An embodiment of the invention provides a prosthesis delivery system comprising a delivery catheter having an expandable member and a prosthesis carried over the expandable member. The prosthesis includes a radially expandable scaffold section and at least two anchors extending axially from an end thereof; and means for capturing at least the anchors to prevent the anchors from divaricating from the expandable member as the catheter is advanced through a patient's vasculature.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to medical devices and methods. More particularly, embodiments of the present invention relate to the structure and deployment of a segmented stent at a luminal os at a branching point in the vasculature or elsewhere.
Maintaining the patency of body lumens is of interest in the treatment of a variety of diseases. Of particular interest to the present invention are the transluminal approaches to the treatment of body lumens. More particularly, the percutaneous treatment of atherosclerotic disease involving the coronary and peripheral arterial systems. Currently, percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) often involve a combination of balloon dilation of a coronary stenosis (i.e. a narrowing or blockage of the artery) followed by the placement of an endovascular prosthesis commonly referred to as a stent.
A major limitation of PCI/stent procedures is restenosis, i.e., the re-narrowing of a blockage after successful intervention typically occurring in the initial three to six months post treatment. The recent introduction of drug eluting stents (DES) has dramatically reduced the incidence of restenosis in coronary vascular applications and offers promise in peripheral stents, venous grafts, arterial and prosthetic grafts, as well as A-V fistulae. In addition to vascular applications, stents are being employed in treatment of other body lumens including the gastrointestinal systems (esophagus, large and small intestines, biliary system and pancreatic ducts) and the genital-urinary system (ureter, urethra, fallopian tubes, vas deferens).
Treatment of lesions in and around branch points generally referred to as bifurcated vessels, is a developing area for stent applications, particularly, since 10% of all coronary lesions involve bifurcations. However, while quite successful in treating arterial blockages and other conditions, most stent designs are challenged when used at a bifurcation in the blood vessel or other body lumen. Presently, many different strategies are employed to treat bifurcation lesions with currently available stents all of which have major limitations.
One common approach is to place a conventional stent in the main or larger body lumen over the origin of the side branch. After removal of the stent delivery balloon, a second wire is introduced through a cell in the wall of the deployed stent and into the side branch. A balloon is then introduced into the side branch and inflated to enlarge the side-cell of the main vessel stent. This approach can work well when the side branch is relatively free of disease, although it is associated with increased rates of abrupt closure due to plaque shift as well as increased rates of late re-restenosis.
Another commonly employed strategy is the kissing balloon technique in which separate balloons are positioned in the main and side branch vessels and simultaneously inflated to deliver separate stents simultaneously. This technique is thought to prevent plaque shift.
Other two stent approaches including Culotte, T-Stent and Crush Stent techniques have been employed as well. When employing a T-stent approach, the operator deploys a stent in the side branch followed by placement of a main vessel stent. This approach is limited by anatomic variation (angle between main and side branch) and inaccuracy in stent positioning, which together can cause inadequate stent coverage of the sidebranch os. More recently, the Crush approach has been introduced in which the side-vessel stent is deployed across the os with portions in both the main and side branch vessels. The main vessel stent is then delivered across the origin of the side branch and deployed, which results in crushing a portion of the side branch stent against the wall of the main vessel. Following main-vessel stent deployment, it is difficult and frequently not possible to re-enter the side branch after crush stenting. Unproven long-term results coupled with concern regarding the inability to re-enter the side branch, malaposition of the stents against the arterial wall and the impact of three layers of stent (which may be drug eluting) opposed against the main vessel wall has limited the adoption of this approach.
These limitations have led to the development of stents specifically designed to treat bifurcated lesions. One approach employs a stent design with a side opening for the branch vessel which is mounted on a specialized delivery balloon. The specialized balloon delivery system accommodates wires for both the main and side branch vessels. The system is tracked over both wires which provides a mean to axially and radially align the stent/stent delivery system. The specialized main vessel stent is then deployed and the stent delivery system removed while maintaining wire position in both the main and side branch vessels. The side branch is then addressed using kissing balloon or by delivering and an additional stent to the side branch. Though this approach has many theoretic advantages, it is limited by difficulties in tracking the delivery system over two wires (Vardi et al, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,325,826 and 6,210,429).
Another approach, of particular interest to the present invention, includes the use of fronds, or fingers extending from the scaffolding of a side branch stent to facilitate positioning of the stent at a bifurcated lesion. This approach is described in detail in co-pending commonly assigned application Ser. No. 10/807,643 the full disclosure of which is incorporated herein.
However while above approach has significant promise, conventional stent delivery systems, such as balloon catheters, can have difficulty managing the fronds during delivery. In such conventional systems, the stent is usually crimped onto the balloon of the balloon catheter. While fine for many conventional stent designs, conventional balloons systems may not always prevent the fronds on a stent from separating from the balloon as the catheter is advanced through curved portions of the vasculature, such as those found in the circumflex coronary artery.
For these reasons, it would be desirable to provide improved systems and methods for delivering stents, particularly stents with fronds or other protruding anchoring elements at one end, to treat body lumens at or near the location of an os between a main body lumen and a side branch lumen, typically in the vasculature, and more particularly in the arterial vasculature. It would be further desirable if such systems and methods could treat the side branch vessels substantially completely in the region of the os and that the prostheses in the side branches be well-anchored at or near the os.
2. Description of the Related Art
Stent structures intended for treating bifurcated lesions are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,599,316; 6,596,020; 6,325,826; and 6,210,429. Other stents and prostheses of interest are described in the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,994,071; 5,102,417; 5,342,387; 5,507,769; 5,575,817; 5,607,444; 5,609,627; 5,613,980; 5,669,924; 5,669,932; 5,720,735; 5,741,325; 5,749,825; 5,755,734; 5,755,735; 5,824,052; 5,827,320; 5,855,598; 5,860,998; 5,868,777; 5,893,887; 5,897,588; 5,906,640; 5,906,641; 5,967,971; 6,017,363; 6,033,434; 6,033,435; 6,048,361; 6,051,020; 6,056,775; 6,090,133; 6,096,073; 6,099,497; 6,099,560; 6,129,738; 6,165,195; 6,221,080; 6,221,098; 6,254,593; 6,258,116; 6,264,682; 6,346,089; 6,361,544; 6,383,213; 6,387,120; 6,409,750; 6,428,567; 6,436,104; 6,436,134; 6,440,165; 6,482,211; 6,508,836; 6,579,312; and 6,582,394.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method for delivering a luminal prosthesis


Present invention discloses the three-dimensional crystal structure of the N-terminus polypeptide of influenza virus polymerase subunit (PA_N of SEQ ID NO:7). PA_N of SEQ ID NO: 1 is residues 1—50 to 150-300 of influenza virus polymerase subunit PA. In the three-dimensional structure, at least 40% of atoms show the same atomic coordinates, compared to that listed in Table 1. Namely, in the three-dimensional structure of influenza virus polymerase subunit PA_N of SEQ ID NO: 7, 40% of atomic coordinates on carbon skeleton of residues of influenza virus polymerase subunit PA_N of SEQ ID NO: 7, show less than or equal to 1.7 Å of average variance, compared to the atomic coordinates listed in Table 1. Present invention also discloses the expression, purification, crystallization methods, and three-dimensional crystal structure of 256 residues in the N-terminus of influenza virus polymerase subunit PA, and applications of the crystal structure of SEQ ID NO: 7 on drug screening and designing.

In recent years, highly pathogenic avian influenza A virus strains with H5N1 subtype have become entrenched in poultry worldwide and pose a growing threat to human health. Because of continuous variation of this virus, developing anew anti-influenza drug has become an urgent and major task for all countries. Demonstration of three-dimensional structures of the proteins which are related to the influenza virus has important scientific significance for understanding the viral replication, and is highly valuable for the development of anti-influenza viral drugs.
The RNA genome of the influenza virus contains 8 RNA segments which encode 11 virus-specific proteins. Influenza virus RNA-dependent RNA polymerase is a heterotrimeric complex (PA, PB1 and PB2) harboring several enzymatic activities for catalyzing both viral RNA replication and transcription, and acts to maintain virus life cycle. In particular, the high conservation and low mutation ratio of subunits PA, PB1 and PB2, enabled it as a viable target to design the anti-influenza drugs.
In recent years, it has been known that PB1 (SEQ ID NO: 2) subunit alone can catalyze viral RNA replication and transcription; PB2 subunit binds the 5′ cap of host pre-mRNAs, which are subsequently cleaved by the viral endonuclease, hitherto thought to reside in the PB2 or PB1 (SEQ ID NO: 2) subunits.
Compared to the other two subunits, the mechanism of the PA subunit remained elusive. PA is an important protein in the polymerase heterotrimer and may be required for replication and transcription of viral RNA (vRNA) and endonuclease cleavage of the cap RNA primer. It reportedly induces proteolysis of the viral and host proteins and may also be involved in virus assembly. However, the molecular mechanism of PA remains unclear. Hereby, investigation of the PA structure is significantly important to study the whole RNA polymerase complex.
Analysis of protein structures is a very useful tool to understand protein function. Especially important to the study of the function of the complex is exploration of the whole complex. However, due to various difficulties, the structure of this protein complex has not been resolved.
In Chinese patents No. CN 200810100840.X and CN 200810083994.2 submitted on Feb. 22 and May 2 in 2008, present inventors disclosed three dimensional crystal structure of influenza A virus PA (PAC, residues 257-716 of SEQ ID NO: 1) in complex with the PA-binding region of PB1 (PB1N, residues 1-25 of SEQ ID NO: 2). Present inventors published the structure of avian H5N1 influenza A virus PA (PAC, residues 257-716 of SEQ ID NO: 1) in complex with the PA-binding region of PB1 (PB1N, residues 1-25 of SEQ ID NO:2) (He X et al. Nature, August 2008, 454(7208):1123-6).
In order to obtain a completely three-dimensional crystal structure of the polymerase complex which consists of PA, PB1, and PB2 subunits, present inventors have conducted the following research.

Crystal structure of amino terminal portion of influenza virus polymerase PA subunit and use thereof

Institute of Biophysics Chinese Academy of Sciences


An actuator loading/unloading device includes a block unit disposed at a base of a disc drive to be positioned outside a disc, a lamp member positioned on the block unit so that the lamp member is lifted from or lowered down on the block unit, an actuator being parked on the loading/unloading device by constraining a side end portion of a swing arm of the actuator during loading/unloading of the actuator, a stopper to restrict a lifting range of the lamp member, and a lifting/lowering unit to lift or lower the lamp member between the block unit and the stopper. The lifting/lowering unit includes a magnet inserted into a bottom surface of the lamp member, and an electromagnet inserted into a top surface of the block unit, facing the magnet. As a result, the actuator is stably parked on the disc drive having a compact structure where the actuator cannot be completely escaped from the disc during unloading of the actuator.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a disc drive used as an auxiliary memory device for a computer, and in particular, to an actuator loading/unloading device for a disc drive which can fly an optical or magnetic head on a disc for recording/reproducing information.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, among the disc drives for recording/reproducing information, a hard disc drive is used as an auxiliary memory device for a personal computer. As is publicly known, the hard disc drive utilizes a magnetic recording principle of recording/reproducing wanted information by moving a magnetic head in a radial direction of a disc coated with a magnetic material. Hard disc drives now require increased memory capacity and miniaturization, and thus employ an optical recording/reproducing method, instead of the magnetic recording method.
FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating a general hard disc drive 11 in a state where its upper cover (not shown) is opened. Referring to FIG. 1, a ring magnetic disc 10 is mounted on a rotation shaft 110 of a spindle motor (not shown) disposed on a base 100, so that the magnetic disc 10 can be rotated at a high speed. An actuator 130 having a magnetic head (h) at its end portion is provided near the disc 10, so that the actuator 130 can be rotated around a pivot shaft (p) due to the driving of a voice coil motor 120. Accordingly, the actuator 130 flies the magnetic head (h) along a signal surface track (not shown) of the disc 10, thereby reproducing data recorded on the disc 10 or recording new data thereon.
The actuator 130 includes a swing arm 131 connected to the pivot shaft (p), and a plate-spring type suspension 132 disposed at the swing arm 131. The magnetic head (h) is provided to an end portion of the suspension 132.
The magnetic head (h) is floated on the disc 10 at a predetermined height due to an air flow generated by high speed rotation of the disc 10 during the driving of the hard disc drive 11. Here, the magnetic head (h) is moved on the disc 10 by moving the actuator 130 inwardly to the disc 10. When the disc 10 is stopped, the magnetic head (h) is parked on an actuator loading/unloading device 200 by moving the actuator 130 outwardly from the disc 10.
As illustrated in FIG. 2, the actuator loading/unloading device 200 includes a tap 133 downwardly protruded at the end portion of the actuator 130, and a ramp member 210 where the tap 133 is slid. The ramp member 210 has a gradually-sloped surface from an entrance direction of the tap 133. At an entrance end portion of the ramp member 210, the actuator 130 is substantially parallel to the disc 10. However, the tap 133 is moved along the sloped surface of the ramp member 210 during the unloading of the actuator 130, and thus the suspension 132 is vertically displaced. Therefore, the conventional actuator loading/unloading device 200 for the hard disc drive 11 cannot be employed in a compact structure where the actuator 130 can be completely escaped from the disc 10.
This is especially true when the optical recording/reproducing method is used instead of the magnetic recording device, because various optical units are provided to the actuator 130, thus increasing a volume of the actuator 130. Accordingly, the actuator 130 cannot be completely escaped from the disc 10 during the unloading operation. In addition, when the tap 133 is positioned on the ramp member 210 during the unloading of the actuator 130, the head (h) may contact the disc 10 due to an external vibration or impact, thereby damaging the disc 10.

Actuator loading/unloading device for disc drive


Reaction vessel construction is provided whereby in the practice of the invention disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,297,407 - Wentorf, Jr. diamond seed material is isolated from the main supply of catalyst-solvent metal by an inert barrier insoluble in the catalyst-solvent bath. One or more restricted diamond growth paths (e.g. small diameter wires of catalyst-solvent) are provided through the inert barrier interconnecting diamond seed material and the main supply of catalyst-solvent metal. In this way the diamond seed material cannot be eroded or destroyed by exposure to the bath of catalyst-solvent metal and a controllable limit can be placed on the size of the single diamond seed crystal ultimately presented to the bath via any given growth path.

The synthesis of diamond crystals by high pressure, high temperature processes has become well established commercially. Preferred methods for making diamonds are disclosed and claimed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,947,610--Hall et al and 2,947,609--Strong. Apparatus for the conduct of such processes is described and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,941,248--Hall. The Hall et al, Strong and Hall patents are incorporated by reference.
Diamond growth in the aforementioned processes occurs by the diffusion of carbon through a thin metallic film of any of a series of specific catalyst-solvent materials. Although such processes are very successfully employed for the commercial production of industrial diamond, the ultimate crystal size of such diamond growth is limited by the fact that the carbon flux across the catalyst film is established by the solubility difference between graphite (the typical starting material) and the diamond being formed. This solubility difference is generally susceptible to significant decrease over any extended period due to a decrease in pressure in the system and/or poisoning effects in the graphite being converted.
On the other hand, in the method of growing diamond on a diamond seed crystal disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,297,407--Wentorf, Jr. (incorporated by reference) a difference in temperature between the diamond seed and the source of carbon is relied upon to establish a concentration gradient in carbon for deposition on the seed. Catalyst-solvents disclosed in the aformentioned Hall et al and Strong patents are used in the temperature gradient method as well. The growth of diamond on the seed material is driven by the difference in solubility of diamond in the molten catalyst-solvent metal at the nutrient (source of carbon) and at the seed, between which locations a temperature gradient exists. Most important, this general type of reaction vessel configuration presents a pressure stable system so that pressure can more readily be kept in the diamond stable region.
By very carefully adjusting pressure and temperature and utilizing relatively small temperature gradients with extended (relative to growth times for thin film method) growth times, larger diamonds can be produced by the method as taught in the Wentorf patent than by the thin-film method. However, two conflicting factors appear to be present in this growth of diamonds from seeds. Better new diamond growth results by the use of very small diamond seeds (microscopic size seeds are best), but small seeds are very likely to dissolve in the melted catalyst-solvent metal during that part of the process in which the catalyst-solvent medium melts and then becomes saturated with carbon from the nutrient source. Larger seeds although less likely to be completely dissolved present the problem of uncoordinated diamond growth proceeding from spaced loci on the same seed. When such growths meet, the result is confused, flaw-filled growth.
Therefore, it is important for the broadened application of the Wentorf invention to provide means for simultaneously preventing diamond seed dissolution and enabling presentation to the molten catalyst-solvent bath of a discrete very small diamond seed face to initiate new diamond growth.

Apparatus and method for isolation of diamond seeds for growing diamonds


The bandwidth of human speech signals, 125 to 3000 Hz, is reduced to approximately 125 to 1500 Hz by folding or shifting the high-frequency consonant-band portion, 1000 to 3000 Hz, into the low-frequency vowel-band portion, 125 to 1000 Hz. After transmission, the reduced speech signal is expanded to reconstruct an approximation of the original speech signal. One embodiment features folding (modulator carrier frequency is 3000 Hz) and modulator feedthrough. Another embodiment features shifting (carrier is 1800 Hz) and no modulator feedthrough. Both embodiments boost lower vowel frequencies prior to modulation, and use no switching circuitry.

This invention relates to communications systems in which information is transmitted from a sending station to a receiving station in the form of electrical or electromagnetic information bearing signals over a communication link having a predetermined system frequency bandwidth. More particularly, this invention relates to methods and systems for reducing the actual bandwidth occupied by the information bearing signals to improve the flow of information or to reduce the actual bandwidth requirements of the communication link. Specifically, this invention relates to systems and methods for reducing the actual bandwidth requirement of that class of signals having inherent time division and frequency division multiplexing, such as human speech signals, and comprises an improvement over the invention disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 749,857 filed Dec. 13, 1976 for "Narrow Band Voice Modulator System", the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
It has long been known that the primary intelligibility of human speech (defined as the speech information content as opposed to an individual speaker's identifiable characteristics, such as voice timbre and the like) lies in the band from about 1000 to about 3000 Hz, and that human speech is naturally temporally divided into higher frequency components (the consonants) occurring in the range from about 1500 to about 3000 Hz and lower frequency components (vowels) occurring in the range from about 0 to about 1500 Hz. Stated differently, human speech may be characterized as information bearing signals having inherent time division and frequency division multiplexing due to the serial nature of speech pronunciation: i.e., a vowel and a consonant cannot occur at the same time. It should be noted that the time division and frequency division multiplexing of human speech is not absolute, i.e., vowel sounds may have frequency portions lying above 1500 Hz while consonants may have frequency components lying below 1500 Hz. However, from a statistical point of view, if significant energy in a particular speech utterance exists below 1500 Hz, then the probability of the existence of a very small amount of energy above 1500 Hz during the same time period is close to one. Conversely, if a high percentage of speech energy exists above 1500 Hz, there is a high probability that there will by very little energy below 1500 Hz for that same time period.
Efforts have been made in the past to exploit the above natural characteristics of human speech to reduce the actual bandwidth required to transmit such information from a sending station to a receiving station in order to (a) permit the use of a communication link having a bandwidth less than the normal bandwidth of 3000 Hz, or (b) permit more than one set of speech signals to be transmitted over the same communications link having the normal speech bandwidth of 3000 Hz. In an early system exemplified by the disclosure of U.S. Pat. No. 1,836,824 directed to a telephone communication system, parallel signal conduction paths are provided in the transmitting and receiving portion of a telephone apparatus, with each pair of signal paths comprising first means for passing only signals lying in a relatively low frequency range of 250-2250 Hz and a second path having means for passing only higher frequency signals lying in the range from 1250-3250 Hz. Signals in this higher frequency range are converted to equivalent signals lying in the lower frequency pass range of the first path with the output of each signal path being coupled to a common transmitting or receiving unit. The first and second signal paths are operated in a mutually exclusive mode by a switching device which permits the input signal to be coupled to either the lower frequency signal path or the higher frequency signal path, depending on the amplitude of the input signals, it having been experimentally observed that vowel sounds statistically have a greater amplitude than consonant sounds. Systems of this type suffer from the disadvantage that the switching elements inject undesirable noise into the speech signals transmitted or received, which noise predominantly lies within the ordinary frequency band of the communications system, and further from the disadvantage that the switching from the normally active higher frequency signal path to the lower frequency signal path is exclusively dependent upon the amplitude of the speech input signals, so that the occurrence of a consonant sound at a relatively large amplitude causes such relatively high frequency signals to be coupled to the relatively low frequency signal path with resultant signal loss.
A later approach employing a more sophisticated method and system, and exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 2,726,283, employs a switching device at the output end of parallel signal paths and addition decision making circuitry for measuring the fundamental pitch of the input signal speech signals to enable time-sharing of the period of the fundamental by causing the low frequency signals to be coupled through the mixer switch during the first half period of the fundamental and the down converted consonant equivalent signals to be coupled through the mixer switch to the output terminal during the second half period of the fundamental. This arrangement suffers from the disadvantage that inherently one-half of the speech signal is lost since the normal temporal separation of the vowel and consonant portions of the speech signal is not relied upon. In addition, this arrangement suffers from the noise injection problem noted above due to the controlled switching that also requires rather complex electrical circuitry which is subject to frequency drift and other distortion introducing characteristics. Further, the circuitry required to measure the fundamental period adds further cost and complexity to the entire system.
In the above-reference U.S. patent application, a method and system are disclosed for reducing the actual bandwidth required for the intelligible transmission of speech signals or similar information-bearing signals which are inherently time and frequency division multiplexed, the method and system being relatively inexpensive to implement, highly reliable in performance, and devoid of the controlled switching elements and decision making circuitry noted above.
According to the invention of the referenced patent application, which is expressly referenced to an audio frequency communications system having a system frequency bandwidth of 3000 Hz, and lower and upper system frequencies of 0 and 3000 Hz, respectively, input speech signals are coupled through a low frequency shaping circuit for boosting and voiced lower frequency signal portions, and then through a band pass filter having a frequency attenuation portion at the upper end of the system pass band to reduce the spectral power of the upper frequency portions lying near the upper end of the band. The signals output from the band pass filter are fed through a balanced modulator and subsequently filtered to attenuate the portions of the resulting signals lying in the upper half portion of the system frequency band. The thus filtered signals, which consist of a low frequency feed through voiced portion, an inverted middle frequency unvoiced portion, and upper frequency inverted and up-converted voiced components, are transmitted to a receiving station at which the received signals are filtered to attenuate those portions lying in the upper half portion of the system frequency band and applied to a balanced modulator. The signals output from the balanced modulator, which consist of low frequency fed through voiced signal portions, overlapping reinverted unvoiced and inverted unvoiced portions, an inversion of the originally fed through voiced portions, and upconverted voiced and unvoiced components lying above the upper edge of the system frequency band, are filtered with a filter having a sharp attenuation characteristic adjacent the upper edge frequency of the system frequency band.
The resulting signals contain the essential information components with three potential distortion regions, one lying outside the upper limit of the system frequency band and the remaining two lying within the system frequency band. However, due to the inherent time and frequency division multiplexed nature of the signals, the potential distortion regions do not seriously impair the intelligibility of the finally reproduced speech signals and possess high intelligibility and quality.

Method and apparatus for bandwidth reduction


An improved sports accessory bag with straps which are convertible for use either with a bar on stationary exercise apparatus, or for use as a portable accessory bag. A strap is attached to one end of the bag and a second strap is attached to the opposite end of the bag. A first separable buckle is used with the first strap for forming a first suspension loop. A second separable buckle is used with the second strap for forming a second suspension loop. The first female snap receptacle and the second male snap connector are compatible for connecting the two long free ends of the two straps together, so that the first and second long free ends will form a third suspension loop. The bag may be suspended from the first and second loops on a bar member on stationary exercise apparatus, or it may be converted to a portable sports accessory bag by connecting the long ends together around a person's waist.

This invention relates generally to sports equipment carrying bags and more particularly to an improved suspension means.
Some types of exercise are carried out on stationary gym equipment or apparatus used in one location, whereas other exercise involves movement without accompanying apparatus, such as running. When the exercise takes place over a long period of time, it may be desirable to have various accessories to relieve the tedium such as radios or tape recorders and to provide refreshment, such as a water bottle. It would be useful to have a sports accessory bag to carry these various objects and to keep them close at hand, especially where the objects require frequent use or attachment to the body such as earphones connected by a wire to a radio or tape recorder.
Most stationary sports apparatus includes some sort of handlebar or horizontal bar on which a suitable accessory bag may be suspended. On the other hand, the suspension device may not be suitable for portable use, as may be needed by a runner.
Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to provide an improved sports accessory bag for use either with stationary apparatus or which is portable.
Another object of the invention is to provide an improved convertible suspension means for a sports accessory bag.

Sports accessory bag with convertible suspension means


Methods of forming a high voltage ESD GGNMOS using embedded gradual PN junction in the source region and the resulting devices are provided. Embodiments include a device having a substrate including a device region with an ESD protection circuit; a gate over the device region; a source region in the device region having a N+ implant and a P+ implant laterally separated on a first side of the gate; and a drain region in the device region on a second side of the gate, opposite the first.

Bipolar complementary metal oxide semiconductor-double diffused metal oxide semiconductor (BCD) is a technology for power integrated circuits (ICs). BCD combines different process technologies onto a single chip: bipolar for precise analog functions, CMOS for digital design, and DMOS for power and high-voltage elements. BCD addresses a broad range of products and applications in the fields of power management, analog data acquisition and power actuators. BCD technology is widely used for various applications and requires the several logic components to implement numerous power management utilities. These demands require the guarantees of ESD protection.
A p-type (P+) isolated gate-grounded N-channel metal oxide semiconductor (PI-GGNMOS) with a deep current path has been developed to improve the holding voltage (Vh) of a low voltage (LV) ESD protection device. The LV ESD protection device has a P+ stud implant between the source and the channel and the P+ stud implant abuts to the n-type (N+) source implant. However, this LV ESD design is not applicable to a lateral diffused (LD) transistor such as a LD metal oxide semiconductor (LDMOS) transistor which requires modulation of Vh and triggering voltage (Vt1).
A need therefore exists for methodology enabling improved Vh and Vt1 in LDMOS or GGNMOS transistors with ESD performance and the resulting device.

ESD protection circuit and method of making the same


A method of operating a memory device that includes at least one sub-memory supporting a cache mode and a memory mode, the method including receiving a mode change signal instructing the memory device to change an operation mode of the at least one sub-memory from the cache mode to the memory mode; and changing the operation mode of the at least one sub-memory from the cache mode to the memory mode without flushing the at least one sub-memory, according to the mode change signal.

At least some example embodiments of the inventive concepts relate to a memory device supporting both a cache mode and a memory mode, and a method of operating the same.
In a computer system, a cache is used to reduce degradation in the performance of the computer system, caused by long access latency of a main memory. The cache includes a tag array and a data array. Among these arrays, the data array occupies a great part of the cache. In a cache mode, the data array may be used as a cache of the main memory.
However, in particular cases, it is more efficient to use the data array in a memory mode (or a scratch pad mode) than in the cache mode. For example, when the size of a dynamic memory working set of an application is far greater than the capacity of the cache, a specific page with high locality may be allocated using the data array as a mapping space of a memory.
If the data array supports both the cache mode and the memory mode, intervention of software is needed to maintain data coherency when a mode of the data array is changed. For example, when the data array is switched from the cache mode to the memory mode, all of dirty cache lines of the data array should be flushed to the main memory, thereby increasing latency for the mode change.

Memory device supporting both cache mode and memory mode, and operating method of the same


The present invention relates to fused heterocyclic compound of Formula (I), a stereoisomer, a tautomer, a pharmaceutically acceptable salt, a pharmaceutically acceptable solvate, a prodrug, a polymorph, N-oxide, S-oxide, or a carboxylic acid isostere thereof; processes for their preparation; pharmaceutical compositions comprising said compounds; and their use for the treatment of the diseases or disorders mediated by GPR120 receptor.

Metabolic diseases or disorders are caused by an abnormal metabolic process and may either be congenital due to an inherited enzyme abnormality or acquired due to a disease of an endocrine organ or failure of a metabolically important organ such as the liver or the pancreas.
Among the metabolic disorders, diabetes mellitus is the most prevalent and is considered to be one of the five leading causes of death in the world (Diabetes Care, vol. 27, 2004, pp. 1047-1053). Diabetes mellitus is typically classified into two main subtypes: Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes mellitus. Type 1 diabetes mellitus (otherwise known as Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus, IDDM), which generally occurs in adolescents under 20 years of age, is an auto-immune disease causing an insulitis with the subsequent destruction of insulin-producing β-cells of the pancreas. Further, in latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA), β-cells are destroyed due to autoimmune attack. The subsequent lack of insulin leads to elevated levels of blood and urine glucose (hyperglycemia). Although the exact trigger for this autoimmune response is not known, patients with Type 1 diabetes have high levels of antibodies against pancreatic beta cells (hereinafter "beta cells"). However, it cannot be ascertained that all patients with high levels of these antibodies develop Type 1 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes mellitus or non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) is developed when human muscle, fat and liver cells are not able to respond normally to insulin that body secretes. This inability to respond, otherwise known as insulin resistance, may be due to restriction on the numbers of insulin receptors on these cells, or a dysfunctional behaviour of signalling pathways within the cells, or both. Initially, the β-cells which are responsible for the production of insulin, compensate for this insulin resistance by increasing their insulin secretion. However, these cells gradually become unable to produce enough insulin to facilitate the normal glucose homeostasis, causing the progression to Type 2 diabetes (Am J Med. 108(6), Supplement 1, 2000, pp. 2S-8S). Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is characterised by fasting hyperglycemia which occurs as an effect of the combined lesions of insulin resistance and β-cell dysfunction. There are two types of defects associated with the β-cells: the first component, an increase in the basal insulin release which usually occurs in the presence of low, non-stimulatory glucose concentrations. The second component is a failure to enhance the insulin release in response to a hyperglycaemia challenge.
Obesity is another risk factor for developing metabolic diseases or disorders such as diabetes, cardiovascular disorders, hypertension, hyperlipidemia and an increased mortality. Diabetes caused by insulin resistance and obesity are part of the "metabolic syndrome" which is defined as the linkage between several diseases (also referred to as syndrome X, insulin-resistance syndrome, or deadly quartet). These often occur in the same patients and are major risk factors for the development of Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases (Frontiers in Endocrinology, vol. 4, 2013, pp. 1-11). It has been suggested that the control of lipid levels and/or glucose levels is required to treat type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Even though lifestyle changes like exercise and healthy diet are regarded as the most efficient ways to prevent and manage the disease, pharmaceutical intervention is frequently necessary.
Current treatment options for diabetes, particularly T2D, include use of hypoglycemic agents and insulin. Metformin is one such hypoglycemic agent which is used in the treatment of Type 2 diabetes. It is, in fact, one of the oldest drugs used for the treatment of T2D and it still remains the drug of choice despite associated gastrointestinal (GI) side effects including anorexia, nausea, diarrhea and vomiting commonly associated with it. In fact, metformin should be used with caution in patients with renal impairment because of the slight risk of lactic acidosis. Sulfonylureas (SUs) e.g. glimepiride, glipizide, are insulin secretagogues, which act on β-cells to increase insulin release, are commonly used in the treatment of Type 2 diabetes. However, use of sulfonylureas is also associated with adverse effects in that they increase the risk of hypoglycemia and lead to weight gain. Insulin treatment which is chosen by patients carries the same side-effects. Thiazolidinedione compounds e.g. rosiglitazone, pioglitazone, are insulin sensitizers which bind to peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) in cells and thereby increase the insulin sensitivity. Though, thiazolidinedione compounds have also been widely used, the enhanced risks of cardiovascular disease and hepatotoxicity have resulted in stringent limitations on their use. Relatively recently, regulatory authorities approved new classes of anti-diabetic agents such as GLP-1 agonists (exenatide and liraglutide) and DPP-4 inhibitors (linagliptin and alogliptin).
It is a known fact that metabolic processes are regulated by fatty acids which are important biological molecules that serve both as a source of energy and as signalling molecules. Generally, it is believed that fatty acids produce their biological effects through interacting with intracellular targets including, for example, the family of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs). However, in the recent years it has become clear that fatty acids also serve as agonists for a group of cell surface G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). Free fatty acids (FFAs) have been demonstrated to act as ligands of several GPCRs including GPR40 (FFAR1), GPR43, GPR84, GPR119 and GPR120. One of the GPCR namely GPR40 facilitates glucose-stimulated insulin secretion from pancreatic β-cells, whereas the other GPCR namely GPR120 regulates the secretion of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) in the intestine, as well as insulin sensitivity in macrophages. GPR120 is localized to intestinal enteroendocrine cells, such as colonic L cells. Certain research studies conducted relatively recently identified that loss-of-function of GPR120 human variant is associated with obesity, diabetes and other insulin resistance, and related metabolic disorders and also with inflammatory disorders. These findings establish GPR120 as a potential target for the treatment of diabetes, other metabolic disorders and also, inflammatory disorders (Trends Pharmacol Sci. vol. 32(9), 2011 pp. 543-550).
Various patent documents describe compounds which are reported to be GPR120 modulators. Examples of patent documents describing GPR120 modulators include WO2008103500, WO2009038204, WO2010008831, WO2010048207, WO2010080537, WO2010104195, WO2011072132, WO2013139341, WO2013185766, EP2125758A1, US2011065739 and U.S. Pat. No. 8,367,708.
Thus, in view of the role of GPR120 receptor in potentiating metabolic disorders such as diabetes and also, inflammatory disorders, there is need in the art to develop compounds that act by modulating the GPR120 receptor pathways.

Fused heterocyclic compounds as GPR120 agonists


An image forming apparatus including a first sensor configured to output a signal in response to detecting passage of each sheet fed by a sheet feeder, a second sensor configured to output a signal in response to detecting passage of each sheet re-conveyed by a re-conveyance unit, and a controller configured to acquire a passing time period during which a preceding sheet fed by the sheet feeder is passing through the first sensor, based on the signal from the first sensor, determine an adjustment time period between a time when a leading end of the preceding sheet re-conveyed by the re-conveyance unit is detected based on the signal from the second sensor and a time for the sheet feeder to feed a subsequent sheet toward the image forming unit, and control the sheet feeder to feed the subsequent sheet toward the image forming unit with timing adjusted based on the determined adjustment time period.

Technical Field
The following description relates to one or more techniques to control a conveyance interval between successive two sheets of a plurality of sheets to be conveyed.
Related Art
An image forming apparatus has been known that is configured to control sheet feeding timing and narrow a conveyance interval between any successive two of a plurality of sheets to be conveyed, in order to increase the number of sheets with images formed thereon per unit time. Specifically, the image forming apparatus includes a sensor unit disposed at a feed tray. The sensor unit is configured to detect a size of sheets placed on the feed tray. In advance of starting image formation, the image forming apparatus updates the sheet feeding timing depending on a length of the sheets in a sheet conveyance direction, based on the size of the sheets detected by the sensor unit.

Sheet feeding timing method of image forming apparatus based on sheet size


A method for detecting a sticking tank vent valve in a motor vehicle, a temperature sensor being situated in a tank vent line between the tank vent valve and an inlet point into an intake manifold or into a turbocharger and sticking of the tank vent valve being detected when the absolute value of a correlation of a calculated tank ventilation mass flow and of a signal value of the temperature sensor violates a predefinable threshold value.

In order to comply with the increasingly stricter emission limits, it is essential in automotive technology to reliably detect defects in a tank ventilation system. This prevents fuel vapors from escaping unnoticed from the tank and fuel supply system.
A tank ventilation system as well as a method and a device for checking its operability is described in German Patent No. DE 41 26 880 A1. Here, the device includes an adsorption filter with a venting opening, a supply line to a tank, and a connecting line with an inserted tank vent valve to the intake manifold of the engine, as well as a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the adsorption material. Furthermore, there is a second temperature sensor in the tank ventilation system which is situated near the venting opening of the adsorption filter. The method for checking the operability of the tank ventilation system includes the following steps: initially, the temperature of the adsorption material is measured before the first regeneration of the material after a fueling operation. The temperature of the adsorption material is subsequently measured at a predefined point in time after the start of the first regeneration. Thereafter, the material temperature difference between the first and the second measured value is formed. Furthermore, the temperature of the venting air is measured before the first regeneration and at a predefinable point in time after the start of the first regeneration. The venting air temperature difference between the second and the first measured value is formed. By subtracting the venting air temperature difference from the material temperature difference, a regeneration temperature difference is obtained. This regeneration temperature difference is compared to a threshold value and the device is considered to be operational when the regeneration temperature difference exceeds the threshold value.

Method for detecting a sticking tank vent valve


It is an object of the present invention to provide a cosmetic or external skin preparation that has an improved feel in use, e.g., excellent stretching on the skin surface, excellent permeation into the skin, and no stickiness, or crinkles. A cosmetic or an external skin preparation, and a medical instrument, comprising at least one lipid peptide-based gelator that contains a low-molecular lipid peptide of Formula (1):

Conventionally, research has been conducted on cosmetics that make the skin firm and elastic. As the cosmetics that make the skin firm and elastic, cosmetics that are formulated with a moisturizing component having excellent water retention and excellent water absorbency, such as various water-soluble polyhydric alcohols, mucopolysaccharides, and polymers, and cosmetics that are formulated with an active ingredient for making the skin firm and elastic such as plant extracts are commercially available. Cosmetics that are formulated with these components are improved in the effect of making the skin firm and elastic; however, such cosmetics have problems of having less preferable feel in use, e.g., poor permeation into the skin or lingering stickiness. A cosmetic that is formulated with glycerin or other polyhydric alcohols is known to have a problem of causing stickiness that is likely to linger on the skin (Patent Document 1).
In order to solve these conventional problems, various cosmetics have been developed by considering the types and the formulation amounts of moisturizing components to be formulated. For example, a method for formulating a polymer having a basic amino acid residue in the structure and a macromolecule (xanthan gum) in combination (Patent Document 2), a method for formulating raffinose and agar-agar in combination (Patent Document 3), a method for formulating glycol and an adduct of diglycerin with propylene oxide in combination (Patent Document 4), and the like have been developed. Besides, a method for formulating a component that has an effect of inhibiting a collagenase, which is one of the causes of making the skin less firm and less elastic (Patent Document 5) and a method for formulating dimer linoleyl bis(phytosteryl/behenyl/isostearyl) dimer dilinoleate and gellan gum in combination at a certain amount (Patent Document 6) have also been developed. However, these methods cannot yet produce a cosmetic or an external skin preparation that has excellent texture in use, e.g., no crinkles of a cosmetic or smooth application.
A skin cosmetic (eye cream) that is prepared using a water dispersion of urethane resin that is synthesized by a reaction of a polyol compound and an isocyanate compound is recently reported. The use of the skin cosmetic is reported to give a feeling of improved wrinkles on the skin and a feeling of improved sagging (a feeling of firmer skin), and to have an improved feel in use, e.g., less stickiness, less crinkles of a cosmetic on the skin, and less unsmooth application (Patent Document 7). However, little studies have been conducted on this type of cosmetics other than eye creams regarding the feel in use, e.g., crinkles or unsmooth application. Currently, development of a cosmetic and an external skin preparation is longed for that is excellent in permeation into the skin, is excellent in stretching on the skin, and has no unpleasant feel in use, e.g., stickiness, crinkles on the skin, or unsmooth application.
Polymer gel (chemical gel and physical gel) that is obtained by crosslinking of macromolecular compounds via a covalent bond, an ionic bond, a hydrogen bond, or the like is known. It is known that the more polymer gel a product contains, the more viscous the product is, and as a result, dripping is less likely to occur, rubbing the product into fingers is easier, and the scattering of the product when rubbed is prevented. However, it has been pointed out that high polymer gel content causes stickiness (Patent Documents 8 and 9) and causes crinkles when drying (Patent Document 10). Conversely, a cosmetic that contains less polymer gel is less likely to cause stickiness and crinkles, but it is more prone to drip and is less easily rubbed into fingers. Enough studies have not yet been conducted on the feel in use, e.g., stickiness and crinkles on the skin, and therefore a method that can collectively solve dripping, stickiness, and crinkles is desired.
Meanwhile, interest in anti-aging technologies and tissue engineering has grown rapidly, and development of a cosmetic that is highly biocompatible and highly safe has been desired. In recent years, hydrogels are used in various fields as a highly biocompatible material having water as a medium, and most of the hydrogels are a hydrogel that includes a macromolecular compound or a hydrogel that is formulated with an inorganic material, namely a hydrophobized powder. When these hydrogels are used in a cosmetic or an external skin preparation, however, these hydrogels have problems of an unreacted substance resulting from the synthesis of the macromolecular compound and of the safety of the inorganic material itself.
In recent years, active research on a low-molecular hydrogelator containing a low-molecular compound has been conducted, because the functions of the low-molecular hydrogelator have attracted a lot of interest despite the fact that determination of a mechanism of self-organization among low-molecular compounds in water and molecular design are difficult. As a result, some low-molecular hydrogelators have been discovered (Non-patent Documents 1 and 2). Most of them are amphiphilic compounds that have both a long-chain alkyl group as a hydrophobic moiety and a hydrophilic moiety, and examples of these include ones having an amino acid (Non-patent Document 3), ones having a peptide (Patent Documents 11 and 12), ones having a mono- or polysaccharide (Non-patent Documents 4, 5, and 6), and ones having a polyol (Non-patent Document 7), as the hydrophilic moiety. A low-molecular gelator has been developed utilizing the fact that a peptide including valine easily assumes a n-sheet structure (Non-patent Document 8).
Low-molecular hydrogelators that cannot gel water alone nor organic solvent alone but gel aqueous alcohol solutions and/or organic solvent aqueous solutions have been reported. A well-known common characteristic of low-molecular gel is to quickly react to external stress to convert from gel to sol.

Cosmetic, external skin preparation, and medical instrument

Abstract: (where R1 to R3 are independently an organic group) or a pharmaceutically usable salt thereof.


The present disclosure provides a synthetic nanoparticle comprising a peptide nucleic acid (PNA) oligomer conjugated to a lipid, wherein the PNA oligomer noncovalently complexes with an immunomodulatory compound, thereby forming a nanoparticle. The nanoparticles are useful to elicit immune responses and can be used to treat a broad range of cancers and infectious diseases.

The immune system plays a critical role in our health. The importance of understanding the function of the immune system and learning how to modulate immunity to protect against or treat disease and infection cannot be overstated. Compounds that can modulate both the innate immune response to fight infection and modulate the humoral and cellular response to fight cancer are needed.
Cyclic dinucleotides (CDNs) have been found to have interesting immune-stimulatory properties. CDNs have the potential to promote protective immunity through a unique pathway using the cystolic danger sensor STING (STimulator of Interferon Genes) and its downstream transcription factors. CDNs produced by bacteria elicit an innate immune response that is critical for effective host defense against infection. Additional work has shown CDNs promote cellular and humoral immunity in vaccinated mice, thus creating an interest in developing CDN-based vaccine adjuvants. Unfortunately, as small molecules, CDNs are rapidly flushed from the injection site, leading to systemic inflammatory side effects. Therefore, there remains a need for strategies for delivering CDNs based on the response desired.

Synthetic nanoparticles for delivery of immunomodulatory compounds


This invention provides a novel screening system for identifying p53 mimetics/agonists. Also provided are small organic molecules that act as effective p53 mimetics/agonists.

Two-thirds of all breast cancers display mutations in the tumor suppressor p53 (Lai et al. (2004) Breast Cancer Res. Treat., 83: 57-66), and one-third of all advanced human breast carcinomas demonstrate a marked reduction in expression of the pro-apoptotic Bcl-2 family member Bax (Krajewski et al. (1995) Cancer Res., 55: 4471-4478). Bax and p53 mutations are associated with a high percentage of all human tumors. The subgroup of patients displaying p53 mutations or reduced Bax expression generally respond poorly to therapy and exhibit rapidly growing tumors and shorter median survival (Lai et al., supra; Reed (1996) J. Clin. Invest., 97:2403-2404). Though extensively pursued, the mechanism by which Bax expression is regulated in normal, malignant, or dying cells is unknown. The only known endogenous activator of Bax expression is the p53 transcription factor, which is responsible for inducing cell death in cancerous and damaged cells (Miyashita and Reed (1995) Cell, 80: 293-299).

Small molecules that replace or agonize p53 function


A concealable shoulder-supported harness system for a belt fastened around the torso of a wearer, includes a support portion adapted for operative engagement with the upper torso of the wearer above the belt, wherein the support portion is further adapted for concealment within an outer garment having a portion of the garment extending substantially through the interior side of the belt, and a fastening portion extending from a lower end of the support portion through an aperture in the outer garment located proximate to the belt, wherein the fastening portion further includes an attachment mechanism for securing attachment to the belt. The present invention is further directed to a clothing attire utilizing the same.

A law enforcement or police duty belt, also referred to as a gun belt, is a belt designed for individuals who need to effectively carry equipment with them during assignments. The most notable examples of such individuals include police officers, military personnel, security guards, and the like. The police duty belt is strapped around the wearer's torso such as, for example, the waist, and fastened with a buckle at the front. The police duty belt can be configured to carry, for example, handcuffs, radios, notebooks or pads, handheld weapons such as pepper spray, electroshock guns, firearms, and ammunition. The police duty belt allows the wearer to effectively meet the tactical needs necessary to accomplish a task in the line of duty.
Most police duty belts are about 2 inches wide and are made of either nylon or leather. The police duty belts are generally constructed with a double ply material for retaining shape and withstanding the weight of the equipment on the belt. The police duty belts typically carry more than 20 lbs. of equipment. On a daily basis, police officers are expected to endure tremendous physical demands including, but not limited to, continuously sitting while driving a patrol vehicle and/or writing reports, standing on uneven or wet surfaces, walking or running in and out doors on uneven or hilly terrain, lifting items weighing over 100 lbs., including human bodies, frequent bending, stooping, pulling, pushing, climbing, running, and driving.
Under such physical demands, the police duty belt can impose on the wearer an arduous physical burden that can hinder, or even endanger, the wearer. Frequently, the police duty belt can undesirably shift, slide or slip during physical exertion, cause chaffing or discomfort which requires constant adjusting or lifting, and generate is pressure stress on the stomach, hips and lower back. These problems can adversely hamper the performance and safety of the wearer in the course of patrolling and carrying out police duties.
Accordingly, there is a need for a concealable shoulder-supported harness system for a belt, which is designed to alleviate problems typically associated with such use, while ensuring the safety and comfort of the wearer. There is a further need for a concealable shoulder-supported harness system for a belt, which is designed to operate inconspicuously and maximize the wearer's freedom of movement and ease of travel.

Concealable shoulder-supported harness system for a belt and a clothing attire utilizing the same


With the inner race and shaft fitted with a clearance fit, the bearing satisfies the relation: t/w>0.5, where t is an inner race minimum thickness at a contact area between each rolling element and the inner race raceway, in the direction perpendicular to the raceway, and w is the circumferential distance between adjacent rolling elements (w=π×SD/Z, Z is the number of rolling elements, and SD is the bearing inner diameter). With the outer race and housing fitted with a clearance fit, the bearing satisfies the relation: t/w>0.5, where t is the inner race minimum thickness at a contact area between each rolling element and the outer race raceway, in the direction perpendicular to the raceway, and w is the circumferential distance between adjacent rolling elements (w=π×LD/Z, LD is the bearing inner diameter).

Rolling bearings are used in transportation machinery and various other industrial machines to support their various parts so as to be rotatable relative to each other. A rolling bearing includes an outer race formed with a raceway, an inner race formed with a raceway, and rolling elements disposed between the raceways of the inner and outer races, supporting the inner and outer races so as to be rotatable about the axis of the bearing.
The inner race has a bore through which a shaft can be inserted so as to be fixed to the inner race. The outer race can be fixedly fitted in a housing.
Typically, the outer race 1 and the housing H, as well as the inner race 2 and the shaft Ax, are fitted together by clearance fit or interference fit such the outer race and the housing, as well as the inner race and the shaft, do not rotate relative to each other.
In large motor vehicles such as heavyweight dump trucks, tapered roller bearings as shown in FIGS. 19 and 20 are frequently used (see e.g. JP Patent Publication 2009-204016A) because tapered roller bearings are large in load capacity and high in rigidity.
In a rolling bearing used in such a heavyweight vehicle, the outer race 1 and the housing H, and/or the inner race 2 and the shaft Ax may creep, i.e. slightly rotate relative to each other about the bearing axis, when the rolling elements 3 move and the load distribution changes.
Such creeping occurs e.g. when fitting surface pressures from the rolling elements 3 to the inner and outer races change as the rolling bearing 10 rotates, thus causing arbitrary and random deformation of the inner and outer races.
For example, the portions of the outer and inner races 1 and 2 that are in contact with a rolling element 3 located right under the axis of the rolling bearing 10 tend to be deformed in the circumferential direction more markedly than the other portions of the inner and outer races. The further this rolling element 3 moves circumferentially from the position right under the bearing axis, the lower the degree of deformation of the portions of the inner and outer races that are in contact with this rolling element 3. Thus, any portion of each of the inner and outer races is deformed alternately to a larger degree and a smaller degree, so that as a whole, the outer and inner races 1 and 2 are deformed in a wavy pattern in the circumferential direction. This causes creeping between the outer race 1 and the housing H and between the inner race 2 and the shaft Ax. The higher the radial load applied to the rolling bearing 10, the higher this tendency.
If creeping occurs, the contact portions between the outer race 1 and the housing H and between the inner race 2 and the shaft Ax tend to become worn, producing noise and vibration, or causing seizure on the contact surfaces.
JP Patent Publication 2001-1710A proposes an arrangement for reducing creeping, in which in order to reduce creeping between the inner race of a bearing and a hub ring fitted in the inner race, an end of the hub ring is crimped such that a material forming the hub ring is received in grooves formed in the inner periphery of the inner race at its end, thereby rotationally fixing together the hub ring and the inner race.
JP Patent Publication 2010-25155A proposes to manufacture a bearing by an ordinary method, but such that in order to reduce creeping, the inner and outer races both have larger wall thicknesses and thus are more rigid than conventional inner and outer races.
By increasing the wall thicknesses of the inner and outer bearing races, it is necessary to reduce the roller diameter if the number of the rollers is unchanged. This reduces the load rating of the bearing because the load rating is an increasing function of the roller diameter as well as of the number of the rollers. But in JP Patent Publication 2010-25155A, it is stated that even when the wall thicknesses of the inner and outer bearing races are increased, it is possible to increase the load rating by increasing the number of the rollers even though the roller diameter has to be reduced.
Press release "Developing creep-free bearings" (Public Relations Department, NSK Ltd., Jun. 27, 2007; http:jp.nsk.com/company/presslounge/news/2007/press070627.html) proposes, in order to minimize creeping, to optimize the dimensions of an O-ring and a groove formed in the radially outer surface of the outer race in which the O-ring is received, as well as the elasticity and repulsive force of the O-ring.
In NSK TECHNICAL JOURNAL No. 680 (2006) pages 13 to 18 "Mechanism of creeping of bearing outer race", the results of experiments and numerical analyses are reported regarding creeping of the stationary bearing ring of a bearing in the same direction as the rotational direction of the bearing.
In this document, regarding issues related to the amount of creeping, it is reported that the smaller the ratio of the outer race wall thickness to the rolling element diameter, the higher the creep tendency and that the higher the load ratio (Fr/Cr), the higher the creep tendency too. It is further mentioned that the smaller the number of the rollers, the higher the creep tendency.
In NSK TECHNICAL JOURNAL No. 680 (2006) pages 13 to 18 "Mechanism of creeping of bearing outer race", the mechanism of creeping is explained as circumferential stretching and shrinkage of the bearing rings, i.e. as the behavior of longitudinal waves. Finite element method (FEM) analysis regarding the amount of creeping is performed by simple two-dimensional calculation.
While the arrangements disclosed in JP Patent Publication 2009-204016A; JP Patent Publication 2001-1710A; JP Patent Publication 2010-25155A and Press release "Developing creep-free bearings" (Public Relations Department, NSK Ltd., Jun. 27, 2007; http:jp.nsk.com/company/presslounge/news/2007/press070627.html) are effective to reduce creeping to some extent under certain conditions, but may not be effective to reduce creeping of bearings to which large radial loads are applied.
In NSK TECHNICAL JOURNAL No. 680 (2006) pages 13 to 18 "Mechanism of creeping of bearing outer race", a technique concerning certain tendencies regarding creeping is described. But data showing these relations are nothing but qualitative description showing the relationship between relative ratios. Thus, this reference discloses none of inflexion points of a graph related to creeping and clear reference values concerning creeping.


A DRAM memory saves on the overall power consumed by the whole device by skipping unnecessary read, write, and refresh cycles of the internal memory core. Because each such cycle costs power, skipped cycles save power. Specifically, read cycles are not always automatically followed by write-back cycles that restore the read-data, e.g. due to the destructive-read nature of the DRAM. Such write-back cycles are only allowed when they can be postponed no longer, and the data written are actually used sometime later. Data that needs only to be read back once, and that have thereby served their purpose, are not written-back. Simple refresh cycles involving unused rows, or rows that have been destructively read and not yet written-back, are skipped and not refreshed. Data rows that are read from the memory core are held in the peripheral circuits in a way that simulates a cache. All the external byte and bit accesses that can be supported by the whole row in cache are serviced without read or write cycles to the memory core.

1. Technical Field
The invention relates to dynamic random access memories (DRAMs) used in computer systems. More particularly the invention relates to methods and devices for reducing the power consumed by DRAMs to benefit portable, battery powered equipment.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Dynamic random access memories (DRAM's) are now the main type of memory devise used in computer systems, at least in part, because their one-transistor per memory cell construction permits a maximum of memory storage to be designed onto a chip. Each memory cell uses a capacitor to store a voltage that represents a digital bit value. Because the capacitors are very small, a refresh must be periodically performed to rewrite each bit. Otherwise, the information written in the memory is lost due to drifts and leakage that occur in such circuits. Most such DRAM's use circuits that unavoidably destroy the data in each memory cell when it is read out. Thus, a write-back cycle is needed to return the data to its original condition for other accesses.
It has been common practice in DRAM design to organize the memory cells into equal numbers of rows and columns, forming a square area on the chip die. A 1M-bit DRAM is therefore roughly organized as 1K-by-1K, depending on the height and width of each cell. Access to such memory involves selecting whole rows where only a portion of the whole number of columns are manipulated at any one access. Row decoders are used to select which row in a memory core is to be accessed and column decoders are used to select the columns that match the system memory address. Sense amplifiers and latches are used to read and hold the data values in peripheral circuits, because the way the data are stored in the individual memory cells is incompatible with the external logic levels.
A principle reason that DRAM designers have been interested in reducing the power consumption of devices is to keep the heat dissipation to reasonable levels. With more than a million bits per DRAM chip now common, whatever power is dissipated in each memory cell is multiplied by a million or more for the whole chip. For example, Katsutaka Kimura, et al., describe various power reduction techniques that are conventional in DRAM design in their article, Power Reduction Techniques in Megabit DRAM's, IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits, Vol. SC-21, No. 3, pp. 381-388 (June 1986). They seem to settle on using CMOS technology with half-Vcc precharge as their preferred solution for DRAMs over 1M-bit.
Another similar discussion is by Kiyoo Itoh, et al. in Trends in Low-Power RAM Circuit Technologies, Proceedings of the IEEE, Vol. 83, No. 4, pp. 524-543 (April 1995). This article describes how lowering RAM memory power consumption can be helpful in portable battery powered equipment. The focus is on ways the charging capacitance, operating voltage, and DC static current can all be reduced to save on the overall power consumed by a RAM. A preferred method here for reducing power consumption is to use partial activation of multi-divided data-line and shared I/O circuits.
The popularity of portable computers and devices powered by batteries has been increasing. But batteries with very high energy storage capability continue to elude designers. So the answer to longer operational battery life is to draw less power for a given application. Thus, even in DRAMs where heat dissipation is not a problem, it is nevertheless important to reduce power consumption to extend operating time for portable systems because such a large portion of the overall system power is consumed by the DRAMs.


A removable, disposable tracheotomy obturator of soft, plastic material, of the type having a valve plug connected by a flexible strap to a valve cap, normally positioned within a curved tracheotomy tube, is provided with windpipe means to permit the patient to breathe freely while the tube is being inserted during a tracheotomy. The windpipe means may be air passages in the plug and in the cap or may be a continuous, air conduit of soft plastic extending from a blunt, terminal tip in advance of the plug, through the tube and cap to ambient atmosphere. Inflexible proximal portions are provided on the attachment ears of the tube as a means of suspended fixation of the tube as a bridge over the incision.

It has heretofore been proposed to provide an instrument for performing a tracheotomy, the instrument comprising a tube, or cannula, of arcuate configuration and an incisor assembly fitting within the tube. The incisor assembly has comprised a handle, or knob, at the outer end of the tube, a head having a cutting blade projecting from the inner end of the tube and a rod connecting the knob to the cutting head.
Exemplary of such devices are the instruments disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,873,742 to Sheldon of Feb. 17, 1959; U.S. Pat. No. 2,865,374 to Brown of Dec. 23, 1958; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,384,987 to Brummelkamp of Mar. 21, 1968.
The use of sharp cutting blades at the inner end of a tracheal tube in order to make, or enlarge, an incision as the tube is inserted, has been found to have serious disadvantages because the sharp point, or blades, inserted in the front of the trachea may perforate, or damage, the opposite side of the trachea or perforate the gullet lying behind the trachea. Similarly, even more damage could occur in the use of a sharp pointed, hollow needle of hard metal for making the initial incision into the trachea and then withdrawal of the needle for further insertion of the hard cutting edge tip of a trocar, as taught in the Brummelkamp patent. Such instruments are believed to no longer be accepted in modern surgical practice and have become obsolete in favor of tracheal tubes and obturators of soft plastic, inserted, after the incision has been made, by a suitable tracheal spreader.
It has also been proposed to provide a tracheal tube, or guide conduit with an inner expander element telescopically arranged therein for enlarging the incision in the neck. The element having a ball at the tip for attachment of a hollow tubular leader. Such an apparatus is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,511,243 to Toy on May 12, 1970.
Apparatus for sealing the oesophagus and providing artifical respiration is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,683,908 to Tantrimudalige et al on Aug. 15, 1972 wherein a curved tube with a cuff is introduced through the mouth, there being a small bore, stomach washing tube extending along the main tube with the outer end connected to a supply of washing water.
None of the above patents disclose a tracheotomy tube with an obturator removably positioned therewithin, the obturator having a valve plug affixed by s strap to a valve cap, and made of relatively soft material free of sharp cutting edges or sharp guide tips and which is provided with air passages permitting the patient to breathe while the device is inserted into the trachea.


A retainer for a mattress cover such as a sheet has a central band made of a stiff, smooth material and elastic straps attached to opposite ends of the band. Openable and lockable fasteners are attached to the ends of the straps, each fastener having a pair of jaws. One end of a short length of cord is attached to the fastener, the other end being free. In use, the band extends under the mattress and the fasteners are clamped to opposite sides of the cover with the cord inside a bight or fold of the cover to provide an enlargement which can be securely gripped by the fastener.

When a sheet or similar covering is placed on a mattress, it tends to slide because mattresses are commonly finished with a rather slippery surface. A flat sheet, mattress cover or even a fitted sheet slides because of the low friction between it and the mattress and, when a person gets into the bed, the sheet is likely to be displaced.
Various solutions have been proposed to solve this problem, including straps which extend beneath the mattress and engage marginal portions of the sheet. In principle, this is a sound solution, but its implementation has given rise to some problems which have not been adequately solved, particularly in the attachment between the ends of the strap and the sheet. It has been proposed, for example, to use a strap or belt which has snap members or similar fasteners at the ends and to then permanently attach mating snap members to the sheet itself. While this would seem to be workable, it has the disadvantages of requiring the purchaser to go through the process of attaching the snap fasteners to the sheets or else acquiring special sheets to accompany the strap, neither of which is a satisfactory solution.
Other devices of this type have used more universal attachment means not requiring special sheets, but the attachment devices have involved grippers which, in order to engage the sheet securely enough, tend to tear the fabric of the sheet, thereby shortening its useful life.
In addition, those strap devices proposed in the past have had limitations on their effectiveness and simplicity of installation because of the structural nature and the materials employed.


The stamper 16 is disposed opposing to the cavity 3 formed between the fixed mold 1 and the movable mold 2, as a holding means of the circumference of the stamper the flat type of holding means 17 is provided, and when using this molded product for molding a disk, the air for releasing the mold is blown out from a plurality of air passages into the cavity. The air from the outer circumference side of the disk is blown out from one of the air supply opening provided on at least one of the recessed portion 28 formed on the holding means 17 and the mirror plate 15 opposing to the recessed portion 28 simultaneously, before or after the operation time of opening the mold during the time of restoring stroke of the holding means from being pushed against the resilient means 32 through the gap 30 between the inside projection wall 27 of the holding means 17 and the stamper surface 16a.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to molding a disk for optical recording medium such as a compact disk (CD) and a digital video disk (DVD), in particular an air blowing method at the time of being released from a mold and a mold therefor.
2. Background of Related Art
A mold for producing an optical disk such as CD or DVD forms a cavity between a fixed mold and a movable mold, and in order to fix a stamper to at least one of mirror surfaces facing to the cavity, comprises a structure where a stamper holder for holding the inner and outer edges of the stamper to the mirror surface. And, when a molten resin is filled in the cavity, a bit which is formed concentrically and in concavo-convex manner in section formed on the surface of the stamper is transferred to a molded product to make a disk having an information data.
This molding method comprises a process as well as a general injection molding and is carried out by following processes. That is, a mold is fixed to a molding-machine, and after carrying out a mounting arrangement of the mold, a mold closing process for putting a fixed mold and a movable mold together, a mold clamping process for maintaining a clamping-keeping pressure due to increasing a pressure to the molds put together, an injection and filling process for filling the molten resin in the mold, a pressure keeping and cooling process for controlling an injection keeping pressure and cooling the mold, a mold opening process for retreating the movable mold and a molded product taking out process are carried out to finish a series of molding process. As a mold to be used for molding a disk, there is such a mold structure as disclosed in, for example, Japanese patent laid-open No. Hei 5-177672 and Japanese utility model publication No. Hei 7-42682, and in FIGS. 3-5, a sectional view of a partial portion of these molds and a main portion are disclosed.
In the two molds mentioned above, a difference with each other resides in the structure for holding the circumference of the stamper. A holding means shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 is a flat type and the one shown in FIG. 5 is a push-in type. The flat type shown in FIG. 3 is structured from an outer ring comprising an inner ring portion, an outer ring portion and a gas exhausting opening, which is mounted through a resilient member on the side of the mirror plate of a mold opposite to the mold on which a stamper is held and disposed in such a manner as it surrounds the cavity while making its outer ring portion get in touch with the stamper surface.
In the explanation referring to reference signs of FIG. 4, it is of a structure in which an outer ring 50 is mounted on the side of a mirror plate 55 of a movable mold through a conical spring 54 by a bolt 53 inserted in a central hole while the outer ring portion 51 abutting a stamper face 16a and forming a gap 30 between the inner ring portion 52 and the stamper 16. Thereby, at the time of closing the mold, the conical spring 54 is compressed on the mirror plate 55 and the outer ring 50 slides on the side surface of the mirror plate 55 along the axial direction of the bolt 53. On the other hand, at the time of opening of the mold, the outer ring 50 moves reversely in the previous direction due to the restreating force of the conical spring 54. This displacing distance is controlled in a given stroke by the length of the bolt and the conical spring 54. Further, the gap 30 between an inner ring portion 52 of the outer ring and a stamper surface 16a is set in its width so as to be passed by a gas but not by a molten resin. Thereby, the gas only in the cavity is adapted to be exhausted through the gap 30, a gas drain groove 56 and a gas drain opening 57.
Further, in a holding means of the push-in type shown in FIG. 5 too is, as well as in the flat type, formed with an outer ring 60 surrounding the stamper. Conventionally, in this type of a disk mold, at the time of releasing the disk from the stamper 16, an air b from an air passage of a movable mold is supplied through the gap between the stamper holder and a sleeve (not shown). However, it is not easy for a disk to be released in one direction from inside to outside due to the resistance of the existence of a concavo-convex configuration of the stamper, and, merely by this air b (air blow) in the inner side, the disk is not released even from a front face of the stamper and, since an air supply to the outer circumference of a disk is delayed and the releasing balance thereof becomes different between the inside and outside of the disk, a boundary pattern like a mist appears on the disk surface to have generated a problem.
However, in the mold shown in FIG. 5, there are an air a blown from an air passage A of a fixed mold toward the bottom side of the cavity and an air b blown from an air passage B of the movable mold toward the stamper side, in addition an air c is adapted to be blown from the outer side of the disk toward inside of the cavity through an air passage C provided so as to blow an air from the outer side of the disk. Whereby, the gap 30 between the outer ring 60 and the stamper surface 16a does not become exclusive for the gas drain like in the flat type and forms one part of the air passage C through which is formed for the air which is supplied from an air passage 65 opened at a concave portion 64 of the outer ring to the inside of the cavity 3. In addition, in the structure of FIG. 5, a vacuum passage D is formed in order to suck an air d for making the outer circumference of the stamper contact tightly to a mirror plate 66.
Accordingly, the airs a and b supplied through the air passages A and B are blown from the inner circumference of the disk outside of the cavity in the radial direction of the cavity and the air c supplied from the air passage C is blown through the outer ring 60 and the gap 30 between a projected portion from the outer ring and the stamper surface 16a toward the inside of the cavity 3 in the radial direction. As a result, a disk is released from the mirror face of the cavity bottom and the stamper face.
Therefore, in the above mentioned mold structure of the push-in type, an air blow is supplied from both sides in the radial direction, and due to this mold structure an even, complete and instant releasing from the stamper and the sticking by sucking the stamper to the mirror face of the movable mold are simultaneously obtained, so that it becomes possible to prevent the stamper from being floated up unevenly from the mirror face and the uneven defect of the stamper surface from being generated to attain an improvement in the air blow method for releasing the disk from the mold.
However, in the flat type of the structure of the mold, the outer ring is not fixed like in the push-in type, the stamper is pushed through a resilient means and the holding means of the outer circumference of the stamper is adapted to be displaced to and fro at every opening and closing of the mold. Further, there is not provided with the vacuum passage for sucking the stamper to the mirror plate. Therefore, in the flat type, it is difficult to join the passages provided in the mold and since the gap between the stamper surface and the inner ring portion is exclusively used for exhausting the gas, an air supply in the reverse direction could not carry out.
In the light of such situation, the purpose of the present invention is to provide an air blow method and a mold thereof in which by making use of the holding means for holding the outer circumference of the stamper in the flat type as a holding means, a good molding of a disk is carried out.

Air blowing method for mold for a disk molding and a mold therefor


A process for the production of linear alternating polymers of carbon monoxide and at least one ethylenically unsaturated hydrocarbon employs a novel catalyst composition form from a palladium compound, the anion of certain string acids and a bidentate ligand of sulfur. The copolymer of carbon monoxide and a styrene monomer by such process is regioregular but not stereoregular.

The class of polymers of carbon monoxide and olefin(s) has been known in the art for some time. Brubaker, U.S. Pat. No. 2,495,286, produced such polymers of relatively low carbon monoxide content in the presence of free radical initiators, e.g., peroxy compounds. U.K. No. 1,081,304 produced similar polymers of higher carbon monoxide content in the presence of alkyl phosphine complexes of palladium as catalyst. Nozaki extended the reaction to produce linear alternating polymers in the presence of arylphosphine complexes of palladium moieties and certain inert solvents. See U.S. Pat. No. 3,694,412, for example.
The linear alternating polymers have been shown to be of the general repeating formula -CO-A- wherein A is the moiety of ethylenically unsaturated hydrocarbon. By way of specific illustration, when the polymer is a copolymer of carbon monoxide and ethylene, the copolymer will be of the repeating formula -CO-CH.sub.2 --CH.sub.2).
More recently, the class of linear alternating polymers, now becoming known as polyketones or polyketone polymers, has become of greater interest because of the greater availability of the polymers. Many of the more recent processes for the production of the linear alternating polymers are illustrated by a number of published European Patent Application Nos. including 121,965, 181,014, 213,671 and 257,633. Such processes involve the use of a catalyst composition formed from a salt of a Group VIII metal selected from palladium, cobalt or nickel, the anion of a non-hydrohalogenic acid having a pKa below about 6 and a bidentate ligand of phosphorus, arsenic or antimony. The scope of the polymerization process is extensive but, without wishing to be limited, a preferred catalyst composition is formed from a palladium carboxylate, especially palladium acetate, the anion of a non-hydrohalogenic acid having a pKa below 2 and a bidentate ligand of phosphorus. For some particular applications it has been found useful to employ other bidentate ligands. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,788,279 there is disclosed a process for producing a copolymer of carbon monoxide and styrene which employs a nitrogen bidentate ligand of the formula ##STR1## wherein X and Y are the same or different organic bridging groups containing 3 or 4 atoms in the bridge at least 2 of which are carbon atoms. The compound 2,2'-bipyridine is an example of such a ligand. In copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 140,013, filed Dec. 12, 1987 and Ser. No. 350,828, filed May 12, 1989 there are disclosed catalyst compositions useful for the production of polyketone polymers which are formed from, inter alia, sulfur- or selenium-containing bidentate ligands. It would be of advantage, however, to provide additional processes and additional catalyst compositions useful for the production of linear alternating polymers of carbon monoxide and ethylenically unsaturated hydrocarbons.

Polymerization of co/olefin with catalyst comprising sulfur bidentate ligand


An integrated control device for controlling a device such as a LED display or a miniature stepping motor for an electronic watch comprises at least one insulated-gate field effect transistor for controlling the supply of current to the element. The gate of the F.E.T. is connected to a control circuit including a voltage multiplier comprising a series-connected chain of rectifiers and a plurality of capacitors connected between the respective junctions between rectifiers and alternate inputs. High frequency signals of opposite phase are supplied to the inputs under control of an input control signal. Circuit means are provided for starting the action of the voltage multiplier at the beginning of an input control signal and for short-circuiting the output of the control circuit at the end of an input control signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an integrated, insulated-gate, field-effect transistor control device comprising at least one power transistor whose conduction path is connected in series with the device to be controlled between the terminals of a power supply and a control circuit having at least one input connected to a source of input control signals, and having an output connected to the gate of the said power transistor thereby applying to it control signals at a higher voltage than that of the input control signals and of the power supply.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Numerous circuits for apparatus of small volume such as watches and pocket calculators are fed by batteries. The voltage is then limited to a few volts if one does not want to assign too much space to the batteries. For example, the display devices, the micro-motor of a watch or light emitting diodes of the display in a calculator require relatively large currents.
The power transistors used for controlling an external device at a high current, such as for example a stepping motor or an LED display, are usually controlled by a device generating relatively low-voltage control signals. These power transistors designed for low-voltage control occupy a large portion of the total surface of the integrated circuit, which is a major drawback so far as cost and production efficiency are concerned.
It has already been suggested (French patent application No. 2 332 646), in order to control n-type MOS transistors, to increase the control voltage by means of a control circuit comprising a storage capacitor. This circuit however requires a capacity whose value is much higher than the capacities of the gates of the transistors to be controlled so that, in practice, it is not suitable for being integrated. On the other hand, the increase in the voltage which can be obtained is limited.
Furthermore, voltage multipliers using Schottky diodes and external capacities (U.S. Pat. No. 3,818,484) are known in integrated control devices for liquid crystal display devices. These multipliers are conceived for providing the necessary supply of power to these display devices and their control circuits, which conditions the way in which they are produced and makes very important the power output obtained.

Integrated insulated-gate field-effect transistor control device