, uniform and compact plant habit; freely branching growth habit; dark green glossy leaves; early flowering; and excellent postproduction longevity.

Kalanchoe blossfeldiana cultivar Leonardo.
The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Kalanchoe plant, botanically known as Kalanchoe blossfeldiana, and hereinafter referred to by the name xe2x80x98Leonardoxe2x80x99.
The new Kalanchoe is a naturally-occurring whole plant mutation of the Kalanchoe blossfeldiana cultivar Bromo, not patented. The cultivar Leonardo was discovered and selected in March, 1999 as a flowering plant within a population of plants of the cultivar Bromo in a controlled environment in Svegin, Sweden.
Asexual reproduction of the new Kalanchoe by terminal vegetative cuttings taken at De Lier, The Netherlands, since 2000 has shown that the unique features of this new Kalanchoe are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.
The cultivar Leonardo has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature, daylength and light intensity, without, however, any variance in genotype.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Leonardoxe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Leonardoxe2x80x99 as a new and distinct cultivar:
1. Numerous double red purple-colored flowers.
2. Upright, uniform and compact plant habit.
3. Freely branching growth habit.
4. Dark green glossy leaves.
5. Early flowering.
6. Excellent postproduction longevity.
Plants of the new Kalanchoe are most similar to plants of the parent, the cultivar Bromo. However, plants of the new Kalanchoe differ from plants of the cultivar Bromo primarily in flower form as plants of the new Kalanchoe have double flowers with more than one row of petals per flower whereas plants of the cultivar Bromo have single flowers with one row of four petals per flower.


A wire containment cap has twisted pair slots for routing twisted wire pairs through the wire containment cap. The twisted pair slots are provided with funnel-shaped entrances to assist in routing the twisted wire pairs from a rear end of the wire containment cap toward wire slots of the wire containment cap. The wire containment cap may be provided in shielded or unshielded versions, and is adapted for use with a communication jack assembly.

In the communications industry, as data transmission rates have steadily increased, crosstalk due to capacitive and inductive couplings among the closely spaced parallel conductors within the jack and/or plug has become increasingly problematic. Modular connectors with improved crosstalk performance have been designed to meet the increasingly demanding standards. Many of these connectors have addressed crosstalk by compensating at the front end of the jack, i.e., the end closest to where a plug is inserted into the jack. However, the wire pairs terminated to the insulation displacement contact ("IDC") terminals at the rear portion of a jack may also affect the performance of the jack.
One problem that exists when terminating wire pairs to the IDC terminals of a jack is the effect that termination has on the crosstalk performance of a jack. When a twisted-pair cable with four wire pairs is aligned and terminated to the IDC terminals of a jack, a wire pair may need to flip over or under another wire pair. An individual conductor of a wire pair may also be untwisted and orientated closely to a conductor from a different wire pair. Both of these conditions may result in unintended coupling in the termination area which can degrade the crosstalk performance of the jack. Thus, a solution addressing the crosstalk in the termination area of the jack would be desirable.
A second problem that exists when terminating wire pairs to the IDC terminals of a jack is variability. A technician is typically called on to properly terminate the wire pairs of a twisted pair cable to the proper IDC terminals of the jack. Each jack terminated by the technician should have similar crosstalk performance. This requires the termination to remain consistent from jack to jack. However, different installers may use slightly different techniques to separate out the wire pairs and route them to their proper IDC terminals. Thus, a solution that controls the variability of terminations from jack to jack would be desirable.
A final issue that arises when terminating wire pairs to the IDC terminals of a jack is the difficulty of the termination process. Typical jacks provide little assistance to the technician, resulting in occasional misterminations (e.g. a wire being terminated at an incorrect location in the jack). Even if detailed instructions are provided with the jack, technicians may not read these instructions prior to installing the jacks. Furthermore, a jack with a difficult termination process can increase the installation time for the technician and result in a costly installation for the customer. Thus, a jack solution that simplifies the termination process and minimizes the possibility of technician error would be desirable.


A method of managing multipath traffic switching in a network includes a plurality of shared paths, including selecting a first path from among the plurality of shared paths; setting an initial timer to an initial timer value; sending network traffic over the first path; based on determining that at least one path characteristic of the first path is unsatisfactory and that the initial timer has not expired, generating an updated timer value by increasing the initial timer value; and based on determining that the at least one path characteristic of the first path is unsatisfactory and that the initial timer has expired, selecting a second path, sending the network traffic over the second path, and setting an updated timer to the updated timer value.

In a network having multiple share paths, when a Sender "switches" the traffic it is sending from one path to another, if the new path is shared with other Senders and/or Receivers, the new traffic added to the shared path contends for path bandwidth and capacity. If the total path bandwidth and capacity is exceeded, traffic will be delayed, due to queuing delays, and may even be lost, if network buffers along the path are exhausted.
The Sender may respond to rising delays and traffic loss on this new path by "switching" from the overloaded path to another path, but this may result in persistent oscillation between paths, with negative impacts on traffic over shared paths and the computers and users involved with that traffic.
Accordingly, there is a need for a mechanism that, on one hand, switches between paths agile enough so to take advantage of multipath technologies, while on the other hand, "dampens" the amount of switching and resulting oscillation to avoid aforementioned negative impacts.


A photosensitive sheet favorably employable for covering a pixel sheet is composed mainly of a support and a photosensitive colored resin layer containing a dye whose color disappears by application of heat or light. The coverage of the pixel sheet can be performed by combining the pixel sheet and the photosensitive sheet which has been examined for checking evenness of the surface of the colored resin layer under the condition that the pixels are brought into contact with the colored resin layer to give a combined body; separating the support of the photosensitive sheet from the combined body, leaving the colored resin layer on the pixel sheet; exposing to light the photosensitive colored resin layer on the pixel sheet so as to cure the photosensitive colored resin layer and possibly to make the resin layer colorless; and heating the light-exposed colored resin layer so that the colored resin layer is made colorless or the curing further proceeds.

A color filter employed for a color liquid crystal display device usually comprises red, green and blue pixels formed on a light-transmissive substrate (e.g., glass plate) and a black matrix (black resin layer arranged in the form of grid) provided on a space area between the pixels to improve contrast of a displayed image. On the pixels and black matrix, a protective layer is generally provided in order to render the surface of the pixels and black matrix even, whereby a covered color filter (color filter substrate) is obtained.
The color liquid crystal display device is essentially composed of a liquid crystal cell comprising a color filter substrate having an electrode, a substrate having an opposite electrode and liquid crystal injected into a gap between these substrates, and a polarizing film.
In more detail, the liquid crystal cell is usually prepared by forming transparent electrodes and an orientation layer on the protective layer of the color filter in order, to prepare an color filter substrate having electrode; bonding the color filter substrate to a substrate having an opposite electrode via spacers; and injecting liquid crystal into a gap between these substrates. Further, if desired, the polarizing film and the optical compensatory sheet are provided on upper and under side surfaces of the liquid crystal cell, to prepare a color liquid crystal display device.
When the evenness of the surface of the protective layer is poor, the distances between the substrates (distances of the gap) becomes uneven along the surface plane because the substrates are combined to each other via both protective layers of the substrates intervening therebetween. The uneven distances of gap lowers display characteristics (e.g., giving uneven displayed image).
Therefore, the unevenness of the surface of the protective layer is generally required to be as little as possible, and preferably in the range of+0.1 .mu.m to-0.1 .mu.m in the case of TFT-LCD (thin film transistor type liquid crystal display), and in the range of+0.05 .mu.m to-0.05 .mu.m in the case of STN-LCD (super twisted nematic type liquid crystal display).
The protective layer has been formed by coating a liquid composition formulated for protective layer on the pixels (and black matrix) by means of a coating method such as gravure coating, and exposing the coated layer to light. Recently, Japanese Patent Provisional Publications No. 1(1989)-262502 and No. 4(1992)-115202 have proposed a process of transferring a protective layer onto the pixels, and a process of transferring a photosensitive resin layer onto the pixels and exposing the transferred photosensitive resin layer.
Examination of the surface of the protective layer in connection with its evenness is, for example, carried out by observing interference of light produced when the surface of the protective layer provided on the pixel sheet is irradiated with a monochromatic beam such as a light from a sodium lamp. Otherwise, the examination is conducted by preparing a liquid crystal display device using a color filter provided with a protective layer and actually driving the display device and then finally observing the conditions (e.g., evenness) of an image displayed on the display device by applying a light from the back sidet.
The examination of the surface of the protective layer provided on the pixel sheet using the sodium lamp is not advantageous, because the pixel sheet which is judged to have uneven protective layer thereon cannot be practically used and should be thrown away. Further, the examination requires a skilled art because the interference on the surface of the protective layer varies depending on directions of light applied onto the surface. The examination on the finally assembled liquid crystal display device has a great risk because the display device which is judged to have uneven liquid crystal layer therein cannot be practically employed and should be thrown away.

Coverage of pixel sheet with protective layer


A sensor for a flushing device having an electric solenoid operated flush valve. The sensor includes a control box, a first radiation emitting source mounted in the control box, a radiation detector adapted to detect reflected radiation from the first radiation emitting source mounted in the control box, a lens cover attached to the control box and adapted to permit radiation to pass therethrough and a control circuit contained within the control box responsive to the sensing unit and connected to the solenoid for initiating operation of the flush valve. The control circuit includes a magnetically activated device for bypassing the sensing unit to initiate operation of the flush valve and deactivate the flush valve for a fixed period of time. Also disclosed is a method of operating the sensor.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the operation of flush valves and, more particularly, to non-contact sensor operated mechanisms for operating flush valves.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of flush valves for controlling the flow of water to plumbing fixtures, particularly public facilities, is well-known. Such flush valves typically include a movable diaphragm which closes the water supply and is tripped by a handle operated trip mechanism. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,756,263; 1,858,470; 4,202,525 and 4,327,891. Push button arrangements for tripping diaphragm flush valves have also been developed. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,695,288 and 3,778,023. All of these arrangements provide controlled, on demand flushing of the plumbing fixture through controlling the flush valve trip mechanism.
It has long been recognized that human contact with the handle, push button or other device for tripping the flush valve is not particularly sanitary, especially in heavily used public restroom facilities. It has also been recognized that non-contact arrangements for tripping a flush valve are desirable. The most common non-contact method activating a flush valve is the use of a sensor operated system. See, for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,438,207; 2,603,794; 3,339,212; 3,434,164; 3,462,769; 3,670,167; 3,863,196; 4,309,781; 4,624,017; 4,667,350; 4,707,867; 4,742,583; 4,793,588 and 4,805,247. These systems provide for automatic tripping of the flush valve by first detecting when a person is present at the plumbing fixture, then detecting when the person leaves the fixture and then triggering the flush mechanism for the fixture. All these systems provide for non-contact and sanitary flushing of the plumbing fixture; it does so at the expense of the user's direct control of the flush mechanism, which is present in the handle and the push button operated systems. To overcome this deficiency, several sensor operated flush valves have incorporated a push button override. This override enables the user or maintenance worker to flush the flushing device on demand. However, the mechanical override is unsanitary and subject to vandalism--like the above-identified on demand systems.
Furthermore, the above-described sensor operated flush valves without the mechanical override tend to make maintenance procedures on the urinal or toilet difficult. Specifically, after a maintenance worker applies cleaning solution to the toilet bowl or the urinal bowl, he or she must move away from the bowl to activate the flush valve to clear the cleaning solution from the bowls. This is a cumbersome procedure and in many cases ignored. Also, if a maintenance person must do work to the bowl, for example check for leaks, the flush valve needs to be disabled. This requires either shutting off the electrical power to the sensor or the flush valve and typically involves removing a face plate from the sensor to obtain access to a power control box. This procedure is likewise cumbersome and time-consuming.
Accordingly, it is an object of our present invention to provide a non-contact sensor for operating a flush valve in which a maintenance worker can easily disable or override the sensor while a user cannot easily disable or override the sensor.


Methods and apparatus for detecting the presence of impulse noise in a signal representing digital data and for performing a limiting or blanking operation in a receiver in response thereto are disclosed. In accordance with the present invention, to detect the presence of impulse noise, in one embodiment, the instantaneous sliced error energy for each received symbol is estimated and compared to either a predetermined threshold level indicative of impulse noise or to an adaptive impulse noise threshold level. In an adaptive impulse noise threshold embodiment, an adaptive impulse noise threshold value is generated by averaging the instantaneous sliced error energy values over a period of many symbols and by then applying a preselected gain to the averaged sliced error energy value to obtain an impulse noise threshold value. When impulse noise is detected a signal is asserted to indicate the detection and presence of the impulse noise and carrier recovery phase error correction operations and other decision dependent operations blanked or left unchanged until the impulse noise is no longer detected or for a preselected period of time after impulse noise has been detected.

The transmission of data in digital form is becoming common place. Present day transmission channels over which digital data is sent suffer from various impairments including additive impulse noise.
Additive impulse noise can disturb the operation of various systems within a receiver such as the demodulator portion of the receiver. The demodulator portion of a receiver can include, e.g., a carrier recovery system and an equalization update system. Such systems can have difficulty in performing their functions properly when highly erroneous impulse noise signals are present.
The Electronic Engineers' Handbook, third edition, McGraw-Hill 1989 states as a general proposition for receiver circuits that "if the noise consists of large impulses of relatively low density, the best system performance is obtained if the system is limited or blanked during the noisy periods and behaves normally when the (impulse) noise is not present."
While this statement suggests the desirability of limiting or blanking a receiver during the receipt of impulse noise, it fails to describe how to detect the presence of impulse noise in a signal representing digital data and how to implement the limiting or blanking operation suggested.
In the case of a signal representing digital data, the signal may be demodulated to correspond to one of a plurality of different discrete energy levels, impulse noise affecting the decision processes may fall within the overall permitted amplitude range for the signal being transmitted but still result in improper decisions being made since the impulse noise can cause a signal to take on an erroneous or indeterminate value. This may affect a circuit's ability to accurately demodulate received symbols over a period extending beyond the duration of the impulse noise.
Because of carrier recovery implications, improper decisions resulting from impulse noise can present particularly serious problems in systems which use Quadrature Amplitude Modulation ("QAM"). In many QAM demodulator circuits carrier recovery is performed by calculating a phase error on each received symbol based upon the angular difference between an incoming symbol and its target, e.g., desired, value. This phase error is then used to drive a phase-locked loop (PLL), e.g., a digital PLL (DPLL), to lock a derotating sine wave to the signal. When noise impulses arrive, the phase error determination can be totally wrong if the incoming symbol is driven into an incorrect decision box. In such a case, an incorrect target symbol may be used in the phase error calculation resulting in a possible loss of signal lock which can affect the decoding of several symbols thereafter.
Accordingly, there is a need for providing a method and apparatus for accurately determining the presence of impulse noise in a digital receiver circuit, such as a QAM or PAM-VSB demodulator circuit. Furthermore, it is desirable that such methods and apparatus be able to determine the presence of impulse noise even when other noise is relatively small thereby permitting proper limiting or disablement of various portions of the receiver system during the presence of impulse noise to prevent, e.g., loss of signal lock.
Furthermore, it is highly desirable for economic reasons that such impulse noise detection methods and apparatus be relatively simple, easy to implement, and compatible with a plurality of demodulator designs.

Methods and apparatus for reducing the effect of impulse noise on receivers


The present invention relates to methods for coating at least one surface of a medical device for improving the hemocompatibility of said surface. Further, the invention relates to medical devices comprising surfaces, coated with a coating composition containing a nonionic ester formed from an acyclic C3-C6(OH)3-6 polyol and from at least three C12-C26 fatty acids, and further includes at least one hydrophilic group.

The present invention relates to the use of at least one nonionic ester in a coating for surfaces which come into contact with blood to improve the hemocompatibility of the surfaces.
The invention further relates to a medical device having at least one surface which has a coating in which a nonionic ester is used.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Use of nonionic esters in a coating for surfaces coming in contact with blood


This disclosure relates to methods and compositions useful for treating Alzheimer's disease. In particular, the disclosure relates to pharmaceutical compositions containing an EGFR-inhibitory compound suitable for administration to treat Alzheimer's disease, as well as to related therapeutic methods. In addition, this disclosure relates to screening methods for identifying compounds useful for treating Alzheimer's disease based on the ability to inhibit the activity of EGFR.

A Drosophila model of Alzheimer's disease (AD) has been reported (Iijima et al., PNAS 101 (17): 6623-6628, 2004; Iijima et al., PLoS ONE 3(2): e1703, 2008), in which pan-neuronal expression of a secretary form of Aβ42 leads to phenotypes that recapitulate major features of AD clinical symptoms, including age-dependent memory loss, neurodegeneration, and accumulation of Aβ deposits. A subsequent study of synaptic plasticity in the Drosophila model of AD has revealed that long-term depression (LTD) is affected due to expression of Aβ42 (Chiang et al., FASEB J. 23: 1969-1977, 2009). A separate study also suggests that Aβ42-induced LTD resulted from an altered PI3 kinase activity (Chiang et al., PNAS 107: 7060-7065, 2010).

Methods and compositions for treating Alzheimer's disease


A biofuel consisting of a mixture of furanic compounds and polymethoxy benzene compounds which can be mixed with standard fuel consisting in hydrocarbons, and the process to obtain these compounds from sugar cane by converting cellulose, hemicellulose and sugars in furan derivatives and levullinic acid esthers and by converting lignin in alkoxy benzene compounds by hydrolyzing the cellulose and lignin of sugar cane first in a mixture of N alkyl imidazolium chloride, hydrochloric acid 37% and an alcohol, dehydrating pentoses and hexoses so obtained from cellulose, stabilizing the aldehyde groups as acetal and stabilizing the phenolic hydroxyls obtained from lignin as alkyl ethers.

The world production of cellulose and lignin on land is 60 billion ton per year and the stock of cellulose and lignin is 1 000 billion ton.
The world consumption of fossil fuels is 8 billion ton per year.
The food production in the world is 3 billion ton per year.
From these 3 numbers we conclude that, to take out from food, materials to produce bio ethanol or vegetable oils for biodiesel would not solve the problem of substituting fossil fuels, and would cause hunger.
On the other side, there are large surfaces of arable land, which are not cultivated or which produce plants not suitable for food. In these surfaces, the production of cellulose and lignin from trees or bush is possible. On the other side, cellulose and lignin contained in biomass is a side product of many food crops.
One of the crops which produce large quantities of cellulose and lignin per hectar and per year is sugar cane, which has an yield of 80 ton per hectar.
In one ton of sugar cane there are about 80 kg of sugar, which may be converted to 40 kg of bioethanol. Besides sugar there are 250 kg of cellulose and hemicellulose and 120 kg of lignin, which is presently not converted to liquid fuels.
The substitution of fossil fuels is also an important motivation to improve the process for producing biofuels, because of the carbon dioxide which they produce by burning. Although cellulose and lignin also produce carbon dioxide by burning, the same quantity of carbon dioxide was previously taken out of the atmosphere by photosynthesis to produce cellulose and lignin.
As a consequence, to convert cellulose and lignin into a liquid fuel is since decades a challenge for scientists, because the existing cars and trucks could drive with such a liquid biofuel without major changes in the motor.
The exhausting oil reserves and the political dependence on unstable countries producing oil is also a major problem today, which motivates the research of renewable alternatives.
In the literature as attach, there are research works on following reaction steps:

Biofuel containing furanic compounds and alkoxy benzene compounds and the process for obtaining these compounds from sugar cane by hydrolysis of cellulose, sugars and lignin in ionic liquids


An apparatus (10) for processing documents each represented by a document description (12) encoded in a page description language supportive of reusable data includes a page description language interpreter (14) that receives the document description (12) and parses the document description (12) into document components. An imager (16), communicating with the interpreter (14), creates image representations of received document components. A reusable document component repository (32) stores image representations derived from a plurality of processed documents. The reusable document component repository (32) communicates with the interpreter (14) and the imager (16) to supply those ones of the image representations corresponding to selected document components of the processed documents and to receive selected image representations created by the imager (16) during the processing of documents.

The present invention relates to the information processing arts. It finds particular application in conjunction with printing and electrophotography, and will be described with particular reference thereto. However, it is to be appreciated that the present invention will also find application in other information processing applications which merge variable data into static data.
Print jobs commonly include a mixture of variable and static content. Static content is substantially non-repeating, whereas variable content repeats on a given page, across a plurality of pages, and/or across print jobs. A typical example is a print job including one or more completed electronic forms. The form is static because it is printed each time a completed form is printed. However, the information entered into the electronic form is variable content which will typically differ for each person's completed form. Another example of a print job containing a mixture of variable and static content is a business letter with a standardized letterhead that is printed as part of the letter. The letterhead is static content across business letters, whereas the text of each letter is variable content. Similarly, in high print volume personalized advertising for mailing to customers or other large groups, the basic content is static while certain portions of the advertising are personalized based on information extracted from a customer database.
A print job is typically encoded using a high-level page description language (PDL). The PDL describes the print job in terms of text, fonts and font sizes, image positions and dimensions, vectorized line drawings, background colors and shades, page borders, and the like. The print job PDL is converted into a rasterized image representation by a rasterized image processor (RIP). The rasterized image representation outputs a contone image in the case of color printing, or a bitmap or gray scale image for black-and-white printing. Optionally, the rasterized image representation is compressed. The contone or bitmapped image is forwarded to downstream elements such as a decompression module, and ultimately to a print engine which effectuates printer-specific formatting and the actual printing.
The most recent version of the Xerox variable data intelligent postscript printware PDL (VIPP-2001) supports a reusable document component hint that indicates the associated document component is likely to be reused in the print job. However, there is a need for a mechanism for taking advantage of reusable document component hints to streamline the rasterizing process, especially with respect to document components which are reused across print jobs.
The present invention contemplates a new and improved method and apparatus which overcomes the above-referenced problems and others.

Apparatus and method for managing and using reusable document components during the process of dynamic document construction


Example Polar code rate matching methods and apparatus are described. One example method includes determining a first index set corresponding to N to-be-encoded bits. The first index set includes indexes of Z polarized channels on which forced frozen bits are placed. The Z polarized channels are a subset of N polarized channels corresponding to the N to-be-encoded bits, N=2n, Z<N, and n and Z are positive integers. A first codeword with a length of N is obtained by performing Polar coding on the N to-be-encoded bits. Rate matching is performed on the first codeword based on the first index set, to obtain a second codeword with a length of M, where M<N and M is a positive integer. The second codeword is sent with a length of M.

A communications system usually performs channel coding to improve data transmission reliability and ensure communication quality. A polar code (Polar code) is a first code that is theoretically proved to be capable of achieving a Shannon capacity and has low encoding and decoding complexity, and therefore is widely used.
When a Polar code is used to perform channel coding, according to a Polar coding principle, lengths of codewords obtained after Polar coding is performed on to-be-encoded bits are each an integral power of 2. When a length of a codeword that can be actually transmitted on a channel is not an integral power of 2, rate matching needs to be performed on the codeword, to obtain a codeword of a required length, and then the codeword is transmitted on the channel. Usually, a to-be-encoded bit space before encoding may be referred to as a U domain, and a codeword space after encoding may be referred to as an X domain.
A conventional rate matching solution includes two manners: shortening and puncturing. In either the shortening or the puncturing manner, a shortened location or a punctured location is first determined in the X domain, then a sub-channel on which a forced frozen bit is placed is determined in the U domain based on the shortened location or the punctured location, and finally, an information bit set and a fixed bit set are selected. However, when the shortened location or the punctured location is determined in the X domain, a large quantity of shortened locations or punctured locations usually need to be searched, and through comparison between performance obtained by performing rate matching at these shortened locations or punctured locations, a shortened location or a punctured location at which better performance is obtained is used as the shortened location or the punctured location selected for the X domain. It is found through practice that, when a shortened location or a punctured location is searched for in the X domain, search space is relatively large, and performance obtained by performing rate matching at a plurality of different shortened locations or punctured locations may be basically equivalent; and consequently search efficiency is relatively low.

Polar code rate matching method and apparatus


A developing apparatus has: a developer container including a developer transportation unit that transports, while mixing, a developer containing a toner and a carrier along an axis of rotation by a rotatable mixing transportation member; and a cover member provided in part of the developer transportation unit so as to cover an upper portion of the mixing transportation member. A preset case disposed on top of the developer transportation unit has: a developer feed port provided on that bottom surface of the preset case which lies on a side of the developer container; and a sealing member that seals a developer feed port, the sealing member being mounted so as to be removable, when putting the preset case to use, longitudinally of the mixing transportation member. The developer feed port is provided except for a position that lies opposite to the cover member.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a preset case, a development apparatus, a process cartridge and an image forming apparatus which are used in a plotter and the like of a copying machine, a fax machine, a printer, an electrophotographic recording apparatus using electrophtographs.
2. Related Art
In a xerographic photocopier, for example, there has extensively been used a development apparatus which visualizes (develops) an electrostatic latent image on a surface of a photoreceptor by employing a two-component developer consisting essentially of a carrier and a toner. In this kind of development apparatus while the toner is consumed as a result of developing operation, the carrier is not consumed but will stay in the development apparatus. Therefore, the content of toner (toner concentration) of the developer varies and the image density will consequently vary.
As a control method for keeping constant the concentration of the toner in a developer container in order to prevent the image density from varying, there is known a method in which the toner concentration is detected and, based on this detected toner concentration, the amount of toner to be added or supplied is determined. However, if the toner concentration is wrongly detected, the toner concentration cannot be controlled at a constant value. As a consequence, a stable image density cannot be obtained and, in addition, there will occur deficiencies and image deterioration due to toner scattering by excessive feed of toner, as well as carrier adhesion due to too small an amount of toner feed, and the like.
In order to control the content of toner in the developer, there is generally provided a toner concentration detection sensor to detect the toner concentration. With the two-component developer, a magnetic permeability sensor has been used as the toner concentration detection sensor. Magnetic permeability attributable to carrier which is a magnetic body is detected and the ratio of toner to the carrier is detected based on the detected magnetic permeability. Control is made as to whether the toner shall be supplied or not based on the increase or decrease of this toner concentration so that the toner concentration in the developer container can be kept constant.
It is to be noted, however, that the magnetic permeability detected by the above-described magnetic permeability sensor is determined by the amount of carrier contained in a certain amount of volume. It follows that, even if the mixing ratio of the toner and the carrier is constant, the magnetic permeability varies with the change in the density of the developer.
Therefore, if the distances among the developer particles vary with the variation of the amount of electrostatic charges of toner, the toner concentration will be different from magnetic permeability sensor to magnetic permeability sensor even with the same toner concentration.
In case the development apparatus continuously operates under conditions of small toner balance such, for example, as continuous output in a small image area ratio, the same particles of toner are likely to be mixed or agitated many times in the developer tank or reservoir so as to be frictionally electrified. As a result, the amount of electrification (electrostatic charges) increases, and the repulsive forces among the developer particles get stronger, resulting in a decrease in the apparent bulk density. Accordingly, the magnetic permeability senor is likely to detect a higher toner concentration than the actual toner concentration.
Aside from the above example, the apparent bulk density of the toner varies with the difference in environmental conditions, the act of leaving as it is for an extended period of time, and the like. Therefore, the magnetic permeability sensor may be said to have a tendency of wrongly detecting the toner concentration depending on the environmental conditions or the manner in which it is used.
In view of the above, in order to accurately detect the toner concentration, it is preferable that the development apparatus is constructed such that the bulk change of the developer is minimized on the detecting surface of the toner concentration detection sensor (magnetic permeability sensor). In order to minimize the bulk change, it is effective to employ a construction in which a certain degree of pressure is applied to the developer (pressurizing construction). As a result, minimizing the bulk change is conceived to be attainable by arranging to make the developer to be pressurized on the surface of the sensor detection.
For example, JP-A-2003-307918 discloses an apparatus for pressurizing the toner by making the cross-sectional area of a toner passage at a position in which the toner concentration detection unit is disposed and the surrounding region smaller than the cross-sectional area of the remaining flow passages.
However, the art as disclosed in JP-A-2003-307918 is subject to the following problem, i.e., in case the flowability of the developer becomes poor due to deterioration and/or environmental changes, the same toner is likely to stay between a screw vane and the detection surface of the toner detection unit, resulting in incapability of detecting the correct toner concentration. In other words, in order to correctly detect the toner concentration, the developer must be sufficiently mixed around the detecting surface of the toner concentration detecting unit and also the developer must be sufficiently replaced near the detecting surface.
In order to clean the detecting surface of the toner concentration detecting unit, i.e., in order to replace the toner on the detecting surface, there has conventionally been used a fin, Mylar, and the like which are disposed horizontally in the longitudinal direction of the screw axis. However, the problem still arises in that, due to the above-described bulk changes of the toner, the toner concentration cannot accurately be measured. In other words, in order to detect the toner concentration without bulk changes, an arrangement must be employed such that the bulk changes are restrained or kept under control near the detection surface of the toner concentration detection sensor.

Preset case, development apparatus, process cartridge, and image forming apparatus


The present invention provides a cyan toner including: one or plural heat-absorption peaks in a temperature range of 30 to 200° C. in a heat-absorption curve obtained by using a differential scanning calorimeter; a maximal value of a maximum heat-absorption peak temperature in the range of 65 to 150° C.; and a reflectance of 45 to 80% at a wavelength of 500 nm, a reflectance of 5 to 30% at a wavelength of 600 nm, and a brightness L* of 45 to 75, when measured in a powder form by spectroscopic analysis. The present invention thus provides a cyan toner capable of forming an image with reduced graininess and roughness from a low-density region to a high-density region and ensured a sufficient fixing temperature region, and a method for forming an image using the cyan toner.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cyan toner for developing an electrostatic image through a method for forming an image, such as electrophotography and electrostatic printing, a cyan toner for forming toner images through a method for forming an image of a toner jet process, a method for forming an image employing the cyan toner, and a method for forming a full-color image employing the cyan toner. More specifically, the present invention relates to a cyan toner employed in a fixing process in which those toner images are heat-pressure-fixed onto a transfer material such as a print sheet, a method for forming an image employing the cyan toner, and a method for forming a full-color image employing the cyan toner.
2. Description of the Related Art
As an apparatus for forming a color image of an electrophotographic process spreads widely, its application has also prevailed in wide variety, leading to a severe demand on image quality. An extremely fine and faithful reproduction of even fine portions is demanded for a copy or a print of an image, such as general photographs, catalogs, and maps. Along with this demand, a demand toward vividness of color has increased, and an extension of color reproduction range is desired. In particular, a high level of colorfulness, fineness, graininess, etc. equal to or higher than a print quality is demanded for the electrophotographic process as well.
In a recent apparatus for forming an image of an electrophotographic process employing digital image signals, dots of a constant potential form a latent image on a surface of an electrostatic charge image bearing member (for example, photoconductor), and solid portions, halftone portions, and line portions are expressed by changing a dot density. However, a problem tends to occur in that gradation of a toner image corresponding to a ratio of the dot densities of black portions and white portions of the digital latent image cannot be obtained when toner particles fall out of the dot in this method. Further, when enhancing resolution by reducing a dot size to improve the image quality, reproducibility of the latent image formed with minute dots tends to degrade. In addition, the resolution and the gradation of a highlight portion, in particular, degrade, likely resulting in an image lacking in sharpness. Further, irregular dot disarrangement is perceived as graininess and becomes a cause of degrading the image quality of the highlight portion.
A method for forming an image, employing a deep color toner (deep toner) for the solid portion and a toner with lower density (pale toner) for the highlight portion, is proposed for improving the above. JP 11-84764 A and JP 2000-305339 A each disclose methods for forming an image employing a plurality of toners with different densities combined.
Further, JP 2000-347476 A discloses an apparatus for forming an image combining a pale toner having the maximum reflection density of half or less of the maximum reflection density of a deep toner. JP 2000-231279 A discloses an apparatus for forming an image combining a deep toner having an image density of 1.0 or more and a pale toner having an image density below 1.0, when a toner amount of 0.5 mg/cm2 on a transfer material.
Further, JP 2001-290319 A discloses an apparatus for forming an image combining toners with a slope ratio of recording densities of a deep toner and a pale toner between 0.2 and 0.5.
According to studies of the inventors of the present invention, the gradation and the graininess of an image formed applying those conventional technologies may be improved in a low-density region constituting of the pale toner alone. However, an improvement is needed for the graininess in a medium-density region where the deep toner and the pale toner are mixed, and an extension of a color reproduction range is preferred.
For the pale toner, not much was known about an optimum design of hue and density of a colorant for the pale toner and an effect of a kind and an amount of a wax on improvement of the graininess (roughness) of an image in the low-density region and on expansion of a fixing temperature region.

Cyan toner and method for forming an image


The invention concerns a process and the associated universal device for supporting a part (1) of random and/or possibly complex shape in relation to a rigid base (11) while establishing a work reference. It consists of inserting between the part to be held and the rigid base (11), at least one deformable airtight enclosure (3) of constant volume full of incompressible particles (4). Then vacuum is applied inside the deformable enclosure (3) of constant volume using a vacuum source (5) which can be connected to the deformable enclosure (3). Thus the particles (4) amalgamate to constitute a solid block which at least partially rests on the rigid base (11) and holds the part (1) matching its shapes.

There are many fields of application for this process, for example, it could be used to hold or support parts so that they can be processed. By way of non-limiting example, the process can be used to support and hold electronic printed circuits during different stages of assembly such as serigraphy, depositing and measuring out glue or solder by syringe, fitting components, re-melting, etc.

Universal insert support for holding and positioning parts of complex shapes


The invention is directed at a method and apparatus for auto-focusing an infinity corrected microscope. Light beams are directed and then converged towards a specimen of interest and at least one image is formed from the reflected light. The image, or images, are then reviewed and calibration measurements are retrieved from the image. These calibration measurement are then used to determine focusing measurements which are used to auto-focus the microscope.

In the field of optical microscopy, in order to obtain a meaningful image, the microscope must be focused on the object, or specimen, being examined. During the time that the microscope is focusing on the specimen, use of the microscope is unavailable. For this reason, numerous efforts have been made to minimize focusing time, as well as to automate the process. This is generally referred to as auto-focusing (AF).
Since the introduction of the automated optical inspection (AOI) of media, AF has become more prevalent in the industry. AOI instruments are broadly used and, in particular, have become instrumental in the inspection of flat panel displays (FPD) during the manufacturing process and the inspection of silicon wafers during the production of integrated circuits. In both of these cases, the specimen being inspected is very large in comparison to the field of view of the microscope which is typically 0.5 mm by 0.5 mm.
In order for the microscope to examine specimens which are larger than its field of view, two techniques have generally been employed. A first technique is performed by focusing the microscope on previously identified spots which are suspected to be defective while the second technique is to systematically scan the entire specimen. Efficiently of both of these AOI techniques is severely restricted by the performance of presently available AF equipment.
It is, therefore, desirable to provide a novel method and apparatus for auto-focusing infinity corrected microscopes.

Method and apparatus for the auto-focussing infinity corrected microscopes