An electrical adapter configured to allow a towing vehicle's standard six wire electrical output connection to be used with a trailer's standard four wire electrical input connection, with the adapter combining electrical signals from the towing vehicle by use of a pair of logic circuits in a manner that results in the trailer's tail lights displaying all desired signals, including simultaneous braking and turning signals, and a converter configured to allow a towing vehicle's standard four wire electrical output connection to be used with a trailer's standard four wire electrical input connection, with the converter combining electrical signals from the towing vehicle by use of a pair of logic circuits in a manner that results in the trailer's tail lights displaying all desired signals, including simultaneous braking and turning signals.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to automotive electrical accessories. More particularly, the present invention relates to a device for allowing a vehicle having either a standard four wire electrical output connection or a standard six wire electrical output connection to be able to control the tail lights of a trailer having a standard four wire electrical input connection.
2. Description of Prior Art
Light utility trailers capable of being towed by passenger vehicles and light trucks come equipped with tail lights to indicate to following vehicles whether the towing vehicle has applied its brakes or has signaled a left or right turn. Most vehicles capable of towing such a trailer have as standard equipment an electrical output connection that can be connected to an electrical input connection integrated with a cord wired to the trailer's tail lights, and those that do not have such a connection can have one installed as an after-market accessory. The electrical output connection typically found on a towing vehicle may be a standard four wire electrical output connection having a ground wire, a wire dedicated to running lights, a left signal wire, and a right signal wire. This is a typical configuration of a vehicle intended to tow a small utility trailer. The electrical output connection typically found on a towing vehicle also may be a standard six wire electrical output connection, having a power wire, a ground wire, a wire dedicated to running lights, a brake wire, a left signal wire, and a right signal wire. This is a typical configuration of a vehicle intended to tow a recreational vehicle. However, as more and more vehicles come equipped with the standard six wire electrical output connection, there is a mismatch in use with light utility trailers. When the towing vehicle's electrical output connection does not match the trailer's electrical input connection, an adapter must be used. The typical adapter used between a vehicle with a standard six wire electrical output connection and a trailer with a standard four wire electrical input connection receives electrical signals from the towing vehicle and transmits those signals to the trailer's tail lights.
Adapters currently on the market utilize the signals received from the towing vehicle as follows: when a turn signal is indicated, an intermittent signal is sent to the trailer, momentarily illuminating either the left or right tail light, as appropriate, and then extinguishing that tail light, in a repeating pattern for as long as the turn is being signaled. When the brakes are applied by the towing vehicle, a constant signal is sent to the trailer, illuminating both the left and right tail lights for the duration of time that the brakes are being applied. However, when both a turn is being signaled and the brakes are being applied—for example, when the towing vehicle is slowing in the process of making a turn—the brake signal receives priority and both tail lights are illuminated. Thus, the trailer's tail lights no longer indicate a turn when the brakes are being applied, even if a turn is intended. This may present an increased level of danger to a following vehicle as well as to the towing vehicle and trailer. Similarly, even when the towing vehicle uses a standard four wire electrical output connection and thus no adapter is needed, the signals sent to the trailer result in the same pattern: when both a turn is being signaled and the brakes are being applied the brake signal receives priority and both tail lights are illuminated.
There is thus demonstrated the need for an electrical adapter suitably configured to allow a standard vehicle six wire electrical output connection to be used with a standard trailer four wire electrical input connection which combines signals from the towing vehicle in a manner that allows the trailer's tail lights to display simultaneous braking and turning signals, as well as the need for an electrical converter suitably configured to allow a standard vehicle four wire electrical output connection to be used with a standard trailer four wire electrical input connection which combines signals from the towing vehicle in a manner that allows the trailer's tail lights to display simultaneous braking and turning signals.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to present an adapter suitably configured to allow a standard vehicle six wire electrical output connection to be used with a standard trailer four wire electrical input connection.
It is a further object of the present invention to present a converter suitably configured to allow a standard vehicle four wire electrical output connection to be used with a standard trailer four wire electrical input connection.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to present an adapter which combines signals received from a towing vehicle in a manner that allows a trailer's tail lights to display braking and turn signals independently.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to present a converter which combines signals received from a towing vehicle in a manner that allows a trailer's tail lights to display braking and turn signals independently.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to present an adapter which combines signals received from a towing vehicle in a manner that allows a trailer's tail lights to display braking and turn signals simultaneously.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to present a converter which combines signals received from a towing vehicle in a manner that allows a trailer's tail lights to display braking and turn signals simultaneously.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to present an adapter which is inexpensive to manufacture and simple to use.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to present an adapter which incorporates a pair of logic circuits to combine signals received from a towing vehicle appropriately for use by a trailer's tail lights.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to present a converter which incorporates a pair of logic circuits to combine signals received from a towing vehicle appropriately for use by a trailer's tail lights.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to present an adapter which incorporates a pair of logic circuits, one of which controls the illumination of the trailer's left tail light and the other of which controls the illumination of the trailer's right tail light.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to present a converter which incorporates a pair of logic circuits, one of which controls the illumination of the trailer's left tail light and the other of which controls the illumination of the trailer's right tail light.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to present an adapter which incorporates a pair of logic circuits integrated into a printed circuit board.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to present a converter which incorporates a pair of logic circuits integrated into a printed circuit board.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to present an adapter which incorporates a pair of logic circuits, each of which functions as an Exclusive OR ("XOR") gate to combine signals received from a towing vehicle.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to present a converter which incorporates a pair of logic circuits, each of which functions as an Exclusive OR ("XOR") gate to combine signals received from a towing vehicle.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to present an adapter which incorporates a pair of logic circuits, each of which comprises a quad NAND gate to perform the XOR function to combine signals received from a towing vehicle.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to present a converter which incorporates a pair of logic circuits, each of which comprises a quad NAND gate to perform the XOR function to combine signals received from a towing vehicle.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to present an adapter having a weather-proof housing.
Other objects of the present invention will be readily apparent from the description that follows.


A combustion heater/pot combination for rapid and efficient heating of liquids and foodstuffs comprises a cylindrical shell enclosing both a heat source and a container whereby products of combustion are constrained to flow through an annular flue defined by the shall wall and the container within and spaced from the shell wall by guide elements. The shell is elevated above a support surface, such as the ground or a hearth, by a plurality of struts, whereby air is admitted to a combustion zone. The struts are releasably engaged to the shell by structures which assure stability of attachment. Combustion air preheat and/or draft control shells resting on the support surface may embrace the shell strut combination for improved efficiency.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to combustion heaters and is more specifically directed to portable stoves for heating water and foodstuffs in containers adapted for use in conjunction with such stoves under relatively primitive conditions such as camping or in adverse conditions such as disaster or emergency situations.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The stove or heater invention set forth and depicted herein represents evolutionary advance over the prior art as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,915,091 for "High Efficiency Combustion Heater" dated Apr. 10, 1990. This prior art patent sets forth principles of design for construction of a class of combustion heaters of markedly improved efficiency both of combustion,,especially of wood as fuel and of heat transfer to the container to be heated. The present invention embodies improvements which overcome problems noted through wide-spread field experience with prior art heaters.


A new family of titanium carbide/tungsten boride coatings having excellent wear and corrosion resistance is disclosed. The coatings comprise hard, ultrafine, titanium carbide particles and tungsten boride precipitates dispersed in a metal matrix, the two phases constituting from about 30 to about 80 volume percent of the coating, the balance being metal matrix. The metal matrix contains at least one metal selected from a group consisting of nickel, cobalt and iron. The coatings may be prepared by a process which comprises depositing a mechanically blended powder mixture composed of separate components including a first component containing tungsten carbide and a second component containing boron and at least one metal selected from the group consisting of nickel, cobalt and iron, the powder mixture including titanium in the first or second component or in a separate third component, at least one of the first, second or third components having a melting point below about 1200.degree. C., and then heat treating the as-deposited coating. The heating treatment effects a diffusion reaction between the deposited elements resulting in the formation of ultrafine titanium carbide particles and tungsten boride precipitates dispersed in a metal matrix. The coating can be deposited onto the substrate using any of the known deposition techniques.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to titanium carbide/tungsten boride coatings having excellent corrosion and wear resistance and to a process for preparing such coatings. More particularly, the invention relates to hard, dense, low-porosity, corrosion and wear resistant coatings containing ultrafine particles of titanium carbide and tungsten boride precipitates dispersed in a metallic matrix. The invention also relates to a process for preparing such coatings in situ by thermal spray and diffusion reaction techniques.
Throughout the specification, reference will be made to plasma arc spraying and detonation gun (D-Gun) techniques for depositing coatings. Typical detonation gun techniques are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,714,563 and 2,950,867. Plasma arc spray techniques are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,858,411 and 3,016,447. Other thermal spray techniques are also known, for example, so-called "high velocity" plasma and "hypersonic" combustion spray processes, as well as the various flame spray processes. Heat treatment of the coatings is necessary and may be done after deposition in a vacuum or inert gas furnace or by electron beam, laser beam, induction heating, transferred plasma arc or other technique. Alternative deposition techniques such as slurries, filled fabrics or electrophoresis, followed by heat treatment, are also known. Still other methods include simultaneous deposition and fusion utilizing plasma transferred arc, laser or electron beam surface fusion with or without post deposition heat treatment.
2. Background Art
Cutting tools are usually made of tungsten carbide-cobalt alloys. These alloys are extremely hard, strong and tough and exhibit excellent wear properties under most conditions of use. However, a problem with these alloys has been that tungsten carbide is subject to oxidation at temperatures above about 540.degree. C. When operated at these elevated temperatures for any sustained period, cutting tools made of these alloys loose their wear properties and frequently crack, spall or chip.
Chemical vapor deposition techniques have been used to improve the wear properties and oxidation resistance of tungsten carbide-cobalt cutting tools by depositing a thin layer of titanium diboride (TiB.sub.2) on the surface of the parts. Due to interactions between TiB.sub.2 and WC/Co at elevated temperatures, a thin film which is less than about 30 microns thick, is formed on the surface of the cutting tools which contains CoWB and TiC compounds. Titanium carbide has a higher oxidation resistance than tungsten carbide and is more stable. Consequently, the formation of a film containing these compounds increases the wear resistance of the cutting tools.
Vapor deposited films containing CoWB and TiC are furthermore limited to use with only a few substrates, particularly tungsten carbide-cobalt alloys. It would be advantageous therefore to develop TiC/WCoB coatings which can be applied to a variety of substrate materials.

Titanium carbide/tungsten boride coatings

Union Carbide Coatings Service Corporation


The present invention is directed to a process of producing polyol esters possessing desirable composition and color. Preferably, such a process does not require molecular distillations or decoloration steps to yield a light-colored polyol ester composition. Materials that are dark in color are often produced during the esterification of polyols with vegetable oil fatty acids. It has been discovered that the present process yields the desired ester products that are light in color. The present process comprises an esterification of a polyol, such as propylene glycol, and a fatty acid ester, such as a vegetable oil fatty acid methyl ester, in the presence of a catalyst and borohydride, wherein a polyol ester having a Lovibond color below about 0.6 Red and below about 1.5 Yellow is produced.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a novel process for producing a polyol ester composition which possesses a desirable composition and color.
2. Related Art
During the past few decades, water-borne coatings have found broad acceptance in architectural as well as industrial applications and are expected to have continued good growth rates in the coating industry. The driving forces behind this trend are based upon both environmental and economic concerns to reduce volatile organic compounds (VOC) of most coating materials. Traditionally, latex coatings, based upon small particles (emulsions) of a synthetic resin such as acrylic polymers, have required the use of a coalescing aid in substantial quantities. The coalescing aid in latex coatings is added to improve the filming properties of the coatings. The function of the coalescing aid is to soften the latex particles so they can flow together and form a continuous film with optimal film properties after the water has evaporated. Without the coalescing aid, the latex coatings may crack and not adhere to the substrate surface when dry at ambient temperatures.
Alcohol esters and ether alcohols, such as ethylene glycol monobutyl ether and TMB (2,2,4-trimethyl-1,3-pentanediol monoisobutyrate), are widely used as coalescing aids in the latex coatings industry. These chemicals are volatile and are counted as VOC in the paint.
Although newer formulations of water-borne paints and coatings have reduced the amount of coalescing aids, they have not eliminated them. It is estimated that the market for latex paint coalescing aids is on the order of 120 million pounds in the U.S. and perhaps twice that amount globally. Currently, nearly all of this material is lost into the atmosphere each year. Proposed regulations have limited the level of VOC in latex paints even further.
Recently, glycol esters of unsaturated fatty acids (such as the propylene glycol monoesters (PGME) of vegetable oil fatty acids) have been shown to perform in the same way as TMB to cause the latex particles to coalesce and form a cohesive film (N. Jiratumnukul & M. Van De Mark, JAOCS, vol. 77, no. 7, 691, 2000). Due to the large relative size (molecular weight) of these unsaturated esters, these coalescing aids are essentially, non-volatile, and therefore do not contribute to the VOC of the coating. Instead of evaporating into the air over a few days as in the case of conventional coalescing aids, these glycol esters oxidize and remain within the film. Over the course of a few days the coating dries and becomes harder and more durable without releasing VOC into the atmosphere. It is important that the fatty acids be primarily polyunsaturated fatty acids to facilitate this oxidative reaction. The primary coalescing aid is propylene glycol monoesters (PGME) of polyunsaturated fatty acids.
The effect of PGME coalescent on yellowing in the paint film is one concern. Another issue is the visual color of the liquid PGME product to be used. To compete in the paint industry with TMB (a color-less water-clear liquid), a clear, almost colorless liquid PGME is needed. Color can be measured using a Lovibond tintometer, which is an instrument for evaluating oil colors on the Lovibond scale (a standard scale in the industry). The color of a monoester mixture can be determined by comparing the monoester mixture product to standard reference samples.
In general, the preparation of fatty acid esters of polyols (such as propylene glycol) is possible from a number of routes. For example, propylene glycol and triglycerides can be reacted together using an alkaline catalyst to give a reaction product comprising monoesters of propylene glycol, propylene glycol diesters, monoglycerides, diglycerides, and triglycerides, after removal of the excess propylene glycol and glycerol (Hui, Y. H., "Manufacturing Processes for Emulsifiers" in Bailey's Industrial Oils and Fat Products, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.(1996) 5th Ed., Vol. 4, pp. 569–601).
A second route is through the reaction of propylene glycol with fatty acids or fatty acid esters, such as methyl or ethyl esters of fatty acids (Swern, D., "Fat Splitting, Esterification, and Interesterification" in Bailey's Industrial Oils and Fat Products, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.(1982) 4th Ed., Vol. 2, pp. 97–173). An acid such as para-toluene sulfonic acid catalyzes the esterification of palmitic acid and propylene glycol (U.S. Pat. No. 3,669,848). Reaction of fatty acid methyl esters with glycols was accomplished with the addition of metallic sodium as catalyst and the evolution of methanol (R. Celades and C. Paquot, Chem. Phys. Appl. Surface Active Subst., Proc. 4th Int. Congr. (1964; published 1967) 1, 249–255). The product from these reactions will generally be a mixture comprising primarily mono- and diesters of propylene glycol after the removal of water or the low-boiling alcohol (ethanol, methanol, etc.), byproducts and any excess starting reactants.
A third route is combining propylene oxide with fatty acid, leading to a mixture of monoester isomers.
A fourth route is combining propylene glycol with an acid chloride of a fatty acid.
The final product composition of these processes can be described in terms of the ratio of mono- to diesters comprising the product. The composition of the end product can be controlled by varying the amounts of glycol with respect to fatty acid reagent (methyl ester, fatty acid or oil), and through manipulating the reaction conditions. The above reaction processes, however, consistently generate color during the preparation of the propylene glycol fatty acid ester product.
If a very high propylene glycol monoester product was desired, in general, a distillation process was the most widely used technique for such purification. Due to the high molecular weight of the propylene glycol fatty acid esters, an expensive subsequent molecular distillation was required to obtain higher monoester concentration. The crude monoester mixture is distilled under high vacuum, in a short path distillation process. The distillate generally comprises greater than 90% (by weight) monoesters. The remaining material generally comprises mainly propylene glycol diesters, monoglycerides and/or diglycerides, depending upon the starting reactants used. Previously, this molecular distillation was the only method which yielded a nearly colorless propylene glycol monoester product of unsaturated fatty acids.
As described above, it is desirable to prepare a propylene glycol fatty acid monoester mixture of acceptable color for use as a non-volatile coalescing aid for latex paints. A dark-colored monoester mixture is not suitable for incorporation into coating compositions. It would be useful to develop a process for producing propylene glycol monoesters of polyunsaturated fatty acids in which the product of said process contains a high amount (at least about 85%) of monoester and has the desirable characteristic of a light color, without the need for purification through a molecular distillation process or a decoloration step.

Methods for the preparation of polyol esters that are light in color


An electronic board including an area forming a BGA type electronic component backing, and an electric heating resistor which supplies an amount of heat for soldering the component onto the plate is disclosed. The board includes a plurality of conductive layers alternating with electrically insulating layers, the resistor forming one of the conductive layers immediately underlying the surface layer. The board may also include a thermal drain. A facility for implementing the method is also disclosed. It allows for an electronic board to be repaired through replacing defective members without risking to unsolder or to damage adjacent members.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to the field of electronic boards and, in particular, to means for setting up and taking apart the components thereof through soldering.
2. Description of the Related Art
An electronic board comprises overall a planar backing, referred to as a printed circuit consisting in a stack of conductors, so-called layers, and separated one from another by electrical insulators. Electronic components are mounted on such a backing and the electrical connections are provided by metal tabs being soldered on plotting lands on the printed circuit. The backing is commonly referred to in the field by the acronym PCB (for printed circuit board).
Conventional components, being of the peripheral output type, i.e. having their connection tabs arranged on the periphery of the housing containing the electronic chip, can be easily soldered to the substrate. The heat required for the solder melting and the soldering operation could be implemented by bringing the source of heat closer to the peripheral tabs without any risk of damaging the component through excessive heating.
The technological development makes it now possible to use more compact components with so-called surface outputs. There is illustrated on FIG. 1 a diagram representing a component 10 of a type referred to in the field as BGA (ball grid array). The component comprises an electronic chip 11 embedded into an encapsulation material 12, and on the lower part a substrate 13. Plotting balls 15 are integral with the substrate on the other side and are arranged as a grid. Part of the balls 15A is electrically connected with the chip 11 through appropriate electrical connecting means 16A. Some balls 15B, located in the central part of the substrate, are electrically and thermally connected with the chip through connecting means 16B for draining the calories thereof from the housing to the PCB.
Compared to the components with peripheral outputs, surface output components have the inconvenience of requiring them to be heated to make them soldered, as the balls are not otherwise available. For soldering or unsoldering such components, it is therefore required to heat the housing at the melting temperature of the soldering alloy, such as 195° C. for lead based alloys. It should be ensured that the temperature remains lower than the chip holding temperature, which is 250° C.
Additionally, in some aeronautics applications, electronic boards are enclosed in housings in which no cooling air circulates. One or more metal foils functioning as thermal drains (generally made of copper) is/are inserted into the backing, referred to as the PCB, so as to be able to drain heat through conduction between the heating electronic component(s) and the outside of the metal housing containing the electronic boards. Furthermore, in particular for aeronautics applications, a weather resistant lacquer covers the whole board, and protects it against moisture.
Because of the high cost of electronic boards in some applications, for example aeronautics, it is important to be able to repair them by replacing the defective components. Replacing the defective components should occur without disturbing adjacent components. A difficult step involves locally providing a sufficient amount of heat for resulting in the soldering melting of the only component to be replaced.
The presence of the thermal drains and the weather resistant lacquer, in such a setting, is an inconvenience when it comes to replacing a BGA type component, i.e., to unsoldering and re-soldering it from its backing.
The prior art common solutions are not appropriate for soldering a new component or for unsoldering an existing component when the backing comprises thermal drains. In this case, it is necessary to provide a higher amount of heat for accounting for its removal through the drain. Such an increase in heat is detrimental to the adjacent components. Furthermore, the weather resistant lacquer is able to melt in turn at the heating temperature. It is likely to migrate into the adjacent solders and to damage electrical connections.
The Applicant have provided a solution in the Patent Application FR 2,864,419. Such a method for soldering an electronic component under repair on a backing comprising at least one thermal drain for said component, by means of a soldering paste incorporating a stripper flux activated at a first temperature, and a soldering alloy melting at a second temperature higher than the first one, comprises the following steps:                preheating the backing through the thermal drain up to said first temperature,        positioning the component on the backing with the soldering paste, and        heating the component by applying a hot gas at a high enough temperature for activating the flux and bringing the soldering alloy to the second temperature.
A soldering paste used in such a type of method commonly comprises a soldering alloy generally in the form of balls, a very light activating flux for processing surfaces, and a thinner or a solvent. Through heating across the thermal drain of the backing during the preheating operation, the heat supply is limited to the one required for activating the flux. The temperature of the backing and the adjacent components remain lower than that of the re-melting of the soldering alloy of the latter. Moreover, the heat required for the soldering alloy to reach the melting temperature is locally provided by the hot gas nozzle above the component. Preheating the board occurs through convection with a heating plate arranged under the board on the side opposite to the subject component.
Heating the component with hot air comprises a preheating step at an intermediate temperature, lower than the second temperature. The board is placed in an enclosure at least during the preheating step, allowing for the temperatures to be homogenized on the board. The hot gas is applied by means of a nozzle arranged perpendicularly to the plane of the board, associated with a gas return chimney forming means after the component has been swept.
In the above-noted Patent Application, there is also disclosed an assembling and repairing facility for electronic boards, for implementing the previous method(s), comprising a means for securing said board, a means for heating by thermal conduction on one side of the board and a means consisting in a heating plate for heating with hot gas on the other side of said board. Such a facility both provides for implementing the above described soldering method and for implementing the unsoldering of a component to be replaced without disturbing adjacent components.
The method is quite appropriate when the alloy to be used is based on lead as the tin lead alloy having the melting temperature able to be adjusted to 195° C. It is no longer adapted to soldering with an alloy not comprising lead, abiding to environmental regulations, and having its melting temperature higher and substantially closer to the limit temperature to which the component could withstand. Thus, an alloy such as made of tin, copper and silver, that satisfies regulation requirements, has a melting temperature of 230° C., higher by 35° C. than the above mentioned temperature, but essentially close to the 250° C. limit for the components.

Electronic board incorporating a heating resistor


This disclosure provides tyrosine kinase protein and nucleic acid variants, particularly FGFR2 variants, which are linked to drug resistance. The disclosure further provides methods of diagnosis and theranosis, and development of new therapeutic agents using these molecules and fragments thereof, and kits for employing these methods and compositions.

Endomentrial cancer includes all forms and subtypes of the disease, including for example, serous, mucinous, and endometrioid histological subtypes or any other cancer that starts in the endometrium, which includes the lining of the uterus. Particularly, cancer of the endometrium is the most common gynecologic malignancy and accounts for 6% of all cancers in women.
Members of the fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) tyrosine kinase family have been shown to be amplified or mutationally activated in endometrial cancer and a variety of other cancer types, including breast cancer, ovarian cancer, lung cancer, gastric cancer, bladder cancer, glioblastoma and rhabdomyosarcoma, making FGFRs an attractive potential therapeutic target. Targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) have shown success in cancer treatment. However, the long-term efficacy of these TKIs is frequently limited by development of resistance to the TKIs. The resistance developed to TKIs can be due to mutation of the target kinase. Therefore, there is a need to determine specific resistance profiles for each particular compound by discovering relevant mutation(s) in FGFR. Such FGFR mutation(s) can be used to develop a companion test of a drug, i.e., screening for susceptibility to a FGFR inhibitor. The identification of specific TKI-resistant FGFR mutations is also required to develop second generation inhibitors, whether it is an FGFR-specific inhibitor, or a multi-targeted protein kinase inhibitor, or a combination of selective antagonists, as in an anti-tumor or anti-cancer drug.

Methods of determining susceptibility of tumors to tyrosine kinase inhibitors

Translational Genomics Research Institute


Basic aluminum halides and nitrates having enhanced antiperspirant efficacy are produced by reacting (a) aluminum powder, (b) an aluminum halide or nitrate solution and (c) water at a temperature greater than about 85.degree. C. This reaction is maintained until reaction products having an Al:anion ratio of about 1.2 to 1.8 and a solution solids concentration of about 30-40 wt. % on an anhydrous basis are obtained. The products are characterized as having a Size Exclusion Chromatography Test Band having a relative retention time corresponding to Band II of a Standard Basic Aluminum Chloride Size Exclusion Chromatogram and a Band II percent aluminum value of at least about 50% and a Band III percent aluminum value of less than 20%.

Basic aluminum halides and nitrates, particularly chlorides, and their use as effective antiperspirant compounds are both well-known. In general, basic aluminum halides and nitrates are complex structures made up of mixtures of polymeric and monomeric species of various sizes and molecular structures, depending upon their Al:anion ratio, together with varying amounts of bound or coordinated water. The basic aluminum compounds are generally represented by the empirical formula: EQU Al.sub.2 (OH).sub.(6-x) Y.sub.x
wherein Y is Cl, Br, I and/or NO.sub.3, and x may be between 0 and 6. It should be understood that the above formula is greatly simplified and is intended to include basic aluminum halides and nitrates containing coordinated or bound molecules of water as well as basic aluminum halide and nitrate polymer complexes and mixtures of the above.
Many attempts have been made to improve the antiperspirant efficacy and other properties of basic aluminum compounds. One school of thought that has grown in popularity is based upon improving the efficacy of basic aluminum compounds by increasing the percentage of aluminum species having a retention time corresponding to Band III of a Standard Basic Aluminum Chloride Size Exclusion Chromatogram. A number of attempts to increase efficacy have focused on processes for the production of such basic aluminum compounds.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,359,456 of Gosling et al. (Unilever) discloses heating a wide range of basic aluminum halides and nitrates in a 10 to 34 wt. % aqueous solution (2.5 to 8.5 wt. % aluminum) to a temperature of 50 to 140.degree. C. for a period of time sufficient to cause the basic aluminum compound to have a Size Exclusion Chromatography Test Band having a relative retention time corresponding to Band III and a Band III aluminum value of at least 20%. The heating step is carried out for a period of from 1/2 hour to 30 days in a closed tube, bottle or reactor, followed by cooling to ambient temperature and drying to a water soluble powder. The increase of the percentage of aluminum in the Band III fraction to a level of 20% or more is said to result in an enhancement of the antiperspirant activity of the basic aluminum compound.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,775,528 of Callaghan et al. (Gillette) discloses an antiperspirant composition of zirconyl hydroxy chloride and aluminum hydroxide in a stable solid. Enhanced efficacy is reportedly achieved by heating a 2% to 20% by weight aqueous solution, containing at least the aluminum chlorhydroxide component of the composition, until the ratio of the height of the peak corresponding to Kd=0.7 (Band IV) to that of the peak corresponding to Kd=0.5 (Band III) is at least 2:1. At column 2, lines 60-61 of this patent it is disclosed that at least 80% and preferably at least 90% of the total of aluminum is present within the peaks corresponding to Bands III and IV.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,944,933 of Inward (Unilever) discloses a process for the manufacture of basic aluminum chlorides in powder form for antiperspirant use in which an Al:Cl molar ratio of 1.7:1 to 2.2:1 and a Band III fraction of at least 20% is obtained. The process of this patent comprises dissolving metallic aluminum powder in an aqueous starting solution of aluminum chloride or basic aluminum chloride having an Al:Cl molar ratio of up to 1.8:1. The starting solution is held at a temperature of about 50.degree. C. to about 105.degree. C. for a period long enough to dissolve sufficient aluminum to produce an aqueous solution having an Al:Cl molar ratio in the range of 1.7 to 2.2:1 and an aluminum concentration of 7.5 to 13% by weight. The reaction is carried out in such a manner so that the aluminum powder is dissolved rapidly enough so that the final basic aluminum chloride has a Band III fraction of at least 20%, preferably 25%. The solution is then dried to provide a final basic aluminum chloride in a form of a hydrated powder having a Band III fraction of at least 20%, preferably 25%.
European Published Patent Applications Nos. 0 191 628 and 0 256 832 of Unilever disclose the preparation of basic aluminum halides having at least 20% of the aluminum contained in the Band III fraction for use in antiperspirants. These references disclose processes for the direct manufacture of basic aluminum halides having an aluminum/halide molar ratio of 1.7:1 to 2.2:1 from the known reaction of aluminum metal with aluminum halides. The processes require a reaction temperature of from 50 to 105.degree. C. The final aluminum concentration of the solutions is 0.8% to 6.75%. The solutions may be dried to provide a powder.
European Patent Application No. 0 274 252 of Dow discloses a process for preparing basic aluminum compounds which have a Band III percent aluminum value of at least 40%. The process comprises reacting an aluminum compound of a prescribed formula with aluminum metal in an aqueous medium at a temperature of between 50.degree. C. to 195.degree. C. until a ratio of aluminum to anion of 0.5 to 2.5:1 is obtained.
Antiperspirant compositions comprising combinations of aluminum compounds and zirconium compounds or complexes are also known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,017,599 of Rubino (Armour Pharmaceutical) discloses water soluble complexes of a basic aluminum compound, a zirconium compound and an amino compound. The products have an Al/Zr molar ratio of about 10:1 to 1:10. European Published Patent Application No. 0 256 831 of Unilever discloses a process for the manufacture of aluminum zirconium halohydrates, having an Al/Zr ratio of 2:1 to 7:1. The process comprises dissolving metallic aluminum halide in a zirconium-halide mixture heated to 50 to 105.degree. C. The final product has a size exclusion chromatogram of which the Band III portion is at least 20%.
However, such basic aluminum and aluminum zirconium compounds having a preponderance of Band III aluminum species and processes for the production of such compounds have proven to have a number of disadvantages, particularly in their preparation. For example, these processes generally require high heating temperatures to properly modify the basic aluminum species. This high degree of heating raises the cost of manufacturing these compounds. Moreover, in order to increase the concentration of the Band III species, relatively low concentration solutions of the starting materials need to be employed. This raises the cost of drying the solutions to powders. Also, basic aluminum compounds having a high percentage of Band III are relatively unstable in aqueous solutions at room temperature.

Method of inhibiting perspiration with basic aluminum and aluminum/zirconium antiperspirants


A driver assistance system for the fully automated driving of a motor vehicle has a control device for generating control signals for actuators of the motor vehicle, which are designed to drive the motor vehicle. The control device forms a slave of a master-slave arrangement. A user interface of the device forms the master. The user interface receives as an input from a user, a selection of a driving maneuver that is to be performed by the slave and/or a driving parameter value for a driving parameter with respect to a driving maneuver which is currently carried out by the slave. After completion of the input, the user interface activates the slave as a function of the input. The user interface has a representation of the motor vehicle, arranged in a field, wherein an edge represents a maximum permissible change in the driving parameter value.

The invention relates to a method and a device for the automated driving of a motor vehicle.
The expression "driving of the motor vehicle" encompasses firstly the steering of the motor vehicle (following a course of a road, orienting the motor vehicle within a lane, lane change maneuver), which is also designated as transverse driving, and secondly the control of the driving speed of the motor vehicle (acceleration, reduction of the driving speed, emergency braking, maintaining the driving speed), which is also designated as longitudinal driving.
A device of the type mentioned is known from DE 10 2010 022 433 A1. According to that, a driver assistance unit in a fully automatic assistance mode can perform the driving of the vehicle completely independently. During the journey, the driver of the motor vehicle then does not have to operate either the steering wheel or the pedals of the motor vehicle and can therefore devote his/her attention to other things for a comparatively long period of time, such as the operation of an infotainment system, for example.
Fully automatic driver assistance systems are useful for example in connection with driving the motor vehicle in a backup if the motor vehicle in stop-and-go traffic can be driven only very slowly, generally at walking speed, and this is also possible only at relatively long time intervals. With corresponding monitoring of the surroundings of the motor vehicle, it is likewise also conceivable to enable the fully automatic driving of a motor vehicle during other driving maneuvers, for instance when parking, or else even at higher speeds.
Even during the automated driving of the motor vehicle by said device, it must be made possible for a driver to be able to influence the driving, in order for example to be able to turn off at an exit with the motor vehicle if the driver has spontaneously decided to take a different journey route, or to drive with the motor vehicle offset with respect to a center line of a lane (so-called transverse offset) in order to be able to look past a vehicle ahead. The fundamentally different functioning of fully automated systems in comparison with systems of partial automation (which carry out e.g. exclusively a driving speed control) or manual driving calls for a distinguished form of human-machine communication. The tasks of the human in the fully automated control loop of driver, vehicle and environment move away from focusing on the primary driving task toward system monitoring tasks. For this purpose, the human must be afforded an overview of what driving maneuvers can currently be carried out by the fully automatic driver assistance system and what possibilities remain available to the driver for influencing the driving maneuver currently being performed.

Device for the automated driving of a motor vehicle, motor vehicle having such a device and method for operating a motor vehicle


An apparatus and method of forming an image for image-forming data includes connecting the image-forming apparatus to a device by using a wireless communication, receiving image-forming data from the connected device; adjusting a priority order of the image-forming data that is received from the device, according to a type of the device or a mode in which the image-forming apparatus is connected to the device, and based on the adjusted priority of the image-forming data, forming an image for the image-forming data.

1. Field of the Invention
The present general inventive concept relates to a method of forming an image by adjusting a priority order of image-forming data and an image-forming apparatus to perform the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Typically, if several users share and use a printer/multifunctional printer (MFP) via a network, print jobs, transmitted by the several users via the network, may be frequently accumulated in the printer/MFP. A user who wants to print an image by using a mobile device requests a print job near the printer/MFP. However, a print job, transmitted from the mobile device, may be processed only after a print job received from another device is processed. Thus, a user may have to wait for a long period of time until obtaining a printout. Particularly, a user who desires to print an image by using a mobile device usually has a small amount of data to be printed, but the user needs to transmit a print job nearby a printer/MFP and wait until other print jobs are completed, thereby causing inconvenience. Thus, the printer/MFP may need to process a print job transmitted by the mobile device earlier than print jobs transmitted by other devices.

Method and apparatus to perform image forming job by using network


A computer-implemented method and apparatus for tracking an image object within successive first and second image frames. The first frame has a first contour model which defines the image object within the first frame. The first contour model has a global motion parameter which defines global motion of the image object between the first frame and at least one frame preceding the first frame. A second contour model is defined in the second frame based upon the global motion parameter. Image blocks that are associated with points on the first contour model are matched with image blocks associated with points on the second frame to produce motion probabilities associated with each contour point. The motion probabilities are based upon the amount of displacement between respective matched image blocks of the first and second contour models. The shape of the second contour model is locally adjusted based upon the motion probabilities to produce a locally adjusted second contour model.

1.0 Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to computerized video image tracking and more particularly to tracking deformable objects with a computerized active contour model.
2.0 Discussion
Tracking and extraction of deformable objects from a video sequence have significant uses for multimedia systems and image analysis. Its applications include content-based video indexing, image and video manipulation, and model-based video compression. Two principle reasons exist for why object deformation needs to be taken into consideration in those applications. First, most natural objects of interest are non-rigid. Some of them are articulated (e.g., humans, animals, trees, etc.) and others are deformable or elastic. Secondly, rigid objects can also appear to be "deformed" in two-dimensional images, due to the perspective projection and lens distortion effects.
The tracking of deformable objects encounters several problems. A deformable object's structure can change over time and no single motion description can accurately describe the local motion for each subpart of the object. On the other hand, occlusion can cause even more problems during the tracking. The disappearance or re-appearance of a certain part of the object can change the neighborhood characteristic of the contour points which define the contour of an object. This situation usually results in misleading the tracking of the object.
Different models have been suggested to represent deformable objects. Meshes can be used to model object deformation by estimating the motion of each nodal point constrained by a mesh structure. Deformable templates have also been used to find similar objects after some kind of deformation in a video frame (see: A. K. Jain, Y. Zhong, and S. Lakshmanan, Object Matching Using Deformable Templates, IEEE Trans. on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, March 1996).
Also, the snake approach has been used in extracting objects from still images. A snake is an elastic curve placed on an image object that converges toward image object features that satisfy certain smoothness constraints. To extend it to tracking image objects in image sequences, a reliable motion estimation algorithm is needed and is lacking in past works.
Several researchers have studied snakes combined with motion prediction and estimation for deformable objects contours. Terzopoulos and Szeliski proposed the Kalman snake, which incorporates the dynamic snake into the Kalman filter system for tracking rigid or non-rigid objects (see: D. Terzopoulos and R. Szeliski, Tracking With Kalman Snakes, A. Blake and A. Yuille, editors, Active Vision. MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass., 1992). Ngo et al. proposed the generalized active contour model (called g-snake) for tracking the object boundaries (see: C. W. Ngo, S. Chan and K. F. Lai, Motion Tracking And Analysis Of Deformable Objects By Generalized Active Contour Model, Second Asian Conference on Computer Vision, pages 442-446, 1995). Temporal motion information is used for adaptive global motion prediction of the target object. However, only global motion prediction is used and the lack of local motion estimation can still lead to tracking failure, especially when the image contains complicated edge structures or when the object has significant local deformation.

Apparatus and method for tracking deformable objects

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


For upgrading a data stream of multimedia data, which comprises features with textual description, a set of phonetic translation hints is included in the data stream, which specifies the phonetic transcription of parts or words of the textual description. The phonetic transcriptions need not be repeated for each occurrence of a word. This reduces the amount of data necessary for storing or transmitting the description text.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention describes a method for upgrading a data stream of multimedia data, which comprises features with textual description.
2. Description of the Related Art
In order to exactly describe e.g. the pronunciation of a text, e.g. for controlling a speech synthesizer, the "World Wide Web Consortium" (W3C) is currently specifying a so-called "Speech Synthesis Markup Language" (SSML, http://www.w3.org/TR/speech-synthesis). Within this specification, xml (Extensible Markup Language) elements are defined for describing how the elements of a text are to be pronounced exactly.
For the phonetic transcription of text the "International Phonetic Alphabet" (IPA) is used. The use of this phoneme element together with high-level multimedia description schemes enables the content creator to exactly specify the phonetic transcription of the description text. However, if there are multiple occurrences of the same words in different parts of a description text, the phonetic description has to be inserted (and thus stored or transmitted) for each of the occurrences.

Method of upgrading a data stream of multimedia data


A method of implanting a vertebral implant in a void between a pair of vertebral endplates comprises positioning the vertebral implant between the vertebral endplates and coupling an implantation tool to the vertebral implant. The method further comprises actuating the implantation tool to generate alternating motion relative to the vertebral endplates. The alternating motion has a speed and creates a displacement of the vertebral implant. The method further comprises seating the vertebral implant into a profile formed in at least one of the vertebral endplates and decoupling the implantation tool from the vertebral implant. The vertebral implant remains implanted in the at least one vertebral endplate.

In the treatment of diseases, injuries or malformations affecting spinal movement and disc tissue, it has long been common practice to remove a portion or all of a degenerated, ruptured, or otherwise failing disc. Following the loss or removal of disc tissue, intervertebral devices have been implanted between the remaining vertebrae to promote fusion or to restore motion to the treated area of the spine. To properly seat the implant, conventional methods of implantation often require the use of complex measurement and instrumentation systems for preparing the bone to match the implant. A mismatch between the implant and the prepared bone can cause an improper seating of the implant. Therefore, a method and apparatus are needed which simplify the instrumentation required for implantation and improve the fit between the implant and the adjacent vertebrae.

Anatomic implants designed to minimize instruments and surgical techniques


An impedance measurement circuit and an operating method thereof are provided. The impedance measurement circuit includes a current source, a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO), an operation circuit, and a first delay circuit. The current source, electrically connected to a power rail, is able to sink a current from the power rail according to the delayed clock signal. The VCO is configured to generate an oscillation signal according to a power voltage on the power rail. The operation circuit is electrically connected to the VCO and is configured to receive a sampling clock signal and the oscillation signal, sense the power voltage to generate a sampled signal, and accumulate the sampled signal to generate a measurement result. The first delay circuit, electrically connected to the current source and the operation circuit, is able to receive the sampling clock signal and transmit the delayed clock signal to the current source.

Recently, high-performance computing (HPC) market is expected to become more popular and being widely used in advanced networking and server applications such as industrial internet of things (IIoT), and engineering applications especially for AI (artificial intelligence) related products that require high data rate, increasing bandwidth and for lowering latency. However, as the package size is getting larger for packages including the HPC component, communication between the dies and power consumption of the HPC circuit has become more challenging issues.
The HPC circuits usually consume large current to perform complicated calculations at high speeds, possess the ability to process large datasets, and generate huge power (or ground) bounce. To minimize development of common-mode currents within the silicon package of large current consuming circuits, a stable power delivery network (PDN) is required. Any bounce (noise) on either the power or OV reference ground may cause simultaneously switching noise or signal integrity problems, as well as EMI. In addition, if power or ground bounce exceeds margin levels, components may not function. Accordingly, to ensure a stable PDN is a critical issue.
Power impedance measurement (PIM) or power monitoring circuits are required to ensure a robust PDN. However, timing issues in digital circuits will exist when a trigger time and a sampling time are too close. Besides, the area overhead due to extra sensing voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) remained to be settled.

Impedance measurement circuit and impedance measurement method thereof

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.


Sheath assemblies incorporating slotted structures at one or more areas provide areas of different flexibility and bendability characteristics along the length of the sheath assembly. An inner tubular member has an arrangement of discontinuous slots along at least a portion of its length, with at least some of the slots terminating in an enlarged aperture at at least one terminus of the slot, and a flexible outer tubular member contacts and extends over at least a portion of the inner tubular member.

Catheters are flexible tubes used for navigating internal body vessels and lumens and guiding devices within the body, such as in the vasculature, urinary tract, spinal column, fallopian tubes, bile ducts, and the like, and are often used in connection with minimally invasive diagnostic or surgical techniques. Catheters may be used for medical procedures to examine, diagnose and treat internal conditions while positioned at a target location within the body that is otherwise inaccessible. An intravascular catheter, for example, is generally inserted and advanced through a valved introducer fitting into a blood vessel near the surface of the body, such as the femoral artery, and is guided through the vasculature to a desired location. Catheters are used for coronary vascular and cardiac-related interventional operations, as well as neurovascular interventions, peripheral vascular, renal, and other types of intravascular interventions. Medical devices and instruments may be guided, through the catheter, to the desired site and operated.
Catheters must generally be flexible enough to readily navigate a tortuous path, such as a path through tortuous vasculature, without getting stuck at tight turns, and without damaging tissue. Catheters must also be stiff enough to provide "pushability" along a path, such as through the vasculature. When catheters are used as a conduit for various tools, interventional devices, fluids, and the like, they provide support for internally guided tools, devices, fluids, etc., and they and must maintain a generally consistent internal configuration and avoid kinking during navigation to and from an interventional site and during operation at the interventional site. Infusion or withdrawal of liquids through the lumen of the tubular structure may be accomplished through a lumen provided by the catheter and, in this case, the structure of the catheter must have sufficient stiffness to resist both collapse and expansion of the lumen under a range of pressures and force conditions. Thus, it is essential that catheter structures used in connection with such devices be as flexible as possible during placement and removal yet have a high degree of structural integrity, permitting the catheter to be navigated and to serve as a conduit for fluids and internal structures during and/or following placement.
Many catheters have a composite construction that provides greater stiffness and support in certain areas, such as proximal areas, and more flexibility in other areas, such as distal areas. Variable stiffness along the length of a catheter is typically provided by varying the construction and/or diameter and/or wall thickness and/or material composition along the length of the catheter. There are many examples of catheters having variable stiffness along their lengths in the prior art literature. Some previous attempts at designing a kink-resistive tubular structure provided a layer of a coiled, braided or otherwise weaved member that has tight loops and that is fixedly attached to or embedded in a polymeric layer, such as a polyimide or plastic layer. Although the construction of the layer may allow for a small amount of flexibility, the use of a woven or coiled layer attached to or embedded in a polymeric layer generally results in a tubular structure that is stiffer in portions of the structure than which is required by many applications. Some tubular structure designs that include such layers are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,464,684; 6,197,014; and 5,868,767. U.S. Patent Publication US-2004-0230212-A1 discloses a different type of catheter structure providing a lumen, an overlying layer and a coil element support layer that is attached to the overlying layer at a bonding point but otherwise slippable relative to the overlying layer. This slippable relationship between the coil element and an overlying layer improves flexibility and reduces kinking
Many types of catheters include reinforcing structures, such as tubular structures, along at least an area of their length. Tubular members used in catheter construction may have a reduced diameter and/or a reduced wall thickness along at least an area of their length to provide increased flexibility, and may additionally be scored or cut to increase their flexibility. U.S. Pat. No. 4,960,410 discloses, for example, a relatively stiff tube that is spirally scored or cut along a portion of its length, such as the distal portion, to increase its flexibility. The spirally cut or scored tube is covered by a more flexible tube. U.S. Pat. No. 5,573,520 discloses a catheter structure in which a self-supporting tube having a plurality of apertures, such as spiral apertures or discontinuous slots, is encased by a covering to provide a catheter structure providing a lumen having a fluid-tight seal. U.S. Pat. No. 5,599,326 disclose a catheter section including an elongate tubular member comprising an inner stiffener liner of a spirally cut polymeric tubing member and an outer tubular cover comprising a polymeric cover material. U.S. Pat. No. 5,843,050 discloses diagnostic and/or therapeutic microcatheters that are highly flexible and may have a tubular wall with two coaxial tubular elements in the wall, each of the tubular elements provided with a spiral cut in its distal zone to increase flexibility.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,048,338 describes various types of catheters having an elongate shaft with a transition in flexibility and a transition tube disposed about the shaft and having a spiral cut, easing bending of the shaft. The transition tube may have only one end secured to the catheter shaft, and the pitch of the spiral cut may be varied. U.S. Pat. No. 6,254,588 discloses a catheter having a spiral cut tubular member within a flexible body having at least one flexibility gradient zone, with a different flexibility at a proximal end and at a distal end, and having a continuous change in flexibility between the two. Yet another patent, U.S. Pat. No. 6,652,508, proposes an intravascular catheter comprising a distal flexible tube having a spiral slot with coils disposed in the voids formed by the slots.
U.S. Patent Publication 2006/0100687 discloses a delivery catheter assembly having an inner metallic hypotube and an outer metallic hypotube, each of the hypotubes having spiral or circumferential slots interrupted at intervals by solid struts. The distal end of the tubes may have smaller pitch slots, and the proximal end of the tubes may have larger pitch slots to vary the flexibility along the length of the catheter. U.S. Patent Publication 2009/0062602 discloses a flexible spine for use in a catheter or a sheath. The flexible spine is composed of a unitary structure having a plurality of discrete sections, each of which has a distinguishing structural attribute that differentiates it from other sections, wherein the arrangement of sections varies flexibility. An aperture structure having an expanded or enlarged I-shape, or a double-ended vase shape is disclosed.
Notwithstanding the numerous disclosures relating to catheter structures and the numerous types of catheters and sheaths available, improvements in catheter flexibility, versatility, pushability and other properties are highly desirable. The present invention is thus directed to sheath assemblies having improved properties for use with interventional catheter systems and interventional catheter systems incorporating such sheath assemblies.

Flexible sheath assemblies and interventional catheter systems incorporating them


Disclosed is a method of providing biological data. The method includes the following steps performed by a data processing device: selecting a biological data set from a biological data pool; encrypting biological data included in the biological data set to produce encrypted biological data; transferring the encrypted biological data to a user; receiving a result of analysis on the encrypted biological data from the user; and transferring information on the encrypted biological data included in the result of the analysis to the user. The data processing device encrypts the biological data with a key determined according to a combination of biological data constituting the biological data set.

The following description relates to a technique of providing biological data. More particularly, the following description relates to a technique of dynamically encrypting biological data and providing the encrypted biological data.
Techniques for studying genetic variations of individuals have evolved rapidly since the early 2000s when human genome sequences were identified. For example, due to development of technologies for massive detection of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), hundreds of thousands of genetic variations can be rapidly determined at low cost. Genome-wide association study (GWAS) refers to the research field in which hundreds of thousands of SNPs are obtained through next generation sequencing (NGS) and genetic variations that are statistically significantly associated with phenotypes are found among the SNPs.
Information on phenotypes and their associated genetic variations of individuals is personal information. Thus, an access to phenotype data and genotype data of individuals is an important issue in a variety of genetic analysis methods. A massive amount of phenotype and genotype data has been recently published and shared by a number of researchers. Therefore, there is a high risk that third parties may have access to the data.

Method of providing biological data, method of encrypting biological data, and method of processing biological data


A connector device includes a plug including a plurality of plug terminals and a socket including a plurality of socket terminals. Ground plug terminals each have a recess on the contact surface, and ground socket terminals each have a dimple on the contact surface thereof. The dimple of the ground socket terminal is elastically urged to the recess of the ground plug terminal for obtaining a firm electric contact between the ground plug terminal and the ground socket terminal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector device including a plug and a socket, and particularly to a lock structure for locking together the plug and the socket.
2. Description of the Related Art
A card edge connector includes a combination of a plug including a plurality plug pins (plug terminals) and a socket including a plurality of socket pins (socket terminals). The plug is provided at an edge portion of a card member such as a printed circuit board. The socket pins are connected to an external circuit. The plug terminals of the card member are configured as pad electrodes. The socket terminals are configured as contact electrodes which contact surfaces of the pad electrodes when the plug of the card member is inserted into the socket. In a card edge connector, the pad electrodes are constructed as parts of printed wires of the card member. The card edge connector has a shorter wiring length, compared with a two-piece connector in which a plug is provided separately from the circuit body. Therefore, the card edge connector has an advantageous feature of capability of reducing electric loss under the condition of using high-speed signals.
Sockets for the card edge connector are divided into several types, e.g., a type of socket which is provided at an edge portion of a printed circuit board like a plug, and another type of socket which is connected to an end portion of a cable. Particularly, the latter type has a problem in that the card member easily falls off when the cable connected to the socket is pulled by an external force. Patent Publication JP-2002-124327A (FIG. 1) and Utility Model Publication JM-61-76683A (FIG. 1) describe a card edge connector having a lock structure between a card member and a socket, as a kind of card edge connector which prevents the card member from falling off from the socket. In the lock structure described in JP-2002-124327A, the card member is provided with a hook-like protrusion and the socket is provided with a pivotable lever. When the card member is inserted into the socket, the lever is shut to engage with the protrusion. In the lock structure described in JM-61-76683A, through-holes are formed outside the area in which a plurality of pad electrodes are arranged in the card member, and protrusions which engage with the through-holes are provided in the socket for locking the body of the plug and the body of the socket.


A method including generating a global topic model based on a set of data that is updated according to an activity of each user of a plurality of users, the global topic model including a topic representation for a topic, generating a plurality of user models, each user model being generated based on the activity of a respective user, generating an expertise model for the topic based on the activity of at least one user of the plurality of users, the expertise model for the topic setting a target level of knowledge for a first user of the plurality of users, comparing a user model of the first user with the expertise model for the topic, the comparing being performed by a processor of a computer system, and recommending an activity associated with the set of data to the first user based on the comparison.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to systems, methods, and computer program products for expediting a level of expertise of a topic, and more particularly to expediting a level of expertise of a topic based on the activity of a plurality of users as that activity relates to content.
2. Description of the Related Art
Corporations have a constant need for increasing the expertise of their employees in an efficient manner in order to improve enterprise productivity and profitability. The learning needed to increase expertise can be either formal (e.g., structured classroom or online courses) or informal (e.g., self-directed learning activities such as reading articles). On the one hand, there is a long and rich tradition of providing formal training solutions, but they are largely inflexible and require the learners to follow a fixed curriculum path, which is difficult if not impossible to customize to suit the needs and interests of any particular individual.
On the other hand, despite some conventional attempts at providing a solution to this problem, few focus on providing structured support to the informal learning that takes place naturally as part of everyday business. When it comes to informal learning, the burden is placed on individual learners as individual learners must still select suitable learning materials from the vast amount of available content, thereby resulting in an extremely difficult task that often results in the learners giving up before they reach their target level of expertise. Moreover, those learners who do not give up are given no feedback regarding a comparison between their current expertise level and their target level of expertise. As a result, learners are often left questioning their progress (if any), thereby resulting in even further burnout.
Furthermore, individual learners may not know who the domain experts are and hence may resort to asking questions to any number of individuals. As a result, it is possible that the individual learner will receive responses from those who may not be recognized as an expert in a field relevant to the individual learner's question. In such a case, the individual learner can become further confused by inaccurate responses to their questions.
Therefore, there is a need for learning systems, methods and computer program products that are customizable, flexible, able to provide feedback regarding a comparison between an expertise of an individual learner and that of their target level of expertise, and able to detect potential experts for a set of users.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Systems, methods, and computer program products for expediting expertise

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


This invention discloses a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) device comprising a first bit-line coupled to a first terminal of at least one memory cell capacitor through one or more pass transistors, a second bit-line coupled to a first terminal of at least one reference cell capacitor through one or more pass transistors, and a cell plate connected to both a second terminal of at least one memory cell capacitor and a second terminal of at least one reference cell capacitor, wherein the cell plate is biased at approximately one half of a voltage difference between a positive supply voltage (Vdd) and a complementary lower supply voltage (Vss), and wherein the reference cell capacitor does not store any charge prior to a reading operation, and wherein both the first and second bit-lines are pre-charged to either Vdd or Vss prior to the reading operation.

The present invention relates generally to dynamic random access memories (DRAMs), and, more particularly, to a DRAM that is capable to operate at low supply voltage.
There are two forces that are currently drive power supply voltage on an integrated circuit (IC) chip to ever lower. One of the forces is a desire for portability of electronic equipment that can be operated by batteries. Such equipments include hearing aids, implantable cardiac pacemakers, cell phones, and hand held multimedia terminals. When a power supply voltage drops, the power consumption will drop by a square amount of that voltage.
Another driving force is the ever shrinking process technologies. Smaller geometry and thinner gate oxide of semiconductor devices cannot tolerate traditional 5V or even 3.3V power supply voltage. For instance, in a 0.13 um technology node, the power supply voltage is as low as 1.2V. Some time, even the external power supply voltage is 2.5V, which will have to be converted to 1.2V for internal circuits to properly operate. This is certainly the case for a state of the art DRAM chip.
A simplest DRAM cell comprises a single transistor and a single capacitor. If charges are stored in the capacitor, the cell is said to store a logic '1', depending on the convention used. Then if no charges are present, the cell is said to store a logic '0'. Since the charges in the capacitor dissipates over time, DRAM systems require additional refreshing circuitries to periodically refresh the charges stored in the capacitors. But a capacitor can store only a very limited amount of charges, to fast distinguish the difference between a logic '1' and a logic '0', two bit lines are typically used for each bit with the first in the bit line pair known as a bit line true (BLT) and the other being the bit line complement (BLC). A sense amplifier compares BLT and BLC and outputs either a high or a low voltage to represent a logic value stored in the bit.
In order to gain speed and reliability, a half-Vdd (i.e., Vdd/2, where Vdd stands for a positive supply voltage) sensing scheme is commonly used, in which the bit-lines are pre-charged to a voltage of Vdd/2 prior to reading. When a particular cell is selected, the charges stored on the memory cell capacitor will be shared with the corresponding bit-line thus causing the voltage on the corresponding bit-line to rise above or fall below Vdd/2. While the complementary bit-line has no charge sharing, and hence stays at Vdd/2. A voltage difference between the bit-line pair is then sensed and amplified for reading the cell. The same applied to those cells connecting to bit line complements through the pass transistors.
The aforementioned Vdd/2 sensing scheme works very well when Vdd is sufficiently high, such as 3.3V. But its sensing speed and noise margin suffer when Vdd becomes lower. When the Vdd drops to 1.2V, and threshold voltages of N-type metal-oxide-semiconductor (NMOS) and P-type metal-oxide-semiconductor (PMOS) are about 0.3V and −0.3V, respectively. With the Vdd/2 sensing scheme, the headroom for the NMOS and PMOS transistors in the sense amplifier becomes 1.2V/2−0.3V=0.3V, which is very small for any high speed operation. In practice, the DRAM chip is required to be able to operate at Vdd=0.7V. Then the headroom of the sense amplifier is 0.05V, which is too marginal for the DRAM chip to work properly.
As such, what is desired is a DRAM sensing scheme that allows the DRAM chips to operate at a very low power supply voltage.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.


A solid state energy conversion device and method of making is disclosed for converting energy between electromagnetic and electrical energy. The solid state energy conversion device comprises a wide bandgap semiconductor material having a first doped region. A thermal energy beam is directed onto the first doped region of the wide bandgap semiconductor material in the presence of a doping gas for converting a portion of the first doped region into a second doped region in the wide bandgap semiconductor material. A first and a second Ohmic contact are applied to the first and the second doped regions of the wide bandgap semiconductor material. In one embodiment, the solid state energy conversion device operates as a light emitting device to produce electromagnetic radiation upon the application of electrical power to the first and second Ohmic contacts. In another embodiment, the solid state energy conversion device operates as a photovoltaic device to produce electrical power between the first and second Ohmic contacts upon the application of electromagnetic radiation.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to solid state devices and more particularly to solid state devices for converting energy between electromagnetic and electrical energy such as light emitting device and photovoltaic device.
2. Background of the Invention
A variety of semiconductors including GaN (Gallium Nitride), GaP (Gallium Phosphide), AlGaAs (Aluminum Gallium Arsenide), InP (Indium Phosphide), Si (Silicon) and SiC are currently being studied for light emitting diode (LED) applications. Recently, efficient luminescence has been discovered in silicon, which is an indirect bandgap semiconductor, due to alteration of its defect states [Wai Lek Ng, et al, Nature, Vol. 410, Issue 8 (2001)]. However in SiC, an indirect bandgap wide-bandgap semiconductor (WBGS) generally emitting in the blue spectra, no efficient radiative isoelectronic trap has been discovered; consequently development of this LED material has languished. Other recent papers show that SiC LEDs have potential for high quantum efficiency [a) S. I. Vlaskina, "Silicon Carbide LED", Semiconductor Physics, Quantum Electronics & Optoelectronics, 2002, Vol. 5, No. 1, pp 71-75, b) S. Kamiyama et al, "Extremely high quantum efficiency of donor-acceptor-pair emission in N- and B-doped 6H—SiC, JAP, 99, 093108 (2006).].
P-type doping, particularly exhibiting low resistivity, has been a drawback for wide-bandgap semiconductor LED material candidates. Ion implantation and thermal diffusion are currently the most widely used techniques for doping semiconductors. The energy scattered by the decelerating ions leads to crystal damage by introducing point defects and the formation of amorphous material. Post ion implantation high temperature annealing isothermally heats the wafer inducing undesirable dopant diffusion in previously prepared under layers.
Doping is one of the challenges for wide bandgap semiconductors, particularly SiC, device fabrication due to its hardness, chemical inertness and the low diffusion coefficient of most impurities I. A. Salama, Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Central Florida, Spring (2003). Current doping methods used for SiC device fabrication include epilayer doping and ion implantation. Maximum doping concentration is limited by the solubility dopant depth is limited by the mass diffusion coefficient of the dopant in the wide bandgap semiconductor substrate. Epilayer doping is in situ doping during chemical vapor deposition epitaxial growth and is limited in SiC to nitrogen (N) or phosphorous (P) for n-type, aluminum (Al) or boron (B) for p-type and vanadium (V) for semi-insulating type. Ion implantation is the most common doping technique used for wide bandgap semiconductor devices. This process generates implantation-induced defect centers including amorphitization in the wafer and requires high annealing temperatures to remove these defects and to electrically activate the dopants. In SiC some defects remain after annealing at temperatures up to 1700° C. [Z. Tian., N. R. Quick. and A. Kar, Acta Materialia, Vol. 53, (2005), pp. 2835-2844]. Annealing at these temperatures can cause severe surface damage due to silicon sublimation and redistribution [Z. Tian, N. R. Quick and A. Kar, Acta Materialia, 54, 4273, (2006)]. In summary conventional doping processes limit the dopant species, dopant concentrations and create defects.
Photolithographic patterning is necessary to define the areas across the sample to be selectively doped. This usually requires up to 10-15 individual processing steps. Damage assisted sublimation etching (DASE) of Si and dopant out-diffusion are common problems observed during ion implantation of SiC. Techniques allowing direct doping without the requirement for prepatterning can become economically viable [a) S. J. Pearton, Processing of Wide Bandgap Semiconductors, 1st Edition, William Andrew Publishing, 2000; b) Z. C. Feng, J. H. Zhao, "Silicon Carbide: Materials, Processing, Devices", Optoelectronic Properties of Semiconductors and Superlattices, vol. 20, Taylor and Francis Books, Inc., 2004; c) M. E. Levinshtein et al, "Properties of Advanced Semiconductor Materials", Wiely-Interscience Publications, 2001].
U.S. Pat. No. 5,063,421 to Suzuki et al. discloses a silicon carbide light emitting diode having a p-n junction is disclosed which comprises a semiconductor substrate, a first silicon carbide single-crystal layer of one conductivity formed on the substrate, and a second silicon carbide single-crystal layer of the opposite conductivity formed on the first silicon carbide layer, the first and second silicon carbide layers constituting the p-n junction, wherein at least one of the first and second silicon carbide layers contains a tetravalent transition element as a luminescent center.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,243,204 to Suzuki et al. discloses a silicon carbide light emitting diodes having a p-n junction which is constituted by a p-type silicon carbide single-crystal layer and an n-type silicon carbide single-crystal layer formed thereon. In cases where light emission caused by recombination of free excitons is substantially utilized, at least a part of the n-type silicon carbide layer adjacent to the interface of the p-n junction is doped with a donor impurity at a concentration of 5×1016 cm−3 or lower. In cases where light emission caused by acceptor-associated recombination is substantially utilized, the p-type silicon carbide layer is doped with an acceptor impurity and at least a part of the n-type silicon carbide layer adjacent to the interface of the p-n junction is doped with a donor impurity at a concentration of 1×1018 cm−3 or higher. Also provided are a method for producing such silicon carbide light emitting diodes and a method for producing another silicon carbide light emitting diode.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,416,342 to Edmond et al. discloses a light emitting diode is disclosed that emits light in the blue portion of the visible spectrum with high external quantum efficiency. The diode comprises a single crystal silicon carbide substrate having a first conductivity type, a first epitaxial layer of silicon carbide on the substrate and having the same conductivity type as the substrate, and a second epitaxial layer of silicon carbide on the first epitaxial layer and having the opposite conductivity type from the first layer. The first and second epitaxial layers forming a p-n junction, and the diode includes Ohmic contacts for applying a potential difference across the p-n junction. The second epitaxial layer has side walls and a top surface that forms the top surface of the diode, and the second epitaxial layer has a thickness sufficient to increase the solid angle at which light emitted by the junction will radiate externally from the side walls, but less than the thickness at which internal absorption in said second layer would substantially reduce the light emitted from said top surface of the diode.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,900,465 to Nakamura et al. discloses a nitride semiconductor light-emitting device has an active layer of a single-quantum well structure or multi-quantum well made of a nitride semiconductor containing indium and gallium. A first p-type clad layer made of a p-type nitride semiconductor containing aluminum and gallium is provided in contact with one surface of the active layer. A second p-type clad layer made of a p-type nitride semiconductor containing aluminum and gallium is provided on the first p-type clad layer. The second p-type clad layer has a larger band gap than that of the first p-type clad layer. An n-type semiconductor layer is provided in contact with the other surface of the active layer.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,998,690 to Nakamura et al discloses a gallium nitride-based III-V Group compound semiconductor device has a gallium nitride-based III-V Group compound semiconductor layer provided over a substrate, and an Ohmic electrode provided in contact with the semiconductor layer. The Ohmic electrode is formed of a metallic material, and has been annealed.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,045,375 to Wu et al. discloses a white-light emitting device comprising a first PRS-LED and a second PRS-LED. The first PRS-LED has a primary light source to emit blue light and a secondary light source to emit red light responsive to the blue light; and the second PRS-LED has a primary light source to emit green light and a secondary light source for emitting red light responsive to the green light. Each of the primary light sources is made from an InGaN layer disposed between a p-type GaN layer and an n-type GaN layer. The secondary light sources are made from AlGaInP. The primary light source and the secondary light source can be disposed on opposite sides of a sapphire substrate. Alternatively, the second light source is disposed on the n-type GaN layer of the primary light source. The second light sources may comprise micro-rods of AlGaInP of same or different compositions.
Discussion of wide bandgap materials and the processing thereof are discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,145,741; U.S. Pat. No. 5,391,841; U.S. Pat. No. 5,793,042; U.S. Pat. No. 5,837,607; U.S. Pat. No. 6,025,609; U.S. Pat. No. 6,054,375; U.S. Pat. No. 6,271,576, U.S. Pat. No. 6,670,693, U.S. Pat. No. 6,930,009 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,939,748 are hereby incorporated by reference into the present application.
Therefore, it is an objective of this invention to provide a solid state energy conversion device and method of making a light emitting device to produce electromagnetic radiation upon the application of electrical power and/or a photovoltaic device to produce electrical power upon the application of electromagnetic radiation.
Another objective of this invention is to provide a solid state energy conversion device and method of making in a wide bandgap semiconductor for enabling operation of the solid state energy conversion device at elevated temperatures.
Another objective of this invention is to provide a solid state energy conversion device and method of making that reduces the materials and layers required to fabricate the solid state energy conversion device through the fabrication of a monolithic structure.
Another objective of this invention is to provide a solid state energy conversion device and method of making that incorporates a process for doping conventional and unconventional dopants in indirect wide bandgap semiconductors to create efficient radiative states to provide an efficient solid state energy conversion device.
Another objective of this invention is to provide a solid state energy conversion device and method of making that incorporates combinations of dopants which enables the tuning of solid state energy conversion device to a white light sensitivity of the solid state energy conversion device.
The foregoing has outlined some of the more pertinent objects of the present invention. These objects should be construed as being merely illustrative of some of the more prominent features and applications of the invention. Many other beneficial results can be obtained by modifying the invention within the scope of the invention. Accordingly other objects in a full understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the summary of the invention, the detailed description describing the preferred embodiment in addition to the scope of the invention defined by the claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Partial Assignment University of Central Florida