A front module disposed between an engine and a torque converter, and a method for coupling or decoupling the front module to the torque converter is provided. The front module has a housing that defines a cavity and has at least one access window, but preferably two access windows. The access windows may each include a notch. Disposed in the housing of the front module is a motor/generator and an engine disconnect clutch. A flexplate connects an output of the front module to the torque converter. The flexplate has a plurality of notches located on a periphery of the flexplate, and the flexplate is connected to the torque converter by a plurality of fasteners. Both the notches on the periphery of the flexplate and the plurality of fasteners are accessible through the access windows.

Modular hybrid transmissions are designed such that the transmission gearbox and torque converter (or launch clutch if there is no torque converter) are mostly carryover from a non-hybrid application. A separate assembly housing an engine disconnect clutch and a motor/generator is bolted between an engine and a transmission housing. The assembly housing the engine disconnect clutch and motor/generator may generally be referred to as the front module.
In a non-hybrid application that connects an engine output to a torque converter via a flexplate, the bolts connecting the torque converter to the flexplate are easily accessible through indentations on both sides of the engine, one of the indentations being the starter motor pocket. Also in the non-hybrid application, rotation of the torque converter is easily accomplished by rotating the starter ring gear. Having the ability to rotate the torque converter when connecting/disconnecting the flexplate allows the torque converter and flexplate to be indexed so that each bolt connecting the torque converter to the flexplate may be accessible through one of the indentations on either side of the engine at a given rotated position.
In a modular hybrid transmission application where the output of a motor/generator connects to a torque converter via a flexplate, the front module that is disposed between the engine and torque converter has a housing that does not have indentations for access to the bolts that connect the torque converter to the flexplate. In addition, neither the flexplate nor torque converter has features that are accessible to allow rotation of the torque converter.
It would be desirable to provide a modular hybrid transmission application where the bolts connecting an output of a motor/generator to a torque converter via a flexplate are accessible. It would also be desirable to provide a modular hybrid transmission application where the torque converter and flexplate may be indexed so that each bolt connecting the flexplate to the torque converter may be accessible at a given rotated position.

Front module for a modular hybrid transmission and a method for connecting/disconnecting the front module from a torque converter


A fishing tool (1) configured to retrieve a fish (100) from a wellbore, having a fish engagement arrangement (3) with fish engagement means (5) configured to lock the fishing tool to the fish inside a well. The fishing tool (1) has an electrically actuated fish disengagement arrangement (4), which is configured to unlock the fishing tool from the fish, wherein the fish disengagement arrangement (4) comprises an electric actuator (13). The fish disengagement arrangement (4) comprises a direct mechanical force link (6) between the electric actuator (13) and the fish engagement means (5), wherein the direct mechanical force link is configured to connect a mechanical force from the electric actuator (13) to the fish engagement means (5).

In the field of well technology, fishing tools are used to retrieve various types of downhole equipment, which is installed or lost in the well, normally referred to as "a fish". Such equipment may for instance be a wellbore packer, a downhole pump, or other downhole tools. Such pieces of equipment are commonly provided with a profile for engagement with a fishing tool. Sometimes, however, such as after an unintended occurrence, there may be equipment stuck in the well without such a profile or with a damaged profile.
There are known various types of fishing tools, which are run by using different methods. Some are run on wireline, such as a slick line or an electric line. Performing fishing operations with a wireline is usually the most cost-efficient method. Other types of fishing tools are run on coiled tubing (CT), drill pipe, or other tubular methods.
It sometimes happens that the operator is not able to pull the fish out of the wellbore. He must then release the fishing tool from the fish to retrieve the tool. For fishing tools run on wireline, such release is performed by providing a downwardly or upwardly directed force onto the fishing tool. Typically, this force will shear off one or more shear pins, which releases the engagement between the fishing tool and the fish.
In more modern, horizontally drilled wells, it is difficult to apply such a mechanical release force onto the fishing tool. Due to friction forces, the operator cannot rely on gravity to provide the needed force. As a result, the operators need to run the fishing tool on a coiled tubing or a drill string, thus increasing complexity and cost. Alternatively, the operators may apply an additional release system above the fishing tool, but this results in a significant increase of the fish length after release.
Publication WO2016140678 discloses a fishing tool with a fish disconnection function. In this solution, a preloaded spring is configured to disengage the fishing tool from the fish. To activate the spring, a lug is pulled out of a spring-arresting engagement. The lug is pulled away by means of an electric motor. For this solution, the disengagement force, by which a fish engagement means shall be pulled out of engagement with the fish, is governed by the spring. Consequently, when the spring is activated, it will exert a predetermined force for disengagement. Moreover, this force can be applied only once, i.e. there it is not possible to make more than one disengagement attempt.
An object of the present invention may be to provide a fishing tool that can be run on a wireline and that can be used both in vertical and horizontal wells.
Another object of the present invention may be to provide a wireline fishing tool that can be disengaged from a connected fish by means of a novel fish disengagement arrangement.
An object of the invention may be to provide a wireline fishing tool that has a fish disengagement arrangement by means of which one may apply a disengagement force of varying size, and/or repeated application of a disengagement force.


An audio recorder with retroactive storage capability operates under control of a sound responsive switch to enter signals representative of the instantaneous amplitude of sound signals received by a microphone into a first-in first-out memory. When the memory is filled, digital signals representative of newly recorded sound supplant the oldest signals in the memory. An operator listening to the sound may retroactively capture signals representative of the most recently occurring sounds against erasure by depressing a pushbutton. Circuitry responsive to the resulting signal removes the most recently generated sound signals from the first-in first-out queue so that they may be later recalled to reproduce the sounds.

Audio recorders for use in conferences, business meetings and the like have evolved in recent years from relatively large, heavy devices using motor driven magnetic tapes to lightweight portable units which may be hand held and are powered by small batteries. Recently, solid state memories employing integrated circuits have supplanted tape recorders in many applications resulting in even smaller and lighter-weight units.
These integrated circuit recorders may record analog values representing the instantaneous amplitude of the sound reaching the unit's microphone or the microphone output may be digitized and stored as binary values. Digital compression/decompression circuits may be employed to increase storage capacity for a fixed memory size. Often these recorders employ sound responsive switches to reduce the battery drain when there are no sounds to be recorded.
These recorders may operate on a first-in first-out basis so that the recorder stores the most recently captured sounds and discards signals or overwrites representative of the oldest sounds so that the memory capacity is not exceeded. For example, if a memory has a capacity for storing ten minutes of sound, when the memory is full the system continues to record the most recently generated sounds at the expense of signals stored in the recorder representing the oldest sounds so that at any time the most recently recorded ten minutes of sounds are stored.
In certain recording situations most of the sounds being recorded, be they voice or music or the like, need not be preserved, but from time-to-time sounds will be generated that the operator of the recorder desires to preserve and later play back and possibly transcribe. For example, in a business meeting, court proceeding, musical rehearsal or the like there may be no need to record the entire proceedings, but occasionally a statement is made or a musical section is played that the operator, after hearing the sounds, deems it important to preserve. The present invention is directed towards such usages.


A length measuring arrangement for measuring the relative position of two objects, the length measuring arrangement including a housing made of a non-magnetic material and longitudinally extending in a measuring direction. The length measuring arrangement including a scale in the housing, the scale having a measuring graduation, a first guide face and a second guide face which extends perpendicular to the first guide face. A mounting piece attachable to one of the two objects rigidly in the measuring direction and resiliently transversely to the measuring direction. The length measuring arrangement including a scanning carriage that scans the measuring graduation, wherein the scanning carriage is coupled to the mounting piece rigidly in the measuring direction and resiliently transversely to the measuring direction, and the scanning carriage is linearly guided in the measuring direction on the first and second guide faces and is pressed against the first and second guide faces. A pressure force is generated by a magnetic force between at least one first element of the scanning carriage and a second element provided on the housing.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a length measuring arrangement
2. Background Information
Such length measuring arrangements, such as for example described in DE 28 10 341 C2, are employed for measuring lengths as well as distances, and are in particular used in processing machinery for measuring the relative movement of a tool in relation of a workpiece to be processed, in coordinate-measuring machinery, and increasingly also in the semiconductor industry.
Here, a scale with a measuring graduation, which is protected from environmental effects, is used as the measurement representation and is placed into a housing, which extends linearly in the measuring direction. For simple and cost-effective manufacture, the housing is an extruded profile made of a non-magnetic material, in particular aluminum. In the course of position measurement, the measuring graduation, which is incrementally or absolutely coded, is scanned by a scanning carriage. For this purpose, the scanning carriage is linearly conducted along two guide faces extending perpendicularly in relation to each other and is pressed against them. This guidance has proven itself, because it is assured that a constant scanning distance between the scanning carriage, in particular the scanning plate, and the scale is maintained over the entire measurement length, which guarantees the good quality of the scanning signal. The guidance of the scanning carriage is decoupled from the guidance of the object to be measured in that a mounting piece with a coupling is provided between the object to be measured and the scanning carriage, which coupling couples the scanning carriage rigidly to the mounting piece in the measuring direction and resiliently transversely to it. Pressing the scanning carriage against the two guide faces of the scale, which extend perpendicularly in relation to each other, i.e. the generation of the pressing force, takes place in the prior art by a spring arm (DE 23 49 944 A1), or by several pressure springs, wherein each of the guide feces is provided its own spring (DE 28 10 341 C2), whose pressure force is oriented toward the respective guide face. As a rule, these springs, which are oriented perpendicularly to each other, are arranged between the scanning carriage and the mounting piece, this leads to the distance between the scanning carriage and the mounting piece having an influence on the pressure forces. It is therefore necessary to select the installation tolerances to be particularly small.
The demands made on length measuring arrangements are continuously increasing, higher resolution, as well as greater accuracy and reproducibility of the position measurement is continuously being demanded. Along with this, a compact mechanical structure should be provided, and the length measuring arrangement should be produced in a cost-effective manner.


A member junction structure includes a first member provided with a first press-fitting portion and a second press-fitting portion, and a second member provided with a first press-fitted portion and a second press-fitted portion and configured to be installed on the first member by moving in a first direction which is a predetermined one direction with respect to the first member. In a state where the second member is halfway to be installed on the first member, the first press-fitting portion is inserted into the second press-fitted portion, thereby providing a guide for installing the second member on the first member. In a state where the second member is completely installed on the first member, the first press-fitting portion is press-fitted into the first press-fitted portion, and the second press-fitting portion is press-fitted into the second press-fitted portion.

Conventionally, when the two resin brackets are joined to each other, an engaging portion of a first resin bracket is engaged with an engaged portion of a second resin bracket. In this engagement, the engagement portion of the first resin bracket and the engaged portion of the second resin bracket are engaged by zero-touch or press-fitting. That is, the two resin brackets are joined to each other by a transition fitting or an interference fitting.
This structure prevents looseness between the two resin brackets caused by vibration or the like of the vehicle. Patent Document 1 (JP 2010-112509 A) is described as a conventional technical document.

Member junction structure and electric junction box


A multi-terminal electrical connector having two rows of terminals on one side of a dielectric housing and two rows of terminals on the other side. On one side pairs of terminals are laterally spaced from row to row. Conductors extend through the connector to connect terminals of each pair on one side to terminals of an associated pair on the other side. In one structure, the conductors to alternating conductor pairs on each side are spaced apart laterally of the rows while for the other pairs, the conductors cross over each other. In another structure, the conductors of each of the pairs are spaced laterally and a spacer is provided to cause alternate pairs of untwisted wires to be spaced laterally and the wires of the other pairs to cross over each other. In both structures, the arrangement reduces crosstalk.

a) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to multi-terminal electrical connectors.
b) Prior Art
Multi-terminal electrical connectors are designed for high frequency transmission in the telecommunications industry. One type of connector has two spaced and parallel rows of terminals at a front side of a dielectric housing and two further spaced and parallel rows of terminals at a rear side of the housing. Conductors of the connector electrically connect the terminals of each row on the front side to the terminals of a specific row on the rear side, the conductors extending in laterally spaced relationship through the housing. In use of this type of connector, two conductors of a twisted insulated pair are connected one to each of two laterally spaced terminal these terminals being located one in each of the two rows at the rear side of the housing.
Cross-talk is a paramount problem in high frequency transmission and has a relationship to the pitch or lay length of a twisted pair of conductors. In other words, as the lay length is reduced, cross-talk between adjacent twisted pairs is also reduced. However, while cross-talk may be lessened by choice of lay length, the effect of this can be somewhat nullified in that cross-talk is permitted to increase when high frequency transmission takes place through the above-described type of multiterminal connector. This increase is due to electromagnetic coupling inside the connector.


A refrigerator includes a main body having at least one refrigerating compartment; a door to open and close an opening of the refrigerating compartment; a water dispenser provided on the door to supply drinking water; a drawer provided inside the refrigerating compartment; and a filter assembly disposed behind the drawer to filtrate water supplied to the water dispenser. Thus, the refrigerator has more available space and the filter assembly can be exchanged by the user with ease. Further, the refrigerator has a better appearance inside the cooling compartment and the cost for the filter assembly is reduced.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a refrigerator and, more particularly, to a refrigerator in which a filter assembly can be exchanged with ease and an available space in the refrigerator is increased.
2. Description of the Related Art
As shown in FIG. 5, a conventional refrigerator is divided into a freezing compartment 110 and a cooling compartment 120 by a partition in a right-and-left direction. On each of the openings of the freezing compartment 110 and the cooling compartment 120 are provided a freezing compartment door 111 and a cooling compartment door 121 each having respective door guides 112 and 122 to accommodate bottles and the like in an up-and-down direction inside of the freezing compartment door 111 and the cooling compartment door 121.
The freezing compartment 110 formed in the left side of a main body has an ice making compartment 115 to make ice at an upper part thereof and is provided with a plurality of freezing compartment shelves 113 and freezing compartment drawers 114 in an up-and-down direction under the ice making compartment 115. On a front surface of the freezing compartment door 111 is a dispensing part to which ice made in the ice making compartment 115 and drinking water from the outside are supplied. The dispensing part comprises a water dispenser to supply drinking water and an ice dispenser to supply ice.
The cooling compartment 120 formed in the right side of the main body is provided with a plurality of cooling compartment shelves 123 to divide the inside of the cooling compartment 120 at an upper part of the cooling compartment 120 in an up-and-down direction and a plurality of cooling compartment drawers 124 at a lower part thereof. On the cooling compartment shelf 123 positioned at the most upper part is provided a filter assembly 140 to filtrate water supplied from a separate water supply part and supply the filtrated water to a water tank (not shown) connected to the water dispenser.
However, in the conventional refrigerator, because the filter assembly is mounted on the cooling compartment shelf positioned at the most upper part, a user must remove foods that have been placed on the cooling compartment shelves of the cooling compartment in order to exchange the spent filter cartridge with a new filter cartridge, which provides an inconvenience to exchange the filter cartridge.
Further, the filter assembly is mounted on the cooling compartment shelf, which harms an outer appearance and reduces the available space in the refrigerator. Further, a distance between the filter assembly at the upper part of the cooling compartment and the water tank at the lower part of the cooling compartment is long, which requires a long hose and increases a cost to connect the long hose.


Provide a nuclear reactor power monitoring technology for enhancing the monitoring accuracy and reliability in nuclear thermal hydraulic stability.

In the boiling water reactor (BWR), output power can be controlled by changing a core flow and thereby changing a steam ratio (void fraction) inside a boiling reactor core.
However, it is known that depending on the core flow and other operating conditions, neutron flux distribution and liquidity in the reactor core are destabilized by delayed transportation of voids and a negative feedback effect caused by negative void reactivity coefficients in the reactor core.
There is concern that occurrence of such a nuclear thermal hydraulic destabilization phenomenon may result in considerable oscillation of output power and flow rate, which may deteriorate cooling characteristics in terms of fuel rod surface temperature and may damage the soundness of fuel rod cladding tubes.
Accordingly, in designing fuels and reactor cores for the boiling water reactor, the nuclear thermal hydraulic stability is analyzed to produce a design that gives sufficient margin to stability so as to prevent such an oscillation phenomenon from occurring in any of the expected operating ranges.
In such a range where deterioration in nuclear thermal hydraulic stability is expected, limited operation is preset for safety. Nuclear reactors of some types are provided with a safety setting so that in the unlikely event where the nuclear reactor reaches the operation limited range, output power is lowered by insertion of control rods and the like so that the nuclear reactor can get out of the operation limited range.
There are a large number of nuclear power plants which allow, from a viewpoint of Detect and Suppress, power oscillation phenomena while accurately detecting the power oscillation phenomena attributed to nuclear thermal hydraulic destabilization and suppressing the oscillations before the fuel soundness is damaged.
Accordingly, a power oscillation detection algorithm with use of dedicated detection signals for detecting the power oscillation phenomenon, which is referred to as OPRM (Oscillation Power Range Monitor), has been proposed (e.g., Patent Literature 1).
There is also known a technique to analyze principal components in an oscillation based on a plurality of nuclear instrumentation signals, extract independent components different in oscillation modes, and to evaluate core-wide stability and regional stability which are stability different in oscillation modes (e.g., Patent Literature 2).
There is also known a technique to evaluate nuclear thermal hydraulic stability in consideration of parameters such as reactor core average neutron flux measurement values (APRM), delay corresponding to a heat-transfer time constant in fuel rods, and main steam flow rate measurement values (e.g., Patent Literature 3).
Further, there is known an apparatus adapted to perform prediction analysis of stability based on decay ratios and to issue an alarm when sequentially detected stability of the reactor core exceeds a predicted value (e.g., Patent Literature 4).
There is also known a technology to successively calculate deterioration indexes of nuclear thermal hydraulic stability in a boiling water reactor based on plant information, such as reactor core power distributions, reactor core flows, reactor core pressure and feed water temperature, and to issue an alarm when these indexes exceed preset values (e.g., Patent Literature 5).
In addition, there is known a method for monitoring stability based on neutron flux space mode distributions obtained by calculation of reactor core characteristic values using a large number of LPRM signals (e.g., Patent Literature 6).

Abstract: A power monitor 30 includes a first calculation unit 42,52 configured to calculate a first stability index based on time series data indicating power oscillation in nuclear instrumentation signals outputted from a plurality of nuclear instrumentation detectors 31; a first determination unit 44,53 configured to compare the first stability index and a first reference value and determine whether nuclear thermal hydraulic stability of the reactor core is stable or deteriorated; a second calculation unit 46,54 configured to calculate a second stability index of the reactor core based on the time series data when the deteriorated state is determined in the first determination unit 44,53; and a second determination unit 47,55 configured to compare the second stability index and a second reference value and determine whether to perform suppressing operation of the power oscillation.


A cabinet particularly for firearms, having two half-shells that are mutually articulated so as to define a closed position and an open position. Each half-shell has a transparent panel that allows to view the contents when the half-shells are in the open position.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cabinet particularly for firearms.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is known to store firearms in cabinets, armored cabinets or safes for obvious security reasons.
Conventional cabinets are bulky and heavy and do not allow to display the firearms as instead occurs with display cabinets, which however offer no protection.
The aim of the present invention is to provide a cabinet particularly for firearms that overcomes the drawbacks of the cited background art.
A particular object of the invention is to provide a cabinet that is capable of providing two functions: security in firearms storage and visibility of the contents.
Another object of the invention is to provide a cabinet that can be styled for use also as an item for interior decoration.
Another object is to provide a cabinet that can be transported easily and is easy to install and use.


Implementations described herein relate to systems and methods to provide platform agnostic query acceleration. In some implementations, a method includes receiving, at a processor associated with a query acceleration service, a request from an client/application, wherein the request conforms to a particular wire protocol of a plurality of supported wire protocols, and wherein the request includes header data and body content data, analyzing the request to identify at least one of a query and a command in the body content data, determining an optimal matched model of the one or more query acceleration models, rewriting the query based on the optimal matched model, transmitting the rewritten query to the query processing platform, receiving a response to the rewritten query or the query from the query processing platform, and transmitting the received response to the application, wherein the transmission is configured based on the particular wire protocol.

Query optimization has traditionally been deeply embedded within query processing platforms. Users and applications send their queries, e.g., SQL queries, to the query processing platform which picks the best execution plan for each query. To improve the query performance, platforms need to change their query optimizers to produce better query plans, e.g., by rewriting queries to access data more efficiently, using more efficient query operators, employing more efficient data distribution, indexes (indices), sort orders, applying more efficient resource allocation, etc.
However, query processing platforms are typically built for a wide range of users and varied workloads, and therefore the in-built query optimizations are designed to work for the general case. For instance, if a business intelligence dashboard sends SQL queries with a particular pattern, then specialized data models that are optimized for that pattern could help achieve better performance. Query processing platforms do not perform such optimization since their goal is to support arbitrary users and applications, thus leaving significant performance on the table.


The present invention is an apparatus for tucking carpet. A preferred embodiment of the apparatus is provided with a base plate, a handle, and three wheels. The leading wheel sets the edge of the carpet in the gap between the wall and the tack strip, the middle wheel tucks the carpet passing beneath the base plate completely into the gap and the trailing wheel ensures uniformity. By using three wheels, the carpet can be quickly and easily tucked in a single pass, thereby saving the carpet installer precious time. In another embodiment, the position of the wheels can be adjusted in relation to the base plate. The position of the wheels is adjusted and positioned in proportion to the thickness of the carpet being tucked. This allows the carpet tucking apparatus to be used with practically any type of carpet available on the market today.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to the floor covering industry. More specifically, the present invention relates to the installation of carpet.
2. Description of Related Art
For comfort and aesthetic reasons, most offices, homes, and other buildings have some type of floor covering installed. One of the most popular and common types of floor coverings used in both homes and office buildings is the carpet. Carpets are not only decorative, but provide certain functional aspects as well. Most carpets are installed to provide insulation and to reduce the level of sound generated from foot traffic in a given room. There are many different styles, colors, grades, and thicknesses of carpet available on the market today with the price of the carpet being related to the abovementioned factors.
If not properly installed, any carpet, no matter how costly, may look cheap and may not provide the desired functionality for which it was installed. It is the job of a carpet installer to ensure that carpet is properly cut, positioned, and secured in place. The carpet installer's craft is to properly install carpet, but the carpet installer's goal is to make money. Carpet installers make money by installing as many square feet of carpet as possible in as little time as possible. Since most carpet installers are paid by the square foot or the square yard, the more carpet that a carpet installer can lay in a given time, the more money they will earn.
When installing carpet, the carpet installer first places a tack strip on the floor around the perimeter of the room. The tack strip is a narrow strip of wood with a series of small tacks protruding upwards. Once the carpet is installed, the tacks will press into the backing of the carpet and function to securely hold the carpet in place. The tack strip is positioned such that a gap of approximately 0.5 cm-1.5 cm is formed between the tack strip and the base of the wall or the baseboard, if a baseboard is installed. Then a carpet pad is typically sized and cut to fit just inside the perimeter of the tack strip. The carpet pad is used to provide additional cushioning for the carpet. Next, a piece of carpet is cut so as to be just slightly larger than the dimensions of the area to be carpeted.
Once the carpet has been placed over the carpet pad, the back of the carpet rests on the tack strip and the edges of the carpet are bent slightly upwards with the edges of the carpet curling upwards and resting on the wall. The carpet can then be "stretched" and "kicked" into place, using the tack strip to hold the carpet in the desired position. In order to perfect the appearance of the room and to attach the carpet to the tack strip, the carpet installer securely tucks the edge of the carpet into the gap between the tack strip and the wall. The process of tucking the carpet into the gap is one of the most time-consuming and tedious aspects of the carpet layer's job. Typically, the carpet installer uses a large, blunt, flat-edged blade with a handle to push or hammer the carpet into the gap. By moving around the edge of the carpet and pushing the blade into the carpet between the wall and the tack strip, the carpet is gradually tucked into the gap. This tucking process is difficult and the carpet installer must make several passes with the blade around the edges of the carpet in order to completely tuck the carpet into the gap.
In addition, given the goal of the tucking process and the tool being used, it can be easily understood that the typical carpet installer may inadvertently gouge or otherwise damage the baseboard or wall adjacent to the area of the carpet being tucked.
Considering the nature of the task and the stated goal of installing large quantities of carpet as quickly as possible, many tools have been developed to aid carpet installers in their trade. Unfortunately, many of these tools have inherent limitations and are not adequately suited to achieve the goal of installing more carpet in a shorter amount of time.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,203,852 issued to Downing discloses a carpet tucking apparatus with a long handle attached to a single wheel. A single wheel is insufficient for tucking most carpets in a single pass, especially thicker carpets which require more force to place the carpet into the gap. Further, the long handle of the carpet tucking apparatus taught by Downing is connected at an obtuse angle to the wheel. This has a tendency to cause the handle to extend out and away from the wall. This makes it difficult for the carpet installer to supply the downward force necessary to tuck the carpet into the gap. In addition, the angle makes it hard to control the tool and the wheel may jump out of the gap, thereby causing damage to the wall or baseboard during the tucking process. While the carpet installer can make multiple passes with this tool and eventually tuck the carpet, this process consumes valuable time and reduces profitability.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,790,059 issued to Killpack discloses a tool for tucking the edge of a carpet onto a tacking strip. This tool includes a wheel mounted on one end of a handle for tucking the carpet into the gap. The tool also includes a flat tucking blade mounted to the opposite end of the handle. Although the tool as taught by Killpack can be held at an angle, sufficient downward force cannot be applied to the carpet laying tool if held at an angle. In addition, downward force applied at an angle may cause the wheel member to slip out of the gap, thereby causing damage to the wall or baseboard. As with Downing, the carpet laying tool as taught by Killpack has a single wheel which rides over the surface of the carpet in the gap between the edge of the carpet and the wall. While somewhat effective, the single wheel can easily jump out of the gap, thereby ineffectively tucking the carpet, and causing the carpet installer to have to retuck the carpet using multiple passes.
Therefore, there exists a need for a carpet tucking apparatus that will allow the carpet installer to quickly and easily install carpets of various thicknesses without making multiple passes. Without an improved carpet tucking apparatus, carpet installers will continue to be limited by the constraints identified above and will not be able to further increase their income by tucking carpet more quickly and easily.


Light emitter packages having multiple light emitter chips, such as light emitting diode (LED) chips, and related methods are provided. In one embodiment, a light emitter package can include a ceramic submount. An array of light emitter chips can be disposed over a portion of the submount, and each light emitter chip can include a horizontal chip structure having positive and negative electrical contacts disposed on a same side. The positive and negative electrical contacts can be adapted to electrically communicate to conductive portions of the submount. Light emitter packages can further include a lens overmolded on the submount and covering a portion of the array.

Light emitter chips, such as light emitting diode (LED) chips are solid state devices that convert electric energy to light, and generally comprise one or more active layers of semiconductor material sandwiched between oppositely doped layers. When a bias is applied across the doped layers, holes and electrons are injected into the active layer where they recombine to generate light. Light is emitted from the active layer and from all surfaces of the LED chip.
In order to use an LED chip in a circuit or other like arrangement, it is known to enclose the LED chip in an LED package to provide environmental and/or mechanical protection, color selection, focusing and the like. The LED package can include electrical leads, contacts, and/or traces for electrically connecting package to an external circuit. Conventional packages can experience heat dissipation problems, for example, arising from poor heat dissipation from areas below and/or adjacent to the LED chip. Heat can localize underneath LED chips and can continue to increase during operation. This can result in failure and/or a reduced lifetime of the LED package. A need exists for improving thermal management within LED packages. Multiple LED chips used within an LED package increases the need for improved thermal management.
In addition to thermal management considerations, manufacturers of LED lighting products are constantly seeking ways to reduce their cost in order to provide a lower initial cost to customers, and encourage the adoption of LED products. Brighter, more efficient LED chips and/or packages can allow lighting manufacturers to use fewer LED chips to get the same brightness at a lower cost or increase brightness levels using the same LED chip count and power. Such improvements can enable delivery of improved LED for less total cost than other solutions.
Thus, despite the availability of various LED packages in the marketplace, a need remains for cooler, brighter, more cost-effective LED packages and/or methods which consume the same and/or less power as compared to conventional packages. Such packages and methods can also make it easier for end-users to justify switching to LED products from a return on investment or payback perspective.

Multi-chip light emitter packages and related methods


Methods and systems for detecting fraud based on velocity counts are disclosed.

The approaches described in this section are approaches that could be pursued, but not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated, it should not be assumed that any of the approaches described in this section qualify as prior art merely by virtue of their inclusion in this section.
Rule-based fraud detection (RBFD) of transactions can be data intensive and/or computationally intensive, especially in a system that receives a high volume of transactions. For example, many payment systems require processing transactions involving hundreds to thousands of active merchants in a relatively short time. RBFD can involve either computing the number of transactions in a particular time interval in real time or maintaining a large amount of data. In addition, RBFD often requires maintaining transaction volume data representing the number of transactions that occur during different time intervals (e.g., transactions received in the last hour, last day, and the last month).

Transaction velocity counting for fraud detection


The present invention relates to the discovery that fishery by-products, in particular fish protein hydrolysate, can be used as a source of nutrients in plant tissue culture. A composition can be made by mixing a plant tissue culture medium, a fishery by-product, and a buffer compound. The composition is used for culturing plant tissues, to promote somatic embryogenesis, reduce vitrification (hyperhydricity) in cultured tissues, and to enhance acclimation of plants by both reducing the amount of time required for acclimation, and by increasing the survival rate of plants through the acclimation process.

The invention relates to new compositions and methods of plant tissue culture.
Plant tissue culture is the growth, on or in artificial media, of whole plants, plants parts, organs, or undifferentiated tissue. Tissue culture has many important commercial uses such as the isolation and maintenance of virus-free strains of plants. Plant tissue culture can also be used to mass-propagate plants, and this method is used routinely in the propagation of horticultural and floral varieties for the nursery industry.
Certain difficulties detract from the benefits of tissue culture. For example, certain cultured plant tissues, in any stage of development, may be subject to vitrification (also called hyperhydricity), which results in enlarged, thick, translucent, and brittle malformations of tissue. These malformations are irreversible, and affected tissues typically degenerate and die.
Acclimation is another common problem in tissue culture. Once whole plantlets are successfully generated, they must be acclimated before being transplanted. Plants normally grow a waxy outer cuticle to prevent evaporative water loss, but the high humidity of the tissue culture environment prevents development of this protective coating. A sudden drop in humidity, such as transfer into a growth chamber or greenhouse, can kill the young plants.
A third problem is that the chemical composition of the culture medium has a large effect on all of these phenomena. Each cell, tissue source, organ type, and developmental pathway has different nutritional requirements, and these can vary greatly between species, or even between cultivars within a given specie. Determining the ideal medium for a new plant or tissue must be done through systematic trial-and-error, using knowledge of the behavior of related species as a starting point (Endress, 1994, Plant Cell Biotechnology, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, pgs. 38).

Plant propagation compositions and methods


A system for, and method of, detecting a customer premises equipment ("CPE") alerting signal ("CAS") on a telephone line that is carrying near-end audio traffic and CPE embodying the same. The system includes: (1) an echo cancellation circuit, coupled to the telephone line, that detects an outbound component of the near-end audio traffic and produces, in response thereto, an echo canceling signal, (2) a combinatorial circuit, coupled to the telephone line and the echo cancellation circuit, that applies the echo canceling signal to an inbound component of the near-end audio traffic to produce a resulting signal having the near-end audio traffic substantially removed therefrom and (3) a CAS detector, coupled to the combinatorial circuit, that detects the CAS in the resulting signal, the echo cancellation circuit and the combinatorial circuit cooperating to increase the reliability of the CAS detector.

A common signaling method employed in the telephone network is dual-tone multifrequency ("DTMF") signaling. In this signaling scheme, pairs of tones are used to signal the digits 0 through 9, pound ("#"), star ("*") and the digits "A", "B", "C", and "D". For each pair of tones, one of the tones is selected from a low group of four frequencies and the other tone is selected from a high group of four frequencies. The correct detection of a signal requires both a valid tone pair and a correct timing interval. Other signals, such as an "alerting signal," use additional tone pairs, and may be used for special features such as caller identity delivery on call waiting ("CIDCW").
DTMF signaling is used both to set up a call and to control certain features such as call forwarding and conference calling. In some applications, it is necessary to detect DTMF signaling in the presence of speech (e.g., CIDCW), therefore it is important that the speech waveform is not interpreted as a valid signaling tone. For example, some customer premises equipment ("CPE") include the capability to receive caller identification information while the CPE (i.e., telephone) is in use (i.e., "off-hook"). For off-hook transmission of caller identification information (i.e., CIDCW), a CPE must detect, in the presence of speech, a CPE alerting signal ("CAS") as specified in Customer Premises Equipment Compatibility Considerations for the Voiceband Data Transmisson Interface (Bellcore SR-TSV-002476; December, 1992). The CAS signal is generally defined as an 80-85 ms dual tone, with nominal frequencies of 2130 Hz and 2750 Hz. Upon receiving the CAS tone, the called CPE temporarily mutes the CPE's microphone and speaker while the calling party's identity information is received.
Because the CAS tone frequencies (ie., 2130 and 2750 Hz) lie within the speech bandwidth, a CPE must undergo several tests to determine whether it can accurately detect a CAS signal in the presence of speech In particular, the CAS detector must operate in the presence of speech without incorrectly identifying the speech signal as a valid CAS, referred to as "talk-off" performance, and without missing a valid CAS due to the presence of speech, referred to as "talkdown" performance. Because CPEs commonly use a "hybrid" to interface to the public switched telephone network ("PSTN"), the transmitted speech, or near-end audio, may be coupled by the hybrid into the received signal path. The coupling of near-end audio into the received signal which may include a CAS signal, can cause the CPE's CAS detector to either miss a valid CAS signal or to incorrectly identify the presence of a CAS signal.
Therefore, what is needed in the art is a way of reliably detecting a CAS signal received on a telephone line while the line is carrying near-end audio traffic.

System and method for detecting customer premises equipment alerting signals


Aqueous liquid cleanser compositions are disclosed. The cleanser compositions are structured liquids capable of suspending a skin benefit agent therein to improve transfer of the skin benefit agent to the skin upon use of the wash. In one embodiment, the skin benefit agent is a lipid material, which remains on the skin after washing to provide skin barrier enhancement.

The present invention is directed to stable structured liquid cleanser compositions. More particularly, the present invention is directed to structured liquid cleansing compositions such as a facial wash, body wash, or baby wash. Along with cleansing, the structured liquid cleanser compositions introduce onto the skin a beneficial component such as a skin barrier enhancing agent or a skin protectant. The compositions are capable of suspending the beneficial component in the composition such that transfer to the skin of the beneficial component is improved over conventional surfactant-based cleansing products.
The stratum corneum is the outer-most layer of the skin and is responsible for regulating skin water levels and functioning as a barrier against chemicals and other stressors found in the environment. The complex arrangement of lipids in the intercellular space of the stratum corneum is responsible for the establishment of normal barrier function. Multi-layered structures of cholesterol, ceramides, and fatty acids, as well as some other minor lipids, provides the major barrier to the transport of hydrophilic substances into or through the skin.
In order to protect and care for the stratum corneum, and skin in general, most people frequently clean skin to remove dirt, contaminants, and bacteria. Many different types of skin cleansing formulations are commercially available, including, for example, hand washes, face washes, and body washes. Along with surfactants for cleaning, many of the commercially available washes additionally include one or more skin benefit agents for application to the skin during washing. These agents may include, for example, moisturizers, lipids, oils, and the like.
In many cases, in order for the skin benefit agent to be easily transferable to the skin and/or deposited thereon from the wash formulation, the skin benefit agent must be emulsified in the wash product to keep it from settling to the bottom of the product. Although this does allow for the benefit ingredient to be suspended in the wash formulation, once emulsified, a majority of the benefit agent may simply be washed away and not contact, or be deposited on, the surface of the skin. Additionally, even if the benefit ingredient does contact the skin, it may be washed away during the rinsing of the wash product from the skin.
Based on the foregoing, it would be beneficial to provide skin wash products that include a skin benefit ingredient, such as a barrier enhancing agent, for example, that can be easily transferred to the skin from the wash product. Additionally, it would be beneficial if the skin benefit ingredient remained on the skin after washing such that the benefit could be improved.


A method for determining an ophthalmic lens adapted to a wearer, the method including: receiving wearer data including at least the ophthalmic prescription of the wearer; receiving a set of object points associated with target optical performances based on the wearer data; determining an ophthalmic lens adapted to the wearer, the ophthalmic lens providing optical performances, for light rays propagating from the set of object points to the center of rotation of the eye of the wearer passing through the ophthalmic lens, the closest to the target optical performances.

As illustrated on FIG. 1, to calculate an ophthalmic lens 10, lens designers usually use a so-called ergorama 12.
The ergorama is a function associating to each gaze direction (α, β) a distance of an object point Oi. The ergorama is usually the same for each wearer or may be selected based on the addition of the prescription of the wearer when such prescription comprises an addition value.
Methods for determining an ophthalmic lens using such ergorama provide satisfactory results, but may need to be improved, in particular so as to improve binocular performances of a pair of ophthalmic lenses.
Therefore, it appears that there is a need for a method of determining ophthalmic lenses that would improve the optical performances of the determined ophthalmic lenses, in particular binocular performances.

Method for determining an ophthalmic lens


The invention provides, in various embodiments, systems, devices and methods relating to employing soft tissue anchors in combination with an implantable sling to treat urinary incontinence.

Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) affects primarily women, but also men, and is generally caused by two conditions, intrinsic sphincter deficiency (ISD) and hypermobility. These conditions may occur independently or in combination. In ISD, the urinary sphincter valve, located within the urethra, fails to close properly (coapt), causing urine to leak out of the urethra during stressful activity. Hypermobility is a condition in which the pelvis floor is distended, weakened or damaged, causing the bladder neck and proximal urethra to rotate and descend in response to increases in intra-abdominal pressure (e.g., due to sneezing, coughing, straining, etc.). As a result, the patient's response time becomes insufficient to promote urethral closure and, consequently, the patient suffers from urine leakage and/or flow.
A popular treatment of SUI uses a surgical sling placed under the bladder neck or the mid-urethra to provide a urethral platform. Placement of the sling limits the endopelvis fascia drop. The sling is traditionally affixed using a bone anchoring method. Recent advances in surgical techniques have demonstrated the effectiveness of anchorless approaches toward mid-urethra sling stabilization. However, conventional anchorless techniques suffer from some deficiencies. For example, many do not provide an easily used mechanism for anchoring a sling in place, at least temporarily. Others do not provide an easily used mechanism for adjusting the length of the sling based, for example, on application and patient size.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved approach to sling placement that simplifies the procedure and reduces trauma to the patient.


A computer device is provided that may comprise a display portion, a reference position input for enabling setting of a reference tilt position which is representative of an initial tilt position of the computer device. The computer device may also comprise a processor configured to perform a predetermined operation in accordance with a change in a tilt position of the computer device from the reference tilt position to a current tilt position.

1. Technical Field
The present application relates to an information processing apparatus and a display screen operating method. In particular, the present application relates to a handheld information processing apparatus capable of allowing the user to perform various operations, and also relates to a method for operating a display screen of the handheld information processing apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various personal computers with a wide variety of functions have been developed and proposed. In recent years, for example, notebook personal computers (hereinafter referred to as notebook PCs) have become smaller and smaller. There have been proposed notebook PCs that can be operated while being held in user's hands.
Besides the notebook PCs, electronic devices with various information processing functions have been proposed which can be used while being held in user's hands. Additionally, various techniques have been proposed to improve their usability (see, e.g., Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-102738).
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-102738 describes a display apparatus which is operated while being held in user's hands. The display apparatus is equipped with an acceleration sensor and an angular velocity sensor, which detect movement of a display unit of the display apparatus in a planar direction. On the basis of the result of the detection made by the sensors, a screen displayed on the display unit is scrolled.

Information processing apparatus and display screen operating method for scrolling


A method of forming a metal wiring includes: forming a foundation layer on a substrate; applying a solution including fine metal particles and a dispersion stabilizer on the foundation layer; and heating the applied solution to form into a conductive layer, wherein after the applying of the solution, the conductive layer is formed by starting the heating of the applied solution within a detained time.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a method of forming a metal wiring and a method of manufacturing an active matrix substrate.
2. Related Art
As portable devices such as notebook PCs and cellular phones are becoming common, thin and lightweight liquid crystal display devices, etc. are becoming widely used.
In such liquid crystal display devices, etc., a liquid crystal layer is sandwiched between an upper substrate and a lower substrate.
An example of the lower substrate (active matrix substrate) is shown in FIG. 18.
As shown in FIG. 18, the lower substrate 1 includes a glass substrate 2, a gate scanning electrode 3, a source electrode 4, a drain electrode 5, a pixel electrode 6 (ITO), insulating layers 7, and a Thin Film Transistor 8 (TFT).
The gate scanning electrode 3 and the source electrode 4 are disposed such that one crosses over the other.
The drain electrode 5 is disposed also on the glass substrate 2.
The pixel electrode 6 (ITO) is connected to the drain electrode 5.
One insulating layer 7 is interposed between the gate scanning electrode 3 and the source electrode 4.
The TFT 8 is made of a thin film semiconductor.
In the formation of each metal wire on the lower substrate 1 above, a technique as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent No. 3261699 is used in which a step combining a dry process with a photolithography etching is repeated a plurality of times.
In this technique, however, there are problems in that the material costs and the maintenance fee tend to be increased and it is difficult to increase the yielding, since the step combining a dry process with a photolithography etching is repeated a plurality of times.
As a result, in recent years, there is a growing tendency of utilizing a liquid ejection system as a coating technique for use in the manufacturing process of electronic devices.
Generally, in a coating technique based on the liquid ejection system, a liquid substance is ejected as liquid drops from a plurality of nozzles provided in a liquid drop ejection head while a substrate and the liquid drop ejection head are relatively moved. The liquid drops are repeatedly deposited on the substrate to form a coating film.
The liquid drop ejection system has advantages such as in that the liquid substance is consumed with little waste and that the liquid substance can be directly applied in any pattern on the substrate without using a technique such as photolithography.
For example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. H11-274671, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2000-216330, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2003-317610, etc., techniques are disclosed in which by ejecting a function liquid including a material for pattern formation from a liquid drop ejection head onto a substrate, the material is disposed (applied) on a pattern formation surface to form a fine wiring pattern of a semiconductor integrated circuit, etc.
The prior-art techniques as described above, however, have a problem such as described below.
For example, when a conductive layer of silver is formed by coating a glass substrate with silver nano ink according to the liquid drop ejection method, a foundation layer of manganese oxide, etc. is formed between the conductive layer and the glass substrate to improve a poor contact of silver with glass.
However, in the case in which the time from the applying to the baking of a silver nano ink is not managed and the glass substrate is baked after it is left standing for a given period of time, a void occurs in the silver at an interface with the manganese oxide. Thus, the degree of contact is decreased.

Method of forming metal wiring and method of manufacturing active matrix substrate


A system for activating a triggering element for a passenger protection unit includes: a high-side control circuit establishing a first connection from an energy source to the triggering element, a low-side control circuit establishing a second connection of the triggering element to ground, and a regulating device regulating a firing current for the triggering element). A firing mode is selected as a function of a connected triggering element. In a first firing mode, a first firing current having a first time characteristic is generated for an ohmic triggering element, and in a second firing mode, a second firing current having a second time characteristic is generated for an inductive triggering element.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a method and a device for activating at least one triggering element for a passenger protection means.
2. Description of the Related Art
Passenger protection systems known from the related art do not have a firing mode for activation circuits having low-energy actuators (LEA). These magnetic actuators are used, for example, for triggering of roll bars, in head protection systems for convertibles and/or for triggering of devices for raising engine hoods in pedestrian protection systems.
Use of known firing modes for pyrotechnic airbag actuators according to the valid safety requirements using firing currents of 1.2 A and a pulse duration of 2 ms or 1.75 A and having a pulse duration of 0.5 ms does not meet the safety requirements for low-energy actuators (LEA), which require a current in the range of 1.5 A to 2.2 A having a pulse duration in the range of 1.0 ms to 1.5 ms. Furthermore, a total activation time period of 3 ms is necessary to also enable the gradual current rise of the inductive low-energy actuators (LEA) even at a low energy reserve voltage or battery voltage. Approaches known in the past have used discrete high-side output stages, for example, for triggering such circuits having low-energy actuators (LEA). Alternatively, special approaches having reduced requirements due to known pyrotechnic firing modes are satisfied by integrated high-side output stages. At a current of 1.5 to 2.2 A, simple implementation of the longer activation time period (3 ms) significantly increases the size of an integrated high-side output stage designed for a known pyrotechnic firing circuit.
Published German Patent Application document DE 10 2009 027 918 A1, for example, describes a system and a method for activating at least one triggering element for a passenger protection means. The system described there includes a high-side circuit, which establishes a first connection from an energy source to the at least one triggering element and a low-side circuit, which establishes a second connection from the at least one triggering element to ground. In addition, a regulation which regulates a tripping current for the at least one triggering element is provided, this regulation being associated with the high-side circuit and/or the low-side circuit. Furthermore, the high-side circuit and the low-side circuit each have two output stages, which are connected in parallel for regulation of the tripping current, per triggering element, at least one of the at least two output stages having a current regulation and one or multiple transistors connected in parallel. Scaling is possible by the parallelization of the output stages, i.e., higher and longer tripping current pulses are implemented with two or multiple output stages connected in parallel. The tripping current pulses result in firing of a firing device or in magnetic actuation of a passenger protection means.

Method and system for activating at least one triggering element for a passenger protection means


According to one embodiment, there is provided a device and method for correcting code wheel misalignment which employs upper and lower code wheel misalignment photodetectors positioned above and below at least first and second motion detection photodetectors. According to other embodiments, there are provided a device and method for automatically setting the gain of an output circuit in an optical encoder. Still further embodiments of optical encoders combine the code wheel misalignment and automatic gain control features of the invention.

Most motion detection or position optical encoders of the prior art comprise four photodiode channels, typically labelled namely A, A/, B and B/, respectively. Such optical encoders work by generating photocurrent using these channels, and are usually spatially arranged in the encoder such that they are 90 degrees out of phase apart with respect to one another. It is imperative that the code wheel of the encoder and the photodiodes be aligned properly and accurately in respect of one another. Otherwise, inaccuracies and errors result in the photocurrents produced by such channels, which lead to inaccurate position or motion information being generated by the encoder. Currently, no method or device exists to detect code wheel misalignment using photodiodes incorporated into an encoder integrated circuit (or "IC").
In addition, most motion detection or position optical encoders of the prior art are designed and fabricated using well known bipolar processes, which enable photocurrent contrast to be obtained using the log-antilog architecture inherent in most BJT devices. However, with the advent of CMOS processes, encoder designs are being adapted to MOS devices for better scalability, lower cost and lower power. CMOS processes, however, are typically not amenable to the log-antilog architecture often employed in bipolar devices. As a result, more straightforward and conventional transimpedance amplification circuitry must be employed in CMOS processes. But to amplify photocurrents to reasonable voltage output levels, a resistor of the correct value must be used, which is a difficult proposition to implement in CMOS devices employing conventional transimpedance amplification circuits.
What is needed is a device and method for detecting code wheel misalignment using photodiodes incorporated, for example, into an encoder IC. What is also needed is a device and method for setting the gain of a transimpedance amplifier automatically, which depends on the input light power and the photocurrent generated.

Optical encoder with code wheel misalignment detection and automatic gain control

Avago Technologies ECBU IP (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.


The present invention relates to combination pharmaceutical composition comprising an activated-potentiated from of an antibody to gamma interferon, and an activated-potentiated form of an antibody to S-100 protein and method of treating multiple sclerosis and other neurodegenerative diseases, as well as the diseases and conditions associated with neuroinfections.

Multiple sclerosis or MS is a chronic disease that affects the brain and spinal cord resulting in loss of muscle control, balance, and sensation (such as numbness). Currently, the exact cause of MS remains unknown, but researchers believe that a combination of several factors may be involved. It is believed that MS appears in genetically predisposed individuals possibly in the presence of specific external factors which lead to the development of MS. It is now generally accepted that MS involves an autoimmune process—an abnormal response of the body's immune system that is directed against the myelin (the fatty sheath that surrounds and insulates the nerve fibers) in the central nervous system (CNS—the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves). MS results in a thinning or complete loss of myelin and, as the disease advances, the cutting (transection) of the neuron's extensions or axons. When the myelin is lost, a neuron can no longer effectively conduct electrical signals. A repair process, called remyelination, takes place in early phases of the disease, but the cell's myelin sheath cannot be completely rebuilt. Repeated attacks lead to successively fewer effective remyelinations, until a scar-like plaque is built up around the damaged axons.
Apart from demyelination, the other pathologic trait of the disease is inflammation. According to a strictly immunological explanation, the inflammatory process is caused by T cells, a kind of lymphocyte. Lymphocytes are cells that play an important role in the body's defenses. In MS, T cells gain entry into the brain via the blood-brain barrier. It is believed that the T cells recognize myelin as foreign and attack it which triggers inflammatory processes, stimulating other immune cells and soluble factors like cytokines and antibodies.
In addition to autoimmune disorder, some researchers believe that infections may somehow trigger the immune system to attack nerve cells. Basically, it is believed that the virus (or a bacterium) that causes an initial infection "looks" like a nerve cell. The immune system develops T-cells to fight off the virus. Those T-cells remain in the body after the infection is gone and become confused when they "see" a nerve cell, mistaking it for an invader. The result is that your immune system attacks the nervous system.
There are four main varieties of MS. 1. Relapsing/Remitting (RRMS): characterised by relapses during which time new symptoms can appear and old ones resurface or worsen. 2. Secondary Progressive (SPMS): characterized by a gradual worsening of the disease between relapses. 3. Progressive Relapsing Multiple Sclerosis (PRMS): This form of MS follows a progressive course from onset, punctuated by relapses. 4. Primary Progressive (PPMS): This type of MS is characterized by a gradual progression of the disease from its onset with no remissions at all.
There is no known cure for MS at this time. However, there are therapies that may slow the disease. The goal of treatment is to control symptoms. Medications that alter the immune system, for example interferons, have been used to manage multiple sclerosis. Interferons are protein messengers that cells of the immune system manufacture and use to communicate with one another. There are different types of interferons, such as alpha, beta, and gamma. All interferons have the ability to regulate the immune system and play an important role in protecting against intruders including viruses. Each interferon functions differently, but the functions overlap. The beta interferons have been found useful in managing multiple sclerosis.
There is a continuing need for new drug products with desired therapeutic efficacy for treatment of MS and related symptoms.
The therapeutic effect of an extremely diluted form (or ultra-low form) of antibodies potentized by homeopathic technology (activated potentiated form) has been discovered by the inventor of the present patent application, Dr. Oleg I. Epshtein. U.S. Pat. No. 7,582,294 discloses a medicament for treating Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia or prostatitis by administration of a homeopathically activated form of antibodies to prostate specific antigen (PSA).
The S-100 protein is a cytoplasmic acidic calcium binding protein found predominantly in the gray matter of the brain, primarily in glia and Schwann cells. The protein exists in several homo- or heterodimeric isoforms consisting of two immunologically distinct subunits, alpha and beta. The S-100 protein has been suggested for use as an aid in the diagnosis and assessment of brain lesions and neurological damage due to brain injury, as in stroke. Yardan et al., Usefulness of S100B Protein in Neurological Disorders, J Pak Med Assoc Vol. 61, No. 3, March 2011, which is incorporated herein by reference.
Ultra low doses of antibodies to S-100 protein have been shown to have anxiolytic, anti-asthenic, anti-aggressive, stress-protective, anti-hypoxic, anti-ischemic, neuroprotective and nootropic activity. See Castagne V. et al., Antibodies to S100 proteins have anxiolytic-like activity at ultra-low doses in the adult rat, J Pharm Pharmacol. 2008, 60(3):309-16; Epstein O. I., Antibodies to calcium-binding S1008 protein block the conditioning of long-term sensitization in the terrestrial snail, Pharmacol Biochem Behav., 2009, 94(1):37-42; Voronina T. A. et al., Chapter 8. Antibodies to S-100 protein in anxiety-depressive disorders in experimental and clinical conditions. In "Animal models in biological psychiatry", Ed. Kalueff A. V. N—Y, "Nova Science Publishers, Inc.", 2006, pp. 137-152, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Ultra low doses of antibodies to gamma interferon have been shown to be useful in the treatment and prophylaxis of treating a disease of viral origination. See U.S. Pat. No. 7,572,441, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.


The present disclosure provides methods for bonding a first downhole tool to a borehole tubular, which include applying solder particles, each particle having an outer shell and a core of liquid metal, to at least one of a surface of the first downhole tool or a surface of the borehole tubular. The methods may also include rupturing the shells of the solder particles to release the liquid metal cores. The methods may further include bonding the first downhole tool to the borehole tubular by allowing the released liquid metal core to solidify.

This section is intended to provide relevant background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the described embodiments. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light and not as admissions of prior art.
Hydrocarbons, such as oil and gas, are commonly obtained from subterranean formations that may be located onshore or offshore. The development of subterranean operations and the processes involved in removing hydrocarbons from a subterranean formation typically involve a number of different steps such as, for example, drilling a borehole at a desired well site, treating the borehole to optimize production of hydrocarbons, and performing the necessary steps to produce and process the hydrocarbons from the subterranean formation.
Some borehole servicing methods employ borehole tubulars that are lowered into the borehole for various purposes throughout the life of the borehole. Centralizers are used to maintain the borehole tubulars aligned within the borehole and decrease any friction between the borehole tubular and the side of the borehole wall or casing, potentially reducing any damage that may occur. Centralizers are generally added onto the tubular section prior to the tubular section arriving at the wellsite.
Tubulars can also have additional downhole tools, such as fiber optic lines, control lines, and/or sensors, attached to the exterior of the tubular. The downhole tools may be attached to the tubular using straps or similar methods prior to the tubular going downhole. However, the straps may be overtightened, causing damage to the downhole tools, or become loose as the tubular is installed and shift the locations of the downhole tools.

Systems and methods for bonding a downhole tool to a borehole tubular


An external camera for a vehicle and its method of manufacture involve providing a camera assembly comprising a lens assembly comprising a lens and a lens holder that houses at least a portion the lens assembly and defining an inner surface, forming an induction coil integrated in the inner surface of the lens holder, the induction coil being configured to generate heat energy to defrost the lens, providing a camera housing that houses the camera assembly, and housing the camera assembly within the camera housing to form the external camera.

Today's vehicles often include one or more external cameras each configured to capture images of an environment surrounding the vehicle. One such example of an external camera is a front-facing external camera. The captured front-facing images can be used for a variety of safety, automotive driver assistance (ADAS), and autonomous driving features. Non-limiting examples of these applications include object detection/tracking, adaptive cruise control, and automated braking or collision avoidance. Due to its external arrangement, at least some portions of the camera could be susceptible to the elements. For example, during cold weather conditions, frost can accumulate on a lens of the camera. Defrosting the camera lens takes time and conventional heating systems are costly, bulky, and suffer from complex assembly issues. Therefore, while such conventional camera lens heating systems work for their intended purpose, there exists an opportunity for improvement in the relevant art.
The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.

Automotive camera with integrated induction heater