Disclosed herein is an apparatus for adjusting applied voltage in a display system using a diffractive optical modulator. The apparatus for adjusting applied voltage can measure the intensity of diffracted light emitted from the diffractive optical modulator, and adjust voltage to be applied to the diffractive optical modulator based on measurement results.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for adjusting applied voltage in a display system using a diffractive optical modulator, which can measure the intensity of diffracted light emitted from the diffractive optical modulator, and adjust voltage to be applied to the diffractive optical modulator based on measurement results.
2. Description of the Related Art
Active research into various Flat Panel Displays (FPDs) has been conducted to develop next generation display devices. Among them, generalized FPDs include Liquid Crystal Displays (LCDs) using the electro-optic characteristics of liquid crystal and Plasma Display Panels (PDPs) using gas discharge.
LCDs are disadvantageous in that the viewing angle thereof is narrow, the response speed thereof is slow, and the manufacturing process thereof is complicated because Thin Film Transistors (TFTs) and electrodes must be formed through a semiconductor manufacturing process.
In contrast, PDPs are advantageous in that the manufacturing process thereof is simple, and is therefore suitable for the implementation of a large-sized screen, but are disadvantageous in that the power consumption thereof is high, the discharge and light emission efficiency thereof is low, and the price thereof is high.
New types of display devices, which can solve the disadvantages of the above-described FPDs, have been developed. Recently, there has been proposed a display device that can display images using micro Spatial Light Modulators (SLMs) that are formed for respective pixels using Micro Electromechanical Systems (hereinafter abbreviated as "MEMSs"), which are based on an ultra-micro machining technology.
The SLMs are converters that are configured to modulate incident light into a spatial pattern corresponding to an electrical or optical input. The incident light may be modulated with respect to phase, intensity, polarization or direction. Optical modulation can be achieved using several materials that have several electro-optic or magneto-optic effects, or material that modulates light through surface deformation.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional open hole-based diffractive optical modulator.
Referring to the drawing, the conventional open hole-based diffractive optical modulator includes a substrate 101.
The open hole-based diffiactive optical modulator further includes an insulating layer 102 that is formed on the substrate 101.
The open hole-based diffractive optical modulator further includes a lower reflective part 103 that is formed on part of the insulating layer 102 and is configured to reflect incident light that passes through the holes 106aa to 106nb of upper reflective parts 106a to 106n and the spaces between the upper reflective parts 106a to 106n.
The open hole-based diffractive optical modulator further includes a pair of side support members 104 and 104′ that allow the lower reflective part 103 to be interposed therebetween, and are formed on the surface of the substrate 101 and spaced apart from each other.
The open hole-based diffractive optical modulator further includes a plurality of laminate support plates 105a to 105n that have side portions supported by the pair of side support members 104 and 104′, are spaced apart from the substrate 101, have central portions movable upward and downward, have holes (not shown) corresponding to the holes 106aa to 106nb formed in the upper reflective parts 106a to 106n at the central portions thereof, and constitute an array.
The open hole-based diffractive optical modulator further includes the upper reflective parts 106a to 106n that are respectively formed at the central portions of the laminate support plates 105a to 105n, have the holes 106aa to 106nb at the centers thereof, so that they reflect some incident light and allow the remaining incident light to pass through the holes 106aa to 106nb, and constitute an array.
The open hole-based diffractive optical modulator further includes a plurality of pairs of piezoelectric layers 110a to 110n and 110a′ to 110n′ that are formed over the laminate support plates 106a to 106n, are spaced apart from each other, are placed over the side support members 104 and 104′, and are configured to move the laminate support plates 106a to 106n upward and downward.
In the piezoelectric layers 110a to 110n and 110a′ to 110n′, when voltage is applied to the lower or first electrode layers 110aa to 110na and 110aa′ to 110na, the piezoelectric material layers 110ab to 110nb and 110ab to 110nb′ and the upper or second electrode layers 110ac to 110nc and 110ac′ to 110nc, the central portions of the laminate support plates 105a to 105n move upward and downward due to the contraction and expansion of the piezoelectric material layers 110ab to 110nb and 110ab′ to 110nb′. Accordingly, the upper reflective parts 106a to 106n move upward and downward. For convenience of description, a unit, including each of the laminate support plates 106a to 106n, each of the upper reflective parts 106a to 106n, and each pair of the piezoelectric layers 110a to 110n and 110a′ to 110n′, is referred to as an element.
Meanwhile, when light is incident on the upper reflective parts 106a to 106n of the open hole-based diffractive optical modulator, the upper reflective parts 106a to 106n reflect part of the incident light and allow the remaining part of the incident light to pass through the holes 106aa to 106nb, and the lower reflective part 103 reflects light that has passed through the holes 106aa to 106nb of the upper reflective parts 106a to 106n.
As a result, the light reflected from the upper reflective parts 106a to 106n and the light reflected from the lower reflective part 103 forms diffracted light having several diffraction coefficients. The intensity of the diffracted light is highest when the difference in height between the upper reflective parts 106a to 106n and the lower reflective part 103 is an odd multiple of λ/4 (where λ is the wavelength of the incident light), and is lowest when the difference in height between the upper reflective parts 106a to 106n and the lower reflective part 103 is an even multiple of λ/4.
FIG. 2 is a partial sectional view of the open hole-based diffractive optical modulator, which is taken along line A-A′ of FIG. 1, and is a sectional view of first upper reflective parts 106a and second upper reflective parts 106b.
In FIG. 2, when the interval between the upper reflective parts 106a and 106b and the lower reflective part 103 formed on the insulating layer is a first interval
      n                          λ    2(where λ is the wavelength of incident light and n is an integer), the intensity of light is lowest. Furthermore, when the interval between the upper reflective parts 106a and 106b and the lower reflective part 103 formed on the insulating layer is a second interval
            λ      4        +                  n                                                  λ            2        ,the intensity of light is highest. Meanwhile, in order to exhibit the highest intensity of light, the first upper reflective parts 106a, indicated by solid lines, must be displaced by l1 or L1, and the second upper reflective parts 106b must be displaced by l2 or L2.
However, there may be a case where the upper reflective parts 106a and 106b are located at locations indicated by the dotted lines, not the initial locations indicated by the solid lines, even when voltage is not applied to the piezoelectric layers 110a, 110a′, 110b and 110b′, due to frequent upward and downward movements over time. In this case, in order to obtain the lowest intensity of light or the highest intensity of light, the first upper reflective parts 106a and 106b must be displaced by l1′ or L1′, and the second upper reflective parts 106b and 106b′ must be displaced by l2′ or L2′.
In conclusion, the amount of displacement of the upper reflective parts 106a to 106n for displaying the lowest intensity of light or the highest intensity of light varies. If voltage is applied without considering the variation in the amount of displacement, the intensity of diffracted light, which is expected to be obtained according to the applied voltage, cannot be obtained, thus resulting in the degradation of picture quality characteristics.
Accordingly, the issues that should be considered in the various applications of the above diffractive optical modulator are that there is a possibility that the relationship between an initially set reference applied voltage and the intensity of light may not be maintained any longer when the material/mechanical deformation of the diffractive optical modulator occurs during the operation thereof, and that voltage must be applied in consideration of the variation in the amount of displacement.

Apparatus for adjusting applied voltage in display system using diffractive optical modulator


A security monitor processing server is disclosed. The server comprises a plurality of processors, a memory, and a security monitor application that, when executed by a first processor checks for a message that requests establishment of a secure communication link between a different server and the server directed to it by the different server. The application sends a request to an operating system (OS) to suspend functionality of the other processors except for the first processor. The application sends a request to the OS to suspend a process executing on the first processor. The application conducts a communication session with the different server. The application, responsive to completion of the communication session sends a request to the OS to allow the other processors to resume functionality. The application sends a request to the OS to resume execution of the suspended process on the first processor.

Some servers may utilize hardware assisted trust, and some servers may not utilize hardware assisted trust. Servers that utilize hardware assisted trust may not be able to communicate with servers that do not utilize hardware assisted trust. Trusted servers may not be able to communicate with servers without trust because the trusted servers have technology that prevents the trusted servers from communicating with the non-trusted servers. The non-trusted servers may not be able to communicate with the trusted servers due to a lack of hardware support for trusted operations that allows the trusted servers to communicate in trust.

System and method of a trusted computing operation mode


A compound represented by the following General Formula (1) is presented. Wherein, in the above General Formula (1), A is a single bond or —C═C— group.

Ultraviolet (UV), which is contained in sunlight, is a light having wavelengths that are shorter than wavelengths of visible light that human being can sense. Components of UV, which can reach to the surface of the earth, are classified into UV-A having wavelengths of 320 to 400 nm (long wavelength UV) and UV-B having wave lengths of 290 to 320 nm (medium wavelength UV). Radiation of such UV causes deteriorations of industrial products such as a breaking of plastic materials, discoloration of paints and the like, as well as causing unignorable damages to human skins.
On the other hand, the concepts for emphasizing the environmental protection and the safety are propagating throughout the world, and applied researches for utilizing biomass, which is typical environmental cycling process, are actively conducted. Lignin is a nature biomass, which, as well as cellulose and hemicellulose, constitutes a plant, and constitutes about 20 to 35% of a lumber. A number of herbaceous plants also include lignin. Lignin provides improved physical strength to the plant cell walls, as well as serving functions for preventing degradations by living substances and/or serving functions for controlling flowability of water by providing hydrophobicity to cell walls. Lignin is an irregular polymer, which has parahydroxyphenyl propane as its basic skeleton and is created by dehydrogenative polymerization of a monolignol having 0 to 2 methoxyl group(s), namely p-coumaryl alcohol, coniferyl alcohol or sinapyl alcohol.
The use of such lignin as a raw material of a UV absorber is examined (Patent Literature 1, Non-Patent Literature 1).
Patent Literature 1 describes that a lignin, which is separated and extracted from a plant material by utilizing microwave and microwave-sensitized catalyst, is employed as a UV absorber.
Non-Patent Literature 1 discloses a report related to dimers contained in degradation product of lignin by CuO oxidation.


A driving lane recognizer 1 is arranged to detect a white line 30 on a driving road 20 on the basis of an image taken of the driving road 20. The driving lane recognizer 1 sets a near region 41 and a far region 42 adjacent to each other along a vehicle traveling direction in the image, detects a length of white line 30 in each of the near region 41 and the far region 42, and determines a type of white line 30 on the basis of the length of white line 30 in the near region 41 and the length of white line 30 in the far region 42. This permits the recognizer to determine the type of white line 30 on the basis of one image and to determine the type of white line 30 without use of past detection data or the like.

One of the conventionally known apparatus for detecting a lane marker on a driving road is a driving lane detector for vehicle arranged to take an image of a state of a driving road with a video camera set in the front part of the vehicle and to detect a type of a white line on the driving road on the basis of the image, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-14595. This is a device that detects candidate points for a white line by image processing of the image and that determines whether the white line is a solid line or a dashed line, based on the white line candidate point data and past detection rate data of white line candidate points.

Driving lane recognizer and driving lane recognizing method


Disclosed herein are short antigenic peptides of MOMP protein from Chlamydia trachomatis. They can be used to stimulate antigenic responses and to diagnose the presence of the bacteria.

Chlamydia trachomatis ("CT") is an intracellular bacteria that is the leading cause of preventable infectious blindness (ocular trachoma) in the developing world and of sexually transmitted disease ("STD") in the United States and certain other parts of the developed world. The estimated annual incidence of CT-caused STD is in the millions. While most CT caused disease can be treated with antibiotics, untreated or inadequately treated infections result in hundreds of thousands of cases of pelvic inflammatory disease each year in the United States, alone. Adverse outcomes of pregnancy, ectopic pregnancy and tubal infertility are among the consequences. Moreover, apparent clearance of infection by a given serovar (serologically distinct strain of CT) can be followed by the infection becoming latent and prolonged or by re-infection. This is important because much CT-caused pathology results from tissue-damaging inflammatory responses of the immune system that are triggered by repeated or prolonged exposures to the whole organism. Therefore, there is a need for: (i) means to detect signs of prior or of persistent covert infection in individuals who have pelvic inflammatory disease or its sequelae listed above; and (ii) means to prevent primary and repeat infections.
Thus, means have been sought to test for CT in humans, to monitor the effectiveness of antibiotic treatment, and to detect signs of covert infection. Means have also been sought to manipulate the immune system (e.g. by vaccination) to prevent CT infections.
Some tests to determine the presence of CT already exist. For example, some DNA hybridization probe tests are known. However, these tests are not well suited to detecting evidence of tissue-damaging immune responses once the number of live organisms becomes small, as in many individuals with CT-caused pathologies.
With respect to vaccines, intact killed bacteria have been tried in human volunteers, but without success (pathological side effects/inadequate protection). The art is also aware that antibody responses are directed at the surface-exposed MOMP of CT. Thus, MOMP has been a focus of vaccine-based research for some time.
Sequence analysis of MOMP has revealed that amino acid sequence variation between serovar isolates accounts for the antigenic diversity of this pathogen. See E. Peterson et al., 18 Nuc. Acids. Res. 3414 (1990) (nucleotide sequence of serovar E) and M. Ishizaki et al., 60 Infect. & Immun. 3714-3718 (1992). The disclosure of these publications, and of all other publications referred herein, are incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.
Unfortunately, whole MOMP is too difficult to isolate from natural CT cultures in large quantities that are sufficiently pure for use in mass vaccination. Larger quantities of recombinant MOMP could theoretically be produced in E. coli, but the chemical properties (e.g. insolubility except in detergents) impede its large scale preparation as a non-toxic vaccine. In any event, use of whole MOMP has too much risk of adverse side effects.
Attempts have therefore been made to develop vaccines based on MOMP fragments. For example, papers have been published describing use of certain peptide fragments of MOMP to raise antigenic responses to certain serovars (A,B,C) in mice. See e.g. H.Su et al., 172 J. Exp. Med. 203-212 (1990) (serovar A); J. Allen et al., 147 J. Immunol. 674-679 (1991) (serovar B); M.Ishizaki et al., 60 Infect. & Immun. 3714-3718 (1992) (serovars B, C); G.Zhong et al., 151 J. Immunol. 3728-3736 (1993) (serovar B).
However, the value of these studies in mouse in identifying potential vaccine components for humans is now known to be very limited. Only one MOMP epitope to which mouse lymphocytes respond may correspond to one of at least nine epitopes that we have found to activate human T lymphocytes. Also, antigenic MOMP fragments identified in these murine experiments even had limited predictive value among mice. In this regard, fragments recognized by the lymphocytes of one strain were often not recognized by other mouse strains.
A. Stagg et al., 79 Immunol. 1-9 (1993) attempted to locate antigenic fragments in serovar L in human cell experiments. They exposed, in vitro, T-cells from naive individuals to five peptides and looked for proliferation responses. They identified a strong antigenic region "213-224" partially overlapping a variable (serovar specific region of serovar L), as well as several weakly antigenic fragments "116-127", "135-146" and "274-285".
Apart from serovar specificity issues, humans have a variety of MHC class II types, each type determining the specific antigenic groups to which an individual's immune system can respond. Thus, what is antigenic for one human MHC type, may not be antigenic for others. This is a particularly troubling problem for those seeking to develop vaccines for the human population in general.
As such, a need exists for short antigenic MOMP fragments that are present in most or all Chlamydia trachomatis serovars and also are recognized by most human MHC types.

Antigenic peptides of Chlamydia trachomatis


A phased array monopole antenna has a single layer membrane upon which a plurality of antenna units are attached. Each antenna unit has a flexible curved antenna blade which bends over or springs up when the membrane is rolled or unrolled on a drum.

The present invention relates to phased array radar technology, and, more particularly, relates to a space-fed phased array radar antenna employing the window shade deployment technique for use in a space-based radar.
The current state-of-the-art technology includes a window shade deployed space-fed phased array radar antenna which is particularly suited for use in space. The rolled antenna is advantageous because it minimizes storage space aboard a spacecraft, such as a satellite, where available space is at a minimum. This is because, when in a stowed position, it minimizes the amount of space required in a launch vehicle. When the spacecraft achieves a selected orbit, the antenna is deployed and the window shade structure is unrolled to a fully expanded operative condition. Such an antenna may consist of a low to medium power RF feed which illuminates a lens aperture membrane. Active transmit/receive (T/R) modules in the aperture membrane receive radar pulses from the feed, perform beam-steering phase shifts, amplify them and re-transmit the signal towards a target of interest on the ground or in the air.
The reflected energy is received in reverse order, being amplified by the T/R modules and then focused back into the space feed. Radar processors and the supporting subsystems are part of the satellite bus and may be located in the feed or at the base of a feed mast. In line with current technology, the aperture consists of a tensioned membrane consisting of three separate equally spaced layers, which provides for a very lightweight, yet sufficiently flat, aperture plane. Array flatness requirements for the space-fed approach are less severe than for corporate-fed approaches by an order of magnitude. The membrane aperture can be rolled up onto a drum, resulting in a simple, compact, and repeatable method for deployment and retraction of the antenna.
Although this technique may seem appropriate, there are several potential problems with the technology. First of all, although the three-layer membrane conforms to the weight and flatness requirements necessary for a space-fed lens space-based radar, it is extremely complex to manufacture. This is due primarily to the three separate layers inherent in the design, as well as the many different parts and connections necessary between these parts. The layers are equally spaced on depoloyment (separated by 1/4 wavelength) and come together when stowed. Electronics embedded in the middle layer must be connected to the antenna elements on the outside layers. This also adversely affects the performance reliability of the radar. Another area of concern is the type of antenna radiating element used--a dipole. The antenna pattern of a monopole is much more applicable for a space-based radar mission. Thus, there is a need to develop a monopole antenna structure for use in space-based radars.

Self-deployable phased array radar antenna

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Air Force


Compositions having good low temperature impact performance made from a thermoplastic (e.g., a polyolefin such as polypropylene) and either at least one linear ethylene/C.sub.5 -C.sub.20 .alpha.-olefin or at least one substantially linear ethylene/C.sub.3 -C.sub.20 .alpha.-olefin polymer are disclosed. The compositions are easily molded and have particular utility in making automotive facia, parts and other household articles.

Many different polymers and materials have been added to specific polymers to enhance the impact strength of the overall composition. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,118,753 (Hikasa et al.), incorporated herein by reference, discloses thermoplastic elastomer compositions said to have low hardness and excellent flexibility and mechanical properties consisting essentially of a mixture of an oil-extended olefinic copolymer rubber and an olefinic plastic. The olefinic plastic is polypropylene or a copolymer of polypropylene and an .alpha.-olefin of 2 or more carbon atoms. Modern Plastics Encyclopedia/89, mid October 1988 Issue, Volume 65, Number 11, pp. 110-117, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, also discusses the use of various thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) useful for impact modification. These include: elastomeric alloys TPEs, engineering TPEs, olefinic TPEs (also known as thermoplastic olefins or TPOs), polyurethane TPEs and styrenic TPEs.
Thermoplastic olefins (TPOs) are generally produced from blends of an elastomeric material such as ethylene/propylene rubber (EPM) or ethylene/propylene diene monomer terpolymer (EPDM) and a more rigid material such as isotactic polypropylene. Other materials or components can be added into the formulation depending upon the application, including oil, fillers, and cross-linking agents. Generally, TPOs are characterized by a balance of stiffness (modulus) and low temperature impact, good chemical resistance and broad use temperatures. Because of features such as these, TPOs are used in many applications, including automotive facia and wire and cable operations.
Union Carbide Chemicals and Plastics Inc. announced in 1990 that they have developed a new cost effective class of polyolefins trademarked Flexomer.TM. Polyolefins that could replace expensive EPM or EPDM rubbers. These new polyolefins are said to have bridged the gap between rubbers and polyethylene, having moduli between the two ranges. Modulus of the rubber and of the formulation is not, however, the only criteria for evaluating a TPO formulation. Low temperature impact performance, sometimes measured by Gardner Impact at -30.degree. C. also is critical to a TPO composition's performance. According to the data contained in FIG. 4 of the paper "Flexomer.TM. Polyolefins: A Bridge Between Polyethylene and Rubbers" by M. R. Rifi, H. K. Ficker and M. A. Corwin, more of the Flexomer.TM. Polyolefin needs to be added into the TPO formulation in order to reach the same levels of low temperature Gardner Impact performance as the standard EPM rubber, thus somewhat negating the benefits of the lower cost EPM/EPDM replacement. For example, using the data of FIG. 4 of the Rifi et al paper, about 20% (by weight) of the EPM in polypropylene gives a Gardner Impact of about 22 J. at -30.degree. C., while the same amount of Flexomer.TM. Polyolefin gives a -30.degree. C. Gardner Impact of about 13 J.
In a paper presented on Sep. 24, 1991 at the 1991 Specialty Polyolefins Conference (SPO '91) (pp. 43-55) in Houston, Tex., Michael P. Jeffries (Exxpol Ethylene Polymers Venture Manager of Exxon Chemical Company) also reports that Exxon's Exact.TM. polymers and Plastomers can be blended into polypropylene for impact modification. Exxon Chemical Company, in the Preprints of Polyolefins VII International Conference, page 45-66, Feb. 24-27 1991, also disclose that the narrow molecular weight distribution (NMWD) resins produced by their EXXPOL.TM. technology have higher melt viscosity and lower melt strength than conventional Ziegler resins at the same melt index. In another recent publication, Exxon Chemical Company has also taught that NMWD polymers made using a single site catalyst create the potential for melt fracture ("New Specialty Linear Polymers (SLP) For Power Cables," by Monica Hendewerk and Lawrence Spenadel, presented at IEEE meeting in Dallas, Tex., September, 1991).
It is well known that narrow molecular weight distribution linear polymers disadvantageously have low shear sensitivity or low I.sub.10 /I.sub.2 value, which limits the extrudability of such polymers. Additionally, such polymers possessed low melt elasticity, causing problems in melt fabrication such as film forming processes or blow molding processes (e.g., sustaining a bubble in the blown film process, or sag in the blow molding process etc.). Finally, such resins also experienced surface melt fracture properties at relatively low extrusion rates thereby processing unacceptably and causing surface irregularities in the finished product.
Thus, while the development of new lower modulus polymers such as Flexomer.TM. Polyolefins by Union Carbide or Exact.TM. polymers by Exxon has aided the TPO marketplace, there continues to be a need for other more advanced, cost-effective polymers for compounding into polypropylene which improve or maintain low temperature impact performance and modulus.


To efficiently decide input data of an API to be executed and indicate a candidate for an API to be executed, a tool for testing a scenario which sequentially executes a plurality of APIs includes an API test control unit that stores, with the execution of the API, sequence data indicating an execution sequence of the APIs and input and output data in a test information database via an API sequence registering unit. Association data indicating association of input and output data between the APIs is also stored in the test information database via an association registering unit. Responsively, the API test control unit displays a candidate API list indicating one or more candidates for an API to be executed next based on the sequence data, and decides the input data of the API to be executed next based on the association data.

Techniques for improving developers' working efficiency in each stage of system development have been proposed. For example, Japanese Published Patent Application No. 2000-235485 discloses a method of reducing the workload by creating a scenario based on a degree of association between a use case and an API in the system designing stage using APIs.
Moreover, in a stage of testing a system, a tool for performing an interactive API test by means of GUI (Graphical User Interface) has been used. According to such a tool, an API is executed by manually inputting the respective input data (parameters) or reading a file in which the input data have been registered beforehand. In addition, input data and output data can be stored in files, and/or comparison of test data can be performed.
However, if the number of input data for an API and the number of digits thereof are large, the input data may be erroneously entered, and correction thereof may take time. In such a situation, no method has been provided to automatically use the input and output data of the executed APIs as the input data of the succeeding APIs even when there are associations of input and output data between a plurality of APIs (e.g., output data of a previous API becomes input data of a succeeding API).
Further, in the test of software which executes a plurality of APIs according to business processing (scenario), it is difficult to appropriately select an API depending on a situation from among a large number of APIs. Although the method described in Japanese Published Patent Application No. 2000-235485 can extract a scenario associated with the API from information on a given use case, no method is provided to indicate a candidate for a succeeding API in generating and testing a new scenario.

Testing scenarios that sequentially execute a plurality of application program interfaces

International Business Machines Corporation


A hand-operable system for ejecting a fluid composition into an eye, the system including: (1) a container having a container opening and containing the fluid composition; (2) a double-acting pump mechanism securely disposed over the container opening; and (3) an actuator that is disposed over, and extends radially outward from, the pump mechanism, for actuating the pump mechanism by applying a force thereon, wherein the pump mechanism includes a passage for the fluid composition, and the passage is positively sealed off when the application of the force is discontinued.

The present invention relates to an ergonomic hand-operable fluid-dispensing device. In particular, the present invention relates to an ergonomic hand-operable double-acting system for administering a fluid composition to an eye.
Ophthalmic disorders often require topical administration of fluid compositions to the affected eye. The patient often must administer the medication on herself or himself. Typically, eye drops are simply contained in a squeezable multi-use bottle from which the eye drops are dispensed through a simple bored-through nozzle. However, such a squeezable multi-use bottle presents the risk of contamination of the medication remaining in the bottle because the liquid that is not ejected completely from the nozzle after each use tends to flow back into the bottle when air is drawn in.
A device that can minimize or eliminate such risk of contamination employs a double-acting pump for ejecting the liquid from a bottle. One such device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,851,583, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. However, the use of this device in the upside-down position for self administration of an eye drop is quite awkward, especially for patients with less flexibility.
Therefore, there is a continued need to provide a more ergonomic hand-operable device for self administration of a fluid composition into an eye. Moreover, it is also very desirable to provide such a device to patients with less flexibility to encourage compliance with the required treatment.

Ergonomic hand-operable fluid-dispensing device


A mold lock and a method of forming the mold lock are provided. The mold lock is used in an encapsulated semiconductor device and includes a neck and a shaped head integral with the neck. The mold lock can be formed to project above a support component, such as a heat spreader, of the semiconductor device and the neck is formed from the support component. The shaped head is of a greater dimension than the neck and can present a “T” shape in side view or a “Y” shape in side view. A base portion of the neck is seated within the support component. A method is provided for forming the described mold lock.

It is well known to encapsulate integrated circuit (IC) devices in packages in order to protect the device and to provide connective leads for coupling terminals of the IC device to, for example, a printed circuit (PC) board.
The packaged IC devices commonly include a support surface, a singulated die attached to the support surface with a die adhesive, conductive leads attached to the die, and an encapsulant surrounding at least the die and portions of the conductive leads. The encapsulant functions to prevent ingress of moisture, secure leads to the die, and assist in securing the die to the substrate. In certain devices, it is known to provide mold locks on a surface of the substrate. The mold locks are intended to aid in securing encapsulant to the substrate.
Known mold locks can be in the form of a dimple on a surface of a substrate and also as a "v"-shaped groove or notch formed into the surface of the substrate. The dimple can be formed by, for example, etching or deposition as known in the art. Similarly, the v-shaped groove can be formed by etching, cutting, or otherwise notching a surface of the substrate. An encapsulant surrounds the dimple or fills the v-shaped groove.


Non-limiting examples of the present disclosure describe surfacing a representation of digital artifacts for a user. An operation context associated with a user is identified. The operational context may correspond with an electronic document that is accessed through a productivity application. One or more of a plurality of digital artifacts may be identified based on the identified operational context. An exemplary representation of the one or more digital artifacts is surfaced through a user interface. An exemplary user interface may be a user interface of a productivity application, for example, where the electronic document is being accessed through the productivity application. In alternative examples, an exemplary user interface may be associated with a home service that is executed in association with an operating system (OS). In some instances, an operational context may change resulting in an update to an exemplary representation of digital artifacts. Other examples are also described.

When end-users interact with productivity applications they typically interact with several different types of content that may be provided through different applications or services. For example, a user may email other people while working on a document, consult a webpage, and/or work with other digital content. Re-creation of a previous context can be difficult and time consuming for a user. Typically, the user performs ad-hoc memory recall while attempting to re-create a previous context. In doing so, the user has too try and remember things such as: where it last left off, types of applications/services previously accessed at the time a productivity application was being used, context in which the types of content were being used and task items that need to be completed. From a more technical perspective, ad-hoc methods as described above can waste computing resources, such as processing cycles and battery power, while a user searches for the right digital content to recreate a previous context.
As such, examples of the present application are directed to the general technical environment related to automatically surfacing of digital artifacts based on an operational context associated with a user.

Recall service for productivity applications


A uniquely configured rotating seal tooth is used in conjunction with commonly used labyrinth-type seals that provide a seal between a rotating component and a stationary component. The uniquely configured rotating seal tooth produces a compression mechanism to counter leakage flow through the labyrinth of seal teeth, thereby lessening the pressure gradient that drives leakage and reversing the direction of some of the leakage flow.

The present invention relates to a unique seal structure for improving axial sealing of secondary air flow in the wheel spaces of gas turbines.
Obtaining high performance levels in a gas turbine requires minimizing leakages of secondary air throughout the wheel spaces. This presents a challenge since the sealing mechanism must be devised to provide a means to effectively seal between rotating components (buckets/blades/disks/spacers) and stationary components (nozzles/vanes/diaphragms). It is common practice to use labyrinth type seals which restrict the area where the leakage might occur and also create a series of pressure loss mechanisms to further reduce the flow of air leakage. Different arrangements of labyrinth seal teeth have been used, some aligned circumferentially, some staggered circumferentially. Also, different numbers of seal teeth are commonly used in series to provide additional pressure losses and further reduce leakage when needed.
The labyrinth seal teeth can be designed to interfere with and cut into the opposing wall, which is usually honeycomb or an alternative abradable material, to provide a minimal gap and leakage area during operation. However, most large gas turbines experience additional closure during hot start-up transients which results in the seal teeth cutting deeper into the abradable wall during the transient start but then opening to expose an enlarged gap during steady state operation.
Another method to seal between the rotating and stationary components used along with labyrinth seals is to install brush seals in series. Brush seals can further reduce leakages, but they are costly and increase the complexity of the gas turbine. Also, there is a limited length that the brush seal bristles can be extended beyond the housing that contains them, and if the transient closure is too large, brush seals cannot be used without risk of a hard rub between the brush seal housing and the rotating components.

Labyrinth compression seal and turbine incorporating the same


A recording and reproducing apparatus which can prevent deterioration of the picture quality from being caused by an overshoot, a ringing or a noise component when, using a video tape recorder which can process two kinds of video signals having different aspect ratios, a video signal having a greater one of the aspect ratios is reflected on a television set. The recording and reproducing apparatus comprises a peaking circuit for adding an overshoot or a ringing to a video signal, a noise canceller circuit for cancelling noise from the video signal and a comb line filter for removing noise from the video signal. The peaking circuit, the noise canceller circuit and the comb line filter are capable of changing over the peaking frequency, the noise cancelling characteristic and the comb line filter characteristic thereof, respectively, in accordance with an aspect ratio of the video signal.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a recording and reproducing apparatus which can record and reproduce two kinds of video signals having different aspect ratios.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, television sets normally have an aspect ratio of 4:3 as seen from FIG. 9(a). Accordingly, video apparatus which are connected in use to a television set, such as, for example, video tape recorders, are produced so as to match the aspect ratio.
On the other hand, high definition television sets which have been developed recently include a number of scanning lines equal to twice that of conventional television sets and have a different aspect ratio of 16:9 as seen from FIG. 9(b). Accordingly, a video image which is high in picture quality and provides the feeling of presence can be obtained on a high definition television set. However, since high definition television sets are considerably expensive in the present condition, television sets having the same number of scanning lines of 525 as that of conventional television sets but having the different aspect ratio of 16:9 are produced.
Consequently, also video tape recorders are required to treat a video signal wherein the number of scanning lines is 525 and the aspect ratio is 16:9. However, since television sets having the aspect ratio of 4:3 prevail in the present condition, video tape recorders which can record and reproduce both of a video signal having the aspect ratio of 4:3 and another video signal having the aspect ratio of 16:9 are produced.
In a video tape recorder of the type just described, aspect ratio information for the distinction between the aspect ratios of 4:3 and 16:9 is recorded in a superimposed condition at a control portion or a vertical blanking portion of a video signal.
A video tape recorder which can record and reproduce two different video signals having the different aspect ratios in this manner is normally constructed such that video signals having the different aspect ratios are processed in the same transmission band.
In a video tape recorder of the type described above, when a video signal having the aspect ratio of 4:3 as seen in FIG. 9(a) is to be recorded, a predetermined overshoot is added in order to emphasize a contour of an image as seen from FIG. 10(a).
On the other hand, when another video signal having the aspect ratio of 16:9 as seen in FIG. 9(b) is to be recorded, since it is recorded in the same transmission band as a video signal having the aspect ratio of 4:3 as described above, the video signal is reduced in the horizontal direction as seen from FIG. 10(b) and an overshoot similar to that which is added to a video signal having the aspect ratio of 4:3 is added to the video signal.
As seen in FIG. 11(a), the width A of an overshoot when a video signal having the aspect ratio of 4:3 is reflected on a television set is set to a value at which the picture quality is not deteriorated. However, if a video signal having the aspect ratio of 16:9 is reflected in this condition on the television set as seen in FIG. 11(b), the image is expanded in the horizontal direction, and also the width B of the overshoot is expanded in the horizontal direction. Consequently, the picture quality is deteriorated.
A similar phenomenon occurs not only in overshoot but also in any other factor of the picture quality such as a ringing or a noise component.

Recording and/or reproducing apparatus with peaking frequency dependent on aspect ratio


A polarimetric transceiver front-end includes two receive paths configured to receive signals from an antenna, each receive path corresponding to a respective polarization. Each front-end includes a variable amplifier and a variable phase shifter; a first transmit path configured to send signals to the antenna, where the transmit path is connected to the variable phase shifter of one of the two receive paths and includes a variable amplifier; and a transmit/receive switch configured to select between the first transmit path and the two receive paths for signals, where the transmit/receive switch includes a quarter-wavelength transmission line that adds a high impedance to the transmit path when the transmit/receive switch is in a receiving state.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to millimeter-wave transmitters and receivers and, more particularly, to polarimetric phased array millimeter-wave transceivers.
2. Description of the Related Art
Millimeter-wave (mmWave) communications provide large bandwidth, short wavelengths, and the ability to operate in dusty and foggy conditions. As a result, mmWave systems are attractive for high data rate communications and high-resolution imaging applications. These features can be further bolstered by the use of dual-polarization communications, which are advantageous in to imaging systems with degraded visibility.
Current integrated phased array systems do not support dual-polarization communications, are not flexible enough to support multiple applications, and are not scalable to large numbers of elements. Non-integrated solutions for using dual-polarization communication in mmWave systems are based on discrete electrical and mechanical modules and add significant weight and size.

Scalable polarimetric phased array transceiver

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


The present disclosure is directed to a retail box and a method of making a retail box. Retail boxes in accordance with the present disclosure are manufactured beginning with paper, which is rolled on a core. Two halves of the box, or “half-boxes,” are first produced, and then brought together to form a complete box.

Retail boxes are used widely by companies and individuals to package retail items for shipping to customers. Typically, the manufacture and assembly of a retail box is divided between two processes or machines that may be associated with different service providers or companies. Specifically, a retail box is first manufactured from raw materials, such as cardboard. This manufacturing process or step may occur using a dedicated machine that may be associated with a dedicated plant or company, which provides this service or manufacturing step. Secondly, the retail box is opened or assembled into a usable configuration. This step may be performed by a second dedicated machine, which may be located at a separate facility from the facility that had manufactured the retail box. This two-step process can lead to inefficiencies and added costs that may be born by companies or individuals who purchase a retail box.
Retail boxes are generally sold in an assembled condition. A purchaser of a retail box will typically purchase a particular quantity of retail boxes, which remain on hand for use in shipping. As can be appreciated, a company that ships a large volume of retail items may require a large inventory of retail boxes to be on hand to meet the needs of shipping various retail items. Maintaining a large inventory of retail boxes can have disadvantages, such as the need to pay taxes on the maintained inventory and space requirements associated with storing the quantity of retail boxes. Additionally, standard retail boxes are damaged easily when impacted by crumbling or tearing.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to have a system and method for manufacturing retail boxes that combine the manufacture and opening and/or assembly of the boxes together in one process. Additionally, it would be desirable to have a system and method of making retail boxes that allows retail boxes to be manufactured at the point of use; therefore, reducing the quantity of retail boxes that need to be maintained as inventory or substantially eliminating the need to maintain an inventory of boxes, thereby making available resources to more productive activities. Additionally, it would be desirable to have a system and method for manufacturing retail boxes that produces boxes that are more resilient to impact, having glued flaps that are able to bend or recoil and fully recover from impacts. Additionally, it would be desirable to have a system and method for manufacturing retail boxes where the box is made from substrate that is inline printable, allowing custom printing to be performed during manufacture of the box, leading to faster time to market. Additionally, it would be desirable to have a system and method for manufacturing retail boxes where the box is made from a substrate that is substantially thinner than materials used to make current retail boxes, which is a desirable economic and ecological feature.

Retail boxes and method of manufacturing retail boxes


The invention is directed to compounds that are P2X7 antagonist and have the formula (I) or (II)

This invention relates to aminotriazole analogues that are antagonists of P2X7 receptors, and to the use of such compounds for treating conditions related to P2X7 receptor activation.
P2X receptors are ionotropic receptors activated by ATP. The importance of P2X receptors in nociception is underscored by the variety of pain states in which this endogenous ligand can be released. Of the seven P2X receptors, the P2X7 is distinguished by its ability to form a large pore upon prolonged or repeated agonist stimulation. It is partially activated by saturating concentrations of ATP, whereas it is fully activated by the synthetic ATP analog benzoylbenzoic ATP (BzATP) (Bianchi et al., Eur. J. Pharmacol. Vol. 376, pages 127-138, 1999). The P2X7 receptor is expressed by presynaptic terminals in the central and peripheral nervous systems, antigen-presenting cells including macrophages, human epidermal Langerhans' cells, microglial cells and a number of tumor cell lines of varying origin (Jacobson K A, et al. "Adenosine and Adenine Nucleotides: From Molecular Biology to Integrative Physiology". L. Belardinelli and A. Pelleg (eds.), Kluwer, Boston, pages 149-166, 1995).
Recent studies demonstrated the participation of P2X7 receptors in the modulation of electrical stimulation and ATP-evoked GABA and glutamate release from mouse hippocampal slices (Papp et al., Neuropharmacolozy and Neurotoxicology Vol. 15, pages 2387-2391, 2004)). In the central nervous system, the P2X7 receptor is predominately expressed by microglia, the resident macrophages of the brain. On glial cells, the P2X7 receptor has been shown to mediate release of glutamate (Anderson C. et al. Drug Dev. Res. Vol. 50. page 92, 2000). Upregulation of the P2X7 receptor, most likely on activated microglia, was reported in association with ischemic damage and necrosis induced by occlusion of middle cerebral artery in rat brain (Collo G. et al. Neuropharmacology, Vol. 36, pages 1277-1283, 1997). Recent studies indicate a role of the P2X7 receptor in the generation of superoxide in microglia, and upregulation of P2X7 receptors around β-amyloid plaques in a transgenic mouse model for Alzheimer's disease (Parvathenani et al., J. Biol. Chemistry, Vol. 278, pages 13300-13317, 2003) and in multiple sclerosis lesions from autopsy brain sections (Narcisse et al., Glia. Vol. 49, pages 245-258 (2005).
Activation of the P2X7 receptor on cells of the immune system (macrophages, mast cells and lymphocytes) leads to release of interleukin-1β (IL-1β), giant cell formation, degranulation, and L-selectin shedding. ATP has been shown to increase local release and processing of IL-1β following lipopolysaccharide S (LPS) intraperitoneal injections in rats through a P2X7 receptor mediated mechanism (Griffiths et al., J. Immunology Vol. 154, pages 2821-2828 (1995); Solle et al., J. Biol. Chemistry. Vol. 276, pages 125-132, (2001)).
Oxidized ATP (oATP), a nonselective and irreversible P2X7 antagonist, was recently reported to possess peripherally mediated antinociceptive properties in inflamed rats (Dell'Antonio et al. Neuroscience Lett., Vol. 327, pages 87-90, 2002). Activation of P2X7 receptors localized on presynaptic terminals in the central and peripheral nervous systems (Deuchars et al J. Neuroscience, Vol. 21, pages 7143-7152, 2001) induced release of the excitatory amino acid neurotransmitter glutamate.
Studies from mice lacking the P2X7 receptor resulted in absence of inflammatory and neuropathic hypersensitivity to mechanical and thermal stimuli, indicating a link between a P2X7 purinoceptor gene and inflammatory and neuropathic pain (Chessell et al., Pain, Vol 114, pages 386-396 (2005)).
Antagonists to the P2X7 receptor significantly improved functional recovery and decreased cell death in spinal cord injury (SCI) animal models. Rats with SCI were administered P2X7 receptor irreversible antagonists oATP and PPADS with a resulting decrease of histological injury and improved recovery of motor function after the lesions (Wang et al., Nature Medicine Vol. 10, pages B21-B27, 2004).
Taken together, these findings indicate that compounds acting at the P2X7 receptor may have utility in the treatment of pain, including neuropathic pain, inflammatory processes, and degenerative conditions associated with disease states such as rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, psoriasis, allergic dermatitis, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, airways hyper-responsiveness, septic shock, glomerulonephritis, irritable bowel disease, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, atherosclerosis, growth and metastases of malignant cells, myoblastic leukemia, diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, meningitis, osteoporosis, bum injury, ischemic heart disease, stroke and varicose veins.
In view of the above facts, there is a need for selective P2X7 antagonist that can be efficiently used in preventing, treating, or ameliorating states as neuropathic pain, chronic inflammatory pain, inflammation and neurodegenerative conditions associated with several progressive CNS disorders, including, but not limited to, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, depression, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Huntington's disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, multiple sclerosis as well as diminished CNS function resulting from traumatic brain injury.

Abstract: or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt, prodrug, salt of a prodrug or a combination thereof, wherein R1, R2, and R3 are defined in the specification. The invention is also directed to a method of selectively inhibiting P2X7 activity comprising administering to a patient in need of such treatment a therapeutically effective amount of a compound of formula (III), (IV) or (V)

Abstract: wherein R6, R7, R8, R9, R10, and R11 are defined in the specification.


The invention provides a method which involves inserting probe packets on a per service basis for transmission on a respective round trip; and for each service using the probe packets to calculate packet latency for probe packets which is representative of packet latency for all packets transmitted for the service. In some embodiments, data plane time stamps are used to accurately time probe latency. The invention also provides a method which involves inserting probe packets on a per service basis for transmission on a respective destination network element; and at the destination network element for a given service using the probe packets to calculate one way packet loss for the service.

With today's more complex networks ranging from corporate intranets and extranets to the Internet itself, there is tremendous pressure from telecom service providers as well as end customers to establish fully defined and measurable levels of service that can be directly affiliated with users or user groups. Most corporate intranets and metropolitan networks are built with the familiar IP routing protocol. IP, which transmits packets asynchronously, is a connectionless protocol that provides no guarantees about the timeliness or relative order of the packets. It is difficult to identify traffic congestion and network delays caused by malfunctioning network hardware. Telecom transmission links are inherently constrained by bandwidth. If packets are placed into the transmission queue faster than they are actually transported, packets usually will be delayed and some might eventually be dropped. It is difficult for carriers and ISPs to quantify these discarded packets and determine what are acceptable packet transmission delay thresholds on a per-customer basis.
Many high profile telecom service customers such as investment banks and government agencies are thirsting for definitive service level guarantees so that the appropriate telecom service level can be purchased for the transport of various types of mission-critical information.
The questions of how often can network packets be lost before the network service becomes useless, and how much delay is too long are some of the questions that telecom service users are asking the service carriers in an attempt to shore up definitive service guarantees and hold the carriers liable should the service agreements be violated. These questions do not have inherently right or wrong answers. If a network carrying mostly e-mail is out of service for an hour, some might not even notice. But for a system performing credit card validations, being out of service for an hour at a retail store could cause consumer protests. All networks have varying service qualities from time to time as traffic comes and goes. This is where the idea of Service Level Agreements (SLA) enters. SLAs are essentially promises on the part of the network service provider to each major user group that the level of service provided by the network will be within the bounds established by the SLAs. While 100% uptime may be every telecom service users' goal, 99% to 99.999% are more realistic averages. One key element of network SLAs is to stipulate the penalties for downtime during critical business hours. For instance, downtime at 2 a.m. may not disrupt the typical enterprise's business, but it could be unsatisfactory for an e-commerce application. Typically, compensation takes the form of service fee refund or free service for a pre-agreed upon number of days. Another key part of guaranteeing network service is the connection SLA, which basically means acceptable data losses and data latency (or data delays). According to a recent study by the telecommunications industry, it was found that a very small number of service providers actually detailed provisions for data loss (which results from data packets being dropped in congested networks) and data latency in their SLAs. To illustrate the range of acceptable data loss rates, one has to understand that for real-time applications such as Voice over IP, a data loss rate of 1% could prevent the application from operating effectively. On the other hand, a packet loss rate in the 5 percent range is quite acceptable for typical Internet browsing. Network SLAs are specified and quantified by the Quality of Service that an individual service customer can purchase. The QoS architecture is considered vital in maximizing network utilization while providing diverse service guarantees.
The underlying network hardware and software responsible for "policing" and allocating the appropriate resources for the Service Level Agreements should supplement the existing collection of Operations, Administration, Maintenance and Protection services currently in place on each network element for providing network metrics. In other words, the infrastructure needed for SLA implementation typically resides on the network element itself or some portion thereof.
Even though some current network equipment undergoes strenuous seismic, weather and extreme thermal tests to assure the high reliability of the hardware components which translates into network uptimes as high as 99.999% during the operational life of the network equipment, these hardware tests could not reveal real-time network delay as well as the packet drop counts (thus no method of formulating connection SLAs) during periods of network congestion. It would be advantageous to have an effective way of accurately determining transmission delay and packet drop data on a per-customer basis. The ability to define connection SLAs based on concrete data would give these telecom carriers a competitive advantage because it clearly delineates the type of service that an individual customer should be expecting.

Method and system of measuring latency and packet loss in a network by using probe packets


A storage unit/workstation is described which allows efficient storage and use of several rolls of package wrapping material in conjunction with the tools needed to perform such wrapping. The storage unit/workstation includes a cabinet wherein the rolls of wrapping material are mounted to allow the wrapping material to be dispensed by unspooling it from the rolls. A working platform is situated below the cabinet so that the user may place a package on the platform and wrap it with wrapping material pulled from the cabinet. The platform may be stowed when not in use.

In businesses where gift or package wrapping is performed, wrapping is often time-consuming owing to the need to collect and organize various tools and materials—wrapping paper, tape, scissors, bows, labels, writing implements, etc.—and then use them to wrap or otherwise operate upon the gift or package. Additionally, the act of wrapping a package or gift wrapping is space intensive. This is problematic since in package shipping stores, wherein packages of various shapes and sizes must be wrapped and labeled for delivery, space is at a premium. To maintain low overhead, these businesses tend to be housed in small retail locations wherein it may be difficult to reserve suitable counter space for wrapping, and/or to situate wrapping materials readily at hand. These businesses also depend on quick turn-around time for wrapping packages, which can be burdensome owing to the space constraints. It is difficult to store the necessary tools within easy reach, particularly since the wrapping tools and materials tend to get "lost" during the wrapping process as they are covered up by the wrapping paper and/or are shifted around during the wrapping process. The act of wrapping is often difficult to perform with two hands; for instance, if it is necessary to hold the package and wrapping paper together with two hands, no hands may be free to reach tape or other materials needed for the next step of the wrapping process.
People who work on crafts and holiday gift-wrapping in their homes encounter many of the same problems as noted above. It would therefore be helpful to have a storage unit available for the various wrapping materials wherein the unit not only stores the materials, but also keeps them readily at hand and dispenses them, and also serves as a convenient workstation wherein wrapping may be performed without the need to clear a counter, table, or other work area that may already be occupied by other tasks.

Compact storage unit and workstation for rolled and/or coiled materials


The present invention provides methods of reducing angiogenesis in an individual. The methods generally involve administering to the individual an effective amount of a nicotinic acetyl choline receptor antagonist. The methods are useful to treat conditions associated with or resulting from angiogenesis, particularly pathological angiogenesis. The invention further provides methods of treating a condition associated with or resulting from angiogenesis.

Angiogenesis and vasculogenesis are processes involved in the growth of blood vessels. Angiogenesis is the process by which new blood vessels are formed from extant capillaries, while vasculogenesis involves the growth of vessels deriving from endothelial progenitor cells. Angiogenesis is a complex, combinatorial process that is regulated by a balance between pro- and anti-angiogenic molecules. Angiogenic stimuli (e.g. hypoxia or inflammatory cytokines) result in the induced expression and release of angiogenic growth factors such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) or fibroblast growth factor (FGF). These growth factors stimulate endothelial cells (EC) in the existing vasculature to proliferate and migrate through the tissue to form new endothelialized channels.
Angiogenesis and vasculogenesis, and the factors that regulate these processes, are important in embryonic development, inflammation, and wound healing, and also contribute to pathologic conditions such as tumor growth, diabetic retinopathy, rheumatoid arthritis, and chronic inflammatory diseases (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,318,957; Yancopoulos et al. (1998) Cell 93:661-4; Folkman et al. (1996) Cell 87; 1153-5; and Hanahan et al. (1996) Cell 86:353-64).
Both angiogenesis and vasculogenesis involve the proliferation of endothelial cells. Endothelial cells line the walls of blood vessels; capillaries are comprised almost entirely of endothelial cells. The angiogenic process involves not only increased endothelial cell proliferation, but also comprises a cascade of additional events, including protease secretion by endothelial cells, degradation of the basement membrane, migration through the surrounding matrix, proliferation, alignment, differentiation into tube-like structures, and synthesis of a new basement membrane. Vasculogenesis involves recruitment and differentiation of mesenchymal cells into angioblasts, which then differentiate into endothelial cells which then form de novo vessels (see, e.g., Folkman et al (1996) Cell 87:1153-5).
Inappropriate, or pathological, angiogenesis is involved in the growth of atherosclerotic plaque, diabetic retinopathy, degenerative maculopathy, retrolental fibroplasia, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, acute adult respiratory distress syndrome, and asthma. Furthermore, tumor progression is associated with neovascularization, which provides a mechanism by which nutrients are delivered to the progressively growing tumor tissue.
There is a need in the art for methods of reducing pathological angiogenesis. The present invention addresses this need.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University


A battery pack for a cordless power has a plurality of battery cells disposed in a housing. In an embodiment of the invention, battery cells are interconnected with a laminated plate structure having non-conductive layers interspersed with conductive layers, at least one of the conductive layers connected to the battery cells to interconnect them. In an embodiment of the invention, battery cells in a battery pack are interconnected with a flexible printed circuit board having conductive traces thereon that are attached to the battery cells to interconnect them. In an embodiment of the invention, a cordless power tool has one or the other of the foregoing battery packs. In an embodiment of the invention, the battery cells are Lithium Ion battery cells.

Cordless products which use rechargeable batteries are prevalent throughout the workplace as well as in the home. From housewares to power tools, rechargeable batteries are used in numerous devices. Ordinarily, nickel-cadium or nickel-metal-hydride battery cells are used in these devices. Since the devices use a plurality of battery cells, the battery cells are ordinarily packaged as battery packs. These battery packs couple with the cordless devices and secure to the device. The battery pack may be removed from the cordless device and charged in a battery charger or charged in the cordless device itself.
Currently the cells in a battery pack are assembled by holding them in a fixture and welding individual interconnect straps between the contact points of cell pairs. This process involves affixing and restraining each interconnect strap to a single cell pair and resistance welding the strap onto the contact points. After this strap is welded, the process is repeated serially for the next cell. These straps are arranged to produce strings of cells arranged in series and/or parallel configurations. One of the difficulties with this process is that the interconnect straps must be individually affixed and restrained during the welding process. Another deficiency is that the welding process can only be completed for one cell pair at a time.

Apparatus for interconnecting battery cells in a battery pack and method thereof


An overflow plate concealing device for bathtubs that is associated with a plate of an overflow system of the bathtub. This aspect of the invention allows the overflow plate to be concealed to allow the user to alter the aesthetic appearance of their bathtub or repair the same.

Overflow plumbing is commonly associated with basins for holding fluids. Overflow systems provide an access point for drain clean out and may help address substantial overfilling of the basin. Bathtubs, for example, employ overflow assemblies comprised of an overflow pipe that is associated with an outlet port of the bathtub and that is interconnected to a sidewall of the bathtub. An overflow plate conceals the outlet port. The overflow plate includes at least one fluid flow opening that allows water to flow from the bathtub to the overflow pipe if the need arises.
Often, it is desirous to change the look and feel of a bathroom. One way to accomplish this is to change plumbing fixtures associated with the bathtub, sink, etc. For example, one may want to replace an existing faucet and related plumbing components from a nickel-plated finish to a chrome plated finish, or vice versa. This task may seem simple, but it is often laborious and may require that all or portions of the plumbing system associated with the bathtub, sink, etc. be re-tested. For example, attention is directed to U.S. Pat. No. 5,890,241 to Ball ("Ball I"), which is incorporated by reference in its entirety herein. Ball I provides an overflow plumbing system having an overflow pipe that is associated with a bathtub having a cover plate interconnected to the overflow pipe by way of at least one fastener. The fasteners cooperate with bosses associated with the overflow pipe to hold the cover in place. The overflow system of Ball I is primarily aligned with the outer portion surface of the bathtub and requires an interconnected sleeve to engage an inner surface of the bathtub to secure the overflow pipe to the bathtub. One of skill in the art will appreciate that the aligning of the sleeve and the overflow pipe is difficult as the overflow pipe is located behind the bathtub wall and is, thus, out of view and difficult to access. Furthermore, interconnection of the screw to the bosses of the overflow pipe is difficult. These factors make replacing overflow plates commonly found in many bathrooms difficult, time consuming, and expensive.
This difficulty of replacing existing cover plates has been addressed by leaving it in place and concealing the same with a supplemental cover. For example, attention is directed to U.S. Pat. No. 6,138,298 to Ball ("Ball II"), which is incorporated by reference in its entirety herein. Ball II discloses a cover having a clip integrated on an interior surface thereof. To install, the clip is at least partially slid into a fluid opening associated with the existing overflow plate. The clip holds the replacement cover in place and conceals the existing plate while maintaining an opening that allows fluid to flow from the bathtub to the overflow pipe. One drawback with Ball II is that the clip may fail or the replacement cover may loosen over time, thereby allowing the cover to slip relative to the overflow plate which could mar the inner surface of the bathtub. Furthermore, the clip obstructs the fluid opening provided by the existing overflow plate, which may decrease fluid flow rate into the overflow pipe. Finally, the device of Ball II may not fit accommodate many overflow plates.
Thus, it is a long felt need to provide a device for concealing an existing overflow plate that is easy to install, does not interfere with the flow characteristics of the overflow system, and is universal in nature, i.e., concealing overflow plates of various shapes, sizes, and styles.

Device for concealing a plate associated with overflow plumbing


A control signal is generated, so that if dots, which are formed in a transverse direction across a recording medium, are classified into plural groups depending on a plurality of timings, then preceding dots, which belong to a group having an earliest timing, are formed in a pale color. A head drive circuit controls a recording head based on the generated control signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image producing apparatus and an image producing method for producing an image by forming dots in a plurality of colors on a recording medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
With significant advances in inkjet technology in recent years, it is becoming possible for inkjet image producing apparatus to produce large color prints of high quality at high speeds. Inkjet image producing apparatus are widely used particularly in sign and display applications, and are applicable to, for example, prints on POP (Point Of Purchase) posters, wall posters, outdoor advertisements, billboards, etc. Such inkjet image producing apparatus are capable of producing prints by forming a number of ink dots on a recording medium, by applying droplets made up from a plurality of inks to the recording medium.
If an inkjet image producing apparatus is designed to produce images at higher speeds and to achieve a higher density of dots, then the inkjet image producing apparatus tends to suffer from problems due to interference between ink droplets that are deposited on the recording medium. Interference between deposited ink droplets refers to a phenomenon in which, before an ink droplet that has been deposited on the image producing surface of a recording medium becomes fully fixed to the image producing surface, TO a subsequent ink droplet is deposited on the image producing surface in the vicinity of the prior ink droplet, whereby the prior and subsequent ink droplets combine with one another. If the ink droplets are combined with each other in this manner, the ink droplets become shifted and united together under surface tension. Since at this time the center of gravity of the dot formed by the subsequent ink droplet is displaced, the resultant image is likely to suffer from low granularity and gloss irregularities, resulting in poor image quality and appearance.
Various inkjet technologies have been proposed for appropriately controlling recording heads for expelling ink droplets to produce high-quality images in view of the adverse effects caused by interference between deposited ink droplets on the images.
According to Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2005-313635, there has been proposed a method of and an apparatus for controlling ejection of ink droplets, so as to deliver the in droplets in successively greater amounts of ink upon successive discharge of the ink droplets from a recording head. The ink droplets, which are expelled in successively greater amounts of ink, are able to produce a line image having a uniform width on a recording medium, even if the ink droplets interfere with each other in a case where the ink droplets are deposited on the recording medium.

Image producing apparatus and image producing method


A video clip storage and retrieval system whereby video clips, stored locally and/or at a more remote location, can be requested and retrieved by a user at the user""s multimedia terminal. When the user requests a desired video clip, the request is processed by a primary index manager (xe2x80x9cPIMxe2x80x9d) via a Local Search and Retrieval Unit (xe2x80x9cSRUxe2x80x9d). Before the message is communicated to the PIM, the local SRU checks its own storage to see whether the requested video clips are available locally. If some of the video clips are local, the local SRU still forwards the request to the PIM so that the PIM may determine specific video clip usage. The PIM determines the extended SRU where the audio-visual data is stored and passes this information to a Data Sequencing Interface (xe2x80x9cDSIxe2x80x9d). The DSI collects the video clips and downloads the clips to the user""s terminal. The user may then view, copy, or print the video clip as desired.

The prior art is primarily directed towards text or image database providers, and so-called xe2x80x9cvideo on demandxe2x80x9d systems. These systems are not designed to store text and video or audio-visual data across multiple computer systems in a distributed network. The xe2x80x9cvideo on demandxe2x80x9d concept is based primarily on a host-client architecture for downloading real-time audio-visual data, in very large amounts at a very high speed. Such systems aim, for example, to provide full-length movies, with sound, to on-line subscribers. Typically, remote users communicate with large main-frame servers containing the audio-visual data. The host-client architecture of such systems stems from the desire to eliminate bandwidth limiting elements in the system by locating the video data solely on the provider""s high-capacity system. The provider must then insure that hardware and software used to distribute this data is capable of the very high storage and transmission rates required, and is virtually error free, so that no perceivable data is corrupted or lost.
Known and proposed xe2x80x9cvideo on demandxe2x80x9d systems involve expensive and sophisticated computer and communication systems which are adapted to feed full length movies to attached subscribers xe2x80x9con demand.xe2x80x9d Such systems use a massively parallel computing architecture, in an attempt to adapt the multi-processing computing system to manage the monumental video data delivery requirements of hundreds of simultaneous users. Each multi-processing computer is a single xe2x80x9cmainframexe2x80x9d computer and operating system with numerous intricately interconnected individual microprocessors. The massively parallel computers also have very high speed internal data buses with the capability of sustaining a significant but fixed level of internal data traffic.
Massively parallel systems present three distinct disadvantages: (1) reliability, (2) cost, and (3) they are not scalable. Since video data is highly storage intensive, a very large number of hard drives are required to sustain the system. This requirement substantially increases cost. Further, because the hard drive is generally the most unreliable aspect of any computing system, using a large number of hard drives contributes significantly to making the overall system more unreliable. Also, due to the centralized systems basic structure, it is not scalable.
Another system employing large mainframe servers to store the audiovisual data for delivery to a small number of users depends on reducing hard drive throughput by developing specialized hard drive interface software. This software determines how the computer""s operating system uses the computer""s hard drive. For example, multiple blocks of related data can always stored sequentially, instead of randomly. Although this may lead to more effective data throughput rates, such systems have the ability to accommodate only about 40 simultaneous users, and are geared to in house, small scale, video distribution.
A limited or partial xe2x80x9cdistributedxe2x80x9d architecture has been proposed, which would link multiple personal computers together in order to fashion a much larger monolithic functional unit. In this system, video data is distributed only to build a single, much larger source of digital video information. For example, a long video is assembled xe2x80x9con the flyxe2x80x9d from separately stored pieces on different machines. Such a system might subsequently use ATM switch technology to merge the output of this array of computers into one or more continuous video streams.
By contrast, the invention provides a true or complete distributed architecture with increased reliability and the capability of supporting thousands of simultaneously attached users, at a fraction of the cost of the massively parallel system.
Another aspect of the invention is its ability to allow a user to interact with the retrieved video clip. Technology to physically manipulate video information on personal computers is known. For example, video capture boards can receive a video signal from a television or VCR and can store video data for later editing or viewing. Video boards and systems of this kind can employ compression protocols, such as Motion Picture Experts Group (xe2x80x9cMPEGxe2x80x9d) standards 1 and 2, and MJPEG, to store and transmit video data in a highly compressed state. This reduces the storage capacity and transmission time needed to work with the video data. Such systems allow a user to view and edit video on a personal computer terminal, but do not provide the capability of querying for desired video information, nor for access to corresponding text information.
By contrast, the invention not only distributes unlike databases (for example, a related but distinct xe2x80x9ctext databasexe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9caudio-visual databasexe2x80x9d) across the assorted computing and communication devices, but it also partitions and distributes data in a manner which maximizes the performance of the network as a whole.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the user, a real estate agent, has the capability of receiving up-to-date audio-visual information about a listed property. Presently, a real estate agent spends hours researching relevant aspects of available property, to include, inspecting the property, taking photographs of the property, and accumulating information about the property. In fact, the typical agent sees less than 50 percent of the new homes listed because of time constraints. Additional time and effort is spent ascertaining the prospective buyer""s desires, introducing the buyer to the range of communities available within a chosen region, researching properties that the potential buyer may be interested in, and then showing these properties to the potential buyer.
According to the invention, a realtor""s time will be more effectively used on activities directly related to selling property, and not on time intensive, activities necessary to stay abreast with market conditions. For example, by being able to view the property on a video terminal the realtor will reduce significantly the time spent researching potential properties. The time spent visiting properties with the potential buyer is likewise reduced by being able to introduce the property to the buyer via the video clip. This allows the realtor to devote more time to closings and other administrative duties associated with selling the property. Also, having the video retrieval capability allows the realtor to constantly refresh the customer""s memory without having to revisit the property.
The invention is directed to a video clip storage and retrieval system whereby the user receives comprehensive data collected from one or more databases by request from a user""s multimedia terminal. The comprehensive data is provided in the form of selected video clips coupled with corresponding database information.
A preferred embodiment of this invention is directed to the real estate industry. However, as will become readily apparent, the invention is applicable to a wide range of end uses where convenient access to corresponding audio-visual information would be useful. For example, the video clip retrieval system can be used for retail sales, dating services, travel services, and many other applications.
The video clip retrieval system is a distributed computer system or network whereby video clips and text information, stored locally and at a remote location, can be requested and viewed at a user""s multimedia terminal. The system is partitioned into database index managers (xe2x80x9cIMsxe2x80x9d), extended storage and retrieval units (xe2x80x9cextended SRUsxe2x80x9d), data sequencing interfaces (xe2x80x9cDSIsxe2x80x9d), local storage and retrieval units (xe2x80x9clocal SRUsxe2x80x9d), and user terminal modules. Each partition supports features important to the operation and management of the system, but are not necessarily assigned to a specific physical computer or communication component.
In operation, a user first builds a request at a user terminal. The request is transmitted to the user""s primary index manager (xe2x80x9cPIMxe2x80x9d) via a local storage and retrieval unit (local SRU). The local SRU attaches a Regional Identifier to the request to assist the PIM to efficiently search for, locate and report on the requested information. The local SRU provides temporary storage for the user""s most requested video clips, and before the query is sent to the user""s PIM, the local SRU is polled for requested video clips. The user query, amended to contain a Regional identifier and to reflect any local matches, is then forwarded to the PIM.
The PIM uses the Regional Identifier to identify remote IMs which may have the requested video information. The PIM also checks to see whether the video clips stored at the local SRU are current. The PIM then queries its own video clip listing and the listing for the remote IMs to locate the requested information. A list or summary of all available data responsive to the request is then transmitted to the user via the local SRU. The user may then update or modify the request to create an abbreviated list of video clips and/or other data the user wishes to view.
The abbreviated user query is then passed to the PIM. The PIM, having previously located each requested video clip on other remote IMs, retrieves the requested video clips and displays them at the user""s terminal by creating a DSI for each user that requests video clips that are not stored at the local SRU, and informing the DSI where the requested video clips are stored. The DSI collects the requested video clips from the appropriate extended and remote SRUs and transmits this information to the local SRUs.
The requested video clips satisfying the user query are then displayed at the user""s terminal. The user may display, copy, and/or save or print the results. Copies can also be made on standard video cassettes. In a preferred embodiment, the DSI has the capability of resequencing the transmission order of video clips to further manage the demands on the system. For example, requested video data may be stored and retrieved at various locations throughout the system, at various distances from the user, and accessible through different networks or communications routes, with different bandwidths and transmission speeds. In a preferred embodiment, the DSI determines the most appropriate routes and schedules for downloading requested information, to provide fast and efficient service to the user without unduly taxing the shared components of the system.
The PIM records how often particular video clips are requested, and from this information determines whether those clips should be duplicated at particular local SRUs for ready display. As video clips are updated or eliminated, the PIM makes the required updates to the database log. Also, the PIM keeps track of billing information for the users of the system.
The system may offer secondary audio visual information which would correspond to the requested video clips. In an illustrative application within the real estate industry, the secondary audio visual information could be the schools, shopping centers, and hospitals situated in the vicinity of a requested property. The secondary videos are related to the primary audio-visual data or video clips through a coordinate system to minimize data entry, data storage, and the demands on the system""s computational resources.
Certain advanced embodiments also allows the user to perform xe2x80x9cwhat ifxe2x80x9d alterations of the downloaded information, for example, allowing the user to show a potential buyer what a listed house would look like with a porch addition.


An improved bubble wand assembly for a motor driven, bubble producing toy is provided. The wand assembly includes a moving substantially semi-circular, wand portion and a stationary, substantially semi-circular, wand portion, the moving and stationary wand portions being hingably connected to each other at the ends thereof to permit the moving wand portion to move in relation to the stationary wand portion from a closed and superposed position over the stationary wand portion to an open, film-forming, position at an angular orientation to the stationary wand portion.

Motor driven, bubble producing toys have been around for many years. Typically, such toys have a bubble solution reservoir, a motive power source, for example, a battery, a motor, a pump, a bubble solution feed tube, and a bubble wand. Exemplary patents and patent publications include U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,764,141; 5,613,890; 6,200,184; 7,056,182; 7,059,930, 5,498,191; 5,975,358; 6,663,464; 7,470,165; 5,520,564; 6,024,632; 7,056,182; United States Patent Publication Nos. 2002/0061697; 2002/0090878; 2005/0148276; 2007/0032163; 2012/214378 and PCT Patent Publication No. WO2008/011346.
These bubble producing toys include those in which a bubble ring is dipped into bubble solution and then exposed to an air stream and those in which a wiper, typically a wire, travels across an bubble aperture coating it with bubble solution which is then exposed to an air stream. Both of these mechanisms have drawbacks. In the former case, the dipping ring device tends to lose solution readily or fail to form film consistently so the toy works intermittently. In the latter case, the wire can easily be bent or broken and the toy rendered unusable.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved bubble producing mechanism that can be used with motor driven bubble producing toys. One such improved mechanism is provided by the invention.