The present disclosure, in part, is directed to a mammalian prostate cancer cell line comprising at least one or a set of primary mammalian epithelial cells which have been infected with a retroviral vector carrying an oncogene selected from the group consisting of c-Myc, Ha-Ras, NeuT, c-Src and combinations thereof and in which said gene is expressed. Applications of the pro-state cell lines, including immune competent animal models of prostate cancer, a method for the in vitro production of immortalized primary mammalian epithelial cells, a method of determining whether a human subject having prostate cancer is suffering from or at risk for developing metastasis, a method of preventing cancer or inhibiting metastasis of cancer susceptible to treatment in a subject at risk for developing cancer or metastasis of cancer, and method of identifying a candidate compound that selectively interferes with proliferation or viability of a cancer cell that has elevated levels of CCR5 and/or of at least one of its ligands.

Cancer is a significant health problem throughout the world. Although advances have been made in detection and therapy of cancer, no vaccine or other universally successful method for prevention and/or treatment is currently available. Current therapies, which are generally based on a combination of chemotherapy or surgery and radiation, continue to prove inadequate in many patients.
Prostate cancer, for example, is a significant health problem for men in the United States and throughout the world. Although advances have been made in the detection and treatment of the disease, prostate cancer remains an important cause of cancer-related deaths in men, affecting more than 221,000 men in the United States each year. For men in North America, the life-time odds of getting prostate cancer are now 19.6%, with a 4.6% risk of death. Prostate cancer was the cause of approximately 250,000 deaths worldwide in 2009.
No vaccine or other universally successful method for the prevention or treatment of prostate cancer is currently available. Management of the disease currently relies on a combination of early diagnosis (through routine Prostate-Specific Antigen ("PSA") test) and aggressive treatment, which may include one or more of a variety of treatments such as surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and hormone therapy. The course of treatment for a particular Prostate cancer is often selected based on a variety of prognostic parameters, including an analysis of histology and disease spread. However, the use of PSA, which is the current standard for screening, results in less than optimal treatment decisions because the PSA test has high false positive and false negative rates. Approximately 45 million PSA were conducted in 2009 min the USA, with a specificity of approximately 27%. Approximately 1 million biopsies of the prostate were undertaken last year in the USA based on elevated PSA, from which 250,000 tumors were identified. The high mortality observed in prostate cancer patients indicates that improvements are needed in the treatment, diagnosis and prevention of the disease.
Another complicating factor with the use of PSA test is that doctors' recommendations for PSA screening vary. Some encourage yearly screening for men over age 50, and some advise men who are at a higher risk for prostate cancer to begin screening at age 40 or 45. Yet others caution against routine screening. Typically, PSA level below 4.0 ng/mL is considered as normal. However, the referenced PSA level seem arbitrary and useless in view of two reports, one by Thompson I M et al. ("Prevalence of prostate cancer among men with a prostate-specific antigen level < or =4.0 ng per milliliter," New England Journal of Medicine 2004, 350(22), 2239-2246) and the other by Smith D S et al. ("The early detection of prostate carcinoma with prostate specific antigen: The Washington University experience," Cancer 1997, 80(9), 1853-1856). According to Thompson I M et al. prostate cancer was diagnosed in 15.2 percent of men with a PSA level at or below 4.0 ng/mL. Fifteen percent of those men, or approximately 2.3 percent overall, had high-grade cancers. According to Smith D S et al. 25 to 35 percent of men who had a PSA level between 4.1 and 9.9 ng/mL and who underwent a prostate biopsy were found to have prostate cancer, while 65 to 75 percent of the remaining men did not have prostate cancer. Thus, there is no specific normal or abnormal PSA level.
Also, molecular mechanisms contributing to prostate cancer recurrence and therapy resistance are poorly understood. Androgen ablation therapy results in 60% to 80% initial response rate (see Scher, H. I., and Sawyers, C. L., J Clin Oncol 2005, 23, 8253-8261). The majority of patients undergoing androgen antagonist therapy however subsequently relapse. Early diagnosis may provide an opportunity for curative surgery, however ˜30% of men who receive radical prostatectomy relapse, attributed to micrometastatic disease. Therefore, a need exists medical interventions that can detect and/or forestall molecular drivers of metastatic malignancy at early stages of the disease.

Prostate cancer cell lines, gene signatures and uses thereof


The invention relates to an electric power tool having a control and/or regulating device for an electric motor. It is provided that the control and/or regulating device (4) is assigned an electronic memory element (5) for at least one operating state of the electric motor (1).

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an electric power tool as generically defined by the preamble to claim 1.
2. Description of Related Art
Prior Art
Electric power tools are equipped with regulating and/or control devices, particularly to enable work to suit the material. For a long time, for instance, it has been known to equip electric power tools with a speed regulator. In particular, speed regulators are known from the prior art that via a so-called accelerator switch permit a slow startup and, in the course of continued actuation of the accelerator switch, an increase in the rotary speed up to the maximum rpm possible for the motor. These speed regulators make gentle startup of the machine possible, which leads to a more-precise onset of the work (beginning to drill, beginning to saw, or the like). Moreover, both the electric motor of the electric power tool and the moving mechanical parts of the electric power tool, such as gears, are protected. At the same time, the gentle startup means that the electric power tool's power supply, for instance the household electrical system, is not loaded by a high startup current.
These speed regulators also to a certain extent enable setting and/or specifying a working rotary speed appropriate for the material. Precisely in the accelerator switches known from the prior art, however, this setting is intrinsically possible only imprecisely and in a poorly replicable way. In particular, it cannot be assured that the user will press the accelerator switch in to the same depth each time, which means that upon each actuation a different rotary speed is set.
Moreover, setting devices for rotary speed regulation are known that combine the aforementioned accelerator switch with a control wheel, which allows the preselection of a certain maximum rpm. A disadvantage here, however, is that the rotary speed setting or specification cannot be done variably and arbitrarily, but instead can be done only by means of preselection at the control wheel, which as a rule is done with the power tool off. In particular, it is not possible as a rule to preselect especially low or especially high rotary speeds using the setting device.
From German Patent DE 199 30 435 C1, an electronic rotary speed controller is known that makes it possible to establish a preselected rotary speed. Here, via an accelerator switch, a rotary speed is preselected and is established by actuation. After that, this rotary speed is maintained constantly until the power tool is switched off. Accordingly what takes place is a preselection of a constant rotary speed that is determined beforehand from a rotary speed range.

Electric power tool with memory capability


Weathering apparatus with UV radiation sources and radiation sensors containing a double-calibrated UV sensor A weathering apparatus has one or more UV radiation sources (2) and one or more first sensors (3), which are calibrated for a first spectral sensitivity range. In a first aspect of the invention, the sensor or one of the first sensors (3) is calibrated in such a way that the radiation power of a spectral range which is located within the first spectral sensitivity range can be determined from its output signal. In a second aspect of the invention, a second sensor (4) is provided, which is calibrated for a second spectral sensitivity range.

In a weathering apparatus, the weather-dependent aging behaviour of a sample, in particular of a flat material sample, is assessed, with the sample being subjected to artificial weathering. The weathering apparatus for this purpose normally has a weathering chamber, in which holding means are arranged for holding samples to be weathered, and in which one or more radiation sources are arranged in order to apply radiation, in particular UV radiation, to the samples.
Apparatuses for artificial weathering of material samples are generally used to estimate the life of materials which are continuously subjected to natural weather conditions during their use, and which thus deteriorate under climatic influences such as sunlight, solar heat, humidity and the like. In order to obtain a good simulation of the natural weathering characteristics, it is advantageous for the spectral energy distribution of the light produced in the apparatus to correspond as far as possible to that of the natural solar radiation, for which reason appliances such as these use xenon emitters as their radiation source. In addition, an accelerated ageing test of the materials is achieved essentially by illuminating the samples more intensively than the natural conditions, thus speeding up the ageing of the samples. A statement about the long-term ageing behaviour of a material sample can thus be made after a relatively short time.
The majority of the material samples which are investigated in artificial weathering appliances are composed of polymer materials. The weather-dependent deterioration of polymer materials is caused substantially by the UV component of the solar radiation. The primary photochemical processes which take place in this case, that is to say the absorption of photons and the production of stimulated states or free radicals, are not dependent on the temperature. In contrast, the subsequent reaction steps with the polymers or additives may be dependent on the temperature, so that the observed ageing of the materials is likewise dependent on the temperature.
One or more UV radiation sources, such as xenon radiation sources, is or are optionally used in the previously known weathering apparatuses. As is known, these allow the entire solar spectrum to be simulated quite well, in which case the relatively high spectral component in the infrared spectral range can be attenuated by suitable IR filters.
The radiation power emitted from the UV radiation sources is measured by UV sensors, in which case it is possible to provide for each UV radiation source to have its own associated UV sensor. The output signal from the UV sensors is supplied to a control and recording device in which the UV radiation powers can be recorded during a weathering process. Furthermore, the output signals from the UV sensors can be supplied to a control device, by means of which the electrical power to be supplied to the power supply devices for the UV radiation sources can be regulated at constant UV radiation power levels.
It is known for broadband UV sensors to be used in weathering apparatuses, which have a sensitivity range in the range from 300 nm to 400 nm, in accordance with the IS Standard. However, there is also frequently a requirement for weathering processes to be carried out with the UV radiation power being measured using the NB Standard. In this Standard, the radiation power is optionally measured in the two narrowband ranges of 340 nm ±10 nm or 420±10 nm, with the latter range being outside the UV range, in the visible, blue spectral range. However, in the prior art, there are only sensors which are calibrated for in each case one of the already mentioned three sensitivity ranges. Accordingly, if there is a wish to use a different standard for the radiation power measurement from one weathering process to the next, in particular based on a different sensitivity range, then it is either necessary to replace the sensors or, if this is not possible, a different weathering apparatus must be used.
A change in the Standard for the measurement of the radiation power is accordingly associated with considerable effort and additional costs in the prior art.


The controller LSI is connected to an SPI flash memory having a deep power down mode (DPM), and brings the SPI flash memory to the DPM and then brings itself to low power consumption mode (LPM) that volatilizes data in a RAM. This invention solves the problem that the controller LSI cannot release the peripheral device from the DPM upon returning from the LPM due to the volatilization of the data. The controller LSI includes a CPU, the RAM, and an SPI control unit transmitting an SPI command to the flash memory. The SPI command includes a power down command to bring the flash memory into DPM and a release command to release it from the DPM. Upon returning from the LPM, the controller LSI causes the control unit to transmit a release command to the flash memory irrespective of whether it is in DPM or normal mode.

The present invention relates to controller LSIs (Large Scale Integrated circuits) controlling peripheral devices having a power down mode and information processing systems equipped with the controller LSIs, and more particularly to a controller LSI capable of putting itself into low power consumption mode and being suitably applicable to an information processing system.
With recent society-wide efforts to improve energy efficiency, ensuring low power consumption of semiconductor systems is almost an indispensable requirement. There are an increasing number of products provided with a low power consumption mode; the products include not only microcomputers with a CPU (Central Processing Unit), but also external peripheral devices, such as RAMs (Random Access Memories) and ROMs (Read Only Memories). As to external ROMs, migration from generally-used simultaneously-accessible parallel NOR-flash memories (registered trademark) (NOR-Flash) to SPI NOR-Flash memories that can perform the equivalent functions to those of the generally-used NOR flash memories with fewer pins is underway. In order to perform the equivalent functions with fewer pins, the SPI NOR-Flash is designed to gain access, on a command base, through a communication channel of SPI (Serial Peripheral Interface) communication, which is one of the communication modes among on-board ICs (Integrated Circuits). Recent devices have a low power consumption mode function, so-called deep power down (DPD) mode (DPM) that is also executable on a command base. In response to a deep power down command (DP command), the devices enter deep power down mode, while returning from the deep power down mode to normal mode in response to a RES (REleaSe from Deep Power Down) command. LSI is increasingly required to implement a function for manipulating the low power consumption mode function as a controller.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2010-55419 discloses a technology of reducing power consumption of a NOR flash memory. The NOR flash memory has a DPD function that brings the NOR flash memory into deep power down mode to reduce power consumption and enters and returns from the DPD state in response to a DPD signal supplied from a memory control unit connected thereto. The memory control unit brings the NOR flash memory into a DPD state when the memory control unit does not receive a request to access the NOR flash memory within a predetermined period of time.


A bus centering device for use in an aircraft electrical power distribution system that includes a positive bus rail, a negative bus rail, and a ground is described. The device includes a central node, a first and second switching component configured to couple the central node to the positive rail and the negative rail for a first and second predetermined duty cycle, respectively. The device includes an inductive component coupled between the central node and ground, and is configured to maintain a voltage at the central node substantially equal to ground, wherein a voltage between the positive rail and the central node is maintained substantially equal to a voltage between the negative rail and the central node. The device includes a first and second current limiting device configured to maintain a continuity of current from the inductive component when the first and second switching components are turned off.

The present application relates generally to aircraft power systems, and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for electrical bus centering.
Aircraft power systems provide electrical power to numerous components. A current trend is to include more electrical components in aircraft. This trend results in an increased power demand from the aircraft electrical power distribution system. At least some known aircraft power distribution systems minimize electrical feeder weight by increasing the electrical distribution, or bus, voltage level. In some known aircraft, the aircraft bus voltage exceeds 270 volts direct current (VDC).
As the aircraft bus voltages increase, a concomitant increase in risk to maintenance personnel and other aircraft components is created due to an increased risk of accidental electrical discharge. Moreover, a risk of undesirable corona discharge is increased at high aircraft bus voltages. Accordingly, in some known aircraft systems, aircraft bus voltages exceeding 270 VDC are provided using a bipolar bus that is centered about aircraft chassis ground, rather than a unipolar bus. However, at least some known bipolar bus implementations are less efficient than unipolar bus implementations. Additionally, at least some known bipolar bus implementations increase the weight of the aircraft over unipolar bus implementations.

Method and apparatus for electrical bus centering


A buckle part (2) of a belt buckle (1), wherein the buckle part (2) comprises at least one connecting part (4) for releasably connecting the buckle part (2) to another buckle part (3) of the belt buckle (1) and at least one bar (5) for fastening a belt (26) on the bar (5) of the buckle part (2), wherein the buckle part (2) also comprises at least one clevis type eyelet (6) for hooking a karabiner into the clevis type eyelet (6).

The present invention relates to a buckle part of a belt buckle, wherein the buckle part comprises at least one connecting part for releasably connecting the buckle part to another buckle part of the belt buckle and at least one bar for fastening a belt on the bar of the buckle part. In addition, the invention also relates to a belt buckle for releasably connecting together at least one belt and another belt or another object.
Generic buckle parts serve for the purpose of releasably connecting belts together in cooperation with at least one other buckle part or releasably fastening one belt to another object. Belt buckles are formed of at least two buckle parts and are used, for example, in areas of mountain sports or flight sports but also in the area of personal protective equipment in terms of safety at work and the like and are now widely used. A generic buckle part and also a generic buckle are shown, for example, in EP 2 165 619 A2. Belts are frequently connected together by said belt buckles in the application areas stated. They are often a component part of a climbing belt or similar fall arrest systems.
In order to be able to attach persons or objects to a corresponding safety device or to a rope by a belt or to be able to fasten karabiner hooks or other material on the belt, the mentioned belts are frequently provided with correspondingly sewn-on or sewn-in rings, in particular so-called D rings, or textile loops into which a karabiner hook or the like can be hooked. In a quite general manner, a D ring is a closed semicircle adapted in the widest sense from the letter D. As a rule, it is sewn to the belt or is sewn into said belt with the straight side. The rings or loops form on the belt a kind of clevis type eyelet for karabiners or comparable connectors. The sewing on or sewing in of the rings or loops on or in the belt represents an additional operating step in the production of the belt and consequently additional expenditure, above all it can also result in a weakness in the load-bearing capacity of the belt.


Methods for determining ethylene concentration in an ethylene oligomerization reactor using an ultrasonic flow meter are described, and these methods are integrated into ethylene oligomerization processes and related oligomerization reactor systems.

Chromium-based catalyst systems often are used for the continuous oligomerization of ethylene in a reactor to produce hexenes and/or octenes. However, many analytical techniques used to determine "real-time" ethylene concentration in the reactor, such as GC or IR or Raman spectroscopy, are problematic. Probes are used, which can foul or plug over time. Further, there are significant lag times in these analytical techniques. Thus, it would be beneficial to determine the real-time ethylene concentration using a technique that overcomes these drawbacks. Accordingly, it is to these ends that the present invention is generally directed.

Methods for operating ethylene oligomerization reactor systems with an integrated ultrasonic flow meter


A coating liquid to be used for coating has a loss tangent tan δ of from 1 to 10 at a frequency of 6.28 radians/sec. A coating liquid supplying roll has a fine concave portion in at least a part of the circumferential length thereof, and in the vicinities of the both circumferential ends of the fine concave portion, the fine concave portion 8 has concave depth decreasing portions formed in such a manner that the depth of a fine concave decreases. The fine concave portion is constructed in such a manner that the sum L (=L1+L2) of a circumferential length L1 of a portion in which the fine concaves are formed in substantially the same depth and a circumferential length L2 of one concave depth decreasing portion becomes an integral multiple (1 or more) of a circumference Lc of the cylindrical substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for applying a coating liquid to a cylindrical substrate and to an electrophotographic photoreceptor produced by that method and an electrophotographic apparatus provided with the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Technologies for applying a coating liquid to a cylindrical substrate have hitherto been employed in various fields. Here, the preparation of an electrophotographic photoreceptor will be hereunder enumerated. Incidentally, even in limiting to the electrographic field, application of a coating liquid to a cylindrical substrate is employed in the preparation of not only electrophotographic photoreceptors but also charging rolls, transfer rolls, fixing rolls, and so on.
The electrophotographic photoreceptor includes ones in which a lamination type photosensitive layer is formed by successively applying a coating material for undercoating layer, a coating material for charge-generating layer and a coating material for charge-transporting layer as coating materials for electrophotographic photoreceptor to the peripheral surface of a hollow cylindrical substrate constituted of aluminum or the like. The photosensitive layer is not only required to have a thin and uniform thickness but also eagerly demanded to realize low costs. Accordingly, a coating method having excellent producibility is being developed and investigated.
As a method of forming a photosensitive layer by applying coating materials for electrophotographic photoreceptor to the peripheral surface of a cylindrical substrate, a spray coating method, a dip coating method, a blade coating method, and so on have hitherto been known. However, these related art coating methods involve such problems that a uniform coating film is not obtained and that the production efficiency is poor.
For example, the spray coating method involves such a problem that when a solvent having a low boiling point is used in the coating material for electrophotographic photoreceptor, the solvent contained in the coating material is vaporized on the way of arrival of the coating material at the peripheral surface of the substrate, whereby the concentration of solids in the coating material increases, and therefore, when the coating material arrives at the substrate, it does not sufficiently spread on the peripheral surface of the substrate, and the surface of the coating film becomes irregular so that a smooth coating film surface is not obtained, whereby a coating film having a uniform thickness is not obtained.
Conversely, when a solvent having a high boiling point is used, though after attachment of the coating material onto the peripheral surface of the substrate, an action for leveling the thickness (hereinafter referred to as "leveling") is revealed, since vaporization of the solvent is slow, fixing of the coating film is delayed. When coating is continued in such a state that the fixing of the coating film is insufficient, in the case where a desired thickness is thick, there is encountered a problem that sagging of the coating material occurs so that a coating film having a uniform thickness is not obtained, either. In order to avoid this problem, the coating material may be dividedly coated several times. However, this method involves such problems that since coating and drying must be repeatedly carried out until the coating film becomes dry to the touch (the state that the coating film becomes dry to a degree that a trace does not remain even by finger touch), a time required for achieving works is long and that steps thereof are extremely complicated.
According to the dip coating method, though smoothness of the coating film surface is improved, the coating film is formed even in the interior and end face of the substrate. The coating film formed in the interior and end face of the substrate becomes an obstacle in installing a flange, etc. in the substrate. Accordingly, in order to formulate a substrate in which a coating film is formed in the interior and end face thereof into a substrate for electrophotographic photoreceptor, there is encountered a problem that the coating film formed in the interior and end face of the substrate must be peeled away. Also, in order to peel away the coating film formed in the interior and end face of the substrate, since a peeling step is necessary, such became a factor for hindering producibility. Further, since the thickness of the coating film is largely affected by physical properties of the coating material and a lifting rate after dipping, when lifting is carried out at a constant rate, a thickness difference between the upper end and the lower end of the substrate is generated. In order to overcome such a thickness difference, it is necessary to control the lifting rate. However, that control is difficult. Also, there is encountered a problem that in order to form a coating film having a uniform thickness, the lifting rate after dipping must be made slow. Thus, high production efficiency was not obtained.
The blade coating method is a coating method in which a blade is aligned in a position closed to the length direction of a substrate, and after making the substrate one revolution, the blade is moved backward. According to the blade coating method, though high producibility is obtained, there is encountered a problem that when the blade is moved backward, a phenomenon wherein a part of the coating film coated on the substrate swells occurs due to a surface tension of the substrate so that the thickness becomes non-uniform by this swelling.
Also, there is a roll coating method other than the foregoing methods. The roll coating method involves a problem caused by special characteristics of a substrate as a material to be coated that it is cylindrical, namely, residence of a coating material generated when a cylindrical substrate as a material to be coated rotates and the once coated surface returns repeatedly to a coating portion makes the thickness non-uniform.
As the related art technology of avoiding this residence of coating material from occurring, there is a method in which at the point of time when a substrate makes one revolution and the entire peripheral surface thereof is coated with a coating material, the substrate is kept away from a roll (see Japanese unexamined Patent Publication JP-A 3-12261 (1991)). However, according ( to the related art technology disclosed in JP-A 3-12261, in the case where the substrate makes only one revolution, there is encountered a problem that not only it is difficult to obtain a uniform coating film, but also a seam of the coating material generated when the substrate is kept away from the roll remains. Further, JP-A 3-12261 discloses a method in which after completion of coating by making the substrate one or more revolutions, the substrate is kept away from the coating material supplying roll, and rotation of the substrate is continued to level the coating film surface. However, this method involves such a problem that the thickness must be precisely controlled in expectation of an amount of the residence of the coating material to be subjected to leveling in advance and the substrate must be kept while rotating for a period of time necessary for achieving leveling, resulting in a lowering of the production efficiency.
Also, though a gravure offset method that has hitherto been employed is excellent as a method of forming a certain specific pattern with good precision, it is concerned with a technology fundamentally different from so-called "coating" of forming a uniform coating film and involves such a problem that when it is intended to form a coating film on a cylindrical substrate, a pattern of a plate remains, or a seam is formed.

Apparatus and method for applying coating liquid to cylindrical substrate, and electrophotographic photoreceptor produced by that method and electrophotographic apparatus provided with the same


Network transport management methods and tools are used to provide compositional service assembly and management such that processing (i.e., computing) capacity is handled in a manner analogous to handling transport quality of service. The memory, speed of operations, and input/output rates of a resource component are viewed as an aggregate bandwidth of transport. The distributed functional components of a compositional application/service are adapted to receive and process resource allocation requests. This allows the same network protocols and tools as are used for transport management to be used from a centrally located resource aggregator for composing (i.e., assembling) and allocating (i.e., assigning) computing resources with a guaranteed delivery rate. Additionally, a test message can be sent through the compositional service assembly to confirm connectivity and functionality of individual assembly components.

This invention relates in general to allocation and operation of data processing resources within a digital network and in particular to a method for confirming the connectivity and functionality of the allocated digital network resources.
The operation of digital networks require a significant investment in infrastructure; yet competitive pressures and the fast pace of technological change result in low profit margins. Naturally, network providers (such as Internet service providers and backbone providers) seek to minimize their equipment cost, optimize latency, and maximize scalability, robustness, and maintainability of their networks. Network architectures directed toward satisfying these goals often cause a tradeoff in network flexibility, such as the ability to reconfigure resources to provide different services.
For instance, it may be cost effective to employ a network architecture in which data processing resources are distributed in separate remote locations with several units of one type of processing component at one location (i.e., network node) and several units of another type of processing component at another node. Those processing resources may be used to generate standalone services. For instance, a group of Class 4 call processing resources may be at one location, and a group of Service Control Point (SCP) processing resource may be at another. A compositional service is one that is generated from, or composed of, standalone services. Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN) telephony services are an example of compositional services generated by combining the previously mentioned call processing and service control point processing services. Another such service is the delivery of audiovisual content (e.g., videoconferencing or streaming of movies) to an end user. Various component services will be necessary to provide the complete compositional service, such as data storage services, media conversion services, authentication/authorization services, and billing services.
Typically, physical processing components for performing the functions of a compositional service have been manually configured to construct the service. The capacities of the processing components dedicated to the composed service have been based on the expected usage of the service and balanced against the demands generated by other components at expected usage levels. To guarantee a certain performance level, usually denoted as quality of service or QoS, at times of peak usage, a capacity level would have to be built into the services which is then unused at off-peak times, which is usually a majority of the time. To avoid excessive cost, a service usually is provided with enough capacity to handle typical loads but less capacity than would be required to handle peaks loads without degradation. Thus, a component dedicated to one service may be unused or underutilized during a time that another service is congested because of a lack of capacity of that same type of component. In other words, a component of a type "X" included in a composed group of components for a service of a type "A" may be unused because of low usage of service "A" while a nearby component of type "X" for another service "B" is overloaded and providing a poor QoS due to peak usage of service "B". Conventional service configuration methods have not allowed sharing or reconfiguration of such resources in a simple, cost-effective manner. For instance, heavy long distance traffic may overwhelm SCP inter-exchange services while other SCP resources that are dedicated to Local Number Portability (LNP) remain idle. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a system for assignment of available communication resources that provides the most efficient use of the resources. It also would be desirable to provide a means of monitoring the performance of the selected resources and reallocating the resources as necessary.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A method for constantly controlling a direct application of pressure for bonding porous coatings to substrate materials used in orthopaedic implants. The direct pressure is applied to an interface between the porous coating and the substrate material via a pressure application mechanism unaffected by heat and air pressure conditions of the bonding process. The pressure application mechanism maintains a pressure on the implant which is constantly controlled throughout the bonding process.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to orthopaedic implants, and, more particularly, to orthopaedic implants having a porous coating attached to the surface. The present invention also relates to methods for bonding coatings to substrate materials. More particularly, the present invention relates to methods for controlling a direct application of pressure for bonding porous coatings to substrate materials used in orthopaedic implants.
2. Description of the Related Art
Orthopaedic implants commonly include a metal substrate and a porous structure of a desired thickness on a bone contacting surface of the implant to promote bone growth therethrough and to enhance attachment of the implant to adjacent bone tissue. Various methods have been developed for manufacturing an orthopaedic implant having a porous surface, including plasma spraying, sintering, and diffusion bonding.
Orthopaedic implants, such as hip, knee, elbow, shoulder, and spine, for example, may include one or more porous surfaces to allow bone ingrowth for fixation. Typically, the porous materials are prepared and attached to a substrate material. The porous coatings may be pre-sintered or diffusion bonded prior to attachment to a substrate material. The porous coatings are then attached to the substrate to form a metallurgical bond with the substrate with a variety of heat treatment processes.
Contact between the substrate and the porous coating may be maintained to achieve a metallurgical bond during the entire heat treatment process. This can be achieved with fixtures formed of high temperature materials that are inert and do not react with the implant. In addition, the temperatures required to achieve a metallurgical bond are substantially high and may require the use of a vacuum furnace so that the surface of the parts are not chemically altered. The heat treatment processes utilized to achieve a metallurgical bond between the substrate and the porous coating can be approximately 14 hours with multiple iterations required. The total cycle time can be in excess of 28 hours.

Direct application of pressure for bonding porous coatings to substrate materials used in orthopaedic implants


A padding system mountable on a working surface of a die press device to provide a cushion for die cutting includes one or more padding blocks, each of the one or more padding blocks including a backing layer and a padding layer. The backing layer is composed of a flexible magnetic material and the padding layer is composed of a soft cushion material. The padding layer is bonded to the backing layer.

Die press machines such as clamshell presses and large-format flatbed presses are often used to press and cut on substrate work pieces, such as cardboards, plastic sheets, corrugated boards etc., into products of different shapes. These products can be used for different commercial purposes. A die press machine may include a frame (or base) for supporting a pair of platens made of steel. The pair of platens may include a fixed platen that is secured to the frame, and a moving platen that moves along a track between a fully open (an inoperative) position and a substantially close (an operative) position relative to the fixed platen. The moving platen (or the fixed platen) may provide a substantially flat working surface on which the work pieces to be cut are placed. An inner surface of the fixed platen (or correspondingly the moving platen) may include mounting points at which tooling can be mounted. The tooling can be the cutting blades that may cut the work pieces placed on the working surface of the fixed platen at the operative position. At the inoperative position, one end of the moving platen is pushed away from the fixed platen to allow an operator to place a work piece on the moving platen (or the fixed platen). At the operative position, the moving platen is pushed down towards the fixed platen with force to enable the tooling to cut through the work piece, thus forming the products.

Apparatus and system for die press and cutting


A cellular unit is disclosed for use in a wiring distribution system having at least two cellular units oriented in end to end abutting fashion. Each cellular unit includes a housing having a top structure and a bottom structure connected to one another. The top and bottom structures are adapted and configured to define elongated cells extending through the housing. The cells extend parallel to one another and have open ends at opposite ends of the housing. Structure is provided to extend horizontally outwardly from the housing parallel with the cells. The structure includes an outwardly extending portion engageable with an abutting cellular unit such that abutting ends of the cellular units form a butt joint. The outwardly extending portion extends across the butt joint to define at least one vertical side positioned between two laterally adjacent cells to prevent the ingress of wires at the butt joint from one of the laterally adjacent cells to the other laterally adjacent cell.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to cellular units for use in wiring or electrical distribution systems. More particularly, the invention pertains to a cellular unit having an improved butt joint to prevent the existence of gaps between laterally adjacent cells of cellular units occurring at the butt joint.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Wiring, or electrical distribution systems are commonly used to provide a means to distribute various power and communication lines throughout a building. In many applications, such systems often include the use of cellular units which are secured upon a floor of a building or structure during construction. A layer of concrete is then poured upon floor to embed the cellular unit within. Various inlets or presets, which are connected to the cellular units, extend upwardly from the concrete to allow access to the various cells of the cellular units.
During installation, cellular units are placed in an end to end abutting fashion upon the floor. It has been found that butt joints formed between the ends of cellular units typically allow a gap therebetween. The exterior surface of the cellular units at these butt joints are commonly taped to the prevent the ingress of concrete, however, the gap between cells remains open at these butt joints. Consequently, the possibility exists that various wires pulled or feed through the cellular unit could crossover from one cell to another. Further, misalignment of the cellular units increases the possibility of such crossover and additionally creates the potential problem that raw metal edges of the misaligned cells at the butt joints can result in wire stripping as the wires are drawn across these edges.
As will be described in greater detail hereinafter, the cellular unit of present invention solves the aforementioned problems and employs a number of novel features that render it highly advantageous over the prior art.

Cellular unit for use in a wiring distribution system


A method and system for waking up a primary microcontroller of a controller in response to a change in a control pilot signal generated by an external device coupled to the controller includes coupling the external device to an input port electrically connected to the controller. A control pilot signal generated by the external device is received by the input port and outputted to a monitoring device of the controller in low power mode. The monitoring device in low power mode polls the control pilot signal and upon detecting a valid change transitions to normal power mode to output a wakeup pulse to the primary microcontroller, which in a sleep state receives the wakeup pulse and wakes up to execute instructions stored on the primary microcontroller. In an example, the system controls recharging of a battery by a charging station which outputs a pulse width modulated control pilot signal.

A plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) is a motor vehicle which includes a rechargeable battery, which may also be referred to as a battery pack or fuel cell, which can be charged from an external source of electricity. The electrical energy stored in the rechargeable battery may be used in a PEV to power one or more electric motors that provide tractive torque to propel the vehicle. Plug-in electric vehicles (PEV) include all-electric or battery electric vehicles (BEVs), plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs), and electric vehicle conversions of hybrid electric vehicles and conventional internal combustion engine vehicles.
The external source of electricity used to charge the battery of a PEV is typically provided by Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE), also referred to as an electric vehicle (EV) charging station, a charging point, or a charging station. Each PEV includes a battery charge controller responsible for plug-in charging of the vehicle. The charging station outputs a control pilot to wake up the battery charge controller during a charging event. This control pilot output is a pulse width modulated signal. Hardware based wakeup detection circuitry in the battery charge controller determines the controller response to the control pilot.

Method and apparatus for controller wakeup using control pilot signal from charge port


The invention relates generally to the field of oil and gas exploration and specifically to the use of well logs for exploration. This invention is directed to a method for estimating data that would have been collected in a region of a well log where there is a gap. This method uses identified elements in one data set to identify elements in another data set with data values indicative of the same geological characteristic as those in the first data set.

A "well log" comprises data collected along the path of a hole in the ground. Such holes are referred to as "wells" in the art of oil and gas exploration. A well log "curve" is a sequential collection of one category of data, such as resistivity or gamma ray activity. A well may have several logs, and a log may have several curves.
A primary task in the search for oil and gas is to gain an understanding of the distribution and nature of rocks and fluids in the subsurface. This understanding is important for the success and the efficiency of the search. Well logs provide direct information about what is in the subsurface. Data collected by logging wells can have significant economic consequences because wells may cost millions of dollars and oil deposits can be worth billions of dollars.
Several logs are commonly acquired from each well. Data are usually acquired by lowering sensing tools into the hole by cable. The cable holds the tools and maintains electrical connection with recording equipment at the surface. Data are acquired by the sensors and "logged" (recorded) at the surface as the tool is pulled up the hole. Data may also be acquired by instrumentation at the bottom of the hole while drilling is in progress. Data collected in or descriptive of the rock and fluid surrounding the hole fall into the category of "well log data".
Well logs provide detailed and direct measurements of rock and fluid properties in the subsurface. Examples of such measurements are (a) gamma ray intensity, which relates to the types of minerals present; (b) electrical resistance, which relates to the quantity and types of fluids; and (c) sonic velocity (the time required for sound to travel from sender to receiver), which relates to both rock and fluid properties. These three examples are illustrative of the hundreds of well logs that may be collected.
Unfortunately, gaps are sometimes present in well logs. Well log gaps result in less information on which to base a model and more uncertainty regarding what will be encountered when the next well is drilled. Gaps are present for a variety of reasons. Tools may fail or malfunction, or operators may turn off recording equipment at the wrong time. It may be discovered after the fact that the wrong interval was logged.

Method for estimating missing well log data


A thermal sensor for an integrated circuit including a bandgap reference circuit. The thermal sensor includes a comparator that compares a temperature dependent voltage generated by the bandgap reference circuit to a temperature independent voltage, where both temperatures are referenced to the bandgap reference voltage generated by the bandgap reference circuit. The thermal sensor generates a digital output control signal based on a predetermined relationship between the temperature dependent voltage and the temperature independent reference voltage. When used as a thermal shutdown circuit, the comparator generates a thermal shut-down signal when the dependent temperature voltage decreases (or increases) with rising system temperature to equal to the temperature independent reference voltage. The comparator is implemented using an operational amplifier that is connected to existing circuitry associated with the bandgap reference circuit.

FIG. 4 is a simplified circuit diagram showing an integrated circuit 50 including a conventional bandgap reference circuit 51 for generating a bandgap reference voltage Vbg, a conventional thermal shutdown circuit 52 for generating a thermal shutdown control signal TSD, and a generalized functional circuit (e.g., a Power Management IC circuit) 53 that utilizes bandgap reference voltage Vbg during normal operation and is shutdown by thermal shutdown control signal TSD when an operating temperature of IC 50 equals or exceeds a predetermined maximum operating temperature.
Referring to the left side of FIG. 4, bandgap reference circuit 51 includes an operational amplifier (op amp) C1 that generates bandgap reference voltage Vbg at its output terminal. The non-inverting (+) input terminal of bandgap reference circuit 51 is connected between a resistor R1 and a diode Q1, which are connected in series between bandgap reference voltage Vbg and ground. The inverting (−) input terminal of bandgap reference circuit 51 is connected between resistors R2 and R3, which are connected in series with a diode Q2 between bandgap reference voltage Vbg and ground. Those skilled in the art recognize that bandgap reference circuit 51 represents only one of several possible circuit arrangements capable of generating the desired bandgap reference voltage Vbg. The particular circuit structure of bandgap reference circuit 51 is disclosed in Chapter 4, Appendix A4.3 of "Analysis and Design of Analog Integrated Circuits 2ND Edition", Paul R. Gray and Robert G. Meyer (copyright 1977 by Wiley & Sons, Inc.).
In general, bandgap reference circuits function as temperature independent voltage reference circuits to provide a bandgap reference voltage Vbg at a voltage level typically around 1.25 V, which is close to the theoretical 1.22 eV bandgap of silicon at 0° K. In the example shown in FIG. 4, when power is supplied to IC 50, bandgap reference circuit 51 operates as follows. Assuming a stable operating point exists, then the differential input voltage of op amp C1 must be zero, and resistors R1 and R2 have equal voltages across them. Thus, the two currents I1 and I2 must have a ratio determined by the ratio of resistors R1 to R2. These two currents are the collector currents of the two diodes Q1 and Q2 (e.g., diode-connected transistors), assuming base currents are negligible. Thus, the difference between their base-emitter voltages can be represented by Equation 1:
                              Δ                                                                          V            be                          =                                            V              T                                    ln                                                                        I                  1                                                  I                  2                                            ·                                                I                                      S                                                                                2                                                                    I                                      S                                                                                1                                                                                =                                    V              T                                    ln                                                                        R                                                                                2                                                  R                                                                                1                                            ·                                                I                                      S                                                                                2                                                                    I                                      S                                                                                1                                                                                Eq        .                                          1            where VT is the threshold voltage across resistor R3, and IS1 and IS2 represent the saturation currents of diodes Q1 and Q2, respectively. The same current that flows through resistor R3 also flows through resistor R2, so the voltage across resistor R2 is represented by Equation 2:
                              V                      R                                                                          2                          =                                                                              R                                                                                2                                                  R                                                                                3                                            ·              Δ                                                                                V                              be                                                                                =                                                                      R                                                                                2                                                  R                                                                                3                                            ·                              V                T                                                  ln                                                                        R                                                                                2                                                  R                                                                                1                                            ·                                                I                                      S                                                                                2                                                                    I                                      S                                                                                1                                                                                Eq        .                                          2            Note that Eq. 2 implies that the currents I1 and I2 are both proportional to temperature if the resistors have zero temperature coefficient. The output voltage of op amp C1 (i.e., bandgap reference voltage Vbg) is thus represented by Equation 3:
                              V          bg                =                                            V              be                        +                                                                                R                                                                                2                                                        R                                                                                3                                                  ·                                  V                  T                                                          ln                                                                                R                                                                                2                                                        R                                                                                1                                                  ·                                                      I                                          S                                                                                2                                                                            I                                          S                                                                                1                                                                                =                                    V              be                        +                          KV              T                                                          Eq        .                                          3            Eq. 3 implies that bandgap reference voltage Vbg is substantially independent of temperature, with the constant K set by the ratios of R2/R1, R2/R3 and IS2/IS1.
Referring again to FIG. 4, due to process variations and component mismatches typically encountered during the production of integrated circuits, bandgap reference circuit 51 is typically designed in a way that allows "trimming" of resistors R1, R2 and R3 at the end of the fabrication process in order to produce the desired bandgap reference voltage Vbg. This trimming process typically involves providing several resistors connected in series, and a mechanism (e.g., programmable elements) that can be used to bypass some of the resistors in order to supply accurate voltages to op amp C1. An exemplary trimmable resistor circuit is shown in FIG. 5, where resistors R21 to R24 are connected in series, with each node N21 to N23 between adjacent resistors connected to op amp C1 by way of programmable elements (e.g., fuses, anti-fuses or pass gates) P1 to P3. In this example, resistor R2 (see FIG. 4) is trimmed by selectively turning on zero or more of programmable elements P1 to P3. For example, the resistance of resistor R2 is minimized by closing programmable element P1 such that op amp C1 is coupled to bandgap reference voltage Vbg by way of node N21, whereby the total resistance of resistor R2 is equal to the resistance of resistor R21. Conversely, resistor R2 is maximized by leaving open all programmable elements P11 to P13 such that op amp C1 is coupled to bandgap reference voltage Vbg by way of node N24, whereby the total resistance of resistor R2 is equal to the sum of the resistances of resistors R21+R22+R23+R24.
Referring again to FIG. 4, one further common practice associated with the production of ICs including bandgap reference circuits is to provide a series of resistors RA to RD that are connected to bandgap reference voltage Vbg, and provide temperature independent reference voltage VREF1 to VREF3, which are tapped from node NAB, NBC and NCD, respectively. Reference voltages between Vbg and GND are easily generated for various PMIC functions.
Referring again to FIG. 4, thermal shutdown circuit 52 includes a thermal sensor 55 whose voltage is compared by an op amp 57 to a supplied reference voltage VREF, whereby thermal shutdown control signal TSD when the sensor voltage VSENSOR is equal to the reference voltage. Such thermal shutdown circuits are described, for example, in "Development of a 1 MHz MOSFET gate-driver for integrated converters", M. A. de Rooij, J. T. Strydom and J. D. van Wyk, P. Beamer (IEEE publication 0-7803-7420-7/02 (2002)), in which the disclosed thermal sensor uses is a thermistor whose output signal is dedicated to the thermal shutdown of a functional circuit.
A problem associated with including thermal shutdown circuit 52 is that thermistor 55 and its associated circuitry are additional to any other thermally sensitive circuitry present on an IC having a bandgap reference circuit, and therefore take up a significant amount of valuable silicon area, consume a significant amount of power, and typically require a separate trimming operation (i.e., in addition to the trimming operation mentioned above with reference to bandgap reference circuit 51).
What is needed is a thermal shutdown circuit that minimizes silicon area and power consumption, and simplifies the trimming operations associated with its host IC.


The present invention provides a stream control device. The device includes a plurality of data processors that sequentially implement processing for stream data. The unit data of processing in each of the data processors has a certain data amount. The stream control device also includes a memory that is provided at a previous stage or a subsequent stage of the data processor, and stores the stream data. Each of the data processors includes a monitoring unit that monitors an amount of data stored in the memories at a previous stage and a subsequent stage of the data processor, and a data retriever that retrieves data to be processed from the memory at the previous stage.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to stream control techniques for controlling packet-based streams composed of multiplexed video and audio, such as MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) streams, and particularly to a stream control technique in implementing multiple times of encryption/decryption for streams.
2. Description of Related Art
In step with recent spread of data communication networks, so-called home networks are being diffused in the home so that home appliances, computers, and other peripheral apparatuses are coupled via a network to allow communication among the apparatuses. In the home network, the communication among the network-coupled apparatuses allows sharing of data processing functions of the respective apparatuses. The home networks offer users convenience and comfort. For example, users are allowed to transfer content among network-coupled apparatuses. Therefore, it is anticipated that the home networks will become more popular in the future.
Digital transmission content protection (DTCP) is known as the de facto standard of a technique for protecting content copyrights in the home networks. In the DTCP, a content sender and a content receiver verify each other and exchange an encryption key to share it, so that encrypted data is transferred therebetween.
In many cases, plural apparatuses coupled to a home network employ not a single scheme of encryption/decryption but a plurality of schemes of encryption/decryption. For example, the DTCP/IP for developing the DTCP on an IP network employs advanced encryption standard (AES) of which key length is 128 bits as a standard. In contrast, recording of data in a medium such as a hard disk drive (HDD) employs data encryption standard (DES), of which cipher strength is lower than that of the AES.
In this manner, different multiple schemes of encryption/decryption are employed in the home network, and buffers (memories) that temporarily store stream data as content are provided among encryption/decryption processors. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2003-281085 discloses a technique in which encrypted/decrypted data is transferred via memories as buffers.

Stream control device, stream encryption/decryption device, and stream encryption/decryption method


A cover for a steering wheel of an automobile includes a tire-shaped cover body disposed around the steering wheel of the automobile, and a plurality of rounded protrusions protruding uniformly from the peripheral surface thereof.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a cover for a steering wheel of an automobile, more particularly to a cover having a plurality of rounded protrusions protruding uniformly from the peripheral surface of the cover.
2. Description Of The Related Art
Presently, there are many types of covers available in the market for a steering wheel of an automobile. However, all of the conventional covers cannot prevent effectively the hand from sliding thereon.

Cover for a steering wheel of an automobile


A polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) or expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) flexible and bendable working channel section which is circumferentially reinforced against kinking and which is adapted to be insertable, in-line, with the rigid section of the endoscopic working channel.

The present invention relates generally to the field of endoscopy, which includes the use of a tubular structure inserted intraluminally into a mammalian body cavity for visualizing, biopsing and treating tissue regions within the mammalian body.
Various types of endoscopes are known in the art, as exemplified by U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,279,245, 4,676,229, 4,771,766, and 5,483,951. Most types of endoscopes include at least one of a plurality of working channels which extend along the length of the endoscope to provide access to body tissue within the mammalian body. These working channels typically include a rigid non-bendable section and a flexible, bendable section. These channels allow for air insufflation, water flow, suction, and biopsies. Conventional endoscopes utilize a wide variety of materials for the working channels, but all conventional endoscopes require the endoscopic working channel to be an integral part of the endoscope. Because endoscopes are subjected to repeated use and are required to follow tortuous pathways within the body, a frequent cause of failure of the endoscopic working channel is the bending, kinking or fracture of a section of the working channel which renders the endoscope useless until repaired. Unfortunately, repair of the endoscopic working channel requires disassembly of the endoscope and replacement of the endoscopic working channel. Conventional endoscopic working channels are not designed to be retrofitted with replacement bendable sections of the working channel.

Endoscopic working channel and method of making same


Novel methods and systems for decoding and displaying enhanced dynamic range (EDR) video signals are disclosed. To accommodate legacy digital media players with constrained computational resources, compositing and display management (DM) operations are moved from a digital media player to its attached EDR display. On a video receiver, base and enhancement video layers are decoded and multiplexed together with overlay graphics into an interleaved stream. The video and graphics signals are all converted to a common format which allows metadata to be embedded in the interleaved signal as part of the least significant bits in the chroma channels. On the display, the video and the graphics are de-interleaved. After compositing and display management operations guided by the received metadata, the received graphics data are blended with the output of the DM process and the final video output is displayed on the display's panel.

As used herein, the term 'dynamic range' (DR) may relate to a capability of the human psychovisual system (HVS) to perceive a range of intensity (e.g., luminance, luma) in an image, e.g., from darkest darks (blacks) to brightest brights (whites). In this sense, DR relates to a 'scene-referred' intensity. DR may also relate to the ability of a display device to adequately or approximately render an intensity range of a particular breadth. In this sense, DR relates to a 'display-referred' intensity. Unless a particular sense is explicitly specified to have particular significance at any point in the description herein, it should be inferred that the term may be used in either sense, e.g. interchangeably.
As used herein, the term high dynamic range (HDR) relates to a DR breadth that spans the some 14-15 orders of magnitude of the human visual system (HVS). For example, well adapted humans with essentially normal (e.g., in one or more of a statistical, biometric or ophthalmological sense) have an intensity range that spans about 15 orders of magnitude. Adapted humans may perceive dim light sources of as few as a mere handful of photons. Yet, these same humans may perceive the near painfully brilliant intensity of the noonday sun in desert, sea or snow (or even glance into the sun, however briefly to prevent damage). This span though is available to 'adapted' humans, e.g., those whose HVS has a time period in which to reset and adjust.
In contrast, the DR over which a human may simultaneously perceive an extensive breadth in intensity range may be somewhat truncated, in relation to HDR. As used herein, the terms enhanced dynamic range (EDR) or visual dynamic range (VDR) may individually or interchangeably relate to the DR that is perceivable by short-term adaptation though a HVS. As used herein, EDR may relate to a DR that spans 5 to 6 orders of magnitude. Thus while perhaps somewhat narrower in relation to true scene referred HDR, EDR nonetheless represents a wide DR breadth.
In practice, images comprise one or more color components (e.g., luma Y and chroma Cb and Cr) wherein each color component is represented by a precision of n-bits per pixel (e.g., n=8). Using linear luminance coding, images where n≦8 (e.g., color 24-bit JPEG images) are considered images of standard dynamic range, while images where n>8 may be considered images of enhanced dynamic range. EDR and HDR images may also be stored and distributed using low bit-depth, non-linear luminance coding (e.g., 10-bits and logarithmic luminance coding), or high-precision (e.g., 16-bit) floating-point formats, such as the OpenEXR file format developed by Industrial Light and Magic.
Most consumer desktop displays support luminance of 200 to 300 cd/m2 or nits. Most consumer HDTVs range from 300 to 1000 cd/m2. Such conventional displays thus typify a low dynamic range (LDR), also referred to as a standard dynamic range (SDR), in relation to HDR or EDR. As the availability of EDR content grows due to advances in both capture equipment (e.g., cameras) and EDR displays (e.g., the PRM-4200 professional reference monitor from Dolby Laboratories), EDR content may be color graded and displayed on EDR displays that support higher dynamic ranges (e.g., from 1,000 nits to 5,000 nits or more). In general, the methods of the present disclosure relate to any dynamic range higher than SDR.
To support backwards compatibility with legacy playback devices as well as new HDR or ultra-high definition (UHD) display technologies, multiple bitstream layers may be used to deliver UHD and HDR (or EDR) video data from an upstream device to downstream devices. Given such a multi-layer stream, legacy decoders may use one set of layers to reconstruct an HD version of the content with lower dynamic range (LDR) or standard dynamic range (SDR). Advanced decoders may use a second set of layers to reconstruct an HD or UHD EDR version of the content to render it on more capable displays. An example of such system was described in U.S. Provisional Patent Application 61/882,773, to be referred from now on as the '773 Application, filed on Sep. 26, 2013, titled "Backward-compatible coding for ultra-high definition signals with enhanced dynamic range," (filed also as PCT Application Ser. No. PCT/US2013/073085, on Dec. 4, 2013) which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Processing in an EDR receiver may be considered to include two major components: a) decoding and blending the two stream layers to generate a decoded EDR video signal, and b) performing display management (e.g., tone and gamut mapping) on the decoded EDR video signal to adapt it for optimum display onto the target EDR display. These image-dependent operations may be assisted or controlled by EDR metadata generated by the source of the EDR content and multiplexed into the coded EDR bitstream.
In some use cases, existing set-top boxes may not have enough processing power to perform image-content dependent display management to yield the best possible video quality performance. As appreciated by the inventors here, improved techniques for the decoding and display of EDR video are desirable.
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. Similarly, issues identified with respect to one or more approaches should not assume to have been recognized in any prior art on the basis of this section, unless otherwise indicated.

Decoding and display of high dynamic range video

Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation


Technologies for optimization of machine learning training include a computing device to train a machine learning network with a training algorithm that is configured with configuration parameters. The computing device may perform many training instances in parallel. The computing device captures a time series of partial accuracy values from the training. Each partial accuracy value is indicative of machine learning network accuracy at an associated training iteration. The computing device inputs the configuration parameters to a feed-forward neural network to generate a representation and inputs the representation to a recurrent neural network. The computing device trains the feed-forward neural network and the recurrent neural network against the partial accuracy values. The computing device optimizes the feed-forward neural network and the recurrent neural network to determine optimized configuration parameters. The optimized configuration parameters may minimize training time to achieve a predetermined accuracy level. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

Modern machine learning algorithms such as convolutional neural networks or other deep learning algorithms typically require involved training processes, which can be computationally hard. Machine learning training can be tuned with a number of configuration parameters in order to achieve optimum accuracy of the underlying machine learning algorithm. Tuning the configuration parameters typically requires executing the entire training process repeatedly and is thus computationally expensive.

Technologies for optimized machine learning training


The present invention provides a stent-graft assembly. The assembly comprises at least one stent framework and a graft member. The graft member is positioned adjacent an inner surface of the stent framework and everted over an outer surface of the stent framework to enclose at least a portion of the stent framework. The assembly may further comprise a therapeutic agent that is enclosed by the graft member. Elution openings may be formed in the graft member to preferentially elute a therapeutic agent into the wall rather than the lumen of a vessel into which the stent-graft assembly is placed.

Stents are generally cylindrical-shaped devices that are radially expandable to hold open a segment of a vessel or other anatomical lumen after implantation into the body lumen.
Various types of stents are in use, including expandable and self-expanding stents. Expandable stents generally are conveyed to the area to be treated on balloon catheters or other expandable devices. For insertion, the stent is positioned in a compressed configuration along the delivery device, for example crimped onto a balloon that is folded or otherwise wrapped about a guide wire that is part of the delivery device. After the stent is positioned across the lesion, it is expanded by the delivery device, causing the diameter to expand. For a self-expanding stent, commonly a sheath is retracted, allowing expansion of the stent.
Stents are used in conjunction with balloon catheters in a variety of medical therapeutic applications, including intravascular angioplasty. For example, a balloon catheter device is inflated during percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) to dilate a stenotic blood vessel. The stenosis may be the result of a lesion such as a plaque or thrombus. When inflated, the pressurized balloon exerts a compressive force on the lesion, thereby increasing the inner diameter of the affected vessel. The increased interior vessel diameter facilitates improved blood flow. Soon after the procedure, however, a significant proportion of treated vessels restenose.
To prevent restenosis, stents, constructed of a metal or polymer, are implanted within the vessel to maintain lumen size. The stent acts as a scaffold to support the lumen in an open position. Configurations of stents include a cylindrical sleeve defined by a mesh, interconnected stents, or like segments. Exemplary stents are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,292,331 to Boneau, U.S. Pat. No. 6,090,127 to Globerman, U.S. Pat. No. 5,133,732 to Wiktor, U.S. Pat. No. 4,739,762 to Palmaz and U.S. Pat. No. 5,421,955 to Lau.
Stent insertion may cause undesirable reactions such as inflammation, infection, thrombosis, and proliferation of cell growth that occludes the passageway. Stents have been used with coatings to deliver drugs or other therapeutic agents at the site of the stent that may assist in preventing these conditions. In some methods of producing a stent designed to deliver a drug, the drug coating is applied to a stent framework. This may result in the drug being delivered to only those portions of the vessel in direct contact with the stent, providing as little as 20% coverage.
When a graft is used in conjunction with a stent, 100% coverage of the portion of the vessel in direct contact with the graft is possible. The graft component of a stent-graft may also aid in minimizing thrombosis, preventing embolic events, and minimizing contact between the fissured plaque and the hematological elements in the bloodstream.
In addition, the graft component makes the device suitable for use in treating aneurysms. An aneurysm is a bulge or sac that forms in the wall of a blood vessel. The force of normal blood pressure in the aneurysm may cause the vessel to rupture. Aneurysms are most commonly the result of fatty deposits on the vessel wall but may also result from other causes that weaken the vessel wall, including heredity, trauma, or disease.
A number of methods and devices have been developed for treating aneurysms. A standard treatment is surgery, which is performed to replace the section of the vessel where the aneurysm has formed. Some patients are not good candidates for such open surgery, and, due to the highly invasive nature of the open procedure, other patients may not wish to undergo the treatment.
An alternative treatment is a technique known as endovascular stent grafting. In this procedure, a stent-graft is placed inside the vessel affected by the aneurysm in order to reinforce the weakened vessel wall, thereby preventing rupture of the aneurysm. Like stents, stent-grafts are delivered to the area to be treated using balloon catheters or other expandable devices. Certain therapeutic agents may be effective against the formation or progression of aneurysms. Therefore, it may be desirable to use a stent-graft to deliver these therapeutic agents to the site of an aneurysm.
Various methods have been devised to produce stent-grafts. Some of these, such as methods that involve stitching the graft material to the stent, can be labor intensive or may provide inadequate adherence of the graft material to the stent. Other methods may produce devices that cannot deliver the therapeutic agents efficiently. Therefore, it would be desirable to have a stent-graft assembly that overcomes the aforementioned and other disadvantages.

Stent-graft assembly with elution openings


This invention relates to a novel twin wind turbine power system. More particularly, this invention pertains to a twin wind turbine power system which has adjustable width blades, adjustable width wind deflectors and a telescoping erection capability. A twin wind turbine electrical power generating system comprising: (a) a first rotatable wind turbine with vertical radially extending blades around its axis; (b) a second rotatable wind turbine deployed parallel to the first turbine with vertical radially extending blades around its axis; (c) a vertical windshield positioned windwardly between the first and second wind turbines; (d) a wind direction member associated with the first and second wind turbines and directing the first and second wind turbines and windshield to face windward; (e) a rotational support upon which items (a), (b), (c) and (d) are mounted; (f) an alternator connected to the first and second wind turbines and generating electricity as the first and second wind turbines rotate.

With the depletion of hydrocarbon fuels and increasing emphasis on environmental impact, alternative sources of energy have been sought. One source of alternative electrical energy is wind machines. Such wind machines have a number of disadvantages. To erect such wind machines, it is necessary to use cranes. Moreover, the rotating blades of the wind machines create significant air turbulence. For instance, although wind turbines typically rotate at only 30-50 rpm, the tips of the blades, because of the extensive length of the blades, for instance, 100-200 ft., travel at subsonic, sonic and supersonic speeds. This creates sonic air vibrations. Persons living proximate to the wind machines are aggravated by the constant noise created by the air turbulence.
The foregoing examples of the related art and limitations related thereto are intended to be illustrative and not exclusive. Other limitations of the related art will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon a reading of the specification and a study of the drawings.


A belt buckle with a replaceable insert is provided. The belt buckle includes a top cover, a bottom plate, a replaceable insert, and a base plate. The top cover includes a first recess. The bottom plate includes a first extruded portion extruding toward the top cover. The replaceable insert includes a second recess. The replaceable insert is disposed at least in part between the top cover and the bottom plate. The first extruded portion is disposed at least in part in the second recess.

Belt buckles are well known. Belts have been widely used to support pants or other articles of clothing. In addition to a utilitarian purpose, belts may also be decorative and worn according to current fashion.
Belts or belt buckles of different designs or colors may be used to match pants of different designs or colors. However, it is not economic to purchase various belts or belt buckles in order to match pants of different designs or colors.


An antenna device includes a first antenna and a second antenna provided in a case. The first antenna includes a first capacitance loading element and is configured to at least one of receive and transmit a signal in a first frequency band. The second antenna includes a second capacitance loading element and is configured to at least one of receive and transmit a signal in a second frequency band. The second frequency band is higher than the first frequency band. The second capacitance loading element is disposed at a front side of the first capacitance loading element.

The present invention relates to an antenna device that is equipped with a capacitance loading element.
In recent years, vehicular antenna devices called shark fin antennas have been being developed. As for vehicular antenna devices, there is a tendency of equipping them with a DAB (digital audio broadcast) antenna in addition to an AM/FM broadcast reception antenna (refer to Patent document 1 below, for example).    Patent document 1: JP-A-2012-199865


A handwritten character image normalization technique provides predetermined pixel dimensions and a normalized skew. The skew slope of the input image is calculated. This skew slope is employed to determine the bounds of the smallest parallelogram which completely encloses all of the stroke pixels of the input image. This parallelogram has a first pair of opposed horizontal sides and a second pair of opposed sides having the skew slope. The stroke pixels of this parallelogram are then mapped into the standard size horizontal row and vertical column pixel dimensions using horizontal and vertical scaling factors determined from the parallelogram dimensions and the standard dimensions. This mapping employs a subpixel grid of the normalized pixels. Candidate stroke pixels are identified which correspond to any part of a stroke pixel of the input image. A candidate stroke pixel is set to a stroke pixel if and only if the number of such subpixels mapped into a stroke pixel of the input image exceeds a predetermined number.

There are many instances where it would be useful or desirable to provide a computer readable form of a document not available in a compatible computer readable form. Normally it is the case that the document is not available in machine readable form. This could be because the document was handwritten or typewritten and thus no computer readable form exists, or it could be because the computer readable form is not available. In some instances this is a "foreign" document, i.e., a computer readable form does exist but document was produced on an incompatible computer system. In some instances, such as facsimile transmission, a simple optical scan of the document can produce the required form. In most instances the form most useful for later use and decision making is a separate indication of each character of the document.
The field of optical character recognition deals with this problem. The optical character recognizer scans the document in some fashion to produce an electrical indication of the marks of the document. A computer analyzes this indication of the marks to produce an indication of each character of the document. It is within the current state of the art to produce relatively error free indication of many typewritten and printed documents. The best systems of the prior art are capable of properly distinguishing several differing type fonts and of reading kerned text. This is not the case for unconstrained handwritten characters.
The problem of properly reading unconstrained handwritten characters is difficult because of the great variability of the characters. One person may not write the same character exactly the same every time. The variability between different persons writing the same character is even greater than the variability of a single person. In addition to the variability of the characters themselves, handwritten text is often not cleanly executed. Thus characters may overlap horizontally. Loops and descenders may overlap vertically. Further, the individual written lines may be on a slant or have an irregular profile. Thus recognition of handwritten characters is a difficult task.
An example of a field where recognition of handwritten characters would be very valuable is in mail sorting. Each piece of mail must be classified by destination address. A large volume of typewritten and printed mail is now read and sorted using prior art optical character recognition techniques. There remains roughly 15% of current U.S. mail that is hand addressed. Present technology uses automated conveyer systems to present these pieces of mail, one at a time, to an operator who views the address and enters a code for the destination. This is the most labor intensive and slowest part of the entire mail sorting operation.
Sorting of handwritten mail is an area having a unique set of characteristics. First, because of the problem of user acceptance it is not feasible to place further constraints on the address. Thus address lines or individual character boxes, which would be useful in regularizing the recognition task, are ruled out. On the other hand, there already exists a relatively constrained portion of the current address. The 5 digit ZIP code employed in a most handwritten destination addresses provides all the information needed for the primary sorting operation. This information is relatively constrained because the ZIP code consists of only digits. In addition the ZIP code is usually located at the end of the last line of the destination address, thus reducing the task of proper location.
It would thus be useful in the art to provide a manner of normalizing unconstrained handwritten digits to ease the task of recognition.

Environmental Research Institute of Michigan


A heating apparatus by heating cooking materials in a water contained pan includes a heating device and an electronic circuit which controls the heating device. The temperature of the pan is detected, and the temperature rise characteristics of the pan contents are detected from when heating the pan starts until the contents boils. The quantity of the contents being cooked is determined from the temperature rise characteristics at a relatively low temperature range. The type, such as the size of the contained solids, of the contents being cooked is determined at a relatively high temperature range near the boiling point. The heat output of the heating device is then regulated based on these determinations according to the selected cooking operation after the materials boil, and the cooking apparatus thus provides automated cooking control.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device and method for controlling heating power for cooking providing convenient and safe cooking and, more particularly, to a cooking apparatus which automatically evaluates the quantity and content of cooking material containing moisture and controls the heat amount applied to the cooking material.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In FIGS. 13 and 14, a conventional gas cooking range is described below. As shown in FIG. 13, an example of conventional cooking apparatus Rc includes a control panel 101, a burner 102, a grate 103, a burner control knob 104, a pan bottom temperature sensor 105 for detecting a temperature at a bottom of a pan (not shown), and an ignition/shut-off button 106.
The control panel 101 has a plurality of cooking mode keys which are prepared for performing predetermined and preferable cooking procedures for the desirable cooking materials. For example, a boil key is operated to heat the contents within the pan until it boils and automatically turns the burner off once the contents boils, and a simmer key is to operated to heat the contents of the pan until it boils and then automatically lowers the burner to a lower heat setting and activates the shut-off timer to cause the contents to simmer for the preset time. To cook using the automatic control feature of the cooking range Rc, a user selects any of cooking mode keys and presses the ignition/shut-off button 106 to start the burner 102.
In FIG. 14, the heating operation of the conventional gas range Rc when the simmer mode is performed is shown. The temperature rise da per unit time dt is calculated from the time when the pan bottom sensor 105 detects a temperature of 78.degree. C. to monitor the magnitude of the increase in the temperature gain da and thereby determine the quantity of water in the pan. The estimated boiling point KA is determined according to the temperature rise da. After the estimated boiling point KA is reached, the boiling point fp is detected by comparing the temperature rise da1, da2 and so on per unit time to the expected increase in temperature for each water volume to determine when the water boils. Since it is considered that the water in the pan is boiling when the boiling point fp is detected, the caloric output of the burner 102 is then reduced to a constant level to cook the contents of the pan.
By maintaining the burner 102 at a constant caloric output, however, the total caloric output tends to be either too much or not enough depending upon the quantity and type of foods being cooked, and this control feature is therefore not really practical for everyday use. Thus, it is not practical to apply only one kind of constant caloric output after reaching the boiling point fp to the various kinds of cooking materials because the quantity and type of cooking materials also vary at cooking time.
Furthermore, in the conventional gas range Rc, a temperature 13.degree. C. above the boiling point fp is defined as a burning prevention point fg at which temperature the cooking material will burn. When the detected pan bottom temperature reaches the burning prevention point fg, the burner 102 is automatically turned off to prevent the cooking material from burning by an automatic over-heating suppression (burning prevention) device incorporated in the conventional gas cooking range Rc. Depending upon the heat conductivity of the pan as determined by the type and thickness of material used in the pan, and the contents of cooking material in the pan, specifically how much moisture is included in the cooking material, using a constant temperature rise of 13.degree. C. from the boiling point fp to determine the burning prevention point fg tends to result in burnt foods when the moisture content is low. On the other hand, if the burning prevention point fg is set at much below a temperature 13.degree. C. above the boiling point fp, the automatic over-heating suppressing device functions before the contents are fully cooked. It is therefore not practically possible to set the threshold temperature for the over-heating suppression function at less than a 13.degree. C. rise from the boiling point fp.
Controlling the over-heating suppression function at a single temperature as a burning point makes it difficult to maintain a consistent level of doneness due to the heat conductivity of the pan as determined by the type and thickness of the material used in the pan and the amount of moisture in the pan.

Heating apparatus and heating power control method

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


Disclosed is a control circuit of an LED lighting apparatus having a current control function. The control circuit of the LED lighting apparatus may include: a current control circuit configured to control the LED lighting apparatus divided into a plurality of LED groups, and provide a current path corresponding to sequential light emissions of the LED groups in response to a rectified voltage; and surplus voltage buffer circuits corresponding to two or more LED groups, respectively, and each configured to buffer a surplus voltage.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to an LED lighting apparatus, and more particularly, to a control circuit of an LED lighting apparatus, which has a voltage buffer function.
2. Related Art
According to the recent trend of lighting technology, an LED has been employed as a light source, in order to reduce energy.
A high-brightness LED is differentiated from other light sources in terms of various aspects such as energy consumption, lifetime, and light quality.
However, a lighting apparatus using the LED as a light source requires a large number of additional circuits for current driving, because the LED is driven by a constant current.
In order to solve the above-described problem, an AC direct-type lighting apparatus has been developed.
In general, the AC direct-type LED lighting apparatus is designed to drive an LED using a rectified voltage obtained by rectifying commercial power.
Since the AC direct-type LED lighting apparatus directly uses the rectified voltage as an input voltage without using an inductor and capacitor, the AC direct-type LED lighting apparatus has a satisfactory power factor.
Each of the LEDs included in the LED lighting apparatus may be designed to operate at 2.8V or 3.8V, for example. Depending on cases, the LED lighting apparatus may be designed in such a manner that a large number of LEDs connected in series emit light using a rectified voltage.
The LED lighting apparatus may be configured in such a manner that the LEDs of each group are sequentially turned on/off according to the rise/fall of the rectified voltage.
The LED lighting apparatus may be driven in various environments. In particular, the LED lighting apparatus may be driven by a voltage higher than a design value due to the power system environment or unstable power characteristic of the region in which the LED lighting apparatus is used.
That is, the LED lighting apparatus may be driven in a state where an over voltage equal to or more than a voltage required for operating LEDs is applied. In this case, an over current may be generated by the over voltage.
The above-described over current may have an influence on a current control circuit of the LED lighting apparatus. In a severe case, internal parts may be damaged by a malfunction or thermal stress caused by heat generation. In particular, an integrated circuit chip including the current control circuit may be damaged.
Recently, the demand for an LED lighting apparatus with a large capacity has been gradually increasing. In the case of the large-capacity LED lighting apparatus, the influence of the over voltage may be intensified. Then, the lifetime of the LED lighting apparatus may be reduced or the reliability of the LED lighting apparatus may be degraded due to a malfunction and part damage.

Control circuit of LED lighting apparatus