A hierarchical routing method is implemented in a layout system for a semiconductor integrated circuit which has a repetitive circuit portion. The hierarchical routing method lays out circuit elements for the repetitive circuit portion with the repetitive circuit portion structured hierarchically, expands the layout for the hierarchically-structured repetitive circuit portion in a separate independent database, extracts information of connections from the expanded layout for the repetitive circuit portion, and then carries out routing. Therefore, a semiconductor integrated circuit having a repetitive circuit portion can be designed in a short period of time while excellent properties are ensured for the semiconductor integrated circuit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hierarchical routing method and a medium on which the hierarchical routing program is stored, and more particularly, to a hierarchical routing method to be implemented in a layout system for a semiconductor integrated circuit having a repetitive circuit portion.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, digital signal processors (DSPs) have been utilized for multiple purposes in systems for performing radio and other communications or handling moving pictures. In the DSP, when realizing a semiconductor integrated circuit, approximately 90% of the internal configuration is a repetitive circuit referred to as a data path. When a computer uses multimedia, it is desirable to design a high-performance data path within a short period of time.
In the past, there have been two methods of laying out circuit elements for constructing a repetitive circuit portion (data path) of a DSP, arithmetic logic unit (ALU), multiplier (tree circuit) or the like; that is, a method of laying them out completely manually and a method using a completely automated placement/routing system (automatic routing system).
Concretely, for example, when emphasis is put on properties, a repetitive circuit portion is designed by repeatedly placing a unit of layout that is the smallest wiring produced manually (a unit circuit that is a cell). However, the wiring in the repetitive circuit portion includes not only a regular repetition pattern but also many irregular patterns.
In order to produce the whole wiring manually, many man-hours are required. Moreover, an operator producing the wiring often makes mistakes. This causes a prolonged (delayed) design process.
Incidentally, an automatic placement/routing system is used to design a random circuit (random logic) originally devoid of regularity. A system for placing a cell (unit circuit) used to construct the same circuit at the same relative position for the purpose of designing a repetitive circuit portion has been proposed in the past.
However, the automatic placement/routing system carries out routing independently according to a maze routing method or the like. In a cell used to construct each repetitive circuit portion, circuit elements are laid out so that a total length of a resultant wiring becomes the shortest. This poses a problem that the length of a wiring becomes different among the cells constituting a repetitive circuit portion.
A design tool dedicated to a data path (repetitive circuit portion) has been developed by producing an automatic placement/routing tool dedicated to random circuits. The tool merely gives control so as to place a unit circuit (cell) used to construct a repetitive circuit portion at the same relative position. An algorithm devised for producing a random circuit is used for routing. It is therefore not guaranteed that the wiring load is the same among the cells constituting a repetitive circuit portion.
The properties of a repetitive circuit portion produced using the design tool are inferior to those of a repetitive circuit portion produced manually by laying out circuit elements thereof with the repetitive circuit portion structured hierarchically. There is therefore an increasing demand for a hierarchical routing method to be implemented in a layout system for a semiconductor integrated circuit according to which the merit of short-term design automatic layout can be exploited while properties that are almost as good as those ensured by manual layout are maintained.
The prior art hierarchical routing method to be implemented in a layout system for a semiconductor integrated circuit and problems associated with the prior art hierarchical routing method will be described in detail later with reference to the drawings.

Hierarchical routing method to be implemented in a layout system for a semiconductor integrated circuit and medium on which the hierarchical routing program is stored


A theft prevention system capable of preventing theft of a target object by disabling the authorized key of the target object in the case where the authorized key has been stolen. When the authorized key is lost, a mobile telephone instructs a vehicle control device to set a warning mode. On receipt of this warning mode instruction, the vehicle control device sets warning mode, generates an electronic key, and transmits the generated electronic key to the mobile telephone, which receives and stores the electronic key. Once the warning mode is set in the vehicle, locking and unlocking are only possible using the electronic key. If the authorized key is found, the mobile telephone instructs the vehicle control device to set the normal mode. Upon receipt of this normal mode instruction, the vehicle control device sets the normal mode in the vehicle.

An immobilizer is well-known as technology for preventing the theft of vehicles and the like. This technology only permits the engine of a vehicle to be started when an ID code transmitted by an IC chip inside the vehicle key matches an ID code of an engine control device inside the vehicle, and disallows operation of the engine using copied keys or any key that is not the authorized key containing the ID code, thereby preventing theft.    Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent No. 3204006


An edge rail for a pane or panel of glass or like material to be used as a door or partition is made of mating male and female rail sections defining a channel for reception of and secure attachment to an edge portion of a pane or panel. The two rail sections have portions thereof cut away and defining a recess or chamber for reception of a door or partition supporting structure directly within the rail and not as an appendage thereto. The edge rail has substantially universal application as either a top rail or a bottom rail and for either a right hand mount or a left hand mount. The rail is relatively small, slim and compact and imparts an esthetically pleasing appearance to the panel assembly.

Glass panels are widely used as doors and partitions in a variety of commercial and business settings. A popular way of mounting glass panels as doors or partitions employs support rails or similar frame elements which attach to only the top and bottom edges of the glass panel. This eliminates the need for vertical side frame elements and permits an unobstructed view through a series of contiguous glass panels. Individuals support rails are assembled onto the top and bottom edges of the glass panels and allow the panels to be mounted to either the floor or ceiling if the panel is to be used as a partition or wall, or to a door frame if the glass panel is to be used as a door.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,235,049 and 4,655,025 to Marinoni; U.S. Pat. No. 4,680,903 to Horgan Jr.; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,069,010 to Trainor Jr. et al. disclose edge rails for glass panels. U.S. Pat. No. 5,069,010 is owned by the Assignee of the present invention and is incorporated herein by reference.
Generally, these prior edge rails are relatively large and complex combinations of multiple components. Many are capable of use solely for a specific installation. In most, a downwardly or upwardly open channel is required respectively for the bottom and top rails to house accessory components such as door hinges, door closers and door locks.
It is desirable therefore to provide a support rail which is versatile enough to be used in a wide variety of installations and that is simple and quick to assemble on a panel.
It is the object of the present invention to provide an improved support rail for glass panels that is versatile and simple to use and that, in particular, is small, compact and streamlined and presents an esthetically desirable appearance.


A VCO circuit including a VCO, a voltage supply and a control circuit. The VCO has a supply voltage input and a gain that changes with its supply voltage. The voltage supply has an adjust input and an output coupled to the supply voltage input of the VCO. The voltage supply adjusts the voltage level of its output in response to changes of the adjust input. The control circuit has a first adjust output coupled to the adjust input of the voltage supply to adjust the gain of the VCO. The VCO may include a frequency range adjust input controlled by the control circuit so that the gain of the VCO is adjusted when the frequency range is changed. For a multi-band VCO, the gain is adjusted for different frequency bands to maintain a relatively constant gain for each frequency band.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to electronic devices, and more specifically to a voltage controller oscillator circuit with low noise gain control.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many different frequency bands are known and in use today for mobile wireless applications, including the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) band operating in the 1.920–2.170 gigahertz (GHz) frequency range, the Personal Communications Services (PCS) band operating in the 1.850–1.990 GHz frequency range, the Digital Communications Services (DCS) band operating in the 1.710–1.880 GHz frequency range, the "900 band" operating in the 880–960 megahertz (MHz) frequency range, the "800 band" operating in the 824–894 MHz frequency range, etc., where each listed frequency band includes both transmit and receive frequencies. Mobile phone manufactures often need to design phones that are operable in multiple frequency bands for use by one or more different mobile phone service providers. Chip manufacturers desire to design and build chip sets that may be used for any phone and/or for any service provider anywhere in the world. Similar needs exist for other wireless and wireline applications.
The heart of a wireless chip is the phase locked loop (PLL), and an essential component of the PLL is the voltage controlled oscillator (VCO). The gain factor "KV" of a conventional multi-band VCO changes commensurate with frequency changes as the VCO is switched from one frequency band to another. It has been very difficult to keep the VCO gain within a specified range when band switching over a large frequency range. The problem of maintaining a relatively constant gain is compounded by the fact that a single discrete PLL filter is typically used for all bands on the same printed circuit board (PCB). PLL dynamics dictate that the VCO gain should be as constant as possible over the entire operable frequency range. The conventional VCO was designed for a fixed supply voltage. A current source has often been used for VCO bias and sometimes as a shut-off mechanism for the VCO. It has been determined, however, that a very large percentage (e.g., approximately 70%) of the noise in conventional VCOs is attributable to this current source.
It is desired to keep the gain factor KV as constant as possible over the entire operable frequency range of the VCO. It is desired to be able to perform KV calibration at any time during operation and over operating temperature ranges. It is desired to be able to control the KV variation to achieve improved PLL performance and to optimize current drain in the VCO. It is desired to provide a VCO for a wide range of applications, including modern wireless transceivers which tend to require wide frequency range coverage. And it is desired to enable the design of fully integrated, multi-band direct-conversion transmitters for existing and future wireless and wireline applications.

Voltage controlled oscillator with gain control


The invention relates to a dual-function filter type pot cover, comprising an outside plate, an inside plate, a diverting cover, a filter element and a switching knob, wherein the outside plate, the inside plate and the diverting cover are combined as one, while the switching knob can rotate in relation to the diverting cover, on the inside plate are air vents, on the diverting cover is a separating plate that divide it into a first space with a filter element and a cover plate and a second space with steam holes and an arched guide groove, while on the inner rim of the switching knob is a protruded obstructing plate that is located in the guide groove, so that by rotating the switching knob, when the obstructing plate is away from the steam holes, the steam in the pot will escape without obstruction from the air vent on the inside cover to the first space and out of the steam holes, suitable for cooking food with water, or on the other hand, in case the cooking involves frying with oil, the obstructing plate will obstruct the steam holes, so the oily vapor in the pot may escape from the air vent to the first space, then to the second space, to be filtered by the filter element before clean air is discharged from the air vent on the cover plate.

The invention relates to a dual-function filter type pot cover, particularly to one that can be widely applied to a variety of cooking pots whereby the user may choose to turn a specially designed switching knob to enable complete discharge of steam or filtering of oil vapors depending on different cooling processes involving either water or cooking oil, such as steaming, boiling, frying, deep-frying, stewing, etc.
Conventionally, to achieve thorough cooking efficiency within a minimized time duration by means of high-heat, hypertension cooking utensils, we often see a sealing cover on the pot, for example, a regular stew pot, an electric cooker, a pressurized cooker, or a regular frying pot, however, to facilitate the discharge of water or oily vapors produced by the high-heat cooking water or oil, we would often see a single or a number of air vents designed on the pot cover, but since the foods to be cooked may vary in their category and nature, some requiring water to cook, some requiring oil to fry, so though the air vent has its feature of discharging the steam, oil could not pass through as smoothly, which results in substantial oil stains on the top of pot cover, on the kitchen wall next to the cooking pot, on the ceiling, other furniture items in the immediate surroundings, it looks dirty and needs cleaning.
For that reason, there is available on the market a type of pot that obstructs the discharge of oil vapors, characterized in that, on the inside of the air vent on the pot cover is a replaceable filter element to take up the oil vapors, however, such a filtering method for both water steam or oil vapors will obstruct the discharge of steam vapor, and when the filter element has absorbed the oil or is saturated with oil, water steam will be trapped inside because of the obstructed and obstructing filter element, so it involves danger when steam is not properly discharged or excessively accumulated.
In view of that, the inventor has dedicated in the research, based on experiences in specialized R&D production and marketing of all types of cooking utensils, and after repeated test and actual productions, has finally developed a dual-function filter type pot cover that enables the user to switch to either steam channel mode or oil vapor channel mode to suit actual cooking circumstances.

99
FSC 73
FSC 55
FSC 96
FSC 126
FSC 206
FSC 210
FSC 220
FSC 422
FSC 426
FSC 428
FSC 454


A lens driving control apparatus includes an image pickup element that includes an imaging pixel and a focus detection pixel and that performs a photoelectric conversion of an object image, a readout unit that reads image signals from the focus detection pixel with a predetermined period, a storage unit that stores the image signals read by the readout unit, an addition unit that adds a plurality of signals in time-series continuous frames of the image signals, a focus detection unit that performs focus detection based on an addition result by the addition unit, and a lens controller that controls a driving speed of a lens based on the addition number of times by the addition unit and a result of the focus detection unit, and the lens controller performs a control so that the driving speed of the lens is reduced when the addition number of times increases.

Patent Literature 1 discloses a configuration in which a pupil division function is provided by displacing a sensitivity region of a light receiving portion with respect to an optical axis of an on-chip microlens for a part of light receiving elements (pixels) of an image pickup element. These pixels are disposed at a predetermined interval between imaging pixel groups as focus detection pixels, and are configured to perform phase difference focus detection.
Patent Literature 2 discloses an image pickup apparatus that performs focus detection calculation by adding image data of focus detection pixel stored by a plurality of past reading in order to satisfy both a refresh operation with a short period and focus detection for an object with a low luminance.

Lens driving control apparatus and lens apparatus


A redundant, load-sharing system and method for distributing electrical power to components in a vehicle. The system including a source of power, multiple power distribution buses, a plurality of switching devices and at least two channel controllers. The system being configured to isolate the components and power sources that are determined to be electrically noisy from the components and the power sources that are sensitive to electric noise. Each of the components may be assigned a priority based on the criticality of the component to the operation of the vehicle. In the event of at least a partial loss of power in one or more of the power distribution buses, the switching devices disconnect the components from the effected power distribution buses in reverse order of the assigned priority.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Aircrafts currently incorporate redundant systems for use in control applications and for propulsive power distribution. For example, redundant hydraulic systems are common practice in the design and construction of large aircraft. The use of these redundant systems contribute to the rarity of complete loss encountered due to the occurrence of control incidents, such as that encountered during the crash-landing of United Airlines 232 in 1989.
Due to the dramatic increase in the number of critical electrical components used aboard an aircraft, power system reliability has become a major concern. Conventionally, power system reliability has been maintained through the use of emergency back-up power sources (e.g., batteries, etc.). However, the power requirements associated with the increasing number of critical electrical components incorporated into an aircraft has quickly surpassed the capacity of these emergency devices.
Reliability may be defined as the probability of a device performing its purpose adequately for the period of time intended under the operating conditions encountered. Power system reliability is a function of reliability and redundancy associated with each component in the system. The reliability of individual components is determined only after completing the detailed design of the component. On the other hand, the amount of redundancy incorporated into a system is established during the design of the system's architecture. Therefore, power system reliability has to be addressed in the design of the primary power distribution system.
The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way.

Dynamic power demand allocation on redundant power buses

ROLLS-ROYCE NORTH AMERICAN TECHNOLOGIES INC.


An electron impact ion source includes an ionization chamber in which a first rf multipole field can be generated and an ion guide positioned downstream from the ionization chamber in which a second rf multipole field can be generated wherein electrons are injected into the ionization chamber along the axis (on-axis) to ionize an analyte sample provided to the ionization chamber.

Electron impact ion sources produce analyte ions by exposing analyte molecules to a focused electron beam. In conventional ion sources of this type, electrons are injected into the ionization chamber in a perpendicular direction with respect to the longitudinal axis of the ionization chamber (the ion exit axis, or z-axis). In this configuration, a substantial percentage of the ions are formed off of the ion exit axis, and thus only a reduced portion of ions passes to the mass analyzer for detection. In gas chromatography mass spectrometer (GC/MS) systems, there is the further difficulty that space charges of carrier gas ions can also impede the focusing of ions near the ion exit axis.
Ion sources have been developed in which collisions between ions and a damping gas reduce the phase space distribution of the ions and focus the ions near the z-axis, increasing the transmission of ions to the mass analyzer. Electrons may be injected either parallel or perpendicular to the quadrupole field using this source, while ions are extracted along the axis of the quadrupole field. However, in order to avoid injected electrons from reaching the entrance of the mass analyzer, the ionization chamber has a comparatively great length (typically greater than 60 millimeters) with a correspondingly large surface area. The large surface area of the ionization chamber makes it infeasible to use the source in the analysis of low concentrations of polarized chemical species. Furthermore, the large ionization volume of the source can be unsuitable in rapid GC/MS analyses because the gas residence time in the ionization chamber is close to or longer than the length of the detected peaks.
To address this problem, what is needed is an on-axis ion source having an ionization chamber with a reduced area that includes means for preventing injected electrons from reaching the entrance of the mass analyzer.


Observations regarding the role of MUC1 in promoting the nuclear accumulation of EGFR led us to propose the development of peptides to block nuclear accumulation of EGFR as a means to block breast cancer progression. One exemplary peptide, the ENLS1 peptide, promotes cell death in breast cancer cell lines. Studies in the MMTV-pyMT mouse model of breast cancer demonstrate significant anti-tumor activity.

MUC1 and EGFR have each been shown to play roles in the growth and progression of cancers. Recent work has demonstrated a role for MUC1 in promoting EGFR activity in the nucleus. This nuclear translocation results in EGFR/chromatin interactions at the Cyclin D1 promoter, resulting in an increase in Cyclin D-1 expression (Bitler et al., 2010b).
There is a continuing need in the art to find effective ways to prevent the initiation of tumors, to inhibit the growth of cancer cells, to kill cancer cells, and to prevent metastasis of tumors.


A side edge assembly for a cooling grate comprises a first aligned array of outer plates arranged in succession in the longitudinal direction of the grate and a second aligned array, which is between the grate and the outer plates, of inner plates arranged in succession in the longitudinal direction of the grate. In the assembled condition the joins of the outer plates and the joins of the inner plates are displaced relative to each other in the longitudinal direction.

Cooling grates and more particularly step conveyor grates as are used for example for cooling cement clinker which is calcined in a calcining kiln are generally laterally delimited by side edge assemblies which are a component of the cooling grate and which are thus supplied by the manufacturer of the cooling grate. A typical side edge assembly comprises a plurality of edge elements which are disposed in succession in the longitudinal direction of the cooling grate, the fact that the side edge assembly is formed from edge elements permitting them to be adapted to the respective length of the associated cooling grate, as is defined by factors relating to the operating procedures involved. In an upward direction the side edge assemblies are adjoined by respective refractory brick walls of a recuperator space or chamber in which hot cooling gases, generally air, are collected. Therefore, at the level of the cooling grate, the side edge assemblies represent the lateral boundary walls defining the recuperator chamber. It will be appreciated therefore that, to achieve a good level of recuperation efficiency, it is important for leakage at the side edge assembly and the improper penetration of infiltration air at that location to be minimised.
Side edge assemblies comprising a plurality of edge or wall elements which are arranged in succession in the longitudinal direction of the cooling grate have weak points at the joins between the wall elements, where those individual wall elements meet. It is virtually inevitable that material to be cooled can escape from the cooling grate through those joins or that infiltration air can improperly penetrate into the recuperation chamber.


To automate the preparation of a replacement paper roll for flying roll changing, initial layer portions of web material from the replacement paper roll and which, typically, are damaged, are rolled on a scrap roll (2) to form scrap material windings thereon. In a first moving step, the scrap roll (2) is placed in engagement with the replacement paper roll to wind scrap material thereon. When a sensing element (22) senses that the paper is suitable for printing, the scrap roll is moved away from the replacement roll (1) and into a preparation or processing position (FIG. 11). At that processing position, two spaced axially extending perforation or tear lines (4, 5) are formed in the beginning portion. In a third moving step, the beginning portion is placed in engagement with the paper roll by moving the scrap roll back towards the replacement roll and, preferably, adhered thereto temporarily by a holding adhesive. In a fourth moving step, the paper on the scrap roll and on the replacement is severed along one (5) of the perforating lines, and the scrap roll is then moved away from the replacement roll for removal of scrap material thereon. Preferably, all elements other than the replacement paper roll are retained in a frame which can be moved towards and away from the replacement roll, and includes the elements, as well as drive and guide devices therefor.

Various systems have been provided to adhere the beginning portion of a new paper web roll to the trailing or end portion of an expiring paper web roll, so that the paper web from the new roll will be pulled through the printing machine by the expiring web. An adhesive is applied to the new or the expiring paper, respectively, to provide for such adhesion. Scrap paper layers, which are unavoidable on rolls of substrate web used in printing machines, are severed from the undamaged paper web on which printing is to be effected.
The referenced application Ser. No. 07/882,599, filed May 13, 1992, by the inventor hereof, describes an apparatus which permits such adhesion to form an effectively continuous web. The initial or beginning portion of the replacement web is manually guided to a processing station, where the beginning portion is perforated and the connecting adhesive is applied. The scrap is cut off and the now prepared beginning portion of the web is engaged against the replacement roll, and temporarily adhered by a holding adhesive. The system is highly effective; if a large number of replacement rolls, however, have to be prepared, the effort by the operators and the working time is high.
The referenced U.S. Pat. No. 4,802,632, Fukuda et al, describes a method and a process to form an adhesion tip on a replacement roll. The replacement roll is placed in a spool-off apparatus of a machine which handles the web, and is there specifically located in a splicing position. After the initial layers of scrap have been removed, the initial portion of the web is spooled or wound backward and two knives move from the edges of the roll towards the center of the web to generate a V-shaped cut. Adhesive is applied along the edge of the V cut, and this adhesion tip, as the web continues to be spooled back, is wound back on the replacement roll. The roll is closed, that is, the adhesion flap or tip is adhered to the underlying layer of the roll by a previously applied strip.
Due to the complex geometry of the adhesion tip, the apparatus is complex and expensive. Preparation of the roll to apply the adhesion strip alone is complex.

Method and apparatus for preparing a replacement paper roll for flying roll change, particularly to supply paper to a rotary printing press


A blower pressure source has been integrated into a vest cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) system. The vest includes a bladder that cyclically inflates and deflates to provide automatic CPR to a patient in cardiac arrest or needing circulatory assistance to a patient with a beating but weakened heart. The blower continuously provides air at relatively low pressure to inflate a bladder in the vest. The maximum pressure of the blower corresponds to the desired peak vest pressure. A relatively simple valve, solenoid and timing controller is used to apply the blower air in cycles to inflate the bladder.

1. Field of Invention
The current invention relates to emergency medical equipment and treatment for cardiac arrest. In particular, the invention relates to cardiopulmonary resuscitation and cardiopulmonary circulatory assist devices that cyclically apply compressive pressure to a patient's thorax to increase intrathoracic pressure to force blood flow through the heart and other body organs.
2. Background of the Invention
More than one in four Americans have cardiovascular disease, which is the leading cause of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) and a leading cause of death in the United States. It is estimated that each year in the United States, approximately 1.5 million people suffer a heart attack, resulting in more than 400,000 people experiencing an SCA episode, of whom at least 85% will die as a result. Approximately every minute there is a sudden cardiac arrest in the United States.
SCA is generally due to ventricular fibrillation, a life-threatening condition, in which the heart's normal electrical signals become chaotic, causing the cessation of effective pumping of blood by the heart. Blood carries oxygen to the body. If the blood flow stops, the body stops receiving oxygen. Irreversible organ damage will occur if blood flow is not restored promptly. The body, especially the brain and heart muscle, cannot survive beyond a few minutes without oxygenated blood flow.
The optimal first line of treatment for ventricular fibrillation, the most common cause of cardiac arrest, is defibrillation (the delivery of a high-energy electrical shock to the chest). Successful defibrillation stops the chaotic electrical activity and allows regular electrical activity to again produce normal heart rhythm. If the heart muscle has been deprived of oxygen by a lack of blood flow for more than a few minutes, defibrillation attempts are usually unsuccessful at restoring the heart to a normal rhythm. Similarly, the lack of oxygenated blood flow through the body will rapidly cause irreversible damage to vital organs including the brain. Medical defibrillation equipment is expensive, and dangerous in the hands of unskilled persons. Such equipment is usually only found in hospitals, doctors offices, and well-equipped mobile emergency units. Accordingly, medical defibrillation equipment is not often nearby when a patient suffers cardiac arrest.
Manual cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is most often used on cardiac arrest patients in the first critical minutes of cardiac arrest. Since 1960, manual CPR has been promoted as the standard means for providing oxygenated blood to the heart and brain until appropriate definitive medical treatment can restore normal heart and ventilator action. A primary objective of CPR is to generate blood flow to restore the heart to a condition that will allow successful defibrillation thereby causing the heart to resume normal beating. Another key objective of CPR is to provide blood flow to the brain and other organs to prevent irreversible organ damage while attempts at defibrillation are made.
Despite the widespread application of standard manual CPR, the average long-term survival rate from SCA is only about 15%, and may be lower if the SCA event occurs out of a hospital. Approximately 90% of the 350,000-400,000 persons who experience out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest in this country per year are served by local emergency medical teams whose directive is to initiate and maintain a resuscitative effort. The emergency teams transport patients to the hospital, but only 20% of individuals struck with cardiac arrest and who are treated by an emergency medical team survive to be discharged from the hospital. The poor survival rate for SCA is due, in part, to the inability of manual CPR to generate substantial blood flow, as well as the variability in the skill, strength, experience, fatigue or emotional state of the rescuer.
Most SCA episodes occur outside the hospital. The first medical professionals to reach a patient suffering from cardiac arrest are emergency paramedics. Upon arrival of an emergency medical vehicle, the emergency personnel applies a series of defibrillation attempts, which, if they fail to restart the heart, are followed by a rigorous procedure combining CPR with ventilation and additional defibrillation applications. If the heart muscle has been deprived of oxygen by a lack of blood flow for more than a few minutes, defibrillation attempts before administering CPR are usually unsuccessful at restarting the heart. Given that emergency medical response times to out-of-hospital SCA episodes are generally six to ten minutes, initial defibrillation attempts generally fail, thus necessitating that the combined routine of CPR and defibrillation be utilized. If the emergency medical vehicle is not equipped with a defibrillator, then the emergency response personnel generally relies on manual CPR to restart the victim's heart.
In manual CPR, a patient is placed on his back and the hands of the rescuer applying CPR are rhythmically pressed firmly against the center of the sternum on the patient's chest, i.e., thorax. By pressing on the sternum, the rescuer compresses the patient's thorax (chest cavity) to increase the pressure within the thorax and around the heart and intrathoracic vascular system. A primary aim of manual CPR is to increase intrathoracic pressure due to a decrease in thoracic volume produced by the displacement of the sternum. The rhythmic press and release by CPR of pressure around the heart forces blood to flow through the heart and the rest of the body.
A principal problem with conventional closed chest CPR is the inability to adequately produce sufficient blood flow to the brain and heart needed for survival. Animal studies have documented coronary and cerebral blood flows during CPR to be less than 5% and 10% of the pre-arrest values, respectively. Animal and human studies have determined that coronary perfusion pressure (CPP) is the best predictor of the success of myocardial recovery. During arrest, the coronary vasculature is believed to be fully dilated due to global ischemia (lack of blood flow and tissue perfusion). Accordingly, coronary blood flow should be directly related to the amount of CPP that can be generated with CPR. Studies indicate that a CPP of at least 15 mm Hg is required for successful myocardial resuscitation. If CPP is maintained at a level approaching 25 mm Hg, then many patients in cardiac arrest should be resuscitated. Restoration of coronary and cerebral perfusion flow are major determinants of the outcome of CPR. The duration of time during which the patient has no flow (from cardiac arrest to initiation of CPR) and the duration of CPR to return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) are both crucial to the survival of the patient.
Chest compression occurs when the anterior and posterior thorax surfaces are moved toward one another, "flattening" the chest (anterior refers to the front of the thorax, posterior to the back). Chest compression is accompanied by an increase in the pressure within the thoracic cavity, and a decrease in the volume of the lungs. The decrease of the volume of the lungs is minimized by quickly trapping air in the lungs when starting compression of the chest. The increase in intrathoracic pressure forces blood through the heart and out toward the brain and extremities.
The amount of pressure needed to be applied to the chest for effective CPR is relatively great. Manual CPR often fails because inadequate pressure is applied to the chest by the hands of the person applying CPR. Moreover, the amount of force needed to achieve effective CPR is slightly below the force level which will traumatize the patient. Manual CPR often results in trauma to the patient's thorax because the person applying CPR applies excessive force to a small area on the chest in an effort to compress the heart. The most common injuries from manual CPR include injuries to the skin, bony thorax and upper airway. The reported incidence of injuries from CPR ranges from 21% to more than 65%. Accordingly, even properly executed manual CPR can lead to injury.
Applicants designed a vest-CPR system to increase intrathoracic pressure and intravascular pressure to produce blood flow using a continuous blower to directly pressurize the vest. The maximum output pressure of the blower corresponds to the desired peak vest pressure. The blower is a self-regulating source of vest pressure that does not require the complex and expensive regulators used in prior vest systems.
A CPR-vest is a belt that fits snugly around the thorax of a patient in cardiac arrest or requiring a cardiac assist. The vest includes a bladder underneath the belt and covering at least the front of the patient's thorax and preferably covers at least three fourths of the circumference of the chest. The bladder is connected by a pneumatic hose to an air supply and controller that rhythmically pressurizes and depressurizes the bladder. When pressurized, the bladder presses against the entire front of the thorax, from the armpits to the bottom of the rib cage to increase intrathoracic pressure.
By applying circumferential compression to reduce chest volume, vest-CPR increases intrathoracic pressure to increase the vascular pressure and force blood flow through the heart, lungs and other body organs. An initial rapid inflation of the vest bladder and corresponding increase in intrathoracic pressure traps air in the lungs to prevent excessive deflation of the lungs. By trapping air in the lungs, the continued inflation of the bladder results in fast increases of intrathoracic pressure with minimal inflation of the bladder because the trapped air in the lungs assists in increasing intrathoracic pressure. In addition, defibrillation electrodes may be positioned underneath the CPR vest to apply an electric shock while the CPR vest is operating.
Prior vest-CPR systems, such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,928,674, have employed sources of high pressure air, e.g., air tanks (50-70 psi) to rapidly inflate the vest. High pressure air was believed to be necessary to provide enough force to quickly move the necessary amount of air into the vest bladder to achieve the desired rapid vest inflation and compression of the patient's thorax. Because the vest has to be cyclically inflated and deflated approximately 50 to 60 times per minute, the vest must inflate in less than 100 to 150 milliseconds. To provide high pressure air, air tanks were pressurized to levels much higher than the desired peak vest pressure. When the vest was inflated, air rushed from the tank to the vest, and the pressure in the tank dropped as the pressure in the vest rose. Computer controllers and pressure regulators monitored the vest pressure and stopped the air flow from the tank as the vest reached the desired peak pressure. The tank was repressurized by pumps, e.g., rotary-vane pumps, that continually provided highly pressurized air to the tank. The mass of air provided by the pump was relatively small as compared to the air needed to pressurize the vest. The pumps worked continually during the vest inflation and deflation cycles, and the mass of air pumped into the tank over time was sufficient to inflate the vest during the relatively-brief inflation period of the entire cycle of the vest.
The high pressure source typically included a positive displacement pump, e.g., a piston in cylinder pump, and a high pressure metal air tank. Such sources of high pressure air are capable of pressurizing the CPR-vest to a pressure that would burst the bladder, and potentially harm the patient. Accordingly, during normal operation, a CPR vest is pressurized to a much lesser pressure than the pressure of the source of pressurized air used to inflate the vest. To inflate the vest to the same pressure as the source of pressurized air could result in too much compression being applied to the patient's thorax, trauma to the patient, and damage to the CPR vest.
The high pressure air used to inflate CPR vests required safeguards to prevent over-inflation and sophisticated controllers to control the inflation and deflation cycles. While high pressure air provides rapid inflation, it presents a danger in that the vest may be over inflated. Because the forces needed for effective CPR are only slightly below the level of forces that will harm and traumatize the chest of the patient, safeguards were included in prior vest inflation systems to ensure that the vest was sufficiently pressurized for effective CPR, and to avoid applying excessive and harmful forces to a patient's chest.
To avoid over-inflation of the vest, computer controllers and complex valve systems have been used. For example, prior vest-CPR systems have included microprocessors programmed to monitor the pressure in the vest as the vest is inflated and activate the closing of pressurization valves prior to the pressure in the valve attaining the desired pressure. The activation of the pressure valves was precisely timed in advance of the vest reaching the desired pressurization because an inherent delay in activating the valves allowed additional high pressure air to continue entering the vest and further increase vest pressure. The microprocessor for the vest-CPR system was programmed to advance the valve activation command to compensate for the valve activation delay. In addition, the peak pressure at each vest inflation cycle fluctuates from cycle to cycle because of the rapid pressure rise in the vest occurring when the pressure valve is closed and because the valve is closed based on a prediction made by a microprocessor of when the vest will be fully pressurized. Due to the uncertainties in predicting when full pressurization will occur during a rapid pressure rise and the rapid pressure rise occurring in the vest at the peak pressure, the peak pressure actually attained in the vest varies from cycle to cycle.
Prior microprocessor independent controlled safety systems monitored the pressure in the CPR vest in addition to the monitoring performed by the microprocessor controlling pressurization of the vest. For example, the safety system would close the inflation valve and vent the vest if the pressure in the vest became too great. Moreover, the high pressure source required that prior vest-CPR systems have high pressure hoses and couplings that tend to be expensive and difficult to operate. Accordingly, the high pressure air needed to rapidly inflate the vest required expensive and complex control and safety systems that increased the cost of vest-CPR systems, increased the number of components and systems that could malfunction, and increased the difficulty in operating the vest-CPR system.
The efforts to develop a commercially viable vest-CPR have encountered difficulties due to the need for a high pressure air source. While high pressure air has been considered essential to rapidly inflate a vest and to allow for sufficient capacity in the inflation system for all sizes and shapes of patients, supplying and controlling air under high pressure is complex, expensive and problematic. An electric positive displacement pump, e.g., a piston or rotary vane pump, is the most common source of high pressure air in existing vest-CPR systems. Electric air pumps are one of the more expensive components of existing vest-CPR systems, often require electrical power greater than that supplied by ordinary 120 volt AC outlets, and require maintenance. The cost of an electric air pump that supplies 18-22 scfm of 50-70 psi air may be $500-$2,000 (U.S.), which adds substantially to the cost of a vest-CPR system. Most electric air pumps this powerful require a 220 volt AC connection, which are not readily available in hospital emergency rooms or other locations where vest-CPR systems are used. Accordingly, there has been a long-felt need in CPR-vest systems to solve the problems associated with high pressure air sources.

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation system with centrifugal compression pump


The invention concerns a vacuum belt conveyor for transferring veneer sheets under a vacuum effect. The conveyor consists of a vacuum box under a vacuum effect, having at least one perforation extending lane-like in the direction of conveyance of the conveyor. Conveying belts are running on both sides of the perforation. The belts are brought into contact with a veneer sheet to be transferred, whereby the veneer sheet and the belts line an underpessurized space, and the sheet is retained in contact with the belts. A lug movable in the direction of the vacuum lane is arranged at the perforation for keeping any jamming debris away.

1. Field
Disclosed herein is a vacuum belt conveyor for transferring veneer sheets.
2. Description of Related Art
The basic structure of the vacuum belt conveyor is conventional, i.e. it consists of an elongated box structure whose interior can be brought under a vacuum effect. At least one lane-like perforation extends along the bottom of the box through which the bottom area of the box can be brought under the vacuum effect prevailing inside the case. The lane is bounded by a conveyor belt running at its both edges in dragging contact with the lower surface of the vacuum box. The product to be conveyed, such as a veneer sheet, is brought, at its upper surface, under the vacuum effect through the openings, the sheet thus being moved by the belts to the intended place where it is released from the vacuum effect by stamping by means of kicker arms provided in the conveyor.
Vacuum belt conveyors have been used to transfer veneer sheets, among other things, even as embodiments in which the veneer sheet lies on the conveyor. A vacuum inside the conveyor affects the lower surface of the veneer sheet holding the sheet pressed against the belts that convey the sheet. Even in these embodiments the belt are placed adjacent to a vacuum area to bound the vacuum area.
The problem with these conveyors has been, particularly when applied to the conveyance of veneer sheets, that different kinds of pieces of sheet end up in the perforation and remain there interfering with the vacuum effect. The perforations must be cleaned at regular intervals, in which operation the usual practice is to stop the devices creating the vacuum in the box. This results in an immediate interruption in the production.


An ultrasonic fog generator creates a fog of a liquid such as water. The visual appearance of the fog may be altered such as by being illuminated by one or more lights having one or more colors. Further, the fog may be used to deliver pharmaceuticals to one or both of the lungs of a patient.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to creating fog, which may be in the form of mist. More particularly, the invention relates to using fog or mist in a visually appealing display or as a conduit for drug delivery.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are generally four types of visual vapor or fog generators on the market today. Carbon dioxide ("CO2") fog generators generate a visual fog using a solid block of CO2 (i.e., dry ice) which is dropped into a bath of deionized ("DI") water heated to 140° F. or higher. One disadvantage of CO2 fog generators is that the fog quantity they produce is unregulated, i.e., the fog quantity cannot be readily applied in any situation without adjusting the size of the of CO2 block as the quantity of fog produced is largely based on the size of the block used. Further, in applications requiring a large amount of fog, the size of the CO2 fog generator can become large and cumbersome. In addition, as the CO2 block melts, the quantity of fog output from the fog generator diminishes and the temperature of the DI bath is lowered which, in time, will require a reheating of the water or adding more hot water thereto. Further, when the CO2 block melts, it must be replaced by another costly CO2 block.
Helium bubble generators, as the name implies, generate small helium filled bubbles of water that float in the air at almost neutral buoyancy. Unfortunately, helium bubble generators tend to produce a small quantity of bubbles that may fail to create a dense and realistic fog. Further, increasing the helium levels in a room may have a negative impact on the comfort of people in the room.
A third type of fog generator generates a fog by passing steam from boiling water through a bath of liquid nitrogen ("N2") creating a super cooled fog. Similar to the CO2 block fog generator, liquid N2 fog generators tend to be large and require a continuous supply of costly of liquid N2. Further, these fog generators may be hazardous because they require both a boiler to heat the water and extremely cold liquid N2 to operate.
Finally, ultrasonic fog generators create fog by vibrating a bath of water using ultrasonic sound. The fog may be disbursed through a long hose in which water vapor fog may condense.
One common fact among the aforementioned fog generators is the creation of fog in a way that fails to be visually pleasing, i.e., the only thing created is fog. In addition, the fog created serves no purpose other than perhaps being indicative of airflow and simulating fog.

Ultrasonic fog maker and methods of drug delivery and air freshening


A translator-compiler for converting legacy architecture. In the area of management software or distributed management software, a standard architecture is evolving from legacy or proprietary architecture, and the standard embraces CIM/XML (Common Information Model/eXtensible Markup Language) computer language. Many vendors have developed proprietary languages for their respective management products that are incompatible with such standard. To accomplish compatibility between standard architecture and various different proprietary architectures, a substantial amount of code must be written at great effort and expense, unless an automatic, easily-applied and universal solution can be achieved. A translator-compiler is disclosed which meets these solution criteria and therefore solves this incompatibility problem. Flowcharts depicting algorithms along with sample input and output code in C++, as well as an example of the final XML result are also disclosed. Particular detail is disclosed with regard to storage management software aspects, although embodiments of the present invention are also operable with printer, server and other functional-component management software.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to management software, and, more particularly, relates to converting legacy or proprietary management software into software compatible with new industry-standard architecture.
2. Description of Prior Art
To say that growth of the computer industry has been rapid is something of an understatement. Computer companies develop and market (1) hardware such as mainframes, personal computers, peripherals including storage systems, printers, terminals and modems; (2) software which runs on and controls that hardware such as operating systems software and applications software such as peripheral-device management software; and, (3) networking infrastructure, such as the Internet, employing this hardware and software. As noticed by many, this industry is a powerful engine pulling civilization forward in an almost uncomfortably rapid manner.
Because of constant, intense and competitive technological design enhancement activity inherent in this industry, different, and frequently incompatible, technical designs are created. Such incompatibility can result in difficult situations, as, for example, where a corporate user of this technology utilizes, for example, different storage systems each having architecture incompatible with the others, internal to its own organization. In this circumstance, each storage system vendor has produced its own proprietary or "legacy" architecture and supplied same to this corporate-customer user who now has the challenge of managing or handling such incompatibility in as efficient and graceful a manner as possible. Regrettably, one storage system management software package cannot readily communicate with a different vendor's storage system management software package within the same corporate environment, without arduous code generation to close the communication gap! Thus, this corporate user, unfortunately, is now burdened with meeting this challenge including the taking of redundant actions. Such actions are, for example, providing multiple training sessions to its employees, so they can describe and handle failures, degradations and other complications which may arise in these incompatible storage systems, in as many different languages as are dictated by such different legacy or proprietary architectures defining such systems. This confusing and inefficient scenario results from an availability of too many different kinds of management tools and places an unwanted drain on this corporate user's resources. Accordingly, computer industry vendors have created standards committees and organizations in which their companies can be represented, for purposes of interacting and generating standards of design for the good of all concerned, including corporate-customer users as exemplified above.
Thus, one technical area where need for standardization is apparent is in the computer storage-system management arena where certain storage-management software products are based on older, less-desirable, or increasingly-incompatible legacy or proprietary architectures. These architectures are combinations of software such as schemas, languages and protocols, etc. For example, referring to FIG. 2A, one such legacy architecture hierarchy is depicted: at the bottom of the architecture stack are protocols: TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol), Sockets, and Rogue Wave (Net.H++). On top of those protocols, in this example, is object-oriented computer language C++. And on top of that computer language is a schema (header-related software and further defined hereinbelow) such as that derived from or implemented in RAID++. RAID++ is an object-oriented representation of a CLARiiON® storage system (registered trademark of assignee) in C++ language, and objects are defined below.
Legacy architecture such as that comprising TCP/IP, Sockets, Rogue Wave and schemas is fundamental to the design of networks such as, for example, a client-server network. In a client-server network, several communication aspects need to be specified: (1) How does the client communicate with the server? TCP/IP over an ethernet cable would be responsive to this question. (2) What language will be used by the client and server? Rogue Wave and Sockets are among the answers responsive to this question. (3) What language is the code written in? C++ or JAVA would be examples of languages responsive to this question. (4) What subject will be talked about? Schema would focus the subject to particular subject matter such as, for example, "storage management" as opposed to, for example, "extracting banking information". Thus, legacy architecture defines the client-server network.
Although legacy or proprietary architectures can still be useful under certain circumstances, they are generally no longer the architecture of choice for reasons of incompatibility noted above and for other reasons. For example, it is not unusual for legacy or proprietary architecture to employ C++ language. Such language is typically represented in object "trees" because C++ fits naturally with tree representation, (although C++ can also be represented otherwise). Tree representations have certain analytical-design disadvantages as compared with a flat object representation. Objects, object trees, and an improved "flat" object database representation, all in connection with industry standardization, are described as follows. One industry standardization effort is being conducted by the Distributed Management Task Force, Inc. (DMTF) and is moving in a direction entitled: "Web-Based Enterprise Management" (WBEM). One area being addressed by this effort is within the aforementioned software category known as "object-oriented" software. An object, in computer software terms, is a dedicated area of memory which can be thought of as an impervious container holding both data and instructions within itself, both defining itself and its relationships to other objects in the computer system or network. An object can send and receive messages to and from other objects, respond and react to such messages (e.g. commands) but shall normally be impervious to internal scrutiny. For example, in a storage processor (a kind of computer) each object may describe or relate to a specific detail in the processor (e.g. a fan, power switch, cache memory, power supply, disk drive interface, etc.), where these tangible objects in the storage processor can send messages to each other and to other objects outside the processor.
If operating with C++ computer language, as noted above, the relationship between these specific objects in the storage processor is usually visualized or characterized as a "tree" of objects. In a tree, each such object hangs off a preceding object as if in a parent-child or inheritance relationship, with many children hanging from a parent not being an a typical configuration. In addition to these tangible kinds of objects, logical units (LUNs) are other nodes or objects that can be contained within the tree. If a user wants to know, for example, about all existing LUNs (and there can be a vast number) in a particular tree configuration, any hardware/software search solution for them is necessarily based on a design which must, in turn, be based on such tree representation. Thus, a search through the entire tree must be conducted to find all LUNs, which can be a cumbersome and time consuming task under certain conditions. Furthermore, even if not searching for LUNs, in order for a search or message transfer to proceed in the tree from one node or object to another, again the entire tree may have to be navigated. When there are thousands or more of these objects in the tree, this could take too much time as a message passes from object to object within the tree. Accordingly, for these and other reasons not relating to performance WBEM is establishing a standard that avoids object trees and arranges all objects in a database where a "flat" relationship is obtained, i.e., objects can communicate from one to the other directly and need not proceed through intermediary objects as required in the tree configuration. Flat-database-represented eXtensive Markup Language (XML) has been selected by WBEM.
XML, in addition to allowing a flat object database where one object can communicate directly with any other object in the database, is a language that offers other advantages with respect to Internet usage. XML is related to or is a superset of Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), and Internet browsers display information in HTML. XML thus enables companies to leverage Web technologies to manage enterprise systems such as storage systems. Therefore, XML is a language of choice in view of its Internet compatibility.
Referring to FIG. 2B, a new architecture stack is shown and is to be compared with the legacy architecture stack of FIG. 2A. In FIG. 2B, the earlier-noted TCP/IP protocol is still at the bottom followed by the aforementioned HTTP protocol, on top of which is the aforementioned XML computer language; and, on top of XML is a new and advantageous schema called Common Information Model (CIM). (A schema can be viewed as a description of a class structure, i.e., the schema enumerates all the classes, how they are related to each other in terms of reference to each other and in terms of parent-child inheritance relationships, maybe including a description of all properties that these classes may have, and maybe further including all methods that can be executed in those classes.) A ninety-seven (97) page specification entitled "Common Information Model (CIM) Specification" Version 2.2, dated Jun. 14, 1999 prepared by the Distributed Management Task Force, Inc. (DMTF) offers more information about this subject and is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. Another specification of eighty-seven (87) pages entitled "Specification for CIM Operations of HTTP" Version 1.0, dated Aug. 11, 1999, prepared by DMTF likewise provides valuable background information and is also incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. CIM is superior to older, legacy-based schemas in the one respect that it creates interoperability and allows management of different storage systems supplied by different vendors. CIM also has capability of modeling servers, software on servers, power supplies on servers, network switches, tape backup, and virtually all other manageable components in a computer system.
Serious potential effort and expense issues enter into this scenario when considering the huge legacy architecture which has been developed in this industry thus far. There has been major investment on the part of many industry participants (multiple-hundreds of industry vendors) in each of their own respective brands of proprietary or legacy architecture. Such architecture is not only the specific layered architecture shown in FIG. 2A useful with at least CLARiiON® storage systems (registered trademark of assignee), but any legacy architecture including that which is not in conformance with FIG. 2A and different from the proposed standard of FIG. 2B. As industry vendors know, to change one's investment from any legacy architecture, e.g. that represented by FIG. 2A to that of FIG. 2B, is a major undertaking typically requiring the writing of a huge number of lines of code. What is needed for the industry, therefore, for both industry vendors and users alike, is an automatic conversion technique to permit the large investment made by multiple industry participants, regardless of their specific legacy architecture, to be preserved and upgraded to the new standard stack of FIG. 2B, or to any other new standard, automatically and with minor impact on their respective businesses.
Embodiments of the present invention provide a welcome solution to the aforementioned prior art problems. Such embodiments are far easier to implement than the aforementioned line-by-line code upgrade conversion. Moreover, not only do such embodiments relate to and solve specific problems associated with the particular legacy architecture shown in FIG. 2A, but their underlying algorithms can also provide a solution to almost any legacy architecture upgrade challenge.

Translator-compiler for converting legacy management software


Nucleotide sequences encoding a maize 5C9 polypeptide, the 5C9 polypeptide and structural and functional equivalents, and methods for controlling insect infestation in plants are provided.

The use of natural products, including proteins, is a well known method of controlling many insect pests. For example, endotoxins of Bacillus thuringiensis (B.t.) are used to control both lepidopteran and coleopteran insect pests. Genes producing these endotoxins have been introduced into and expressed by various plants, including cotton, tobacco, tomato, and maize. There are, however, several economically important insect pests that are not susceptible toB.t. endotoxins, including the boll weevil, Anthonomus grandis, and corn rootworm (CRW), Diabrotica spp. In addition, having other, different gene products for control of insects which are susceptible toB.t. endotoxins is critical for resistance management.
Several other known insecticidal proteins are found in plants. These include lectins, amylase inhibitors, and protease inhibitors, which can affect insect growth and development when ingested at high levels. See, e.g., Boulter et al., 1989; Broadway and Duffey, 1986, Czapla and Lang, 1990; Gatehouse et al., 1986, Heusing et al., 1991; Ishimoto and K. Kitamura, 1989, Murdock et al., 1990; Shuckle and Murdock, 1993. However, these proteins apparently do not provide the acute mortality afforded by B.t proteins.
Patatins are a family of proteins found in potato (see Gaillaird, 1971; Racusen, 1984; Andrews et al., 1988) and other plants, particularly in solanaceous plants (Ganal et al., 1991; Vancanneyt et al., 1989). In potato the patatins are found primarily in tubers, but also at much lower levels in other plant organs (Hofgen and Willmitzer, 1990). Genes that encode patatins have been isolated. See, e.g., Mignery et al., 1984; Mignery et al., 1988; Stiekema et al., 1988. Roshal et al., 1987, transferred a patatin gene to tobacco and expressed patatin in transgenic tobacco plants.
Although the benefits of expression of heterologous genes in transgenic plants cannot be minimized, there are additional benefits to be gained from discovering native or autologous genes, the copy number of which and/or the expression of which can be increased. In addition, even when a heterologous gene is inserted into and expressed in transgenic plants, if that gene is isolated from a somewhat more closely related species, its expression level may be higher than in instances where genes from unrelated species are used, and its expression product may be more effective. Therefore, an effective insect control protein from an agronomic crop species is highly desirable.


An enterprise-wide web data mining system, computer program product, and method of operation thereof, that uses Internet based data sources, and which operates in an automated and cost effective manner. The enterprise web mining system comprises: a database coupled to a plurality of data sources, the database operable to store data collected from the data sources; a data mining engine coupled to the web server and the database, the data mining engine operable to generate a plurality of data mining models using the collected data; a server coupled to a network, the server operable to: receive a request for a prediction or recommendation over the network, generate a prediction or recommendation using the data mining models, and transmit the generated prediction or recommendation.

Data mining is a technique by which hidden patterns may be found in a group of data. True data mining doesn't just change the presentation of data, but actually discovers previously unknown relationships among the data. Data mining is typically implemented as software in or in association with database systems. There are two main areas in which the effectiveness of data mining software may be improved. First, the specific techniques and processes by which the data mining software discovers relationships among data may be improved. Such improvements may include speed of operation, more accurate determination of relationships, and discovery of new types of relationships among the data. Second, given effective data mining techniques and processes, the results of data mining are improved by obtaining more data. Additional data may be obtained in several ways: new sources of data may be obtained, additional types of data may be obtained from existing sources of data, and additional data of existing types may be obtained from existing sources.
A typical enterprise has a large number of sources of data and a large number of different types of data. For example, an enterprise may have an inventory control system containing data regarding inventory levels of products, a catalog system containing data describing the products, an ordering system containing data relating to customer orders of the products, an accounting system containing data relating to costs of producing and shipping products, etc. In addition, some sources of data may be connected to proprietary data networks, while other sources of data may be connected to and accessible from public data networks, such as the Internet.
While data mining has been successfully applied to individual sources of data, enterprise-wide data mining has not been so successful. The traditional technique for performing enterprise-wide data mining is involves manual operation of a number of data integration, pre-processing, mining, and interpretation tools. This traditional process is expensive and time consuming to the point that it is often not feasible for many enterprises. The advent of Internet based data sources, including data relating to World Wide Web transactions and behavior only exacerbated this problem. A need arises for a technique by which enterprise-wide data mining, especially involving Internet based data sources, may be performed in an automated and cost effective manner.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


An exemplary surgical apparatus for treating tissue may include an anvil; a jaw pivotally connected to the anvil; and a first cartridge detachably connected to the anvil, holding staples of a first size; where a first clamp gap between the anvil and first cartridge is set by the connection between the first cartridge and jaw. An exemplary cartridge for a surgical stapler may include a cartridge housing; a plurality of staples held within the cartridge housing; and a sled slidable within, and retained by, the cartridge housing, including a central platform, at least one wedge connected to the central platform, and a knife rotatable relative to the central platform.

A linear cutter is a surgical tool that staples and cuts tissue to transect that tissue while leaving the cut ends hemostatic. A typical endocutter receives at its distal end a disposable single-use cartridge that holds several rows of staples, and includes an anvil opposed to the cartridge. The cartridge typically includes drivers positioned under the staples. The surgeon orients the end of the endocutter around the tissue to be transected, and compresses the anvil and cartridge together to clamp the tissue. Then, wedges advance into the cartridge, sequentially pushing the drivers upward, and the drivers in turn drive the staples upward against the anvil. Rows of staples are deployed on either side of the transection line, and a blade is advanced along the transection line to divide the tissue. In conventional surgical staplers, it is important to maintain a substantially constant gap between the anvil and the cartridge for proper staple formation. A staple urged outward from the cartridge or other staple holder is designed to encounter a staple pocket or other feature in the anvil at a certain point in its travel. If the staple encounters that staple pocket or other feature in the anvil too soon or too late, the staple may be malformed. For example, if the gap is too large, the staple may not be completely formed. As another example, if the gap is too small, the staple may be crushed. For this reason, a particular conventional linear cutter can only accept a cartridge with a corresponding particular staple size. Inserting into that linear cutter a cartridge holding larger or smaller staples, if that were even possible due to the size differential in the staples and staple drivers, would cause incomplete formation or malformation of those staples.
The use of the same reference symbols in different figures indicates similar or identical items.

Surgical stapler with cartridge-adjustable clamp gap


According to one exemplary embodiment, a portion of a lock may include a stationary member having a bore, where the stationary member can be mountable to an object. The portion of the lock can also include a movable member positioned at least partially within the bore and movable relative to the bore in an unlocking direction during a normal unlocking operation. A deformable portion can be positioned adjacent an interface between the stationary member and the movable member. The deformable portion permits the movable member to move in the unlocking direction during a normal unlocking operation and is deformable to prevent movement of the movable member relative to the stationary member when subjected to excessive force applied in an attempt to move the movable member in the unlocking direction in other than a normal unlocking operation.

Conventional lock mechanisms, such as Small Format Interchangeable Core (SFIC) locks, are designed to provide a secure and strong lock in a small space. A typical lock includes the basic components of a body, a rotatable cylinder or plug positioned within the body and a series of pins or tumblers. When locked, the pins extend from the cylinder into the body to prevent rotation of the cylinder relative to the body. A specifically shaped key inserted in a keyhole within the cylinder engages the pins and moves them such that the cylinder is free to rotate relative to the body, thus unlocking the lock.
To provide adequate security, the lock must be configured to resist over-rotation, or over-torque, of the cylinder. Conventionally, the tumblers are designed to resist such over-rotation. For example, most conventional locks employ between five and seven tumblers to resist over-torque of the cylinder. With a greater number of tumblers, however, less space remains available within the lock for other features, e.g., additional security measures.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to develop a lock mechanism that overcomes the drawbacks of known locks.


An optical density sensor disposed over a target surface in an image formation apparatus comprises an integrating cavity having a diffuse, reflective interior surface and a view port formed therein. An optical source directs light through the view port onto the target surface, without striking any interior surface of the cavity. Light reflected from the target surface is detected by an optical detector disposed within the cavity. The optical source may be disposed in a collimator, which may extend into the interior of the cavity, and may include a lens. A circuit card which may include an optical detector sensing circuit may be disposed proximate the optical detector. A compensating slot formed in the cavity may allow some reflected light to directly impact the optical detector as the gap between the cavity and the target surface increases.

The present invention relates generally to the field of electrophotography and in particular to an optical density sensor.
Electrophotographic image forming devices optically form a latent image on a photoconductive member, and develop the image by applying toner. The toner is then transferred—either directly or indirectly—to a media sheet where it is deposited and fixed, such as by thermal fusion. In particular, it is known to successively transfer developed color-plane images from one or more photoconductive members to an intermediate transfer belt, and subsequently transfer the developed image to a media sheet for fixation thereon. Examples of an image forming device utilizing an intermediate transfer belt are the Model C750 and C752 printers from Lexmark International, Inc. Alternatively, it is known to direct a single media sheet past one or more photoconductive members, each of which successively transfers a developed color-plane image directly to the media sheet.
A problem common to all electrophotographic image forming devices, regardless of their configuration or operation, is image registration. Image registration refers to the placement of a developed color-plane image, either relative to other color-plane images or relative to the media sheet (i.e., margins, skew and the like). Numerous methodologies are known in the art for measuring and correcting registration errors. Many of these include the steps of transferring developed images comprising test patterns of various forms to a surface and detecting the developed images on the surface, i.e., detecting the presence of toner on the surface. The surface may comprise an intermediate transfer belt, media sheet or the like. In some applications, for registration purposes toner may be deposited directly on a media sheet transport belt, which normally carries the media sheets, without a media sheet being present. Regardless of the surface on which toner is deposited, one way to detect the toner is by the use of optical density sensors.
Optical density sensors are well known in the art. An optical density sensor measures the presence, and preferably the amount (e.g., in gm/cm2), of toner on a surface. This measurement may be performed indirectly, such as by sensing the differing optical properties of the surface and of toner deposited on the surface. One way to sense these properties is to illuminate the surface with a light source—preferably a collimated light source—and sensing and measuring the resulting reflections. Reflections may be generally classified as specular or diffuse. Specular reflection is reflection from a smooth surface, and tends to comprise a sharply defined beam. Diffuse reflection is reflection from a rough surface, in which a collimated beam emerges in all directions. Reflected light sensed and/or measured by an optical density sensor may include components of both specular and diffuse reflections, although one or the other may dominate, depending on the texture and other properties of the surface. The sensed optical properties are translated to toner density through calibration procedures, as well known in the art.
One known form of optical density sensor is called an integrating cavity reflectometer (also known in the art as an integrating sphere reflectometer), a representive schematic diagram of which is depicted in FIG. 15, and indicated generally by the numeral 40. The reflectometer comprises an integrating cavity 42 having a diffuse, highly reflective interior surface 44. A light source, such as a light emitting diode (LED) 46 is disposed in a collimator 48, and emits collimated light through the cavity 42 and out a view port 50, onto a surface 52. The purpose of the collimator 48 is to form a non-divergent beam of light so that all of the light that comes into the cavity 42 from the source 46 will go out the view port 50. Any light from the source 46 that directly hits the interior surface 44 will corrupt the measurement. Light incident on the target surface 52 will be absorbed or reflected (and/or transmitted if the target surface 52 is transparent). If the cavity 42 is in contact with the target surface 52, or very close to it, the reflected light enters the cavity 42, where it is reflected by the interior surface 44 until it is absorbed or strikes an optical detector 54, such as a photodiode, disposed within the cavity 42. Light striking the optical detector 54 generates a voltage and/or current proportional to its intensity, which can be sensed and/or measured. The amount of light striking the optical detector 54 is proportional to the amount reflected from the target surface 52.
The optical density sensor 40 of the type depicted in FIG. 15 is deficient in several respects. The collimator 48 is necessarily long, and difficult to integrate into a compact image forming device. In addition, a large amount of light is lost in the collimator 48, which reduces the signal-to-noise ratio of the detected light, and requires sophisticated electronics and careful calibration to obtain satisfactory results, particularly when measuring black toner, which is very absorptive and reflects relatively little light into the cavity 42. Finally, because the target surface 52 is moving (e.g., an intermediate transfer belt, media sheet or media sheet transport belt), the cavity 42 cannot contact the target surface 52, but rather must be disposed some distance above it. This distance has a strong influence on the detected signal level, since with increasing distance, more reflected light escapes and is not captured by the cavity 42. Any variation in this distance prohibits repeatable measurements; however the distance often varies as a function of age, mechanical mounting tolerances, belt motion, temperature, or even due to inconsistent belt thickness.


An imaging apparatus has an emission device to emit X-rays and a detection device to detect X-rays. A detector collimator is located between the patient space and the detection device. The emission device and detection device operate while translating along a displacement axis, to take a plurality of acquisitions. The imaging apparatus has a setting device to modify a dimension of a collimator slit.

In particular, the instant invention is related to an imaging apparatus comprising:                an emission device adapted to emit X-rays, in an irradiation plane comprising an incidence direction,        a detection device adapted to detect X-rays,
a patient space being defined between said emission device and detection device, and adapted to receive a patient to be imaged,                a detector collimator located between said patient space and said detection device, said detector collimator comprising a X-ray absorbing plate in which a X-ray transparent detector slit is formed,        a motoring device adapted to cause a relative movement of the emission device, the detection device and the detector collimator relative to the patient, along a displacement axis normal to the irradiation plane,
wherein said detector slit has at least one dimension, along the displacement axis,                a control device adapted to cause the emission device and detection device to operate during said movement, so as to take a plurality of acquisitions, each taken along the same incidence direction, and each in a respective one of a plurality of different positions along said displacement axis.
EP-A-1 168 249 already describes such an imaging apparatus, which is very beneficial in that it is operable to take a radiograph of a full segment of the patient (sometimes even the full body).
Due to the usefulness of the apparatus as described above, it is to be applied in an ever-broadening range of applications.
The instant invention has notably for object to facilitate the use of the above apparatus in a wide range of applications.


A focus evaluation technique for photolithography equipment is disclosed. This technique includes providing a substrate having a photoresist coating for treatment by the equipment. The equipment is activated to focus a first part of a image on a region of the surface and defocus a second part of the image relative to the region. The region is tilted relative to an image plane defined by the equipment. This activation is repeated for each of a number of spaced-apart regions along the surface. The substrate is processed to provide a pattern for each of the regions corresponding to the first and second parts. The equipment is characterized from the pattern for each of the regions. This characterization may result from inspection of the pattern relative to reference marks provided for each region. Focus information for the equipment which accounts for lens heating may be determined from this inspection.

The present invention relates to lithography equipment for processing semiconductor wafers.
Step and repeat lithography devices--sometimes called "wafer steppers"--facilitate the mass production of Integrated Circuits (ICs). Typically, this equipment projects an image onto a photosensitive coating of a semiconductor wafer to impart a corresponding pattern. This pattern may be used to selectively etch or deposit material to form desired semiconductor devices. U.S. Pat. No. 5,448,332 to Sakakibara et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,286,963 to Torigoe; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,191,200 to Van Der Werf et al. provide representative examples of lithographic equipment used for IC manufacture.
Proper focus is an important aspect of wafer stepper performance. Unfortunately, most conventional focusing schemes are time intensive, complex, and fail to evaluate focus under typical production conditions. As a result, equipment focus variation during production, such as might result from the gradual heating of equipment lenses, is generally not characterized as well as otherwise desired.
Thus, a need exists for a technique to evaluate lithographic equipment that accounts for production conditions in a simple, cost-effective manner. The present invention satisfies this demand and provides other significant advantages and benefits.

System for monitoring optical properties of photolithography equipment


A request to deploy a next version of a software component in a cloud environment is received. An analysis of a number of dependencies among software components of the cloud environment is received. Deployment of the next version of the component is scheduled based on the analysis. The next version of the software component is deployed in the cloud environment in accordance with the scheduled deployment. The next version of the software component is quarantined until a predefined criteria is satisfied. In one aspect, the predefined criteria is defined based on error rate of the next version of the software component. In a further aspect, the predefined criteria is defined based on received analysis among the components. Upon satisfying the predefined criteria, the next version of the software component is released from the quarantine.

Quality management procedures for software components are typically due before their deployment. The software components may be tested and validated, for example, to ensure a standard level of their quality. In a classical "on-premise" computer system environment, software components part of that environment and the components to be deployed, are assembled and tested altogether. In an "on-premise" environment, the software components and the hardware systems used to run these components are typically operated by a single entity or single owner, for example, a customer of the software provider. Thus, when software updates, new features, security enhancements, and so on, are offered by the software provider, the respective owner or customer has the flexibility to plan and implement unilaterally the deployment process of these updates or features. For example, the owner may create a test replica that resembles and corresponds to the "on-premise" computer system environment, in which test replica the offered software components are deployed, tested, and validated. After the components have been successfully tested and validated in the test environment, the owner may deploy them to the production system environment, which operates with actual business data. Therefore, the deployment process is planned, managed and organized by a single entity.
Unlike the "on-premise" environment, software components in a cloud computing environment are owned, developed, and operated by various entities or owners. Also, it is common that components developed by one entity may be reused by others, forming a network of interdependent components. Consequently, various components that are interconnected and dependent on each other may be managed by different entities. Furthermore, it is common that the number of dependencies among the components grows with significant rate with the number of components available in the cloud environment. Accordingly, in a cloud environment, it is unfeasible to organize a deployment process as in an "on-premise" environment, where new versions of software components are received, tested, validated, and rolled out at once and unilaterally by the respective owner. In the cloud environment, components are deployed ad hoc as dictated by the deployment requests of the different entities.

Scheduled and quarantined software deployment based on dependency analysis


A method for measuring distortion of a projection objective, which includes: obtaining a plurality of first positional deviations between two groups of patterns formed respectively after two exposures performed in a same exposure field during a stepping and exposing process of the reticle stage (S21); obtaining a plurality of second positional deviations between two groups of patterns formed respectively after another two exposures performed in a same exposure field during a stepping and exposing process of the workpiece stage (S22); subtracting motional errors of the reticle stage and/or workpiece stage from each of the plurality of first and second positional deviations to obtain corresponding first and second corrected deviations (S43, S44); calculating differences each between a pair of corrected deviations (S45); and calculating the distortion of the projection objective by a fitting process (S46).

Lithography, also known as photolithography, has been widely used in the manufacturing of integrated circuits. This technology employs a lithographic system to expose and transfer a reticle pattern onto a photoresist. As the lithographic system ultimately determines the critical dimension of an integrated circuit being manufactured, its precision is of great significance to a lithography process. During exposure, a silicon wafer coated with photoresist is sucked on a wafer chuck, and its top surface shall be set at an optimum image plane height to achieve the best imaging result. A lithography machine is a device used in the manufacturing of integrated circuits. It can be used in, but not limited to, lithography apparatuses for integrated circuits, liquid crystal display (LCD) panels, photomasks, micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMSs)/micro-opto-mechanical systems (MOMSs), advanced packaging, printed circuit boards, and also in PCB processing apparatuses, etc.
The following two methods are majorly adopted for measuring distortion of a projection objective during the operation of a lithography machine in the prior art.
The first method is to measure the image quality of a projection objective by using reticle alignment sensors of a lithography machine. Such method is disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,333,175 and WO94/01808. In this method, as an optical path passes through the objective during the alignment of the reticle, distortion of the objective can be reflected by the alignment results. However, drawbacks of this method include: firstly, both interferometer and reticle alignment system of the lithography machine are required to have a high performance as the precision of the objective distortion measurement is highly dependent on the repeatability of the measurement of reticle alignment marks; secondly, the method is relied on specific reticle alignment approaches. For example, it may not provide satisfactory measurement results when the lithography machine adopts a charge coupled device (CCD) alignment approach or the like. Further, the manufacturing and processing of an alignment mark grating is highly complicated, and hence will lead to a high cost in the fabrication of a reticle having a high-precision alignment mark array. Moreover, high-order distortion itself will affect the reticle alignment sensors during the detection of alignment positions, and therefore limits the applicability of this method. As a result, the method is only suited for measuring low-order distortions but not high-order distortions of an objective.
The second method is to measure the distortions of a projection objective by using image quality sensors. Such method is disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 0,136,070, 0,144,043, 0,264,827 and 6,650,399. Such sensors, with high precision, are specially designed for the measurement of objective image quality, including high-order distortions and performance of the objective. However, these sensors typically have a delicate and complex structure, and in particular, optical elements of these sensors require extremely expensive manufacturing technology. Moreover, the sensors must cooperate with a high-performance lithography machine to play the best performance in objective distortion measurement. For these reasons, except some most high-end lithography machines, currently used common ones cannot afford to be equipped with such sensors, and hence the method has a low adaptability for lithography machines.
Thus, there is a need for a highly adaptable high-precision method for measuring projection objective distortion of lithography machines.

Method for measuring distortion of projection objective

SHANGHAI MICRO ELECTRONICS EQUIPMENT CO., LTD.


Methods and apparatus are disclosed for the measurement of lipocalin-2 in body fluids (including but not limited to blood, serum, plasma, urine, saliva, tear, etc.) by an assay such as an immunoassay or an immunotest for (1) the prediction of risk of future cardiovascular diseases; and (2) the determination of the likelihood that certain individuals will benefit to a greater or lesser extent from the use of certain treatments designed to prevent and/or treat cardiovascular diseases.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the use of lipocalin-2 as a diagnostic marker for heart risk, chronic heart disease and stroke risk. Specifically, the present invention relates to the evaluation of risk and progression of these risks by measuring the concentration of circulating lipocalin-2 in a subject and comparing the measured level to lipocalin-2 levels within a standardized or standard population.
2. Background
Cardiovascular disease remains the most common cause of morbidity and mortality in the developed world. Therefore, prevention of cardiovascular disease is an area of major public health importance. Currently, several risk factors for future cardiovascular disease have been described and are in wide clinical use in the detection of individuals at high risk, such as evaluations of total and HDL cholesterol levels. However, a large number of cardiovascular diseases occur in individuals with apparently low to moderate risk profiles, and the ability to identify such patients is limited. Moreover, accumulating data suggests that the beneficial effects of certain preventive and therapeutic treatments for patients at risk for or known to have cardiovascular disease differ in magnitude among different patient groups. At this time, however, data describing diagnostic tests to determine whether certain therapies can be expected to be more or less effective are lacking.
Lipocalin-2, also known as 24p3 (1) and neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) (2), is a 25 kDa secretory glycoprotein that was originally identified in mouse kidney cells and human neutrophil granules. It belongs to the lipocalin superfamily that consists of over 20 small secretory proteins, including RBP4, fatty acid binding proteins (FABP), major urinary proteins (MUP), apolipoprotein D (apoD) and prostaglandin D synthases (PGDS) (3). The common feature of this protein family is their capacity to bind and transport small lipophilic substances, such as free fatty acids, retinoids, arachidonic acid, and various steroids (4). Although it has previously been reported that lipocalin-2 binds weakly with leukotriene B4 and lipopolysaccharides (5), its high affinity endogenous ligands remain to be identified. In addition to neutrophils, lipocalin-2 is expressed in several other tissues, including liver, lung, kidney, adipocytes, and macrophages (6-8). Several inflammatory stimuli, such as lipopolysaccharides and "IL-1β", can markedly induce lipocalin-2 expression and secretion in these cells (6, 9). Notably, the pro-inflammatory transcription factor NF-kappaB has been shown to transactivate lipocalin-2 expression through binding with a consensus motif within the promoter region of the lipocalin-2 gene (10), suggesting that this secretory protein might be involved in the inflammatory responses.
Elevated plasma lipocalin-2 levels was recently found associated with increased proteolytic activity in atherosclerotic lesions and implicated as renal failure following ischemic injury, cisplatin nephrotoxicity, or infection (11-15). The partial association of lipocalin-2 with matrix metallopeptidase 9 suggests that lipocalin-2 may exert modulatory actions on MMP9 by protecting MMP9 from degradation (2, 16), and preserving its enzymatic activity. A recent study demonstrated MMP9 and lipocalin-2 co-localized in macrophages and smooth muscle cells (SMC) in human atherosclerotic plaques. In situ zymphography showed higher MMP9 activity where lipocalin-2 are more expressed, indicating the potential role of lipocalin-2 in modulating MMP9 activity and destabilizing plaque (15).

Lipocalin-2 as a prognostic and diagnostic marker for heart and stroke risks

Versitech Limited and R & C Biogenius Limited