A low phase noise dual mode resonator and a method of making and using said resonator is disclosed. The dual mode resonator is capable of sustaining two frequency vibration modes simultaneously. The two frequency vibration modes are capable of exhibit non-linear coupling when one is driven at a higher voltage than the other. The dual mode resonator is configured such that the ratio of the two vibration frequency modes is a value that maximizes the non-linear coupling effect. As a result of the non-linear effect, the phase noise on the mode that is not overdriven is reduced.

1. Statement of the Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for reducing noise and improving the quality factor of resonators used in precision oscillators. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to systems and methods that use an eigenmode of resonator vibrations as a frequency source along with another eigenmode of the same family that is excited nonlinearly.
2. Description of the Related Art
Typically, oscillators exhibit a variety of instabilities. These include aging, noise, and frequency changes with temperature, acceleration, ionizing radiation, power supply voltage, shock, and vibration. The suitability of oscillators for a specific application is limited by deterministic phenomena, such as environmental effects. In other instances, stochastic (random) processes establish the performance limitations. Except for vibration, the short-term instabilities almost always result horn noise associated with the operation of the oscillator.
Noise can have numerous adverse effects on system performance, including: (1) limiting the ability to determine the current state and the predictability of precision oscillators, (2) limiting synchronization and syntonization accuracies; (3) limiting a receiver's useful dynamic range, channel spacing, and selectivity; (4) causing bit errors in digital communications systems; (5) causing loss of lock and limiting acquisition and reacquisition capability in phase-locked-loop systems; and (6) limiting radar performance, especially Doppler radar. It should be noted that this list of adverse effects is shown by way of example only, and additional adverse effects may be attributed to noise.
In a properly designed oscillator, the resonator is the primary noise source close to the carrier frequency, and the oscillator circuitry is the primary source far from the carrier frequency. Current resonators use an eigenmode of vibrations as their frequency source. Proprietary designs of the resonator geometry, electrode geometry and mounting supports define the quality factor of the resonators and its noise characteristics.

Methods for noise reduction and quality factor improvement in resonators

RUTGERS, THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEY


A manufacturing method for wiring substrates for photographing a positioning mark formed with a high precision using reflected light and executing a relative positioning operation between a wiring substrate workpiece and an exposure mask based thereon. The method steps include successively laminating a conductor layer and dielectric layer on a plate-like core and forming a positioning mark by irradiating the main surface of dielectric layer with laser light. By irradiating the positioning mark with position detecting light from the side of the main surface of the dielectric layer and detecting reflected light, relative positioning between the wiring substrate workpiece and the exposure mask is based on the detection result.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a wiring substrate.
2. Description of Related Art
In providing a multi-layer wiring substrate for connecting such chips such as IC and LSI chips, there has conventionally been used an organic wiring substrate having a construction including a dielectric layer comprised of a polymer material and an alternately laminated conductor layer. In recent years, the mainstream approach involves so-called "built-up" wiring substrates, in which the dielectric layers and conductor layers are laminated successively, one by one, while the electric connection between these layers is provided through a via hole drilled or bored by a laser processing method or photo-processing method.
Characteristically, in the manufacturing method for built-up wiring substrates, the via formation step uses laser processing and the conductor layer formation step employs pattern plating. In the conductor layer formation step, after the plating resist is patterned using photolithography technology, an electrolytic plating process is executed. When the plating resist is patterned, providing relative positioning accuracy between an exposure mask and a wiring substrate workpiece is an important key to producing accelerated, high precision wiring. Conventionally, the relative positioning between the exposure mask and the wiring substrate workpiece has been carried out based on the result of a picture taken of a positioning mark formed on the conductor layer with transmitted light. See, e.g., Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-217546.
In another approach, to improve the accuracy of relative positioning between the exposure mask and wiring substrate workpiece, an attempt has been made to provide photographing of the positioning mark using reflected light. According to the photographing method using transmitted light, a positioning mark formed on the conductor layer, which is the lower layer of the laminated layers, is photographed beneath resin dielectric layer in which filler is mixed.
According to the photographing method using reflected light, the positioning mark is formed by excavating the resin dielectric layer to expose the conductor layer and the mark is read using reflected light. Because filler such as silica is usually mixed in the resin dielectric layer, it is difficult to increase the transmission ratio of the light. Therefore, the reflection method can be expected to provide improved detection accuracy in detecting the positioning mark as compared with the transmission method. Further, improvement in the positioning accuracy of the exposure mask with respect to the wiring substrate workpiece can also be expected. However, because the positioning mark used in the reflection method is formed by excavating the resin dielectric layer using laser processing at the same time that the via conductor for the interlayer connection is formed, the process for producing the positioning mark itself has a processing accuracy determined by the laser processing operation. In order to improve exposure accuracy in reading the positioning mark using the reflection method, it is important to improve the accuracy of formation of the positioning mark.

Manufacturing method for wiring substrates


The present invention relates to a method for fabricating a new silver coating/nanoparticle scaffold that significantly enhances the luminescence of near-field fluorophores via the metal enhanced fluorescence phenomenon. The silver coating/nanoparticle scaffold can be used for numerous applications in metal-enhanced fluorescence.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to metallized substrate, and more particularly, to a multiplicity of layers wherein each layer comprises a multiplicity of metallic nanoparticles having substantially the same size to provide surfaces that exhibit metal enhanced luminescence.
2. Related Art
In recent years it has been described and demonstrated that there are many new favourable photophysical effects of electronically excited states (fluorophores/luminophores) in close-proximity to plasmon resonant particles.(1-4) The coupled fluorophore lifetime is also observed to be much shorter than the "free-space lifetime," reflecting the very fast "plasmon" lifetime of the coupled quanta. (5-7) Further, it is thought that the metal-enhanced fluorescence (MEF) effect is a consequence of an excited state coupling with the scattering mode of nanoparticles, which is thought to account for very fast MEF lifetimes, i.e. a coupled elastic scattering event.(3,8) For metallic nanoparticles, the extinction spectrum is comprised of both an absorption and scattering component.(9) For smaller particles (<25 nm), then the extinction is for the most part dominated by absorption, while for larger particles, by scattering.
While the mechanism for MEF is fairly new,(3) compelling data has been reported wherein: i) MEF is seen to be more pronounced for larger particles; ii) the wavelength dependence of MEF suggests a correlation between the scattering spectra of the nanoparticles and the emission spectra of the fluorophores; iii) MEF is angular dependent,(10) both from an observation and excitation perspective, similar to scattering by nanoparticles themselves(11); iv) metals ideal for MEF are those with high free electron densities(12) and v) metallic material has been shown to couple fluorophore emission, when fluorophores are positioned less than 100 nm from the surface. In addition, the coupled emission has been shown to be completely p-polarized, strongly indicating that the coupled-plasmon system is radiating.(13,14)
Silver is usually the noble metal of choice (12,15-17) for applications in MEF and Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy. The preparation of silvered substrates include several modes of deposition, such as by wet chemistry,(18) a layer-by-layer deposition technique,(19) electrochemically,(20) on glass,(21) and plastic substrates. (22) One of the most commonly used techniques is vapor-deposition as it yields the most reproducible substrates amongst the deposition techniques aforementioned.
However, heretofore producing silver substrates for providing the MEF effect has included a single layer of particles deposited directly on the substrate. Although the results have been found to be very satisfactory, it would be advantageous to provide a substrate with multiple layers of such nanoparticles thereby providing further enhancement of the signal and methods of forming same.

Enhanced luminescence from nanopolished surfaces and plate wells

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, BALTIMORE COUNTY


A trusted branded email method and apparatus in one aspect detects branded electronic messages and performs validation before it is sent to a recipient. In another aspect, an electronic messages is branded by embedding branding assets and validation signatures. Algorithms that generate validation signatures are dynamically selected to further strengthen the security aspects. Branding assets are presented to a user using a distinct indicia that represents to the user that the branding assets are secure.

The exchange of emails across organizations or from an organization to an end user are widely accepted and promoted business practices. B2B (Business to Business) email exchanges, and the delivery of targeted email to end users, are practices that are growing exponentially across business enterprises. Organizations can promote their brand through these types of email campaigns. In order to enforce the value of a brand and promote brand email campaigns, email messages can include branding assets together with the contents of the email. Branding assets are basically media constructs like a company logo (image or movie), company sound effects, or any other media that promotes a company's brand. Moreover, branding assets can also be any additional artifacts used for promoting business driven email campaigns. Branding assets or references to the assets are typically embedded within the email header. In order to reliably execute brand email campaigns, the brand mail that includes branding assets and the message content should be inviolable, for example, thereby enforcing the integrity of the brand. By enforcing brand integrity, brand-specific campaigns/scenarios can be executed adding to the value of an organization's brand. However, if brand integrity is compromised, there could be serious repercussions for an organization's brand, for example, brand value deflation.
The brand mail system addresses these concerns by allowing organizations to execute branding email campaigns reliably, efficiently and securely. But why should BrandMail be secure? Brand mail should be secure because of the importance of "brand-value" for an organization or an entity. "Brand-Value" is enforced by preserving the integrity of branded emails. The brand email integrity is preserved by making the email tamper-proof and unforgeable. If tampering or forging occurs the value of an organization's brand may deflate significantly.
Organizations exchanging brand mail(s) can be assured that both parties are truly communicating between each other (no forging of a message) and that the mail contents have not been tampered with. The same applies to the scenario where a branded mail is sent from an organization (for example, hp.com) to an end-user registered within a web mail system (for example, Yahoo, Hotmail). In order for the brand mail system to be a reliable trust mechanism it should address main security concerns.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and apparatus for trusted branded email

Jose J. Picazo, Jr. Separate Property Trust


Fluted corrugating media of unconventional configuration and the methods for their manufacture for use in corrugated fiberboard are described. These media may be asymmetrical in configuration or have very sharply angled flute tips. The new configurations are formed using at least one secondary corrugating stage to prevent tearing during formation. The flat crush strength of the medium may be enhanced by applying parallel lines of adhesive transversely to the flutes on at least one side. These adhesive lines at least partially fill the valleys of the flutes along the lines.

In a corrugated fiberboard carton wall, the primary function of the fluting medium is to space apart the face liners and provide resistance to flat crush loads normal to the planes of the face liners. This flat crush resistance also plays a part in resisting end loading on the box wall in that flat crush resistance helps resist buckling due to column loading on the wall.
Conventional fluting patterns suffer an inherent shortcoming in that increased flute height, which is desired for increased wall thickness and resistance to buckling, reduces flat crush resistance because of the greater unsupported length of the medium from one face to the other. In addition to column height of the medium, flute tip radius and flute angle affect the wall strength. A discussion of the effect of flute tip radius and flute angle on strength can be found in an article by D. K. Chow, Design of cost effective flute features in corrugating medium, Tappi Journal, pp 126-128, October 1986.
Variability of flute tip radius and flute angle in conventional practice is limited by the conditions in the labyrinth formed by converging corrugator rolls as the flutes are being formed in the fluting (or corrugating) medium. A discussion of this factor may be found in an article by John R. Sofinowski, Trends in high-speed single facer design, Tappi Journal, pp 43-47, October 1987. This labyrinth creates a distinct limitation on the flute profile obtainable in presently known corrugators.
A discussion of the behavior of symmetrical fluting under flat crush loading is found in an article by Jen Y. Liu, Flat-crush failure mechanism of corrugated fiberboard, Journal of Applied Mechanics, 53 (9): 602-608 (1986). FIG. 12 in the article is especially pertinent.
Rodgers, Jr., in U.S. Pat. No. 2,973,295, teaches a corrugated fiberboard in which one or both sides of the fluted medium are entirely filled with an expanded foam. This is done to improve dry strength and crush resistance.
Blandy, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,691,002, shows a corrugated fiberboard strengthened by coating all interior surfaces with a liquid resin to increase stiffness and crush resistance.

Reinforced fluted medium and corrugated fiberboard made using the medium


An environmental control system (ECS) for providing conditioned air to a cabin of an aircraft at a desired rate may include a bleed-air driven primary air treatment unit configured to produce pack supply air and to recirculate a portion of the pack supply air into a compressor of the primary air treatment unit. The ECS may also include a bleed-air driven secondary air treatment unit configured to compress ram air at a rate that corresponds to the rate of recirculation. The ECS may be configured to selectively deliver conditioned air from both the primary and the secondary air treatment units to the cabin.

The present invention generally relates to environmental control systems for vehicles such as aircraft.
A bleed-air driven environmental control system (ECS) may be employed in an aircraft to provide cabin air at a desired temperature and humidity level. Such a system may utilize a bleed-air supplied compressor driven by one or more expansion turbines to produce conditioned air. A typical ECS may be constructed to produce conditioned air at a desired rate irrespective of whether the aircraft may be at ground level or in flight. In many instances, an aircraft at ground level may be in a high-temperature environment. To account for such possibilities, a typical ECS may be constructed to accommodate such high-temperature environment conditions (i.e., worst case conditions). A typical ECS may be constructed to consume bleed air at about a ground level rate even when the aircraft may be in flight at a high altitude.
As can be seen, there is a need for an ECS that may produce conditioned air at a desired rate during sea level and altitude conditions with lower bleed consumption than current systems thus reducing engine fuel consumption and increasing aircraft flight range.

Environmental control system with closed loop pressure cycle


Disclosed is an image forming apparatus capable of increasing double-side-printing speed. The image forming apparatus comprises a paper transfer unit provided with a plurality of paper transfer sub-units for feeding a printing paper to a double-side-printing paper transfer path for reversing a printing paper. The paper transfer direction is switched by a switching unit selectively engaged with the respective paper transfer sub-units. According to the embodiments of the present invention, because the paper transfer sub-units always rotate in their own directions, it is possible to prevent the delay of printing caused in the process of switching reverse and forward rotations of a conventional paper transfer unit for reversing a paper, whereby the double-side-printing speed can be increased.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus. More particularly, the present invention relates to a paper reverse-feeding apparatus for an image forming apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Typically, image forming apparatuses perform single-side-printing. If a double-side-printing unit is provided with such an image forming apparatus, however, the image forming apparatus can perform double-side-printing. The double-side-printing unit is separately provided with a paper feeding path within the image forming apparatus so as to resend a single-side-printed paper to a developing unit of the image forming apparatus.
FIG. 1 shows a conventional image forming apparatus capable of performing double-side-printing. The image forming apparatus capable of performing double-side-printing comprises a main body 10 forming the appearance of the image forming apparatus as shown in the FIG. 1, a paper feeding cassette 11 mounted on the bottom of the main body 10, a pick-up roller 12 for picking up a paper from the paper feeding cassette 11, a feeding roller 13 for feeding the paper picked up by the pick-up roller 12, a developing unit 14 for developing an image on the paper fed by the feeding roller 13, and a fusing unit 15 for fixing the image developed in the developing unit 14.
The image forming apparatus further comprises a paper discharge path 16, through which the paper passing through the fusing unit 15 is discharged, and a paper discharge roller 17 installed at the outlet of the discharge path 16. A paper reverse-feeding path 20 is laterally branched from the paper discharge path 16 just before the paper discharge roller 17 and extends downwardly from the paper discharge path 16. An opening and shutting plate 21 are also provided to open or shut the paper reverse-feeding path 20.
Reverse-feeding of the paper for double-side-printing is performed if the paper is discharged through the paper discharge path 16 and the paper discharge roller 17 reverses rotation before the tail edge of the paper is completely discharged by the discharge roller 17. During the reverse-feeding process, the opening and shutting plate 21 is driven to open the paper reverse-feeding path 20 as well as to shut the paper discharge path 16, and the sheets of papers fed to the reverse-feeding path 20 are transferred by a plurality of paper transfer rollers 22 and then fed by the pick-up roller 12, so that printing can be implemented on the previously non-printed sides of the papers. Sheets of paper that are being printed on both sides make a complete loop inside the image forming apparatus.
In this case, however, because the feeding of a new printing paper to the developing unit 14 is interrupted while the paper is being transferred to the reverse-feeding path 20 and fed to the developing unit, the speed of double-side-printing is remarkably reduced as compared to that of single-side-printing. Therefore, what is needed is to develop a paper reverse-feeding apparatus for an image apparatus that can increase the speed of double-side-printing. This is important to consumers of these devices because speed in the double-side-printing mode is given much weight in regard to degree of satisfaction of users, especially in the case of an office image forming apparatus or an expensive color image forming apparatus requiring high speed printing operation.

Paper reverse-feeding apparatus for image forming apparatus


A system includes a local social media context server aboard a vehicle, the local social media context server including logic to implement a local social media context for a passenger aboard the vehicle, the local social media context being configured with a duration commensurate with a duration of a trip by the passenger on the vehicle; an antenna coupled to the local social media context server; and logic to prioritize content posted to the local social media context by the person for promotion to the person's global social media context.

Passengers on moving vehicles may having limited access to their social media context (e.g., Facebook) and may thus be denied a social media experience during trips. This can occur due to limits on the data contracts or available bandwidth over the length of the trip. This condition can lead to a sense of social isolation or dissatisfaction with the trip.

Crowd sourced content for local social media context aboard a mobile communications platform


Confronting intra-finger gussets, peripheral banding strips, and stitching lines extending from wrist to fingertip across a palm face of a soccer goalkeeper glove help to hold the glove in a curved configuration that protects the fingers and thumb of the wearer from bending backward when hit by a soccer ball. These features, alone, or in various combinations, also contribute to a realistic feel in handling a ball.

This invention results from experience in making and using soccer goalkeeper gloves such as described in my U.S. Pat. No. 6,772,441. The improvements accomplished by this invention help make a soccer goalkeeper glove achieve its original purpose of protecting a goalkeeper's fingers from injury while giving the goalkeeper a feel for handling the ball.


The present invention relates to a pharmaceutical composition of PRCP antagonist, PREP antagonist, or PRCP-PREP dual antagonist. The present invention also relates to a pharmaceutical composition jointly using PRCP antagonist and mTOR antagonist, or jointly using PREP antagonist and mTOR antagonist, or jointly using PRCP-PREP dual antagonist and mTOR antagonist. In addition, the present invention also relates to a method for utilizing the pharmaceutical compositions to treat and prevent cancers and diseases related to insulin receptor substrate protein and PI3K/AKT/mTOR signal pathway.

PRCP and PREP belong to prolyl peptidase family. Phylogenetic analysis shows that PRCP and PREP contain highly similar amino acid sequences, and have a similar enzyme function. They can cleave proline-containing substrates such as neuropeptide angiotensin II/III (Angll/III) and α-melanocyte stimulating hormone (α-MSH). PREP additionally cleaves nerve vasopressin (neurotensin) and gastrin-releasing hormone and other neuropeptides. These neuropeptides can activate G protein-coupled receptors (GPCR) and regulate the function of the receptor tyrosine kinase signaling pathway through the G protein-coupled receptors (Garcia-Horsman et al, (2007) Neutopeptides 41: 1-24; Rosenblum J S et al "(2003) Current Opinion in Chemical Biology, 7:496-504; Skidgel et al, (1998) Immunological Reviews, 161: 129-41. Rozengurt E et al, (2010) Clin Cancer Res; 16: 2505-11). Current research indicates that PRCP plays a role in obesity (Shariat-Madar B et al, (2010) Diabetes Metab Syndr Obes, 3: 67-78). Our previous study teaches that PRCP regulates breast cancer cell proliferation, autophagy, and resistance to the drug tamoxifen (Duan L et al, (2011) JBC, 286:2864-2876). PREP is also associated with amnesia, depression and Alzheimer's disease (Rosenblum J S et al, (2003) Current Opinion in Chemical Biology 7:496-504). Cell growth and proliferation are regulated by a number of different factors, including the availability of nutrients, growth factors (such as insulin and insulin-like growth factor, etc.) as well as the availability of the energy state of the cell, etc. PI3K/AKT/mTOR provide signal pathway integration of these factors to control cell growth and proliferation (Manning et al, (2007) Cell 129: 1261-1274; Engelman et al, (2006) Nat Rev Genet 7:606-619). Aberrant activation of PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway is considered to be the most common feature of all cancers (Engelman, J A, (2009) Nature Reviews/Cancer 9:550-562).
PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway is activated by RTKs (receptor tyrosine kinases), including the insulin receptor (IR), insulin-like growth factor receptor (IGF-1R), platelet-derived growth factor receptor (PDGFR) and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR).
RTKs can activate PI3K directly or indirectly through insulin receptor substrate (IRS) that interacts with PI3K ρ85 subunit and further activates PI3K p110 catalytic subunits (Markman et al., (2009) Ann Oncol. 21 (4): 683-91).
P13K is an intracellular phosphatidylinositol kinase. There are three types of PI3K. Class I PI3Ks are mostly cytosolic, are heterodimers comprised of a p110 catalytic subunit and an adaptor/regulatory subunit, and are further divided into two subclasses: Class IA PI3Ks consist of a p110 catalytic subunit that associates with an SH2 domain-containing subunit p85, and is activated by the majority of tyrosine kinase-coupled transmembrane receptors; class IB PI3K consists of a p101 regulatory subunit that associates with p110γ catalytic subunit, and is activated by heterotrimeric GPCR. (Katso et al. (2001) Annu. Rev. Cell Dev. Biol. 17:615). Class II PI3Ks consist of three isoforms, as discussed herein. Class III PI3Ks utilize only phosphatidylinositol as a substrate, and play an essential role in protein trafficking through the lysosome. (Volinia, et al. (1995) EMBO J. 14:3339).
Class IA PI3K activity is suppressed in cytosol by p85 regulatory subunits that form heterodimers with the p110 catalytic subunit. IRS proteins (including IRS-1, IRS-1, IRS-3, IRS-4) are insulin receptor (IR) and insulin-like growth factor receptor (IGF-1R) adapter proteins. IR/IGF1R activates PI3K by regulating IRS protein tyrosine phosphorylation and subsequent interaction with PI3K p85 subunit. Many cancer tissues overexpress insulin receptor substrate IRS-1, while transgenic overexpression of IRS-1 or IRS-2 in mice caused breast cancer tumorigenesis and metastasis (Metz, et al, (2011) Clin Cancer Res 17: 206-211; Bergmann et al, (1996) Biochem Biophys Res Commun 220: 886-890; Dearth et al, (2006) Mol Cell Biol 26: 9302-9314). Tyrosine phosphorylation of IRS proteins is regulated by IR/IGF-1R and other RTKs such as EGFR and ErbB3 which activate IRS proteins. IRS proteins are also regulated by a number of serine/threonine kinases (for example. PKC, mTOR, S6K and ERK) that phosphorylate IRS proteins on serine leading to protein degradation and inhibition of IRS proteins (Copps et al (2012). Diabetologia. 55(10): 2565-2582). Degradation of insulin receptor substrates by certain drugs results in cell death in melanoma (Reuveni et al (2013) Cancer Res 73: 4383-4394). IRS proteins phosphorylated on tyrosine interact with the SH2 domain of p85 subunit resulting in recruitment of PI3K to membrane and release of the inhibitory effect of p85 leading to activation of PI3K. PI3Ks are enzymes that phosphorylate the 3-hydroxyl position of the inositol ring of phosphoinositides ("PIs"). Activated PI3K generates phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate (PI3P) that serves as a secondary messenger in growth signaling pathways, influencing cellular events including cell survival, migration, motility, and proliferation; oncogenic transformation; tissue neovascularization; and intracellular protein trafficking. PI3P activates the PI3K-dependent protein kinase-1 (PDK1), which in turn activates the kinase AKT. AKT phosphorylates downstream target molecules to promote cell proliferation, survival and neovascularization. (Cantley et al. (1999) PNAS 96:4240) mTOR is an important signaling molecule downstream of the PI3K/AKT pathway (Grunwald et al. (2002) Cancer Res. 62: 6141; Stolovich et al. (2002) Mol Cell Biol. 22: 8101). AKT-mediated phosphorylation inhibits the GAP activity of TSC1/TSC2 toward the Rheb GTPase, leading to Rheb activation. Rheb binds directly to mTOR, a process that is regulated by amino acids. Both amino acids and Rheb activation are required for mTOR activation. mTOR downstream effector molecules include p70 S6 ribosomal protein kinase (S6K) and eukaryotic initiation factor binding inhibitory protein (4E-BP1). After the activation mTOR phosphorylates and activates the catalytic activity S6K1. mTOR also catalyzes phosphorylation of 4E-BP1 and inactivates it, resulting in initiation of protein translation and cell cycle progression (Kozma et al, (2002) Bioessays 24: 65). More importantly, mTOR exerts a negative feedback on activation of PI3K/AKT by suppressing expression and activation of IRS proteins. Inhibition of mTOR by rapamycin relieves the negative inhibition leading to activation of PI3K AKT (Shi et al (2005) Mol Cancer Ther 2005; 4(10): 1533).
PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway inhibition is considered a promising cancer treatment (Engelman, J A, (2009) Nature Reviews: Cancer 9:551). mTOR antagonist rapamycin is the first signaling target in the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway for anti-cancer treatment (Courtney et al, (2010) J Clin Oncol 28: 1075-1083; Vivanco et al, (2002) Nat Rev Cancer 2:489-50). Unfortunately, rapamycin lifts the negative feedback inhibition of IRS proteins, leading to the activation of PI3K and AKT. Patients treated by rapamycin show increased AKT phosphorylation in tumors, leading to failure of tumor treatment (Easton et al, (2006) Cancer Cell. 9 (3):153-5) Therefore, there is a need to develop means to effectively inhibit the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway, in particular to prevent the feedback activation of IRS proteins upon inhibition of mTOR.

Method and pharmaceutical composition for inhibiting PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway


A braking device is used in a motor of an actuator having a shaft. The braking device includes a base, an elastic unit, a braking mechanism and a stopper. The base includes an axial connected section and a placed section. The elastic unit is disposed at the placed section. The braking mechanism is assembled at the axial connected section. The braking mechanism includes a braking ring sleeved on the shaft and a coil spring tightened to the outer peripheral edge of the braking ring. A first torque arm and a second torque arm extend from the two ends of the coil spring. The first torque arm abuts one end of the elastic unit. The stopper corresponds to the rotational path of the second torque arm and is disposed at the base. Thereby, the assembly is easier and the braking ring has a more stable effect of braking.

Linear actuators mainly use electric motors and actuating elements, such as worm gears and worm wheels, to actuate leadscrews rotating. Meanwhile, the leadscrews actuate telescopic tubes screwed thereof extending out or retracting. Since the structure and the assembly are simpler and more convenient than pneumatic cylinders or hydraulic cylinders, the linear actuators are widely used in apparatuses, such as sickbeds, electric chairs and other fields that need expansion and retraction.
Conventional linear actuators are disclosed in EP0662573B and WO2004-027290A2, wherein EP0662573B discloses that an actuator mainly comprises a worm gear, a leadscrew, and a worm wheel assembly fixed at one end of the leadscrew. The worm wheel assembly comprises a worm wheel, a coil spring surrounding the outer peripheral edge of a cylindrical annular body. WO2004-027290A2 seeks to solve the problem in the previous application that a great amount of heat is generated by the friction between the coil spring and the annular body during the movement, and it applies a heat conducting unit to dissipate heat.
However, the coil spring in conventional linear actuator is fixed, and the cylindrical annular body rotates with the worm wheel, so that heat is generated by the friction between the coil spring and the cylindrical annular body. In addition, the cylindrical annular body is generally made of plastics, so that the heat would cause the cylindrical annular body melting or the coil spring being worn out rapidly. Thus, the lifespan is greatly decreased. Also, the braking effect is achieved merely by linear contact between the coil spring and the cylindrical annular body, which is rotating, for decelerating or braking. Since the effective contact areas between the coil spring and the annular body is small, the ability of decelerating or braking is limited.


A photolithographic technique includes receiving a mask having a printing feature region, a sub-resolution assist feature (SRAF) region, and a third region. Each region has a different thickness of an absorptive layer disposed therein. The technique also includes exposing the mask to radiation, such that an intensity of radiation reflected by the SRAF region is substantially between an intensity of radiation reflected by the printing feature region and an intensity of radiation reflected by the third region. Using the radiation reflected by the printing feature region, the radiation reflected by the SRAF region, and the radiation reflected by the third region a workpiece is exposed.

This patent is a divisional of U.S. Ser. No. 14/327,834 filed Jul. 10, 2014, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
The semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) industry has experienced rapid growth. In the course of IC evolution, functional density (i.e., the number of interconnected devices per chip area) has generally increased while geometry size (i.e., the smallest component (or line) that can be created using a fabrication process) has decreased. This scaling down process generally provides benefits by increasing production efficiency and lowering associated costs. Such scaling down has also increased the complexity of processing and manufacturing ICs, and, for these advances to be realized, similar developments in IC manufacturing are needed.
For example, traditional transmissive photolithography is being supplemented or replaced with reflective photolithography. ICs are typically assembled by layering features on a semiconductor substrate using a set of photolithographic masks. Transmissive masks have patterns formed by transmissive regions. During photolithographic exposure, radiation, such as ultraviolet light, passes through the transmissive regions of the mask before striking a photoresist coating on the substrate. The mask transfers the pattern onto the photoresist. In contrast, a reflective mask includes reflective and non-reflective regions. During exposure, the light reflected off the mask is used to form the pattern on the substrate. After either type of exposure, the photoresist is selectively removed to reveal the pattern. The substrate then undergoes processing steps that take advantage of the shape of the remaining photoresist to create circuit features on the substrate. When the processing steps are complete, photoresist is reapplied and substrate is exposed using the next mask. In this way, features are layered to produce the final circuit.
Reflective masks are advantageous in many applications because they can be used in conjunction with relatively higher frequency radiation such as extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation. EUV radiation forms more precise patterns and smaller features than conventional UV radiation, but has proven challenging to use in lithography. For example, most mask materials block EUV radiation, making it difficult to manufacture a suitable transmissive mask. In contrast, reflective masks are more easily manufactured and tuned for EUV environments. For this reason and others, reflective masks and reflective lithography have delivered positive results but present challenges as well.

Assist feature for a photolithographic process

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.


Embodiments of the disclosure include a redundant control system for a vehicle. The redundant control system includes first and second actuator pistons mechanically coupled to one another and disposed in respective first and second fluid chambers. The first and second actuator pistons are movable by first and second primary stages. One of the primary stages includes a bypass valve with a pilot valve actuatable in response to movement of the first actuator piston.

Critical valve position sensors of a fly-by-wire main rotor actuator must be tested for proper functioning prior to each flight to confirm that a dormant failure has not occurred. The existence of a dormant failure would pose an unacceptable safety risk. In conventional control systems, this requires that two or more redundant hydraulic stages each have their own auxiliary pressure source (e.g., one or more pumps) to move the valves when commanded during pre-flight testing, and, in turn, change the output signal of the sensors. These hydraulic stages are typically powered by a main system pump, and are therefore not operable during pre-flight testing when the vehicle's primary hydraulic sources are dormant. Thus, the auxiliary pressure sources are added to the system solely to facilitate pre-flight testing, and are otherwise not used during flight.


A method of producing a deuterated or undeuterated 11-nor-.DELTA..sup.8 -tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) glucuronide or deuterated or undeuterated 11-nor-.DELTA..sup.9 -THC glucuronide by reacting a blocked THC carboxylic acid precursor with a blocked sugar epoxide precursor is disclosed. Also disclosed are: deuterated 11-nor-.DELTA..sup.8 - or .DELTA..sup.9 -THC carboxylic acid glucuronide having a deuterated hydrocarbon chain; 5'-deuterated 11-nor-.DELTA..sup.8 - or .DELTA..sup.9 -THC-carboxylic acid or 5'-deuterated .DELTA..sup.8 - or .DELTA..sup.9 -THC glucuronide. The compositions are useful as GC-MS standards; in methods for preparing antibodies reactive with a THC glucuronide; and, in GC-MS diagnostic methods for THC metabolites.

Plants of the hemp family Cannabis produce significant amounts of cannabinoids. The compound .DELTA..sup.9 -tetrahydrocannabinol (.DELTA..sup.9 -THC) is an important cannabinoid which produces psychotrophic effects attributed to marijuana, hashish, and hash oil. Human metabolism of .DELTA..sup.9 - THC results in microsomal oxidation through 11-hydroxy-.DELTA..sup.9 -THC to a series of polar metabolites with 11-nor-.DELTA..sup.9 -THC-9-carboxylic acid being a primary metabolite. The 11-nor-.DELTA..sup.9 -THC-9-carboxylic acid is further catabolized to an ester-linked glucuronide, 11-nor-.DELTA..sup.9 -THC-9-carboxylic acid glucuronide, that is excreted in urine and feces (see citation 1, infra).
Synthetic routes to .DELTA..sup.9 -THC and its metabolites have been described previously (1-10). Although several approaches to the synthesis of 11-nor-.DELTA..sup.9 -THC-9-methanol and 11-nor-.DELTA..sup.9 -THC-9-carboxylic acid (1-11) have been described, the published syntheses are either time-consuming, produce racemic products, or give low yields. Recently the inventors disclosed an improved convenient synthesis of 11-nor-.DELTA..sup.9 -THC-9-methanol (13). An enzymatic approach for synthesis of small amounts of impure 5'-hydroxy-.DELTA..sup.9 -THC and 11-nor-.DELTA..sup.9 -THC-9-methanol has also recently been disclosed (12).
THC glucuronide metabolites are present in biological fluids in vanishingly small amounts. These compounds are sensitive to electrophiles and extremely labile toward nucleophiles, making their preparation and isolation very difficult. The glucuronide carboxylic acid ester linkage is particularly labile to nucleophilic attack making chemical synthesis of this linkage extraordinarily difficult (14-16). Because of the lability of the THC-carboxylic acid linked glucuronides (THC glucuronides), it has not proven feasible to prepare sufficient quantities for use as assay calibrators or standards, or for use in the production of antibodies for immunoassays. THC glucuronides are a most useful class of therapeutic and diagnostic reagents and it would be highly advantageous to have a source of quantities of highly-purified THC glucuronides.
Administration or use of marijuana or other products of the Cannabis plant can be detected through the analysis of biological fluids, such as blood or urine, e.g., in assays for .DELTA..sup.9 -THC, .DELTA..sup.9 -THC-9-carboxylic acid, or .DELTA..sup.9 -THC-carboxylic acid glucuronide. Immunoassays are most widely used for this purpose (17-34), however, because of a significant number of false positive results, the immunoassay findings are frequently confirmed by gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS). GC-MS is useful for both confirmation and quantitation of THC (35-37). Deuterated derivatives of 11-nor-.DELTA..sup.9 -THC-9-carboxylic acid (THC carboxylic acid) are commonly used as internal standards for GC-MS. Several problems are associated with the use of these deuterated THC carboxylic acids as standards. First, the deuterated THC carboxylic acid derivatives are relatively difficult to prepare and are expensive. Second, the base peak of the commonly used methyl-derivative is at m/z 316 and although the peak for the natural THC metabolite is at m/z 313, there is also a confusing peak at 316. Third, current methods for detection of the THC glucuronide metabolite require hydrolysis of the THC glucuronide metabolite, (i.e., within the GC-MS matrix), and the fragmentation pattern of the hydrolyzed product is then compared with that of a THC carboxylic acid standard. Hydrolysis efficiency in biological samples is highly variable, and dependent upon complex matrix effects and container wall effects, so that recovery, and detection limits of the GC-MS assay vary from sample to sample. Fourth, use of THC carboxylic acid as a standard does not provide an internal standard (i.e., for quantifying hydrolyis and ionization efficiency) for assessing the accuracy, precision, and detection limits of the GC-MS assay. As a result of these problems, a THC sample that has tested positive in an immunoassay, may test negative in a GC-MS assay. In view of the foregoing and other problems associated with the use of 11-nor-.DELTA..sup.9 -THC-9-carboxylic acid it would be highly desirable to be able to eliminate false test results and solve problems relating to the lack of suitable THC analytical standards. Novel THC glucuronide analytical standards and calibrators for testing THC metabolites in biological fluids would be highly desirable.
Objects of the invention provide processes for chemical synthesis of THC glucuronides, (including 11-nor-.DELTA..sup.9 -THC-9-carboxylic acid glucuronide), that are useful as immunogens for evoking antibodies, and as assay standards and calibrators in assays for detection and quantitation of THC metabolites in biological fluids. Other objects of the invention provide deuterated THC glucuronides, (e.g. deuterated-11-nor-.DELTA..sup.9 -THC-9-carboxylic acid glucuronides), that are useful as internal standards and assay calibrators in GC-MS assays. Still other objects of the invention provide improved GC-MS assays using deuterated THC glucuronides with undeuterated THC glucuronides as internal standards to improve specificity, accuracy, precision, and detection limits of the GC-MS assays. Further objects of the invention provide methods for quantifying recovery of THC metabolites in biological samples that are useful on a sample-by-sample basis. The quantification of recovery allows the detection limits of the assay to be adjusted lower or higher until the desired precision is reached. Such methods allow detection of THC metabolites in biological fluids with greater precision, specificity, and sensitivity and with fewer false-negative test results.

Synthesis of 11-nor-.DELTA.-9-tetrahydrocannabinol-9-carboxylic acid glucuronide


An industrial control system includes a motor drive, a wireless interface module, and a wireless user interface. The motor drive has at least a first port. The wireless interface module is coupled to the first port of the motor drive. The wireless user interface is operable to connect to the wireless interface module and establish a first connection through the wireless interface module to access the motor drive. A user interface operable to connect to a device within an industrial control system includes a display and a processing unit operable to establish a connection with the device and display an image representative of the device on the display responsive to establishing the connection.

The present invention relates generally to industrial control systems, and, more particularly, to a wireless industrial control user interface.
Industrial controllers are special purpose computers used for controlling industrial processes or manufacturing equipment. Under the direction of a stored program, the industrial controller examines a series of inputs reflecting the status of the controlled process and changes outputs affecting the control of the process. The inputs and outputs may be binary (i.e., "on" or "off") or analog taking on a continuous range of values. The binary inputs and outputs may be represented by single bits of data, the analog inputs and outputs may be represented by multiple bit data words.
Exemplary applications for industrial control systems include material handling, robotics, airport baggage handling, water and wastewater treatment, cement production, semiconductor fabrication, electric power, entertainment, food processing, mining, beverage and packaging operations, ski lift operations, forest products processing, life sciences, logistic processes, fibers and textiles processing, metal forming, automotive, petroleum and chemical processing, plastics processing, automated transportation, health care, agriculture, postal and shipping, and other manufacturing processes, to name but a few examples.
The various components of an industrial controller are often spatially distributed about a factory or manufacturing facility to be interconnected by one or more communication networks. These communication networks are characterized by being highly reliable and by delivering data with a minimal and well defined delay, as is required for real-time control. A number of different communication networks are commonly used in the industrial controller art including but not limited to: ControlNet™; DeviceNet™ and Ethernet/IP™ whose specifications are published and whose protocols are used broadly by a number of manufacturers and suppliers, including Rockwell Automation Inc. of Milwaukee, Wis. These communication networks differ from one another in physical aspects, for example, the type of media (e.g., co-axial cable, twisted pair, light fiber, etc.); the protocols of its operation, (e.g., Baud rate, number of channels, word transmission size, use of connected messaging, etc.) and how the data is formatted and how it is collected into standard messages.
At the site of an industrial control system, it may be possible to gain access to entities within the industrial control system by using a user interface associated with one or more of the automation devices that forms the industrial control system. For example, an individual may use a user interface directly coupled to a motor drive to gain access to the motor drive. Alternatively, standard interfaces are sometimes provided that allow access to be gained by connecting a laptop or other computer to a communication network that connects portions of the industrial control system.
Connecting a user interface to the communication network that allows access to multiple entities within the industrial control system may give rise to security issues and identification accuracy issues. Typically, a device on the communication network, such as an Ethernet network, has access to and can be accessed by any other device on the network. One or more devices on the communication network may have direct or indirect connections with the Internet. As such, an outside entity may try to compromise the user interface, and potentially the industrial control system.
Also, because the user interface may be used to access multiples drives, controllers, I/O modules, etc. within the industrial control network, it may be possible for a user to inadvertently connect to the wrong entity. Previously, this vulnerability has been addressed by requiring proximity to the controlled device (i.e., by requiring a hardwired connection). As wireless networking systems proliferate, it is no longer workable to require hardwired connections to guard against such identification errors.
In the case where a portable user interface is used, it is useful to employ common hardware and software for ease of configuration management. However, from a security and reliability standpoint, it would not be desirable to provide all users of such a portable interface equal access to all functionalities of the industrial control system. For example, an operator may find it useful to access control (e.g., start, stop) and status information regarding a particular motor drive, while a maintenance technician or engineer may need to access the motor drive to update its firmware or change its configuration. If all users were provided a common portable user interface with common functionality, users may intentionally or inadvertently access functionalities for which they lack the requisite training or authority.
This section of this document is intended to introduce various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the present invention described and/or claimed below. This section provides background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present invention. It should be understood that the statements in this section of this document are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.

Wireless industrial control user interface


A method for assembling a flexible bus connector is disclosed, which includes the following steps. The first is a preparing step. An insulative housing and a plurality of terminals are provided. The insulative housing defines an opening and a plurality of passageways, and forms an upper side wall, a lower side wall, and a rear wall corresponding to the opening. The second is an assembling step. Each terminal includes at least a contact portion, a support portion and a soldering portion. The contact portion and the support portion are located near the opening when assembled, and the soldering portion extending toward the rear wall of the insulative housing. The third is a positioning step. A lower end of the soldering portion is located on a position where the lower end is lower than an inner surface of the lower side wall of the insulative housing.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for assembling an electrical connector, and particularly to a method for assembling a flexible bus connector and preventing from damaging.
2. Related Art
A flexible bus connector is typically used to connect a flexible bus for communicating the flexible bus with a circuit board. A flexible bus connector of prior art comprises an insulative housing, and terminals inserted along slots into the insulative housing. The maximum height of the terminals is not larger than interior height of the insulative housing. So no deformation or distortion occurs during insertion of the terminals.
However, electronic products are prone to miniature profile. Correspondingly decreasing overall height inside the electronic products is desired. But it is necessary to guarantee strength of the terminals. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 6,711,816 discloses a flexible bus connector, which reduces overall height of the connector and maintains strengths of the terminals by means of extending rotation support portions of the terminals beyond an insulative housing. In assembly, the terminals are inclined slightly rearward and downward. Flexible lower arms of the terminals bend inwardly. The rotation support portions of the terminals are mounted from a rear of the insulative housing into the insulative housing, and move forwardly. As the terminals are pushed to a predetermined position, the rotation support portions of the terminals return, by resiliency, to an original state, and are fixed.
As for the method described above, due to flexibility of the terminals, the rotation support portions, which are of height larger than inside height of the insulative housing, are assembled to the insulation housing and slide to be positioned, and then return by resiliency. But the terminals suffer from large distortion. As a result, the rotation support portions tend to be deformed or damaged during sliding for assembly. Especially, the rotation support portions normally support rotation of pressure elements. The distortion may make the pressure elements work abnormally.

Method for assembling flexible bus connector


A process for preparing phenoxyethanamines from phenols and 2-oxazolines in quantitative yields was discovered. Phosphoric acid hydrolyzes the amide intermediate from the phenol/2-oxazoline reaction without cleaving the amide at the ether linkage and without undesired aromatic ring substitution. Thus, yield to the desired phenoxyethanamines is often 98% or better, requiring no subsequent purification. In contrast, sulfuric and hydrochloric acids give these undesired side reactions. Phenoxyethanamines are useful in thermosetting resins, pharmaceuticals and as surfactants.

Phenoxyethanamines are known materials. They are useful, when at least partially neutralized, to produce thermosetting resins having extended pot life and a fast cure rate, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,353,819, as an example. They have shown promise as surfactants as noted in Chemical Abstracts 99(22):177867h. Phenoxyethanamines are used to make froth-flotation collectors according to Chemical Abstracts 106(6): 36486j of European Patent Application 174,866, and in the production of coal flotation conditioners as described in Chemical Abstracts 103(18): 144675s of Indian patent document 154,360.
Unfortunately, phenoxyethanamines are difficult to make. While making the amide intermediates from reacting phenols with 2-oxazolines is known, converting them to the amines has proved hard. The sodium hydroxide method tends to have undesirably long reaction times. It was discovered herein that using hydrochloric acid or sulfuric acid to perform the hydrolysis gives poor selectivity to the desired phenoxyethanamine. Thus, it would be advantageous if a new route to these valuable materials were discovered.
J. A. Frump, in "Oxazolines. Their Preparation, Reactions, and Applications," Chemical Reviews, Vol. 71, No. 5, 1971, pp. 483-499 in his survey teaches the reaction of 2-phenyl-2-oxazoline and phenol over 7 hours to give N-[1-(2-phenoxyethyl)]benzamide. Other reactions with similar materials are also noted. Chemical Abstracts 99(22): 177867h, mentioned above, indicates that amines with the structure p--C.sub.9 H.sub.19 C.sub.6 H.sub.4 O(CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 O).sub.n CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 NHR, where R is hydrogen or CO.sub.2 R.sup.1, R.sup.1 being an alkyl having 1 to 5 carbon atoms, and n is 0 to 10, are prepared by treating p--C.sub.9 H.sub.19 C.sub.6 H.sub.4 O(CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 O).sub.n H with CH.sub.2 .dbd.CHCONHR, where R is defined as above, in the presence of polymerization inhibitors and then converting the amide intermediate to the amine by a Hofmann rearrangement.
An improved vehicle for the formulation of baking enamels may be obtained by reacting an oxazoline with phenol according to U.S. Pat. No. 3,654,229. Materials such as 2-[1,1-bis(hydroxymethyl)] oxazoline diester and 2-[1,1-bis(hydroxymethyl)ethyl]-4-ethyl-4-propionoxymethyl-2-oxazoline were reacted with phenol. The products were dissolved in methanol to form the vehicles.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,596,884 describes an improved process for the preparation of 5-ethyl-4-(2-phenoxyethyl)-1,2,4-triazolone, a useful intermediate in the synthesis of antidepressant 1,2,4-triazolones. One of the steps in the process involves the reaction of phenol and 2-ethyl-2-oxazoline to give an intermediate compound N-(2-phenoxyethyl)propionamide. The reactions of cyclic imidic esters (2-oxazolines) with phenols and other materials proceed with ring cleavage and formation of 2- or 3-substituted N-alkylamide derivatives, and less frequently of 2-aminoethyl or 3-aminopropyl esters of carboxylic acids, as taught by W. Seeliger, et al., "Recent Syntheses and Reactions of Cyclic Imidic Esters," Angew. Chem. internat. Edit., Vol. 5, No. 10, 1966, pp. 875-888.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,195,154 describes the preparation of 2-amido- or 2-amino-alkyl ethers of polyhydric polyphenols by reacting a 2-oxazoline with a polyhydric polyphenol in the presence of certain metal salt catalysts, e.g. zinc acetate. The resulting materials appear to have use as epoxy curing agents and have insecticidal, fungicidal and bacteriocidal activity.
Of lesser importance and relating to the background of 2-oxazolines, is the article "Cyclic Imino Ethers, Polymerization" appearing in Encycl. Polym. Sci. Technol., Suppl. 1, 1976, pp. 220-237. Somewhat similar reactions to those described above are seen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,086,273 which reacts n-octylmercaptan with 2-ethyl-2-oxazoline in the presence of a catalytic amount of hydrated cadmium chloride at a temperature of approximately 200.degree. C. for one hour. The resulting .beta.-aminoethyl sulfides are known to have a variety of uses.


A method of controlling access to one or more data resources may include receiving, from a client device by an authentication server device, a request to access a data resource. The request may include a job identifier associated with a job. The method may include transmitting, by the authentication server device to a scheduling server device, the job identifier, receiving, by the authentication server device from the scheduling server device, job information associated with the job, determining, by the authentication server device, whether at least a portion of the job information satisfies an access policy associated with the data resource, and granting the job access to the data resource in response to the at least a portion of the job information satisfying the access policy.

Hosted storage services, such as cloud-based storage services, store data on a server which is located at a facility that is remote from the locations where the data is generated or used. The remote servers are typically hosted by a third party, which allows the data's owner and authorized users to access the data over a communications network such as the Internet.
It is common for jobs to access data that is stored by hosted storage services. Typically, privileges associated with a job are based on the roles associated with the user under whose authority a job runs. Authorization of a job request is based on the associated role. For example, a certain user may have read access. As such, all jobs run by the user may only be granted read access.
However, it is possible that a server may only want to allow requests for certain types of jobs regardless of the privileges associated with the corresponding user. For example, a server may only want to allow requests from live production jobs and not others.

Verification of remote job state for access control


A cooling coaster device and method for supporting and keeping a cold beverage container cool are provided. The cooling coaster device can include a relatively short, cup-shaped body including a closed bottom and a cylindrical sidewall forming an opening at an end thereof. A sealing ring gasket is integrally formed with the cylindrical sidewall in a vicinity of the opening. The sealing ring gasket can form a narrowest portion of the cup-shaped body and can be capable of forming a water and gas-tight seal when a beverage container is inserted into the cup-shaped body. The cooling coaster device can include a support extending into an interior of the cup-shaped body and forms a stop surface arranged a set distance from the closed bottom. The cooling coaster can be formed as an integral, one-piece structure and can keep the cold beverage container cool while not concealing its labeling and preventing the formation of a condensation ring.

Coasters used under beverage containers operate by receiving and/or trapping condensation which forms on the exterior of such containers and drains down their sides onto the coaster. In this manner, coasters prevent moisture from reaching a table top or other surface on which the beverage container is positioned. However, such conventional coasters do not provide a cooling function.
Known holders for keeping beverage containers cool include insulated cups having thermally insulated walls. These holders keep the beverage container hot or cool by covering all or a majority of the sidewalls of the beverage container thereby insulating the beverage container from ambient conditions. However, such beverage container coolers or insulators are of a height that cover-up or conceal the labeling or graphics on the beverage container and preclude users from directly grasping the beverage container.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a holder for a beverage container that keeps a cold beverage cool for extended periods of time while not concealing the labeling or graphics on the beverage container. There also exists a need for such a beverage container holder which includes condensation control like a coaster and prevents the likelihood of the formation of a condensation ring during use.


Disclosed is a device for measuring body fat of an animal. Embodiments include an input unit for entering individual information of the animal, a bioelectric impedance input unit for measuring the bioelectric impedance of the animal, and a morphological measurement value input unit for entering morphological measurement values for the girth and length of the body of the animal. An impedance-based calculation unit calculates a body fat rate based on the bioelectric impedance, and a morphological measurement value-based calculation unit calculates the body fat rate based on the morphological measurement values. A calculation switching unit checks to determine whether the resulting bioelectric impedance is proper, and automatically switches between the impedance-based calculation unit and the morphological measurement value-based calculation unit depending on the result of the determination.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a body fat measuring device for measuring the body fat of an animal using a plurality of measuring means which are successively put into operation by switching therebetween.
2. Prior Art
There has been developed a body fat measuring device for an animal using noninvasive impedance measurement in which a dog is suspended by a fixing tool in such manner that the dog is restricted in posture while standing on all four limbs, but spaced away from the floor. A measurement person wears a set of gloves on both hands each having an impedance measurement electrode affixed on the palm portion thereof, and grasps the front and rear limbs of the dog at the specific positions so that the electrodes on the gloves are contact therewith for measuring the impedance between the specific positions on the front and rear limbs of the dog. Then, the body fat of the dog is calculated based on the impedance measured (see Patent Document 1).
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-144005.
However, the body fat measuring device in the prior art using impedance measurement, as described above, is defective in that because of necessity of grasping the limbs of the animal at the specific positions the measurement person needs to have some expert knowledge about bone and muscle structure of the animal. As the result, there was such tendency that the electrodes are likely to be shifted in position to produce an erroneous measurement depending on the manner that the limbs are grasped. In addition, it was sometimes difficult to conduct the measurement due to effect of body hair of the animal on the contact point with the electrode, violent action of the animal, etc.
In view of the above an object of the present invention is to provide a body fat measuring device for measuring the body fat of an animal under test using the most suitable measuring means for the animal under test selected from among a plurality of measuring means by switching therebetween depending on behavior of the animal under test and contact condition of electrodes.


A left atrium appendage (LAA) isolator, including:

The present invention, in some embodiments thereof, relates to closing a cardiac opening and, more particularly, but not exclusively, to closing the left atrial appendage.
The left atrial appendage (LAA) is a small, ear-shaped sac in the muscle wall of the left atrium (LA). Blood clots are often formed inside the LAA, especially in patients suffering from atrial fibrillation (AF), and upon their release to the LA they can lead to thrombotic stroke. In order to solve this problem different approaches are now used to close the LAA by placing a plug inside the LAA or by closing the LAA by fastening a lasso loop around it.

Abstract: a body sized and shaped to fit an at least partially inverted LAA of a human adult, wherein a distal end of said body defines a two-state sealing adaptor interface configured in a first state to apply a radially outward force against a wall of said LAA or against a wall of said LAA opening sufficient to anchor said body to the LAA wall, and in a second state the sealing adaptor interface is configured to apply a radially inward force on a portion of the inverted LAA positioned within said body.


A beach umbrella with lamps includes mainly a plurality of spreaders and ribs respectively having a C-shaped insert groove opening downward, and a plurality of small lamps fitted in each C-shaped groove as if hidden in the spreaders and the ribs, and a switch fixed on a lower portion of the shank to turn on and off the small lamps so as to facilitate assembly and use of the beach umbrella with lamps. Then the lamps may be lit on and off to shine in the umbrella during nighttime to set forth gracious atmosphere.

This invention relates to a beach umbrella with lamps, particularly standing on the ground and useable at night for lighting to set forth gracious atmosphere as well.
Conventional beach umbrellas are widely used not only at beaches but outdoor leisure coffee or refreshment stands for shading people from hot sunshine during the daytime so as to permit them rest comfortably.
Conventional beach umbrellas generally have a shank, a plurality of spreaders fitted on the shank and spread outward radially, and a plurality of ribs combined with the spreaders for supporting a canopy sewn on the ribs. Then conventional beach umbrellas are spread for hiding people sitting under the umbrella from hot sunlight during daytime, but always collapsed during the night lest they should hide lamplight or place temporarily lamps in the umbrellas to supply proper illumination.
But conventional beach umbrellas have to be lighted with extra lamps during the night, not convenient to use, as they have to be collapsed by manual work and cannot be taken away as they are mostly fixed on the ground. Besides, should there be any dirt on the umbrellas, the dirt may fall down on the ground to litter an outdoor resting area in case of the umbrella collapsed. So some businessmen hang small lamps on the spreaders of a conventional beach umbrella for lighting, but it is not so suitable to decorate an outdoor resting area for taking refreshments or coffee.
The objective of the invention is to offer a beach umbrella with lamps fixed under a lower side of each spreader and each rib, which have respectively a C-shaped insert groove for lamps to fit therein. Then the lamps are simple to combine with the spreaders and the ribs of a beach umbrella, not spoil the whole beautifulness of the beach umbrella, but producing gracious atmosphere during night in an outdoor resting area.


An SOI-type MISFET with a body contact has a Si active layer arranged on an insulating layer. A pair of source and drain regions interposing a main channel region are arranged in the active layer. An additional channel region and a body-contact region are also arranged in the active layer. A gate electrode is arranged to have first and second portions facing the main and additional channel regions, respectively, through a gate insulating film. A main MIS capacitor and a parasitic MIS capacitor are formed under the first and second portions of the gate electrode, respectively. The additional channel region is doped with an impurity under a condition different from that of the main channel region such that electrical charges necessary for charging and discharging the parasitic MIS capacitor are decreased, in an operation voltage range of the device.

The present invention relates to a semiconductor device, and more particularly to a semiconductor device employing an SOI (Silicon On Insulator) substrate.
With an increase in need for low electric power consumption and high operation speed on semiconductor integration circuits, it has been strongly demanded that respective semiconductor devices are miniaturized and their operation voltages are decreased. In light of this demand, SOI-type semiconductor devices attract attention, in place of conventional Bulk-type semiconductor devices. The SOI-type devices employ an SOI substrate having a semiconductor layer and an insulating layer stacked one on the other, while the Bulk-type devices employ a substrate entirely formed of a semiconductor layer. As compared with the Bulk-type devices, the SOI-type devices are considered to have several advantages, such as a smaller parasitic capacitance, a steeper sub-threshold characteristic, and a smaller substrate-bias effect.
An explanation will be given on a typical structure and manufacturing method of SOI-type devices, with reference to FIGS. 13A and 13B, which are plan and cross-sectional views showing an SOI-type MISFET.
As shown in FIGS. 13A and 13B, the SOI-type MISFET has a silicon (Si) support layer 12 and a single-crystal silicon (Si) active layer 16 stacked one on the other through an insulating film 14 of a silicon oxide film (SiO.sub.2). A source region 24 and a drain region 26 are arranged in the active layer 16 to interpose a channel region 22. The source region 24 and the drain region 26 are formed by doping the active layer 16 with an impurity having a conductivity type opposite to that of the channel region 22 by means of, e.g., ion-implantation. A gate electrode 34 is disposed on the channel region 22 through a gate insulating film 32 of a silicon oxide film (SiO.sub.2).
The insulating film 14 makes it difficult to control the electric potential of the body section in the SOI-type device, while the electric potential of a body section can be easily controlled in the Bulk-type devices. Consequently, the electric potential of the body section falls in a floating state during device operation in the SOI-type device, thereby bringing about problems, such that the device threshold voltage varies during the device operation, and the device breakdown voltage becomes lower. In light of these problems, various kinds of attempts have been made to control the electric potential of the body section of the SOI-type devices , as in the Bulk-type devices.
FIGS. 14A and 14B are plan and cross-sectional views showing a Bulk-type MISFET. FIGS. 15A and 15B are plan and cross-sectional views showing a thin-film SOI-type MISFET having a typical structure for controlling the body electric potential.
The Bulk-type MISFET shown in FIGS. 14A and 14B has a Si substrate 116, a gate insulating film 132, a gate electrode 134, a channel region 122, a source region 124, and a drain region 126. The gate electrode 134 is disposed on the Si substrate 116 through the thin gate insulating film 132. For example, in the Bulk-type MISFET, the Si substrate 116 is doped with an impurity to form a conductive layer having a low resistivity, by which the electric potential of the channel region 122a is controlled.
The thin-film SOI-type MISFET shown in FIGS. 15A and 15B has a Si support layer 212 and a Si active layer 216 stacked one on the other through an insulating film 214. A source region 224 and a drain region 226 are arranged in the active layer 216 to interpose a channel region 222. The source region 224 and the drain region 226 have a conductivity type opposite to that of the channel region 222. A gate electrode 234 is disposed on the channel region 222 through a gate insulating film 232.
In the thin-film SOI-type MISFET, the insulating film 214 is interposed between the Si support layer 212 and the Si active layer 216. For this reason, it is necessary to form a contact region (body-contact region) to efficiently control the body electric potential of each device.
The thin-film SOI-type MISFET shown in FIGS. 15A and 15B has a contact region 228 (body-contact region) having a conductivity type the same as that of the channel region 222. The gate electrode 234 has, e.g., a T-shape to form the contact region 228 and separate it from the source region 224 and the drain region 226. The body-contact region 228 is formed by doping the active layer 216 with an impurity at a high concentration to lower the resistivity of part of the active layer 216.
In the thin-film SOI-type MISFET shown in FIGS. 15A and 15B, in addition to the main channel region 222 formed under a portion 234a of the gate electrode 234, an additional channel region 223 is formed under a portion 234b of the gate electrode 234 to have a conductivity type the same as that of the main channel region 222. The additional channel region 223 brings about a parasitic MIS capacitor 240 as well as hardly contributing to the current drivability of the device. Where the parasitic capacitance of the device remarkably increases due to the parasitic MIS capacitor 240, problems arise in that the device comes to have a low operation speed and a large electric power consumption. Further, where the body-contact region having a low resistivity and the additional channel region 223 are located adjacent to each other, another problem arises in that junction leakage current increases.

MIS semiconductor device having body-contact region


A method of providing deposits of a functional composition on a textile substrate (1) is described. The method comprises providing a supply of the textile substrate (1); providing a first digital nozzle; supplying a functional composition to the first nozzle; providing a second digital nozzle; supplying an encapsulating composition to the second nozzle; selectively depositing the functional composition from the first nozzle to form a series of functional droplets (10) on the substrate (1); and selectively depositing the encapsulation composition from the second nozzle to form a series of encapsulation droplets (16) to at least partially cover the functional droplets (10). In this way, quantities of highly specific functional compositions or “agents” may be precisely deposited at those locations where they are required and may subsequently be covered by an encapsulation composition.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to methods of finishing a textile substrate. In particular, the invention relates to a digital procedure for producing a textile having encapsulated materials deposited thereon.
2. Description of the Related Art
The production of textiles traditionally takes place in a number of distinct processes. Roughly five stages can be distinguished in such production; the fibre production; spinning of the fibres; the manufacture of cloth (for instance woven or knitted fabrics, tufted material or felt and non-woven materials); the upgrading of the cloth; and the production or manufacture of end products. Textile upgrading covers a number of operations such as preparing, bleaching, optically whitening, colouring (dying and/or printing) and finishing. These operations generally have the purpose of giving the textile the appearance and physical and functional characteristics that are desired by the user.
During dying, the textile substrate is usually provided with a single full plane colour. Dying presently takes place by immersing the textile article in a dye bath, whereby the textile is saturated with an appropriate coloured chemical substance.
Coating of the textile is one of the more important techniques of finishing and may be used to impart various specific characteristics to the resulting product. It may be used for making the substrate fireproof or flameproof, water-repellent, oil repellent, non-creasing, shrink-proof, rot-proof, non-sliding, fold-retaining, antistatic etc. Coating of textile involves the application of e.g. a thin layer of an appropriate chemical substance to the surface of the textile substrate. The coating may serve to protect the textile substrate or other underlying layers. It may also be used as a basis or "primer" for subsequent layers or may be used to achieve desired special effects.
The usual techniques for applying a coating on solvent or water basis are the so-called "knife-over-roller", the "dip" and the "reverse roller" screen coaters. A solution, suspension or dispersion of a polymer substance in water is usually applied to the cloth and excess coating is then scraped off with a doctor knife.
A further procedure sometimes employed for finishing of the textile is the use of immersion or bath techniques such as foularding. The textile is fully immersed in an aqueous solution containing the functional composition that is to be applied. Subsequent repeated cycles of drying, fixation and condensation are required to complete the operation. This leads to considerable use of resources, in particular water and energy. In general, the solutions, suspensions or dispersions used for such techniques have low concentrations of the desired functional composition
The conventional upgrading procedures require the performance of a number of sequential operations selected from impregnation (i.e. application or introduction of chemicals), reaction/fixing (i.e. binding chemicals to the substrate), washing (i.e. removing excess chemicals and auxiliary chemicals) and drying. Each of these sequential operations may need to be repeated a number of times e.g. repeated washing and rinsing cycles, which may entail a relatively high environmental impact, a long throughput time and relatively high production costs.
A significant characteristic of conventional upgrading techniques such as dying and coating is that they are performed over the complete surface of the article. This is often referred to as full font treatment. For certain treatments, there may be a desire to finish or coat only certain areas of the textile in order to provide particular characteristics to these areas. It is also often the case that treatments and chemicals used for finishing are particularly expensive and a limited but balanced distribution of the chemical may be sufficient. In such cases, the performance of the treatment over the full textile area may be inefficient and/or wasteful, especially if certain areas of the textile are to be discarded or have no need of the treatment.
Certain products that it would be desirable to include in a textile article are also sensitive to the environment. For this reason, their use has been limited in the past by difficulties in applying the product to the textile such that degradation does not occur. Other functional products have been suggested that it would be desirable to include on textile substrates. Nevertheless, adequate methods for depositing such products have hitherto been unavailable.
It has been suggested to incorporate drugs or medicaments within textile articles by attaching the drug to a carrier. A review of such carriers is to be found in an article by Breteler et al. in Autex Research Journal, Vol. 2 No 4 entitled Textile Slow Release Systems with Medical Applications, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. Carriers discussed include cyclodextrines, fullerenes, aza-crown ethers and also polylactic acid (PLA). No indication is given as to the precise manner in which these carriers could be applied.
The use of digital techniques for finishing textiles has been suggested in unpublished PCT application Nos. PCT/EP2004/010732 and PCT/EP2004/010731 both filed on 22 Sep. 2004 the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
It has been suggested in unexamined patent application No. JP61-152874 to Toray Industries, to impregnate a textile sheet with a functional composition in the form of dots. Various functional compositions are suggested including antibiotics, moisture absorbents, water repellents, antistatic agents, ultraviolet rays absorbents, infrared rays absorbents, optical whitening agents, swelling agents, solvents, saponifier, embrittlement agent, inorganic granules, metal granules, magnetic material, flame retardants, resistance, oxidants, reducing agents, perfumes, etc. The document indicates that traditional photogravure roll and screen print methods produce patterns of dots that may be too large, while in spraying techniques, the dot size and quantity of product deposited is difficult to control. The document proposes impregnating a textile with a functional composition in the form of dots, wherein a mean dot diameter is 30 to 500 microns and the occupied area ratio thereof is 3 to 95%. Although the document suggests the use of inkjet printing techniques, it identifies conventional inkjet devices as being unsuitable, in particular due to the high viscosity of traditional coating compositions. The document is concerned primarily with maintaining an identifiable droplet structure and preventing the droplets from running together. Furthermore, the document provides examples regarding the use of solutions but fails to address the problems of inkjet deposition of dispersions or suspensions.
Inkjet printers of various types are generally known for providing graphic images. Such printers may be desktop inkjet printers such as used in the office or home and are generally used for printing onto a particular type of paper substrate (printer paper), using small droplets (<20 pL) of water based inks containing colorants. Larger, industrial inkjet printers also exist for printing graphic images or date/batch codes onto products; these printers are typically printing onto non-porous substrates using solvent based inks containing colorants pigments. Such formulations are not however suitable for application to most textiles in particular due to lack of colour fastness. In order to print onto textiles using inkjet techniques, textile articles have in the past been pretreated with a coating onto which ink droplets may be applied. For upgrading purposes, most currently used coatings and finishing compositions are unsuitable for deposition using inkjet techniques. Industrial inkjet printers and nozzles that produce large droplets are generally designed for use with solvent based, coloured inks. Furthermore, the droplet volumes that can be jetted are extremely low, in the order of 50 pL and mostly insufficient for textile finishing, where a significant penetration into the fabric is necessary. Typical finishing formulations are mostly water based and generally have particle sizes that can cause clogging of the nozzles. Additional problems with foaming, spattering and encrustation have been encountered. When working with large numbers of nozzles operating continuously at up to 100 KHz, reliability and fault free operation are of prime importance. While indicating that conventional inkjet devices are unsuitable for applying finishing compositions, JP61-152874 fails to provide teaching regarding how this could be improved.

Method of depositing materials on a textile substrate


A system and method supplies internet protocol television (IPTV) services to a subscriber. A content management subsystem processes and executes integrated workflow functionality for content management of video data to be delivered from a video headend to a subscriber premises. An infrastructure subsystem performs signal processing and routing of the video data from the video headend across the network to subscriber premises based on subscriber requirements at the subscriber premises. A network management, test and monitoring subsystem is coupled with the content management and infrastructure subsystems and includes test and management equipment and control and monitoring systems equipment for monitoring network performance and controlling the infrastructure subsystem and optimizing network performance and video delivery to the subscriber premises.

High-definition television, computers, set-top boxes and associated personal video recorders (PVR's), gaming consoles, cellular phones and mobile digital media players all receive targeted digital content. These devices are used by millions of consumers at the present time. The capabilities and market penetration are large and will soon increase dramatically.
Typically, these device owners subscribe to various content delivery services, for example, a cable or satellite provider, a high definition (HD) broadcaster, a consumer electronics maker or a telephone company. As customers become increasingly technology-savvy, living in a wireless, time-shifted world, they desire content delivered to whichever device they choose and whenever they desire. Thus, the demands on providers are increasing.
As a result, internet protocol television (IPTV) is becoming increasingly popular and promises to meet many of these future demands by targeting individual subscribers with interactive content and delivering the content to them using multiple services. Many of the current IPTV services, however, do not offer a comprehensive portfolio of total content delivery solutions for building a scaleable, interoperable, cost-effective IPTV architecture. Also, as the media and entertainment industry move to an information technology (IT) model, customers face a learning curve to integrate new revenue-generating business models with an evolving back office. The intelligent management of news, insterstitial material, and long- and short-form programming desirably includes digital news gathering, such that broadcasters and content originators can support end-to-end news gathering and provide shared access to content for different servers. It is possible to leverage industry standards, for example, a media object server (MOS) communication protocol for use in such systems.
An IPTV network would desirably have software modules and associated infrastructure or equipment to manage content delivery and video transport, and monitor the network to maintain quality of service. Some type of localized ad insertion is desirable to reach tightly segmented audiences with localized versions of branded programming. It is also desirable to automate the business rules associated with finding, managing, and distributing digital content along with permutations of the same content to different subscribers. This requires a comprehensive, interoperable, and scaleable number of sub-systems that can operate together in a seamless manner.

System and method for controlling content and delivery of internet protocol television (IPTV) services


A surgical template and method for drilling osteotomies (e.g., holes in a jawbone) and installing one or more dental implants using a surgical template assembly. The surgical template assembly is provided with one or more drill guides and one or more dental implant guides. The guides are positioned in the surgical template assembly by a computer-driven milling machine interfaced with a computer-generated image of a patient's jawbone and a computer-generated simulation of at least one dental implant so that when the surgical template is placed in the patient's mouth a trajectory of the guides in the surgical template into the patient's jawbone corresponds to a trajectory of the computer-generated simulation of the dental implant into the computer-generated image of the patient's jawbone. Preferably, three fiducial markers, provide positional coordination between the CT scan data, the computer-generated simulation of the dental implant, and the computer-driven milling machine.

The present invention relates to a surgical template assembly and method for drilling and installing dental implants. More particularly, the invention relates a surgical template assembly and method for precisely drilling and installing dental implants using a surgical template assembly having one or more drill guides and one or more dental implant guides. The guides are located in the surgical template assembly by a computer-driven milling machine interfaced with computer-generated images of a patient's jawbone and a superimposed computer-generated simulation of one or more dental implants so that when the surgical template is placed in the patient's mouth a trajectory of the guides into the patient's jawbone corresponds to a trajectory of the computer-generated simulation of the one or more dental implants into the computer-generated image of the patient's jawbone.
Dental implants are devices which are surgically implanted into the jawbone of a patient in the areas where the patient is missing teeth. These devices mimic the roots of teeth and serve to support prosthetic caps, crowns, bridges or dentures. Dental implants are typically titanium metal-based and are generally cylindrical or screw-shaped in design.
Implants must be placed in a specific position and in alignment to the prospective teeth that they will eventually support. Therefore, the positioning of these dental implants must be precise to enable teeth to be made that will function properly and be esthetic in appearance.
Typically, a dental surgeon, after the gum is moved aside, uses a hand held drill to make a hole/osteotomy in the jawbone at the site that is to receive the dental implant. The hole that is drilled into in the patient's jawbone needs to have a defined trajectory, depth and diameter. These parameters are defined by the anticipated position of the patient's teeth to be replaced and supported by the implant(s), and existing anatomic structures, e.g., jawbone height and width, proximity to nerves, existing tooth roots, and sinus cavities.
It is recommended that a surgical template be used as a guide to assist the surgeon in positioning and angling the dental implant drill during dental implant surgery. However, some surgeons choose not to use a surgical template. Fabrication of a surgical template, which acts as a guide for this drilling procedure, generally includes the following steps:
1) Making a plastic replica of the prospective teeth; and PA1 2) Modifying the plastic replica teeth to allow guidance of the position and angulation of the dental implant drill through the replica teeth. This is accomplished by making hole(s) in the plastic replica teeth in the approximate area where the surgeon anticipates he or she will be placing the implant(s). PA1 1) Making a plastic replica of the prospective teeth to be supported by dental implants; and PA1 2) Placing radiopaque material in and/or on the plastic replica of the prospective teeth. This can be accomplished by applying a radiopaque paint, e.g., barium sulfate acrylic, to the surface of the replica or drilling a groove along the side of the replica and filling the groove with metallic dental filling material. PA1 1) Creating a plastic jaw model from the CT data. PA1 2) Determining the dental implant position manually. For example, by "eyeballing" the prospective implant position, the surgeon, via the use of a hand-held drill, drills a hole into the plastic jaw model. The surgeon then places a dummy implant into that hole. PA1 3) Lack of visualization of the prospective teeth to receive the dental implant support. For example, there is no coordination between prospective tooth position and dental implant position. PA1 4) Transferring the dental implant position to the surgical template by attaching cylinders to the top of dummy implants that were placed into the jawbone model.
If a computed tomography scan (CT scan) is to be taken of the patient's jawbone prior to implant surgery, it is recommended that a CT scan appliance is worn by the patient during the CT scan procedure. However, some surgeons choose to have their patients scanned without the use of a CT scan appliance.
Fabrication of a CT scan appliance generally includes the following steps:
Once the CT scan has been taken with the patient wearing the CT scan appliance, the CT scan data is reformatted via software to create various two-dimensional images, e.g., views along a cross-sectional, an axial, and a panoramic reference planes. A suitable software program to reformat the CT scan data is SIM/PLANT, manufactured by Columbia Scientific Inc. of Columbia, Md. The software program enables the surgeon to perform a dental implant simulation directly onto the reformatted CT scan images. In particular, the surgeon can view the position of the patient's jawbone, the dental implant simulation, and the image of the radiopaque material, e.g., the outline of the plastic replica. The CT scan appliance can now be modified, as described above, so that it becomes a surgical template.
At the time of surgery, the surgeon moves the gum away to expose the patient's jawbone. The surgeon then places the surgical template in the patient's mouth and to the best of his or her ability orients and guides the dental implant drill with the use of the surgical template.
In general, the dental implant drill is inserted through the hole in the surgical template and oriented by "eyeballing" the dental implant drill through the hole in the surgical template into the patient's jawbone. This procedure is not precise. The diameter of the holes made in the surgical template are usually much larger than the diameter of the implant drill bit.
In addition, during dental implant surgery the implant drill is manipulated by hand and in an up and down manner by the surgeon. Specifically, the surgeon "eyeballs" the three-dimensional trajectory/angulation of the implant drill bit relative to the surgical template and adjacent anatomic structures as he drills into the jawbone. The trajectory of the drill can be easily changed in an instant which can ruin the procedure. This aforementioned drilling process is fraught with the potential for many drilling errors which can undermine the success and even result in the failure of the overall procedure.
An attempt to increase the accuracy of locating a dental implant in a patient's jawbone is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,320,529 to Pompa. In particular, Pompa discloses a method of determining dental implant placement position by taking a CT scan of the patient's upper or lower jaw and then fabricating a model of that jaw from the reformatted CT scan data.
The model is made from a clear plastic/acrylic material into which the surgeon then drills a hole by hand. The surgeon then inserts a dental implant replica (a dummy implant) into the hole and inspects the dummy implant position for acceptability by looking at the dummy implant position through the clear model.
A cylinder is then attached to the top of the dummy implant and acrylic is added around the cylinder and on the surface of the jaw model. The acrylic piece with the encased cylinder now becomes a surgical template which rests on top of the patient's jawbone during the actual implant surgery.
Drawbacks with the method disclosed in Pompa include the following:
Thus, there is a need for a novel surgical template assembly and method which reduces, if not eliminates, the errors associated with the surgeon "eyeballing" the proper position and angulation of the drill during the drilling process of dental implant surgery. Furthermore, the novel surgical template assembly is enhanced by a system of interchangeable components for precisely guiding one or more drill bits, burs, bone taps, countersinks, other bone or soft-tissue drilling components, and the dental implant itself during the dental implant surgical procedure.

Surgical template assembly and method for drilling and installing dental implants