A plant for the heat treatment of solids containing iron oxide includes a fluidized bed reactor. The reactor includes at least one gas supply tube at least partly surrounded by an annular chamber in which a stationary annular fluidized bed is located, and a mixing chamber being located above the upper orifice region of the at least one gas supply tube. The gas flowing through the at least one gas supply tube entrains solids from the stationary annular fluidized bed-into the mixing chamber when passing through the upper orifice region of the at least one gas supply tube.

Such method and a plant are known for instance from DE 44 10 093 C1, in order to reduce iron-oxide-containing solids such as iron ores, iron ore concentrates or the like. For this purpose, iron-oxide-containing ore is introduced into the fluidized-bed reactor and fluidized with heated reduction gas. The solids are entrained by the gas stream and separated from the exhaust gas in a downstream separator, in order to be recirculated to the reactor. For further processing, solids are withdrawn from the lower region of the reactor.
However, this direct reduction in the fluidized-bed reactor involves the risk that above the distributor grid (gas distributor), which is typically used for distributing the reduction gas, excess temperatures are obtained, as the reduction gas has a high temperature for heating the solids. At the same time, the mass and heat transfer conditions are regarded as unsatisfactory due to the only limited solids retention time of e.g. 20 minutes and the only moderate relative velocities between gas and solids. Due to the additional introduction of exhaust gases of a downstream reduction stage into the reactor, the reactor must have a complicated design, for instance with a diameter reduced by about 30% in the vicinity of the exhaust gas inlet. In addition, the gas supply conduits are gated at an angle, in order to prevent a clogging of the conduit to which dust-laden (secondary) gas is admitted, and to allow that solids which have entered the conduit fall back into the reactor.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and plant for the heat treatment of solids containing iron oxide


A bicycle assistance device for assisting a young rider in learning to ride a bicycle includes a handle mounted in a mount through a quick release connection. In this way, the handle may be quickly removed from the bicycle if the assistance device is no longer being utilized. Preferably, the handle extends for a great distance when compared to the size of the mount such that when the handle is removed, the great bulk of the assistance device no longer provides a hindrance to the rider.

This invention relates to a device which allows a first person to assist a second person in learning to ride a bicycle.
In the prior art, children typically learn to ride bicycles by first utilizing training wheels. Training wheels essentially include two smaller wheels on each side of the rear wheel of the bicycle. At some point, the training wheels are removed. It is typically a challenge for the new rider to learn to ride the bicycle without training wheels.
Several devices have been proposed which allow a second person to assist the new rider in learning to ride the bicycle without training wheels. These devices could be generally described as handles of one sort or another which allow the second person to hold the bicycle as the rider rides the bicycle. The device prevents the rider from falling when initially learning to ride the bicycle without training wheels.
Typically, the handles are bolted to the bicycle. A device which is fixed to the bicycle is not as beneficial as would be desired. During the rider's learning period, it may be desirable to periodically ride the bicycle without any such assistance device on the bicycle. In fact, within a single training session, it may be desirable to sometimes use and sometimes not use the handle. The prior art devices which require the handle to bolt to the bicycle do not allow easy removal of the handle.
One proposed handle uses hook and loop type fasteners connections which could be removed. However, this device does not provide a secure connection to the bicycle.
In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to disclose an assistance device which allows quick removal of the handle.


The invention relates to a method of manufacturing a spring for a timepiece, including the following steps: (a) forming a body using first and second metallic materials secured to each other; (b) decreasing the section of the body; and winding the body to form the spring. The invention also relates to the spring obtained via the method. The invention concerns the field of regulating members for timepieces.

Seeking the lowest possible variation of rate for a mechanical timepiece movement is known. However, it is very difficult to achieve this particularly because of the sensitivity of the sprung balance assembly to variations in temperature and magnetic fields.
EP Patent No. 1 039 352 discloses an alloy balance spring made of a particular alloy, whose external surface has an oxide coating. The document discloses a balance spring, which is thermocompensated, i.e., its thermoelastic coefficient, also called the Young's modulus thermal coefficient, remains approximately close to zero, and whose sensitivity to magnetic fields is very low. However, the spring is very difficult to implement, which leads to a very high reject rate and cost price.

Thermocompensated spring and method for manufacturing the same


A circuit arrangement for switching-through (transit switching) of RF-signals is provided. The signals from several RF-signal sources are switched via controlled diode paths wherein capacitance diodes are used for achieving a high value of decoupling between sources in the unenergized state.

The present invention concerns an RF signal switch for providing a high degree of isolation between sources in both the energized and de-energized condition.
It is common for several high frequency (RF) signal sources to be switched at the tuner inputs of an RF receiver such as a television receiver or the like. In such an arrangement it must be guaranteed, that there is sufficient de-coupling between the signal sources. In the United States, the FCC requires attenuation values of more than 80 db for frequencies up to 220 MHz. These values must also be observed in the shut-off condition. Often the RF signal sources are switched-over by the assistance of special relays. In order to make these relays usable for radio frequency, they must be realized using a stripline technique. However, the stripline relay technique is very expensive, and the space required for such a relay and the measures concerning construction and circuitry are very great. Additionally, the life expectancy is limited due to the moving parts.
The present invention is directed to a circuit arrangement overcoming such deficiencies.

Circuit arrangement for switching of RF signals


Embodiments of the present invention provide a method for automatic data replication and a terminal. The method includes: after a data link to a peer end is established, send to the peer end a search request used for searching for a second folder whose folder name is the same as that of a first folder, where the search request includes a folder name of the first folder; when the peer end determines that the peer end includes the second folder, receiving attribute information of each piece of second data in the second folder, where the attribute information of each piece of second data is sent by the peer end; when the attribute information of the second data is inconsistent with attribute information of first data in the first folder, sending a replication request to the peer end.

Nowadays a user owns multiple terminals such as a desktop computer, a notebook computer, a mobile phone, and an iPad, and the user often needs to replicate some data such as music and a document from a desktop computer to a mobile phone or an iPad, or replicate some data such as a photo and a video from a mobile phone to a desktop computer.
However, a data cable is usually required to connect two terminals during conventional replication between terminals, and then a user manually replicates or moves a required file to another terminal. Therefore, data replication between two or more terminals is very time-consuming for the user.
For this reason, a kind of storage that data of all users is stored in a network and a user downloads data when necessary, for example, cloud storage, further emerges in the prior art. However, it is very troublesome for the user to search for a required file. However, cloud storage not only requires the support of a wide area network but also produces a communication traffic fee and a service fee for cloud management, so that it is quite inconvenient for a user to use.
Therefore, how to implement automatic data replication between two or more terminals becomes a technical problem that needs to be solved currently.

Method for automatic data replication and terminal


The present invention relates to a herbal mixture extract of Rehmanniae Radix Preparata and Acanthopanacis Cortex and a composition comprising the same for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis. The herbal mixture extract of the present invention enhances the expression of osteoprotegerin (OPG) in osteoblasts and effectively inhibits the generation and activation of osteoclasts, so that it can be effectively used for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis.

Bone is calcified connective tissue joined to muscle, which has hard and thick calcified surface, carries out the function of supporting body by keeping balance and protects organs. The inner bone marrow is myeloid tissue playing a key role in calcium metabolism. Bone is composed of organic substances such as collagen, osteocalcin and osteonectin, inorganic substances such as calcium, phosphorus and fluorine and water. Bone formation and bone resorption are necessary daily processes in vivo. Bone formation is stimulated by low dose of parathyroid hormone, androgen, estrogen, fluorine, phosphorus, etc and bone resorption is stimulated by physical decompression, agravity, a high dose of parathyroid hormone and adrenocortical steroid, etc. Thus, bone metabolism is regulated by the balance between bone formation and bone resorption.
Osteoporosis is caused by unbalance between bone formation and bone resorption. Precisely, osteoporosis progresses when bone resorption outpaces bone formation. With osteoporosis, calcified bone tissue density decreases and thus compact substance of bone is lost gradually, leading to the expansion of marrow cavity. As symptoms progress, which means bone loss is increasing, fracture occurs frequently even with a minimum impulse. Bone tissue is a dynamic tissue which is designed to carry out repeatedly bone formation by osteoblasts and destroy and bone resorption by osteoclasts.
Bone resorption is processed by osteoclasts and a receptor activator of NF-B receptor (RANKL) is essential for the generation and activation of osteoclasts. RANKL exists in osteoblasts and mesenchymal cells and is bound to a receptor activator of NF-B receptor (RANK) [Hofbauer L. C., Khosla S., Dunstan C. R., Lacey D. L., Boyle W. J., Riggs B. L., The roles of osteoprotegerin and osteoprotegerin ligand in the paracrine regulation of bone resorption. J Bone Miner Res., 15(1):2-12, 2000]. Osteoprotegerin (OPG), produced in osteoblasts, acts as a decoy receptor of RANKL to intercept the binding of RANKL and RANK, resulting in the inhibition of differentiation of osteoclast precursors into osteoclasts and activation of osteoclasts [Kong Y. Y., Feige U., Sarosi I., Bolon B., Tafuri A., Morony S., Capparelli C., Li J., Elliott R., McCabe S., Wong T., Campagnuolo G., Moran E., Bogoch E. R., Van G., Nguyen L. T., Ohashi P. S., Lacey D. L., Fish E., Boyle W. J., Penninger J. M.: Activated T cells regulate bone loss and joint destruction in adjuvant arthritis through osteoprotegerin ligand. Nature, 402:304-309, 1999; Suda T., Takahashi N., Udagawa N., Jimi E., Gillespie M. T., Martin T. J.: Modulation of osteoclast differentiation and function by the new members of the tumor necrosis factor receptor and ligand families. Endocr Rev, 20(3):345-357, 1999; Aubin J. E., Bonnelye E.: Osteoprotegerin and its ligand: a new paradigm for regulation of osteoclastogenesis and bone resorption. Osteoporos Int, 11(11):905-913, 2000].
Osteoporosis is divided into primary and secondary types; primary osteoporosis is exemplified by senile osteoporosis and post menopausal osteoporosis, and secondary osteoporosis is developed as a complication of hyperthyroidism, hyperparathyroidism, hyperadrenocorticism, pregnancy, prolonged fixation (for example, plaster cast fixation), malnutrition, drugs, cancer or other chronic diseases.
The cause of primary osteoporosis has not been disclosed, yet various factors seem to be involved. It is assumed that osteoporosis is developed by unbalance of bone metabolism by aging, calcium deficiency, excessive parathyroid hormone, calcitonin deficiency, active vitamin D deficiency, estrogen deficiency, insufficient exercise, etc. Factors affecting calcium metabolism are parathyroid hormone (PTH), calcitonin (CT) and 1,25-(OH)2D3, etc. Parathyroid hormone involved in calcium metabolism counter acts calcitonin secreted in C-cells, parafollicular cells of thyroid gland. As a polypeptide, calcitonin having a molecular weight of 3,500˜4,000 mediates the deposition of calcium salts in bone. That is, calcitonin reduces blood calcium and magnesium, and phosphate and hydroxyproline in urine. Parathyroid hormone (PTH) is also a polypeptide having molecular weight of 8447. Parathyroid hormone activates osteoclasts, resulting in the increase of bone resorption and activity of vitamin D3 in small intestinal mucosa. So, PTH increases blood calcium and magnesium, and hydroxyproline and phosphate (PO43—) in urine. Estradiol, asteroid secreted in ovary, activates osteoblasts in bone, thereby inhibits bone resorption.
Post menopausal women exhibit lower level of estrogen, and as a result, the level of blood calcitonin as well as 1,25-(OH)2D3 synthesis in kidney is reduced, while the level of PTH is elevated. Accordingly, productions of interleukin 6 (IL-6) and prostaglandin are promoted, resulting in the decrease of calcium absorption in small intestine and the increase of bone loss by active osteoclast mediated bone resorption. As a result, osteoporosis is developed. In general, when bone resorption outpaces bone formation, joint dysfunction, gradual vertebral malformation, minor fracture in vertebra and other regions, lowered mobility by pain (in particular lumbo-dorsal pain) and contracted kidney by kyphosis are observed.
Osteoporosis is characterized more by bone decrease in amount leading to fractures including femur fracture or vertebral fracture than by its symptoms, and has been a public health problem limiting public activities for long-term. So, 15% of causes of death of the aged are attributed to osteoporosis. Bone density is affected by genetic factors, nutrition, hormone changes, exercise and habits. Aging, insufficient exercise, low weight, smoking, low calcium diet, menopause and ovariectomy are known as major causes of osteoporosis.
In the meantime, it is known that black people exhibit lower bone resorption level than white people, meaning black people have bigger bone mass. The peak bone mass is observed between age 14 and 18, and then reduces 1% per year. In particular, bone is continuously decreased from the age of 30 in women, and is rapidly reduced after menopause by hormone change.
Osteoporosis, more or less, is inevitable in the aged, especially in post menopausal women, so osteoporosis and its therapeutic agent have been in the center of our concern as an aging population grows in advanced countries.
The treatment of bone diseases forms approximately 130 billion dollar-market throughout the world, which is assumed to be growing further. Thus, numbers of research teams and pharmaceutical companies have invested to develop a therapeutic agent for bone diseases and an inhibitor for bone resorption.
Osteoporosis-related studies have been focused on inorganic substances in bone, specifically on calcium and phosphorus metabolism, so far. However, concrete pathogenic mechanism has not been disclosed, yet.
A therapeutic agent for osteoporosis being used today is exemplified by bisphosphonate products (alendronate, etidronate), hormone products (raloxifene), vitamin D products, calcitonin products and calcium products, etc. However, bisphosphonate products have problems of low absorption rate, troublesome administration methods and inducing esophagitis. Hormone products require life-time administration, which has possibility of carrying side effects such as breast cancer, uterine cancer, cholelithiasis and thrombosis, etc. Vitamin D products are expensive but not much effective. Calcitonin products have also problems of high costs and hard administration. Calcium products have less side effects but are limited to rather prevention than treatment.
Short-term administration of a drug is not much effective for the treatment of osteoporosis, and thus long-term administration of a drug is inevitable. Therefore, a novel agent having less side effects but more medicinal effects is required for long-term administration.
The present inventors, thus, have studied on various physiological activities of Rehmanniae Radix Preparata and Acanthopanacis Cortex. And the inventors finally completed the present invention by confirming that a herbal mixture extract of Rehmanniae Radix Preparata and Acanthopanacis Cortex has no toxicity, enhances the expression of osteoprotegerin, a protein inhibiting generation and activation of osteoclasts, and suppresses osteoclast proliferation, so that the mixture can be effectively used for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis.


Disclosed embodiments relate to an ocean-going vessel that includes an airborne wind turbine to generate power. The generated power can be used for an electrodialysis system that extracts carbon dioxide (CO2) from seawater and/or for an electrolysis system that produces hydrogen (H2), both of which are disposed on the ocean-going vessel. The ocean-going vessel further includes a refinery system that may use a mixture of the H2 and CO2 gases that are to produce a fuel or chemical. In an example embodiment, the mixture of the H2 and CO2 gases may be processed to produce a synthetic fuel, which in turn may be processed to produce ethanol.

Unless otherwise indicated herein, the materials described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
There is a great amount of captured CO2 in the world's oceans and seas. This is the result of CO2 in the atmosphere dissolving in seawater. Thus, as more CO2 is released into the atmosphere, the amount of CO2 in the oceans and seas continues to rise. This is problematic for various reasons, such as the fact that increased CO2 levels in the ocean makes the ocean more acidic.
In particular, the reaction of CO2 with seawater produces carbonic acid as follows: CO2+H2O→H2CO3. Carbonic acid is diprotic, and thus disassociates in two ways, releasing hydrogen ions (H+) and either bicarbonate (HCO3−) or carbonate (CO32−) ions. Both dissociations can occur simultaneously, with the amount of dissociated carbonic acid that releases bicarbonate as compared carbonate varying according to the pH of the water. In typical seawater, the majority of CO2 dissociation releases bicarbonate. In both cases, the release of hydrogen ions increases the acidity of the seawater (i.e., lowers the pH of the seawater).

Wind-powered vessel for removal of carbon dioxide from seawater


A method for enriching a mixture of a first fluid and a second fluid in the second fluid by separating at least a portion of the first fluid from the mixture of the first fluid and the second fluid; directing the separated first fluid into a jet pump; injecting a power fluid into the jet pump to form a mixture of the power fluid and the separated first fluid; discharging the mixture of power fluid and separated first fluid; and recovering the enriched mixture.

In many oil fields the oil bearing formation comprises a gas cap zone and an oil bearing zone. Many of these fields produce a mixture of oil and gas with the gas-to-oil ratio (GOR) increasing as the field ages. This is a result of many factors well known to those skilled in the art.
The produced mixture of oil and gas is typically separated into an oil portion and a gas portion at the surface. The gas portion may be marketed as a natural gas product, reinjected into the gas cap to maintain pressure therein, or the like. Further, many such fields are located in parts of the world where it is difficult to economically transport the gas to market; therefore, the reinjection of the gas into the gas cap preserves the availability of the gas as a resource in the future as well as maintaining pressure in the gas cap.
Such wells may produce gas/oil mixtures having a GOR of over 25,000 and comprise less than 1% liquids. Typically, however, a GOR from 2,500 to 4,000 is more than sufficient to carry the oil to the surface as a gas/oil mixture.
Normally the oil is dispersed as finely divided droplets or as a mist in the gas so produced. Typically, in fields having such wells, gathering lines gather the gas/oil mixture into common lines and pass the mixture to production facilities or the like where crude oil and condensate is separated from the gas and transported as crude oil. Natural gas liquids are then recovered from the gas and optionally combined with the crude oil and condensate. Optionally, a miscible solvent which comprises carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and a mixture of hydrocarbons containing from one to about five carbon atoms may be recovered from the gas stream and used for enhanced oil recovery or the like. The remaining gas stream is then passed to a compressor where it is compressed for reinjection. The compressed gas is reinjected through injection wells, an annular section of a production well, or the like back into the gas cap.
It can be appreciated that surface facilities required for separating and returning sufficient gas to the gas cap to maintain oil production must be of substantial capacity. Clearly the substantial size of the surface equipment required to process the mixture of oil and gas, and the capacity limitations on the ability to handle the produced gas, may become a limiting factor on the quantity of oil which can be produced from the formation.
To reduce the size of the surface equipment required to process the mixture of oil and gas, U.S. Pat. No. 5,431,228 entitled "Down Hole Gas-Liquid Separator for Wells" issued Jul. 11, 1995 to Weingarten et al and assigned to Atlantic Richfield Company, discloses that an auger separator can be used downhole to separate a gas and liquid stream for separate recovery at the surface. A gaseous portion of the stream is recovered through an annular space in the well, and liquids are recovered through a production tubing.
In SPE 30637 entitled "New Design for Compact Liquid-Gas Partial Separation: Down Hole and Surface Installations for Artificial Lift Applications" by Weingarten et al, it is disclosed that auger separators as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,431,228 can be used for downhole and surface installations for gas/liquid separation. While such separations are particularly useful as discussed for artificial or gas lift applications and the like, all of the gas and liquid is still recovered at the surface for processing as disclosed. Accordingly, the surface equipment for processing gas may still impose a significant limitation on the quantities of oil which can be produced from a subterranean formation which produces oil as a mixture of gas and liquids.
To reduce the quantity of gas recovered at the surface, and hence to reduce the GOR of production fluids, co-pending patent application, Ser. No. 757,857 entitled "A Method for Increasing Oil Production from An Oil Well Producing A Mixture of Oil and Gas" filed Nov. 27, 1996, by John R. Wolflick, James L. Cawvey, Jerry L. Brady, John R. Whitworth, and David D. Hearn, and assigned to Atlantic Richfield Company, discloses using a rotating compressor mounted downhole in combination with an auger separator to separate and compress the gas downhole and inject it into the gas cap without using surface equipment.
A continuing search has been directed to the development of methods which can reliably reduce the GOR of oil and gas mixtures produced from subterranean formations, and thereby reduce the required capacity of surface equipment to process the produced oil and gas mixtures.

Method and system for increasing oil production from an oil well producing a mixture of oil and gas


Methods are described for selling, loaning, renting, or otherwise providing a retail product, such as an interactive product, that allows a consumer to participate in one or more venues. The retail product is capable of interfacing with interactive devices in the venues that are capable of producing sensory effects based on communication from and/or to the retail product. Furthermore, the retail product preferably has an independent or intrinsic value apart from the use of the product in the venues, and may include, for example, a toy wand or like toy device, apparel, and/or jewelry. In certain examples, the retail methods include tracking the consumer's use of the retail product in the venue(s). Such tracking information may be used to customize the experience of the user during a subsequent visit to the same venue or another venue.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate to providing a retail product to a consumer and, in particular, to methods for providing a retail product for interfacing with interactive devices in one or more venues.
2. Description of the Related Art
Games, play structures and other similar entertainment systems are well known for providing play and interaction among children and adults. A wide variety of commercially available play toys and games are also known for providing valuable learning and entertainment opportunities for children, such as role playing, reading, memory stimulation, tactile coordination and the like.
However, there is always a demand for more exciting and entertaining games and toys that increase the learning and entertainment opportunities for children and stimulate creativity and imagination.

Interactive entertainment systems and methods


An apparatus images a surface. An imager stage linearly translates the surface in a first direction. A fiber optic bundle has a first end of parallel first fiber ends defining a linear input aperture perpendicular to the first direction and parallel to the surface, and a second end defining a generally circular output aperture. Each first fiber end optically communicates with the output aperture. A radiation beam linearly scans and interacts with the surface below the input aperture to produce a light signal that is collected by the input aperture and transmitted by the fiber bundle to the output aperture. A photodetector detects the light signal at the output aperture. A processor processes the detected light.

The present invention relates to the imaging arts. It finds particular application in conjunction with low and high-density cell detection in blood smears, biological assays, and the like, and will be described with particular reference thereto. However, it is to be appreciated that the present invention will also find application in imaging other types of low- or high-density features on various substantially planar surfaces and samples, such as imaging semiconductor wafers, imaging particulate contaminants in fluids or thin solid films, and so forth, with such imaging finding specific uses in the printing arts, electronic arts, medical arts, and other scientific and engineering areas.
With particular attention to cell detection, it has been determined by the inventors that a beneficial aspect to which the present application may be applied is to scan a large number of cells, such as 1 to 10 million cells, at a time. Thereafter, the concepts of the application may be used to identify either a small number of these cells, such as rare cells found in cancer, etc., or to be able to characterize each one of the scanned cells for use in research applications.
Clinical prenatal care benefits from directly accessing fetal tissues. In conventional amniocentesis, amniotic fluid surrounding the fetus is directly accessed and drawn. The amniotic fluid includes fetal cells which are extracted for study. To reduce risk to the fetus, ultrasound monitoring is typically performed during the amniocentesis to ensure that the probe needle does not contact or interfere with the fetus, and the amniocentesis procedure is performed by skilled clinical personnel. Nonetheless, amniocentesis is known to increase the risk of miscarriage.
As an alternative to amniocentesis, rare fetal cells in the maternal bloodstream can be extracted. It is known in the prenatal medical arts that fetal cells cross the placental barrier and enter the maternal bloodstream. The concentration of fetal cells in the maternal bloodstream is typically on the order of one fetal cell for every one million maternal cells. Such "rare" fetal cells can be extracted by drawing maternal blood or by other fluid extraction. DNA analysis, fetal blood typing, or other clinical studies are performed on the rare fetal cells to provide information about the fetus. Unlike amniocentesis, extraction of rare fetal cells from the maternal bloodstream is isolated from the fetus and the womb, and the extraction can be performed by a broad range of medical personnel authorized to draw blood.
In the clinical oncology arts, it is recognized that cancerous cells are typically present in small concentrations in a cancer patient's bloodstream. In the case of deep malignant tumors which are inaccessible except by invasive surgery, rare cancerous cells extracted from blood or another body fluid provide a convenient and cost effective pathway for detecting a cancer, periodically monitoring cancer remission, and diagnosing a cancer type. Rare cell analysis targeting cancerous cells is a promising diagnostic and monitoring technique for many types of cancers, including breast, lung, colon, and prostate cancers.
In these and other rare cell studies, a problem arises because the concentration of the rare cells in the blood or other body fluid is typically very low. In a typical rare cell study, blood is processed to remove cells that that are not needed. Then a fluorescent material is applied that attaches to antibodies, which in turn selectively attach to a cell surface or cellular protein of the rare cells. The fluorescent material may be a fluorescent marker dye or any other suitable material which will identify the cells of interest. A blood smear treated in this manner, which may include the blood and/or components of the blood, is prepared and optically analyzed to identify rare cells of the targeted type. For statistical accuracy it is important to obtain as large a number of cells as required for a particular process, in some studies at least ten rare cells should be identified, requiring a sampling of at least ten million cells for a one-in-one million rare cell concentration. Such a blood smear typically occupies an area of about 100 cm2. It is to be understood, however, that this is simply one example and other numbers of cells may be required for statistical accuracy for a particular test or study.
Turning to research applications, the scanning of a large number of cells and the characterization of each of the scanned cells may also have substantial benefits. For example, a hundred different patches, each containing 10,000 cells, may be generated where each patch will receive a different protocol or process. Thereafter it may be useful to determine how each cell on a specific patch is affected by the protocol or process which it has undergone. One procedure of achieving such detection would be to apply a fluorescent material, and to identify those cells to which the material has become attached either to the cell's surface, cellular proteins or other portions of the cell.
A particular area of research which may benefit from the present concepts includes HIV research, where it is known the virus enters into a cell causing the cell to produce the viral protein on its membrane. However, the produced viral protein exists in very small amounts, and therefore it is difficult to detect affected cells with existing technology.
A problem with cell analysis is the use of conventional technology which have relatively small fields of view (FOV), such as microscopes. To overcome the FOV limitation, cell analyses often employ automated high-speed scanning which however produces substantial undesirable acceleration forces on the scanned stage.
Another problem in cell studies, for both high and low density situations, is that the fluorescence intensity produced by treated cells is low, around 1000–2000 flours (fluorescent molecules). A high numerical aperture for the light-collecting aperture is preferred in the optical analysis system to provide good light collection.
Yet another problem in the cell studies is resolution. For example, if a cell has a diameter of about ten microns, the optics for the cell analysis preferably provides a resolution of this order. However, achieving high resolution typically requires a reduced field of view and consequently results in a decreased scanning speed and increased required sampling time.
The present invention contemplates a new and improved apparatus and method which overcomes the above-referenced problems and others.

Imaging apparatus and method employing a large linear aperture


The invention relates to a water-injected screw compressor, comprising a compressor element (2) with a housing (7) which borders a compression chamber (8) in which two rotors (9, 10) are installed, which, by means of an axle ends (13, 14; 15, 16), are borne in the housing (7) by means of water-lubricated slide bearings (1), an electric motor (3) comprising a housing (18) which carries a stator (19) at the inside, which stator surrounds a rotor (21) with a rotor shaft (22). An axle end (13) of one of the rotors (9) is directly coupled to or forms one piece with the rotor shaft (22) of the motor (3), said rotor shaft being located in the prolongation of said axle end. The rotor shaft (22) of the motor (3) is borne in at least one water-lubricated slide bearing (23).

Water-injected screw compressors often are chosen above oil-injected or oil-free screw compressors.
With oil-injected screw compressors, the produced air in fact is not free of oil.
With classic oil-free screw compressors without an injection of lubricating liquid, the compressor part is connected to the motor by means of a gearwheel case with oil lubrication. Here, the rotational speed of the rotors is higher.
Compared to such classic oil-free screw compressor, a water-injected screw compressor has a number of advantages. First, an outlet pressure up to 15 bar can be obtained in one stage instead of in two or three stages. Therefore, the compressor can be realised less expensive and more compact. Also, due to the lower working temperature, coolers may be sufficient which are simpler than with the classic oil-free screw compressors. Moreover, the water-injected screw compressor has a lower noise production and a higher efficiency. Moreover, as no oil or grease is used, no additional maintenance is necessary and the compressor is more environmental-friendly as there is no waste oil or grease.
With the water-injected screw compressor, water is injected onto the rotors in order to cool, seal and lubricate the rotors, whereby the male rotor directly drives the female rotor.
It is obvious that in this application, by "water" not necessarily 100% pure water is intended. This water may comprise additives, such as anti-corrosive means and/or freezing point depressing means.
Water is also injected for lubricating the slide bearings in which the male and the female rotors are borne by means of axle ends.
In the compression chamber, the air is compressed and driven out together with the water through an outlet. The air-water mixture then is transported off to a vessel/water separator, where the major part of the water is separated. The water is collected in the vessel, at the bottom thereof, and the compressed air is transported off at the top.
The speed range of a water-injected screw compressor is higher than that of an oil-injected screw compressor, amongst others, due to the lower viscosity and the higher heat capacity of water. If a water-injected screw compressor should be driven directly by an electric motor, this motor thus would have to run faster than with an oil-injected screw compressor, which leads to problems for the bearing of the motor as well as for the cooling of the motor.

Atlas Copco Airpower, Naamloze Vennootschap


A centrifuge rotor assembly includes a chamber assembly, a bearing support, and a counterweight that is substantially diametrically opposed to the bearing support with respect to the chamber assembly. The chamber assembly receives a processing chamber of a fluid circuit, while the bearing support receives a portion of an umbilicus that is fluidly connected to the processing chamber. The bearing support and counterweight are rotated about a central axis of the chamber assembly by an electric drive of the centrifuge rotor assembly, with the bearing support and counterweight remaining substantially diametrically opposed to each other with respect to the chamber assembly while being rotated about the central axis. The electric drive may rotate the bearing support and counterweight at a plurality of different speeds, with the counterweight automatically moving with respect to the bearing support between radially innermost and radially outermost positions to balance the centrifuge rotor assembly.

Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates to centrifugal fluid separation systems. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to systems and methods for automatically balancing a centrifuge.
Description of Related Art
Whole blood is routinely separated into its various components, such as red blood cells, platelets, and plasma. In typical blood processing systems, whole blood is drawn from a source, the particular blood component or constituent is removed and collected, and the remaining blood constituents are returned to the source or to a different recipient. If the source is a human or animal donor, an advantage of such a procedure is that less time is needed for the donor's body to return to normal, and donations can be made at more frequent intervals than when whole blood is collected. This increases the overall supply of blood constituents, such as plasma and platelets, made available for health care.
Whole blood is typically separated into its constituents through centrifugation. This requires that the whole blood be passed through a centrifuge after it is withdrawn from the source and before it is pumped to the recipient. To avoid contamination, the blood is usually contained within a sealed, sterile system during the entire centrifugation process. Typical blood processing systems thus include a permanent, reusable centrifuge assembly or "hardware" that spins and pumps the blood, and a disposable, sealed and sterile fluid circuit that actually makes contact with the blood. The centrifuge assembly receives and spins a portion of the fluid circuit (which may be referred to as a processing chamber) during a collection procedure, with the blood separating into its constituent parts within the processing chamber. After use, the fluid circuit is typically discarded, while the centrifuge assembly may be used again with new fluid circuits.
To avoid the need for rotating seals, and to preserve the sterile and sealed integrity of the fluid circuit, blood processing systems often utilize centrifuges that operate on the "one-omega, two-omega" operating principle. This principle is disclosed in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 4,120,449 to Brown et al., which is hereby incorporated by reference, and enables centrifuges to spin a sealed, closed fluid circuit without the need for rotating seals and without twisting the components of the fluid circuit. Blood processing systems that make use of the principle typically include a fluid circuit that includes a processing chamber that is spun in the centrifuge and that is connected to the blood source and to a stationary portion of the centrifuge assembly through an elongated member that may be made up of one or more plastic tubes. The elongated member is commonly referred to as an "umbilicus" and is typically arranged in a question mark (or upside-down question mark) configuration with both of its end portions coaxially aligned with the axis of rotation of the centrifuge. The centrifuge chamber is rotated at "two-omega" RPM and the umbilicus is orbited around the centrifuge chamber at "one-omega" RPM. In other words, one end of the umbilicus is stationary, the other end rotates at a two-omega speed with the centrifuge chamber to which it is attached, and the intermediate portion or midsection of the umbilicus orbits about the chamber at a one-omega speed. The effect is that the end of the umbilicus, which is opposite the bag or chamber and is connected to the source via plastic tubing, does not twist up as the bag is spun. The sealed, sterile integrity of the fluid circuit is thus maintained without the need for rotating seals.
One challenge associated with centrifuge assemblies is balancing them during use. If the centrifuge assembly is not balanced, then it may operate irregularly (e.g., vibrating or wobbling), which may affect the separation of blood, as well as potentially damaging the hardware. Existing umbilicus-based centrifugation systems are typically provided with a counterweight that is positioned across from the umbilicus to help balance the centrifuge assembly, but the imbalancing effect of the umbilicus may vary during use, so there remains the need for an improved system of balancing an umbilicus-based centrifuge assembly.

Systems and methods for automatically balancing a centrifuge


A method and device for typing thinking styles. More specifically, a group interactive method and device for determining people's thinking style types which they often express in their characteristic traits of temperament and personality. More specifically, a game that is enhanced by group interactions, and in the playing of which an individual person's thinking style may be categorized into one of four distinct classes. Methods and devices of this invention are based on the foundation of a novel model for classifying individuals and groups of people's styles of thinking into four separate categories.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method and device for typing thinking styles. More specifically, this invention relates to a group interactive method and device for determining people's thinking style types which they often express in their characteristic traits of temperament and personality. More specifically, this invention relates to a game that is enhanced by group interactions, and in the playing of which, an individual person's thinking style may be categorized into one of four distinct classes. Methods and devices of this invention are based on the foundation of a novel model for classifying individuals and groups of people's styles of thinking into four separate categories.
2. Background of the Invention and Related Information
Humans have long sought to understand each other's differences in thinking styles. Five centuries before Christ, Hippocrates attempted to improve medical diagnoses by postulating four types of temperaments which he termed: Sanguine, Choleric, Phlegmatic, and Melancholic. Hippocrates ascribed such diversities in the ways people think and behave to varying influences of different bodily fluids. His temperament types, known as the four humors, have been in continual usage until modern science provided better definitions.
For thousands of years Native Americans likewise had their "Medicine Wheel" which oriented four perspectives on life to ordinal compass points around a circle. Each of their four styles were symbolized by animals as follows: the Buffalo (north) represented cool wisdom, the Mouse (south) portrayed innocent trust, the Bear (west) characterized staying in place, and the Eagle (east) illustrated illumination and vision beyond.
With the advent of modern science and medical surgery, research has increasingly traced the causes of people's differences to varying operations in the brain. The work of noted Swiss psychologist Carl Jung in the 1920's and '30s led him to gather that there were four functions of the mind, two pairs opposing each other, which he labeled "Thinking" versus "Feeling" and "Sensation" versus "Intuition." He believed that although people all possess these abilities, one of the four functions dominates a person's personality. Based on the mental functions and attitudes that Jung described, in the 1950s psychologists Isabel Myers and Katherine Briggs developed a personality test, the now widely used Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). The MBTI rates people's written responses to questions to measure four sets of opposing characteristics. Each set is a continuum with opposite ends designated by letters which denote the pair's behavioral extremes:
______________________________________ Extroversion E ......................... I Introversion Sensation S ......................... N INtuition Thinking T ......................... F Feeling Judging J ......................... P Perceiving ______________________________________
Testing identifies a person's gravitation toward one end or the other of each set of characteristics, and by the combination of which sixteen types of personalities are possible (for example, ESTJ, ISTJ, etc.). With this MBTI method, Jung's concept of a dominant function was lost in the mix, because each of the personality types is indicated by preferences for two functions plus two attitudes.
In the 1960s psycho-biologist Roger Sperry began experiments with people who previously had brain surgery to reduce symptoms of epilepsy. Because the procedure severed the nerve fibers connecting the two hemispheres of the cerebral cortex, Sperry was able to research how each hemisphere of the brain specialized in processing. From Sperry's and other "split-brain" studies as they were called, it became clear that typically each hemisphere of the brain has its own specialties of thought. The left hemisphere specializes in language, signs, logical thinking, calculation, analysis (taking things apart) and linear processing (going step by step). The right hemisphere specializes in spatial patterns, symbols, holistic thinking, visual ideation, synthesis (putting things together), and imaginative conceptualization (expanding outside the box). In addition to its own specialties, each hemisphere appears to have very rudimentary capabilities for the other hemisphere's specialties as well. From these findings people began to describe themselves and others as "left brain" or "right brain" personalities, depending on which of the two types of thinking they were most gifted.
In the 1970s and '80s, Ned Herrmann conceived of different modes of thought occurring in various regions of the brain, in the higher level cortex and lower level limbic system. His Whole Brain Model comprised four quadrants of thinking styles linked to particular regions of the brain, with processes occurring on the left or right sides as represented here:
______________________________________ A-quadrant D-quadrant Analytical, quantitative, Intuitive, holistic, logical, fact-based integrating, synthesizing B-quadrant C-quadrant Organized, sequential Interpersonal, feeling-based planned, detailed kinesthetic, emotional ______________________________________
In Herrmann's model, the four clusters of processing are typically available in each person, but one or more of the clusters is naturally dominant in a person's temperament, similar to Jung's theory. Through two decades of testing and applying his model to organizations, Herrmann amassed findings which indicate that the population is evenly distributed among these four types of thinking specialties. That is, 25% of the people show dominance in A-type analytical thinking, another 25% show dominance in B-type organized thinking, and so on around all four quadrants. This data suggests that groups and societies operate in such a way that each person's specialties of thought are balanced among the group as a whole. Although people are not all created equal, different styles of thinking appear to serve equally weighed roles in balancing each other to optimally achieve the group's common purposes. This generally fits with data in the 1970's by psychologists David Keirsey and Marilyn Bates. Their studies of married couples with Myers-Briggs testing showed an equal distribution among particular personality types: 25% were TJ's (favoring Thinking with Judging), 25% were FJ's (Feeling with Judging), 25% FP's (Feeling with Perceiving), and 25% TP's (Thinking with Perceiving). These Myers-Briggs types roughly equate to sides of the square Herrmann model (Herrman's AB side being TJ's, BC side FJ's, and so on). This data corroborates the understanding of thinking styles as a system in which each combination of thinking processes is offset and balanced by its corresponding opposite among the population as a whole.
In the 1980's Katherine Benziger modified Herrmann's model with new theories by neurosurgeon Karl Pribram. Pribram suspected that the four different modes of thought were all processed in the uppermost cerebral cortex of the brain, but in its different quadrants of the left and right hemispheres' frontal and basal lobes. Although the locations of the processing were different from Herrmann's, her four-way model of modes of thought was similar:
______________________________________ Front Left quadrant Front Right quadrant Analyzing, evaluating, Imagining, conceptualizing, making goals and decisions generating holistic images Basal Left quadrant Basal Right quadrant Sequencing, planning Harmonizing, synthesizing, details, carrying out associating expression and meaning orderly routines ______________________________________
Benziger's model, however, distinguished the right side modes so that it is easier to recognize them as thought processes which oppose those on the left. From this model, the present inventor noticed that the cutting process of analyzing opposed the connecting process of relating, and the opening process of conceiving opposed the closing process of order-setting.
Before returning to the development of the present invention, it is noted that in addition to those models already mentioned, there are now many other four-way models of temperament and personality in common use by psychologists and human development specialists. For example, the Learning Style Inventory developed in the 1970s by David Kolb uses a testing method to rate people's skills in four learning modes: Concrete Experience, Reflective Observation, Abstract Conceptualization, and Active Experimentation. From these scores, the test taker is classified as a Diverger, Converger, Accommodator, or Assimilator which relates to one's temperament. Team Resources, Inc. employs the DISC Profile System.TM. based on the theories of human behavior developed by psychologist Dr. William Marston in the 1920s and '30s. Through testing, the DISC model categorizes people into one of four types:
______________________________________ Dominance (D type) Influence (I type) Driver, director Expressive, persuasive Competitive, blunt self-starter Optimistic interest in people Compliance (C type) Steadiness (S type) Conscientious, Cautious Amicable, supporter Analytical, orderly attention Easygoing, prefers security to detail and routine ______________________________________
Again a four-way pattern of diagonal opposition is evident in the descriptions of the four types in the DISC Model, but each DISC type reads like combinations of processes on sides of the Herrmann or Benziger models. Thus, the description of D type people in the DISC roughly equates to TP's in the Myers-Briggs system (I type=FP, S type=FJ, and C type=TJ). There are other such systems which categorize temperament, personality, or behavior into four categories that are identified by letters, words, and/or animal icons. Virtually all of these systems use individual written testing and scoring to determine one's personal style.
Other related methods and devices for typing personalities exist, yet none possess the unique characteristics of the present invention. U.S. Pat. No. 4,893,819, to Donald WRIGHT involves players in turn moving game pieces around a square playing pattern as determined by a roll of dice and gathering Feature Squares which characterize aspects of their personalities. Players gather squares by answering questions on cards with two answers reflecting a pair of opposing traits. When the first player has gathered one Feature Square in each of four categories, this player is then asked questions from each of four Choice Card decks to confirm that this player's personality type matches the Feature Squares he has claimed. If they match, this player wins the game, the winning player's personality is read from one of sixteen different Personality Type Profile Cards, and the game is over. Much like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), in this game sixteen personality types are possible from the combination of four sets of opposing Feature traits (representing characteristics like Extroversion or Introversion, Judging or Perceiving, etc.)
By contrast, a preferred embodiment of the present invention categorizes players into one of four possible thinking styles (which are different from the sixteen MBTI personality types), and the game is not over until all players have learned something about themselves and others. All players using the present invention equally answer every question card drawn, each of which has four possible answers (corresponding to four thinking styles). Moves across the circular and radial playing pattern are made as responses to the questions without chance being involved. The present invention uses no dice. A player's movement toward one of the comers of the board portrays their generally consistent progression toward one of the four thinking style camps. On personal scoring sheets, players also can record each of their moves to generate a pattern of their answers which confirms their self-understanding. As each player eventually moves into the camp of their own thinking style, they then advance to a higher level of play which helps other players reach their own camps. While the WRIGHT invention plays like a conventional board game with players moving by chance and accumulating tokens toward one person winning the game, a preferred embodiment of the present invention has no winner, operates as an interactive group test, and is much simpler than the WRIGHT invention. The method of play of the present invention is not dependent on a subject theme, as the WRIGHT invention is associated with personality typing. Indeed, the method of the present invention can be used to categorize groups of players into a variety of possible four-way types, the four thinking styles being one example. The WRIGHT invention board game of individual self-discovery categorizes its single winner into one of sixteen possible personality types, whereas the present invention equally tests all players so that they all come to understand how the divergent styles among the group operate as a dynamic balanced system. With all players learning about each other through playing the game, the present invention can be instructional for group learning and team training, whereas the usefulness of the WRIGHT invention is limited to a game playing activity for the players involved.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,741,539, to John SUTTON et al. utilizes a hexagonal board and playing surface which is divided into six triangles representing six traits of personality: Tough, Tender, Stable, Changeful, Intellectual, or Emotional/Physical. Players place tokens in the triangular regions to predict the personalities of other players and themselves according to the traits listed on the playing surface within these regions. During the course of play, players take turns drawing cards with different questions having two answers, and they amass points and progress tokens as awarded by other players for their responses to the questions. The game is over when the first player has progress tokens across the outermost line of hexons in the triangular region of personality types nearest their predictor token and therefore wins the game.
A preferred embodiment of the present invention has no objective to win, no points or progress tokens are awarded, all questions are answered by all players without involving chance, no attempt is made to predict players' personalities, it portrays four different thinking styles rather than six personality traits, and the playing pattern is circular and radial within a square, not hexagonal as SUTTON's game. The present invention is unique because all players equally learn about themselves and others with their progress toward self-understanding represented both by (1) movement of a playing piece, and (2) a written tally of their moves on a personal scoring sheet. This scoring sheet allows players to take from the game a record of the various thinking styles that they favored. The objective of the SUTTON game is to amass tokens within a triangular region of the playing surface, whereas with the present invention, visual representation of progress toward a characteristic thinking style is indicated by movement of the playing piece toward a particular corner of the board. A fundamental difference is that the SUTTON invention is a conventional board game activity with a winning objective, whereas the present invention is an interactive group testing method with a key objective being the understanding of people's characteristic thinking styles and their differences.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,682,956, to Leonard KRANE is directed to a game in which two players at a time move their color coded game pieces, starting from a corner of a square board, around either of two alternate paths of movement: one as a square around the outer edge of the board, and the other as a single circle inside of and touching the square at four points. During play they roll dice to determine the number of spaces moved, land on color coded spaces which are color coded in eight colors corresponding to eight color coded sets of cards with seven questions on each side of each card, test their knowledge of each other by predicting and secretly recording how the other will respond to the true/false or the three-answer multiple-choice questions on these cards, and, upon proper prediction, are awarded Relationship Sticks that are inserted in color coded tokens representing the other player. The game is over when one of them (who is then declared the winner) has been able to insert at least one color coded Relationship Stick in each of four color coded tokens of the other. All of the color coding has to do with an eight-way distinction in "color personalities" as an application of the Luscher Color Test research that people of various personalities prefer different colors. These categorizations are not described in the abstract.
KRANE's game and preferred embodiments of the present invention are vastly dissimilar and have totally different objectives. For the present invention, the objective is not necessarily to win, no points or sticks are awarded, objects are not inserted in tokens to represent progress, more than two people can play, all questions are answered by all players without involving chance or a roll of dice, no attempt is made to predict and secretly record other players' responses, it portrays four different thinking styles represented by card suit symbols rather than eight "color personalties," and the playing pattern involves moving out from the center in a radial direction toward a corner, not around the board from a corner as in KRANE's game. Here again, the KRANE invention is a conventional game activity with a winning objective, whereas the present invention is an interactive group testing method with a key objective being the understanding of people's thinking styles.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,124,214, to Jesse PAVIS is directed to a game in which players start their game pieces from one of four comer spaces of a square board and move on a continuous main course around the periphery of the board (although other possible shapes are envisioned and a peripheral movement pattern is not the only possible route of the game course). Taking turns, they roll dice to determine the number of spaces moved then individually answer questions on cards that pertain to interpreting the meaning of dreams during various life situations. The multiple choice answers have different values (the possible interpretations being measured against the prevailing school of thought) such that the player is directed to move forward or backward various numbers of spaces. Thus the game board is treated as a scoring device. If a player lands on a corner square, then a corresponding corner card is drawn and all players answer that question and, after everyone has formed their answers, move according to its directions. The game is over when one player wins the game by reaching the last marker space on the game course. The theme of the game has to do with psychology, with board features labeled "Zodiac, Mythology, Symbols, Astrology, The Freudian Circle," etc.
Neither the subject matter of the questions, the method of play, the layout of the playing surface, nor the objectives of the PAVIS game are similar to preferred embodiments of the present invention. The PAVIS invention is a conventional game activity with a winning objective, whereas the present invention is an interactive group testing method.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,124,358, to G. H. WEEDMAN, is directed to a game in which players start their game pieces from a corner space of a rectangular board and move on a continuous track around the periphery of the board. Taking turns, they individually answer how to react to situations printed within the spaces on the playing track. Players respond to the situation by selecting an answer from a series of answer cards they have in their possession. Each reaction is rated on the basis of reasonableness of the choice as established by professional experts. The rating is displayed on an answer wheel disc mounted to the board, and by rotating the disc to his answer the player is told the number of spaces to be moved. There is an element of chance in both the situations and the responses, with the result that the player's score depends on a combination of chance and skill. The game is over when one player wins the game by reaching the last space having gone twice around the game track.
Neither the subject matter of the questions, the method of play, the layout of the playing surface, nor the objectives of the WEEDMAN game are similar to any embodiment of the present invention. The WEEDMAN invention is a conventional game activity with a winning objective, whereas the present invention is an interactive group testing method.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,877,254, to John YUSCAVAGE, is directed to a game in which players move from both ends of an S-shaped game course on a square board toward a finish space at the center to win. They roll dice to move and answer questions with answers on cards, challenged by a timing device. The questions pertain to a variety of subjects by categories. This game bears no resemblance to any embodiment of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,156,407, to Christopher MOORE, is directed to a game in which players move from a start location along a rainbow shaped arc with four adjacent playing paths with varying degrees of difficulty to reach a pot labeled "success" and win the game. The four paths have different colors, as a rainbow, and question-answer cards which determine moves are color coded to these paths. The questions and answers pertain to diverse professions or career fields. This game bears no resemblance to any embodiment of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,923,198, to Francisco DIAZ, is directed to a game which tests players' knowledge of geographical, historical, political, sociological, or other facts. In turns, players move according to a roll of dice and can move in either direction around a rectangular game course with a country map in the middle, answering fact-based questions on cards. The winner is the first player to correctly complete his scoring sheet based on his answers to the questions on the cards. This game bears no resemblance to any embodiment of the present invention.

Method and device for typing thinking styles


Disclosed are a system and method of remotely providing diagnostic procedures to a processing system. Upon being launched on a processing system, an agent process may receive data to provide one or more diagnostic procedures from a data network coupled to the processing system. One or more of the diagnostic procedures may then be executed to provide diagnostic results.

1. Field
The embodiments disclosed herein relate to processing systems. In particular, embodiments disclosed herein relate to processing systems coupled to data networks.
2. Information
Processing systems typically comprise one or more subsystems such as, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), memory (e.g., random access memory (RAM)), main board components (e.g., memory controller, I/O controllers, data bus circuitry, basic input/output system (BIOS) and other logic components which are complementary to a CPU or memory)) and software systems which may be hosted on the processing system. A processing system may also host and execute one or more diagnostic procedures to determine a state or condition of one or more of the subsystems of the processing system or other entities coupled to the processing system. Diagnostic results from such diagnostic procedures may then be used for trouble shooting or quality control purposes.
Diagnostic procedures are typically loaded to a processing system from a memory coupled to the processing system. For example, diagnostic procedures may be loaded from a hard drive or CD-ROM drive coupled to the processing system. If there are any changes to the processing system (e.g., changes to a hardware configuration) affected diagnostic procedures may be updated or modified. Such modification or updating of the diagnostic procedures may entail updating or modifying diagnostic procedures stored in the memory coupled to the processing system.


A process for preparing optically active 2,3-dihydrobenzofuran compounds which comprises subjecting a 2,3-dihydrobenzofuran compound represented by the general formula or a salt thereof to optical resolution with an optically active acid compound:

As a benzofuran derivative useful for the prevention or treatment of nerve degenerative diseases and the like and a production method thereof, WO00/34262 discloses, for example, a production method for (+)-2,2,4,6,7-pentamethyl-3-(4-methylphenyl)-2,3-dihydro-1-benzofuran-5-amine comprising optical resolution of 2,2,4,6,7-pentamethyl-3-(4-methylphenyl)-2,3-dihydro-1-benzofuran-5-amine by HPLC using a column for optical isomer separation.
The development for a convenient and industrially advantageous production method of a compound having antioxidant action itself, which is useful as medicine as well as a synthetic intermediate for an optically active 2,3-dihydrobenzofuran derivative useful as a medicine for preventing or treating nerve degenerative diseases and the like, have been desired.

Process for preparing optically active 2,3-dihydrobenzofuran compounds

Abstract: [wherein R1 and R2 are each hydrogen or an optionally substituted hydrocarbon group; R3 is an optionally substituted aromatic group; and C is a benzene ring which may further have a substituent in addition to the amino group]. The process enables industrially advantageous production of intermediates for the synthesis of optically active 2,3-dihydrobenzofuran compounds useful as preventive and/or therapeutic drugs for neurodegenerative diseases and so on.


A sampling apparatus and method for collecting chemical and biological samples is disclosed and claimed. A surface sampling apparatus is designed to simplify taking successive environmental samples using one hand. In addition, the sampling bag used with the apparatus serves as both safety barrier and transport bag and is prepared with multiple sampling surfaces and in wet or dry formats.

There are several biological sampling kits that are designed to acquire and safely transport biological specimens. Many of the items in these kits are individually packaged and require both hands for optimal use. Also, due to the fact that many of these items must be packaged individually, the user will generate a large amount of waste that will need to be managed during the course of a sampling mission.
Prior art sampling technology employs sponges, swabs, and wipes. These devices are typically individually packaged and require a labeled secondary container for transport to the laboratory for analysis. This outer container must be decontaminated prior to exiting the hot zone. This process involves several steps and generates waste at each step. Also, these procedures must be completed while wearing full personal protective equipment (PPE).
One prior art sponge-based biological sampling kit is the BiSKit® manufactured by QuickSilver Analytics, Inc. Although the device is designed to be used in a hazardous environment while dressed in mission oriented protective posture (MOPP) gear, there are multiple parts to this sampling kit. These parts include the BiSKit® unit (with aquafoam sponge), buffer, dropper lid, transport bag, port cover, as well as a wet & dry sampling instruction card and a chain-of-custody form. Once sampling is completed, the unit must be stored in a separate bag or container for decontamination and transport to the laboratory for analysis.
The 3M® Sponge-Stick is another example of a sponge-based sampling collection device. This device is a cellulose sponge attached to the end of a plastic stick that is detachable once a sample is collected. The 3M® Sponge-Stick is available in either wet or dry formats. Unlike the BiSKit®, the 3M® Sponge-Stick is packaged in its secondary/transport container, however, it is still a two handed operation. One hand is required to hold the actual device and one hand is required to hold the secondary container.
Two examples of prior art swab-based sampling kits are the S2P® Swab Sampling Powder kit and the Small Area Sampling (SAS®) kit, both manufactured by QuickSilver Analytics, Inc. Both of these kits include several different items including sterile swabs, buffer solution, sample bags, and sample collection sheets.
Other swab-based sampling kits include a Sterile Surface Swab kit manufactured by SKC, Inc that contains 10 sterile surface swabs in transport tubes as well as 10 plastic templates. Similarly, Copan Diagnostics Inc. produces the Swab Rinse Kits (SRK) that contain pre-wetted swabs in storage tubes and surface sampling templates. Like the sponge-based devices, these swab-based sample collection kits have multiple items that will consistently generate waste over the course of a sampling mission.
Many existing sampling kits are repurposed with medical swabs intended to take throat cultures, are wrapped or sealed in plastic wrappers that are difficult to handle with thick gloves, or have many bottles and tubes inside foil wrapped packages that need to be laid out on a sterile sampling mat to organize taking a single sample.
Thus, there is a need for chemical or biological sampling technologies that generates less waste and provides for fast, one-handed operation by personal who may be wearing protective clothing.

The United States of America as Represented by the Secretary of The Army


A queue management method and apparatus are disclosed. The queue management method includes: storing a first packet to a first buffer cell included in a first macrocell, where the first macrocell is enqueued to a first entity queue, the first macrocell includes N consecutive buffer cells, and the first buffer cell belongs to the N buffer cells; correcting, based on a packet length of the first packet, an average packet length in the first macrocell that is obtained before the first packet is stored, to obtain a current average packet length in the first macrocell; and generating, based on the first macrocell and the first entity queue, queue information corresponding to the first macrocell of the first macrocell in the first entity queue, a head pointer in the first macrocell, a tail pointer in the first macrocell, and the current average packet length in the first macrocell.

With development of network technologies, people have an increasingly high network bandwidth requirement, which covers bandwidths, quality of service (QoS for short) and costs of related devices. A network chip is required to buffer and process more packets and have a precise scheduling capability and lower chip costs. These are all embodied in a competitive strength of a product.
Main functions of a traffic management (TM for short) chip in the network chip are packet buffering, enqueuing, scheduling, and dequeuing. The packet buffering, enqueuing, and dequeuing are mainly operations performed on a linked list of a queue that are implemented by a queue management module. The packet scheduling is implemented by a scheduling module. If a granularity of length information of each packet is increased in consideration of costs, scheduling accuracy is affected, causing a very large burst and jitter.
In the prior art, a common queue management procedure may include the following steps.
1. Receive a packet from an ingress of a network chip.
2. Buffer the received packet to a random memory outside the network chip.
3. After buffering the packet, generate a packet descriptor (English full name: Packet Descriptor, PD for short), and then enqueue the PD to a corresponding entity queue, where the enqueuing is implemented by a queue management module, the PD is information for describing the packet, and the PD includes a pointer of a next packet to which a packet in the entity queue points, and the like.
The current queue management solution has at least the following problems: Because a high-bandwidth device needs to buffer more packets, packet data is usually buffered in a random memory outside a chip, and queue information (including a head pointer of a linked list, a pointer of a next packet, and a tail pointer of the linked list) of the packet and a length of each packet are usually placed inside the chip, the head pointer and the tail pointer of a queue are maintained based on the entity queue, and the pointer of the next packet and the packet length are maintained based on each packet. The information is used to maintain the linked list of the entity queue and ensure QoS of scheduling. The pointer of the next packet occupies a very large buffered resource in the chip, causing an increase of chip costs. However, the pointer of the next packet is indispensable for implementing normal chip functions and performance. For a chip having a capability of processing 100 gigabit (Gbit for short) bytes, a quantity of short packets that need to be buffered usually reaches a magnitude of hundreds of kilobits (Kbit for short) packets, and even a magnitude of 1-megabit (Mbit for short) packets. An example in which M packets are buffered is used as an example. Each packet needs to be represented by using a 20-bit (English name: bit) pointer. In this way, 20 Mbit are required for storing related resources of a pointer of a next packet in the chip. 20 Mbit occupies a very large quantity of storage resources in the chip, causing increases of chip costs and power consumption.


The invention relates to an adhesive composition, comprising: (A) at least one phenolic resole resin; and (B) the product made by reacting (B-1) at least one difunctional epoxy resin, with (B-2) at least one compound represented by the formula wherein in Formulae (I) and (II): G, T and Q are each independently functional groups selected from the group consisting of COOH, OH, SH, NH2, NHR1, (NHC(═NH))mNH2, R2COOH, NR12, C(O)NHR1, R2NR12, R2OH, R2SH, R2NH2 and R2NHR1, wherein R1 is a hydrocarbon group, R2 is an alkylene or alkylidene group and m is a number in the range of 1 to about 4; T can also be R1, OR1 or SO2C6H4—NH2; and Q can also be H. The invention also relates to copper foils having the foregoing adhesive composition adhered to at least one side thereof to enhance the adhesion between said foils and dielectric substrates. The invention also relates to laminates comprising copper foil, a dielectric substrate, and an adhesion-promoting layer comprising the foregoing adhesive composition disposed between and adhered to the foil and the substrate.

Nearly half of the laminates manufactured for the printed circuit board industry use copper foil coated with an adhesive. These foils are laminated to a phenolic prepreg to make a low cost, copper clad paper phenolic laminate. The adhesives tend to fall into two categories: (1) a water dispersed adhesive composed of a copolymer of acrylonitrile and methacrylate and a phenolic resole, and (2) a solvent based adhesive composed of a phenolic resole, a polyvinylbutyral resin and a multifunctional epoxy, typically an epoxidized phenolic novolac.
Generally, these adhesives either provide good adhesion to metal and laminate as measured by peel strength, but less than satisfactory high temperature stability as measured by the solder blister resistance test; or they provide good high temperature stability, but less than satisfactory adhesion. This is because each of these goals are usually in direct conflict with one another. A material that is flexible enough to have high adhesion will generally exhibit too much flow at elevated temperatures to provide sufficient heat resistance. To have good heat resistance, an adhesive must have a relatively high rigidity, but such high rigidity tends to reduce peel strength.
These problems have been overcome by the present invention. By virtue of the present invention there has been developed an adhesive composition that provides both good adhesion as measured by peel strength testing and good heat resistance as measured by solder blister testing.

Adhesive compositions and copper foils and copper clad laminates using same


A computer determines whether destination information is included in permission target information. The destination information indicates a destination to which a file stored in a storage device is transferred. The permission target information includes information indicating a target permitted to access the file. The computer prompts before the file is transferred, upon determining that the destination information is not included in the permission target information, a user to input whether to permit the transfer. The computer adds the destination information to the permission target information upon receiving, via an input device, a permission input for permitting the transfer. The computer transfers the file upon receiving the permission input.

With the increased computerization of society, protection technologies for suppressing leakage of information have become increasingly important. Various protection technologies for information leakage suppression have been hitherto proposed.
For example, in some cases, a recipient of an electronic mail with a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) included may transfer the electronic mail to a third party. In order to increase convenient access to the destination referred to by the URL without reducing information leakage security, the following technology has been proposed.
Specifically, this technology is one of shared file access management methods in shared file access management systems that manage access to shared files. According to this shared file access management method, a processing apparatus stores in a storage device a shared file access privileges granting condition indicating a condition for granting access privileges to a shared file to be accessed via a URL in an electronic mail. According to this shared file access management method, furthermore, when transferring an electronic mail, the processing apparatus reads from the storage device a shared file access privileges granting condition for granting access privileges to a shared file to be accessed via a URL in the electronic mail. When the destination to which the electronic mail is to be transferred is a user who satisfies the read shared file access privileges granting condition, the user is granted access privileges to the shared file.
Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2008-262293 discloses a related technique.

Information processing apparatus and method


A biodegradable device for repairing torn meniscal cartilage comprising a shaft and tissue gripping means at both ends. One end is adapted to pierce the tissue and the opposite end is adapted to fit a driver. The central portion of the device is essentially smooth along its length. The device has been subjected to a drawing operation after fabrication leaving the molecules in the shaft in a higher state of residual stress. When the device is exposed to an aqueous environment, the water absorbed by the polymer lowers the glass transition temperature of the polymer. Lowering glass transition temperature allows increased molecular mobility causing the device to contract. The contraction pulls the torn tissues into close apposition during healing. As the tissue heals, the tension is released by the polymer resorbing.

Surgery to the human body often requires the attachment of tissues adjacent one another such as in the repair of the knee. The human knee joint contains a pair of cartilage pads which function to absorb shock and prevent friction between the opposing bones in the joint. Each pad is called a meniscus. The two pads are referred to as the meniscal cartilage. One or both of these pads can become torn causing pain and debilitation. If these tears are not treated, further deterioration of the joint can occur. Past medical treatment involved excision of the torn cartilage, sometimes including complete removal of the meniscus. Complete removal of the meniscus has been shown to cause degenerative changes in the joint, often resulting in a joint replacement. Modem surgical treatment focuses on repair of the tissue rather than excision. The most popular method of treatment involves the use of arthoscopic means to access the joint. The devices used to repair the cartilage range from sutures to staples and tacks such as taught in U.S Pat. No. 5,059,206. Requirements that are common to all of these devices are the need for the device to hold the tom tissue in close apposition and for the device to resorb after the tissues have healed. Regarding the first requirement, sutures can be tightened to hold the tissues close together when first applied but the tension is variable between each stitch and the sutures will loosen with time. Staples can be difficult to place and once placed there is no ability to adjust the compression between the opposing surfaces of the tom cartilage. Regarding the second requirement, resorbtion, or dissolution over time, of the device removes the need for later removal of the device and also removes the possibility of the device interfering with the normal functioning of the cartilage if the device was not removed.


An optical digital printer comprising a paper storage (PM1) for storing photographic paper in roll form, a digital printing unit (2) having an irradiating surface (42) for line-exposing the photographic paper based on image data, a developing unit (300) for developing the photographic paper exposed by the digital printing unit, a transport mechanism for transporting the photographic paper along a paper transport line extending from the paper storage to the developing unit, a first paper accommodating box (RB1) disposed between the paper storage (PM1) and the digital printing unit (2), and a second paper accommodating box (RB2) disposed between the digital printing unit and the developing unit (300). The transport mechanism includes a paper loader (20) for feeding the photographic paper transported from the paper storage into the first paper accommodating box, an exposure control roller (44) for drawing the photographic paper from the first paper accommodating box and causing the photographic paper to move past the irradiating surface (42), and, in time of exposure, for causing the photographic paper to move past the irradiating surface while feeding the photographic paper back into the first paper accommodating box, and a paper transport direction switcher (70) for selectively feeding the photographic paper having moved past the irradiating surface, without being exposed, toward the second paper accommodating box, and feeding the photographic paper having moved past and exposed by the irradiating surface toward the developing unit.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a photographic paper exposing method for printing images on photographic paper drawn out of a paper storage by irradiating the paper with light based on image data, and an optical digital printer employing this photographic paper exposing method.
2. Description of the Related Art
In an optical printer of the liquid crystal shutter type or the CRT type, a photosensitive material (which generally is photographic paper and will be referred to hereinafter as such or just as paper) must be positioned accurately in close contact with a beam emitting surface in time of exposure. A printer of the line exposure type, in particular, exposes photographic paper line after line while transporting the photographic paper. In order to print images with a condition to minimize a blank in a forward end region of elongate photographic paper, it is preferable to transport the photographic paper downstream of an irradiating point in an exposure unit once, and then expose the paper while drawing the paper backward.
However, the process of feeding the photographic paper downstream of the exposure unit and drawing the paper backward again to print each image thereon cannot promptly meet a demand for continuously printing a plurality of images on the photographic paper. In former times when digital printing was rare, one index print is added to prints in each order. Today, in an age of digital printing, a photo processing agent prints digital image data obtained from digital cameras and the like on photographic paper. The processing agent is required to process promptly a sudden order for a plurality of digital prints.
The object of this invention is to provide a technique for quickly printing a plurality of images, which is applicable to an optical digital printer for printing images on photographic paper drawn backward after being fed forward first.
The above object is fulfilled, according to this invention, by a photographic paper exposing method for printing images on photographic paper drawn out of a paper storage by irradiating the photographic paper with light based on image data, while drawing the photographic paper backward. This method comprises a first step, executed for printing a plurality of images on the photographic paper, of feeding the photographic paper by a length sufficient to print the plurality of images, past an irradiating point, a second step of successively printing the plurality of images on the photographic paper at the irradiating point while drawing the photographic paper backward, and a third step of feeding the photographic paper to a paper transport line extending to a developing unit.
With this method, the photographic paper is fed beforehand by a length corresponding to a number of prints to be made, and images are printed successively on the photographic paper as the paper is drawn backward. A plurality of prints are processed more quickly than where the photographic paper is reciprocated for making each print.
In a preferred embodiment of this invention, part of the photographic paper fed at the first step is shunted to a siding line branched from the paper transport line. With this method, even when the photographic paper is fed beforehand by a large length for a plurality of prints, the leading end of the photographic paper may be shunted to the siding line branched from the paper transport line. There occurs no inconvenience of the leading end of the paper moving toward the developing unit and entering a transport line in a cutter unit zone, for example, where a different transport mechanism is dominant. Further, a loop box may be provided for the siding line, the part of the photographic paper shunted to the siding line forming a loop in the loop box. Then, the photographic paper fed beforehand by a large length may be stored in a small space.
In a different preferred embodiment of this invention, the photographic paper on which the plurality of images have been printed at the second step is cut by a cutter unit disposed on the paper transport line, into individual prints to be transported to the developing unit. Thus, a length of photographic paper corresponding to a plurality of prints is never fed to the developing unit. The developing unit may retain an ordinary construction for processing cut paper.
Further, the foregoing object is fulfilled, in another aspect of this invention, by an optical digital printer comprising a transport mechanism for transporting photographic paper along a paper transport line extending from a paper storage to a developing unit, an exposure unit for printing images on the photographic paper transported backward toward the paper storage by the transport mechanism, by irradiating the photographic paper with light based on image data, and a siding line for shunting part of the photographic paper fed by a length sufficient to print the images in the exposure unit, the siding line being branched from the paper transport line downstream of the exposure unit.
With this construction, by utilizing the siding line, the photographic paper is fed beforehand by a length corresponding to a number of prints to be made, and images are printed successively on the photographic paper as the paper is drawn backward. A plurality of prints are processed more quickly than where the photographic paper is reciprocated for making each print.

Photographic paper exposing method and an optical digital printer employing this method


A beacon slot position control section of a radio communication apparatus constituting a radio network system which detects whether empty beacon slots are present in a beacon period. When an empty beacon slot is present before the period in which the radio communication apparatus transmits a beacon, a movable counter starts counting a specified number of super frames. When the count is completed, the radio communication apparatus transmits a beacon of the radio communication apparatus at the earlier empty beacon slot. Consequently, since the empty beacon slots are eliminated and the beacon period is compacted, even if the number of radio communication apparatuses joining the radio network system fluctuates dynamically, the radio communication apparatus can perform radio communication with high efficiency and less waste of consumed electricity.

Conventionally, as the radio communication method and the radio communication apparatus, for example, there are those described in JP-A-2003-229869. FIG. 42 is a diagram showing the radio communication method described in JP-A-2003-229869. With the radio communication method, radio communication apparatuses communicate with one another directly without a control station in the radio network.
In FIG. 42, the radio communication apparatuses transmit management information including timing information of the start position of their reception, reception window information, and reception cycle information, at specified time intervals (M1 to M4). The other communication apparatuses, which can receive this management information, store reception timing, reception windows, and reception cycles in association with communication apparatus numbers of the corresponding radio communication apparatuses. At the time of transmission of information, the other radio communication apparatuses find the reception start positions of the corresponding radio communication apparatus from the reception timing, the reception windows, and the reception cycles of the radio communication apparatus to be communicated and transmit the information according to this timing.
Note that during a management information exchange area (hereinafter referred to as "beacon period") (C1, C5), all the radio communication apparatuses transmit management information during the beacon slots of the respective radio communication apparatuses and so exchange the management information.
However, in the conventional method, since the beacon periods are at fixed times, a radio network system, in which it is unknown in advance how many beacons are transmitted, has problems described below. When radio communication apparatuses actually belonging to this radio network system have nodes far fewer than the number of nodes assumed in advance, there is long idle time in the beacon periods and communication efficiency is low.
Since all the nodes continue to operate in a reception waiting state in the time of the beacon periods, a beacon period longer than necessary consumes excess power. Thus, waste of power consumption increases.
Moreover, when another radio network system which adopts the same radio communication format is present near the radio network system in question, the longer the beacon period is, the more likely it is that beacons or data communication of the two radio network systems conflict with one another.
On the other hand, when the number of apparatuses joining this radio network system is larger than the number of nodes assumed in advance, empty slots of the beacons are insufficient and some of the radio communication apparatuses cannot participate in the radio network system.

Radio communication method and radio communication apparatus


A method and apparatus for treating nuisance odor streams is provided. One embodiment of the invention is directed to a method and apparatus in which deodorizing chemical agents are applied to an evaporative reaction pack situated within a gas chamber having an air stream running therethrough. The evaporative reaction pack provides a reaction zone within which the chemical agent is evaporated to facilitate a gas-gas or vapor phase interaction between the chemical agent and odoriferous compounds contained in the air stream. Another aspect of the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for batch processing of sewage within a wet well to prevent the formation of undesired compounds. In one embodiment, a predetermined amount of chemical agent, sufficient for treating the amount of sewage that the well can hold, is added to an evacuated wet well in coordination with the pumping of sewage from the wet well.

The general objective in the treatment of gas streams from industrial and sewage plants is to remove from such gas streams odorous constituents, such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and volatile inorganic compounds (VICs). It is well known in the prior art to remove odors from waste gases in liquid-gas reactions through absorption utilizing spray towers systems and packed towers. In conventional spray tower systems, an aqueous solution containing one or more chemicals reactive toward an odorous contaminant is atomized to create liquid droplets which are dispersed into a gas stream. The atomized liquid droplets react with malodorous compounds to absorb odors and oxidation of such odors removes them from the gas stream. The reaction vessels are constructed to provide desired reaction times between the gas and the atomized aqueous/chemical fog, such reaction times typically ranging from about 5 to about 30 seconds or more for mist systems, and approximately 2 seconds for packed towers.
These and other traditional approaches have in common a relatively long contact time between gas and liquid, for mist scrubbers, and use a relatively large volume of liquid per volume of gas treated. Conventional spray and packed tower systems are inefficient with respect to the amount of chemical used. Moreover, conventional devices tend to be large and are expensive to construct and operate.
In other conventional liquid-gas absorption processes, packed tower systems are utilized to provide large surface areas for the liquid-gas reaction to occur. However, packings used in packed towers are often clogged by solid particulates and reaction products, negatively affecting the efficiency and overall function of such packed tower systems. Moreover, the size and expense of packed tower systems often precludes their use in many applications.
Problems in the treatment of sewage have also been encountered in the storage of sewage for extended periods of time. Among the problems, facultative bacteria present in sewage can react with sulfates in the absence of oxygen, thereby producing hydrogen sulfide, a malodorous poisonous gas, as well as other undesired odorous compounds. A combination of hydrogen sulfide gas with condensed water can form sulfuric acid which can cause deterioration of sewer pipes and sewer systems. Other undesirable compounds and gases may also form and need to be treated.
In conventional sewage systems, sewage is often held in various process apparatuses, such as a wet well, prior to treatment. Methods have been previously employed whereby chemicals are continuously fed into the wet well pump discharge line when the pump is operating or fed continually into the wet well. A continuous release system, however, may involve the undertreatment or overtreatment of sewage depending upon the time required for the wet well to fill to a predetermined level prior to evacuation. Alternatively, other systems treat malodorous sewage during the transport of such fluid from the wet well to other treatment containers. However, the sewage in the wet well prior to evacuation has the opportunity to ferment bacteria that produce undesired, odoriferous compounds.