A magnetic head comprising a lower magnetic pole formed on a wafer, a nonmagnetic write gap layer formed on the lower magnetic pole, an upper magnetic pole formed on the nonmagnetic write gap layer and provided with a pole tip possessing a thin leading end, two depressed parts formed in the lateral directions from directly below the lateral sides of the pole tip and opposed to each other across areas equal in width with the pole tip, a protective layer of a nonmagnetic insulating material adapted to fill the depressed parts and, at the same time, cover the upper magnetic pole and the lower magnetic pole, and a coil nipped between the opposed parts of a nonmagnetic insulating layer interposed between the upper magnetic pole and the lower magnetic pole.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a magnetic head and a method for the production thereof. More particularly, this invention relates to a magnetic head for use in a magnetic disk drive or a magnetic tape drive and a method for the production thereof.
2. Field of the Invention
The magnetic disk drive or the magnetic tape drive has come to be improved markedly in track density in consequence of the increase in the device's recording density and, therefore, is in need of a magnetic head which features a narrow core width and suffers only sparing recording obscurity. Particularly when the MR head (magnetoresistive head) which has been finding growing acceptance is to be used, since shared use of a magnetic layer of a large width destined to form a magnetic shield for the MR head as one of the two recording magnetic poles opposed to each other across a recording write gap layer is popular and also is liable to aggravate recording obscurity, it is preferred to adopt a magnetic head which suffers only sparing recording obscurity and enjoys a perfect off-track characteristic.
It is known that equalization of the upper and lower recording magnetic poles in width is effective in realizing such a magnetic head featuring a narrow core width and suffering only sparing recording obscurity as mentioned above. Various methods have been proposed for the production of magnetic heads of this description.
An example of trimming a magnetic pole from the air bearing surface (ABS), i.e. the face opposite a magnetic medium, side with a focused ion beam (FIB) will be cited. The magnetic head disclosed in JP-A-03-296,907, for example, is claimed to be a magnetic head of a perfect off-track characteristic which is obtained by trimming the upper and lower magnetic poles with the fib from the air bearing surface (abs) side of the magnetic head.
Specifically, after a slider 101 possessed of a rail face (air bearing surface (ABS)) 102 is formed as illustrated in FIG. 1A, the lateral part of an upper magnetic pole 104 of a magnetic head 103 formed on the slider 101 is trimmed by exposure to a focused ion beam and, at the same time, the upper layer part of a lower magnetic pole 105 is simultaneously trimmed to equalize the lower magnetic pole 105 and the upper electrode 104 in width as illustrated in FIGS. 1B and 1C.
Besides this method, the method which comprises forming the upper magnetic pole and subsequently trimming the lower magnetic pole as by ion milling with the upper magnetic pole itself as an etching mask during the course of a wafer process has been known. Since this method avoids adjusting the width of the upper magnetic pole by the trimming, the accuracy of the width of the upper magnetic pole depends on the accuracy of a plating pattern to be used for the formation of the upper magnetic pole.
The method which effects the trimming of the upper magnetic pole 104 and the lower magnetic pole 105 as illustrated in FIGS. 1A-1C, however, entails the following problems.
First, since the exposure to the focused ion beam is carried out after a given wafer has been cut into blocks and the rail face 102 has been formed on such a block, the handling of the substrate and the location of the focused ion beam are complicated. Further, this method is highly problematic in terms of reliability because depressions 106 formed in the rail face 102 as illustrated in FIG. 1C are fated to collect dust and lubricant therein when the rail face 102 contacts the face of the recording medium in the contact start and stop (CSS) area.
JP-A-03-296,907 (KOKAI) teaches to cope with this problem by filling the depressions with a nonmagnetic material. The work of filling the depressions itself is very difficult because the substrate on which the rail face is fabricated is no longer a wafer but a small block.
Further, the edges of the depressions which are formed by the focused ion beam are liable to form R's, approximately 0.1-0.2 .mu.m in size. This size of the R's does not deserve to be ignored when the core width approximates closely to 1 .mu.m.
Moreover, since the FIB electrically charges the rail face 102 being fabricated unless this face completely undergoes a treatment for electric neutralization, it inevitably breaks the MR element which is vulnerable to static electricity.
The method which consists in coping with this problem by subjecting the magnetic shield layer to ion milling with the upper magnetic pole as an etching mask during the course of wafer process has been known. Though this method allows easy handling of the substrate which has the unit size of a wafer, it is still at a disadvantage in inevitably etching parts other than the magnetic pole, suffering the redeposited film of the etched part to adhere to the lateral face of the magnetic pole, and rendering it difficult to improve the accuracy of core width.

Magnetic head and method for production thereof


An apparatus for joining two hollow organ sections with an annular array of surgical staples includes a staple cartridge component, an anvil component, a buttress component and a fastening member. The staple cartridge component includes a plurality of surgical staples arranged in an annular array. The anvil component is movable relative to the staple cartridge component between spaced apart and approximated positions to adjustably clamp the organ sections between the staple cartridge and anvil components. The buttress component is configured and dimensioned to be positioned on a distal surface of the staple cartridge component. In particular, the buttress component includes a buttress member and a plurality of circumferentially arranged tabs extending proximally from the buttress member. The fastening member is configured and dimensioned to engage the plurality of circumferentially arranged tabs to securely position the buttress component on the staple cartridge component.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a surgical instrument for applying surgical fasteners or staples to body tissue, and more particularly, to a surgical buttress for use with an end-to-end anastomosis stapling apparatus.
2. Background of Related Art
Anastomosis is a surgical joining of separate hollow organ sections. Typically, an anastomosis procedure follows surgery in which a diseased or defective section of hollow tissue is removed and the remaining end sections are joined. Depending on the desired anastomosis procedure, the end sections may be joined by either circular, end-to-end or side-to-side organ reconstruction methods.
In a circular anastomosis procedure, the two ends of the organ sections are joined by means of a stapling instrument, which drives a circular array of staples through the end section of each organ section and simultaneously cores any tissue interior of the driven circular array of staples to free the tubular passage. Typically, these instruments include an elongated shaft having a handle portion at a proximal end to actuate the instrument and a staple holding component disposed at a distal end. An anvil assembly including an anvil shaft with attached anvil head is mounted to the distal end adjacent the staple holding component. Opposed end sections of the organ to be stapled are clamped between the anvil head and the staple holding component. The clamped tissue is stapled by driving a plurality of staples from the staple holding component so that the ends of the staples pass through the tissue and are deformed by the anvil head.
In use, one end section of the organ is secured about the anvil assembly and the other end section of the organ is held in place adjacent the staple holding component. The shaft of the anvil assembly is removably connected to the instrument. Once the anvil shaft is secured to the instrument, the anvil is drawn into close approximation to the staple holding component. The instrument is then fired to cause the staples to pass through tissue of both sections of the organ and deform against the anvil. During the firing step, a circular knife is advanced to cut tissue inside the staple line, thereby establishing a passage between the two sections of the organ. After firing, the instrument is typically removed by withdrawing the anvil through the staple line, after which the surgeon will carefully inspect the surgical site to ensure a proper anastomosis has been achieved.
While circular staplers are helpful in a number of surgical procedures, problems such as anastomotic leak, tear of tissue during stapler extraction, bleeding, and other complications may arise. In order to remedy such problems, buttress or reinforcing materials have been utilized. However, due to the inherent difficulty in positioning and securing such materials with the instrument, there is a continuing need for buttress material and buttress material and instrument combinations that can be safely and effectively positioned within staple cartridge and/or anvil.

Surgical stapling apparatus including buttress attachment via tabs


An internal combustion engine (10) has a plurality of cylinders which are arranged in two cylinder banks. A sensor (131, 132) is assigned to each of the two cylinder banks for determining the composition of the exhaust gas. A control apparatus is provided with which a control factor (fr1, fr2) can be determined for each of the two cylinder banks in dependence upon the output signals generated by the two sensors (131, 132). The fuel mass (ti1, ti2), which is to be injected into the two cylinder banks, can be influenced by the control factors. The two control factors (fr1, fr2) of the two cylinder banks can be compared to each other via the control apparatus. The control apparatus can distinguish between a cylinder-bank independent fault and a cylinder-bank dependent fault in dependence upon the two control factors (fr1, fr2).

The invention relates to a method for operating an internal combustion engine and especially an internal combustion engine of a motor vehicle.
The invention proceeds from a method for operating an internal combustion engine, especially of a motor vehicle, wherein a plurality of cylinders is arranged in two cylinder banks and wherein each of the two cylinder banks is assigned a sensor for determining the composition of the exhaust gas and wherein a control factor for each of the two cylinder banks is determined in dependence upon the output signals generated by the two sensors. The fuel mass, which is injected into the two cylinder banks, is influenced with the control factor. The invention likewise relates to a corresponding internal combustion engine as well as a corresponding control apparatus for an internal combustion engine of this kind.
The cylinders are often arranged in two cylinder banks in multi-cylinder internal combustion engines.
The air, which is necessary for the combustion, is supplied to all cylinders via a common intake manifold. There, an air mass sensor, such as an HFM-sensor, can be provided with which the air mass inducted via the intake manifold can be measured.
Separate exhaust-gas pipes are connected at the exhaust ends to the two cylinder banks. Each of these exhaust-gas pipes is assigned a sensor which is provided for measuring the composition of the exhaust gas. If the engine is a gasoline engine, then the two sensors are conventionally realized as lambda probes.
The HFM-sensor generates an output signal which is relevant to the same extent for both cylinder banks. If the output signal is defective (for example, because of a defect of the HFM-sensor), then this effects a fault, which is independent of the cylinder bank, in the control (open loop and/or closed loop) of the engine. Other faults, which are independent of the cylinder bank, can arise, for example, because of a defective fuel pressure or the like. Such cylinder-independent faults can lead to misfires or to the standstill of the engine.
The fuel masses, which are to be injected into the two cylinder banks, are each separately computed by a control apparatus in dependence upon the output signals of the lambda probes which are arranged in the exhaust-gas pipes of the two cylinder banks. In the above-mentioned gasoline engine, respective control factors are computed in dependence upon the output signals of the two lambda probes. The control factors influence the injection of fuel into the respective corresponding cylinder banks. This control factor is usually generated with the aid of a so-called lambda controller. A separate lambda controller is assigned to each of the two cylinder banks.
Furthermore, an adaptation is assigned to each of the two cylinder banks. In this way, the control factor does not have to be used in order to compensate, for example, for deteriorations of the engine. This is corrected with the aid of the adaptation.
If one of the two sensors in the exhaust-gas pipes of the engine exhibit a malfunction, this then defines a cylinder-bank dependent fault. In this case, the lambda controller, which corresponds to the defective sensor, attempts to compensate this malfunction by a corresponding change of the control factor. The lambda controller of the intact sensor of the other cylinder bank is, however, not affected by this compensating operation.
Cylinder bank dependent faults of this kind can also arise because of other defects which always separately affect only one of the two cylinder banks.
Such cylinder-bank dependent faults can lead to the situation that the cylinder bank, which is associated with the fault, is operated with an air/fuel mixture which is much too rich. This, in turn, can lead to misfires or even to damage of the catalytic converter assigned to the cylinder bank.
In total, a cylinder-bank independent fault as well as a cylinder-bank dependent fault cause a similar reaction of the engine, namely, the misfire of cylinders. Cylinder-bank dependent and cylinder-bank independent faults cannot be distinguished or are distinguishable much too late from this reaction.
It is an object of the invention to provide a method with which the cylinder-bank dependent and the cylinder-bank independent faults can be distinguished.
The method of the invention is for operating an internal combustion engine including an internal combustion engine for a motor vehicle. The engine has a plurality of cylinders arranged in two cylinder banks and the method includes the steps of: providing first and second sensors for corresponding ones of the cylinder banks to determine the composition of the exhaust gas and the first and second sensors outputting first and second output signals (uvsk1, uvsk2); determining first and second control factors (fr1, fr2) for corresponding ones of the cylinder banks in dependence upon the first and second output signals (uvsk1, uvsk2), respectively, and the first and second control factors (fr1, fr2) being applied for influencing the respective fuel masses (ti1, ti2) to be injected into corresponding ones of the cylinder banks; comparing the control factors (fr1, fr2) to each other; and, distinguishing between a cylinder-bank independent fault and a cylinder-bank dependent fault in dependence upon the first and second control factors (fr1, fr2).
If a cylinder-bank dependent fault is present, that is, for example, one of the two sensors in the exhaust-gas pipes of the engine exhibits a fault, then this has the consequence that the corresponding lambda controller attempts to correct this fault by correspondingly influencing the fuel mass to be injected. The control factor of this lambda controller changes especially in the direction of a rich operation of the corresponding cylinder bank. For a cylinder-bank dependent fault (that is, for example, under the precondition that only one of the two sensors in the exhaust-gas pipes of the engine exhibits a fault), this has the consequence that the control factor of that cylinder bank wherein the fault or the defect of the sensor is present deviates from that control factor which belongs to the other cylinder bank. This deviation of the two control factors from each other is detected.
According to the invention, this deviation is used to distinguish between a cylinder-bank independent fault and a cylinder-bank dependent fault. In this way, a malfunction of the engine is reliably detected.
A conclusion is drawn as to a cylinder-bank independent fault especially when the two control factors do not deviate significantly from each other.
It is especially advantageous when a conclusion is drawn as to a cylinder-bank dependent fault for a significant deviation of the two control factors.
In this way, it is possible to detect a cylinder-bank dependent fault reliably and early and especially the defect of one of the two sensors in the exhaust-gas pipes of the engine. For this reason, countermeasures can already be initiated before, for example, the adaptation intervenes. The adaptation, for example, corresponds to the defective sensor.
This early detection of a fault per se as well as the early distinguishability between a cylinder-dependent and a cylinder-bank independent fault is of special significance in direct-injecting engines. In these engines, the generated torque is directly dependent upon the injected fuel mass in the so-called stratified charge operation. For a cylinder-bank dependent fault, if the corresponding lambda controller or the corresponding adaptation would undertake an enrichment of the air/fuel mixture in order to compensate for the fault, then this would have as a consequence that a larger torque is generated. This larger torque would then lead to an acceleration of the motor vehicle which is not even wanted by the driver thereof.
It is therefore of great significance that an occurring fault is detected quickly and properly corrected. This is reliably achieved by the invention for direct-injecting internal combustion engines. It is possible to rapidly initiate the proper correction of the fault with the distinguishability between the cylinder-bank dependent and the cylinder-bank independent faults. Especially for a cylinder-bank dependent fault, only the affected cylinder bank need be influenced; whereas, for a cylinder-bank independent fault, both cylinder banks have to be correspondingly corrected.
In this way, it is, inter alia, ensured that an unwanted acceleration of the engine and therefore of the vehicle does not take place.
Basically, the described invention can be utilized in gasoline as well as diesel engines. Likewise, the invention can be applied to intake-manifold injections as well as for direct injections. A condition precedent is, however, that at least a dual exhaust-gas sensor arrangement is present.
As already explained, it is, however, especially advantageous to apply the invention to an internal combustion engine having gasoline direct injection wherein a lambda controller is provided with which the air/fuel ratio, which is to be supplied to the engine, is controlled (open loop and/or closed loop) to a stoichiometric value.
An advantageous further embodiment of the invention is applicable where an adaptation for the fuel mass, which is to be injected into both cylinder banks, is carried out. Here, for a fault detected as being cylinder-bank dependent, the adaptation values of the defective cylinder bank are set to the adaptation values of the other cylinder bank. In this way, it is achieved that both cylinder banks of the engine can continue to be operated as though no basic fault were present.
Another embodiment of the invention is applicable where a tank-venting system is connected to an intake manifold of the engine and wherein a tank-venting adaptation is carried out for the fuel mass supplied via the tank-venting system. In this embodiment, for a fault detected as cylinder-bank independent, the tank-venting adaptation changes into an emergency program or, for a fault detected as cylinder-bank dependent, the tank-venting adaptation is carried out in dependence upon the cylinder bank detected as being non-defective. The tank-venting adaptation is, for example, held constant in the context of the emergency program. In this way, a defective sensor does not cause a basic change of the tank-venting adaptation. In lieu thereof, the tank-venting adaptation is carried out in such a manner that the engine including the tank venting continues to be carried out without a basic fault occurring thereby.
Of special significance is the realization of the method of the invention in the form of a computer program which is provided for the control apparatus of the internal combustion engine. The computer program can be run on a computer of the control apparatus and is suitable for executing the method of the invention. In this case, the invention is therefore realized by the computer program so that this computer program defines the invention in the same manner as the method for which the computer program is suitable for carrying out. The computer program can preferably be stored on a flash memory. A microprocessor can be provided as a computer.
Other features, application possibilities and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the description of the embodiments of the invention which follows and which are shown in the drawing. Here, all described or illustrated features by themselves or in any combination define the subject matter of the invention independently of their composition in the patent claims or their dependency as well as independently of the formulation or presentation in the description or in the drawing.

Method for operating an internal combustion engine


Provided are a system and a computer program for managing and predicting thyrotoxicosis using a wearable device. The system for predicting thyrotoxicosis is a system for predicting thyrotoxicosis using a resting heart rate, the system including a wearable device for measuring the heart rate of a patient at regular intervals, and a bio-signal computing device for receiving heart rate information from the wearable device, the bio-signal computing device outputting a warning alarm when a resting heart rate is greater than a reference heart rate when the patient is in a normal state.

Thyrotoxicosis refers to a state in which hormones secreted from a thyroid gland are excessively secreted by some cause, causing thyroid poisoning. Thereby, weight loss or fatigue may be experienced, and if severe, shortness of breath or fainting may occur. Thyrotoxicosis is considered to be a common disease having a prevalence rate of about 2%, and most patients thereof in Korea are diagnosed with Graves' disease and are treated by being administered anti-thyroid drugs. In the case of the anti-thyroid drugs, medication compliance, that is, taking drugs as prescribed, is very important in a treatment. Typically, since thyrotoxicosis has been managed only through outpatient care, there have been cases in which a patient who has been prescribed and taken drugs would often stop taking the drugs without seeking additional medical diagnosis when symptoms start to disappear after a certain period of time. In addition, even when medical care continues, an attempt to discontinue the administration of drugs is made typically after 1 to 2 years of taking the drugs at the discretion of medical staff. In any case, when a patient stops taking drugs, a relapse rate is as high as 50%, which is problematic. Even when the relapse occurs, symptoms are usually mild in the beginning. Therefore, the patient lives without feeling great discomfort until the symptoms become severe, and only then, the patients would visit a hospital finding themselves in a serious case of thyroid poisoning. In this case, the patient often needs to be hospitalized, and in some serious cases, may die eventually.
To date, thyrotoxicosis only relies on outpatient care when it comes to treating the disease and predicting the relapse thereof. When diagnosed with thyrotoxicosis, a patient should visit a clinic on a regular basis over a lifetime in principle. However, in reality, the principle is not followed, and even more so, after the patient stops taking medication. Accordingly, there is an urgent need to develop a system which enables active management of thyrotoxicosis and prediction of relapse thereof without going through outpatient care.

Method for providing alert of potential thyroid abnormality


Methods and devices for rapid diagnosis and monitoring a patient for disease or effectiveness of treatment in real time. In preferred embodiments, the methods and devices comprise contacting an array of sensors with a sample from a mammal suspected of having a disease to generate a sensor array profile, measuring a clinical diagnostic marker for the suspected disease, and then developing a diagnosis using the sensor array profile in combination with the clinical diagnostic marker.

I. Introduction
The sense of smell has been used in medicine for thousands of years, from early Greek and Chinese practitioners to modern clinicians (see, Hayden et al., Post grad. Med., 67:110-118 (1980); Kerr et al., Trends in Microbiology, 9:59 (2001); Saini et al., Biologist, 48:229-233 (2001)). However, smell has not been utilized for routine diagnostic purposes, perhaps due to the subjective nature of human odor recognition as well as the possibly complex biological origins of chemical signatures that constitute a "medical odor."
Recent advances in odor sensing technology, signal processing and diagnostic algorithms have created chemical sensing and identification devices called "electronic noses" (see, Kerr et al., Trends in Microbiology, 9:59 (2001)). The electronic nose has been used for several years in a wide variety of industrial and commercial applications. In the laboratory, these devices have been shown to differentiate bacterial cultures (see, Kerr et al., Sniffing out Infection, Trends in Microbiology, 9, 59, (2001); Saini et al., Biologist, 48, 229-233, (2001).
Multiple groups have used electronic nose technology for recognition of disease in vivo (see, Martini A et al., Critical Reviews in Biomedical Engineering, 28:481-485 (2000)). In veterinary science, an electronic nose device was used to identify dietary ketosis in dairy cattle from breath measurement. In medicine, applications have been reported that range from the detection of pneumonia to differentiation of serum from cerebrospinal fluid (see, Dr. E. Thaler, Univ. Penn. Hospital, personal communication (2001); Hanson et al., The use of a novel 'electronic nose' to diagnose the presence of intrapulmonary infection. Anesthesiology, 87, A269 (1997). Recently, the potential use of the electronic nose as a screening tool was demonstrated for bacterial vaginosis and urinary tract infection (see, Chandiok, et al., Screening for Bacteria Vaginosis: A Novel Application of Artificial Nose Technology, J. Clin. Pathol. 50:790-791 (1997); Aathithan et al. Diagnosis of Bacteriuria by Detection of Volatile Organic Compounds in Urine Using an Automated Headspace Analyzer with Multiple Conducting Polymer Sensors, J. Clin. Microbiol. 39:2590-2593 (2001).
As described above, electronic noses are currently being used to diagnose disease by identification of marker gases from particular microorganisms. However, it would be useful to diagnose a disease or condition based on the presence of a collection of odorants, ("smellprint") or a volatile chemical signature, rather than one specific odorant. Such a method would allow for rapid and accurate detection of any disease associated with a particular "smellprint." In particular, the method would be useful for screening for diseases with complex presentations and diseases where diagnosis is slow and problematic, such as ventilator-associated pneumonia and sinusitis. The method would also be useful for monitoring diseases and conditions in real time.
II. Medical Applications
A. Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia
Nosocomial pneumonia (NP) is the second most common nosocomial infection in the U.S. with an incidence of 5-10 per 1000 hospital admissions. It has the highest morbidity and mortality of the nosocomial infections tracked by the Centers for Disease Control, and the diagnosis is associated with the prolongation of hospital stays by 7-9 days. The crude mortality rate for nosocomial pneumonia (NP) may be as high as 70%.
The incidence of NP increases by 6-20 fold in mechanically ventilated patients. Ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP) is defined as a parenchymal lung infection occurring greater than 48 hours after initiation of mechanical ventilation. It occurs in 10-25% of patients intubated for longer than 48 hours, and it is the most common associated infection in intensive care patients according to some studies (see, C. W. Hanson, Pneumonia. "In: M. J. Murray et al (eds.), Critical Care Medicine: Perioperative Management, 2nd Ed. Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins, Philadelphia" (2002)). VAP has an associated mortality rate of 25-70%. The risk of VAP increases with increased duration of mechanical ventilation.
Survival rates improve with appropriate treatment, but the diagnosis of pneumonia in the ICU patient is difficult and most tests are invasive, requiring sampling devices of varying complexity to be inserted into the lungs. Signs and symptoms of infection in this population can have multiple causes. Radiographic evidence of pneumonia can be mimicked by other conditions. Culture results have a high rate of false-negatives after the administration of antibiotics. In addition, regardless of whether the patient is being treated with antibiotics, culture results are often mixed or inconclusive due to threshold criteria for pathogen identification. Further compounding the problem is the variability in threshold criteria between labs. Due to the difficulty of diagnosing bacterial pneumonia, the Clinical Pulmonary Infection Score (CPIS) has become an "accepted standard" (see, Pugin et al., American Review of Respiratory Disease, 143(5 Pt 1):1121-9 (1991)). The CPIS score is a cumulative score developed from several individual measures that include temperature, white cell count, secretion amount and character, pulmonary function (PaO2/FIO2 ratio), chest radiograph infiltrates and tracheal aspirate culture.
An electronic nose can aid in the rapid and accurate diagnosis and treatment of ventilator-associated pneumonia, potentially reducing morbidity and mortality in this population, as well as containing and reducing hospital costs incurred by testing and increased length of hospital stay.
B. Sinusitis
Acute and chronic sinusitis together make up the most commonly used ICD9 code in the United States, surpassing both hypertension and atherosclerosis. Sixty-six million adults, fully 35% of the adult U.S. population, report having sinusitis or sinus problems at least once during the previous 12 months (Dr. E. Thaler, "Univ. Penn. Hospital, personal communication" (2001)). Sinusitis is the most frequently reported chronic condition, affecting 14.1% of the U.S. population.
However, the diagnosis of sinusitis can be difficult to make, as it may be confused with various other nasal conditions. The best means of securing the diagnosis is by identification of bacterial pathogens upon culture of the involved sinuses. Studies have shown that 70% of acute sinusitis cases are caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae in adults and children. Other species, including Moraxella catarrhalis and Staphylococcus aureus, are also significant contributors to acute sinusitis. The problem with this method of diagnosis is that it takes 48 hours to identify the bacteria on culture, and takes further time to determine antibiotic susceptibility. In addition, the presence of normal oralpharyngial flora may confound the results.
An electronic nose would assist physicians in determining which patients require further testing, i.e., microbiological culture, and which do not. Effective screening could reduce the number of negative samples sent for microbiological culture and the number of prescriptions for broad-spectrum antibiotics, thereby reducing the drug resistance of bacteria. Rapid identification of the predominant bacterial species responsible for sinus infection in patients would provide a guide for physicians in choosing antibiotics in real time, along the lines of the rapid strep test used for acute pharyngitis.
Thus it is clear that there is a need for methods and devices that diagnose disease or a condition by detecting a multiple-component "smellprint" associated with the disease or a condition. Such methods allow for rapid (within the hour) diagnosis of disease and monitoring of disease in real time. The present invention fulfills this and other needs.

Detection, diagnosis, and monitoring of a medical condition or disease with artificial olfactometry


A filter system and associated methods of filtering utilize a combination of ultrasonically enhanced backwashing and a modified filter media configurations for increasing the specific loading on a portion of the filter media, thereby tending to increase the total particulate holding capacity of the improved filter. Depending on factors such as the filter configuration, the particulate size distribution and the differential pressure that can be maintained across the filter, it is expected that the particulate holding capacity can be more than doubled relative to a conventional filter having similarly configured filter media.

Radioactive particulate waste, such as that generated during ultrasonic fuel cleaning of irradiated nuclear fuel assemblies, may be difficult and costly to dispose of The radioactive aspect of such particulate waste presents unique filtration cost considerations relative to more conventional filtration applications as a result of the various rules and regulations governing handling, shipment, and disposal of the spent or loaded filters. Often, the cost of filtration is dominated by the disposal cost of the contaminated filters. Accordingly, increasing the particulate holding capacity of each filter will tend to reduce the total filtration cost.
The particulate holding capacity of a membrane-type filter is dependent upon a number of factors including, for example, the available differential pressure across the media, the available area of filter media and the flow rate through the filter. Accordingly, the particulate holding capacity may be increased by using a variety of techniques including, for example, providing additional differential pressure, increasing the amount of media in the filter and/or by reducing the flow rate through the filter.

Apparatus and method for increasing filter capacity using ultrasonic regeneration


An apparatus provides a linearly decreasing force. The apparatus includes a plurality of links, which can be referred to as swing, seat, fixed, and input/output links. A spring is coupled to each of the seat links, and a rod is positioned in proximity to each spring and through each of the seat links. A load applied to the input/output link will experience a linearly decreasing resistance.

In the testing of certain devices and apparatuses, the test requires the application or provision of a linearly increasing force. In many of these circumstances, a simple compression coil spring or a spring-loaded test device can be used to provide such a linearly increasing force. However, in other situations, such as in the testing of pyro cartridges or the matching of an aerodynamic loading condition, testing requires a linearly decreasing force. Such a linearly decreasing force cannot be provided by a simple spring. The art is therefore in need of a test apparatus that can supply a linearly decreasing force.

Apparatus to control a linearly decreasing force


A wiper arm device includes a wiper arm fixed at its base end to a wiper shaft which protrudes from a vehicle body. A washer nozzle provided on the wiper arm discharges washer liquid towards the windshield of the vehicle. A washer hose supplies the washer liquid to the washer nozzle and has one end protruding from a position which is near the wiper shaft and which is clear of the oscillation stroke of the wiper arm. The washer hose extends along the wiper arm so as to be connected at its other end to the washer nozzle. An arm cover is provided on the base end of the wiper arm so as to cover the end portion of the washer hose protruding from the vehicle body.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a washer hose arrangement in a wiper arm device, and more specifically to a washer hose arrangement having a wiper arm cover.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional wiper device has a wiper arm connected with a window-washer device which discharges washer liquid towards a windshield. This discharging operation is typically performed in concert with a wiping operation of the wiper arm. Conventional window-washer devices discharge washer liquid to a washer nozzle which is fixedly mounted on the vehicle body in such a manner that the discharging post of the nozzle faces the windshield. The water is sprayed on the windshield by pressure-feeding washer liquid from a washer tank through the washer nozzle. However, in the conventional window-washer devices, washer liquid is discharged towards a predetermined position on the windshield, and effective spraying of washer liquid over a wide area of the windshield cannot be obtained. In addition, problems arise in that washer liquid discharged during high speed driving is deflected by wind pressure and cannot reach the predetermined position of the windshield.
Hence, it has been proposed to dispose the washer nozzle 10 on the wiper arm 1, as shown in FIG. 4, to enable washer liquid to be discharged over a wide area of the windshield and also to shorten the distance that the washer liquid has to travel between the washer nozzle and the windshield.
Typically, with the above structure, the washer hose 11 connecting the washer tank and the washer nozzle 10 is disposed between the vehicle body and the wiper arm 1. A bent portion is formed at the base end of the washer hose and is bent in accordance with the arm oscillation (the bent portion is formed so as not to allow operation of large tensile force on the washer hose). The bent portion is generally disposed outside of the wiper arm. As a result, the appearance of the wiper arm can be particularly unattractive. In addition, problems have occurred due to the susceptibility of breakage of the bent portion of the hose by bending stresses or exposure to the outside, such as by being damaged when the vehicle is washed.

Washer hose arrangement in wiper arm device

Mitsuba Electric Manufacturing Co., Ltd.


The present invention relates to a cosmetic composition comprising: a copolymer having a constituent unit corresponding to (A) a vinyl monomer having a carboxyl group in a structure and a constituent unit corresponding to (B) a vinyl monomer represented by the following formula (1); a cationic surfactant; a higher alcohol; and a silicone oil:CH2═C(R1)—CO—X-(Q-O)r—R2  (1)wherein R1 is a hydrogen atom or a methyl group; R2 is a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group having a carbon number of 1 to 5, each of which may have a substituent; Q is an alkylene group having a carbon number of 2 to 4, which may have a substituent; r represents an integer of 2 to 15; and X represents an oxygen atom or NH, and the number of atoms bonded linearly to each other in the structure of -(Q-O)r—R2 is 70 or less.

In recent years, as the booming market of damage control products such as high-grade shampoo, rinse and out-bath treatment shows, consumer awareness of damage to hair of head is increasing. For reducing the damaged feel (enhancing the touch feel) of hair, a rinse (conditioner) is used after washing the hair of head with a shampoo, and when the damaged feel still remains, a treatment that is applied in a bathroom or a treatment that is applied outside of a bathroom and not washed out, is used.
The damaged feel of hair is expressed mainly by sensory evaluation of, for example, a friction between hairs or between hair and hand or a parched look or hardness due to lack of moisture. With an attempt to suppress the damaged feel, in a rinse or a treatment, a cationic surfactant such as stearyltrimethylammonium chloride is blended as a component for reducing the friction and softening the hair (softener component).
On the other hand, for reducing the damaged feel of hair, it has been heretofore attempted, for example, to design the surfactant structure, blend a silicone oil or blend a resin. As to the addition of a resin, for example, a cosmetic preparation having blended therein a copolymer having an anionic group-containing unit and a silicon atom-containing unit or a resin compound having an anionic group and a silicon atom per molecule is supposed to be capable of imparting elasticity to the hair and producing an excellent conditioning effect such as flexibility and smoothness (for example, Patent Document 1). A cosmetic preparation having blended therein a resin compound containing an anionic vinyl monomer and a hydroxyl group-containing nonionic vinyl monomer is also supposed to increase the conditioning performance (for example, Patent Documents 2 and 3).

Cosmetic composition, hair cosmetic and hair treatment cosmetic


Provided is a process for the preparation of glutaraldehyde. The process comprises reacting an alkoxydihydropyran with water in the presence of an acidic catalyst. The alcohol by-product distilled from the reaction mixture is subjected to a heterogeneous catalyst that is located external to the distillation column used for distilling the alcohol, thereby increasing glutaraldehyde yield and decreasing the level of alkoxydihydropyran contamination in the alcohol.

Glutaraldehyde is prepared on an industrial scale by the hydrolysis of 2-methoxy-3,4-dihydro-2H-pyran (MDP) in the presence of an acid catalyst and water. The crude hydrolysis product is distilled to produce a methanol overheads stream, a by-product of the reaction that is itself suitable for recycling and use in other industrial processes, and a tails product containing glutaraldehyde in water. Glutaraldehyde is an important chemical that is used, for example, as a biocide or in leather tanning.
In the known processes for glutaraldehyde manufacture, some of the unreacted MDP starting material is removed, along with the methanol by-product, by the distillation process. Although the amount is generally small, the presence of the MDP in the distilled methanol is undesirable for a number of reasons, including that yield of glutaraldehyde is reduced as a result of the MDP loss, and that the MDP is a contaminant of the methanol byproduct which, as noted above, is a material that is recyclable and useful in other industrial processes.
The invention addresses the foregoing shortcomings of the current glutaraldehyde production process.


The disclosure pertains to a method for making a nanoscale filed effect transistor structure on a semiconductor substrate. The method comprises disposing a mask on a semiconductor upper layer of a multi-layer substrate, and removing areas of the upper layer not covered by the mask in a nanowire lithography process. The mask includes two conductive terminals separated by a distance, and a nanowire in contact with the conductive terminals across the distance. The nanowire lithography may be carried out using a deep-reactive-ion-etching, which results in an integration of the nanowire mask and the underlying semiconductor layer to form a nanoscale semiconductor channel for the field effect transistor.

Device scaling in microelectronics is confined by fundamental physical limits and/or economic constraints. New device concepts and fabrication approaches that may result in integration levels far beyond the limits of conventional microelectronics are constantly being explored. However, the ultimate goal of the exploration is not to simply make the existing electronic components smaller than they are today, but rather to exploit unique properties of the device materials at a nanometer scale to integrate different functions within a single block, to perform conventional functions with less power consumption, or to develop inexpensive fabrication methods driven by self-assembly.
One of the emerging approaches that may overcome the existing limitations is the so-called bottom-up assembly of well-defined nanoscale building blocks (hereinafter, the prefix "nano" refers to a lateral dimension scale of about one tenth of a nanometer to one hundred nanometers). Examples of the nanoscale building blocks include molecule clusters, quantum dots, and nanowires. Properties of these nanoscale building blocks that can be controlled include size, morphology, chemical composition, etc.
In particular, nanowires and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been used to construct various functional devices and device arrays, including field effect transistors (FETs), p-n diodes, bipolar junction transistors and integrated logic circuits. These results represent important advances for the nanoelectronics, yet the development of the nanoscale device structures that exhibit new device functions may open up additional and potentially unexpected opportunities for nanoelectronic systems.
As shown in FIG. 1, the elemental building block that lies at the bottom of the fabrication stack in the current semiconductor technology is the metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) 10. This device is fabricated via a so-called top-down fabrication method that builds the device structure (including highly doped source region 20 and drain region 30) into an opposite doped semiconductor substrate 50. A source terminal 22 and a drain terminal 32 are deposited on the source region 20 and drain region 30, respectively. A dielectric oxide layer 52 is deposited on the substrate 50 and a gate terminal 42 is deposited on the dielectric layer 52. A back contact layer 54 is deposited on the surface of the substrate opposing the doped source and drain regions.
The MOSFET works by modulating charge concentration using a gate voltage between a body electrode (back contact 54) and the gate terminal 42. With a sufficient gate voltage, electrons from the source enter the area between the source 20 and the drain 30 to form an inversion layer or channel 40 at the interface between the substrate 50 and the dielectric layer 52. This conducting channel 40 extends between the source and the drain, and current is conducted through it when a voltage is applied between the source and the drain.
Currently, the dimensions of the conventional MOSFETs have been scaled down to a few tens of nanometers. Gate lengths as short as 30-40 nm are being routinely produced for modern microprocessors.
Instead of the conventional top-down approach used for many years in microelectronic device fabrication, some semiconductor devices can now be fabricated by a so-called bottom-up process. The bottom-up approach employs a well controlled self-assembly process of atoms to form a nanoscale device structure on a semiconductor substrate. This approach is considered a more precise technique of engineering such devices at the nanometer level. Most of the prior work on the bottom-up FET fabrication concentrates on prototypes based on individual CNTs and nanowires that form a nanostructure. Essentially, the chemically synthesized nanostructure plays the role of a freestanding transistor channel, while source, drain, and gate terminals are later fabricated with top-down nanolithography. A typical example of a transistor structure fabricated by the bottom-up process is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. A semiconductor nanowire 60 is disposed on a SiO2 substrate 70. Two metal contacts 62 and 64 are deposited on the substrate, connecting via the semiconductor nanowire 60. An insulator layer 66 is deposited on the nanowire 60 and the metal contacts 62 and 64. A third metal contact 68 is deposited on the insulator layer 66 above the nanowire region. The nanowire 60 forms a channel between the two metal contacts 62 and 64 that act as a source terminal and a drain terminal, respectively, and the third metal contact 68 acts as a gate terminal (back contact omitted for simplicity).
However, the above-described example of the bottom-up approach still has a size limitation that is determined by the gate width. As the channel length scales down, it becomes very difficult to precisely align the top gate on the nanowire channel. Therefore, the same challenges and limitations faced by top-down methods still exist in this approach.
In this disclosure, a refined bottom-up fabrication process is revealed. This process is based on easy, inexpensive and large-area fabrication methods for the fabrication of integrated nanodevices.

Lithographic process using a nanowire mask, and nanoscale devices fabricated using the process


The present invention provides a process for easily preparing a vinylidene fluoride homopolymer comprising an I-form crystal structure at high purity by selecting a solvent, and the process for preparing the vinylidene fluoride homopolymer comprises not less than 70% by mass of I-form crystal structure, which is obtained by dissolving a vinylidene fluoride homopolymer having a number average degree of polymerization of 3 to 20 in a solvent consisting of an organic solvent having a dipole moment of not less than 2.8 alone or comprising the organic solvent in a part, thereafter, evaporating the solvent.

Polymer type ferroelectric materials have advantages such as flexibility, light-weight, good processability and low price as compared with inorganic ferroelectric materials such as ceramics. There are known, as represented examples thereof, vinylidene fluoride polymers such as polyvinylidene fluoride (PVdF) and vinylidene fluoride/trifluoroethylene (VdF/TrFE) copolymer.
With respect to PVdF, crystal structures thereof are roughly classified into three kinds such as I-form (also said to be β-form), II-form (α-form) and III-form (γ-form). Among them, it is only I-form crystal that can sufficiently exhibit high ferroelectricity.
PVdF having a high molecular weight which is prepared by radical polymerization method forms II-form crystal structure and does not exhibit ferroelectricity as it is. In order to convert II-form crystal structure of PVdF to I-form crystal structure, there are required complicated post-steps such as stretching and heat-treating of a film or rapid cooling under high pressure at casting.
Matsushige et al have studied formation of a thin film of vinylidene fluoride oligomer having I-form crystal structure by using vinylidene fluoride oligomer: CF3(CH2CF2)nI (number average degree of polymerization n=17) having II-form crystal structure (M & BE Vol. 11, No. 2, 145 (2000)).
However, Matsushige et al. have only studied vinylidene fluoride oligomer having iodine atom at its end.
Okui et al. have made analysis of crystal structure with respect to vinylidene fluoride oligomer: CCl3(CH2CF2)nCl (number average degree of polymerization n=9) prepared by radical polymerization by using CCl4 as a chain transfer agent (telogen) and dinormalperoxy dicarbonate as a catalyst, and have reported that this oligomer was a mixture of crystal structures of I-form (β-form) and III-form (γ-form) and had a crystalline melting point Tm at two points (74° C. and 110° C.) (Polymer Journal, Vol. 30, No. 8, pp. 659 to 663 (1998), and POLYMER Vol. 38, No. 7, pp. 1677 to 1683 (1997)). However, Okui et al. have only studied vinylidene fluoride oligomer having iodine atom at its end.
Other than these, there is a method of introducing a hydroxyl group into an end by a polymerization method using methanol as a chain transfer agent (telogen) (Macromol. Chem. Phys., 199, pp. 1271 to 1289 (1998)), however, only a polymerization method is simply studied, and a process for efficiently preparing a homopolymer having crystal structures of I-form (β-form) being capable of exhibiting ferroelectric characteristics at excellent purity is not indicated. Formation of a thin film certainly has not been studied at all.
In Macromolecules, 35, pp. 2682 to 2688 (2002), high molecular weight PVdF having a weight average molecular weight of 534,000 is dissolved in an organic solvent mixture of dimethylformaminde (DMF) with various solvents such as dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), acetonitrile, dimethylacetamide (DMA) and acetone, and influences of a dipole moment of an organic solvent and water content in formation of crystal structures of I-form (β-form) have been studied. However, crystal structures of only III-form (γ-form) or II-form (α-form) are obtained by precipitation from the organic solvent, and a PVdF film having crystal structures of I-form (β-form) at high purity has not been obtained (see Table 1 in Macromolecules, 35, pp. 2682 to 2688 (2002)).
JP-A-63-145353 discloses that a mixture thin film improved in adhesion to a substrate is obtained by forming a film with heating by dissolving a ferroelectric fluorine-containing polymer such as polyvinylidene fluoride and a non-ferroelectric polymer into N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone. However, spontaneous polarization of the ferroelectric thin film described to be obtained in JP-A-63-145353 is as low as about 80 to 500 nC/cm2, thus, the thin film cannot be ever expected to be put into practical use.

Process for preparing vinylidene fluoride homopolymer having I-form crystal structure


A configurable input device for an integrated circuit having a plurality of input pads, the input device including a plurality of buffers, where each buffer is associated with one of the input pads. Each buffer receives a mode select signal and the buffer is responsive to the mode select signal to place the buffer in an enabled mode or a disabled mode. A receiver portion within each buffer is coupled to the associated input pad. The receiver portion pulls the associated input pad to a preselected logic state while the buffer is in the disabled mode. An output driver within each buffer generates an output signal responsive to a signal on the associated input pad while the buffer is in the enable mode and provides a high impedance while the buffer is in the disabled mode. An output node is coupled to the output drivers of the plurality of buffers.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to semiconductor integrated circuits, and, more particularly, to a circuit for configuring input devices in an integrated circuit.
2. Relevant Background
In the production and manufacturing of different types of integrated circuits (ICs) it is desirable to have a single IC that can be packaged to operate with different interfaces. For example, a random access memory (RAM) may be configured as a "by-16" device or a "by-8" device. When configured as a by-16 device, the RAM receives sixteen data bits at sixteen data input/output (I/O) pins. These input data bits represent a single 16-bit word that is stored in the RAM at a location determined by address bits received at the address pins. In a by-8 device only eight bits of data are input to the RAM at one time.
For a given memory size (e.g., a 4 megabyte (MB) dynamic random access memory (DRAM)) much of the internal circuitry of a by-16 device can be identical to that of a by-8 device. However, the external control and data signals that are applied to the device differ between the two configurations. For example, a 4 MB by-16 device is typically packaged in a 40-pin plastic small outline J-lead (SOJ) or a 44-pin thin, small-outline package (TSOP) to provide an adequate number of pins for the 16-bit wide data bus. A 4 MB by-8 device, however, is typically packaged in a 28-pin SOG or 28-pin TSOP package. With respect to control signals, a by-16 device may require two column address strobe (CAS) signals or two write enable (WE) signals to separately activate columns in lower and upper memory banks within the chip. In contrast, a by-8 device uses a single CAS and WE signal, together with an additional address bit, to access data stored in both the upper and lower banks.
In spite of the great similarity between by-16 and by-8 devices from the standpoint of internal circuitry, most manufacturers must produce two separate IC designs to account for the different pin-outs and control signals. A by-16 device may be realized as an entirely different chip design and layout from the by-8 device, or the chips may differ only by customization of one or more metal layers. In either case, a particular chip must be committed to a by-8 or a by-16 design during the wafer fabrication process.
From a manufacturing efficiency standpoint, it is desirable to fabricate multiple device configurations using a single integrated circuit design. Not only is design time used more efficiently, but a single chip design simplifies scheduling and work flow in a wafer fabrication facility. Because the semiconductor fabrication process takes several weeks to process raw substrates into packaged electronic devices, a great deal of effort is placed in predicting customer orders so that finished goods are available when customers demand. For these reasons, it is desirable to be able to select the configuration of a semiconductor device as late as possible in the manufacturing process.
Many configurable circuits are available that allow the end-user to change the configuration after the manufacturing process is completed. Examples include field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) and programmable logic devices (PLDs). However, these circuits tend to be cost prohibitive except for specialized applications. In cost sensitive markets such as exists for memory devices, user-configurable circuits are usually impractical. What is needed is a configurable input circuit that allows configuration to be chosen late in the manufacturing process, preferably during the assembly and packaging stages.
Semiconductor devices are manufactured to meet industry standards for functionality and performance. These standards dictate the packaging and pin-out configuration of most semiconductor devices. This standardization allows commodity devices supplied by one manufacturer to be substituted for those of another manufacturer. Any internal circuitry used to enable configurability must be implemented in a manner that allows compliance with industry standards, and does not adversely impact device functionality, performance and reliability.

Pad input select circuit for use with bond options


Aspects of the invention include an air freshener device that emits fragrance through the evaporation of a fragrance-containing fluid comprising: a container, comprising a particular volume of the fragrance-containing fluid; a wick disposed partially in, and partially out of the fragrance-containing fluid, the wick having an immersion section immersed in the fluid so as to displace a displacement volume of fluid and a non-immersion section extending outward from a surface of the fluid, the immersion and non-immersion section being disposed on opposite lateral ends of the wick; the wick further comprising a displacement portion and a wicking portion, the displacement portion being configured to displace a desired first volume of fluid, the wicking portion being configured to wick a second volume of fluid; the displacement portion and the wicking portion designed to achieve a desired ratio between the displaced first volume of fluid and the wicked second volume of fluid.

The present invention is generally directed to wicks. In particular, it is directed at wicks where the capillary is formed by fibrous materials. More particularly, the present invention is directed to composite bonded fiber wick structures that displace a specific amount of fluid relative to an amount that is initially absorbed.
It is known in the art to manufacture isotropic wicks for a variety of applications. Such isotropic wicks are generally three-dimensional, porous, bonded fiber elements that may serve to wick a fluid from a first location to a second location. These wicks may be used in diverse applications, such as in air freshener devices, lighters, writing instruments, and for a variety of biological fluids, such as urine and/or blood. Such wicks are disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/333,499, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
When such bonded fiber wicks are used in air freshener devices, the wick is often immersed in a fluid (typically containing a fragrance), and by capillary force the fluid is drawn into the bulk of the wick. Generally, the end of the wick opposite of the end immersed in the fluid is exposed to air, and the fluid may evaporate from the surface of the wick broadcasting the fragrance into the space around the air freshener device.
However, isotropic wicks used in such air freshener devices and similar applications have several drawbacks. One of the more significant drawbacks is that when an isotropic wick is used to dispense volatile air freshener solutions, the wick generally absorbs an amount of air freshener solution when it is placed in the container. When the wick has a large volume relative to the volume of the container, this may cause the level of liquid in the container to drop as it is absorbed into the wick. In transparent devices sold into the consumer market, such as an air freshener container made of glass or clear plastic, this often creates the negative perception that the consumer is buying a less than full container of air freshener.
Although a smaller diameter wick may at least partially resolve this problem, the surface area of the wick is reduced due to the smaller diameter, and the dissemination of fragrance may be impaired as a result of less surface area of the wick for evaporation.
Accordingly, there is a need for a wick that initially provides a desired amount of fluid displacement while providing sufficient wick surface area for fragrance dissemination. There is also a need for a wick that displaces an amount of fluid approximately equal to the amount of fluid it initially wicks, resulting in a neutral displacement.


The subject invention relates to newly isolated organisms from nature that produce L(+)-lactic acid high yield from hexose and pentose sugars found in biomass. Organisms and processes or methods for the production of lactic acid and other industrially important chemicals from cellulose and hemicellulose are also provided.

Lactic acid is widely used in food, pharmaceutical and textile industries. It is also used as a source of lactic acid polymers which are being used as biodegradable plastics (Brown, S. F., 2003, Fortune, 148:92–94; Datta, R., et al., 1995, FEMS Microbiol. Rev. 16:221–231). The physical properties and stability of polylactides can be controlled by adjusting the proportions of the L(+)- and D(−)-lactides (Tsuji, F., 2002, Polymer 43:1789–1796). Optically pure lactic acid is currently produced by the fermentation of glucose derived from corn starch using various lactic acid bacteria (Carr, F. J., et al., 2002, Crit. Rev. Microbiol. 28:281–370; Hofvendahl, K. and Hahn-Hagerdal, B., 2000, Enz. Microb. Technol. 26:87–107). However, the fastidious lactic acid bacteria have complex nutritional requirements (Chopin, A., 1993, FEMS Microbiol. Rev. 12:21–38) and the use of corn as the feedstock competes directly with the food and feed uses.
Lignocellulosic biomass represents a potentially inexpensive and renewable source of sugars for fermentation (Duff, S. J. B. and Murray, W. D., 1996, Bioresource Technol. 55:1–33; Parajo, J. C., et al., 1996, Process Biochem. 31:271–280; Wyman, C. E., 1999, Ann. Rev. Energy Env. 24:189–226). The hemicellulose portion of biomass contains up to 35% of the total carbohydrate and can be readily hydrolyzed to monomeric sugars by dilute sulfuric acid (Saha, B. and Bothast, R. J., 1999, Appl. Biochem. Biotechnol. 76:65–77). With crop residues and hardwoods, this hemicellulose syrup contains primarily xylose. During acid hydrolysis, an assortment of microbial inhibitors is also produced which must be removed by treatment with lime (Amartey, S. and Jeffries, T., 1996, World J. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 12:281–283; Clark, T. A. and Mackie, K. L., 1984, J. Chem. Technol. Biotechnol. 34B:101–110; Martinez, A., et al., 2001, Biotechnol. Prog. 17:287–293).
Lactobacillus spp. are used extensively in industry for starch-based lactic acid production, the majority of which lack the ability to ferment pentose sugars such as xylose and arabinose (Carr, F. J., et al., 2002, Crit. Rev. Microbiol. 28:281–370). Although, Lactobacillus pentosus, Lb. brevis and Lactococcus lactis ferment pentoses to lactic acid, pentoses are metabolized using the phosphoketolase pathway which is inefficient for lactic acid production (Garde, A., et al., 2002, Bioresource Technol. 81:217–223; Tanaka, K., et al., 2002, Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 60:160–167). In the phosphoketolase pathway, xylulose 5-phosphate is cleaved to glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate and acetyl-phosphate. With this pathway, the maximum theoretical yield of lactic acid is limited to one per pentose (0.6 g lactic acid per g xylose) due to the loss of two carbons to acetic acid.

Production of chemicals from lignocellulose, biomass or sugars

University of Florida Research Foundation, Inc.


No-op media payload packets are used to analyze a media path in a packet switched network. In one embodiment, the no-op packets are Real Time Protocol (RTP) payload packets that contain no media content. A Real Time Control Protocol (RTCP) report is generated for the received RTP no-op packets. A marker bit is set in one of the no-op packets that triggers the no-op packet receiver to send back the RTCP report. The media steam is transmitted when the statistics in the RTCP report indicate a viable media path.

The Real Time Transport Protocol (RTP) is the primary protocol used for real time media transport over Internet Protocol (IP) networks. The RTP protocol is used for carrying voice, video, real time text, and other media types. In order to assess the reception quality of an RTP media stream, an associated Real Time Control Protocol (RTCP) feedback channel is used by the receiver to send information back to the sender.
There are a number of cases where it is undesirable to play out media. For example, a session setup protocol may wish to assess media channel viability before committing to forming a full media session and before alerting a user of a media call. It also may be undesirable to play out media when doing synthetic load testing or when there is a need to fill a channel to a constant packet rate to emulate a constant-bit-rate encoder or to foil traffic analysis attacks.
In one example, a first party may make an IP phone call to a second party. A signaling protocol is used to establish the phone call. The call signaling path may be operating correctly, thus allowing a signaling stream between the two parties. However, the media path is different from the signaling path. This means the correct operation of the signaling exchanges does not imply the ability to successfully exchange media packets.
Other communication networks, such as a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) have the ability through mechanisms like Continuity Test (COT) to delay media play out while determining the viability of the media channel. A similar capability is desirable for Internet Protocol (IP) networks. It would be desirable to implement this capability with minimal or no new protocol machinery, and within the confines of existing IP standards.
Ideas have been proposed even in the packet domain for sending certain test packets for verifying that a media stream can be adequately supported over the IP network. Previous ideas include sending ping-pong packets or sending Named Signaling Events (NSEs) as described in RFC2833. Other ideas have suggested sending early media, or using "probe" packets before establishing the call. However, these ideas require awkward associations of RTP streams and non-standard behavior of endpoints.
The test packets may use an independent test path which presents several problems. First the test path and the media path may take different routes over the IP network. Another problem is that the test packets in the test path may be processed in the receiving device in a different way than the media stream received in the media path.

Method and apparatus for analyzing a media path in a packet switched network


When a roaming telephone user in a visited network dials a long-distance number, he is transferred to a substitute telephone number which is local to that network and belongs to a service center which can route his call efficiently and cost effectively. Typically, the visited network contacts the user's home network for permission to complete the long-distance call. When that happens, the home network obtains the substitute number from a database on a telephone number server, based upon the location of the visited network, and responds to the visited network, instructing it to forward the user's call to the substitute telephone number. When the service center receives the roaming user's telephone call, it contacts the telephone number server and obtains the original long-distance number, which is stored in the database in association with the substitute telephone number. The service center is then able to route the roaming users call efficiently and cost-effectively by making use of its base of service providers.

The present disclosure relates to mobile telephone communications and, more particularly, concerns a method and apparatus for providing efficient, cost-effective long-distance telephone connections for a roaming mobile telephone.
Mobile telephone users typically pay a premium for roaming service. Should a roaming mobile telephone user place a long distance call, he will not only pay a steep additional premium, but the choice of routing for completing his call is entirely in the control of the visited. The connection charges are not only likely to be very high, but it is unlikely that the visited network would take optimum advantage of cost efficient routing. There is therefore a need to enable a roaming mobile telephone user to obtain efficient, cost-effective long-distance connections that are not under control of the visited mobile network.

Method and apparatus for providing long distance service for roaming mobile telephones