A semiconductor inspection apparatus has a test-program execution part, a signal-condition detection part, a test-time calculation part to calculate an optimum test time having a duration from a period of the unstable region to a certain period at a leading portion of the stable region subsequent to the unstable region based on the unstable and stable regions detected by the signal-condition detection part, a test-program modification part to reflect the optimum test time in the test program, and a signal waveform importing part to import a signal at the signal output pin of the device to be tested based on a test time written in the test program in which the optimum test time is reflected. The test-program execution part executes the test program again after the optimum test time is reflected in the test program by the test-program modification part.

When inspecting a semiconductor chip using a test program, it is important to perform inspection in a short time as much as possible. From when a test signal is input to a test-signal input pin of a semiconductor chip, it takes a certain period of time until a signal at a signal output pin starts to vary. Moreover, the signal at the signal output pin does not suddenly reach a desired signal level. There is an unstable region in which the signal level is unstable for a while after the signal starts to vary and then moves to a stable region.
For the reason above, conventionally, a test signal is applied to a test-signal input pin of a semiconductor chip to measure a waveform at a signal output pin using measuring equipment such as an oscilloscope. The measured waveform is then analyzed to detect unstable and stable regions, and based on a result of detection, a signal read-in timing is set. This operation has to be done by an operator manually, hence it takes time to perform this operation. Moreover, since this operation has to be performed for each signal output pin, there is a problem in that an operator's burden is increased as the number of pins is increased.

Semiconductor inspection apparatus and semiconductor inspection method


A method of making a semiconductor nanocrystal can include contacting an M-containing compound with an X donor having the formula X(Y(R)3)3, where X is a group V element and Y is a group IV element.

Semiconductor nanocrystals are a powerful class of nanostructures that exhibit high photoluminescence quantum yields, large molar extinction coefficients, high photostability compared to typical molecular fluorophores, and size-tunable emission wavelengths that can extend across the visible and near-IR spectral range. These properties make semiconductor nanocrystals useful in applications including biological fluorescent tags and light-emitting devices, among others.
Nanocrystals having small dimensions can have properties intermediate between molecular and bulk forms of matter. For example, nanocrystals of semiconductor materials having sufficiently small dimensions can exhibit quantum confinement of excitons (excited state electron-hole pair) in all three dimensions. Quantum confinement leads to an increase in the effective band gap of the material with decreasing crystallite size. Consequently, both the optical absorption and emission of nanocrystals shift to the blue (i.e., to higher energies) as the size of the nanocrystal decreases.
The quantum efficiency of emission from nanocrystals having a core of a first semiconductor material can be enhanced by applying an overcoating of a second semiconductor material such that the conduction band of the second semiconductor material is of higher energy than that of the first semiconductor material, and the valence band of the second semiconductor material is of lower energy than that of the first semiconductor material. As a result, both charge carriers of an exciton, i.e., electrons and holes, are confined in the core of the nanocrystal.

Highly luminescent semiconductor nanocrystals


The present disclosure provides use of chemokine receptor CXCR5, wherein CAR-T cells with enhanced chemotaxis are obtained by modifying chimeric antigen receptor T cells (CAR-T cells) utilizing the chemotactic signal between CXCR5 and its ligand CXCL13. The chemokine receptor CXCR5 can guide CAR-T cells to migrate to tumors. It has an excellent ability to enhance the chemotaxis of CAR-T cells, can specifically clear tumor cells, and effectively solve the problem of poor efficacy of the existing CAR-T therapy for solid tumors, thereby exhibiting broad application prospects and great market value.

In recent years, re-activating the human autoimmune system by blocking the PD-1/PD-L1 signaling pathway has shown potential in the treatment for patients with solid tumors including non-small-cell lung carcinoma. Therefore, targeting cancer cells by using the immune system has also become a potential method for the treatment of solid tumors. Today, although chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR-T) therapy has achieved impressive results in the elimination of hematologic cancers, it is generally not so effective against solid tumors. Multiple factors may be the causes of preventing CAR-T from successfully treating solid tumors, including: antigen expression in tumors, wherein both local differentiation and antigen loss can cause the failure of the CAR-T; hypoxic, immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment; and factors such as directional migration of T cells toward tumors. All of the above mentioned factors can affect the therapeutic effect of CAR-T. The modified, re-infused CAR-T cells must be able to pair with a cancer-derived chemokine to successfully reach the location of solid tumors, and must successfully pass through the stromal cells of solid tumors to exhibit tumor antigen-specific cytotoxic killing. Traditional CAR-T is more susceptible to the immunosuppressive microenvironment of solid tumors due to its relative simple design, which limits the application of CAR-T cell therapy technology for solid tumors.
The migration of T cells is primarily dependent on the guide of pairing between cell chemokine and receptor thereof. In recent years, it has been reported that the catalytic factor CXCL13 (also known as B cell chemokine, BLC1) is highly expressed in the tumor tissues of 90% of patients with non-small cell lung carcinoma in Xuanwei City, Yunnan Province, China. In addition, high expression of CXCL13 and receptor CXCR5 is also common in tissues of such as prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer, and breast cancer. CXCR5 is generally expressed in circulating B cells, a small number of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, and skin-derived migrating dendritic cells. Lymphocytes carrying the CXCR5 receptor can therefore migrate to secondary lymph nodes and tumor sites with high expression of CXCL13. CXCR5+CD8+ T cells have been found to be enriched in human rectal cancer tissue and adjacent lymph nodes.
At present, most of the traditional CAR-T designs only focus on enhancing T cell activation and proliferation and other functions by optimizing, or increasing, or decreasing chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) regions. However, no enough attention has been paid to how to use the catalytic factor signal to migrate CAR-T towards the target tumor and to avoid immunosuppressive signals (such as PD-1) in the tumor, so that the CAR-T is not so effective for solid tumors. In the domestic and international markets, clinical trials involved in CAR-T cells modified with CXCR receptor also have not been reported.
Therefore, developing a CAR-T cell with high expression of CXCR5 which will guide the migration of modified T cells towards tumors to hopefully solve the problem of poor efficacy of the existing CAR-T therapy for solid tumors has broad application prospects and great market value.


A method for locating a functional brain tissue by electrical stimulation includes performing electrical stimulations of different areas of the brain tissue to activate brain tissue regions identifying the functional brain tissue, recording an image or a video sequence of the brain tissue during and/or after a stimulation, comparing the recorded image or the video sequence with a reference image or a reference video sequence recorded without stimulation to determine a position of the brain tissue region that is activated by the stimulation. At least two stimulations of a plurality of electrical stimulations are performed, one directly after the other or simultaneously, and the recording of an image or a video sequence of the portion of brain tissue takes place during and/or after each performance of one of the at least two stimulations or during and/or after the simultaneous performance of the at least two stimulations.

In the course of neurosurgical interventions for the resection of tumor tissue, an aim of the surgeon is complete removal of the malignant tissue while at the same time preserving and specifically sparing healthy, functional tissue. After opening the skull and exposing the surface of the brain, in many cases these different types of tissue are not distinguishable from one another on a purely visual basis in the exposed portion of brain tissue, which makes it more difficult to achieve the stated aims of the intervention. One possibility for assisting the surgeon in distinguishing between the types of tissue is that of combining optical imaging and direct cortical stimulation. In the case of this method, the exposed cortex (a thin layer of nerve cells at the outer periphery of the brain) is electrically stimulated at discrete points with bipolar electrodes. At the same time, the responses to the stimulation in the form of changes in the optical properties of the cortical tissue are recorded, for example with a camera, and evaluated. On the basis of the changes in the optical properties of the cortical tissue thus documented, the functional state and/or the type of tissue in the region of the stimulation is deduced. Methods in which images are recorded before and/or during the stimulation and the functional brain areas are determined by evaluating the images recorded are described for example in Oelschlägel et al. "Intraoperative optical imaging of metabolic changes after a direct cortical stimulation—a clinical tool for guidance during tumor resection?" in Biomed. Eng. Biomed. Tech. 2018, appearing online on Feb. 5, 2018, available at https://doi.org/10.1515/bmt-2017-0156, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 9,095,255 B2 and in 9,801,549 B2.
The procedure described above must be repeated a number of times at different locations in order to document the entire exposed portion of brain tissue, in order in this way to be able to make an all-inclusive statement about the entire exposed portion of brain tissue. In the case of the conventional methods, the stimulations are performed individually and one after the other. For example, it is described in Oelschlägel et al. "Intraoperative optical imaging of metabolic changes after a direct cortical stimulation—a clinical tool for guidance during tumor resection?" in Biomed. Eng. Biomed. Tech. 2018, appearing online on Feb. 5, 2018, available at https://doi.org/10.1515/bmt-2017-0156, that image data of a 30-second rest period, a 5-second stimulation period and an 85-second post-stimulation period are recorded at the stimulation location, which for each stimulation results in a length of the data record of 120 seconds. This procedure is used in practice for example when mapping the voice functionality on a patient when awake. In the case of for example ten different stimulations, this procedure would require a time period of at least 20 minutes. The interrogation process therefore takes several minutes, and when there are many stimulations, there is a risk that the surgeon will lose the overview of the stimulation locations already interrogated. As a result, there is a risk that the entire exposed portion of brain tissue is not examined. Moreover, the long time it takes for the examination due to the stimulations being performed one after the other interrupts the therapeutic intervention, and the result is not necessarily definitive.

Method for locating a functional brain tissue by electrical stimulation


A hinge, particularly for rotatably coupling two parts of a pair of eyeglasses preferably made of plastics. The hinge is constituted by at least one first element, which merely allows the mutual positioning of the two components, and by at least one separate second element, which allows the mutual and temporary rotary coupling of the two parts.

The present invention relates to a hinge, particularly for rotatably coupling two components of a pair of eyeglasses preferably made of plastics.
Eyeglasses are currently known in which the temples, made for example of metal or acetate, are associated with the front, which is made of the same materials, by interposing a metallic hinge that is constituted by a first element, such as a perforated lug that is partially embedded in the front, and by a second element, constituted by two perforated shoulders that protrude from the tip of the temple; the first and the second elements are associated one another by a pivot.
The insertion of the pivot therefore allows to achieve both the positioning and the rotary coupling between the temple and the front.
However, these conventional hinges are not free from drawbacks: the pivot must have minimal tolerances to ensure the precise coupling between the temple and the front, and said tolerances, in view of the extremely small size of the pivot, require expensive precision machining operations; moreover, a certain time is required to assemble the hinge to the components of the eyeglasses, and this entails an increase in the production cost.
Another conventional solution entails, if the front and the temples are made of plastics, a direct coupling between the front and the temple of a pair of eyeglasses without using an interposed coupling hinge; said coupling is provided by means of two L-shaped flaps that are arranged in a mirror-symmetrical fashion with respect to a median plane lying longitudinally to said temple and protrude longitudinally and perimetrically from the tip of the temple.
Said two flaps can be arranged at two seats formed proximate to the lateral end of the front that can be arranged adjacent to the temple.
However, this conventional solution, too, has drawbacks: the center distance between the two seats formed on the front can be different from the one calculated for optimum coupling in relation to the center distance of the two flaps, thus entailing difficulty in coupling the temple to the front.
This requires the mutual positioning of the flaps and of the seats to be calculated with a certain precision: an excessive center distance could in fact lead to difficulty in mutually coupling the front and the temple, causing easy breakage of the two parts during assembly or during replacement of one of them, whereas an insufficient center distance would lead to easy disengagement between the temple and the front; the smaller the center distance, the easier this can be achieved.
Regardless of the above-mentioned drawbacks, the direct mutual coupling of the front and the temple, without using a hinge, occurs by elastic deformation of the end of the temples that is associable with the front; this entails that an excessive pressure applied at said end facilitates the breakage of the temples or of the flaps associated therewith during coupling to the front.
The difficulty in achieving optimum mutual pivoting of the temple and of the front in the above described solution is increased by the fact that the two seats for the two flaps must be formed on the front by using an insert in the mold provided with two undercuts.


An aircraft comprising: a flight control surface and a rigid hinged panel both pivotably coupled to a wing; a drive linkage which links the flight control surface to the panel so that rotation of the former drives rotation of the latter, the drive linkage comprising first and second links, a first joint which pivotably couples the first and second links to each other, and a second joint which pivotably couples the first link to the flight control surface; and a cam track structure mounted to the wing, the cam track structure comprising first and second cam surfaces having extra run-out space at both ends thereof to prevent jamming. At least one of the links comprises a weakened portion which is designed to fail when a structural overload is produced due to jamming. Additional features can be added to the mechanism to block, shield, and shed other obstruction avenues.

This disclosure generally relates to actuators for flight control surfaces and, in particular, relates to jam-tolerant systems for actuating flight control surfaces.
Deployable leading and trailing edge devices have been used for many years to control the attitude and lift/drag characteristics of modern aircraft. In particular, conventional trailing edge ailerons located on left and right aircraft wings are deployed asymmetrically to roll the aircraft. Trailing edge flaps are generally deployed symmetrically to create high-lift wing configurations suitable for landing and take-off. The flaps are then stowed for more efficient operation at cruise conditions. Conventional trailing edge devices typically include flaps, ailerons, or flaperons that are hinged relative to the wing, and are driven between stowed and deployed positions by one or more actuators.
Movement of aircraft control-surface components is crucial in flight, whereby an actuating assembly must consistently and dependably perform during normal operation. In particular, it is desirable that a flight control surface continue to be deployable even if the actuator assembly becomes jammed due to an obstruction. The definition of jam tolerance encompasses the ability of an actuator, or an actuator system, to permit continued input drive capabilities in the event of a jam in the actuator, or one or more of the actuators in an actuator system, respectively, resulting from an obstruction or internal actuator failure. In the context of the aerospace industry, such a jam-tolerant feature permits continued aircraft control flap movement in the event of a jam in one or more of the actuators in an actuator system.
Regulations require that an airplane be shown by analysis, tests, or both, to be capable of continued safe flight and landing after any one of a number failures or jamming in the flight control system and surfaces (including trim, lift, drag, and feel systems), within the normal flight envelope, without requiring exceptional piloting skill or strength. Any jam in a control position normally encountered during takeoff, climb, cruise, normal turns, descent, and landing must be accounted for. In particular, the aircraft cannot have an undetected failure in a control surface prior to the next flight, loose functionality, departure of a component from the airplane, or collateral damage locally or downstream.
A known flaperon assembly (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 7,766,282) comprises a flaperon linked by linkage mechanisms to a wing and a rigid panel coupled by hinges to the wing and linked to the linkage mechanisms for coordinated panel rotation and flaperon movement. The flaperon assembly further comprises a pair of unitary cam track assemblies attached to the wing by respective brackets, each cam track assembly comprising a pair of cam surfaces (a.k.a. "cam tracks"). One cam surface is a failsafe feature which provides redundancy for the flaperon and does not carry any flight or system-generated loads. The other cam surface provides the program position for the rigid hinged panel. Due to linkage mechanism movement and the trapped programming tracks (i.e., cam surfaces) in this type of flaperon assembly, it is possible for an obstruction to occur. The obstruction can occur within the mechanism movement, in the cam track or surface, or in a pinching jam between moving and stationary parts.
There is a need to relieve or prevent the obstruction without jeopardizing the functionality of the linkage mechanisms, thereby avoiding unacceptable collateral damage and parts departing the airplane. In addition, the damage resulting from the obstruction must allow the mechanism to be functional without further degradation until planned maintenance inspection.

Jam protection and alleviation for control surface linkage mechanisms


A method and apparatus for a manually activated turkey decoy simulating full strut gobbler tail movement. The turkey decoy comprises a tail rod with a pulling arm and attached tail-feathers, the tail rod incorporating a spring mechanism, and the tail rod being rotatably, coaxially, and removably attached to a ground stake. A pull line is attached to the pulling arm. After inserting both the turkey decoy and turkey decoy body into the ground, and thereafter optionally routing the pull line using guide stakes, the pull line may be pulled to cause tail-feather movement. The turkey decoy may also be adapted to move an entire decoy.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to hunting decoys, and more specifically, to movable turkey decoys.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Decoys of great variety in construction and purpose have been used to lure turkeys into range for effective hunting, harvest, and/or observation and study. While decoys often provide a life-like appearance, it has also been desirable for obvious reasons to make the decoy move in a life-like fashion in a manner that is exhibited by the represented animal. Faced with this challenge, practitioners in the art have endeavored on many occasions to so motivate a decoy. Previous attempts to create a realistic and effective decoy include:
Samnara, U.S. Pat. No. 6,092,322, discloses the use of a wind activated animal decoy. Specifically, the use of a turkey decoy with tail-feathers, which upon wind activation, causes the head to move up and down and side-to-side.
Brint, U.S. Pat. No. 6,070,356, discloses the use of a full body turkey decoy, having a tail, which uses a battery-powered electric motor and internal counter weights to simulate strutting turkey behavior. Furthermore, the invention shows a turkey decoy that, upon activation, causes the decoy to rotate intermittently on a support rod and also causes tail vibration.
Lenz, U.S. Pat. No. 5,884,427, discloses a battery-operated animal decoy mechanism having a motor. The motor has at least one projecting member which activates a tail flicking attachment, thus simulating the tail flicking of a live animal.
It is well-known among turkey hunters that during the turkey mating season, male (gobbler) turkeys attempt to find female (hen) turkeys with which to breed. This results in gobblers initiating a mating ritual involving the display of their tail-feathers, while moving them from side-to-side in what is known as a full strut. The gobbler""s full strut is-meant to attract the hen to the gobbler for potential mating.
Prior art turkey decoys suffer from various drawbacks, in that imperfect conditions and inherent limitations in the design and surrounding environment generally cause these decoys to exhibit atypical or unrealistic movement which may startle or warn the turkey or may have no effect whatsoever. Prior art decoys designed to move with nature""s forces (as disclosed in the ""322 patent, for example) lack controllable manual-motion, but more specifically, controllable, isolated tail movement, the essential element in attracting other turkeys. Similarly, the motion exhibited by electronically operated decoys (as disclosed. in the ""356 patent, for example) is generally not representative of gobbler mating rituals. Also, motor-driven decoys have an amount of noise inherent in their operation, that results in turkeys being scared away from the decoy and the immediate area. Additionally, unfavorable weather (e.g., rain, dampness, coldness, etc.) may adversely affect electronic components through corrosion and condensation. Furthermore, electronic mechanisms tend to wear down the power source (usually batteries) required for the decoy""s movement, relatively quickly. This may result in the decoy failing to operate at critical times during the hunting period. Finally, some states and hunting associations, do not permit the use of electronically controlled decoys.
Due to these drawbacks and limitations, including the lack of fall strut simulation, the aforementioned prior art is generally non-conducive to turkey hunting.
Accordingly, what is needed, and has not heretofore been developed, is a manually activated, realistic turkey decoy apparatus that simulates the key aspect inherent to a gobbler""s mating ritual. Field work using the present invention has confirmed that tail-feather movement is critical to the believability of the decoy""s authenticity in the minds of hen turkeys that may observe it. Furthermore, within a dominant gobbler""s territory, if another gobbler attempts to lure the dominant gobbler""s hens by means of a full strut, the dominant gobbler becomes upset and approaches the challenging gobbler to re-establish dominance among the hens. Therefore, a full strut may be used to not only attract hens, but also gobblers. Therefore, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a decoy apparatus, that through controllable manual motion, produces a natural, isolated tail-feather movement, thereby simulating a gobbler""s full strut.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a decoy apparatus which is portable, requires only a minimal number of elements, and requires only a minimal number of steps to utilize. This results in efficiency in set-up and preparation of the decoy, a critical aspect to turkey hunting. Furthermore, the use of guide stakes allow the decoy apparatus to be used over and around varied terrain and obstacles, while also preventing turkeys from tripping over the pull line utilized in the present invention.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide such a decoy apparatus which utilizes real turkey feathers, as adding detail to the decoy, in order to draw turkeys to an even closer proximity, as compared to the use of artificial feathers.
It is a further object of the present invention to allow the user to maintain a suitable distance from the decoy apparatus, while still achieving fill operability over the invention.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a decoy apparatus which may be adapted to move not only the tail, but an entire decoy body.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a scaled-down version of the decoy apparatus, that through its construction design and lighter components, weighs less than the preferred embodiment.
The present invention provides, in the preferred embodiment, a rod with an affixed pulling arm and attached tail-feathers. A pull line is attached to the pulling arm. The rod is co-axially and rotatably attached to a ground stake. After insertion of the decoy apparatus"" ground stake into the ground, a stationary turkey decoy is also inserted into the ground, forward and adjacent to the decoy apparatus. After inserting optional guide stakes into the ground, the user may then pull on the pull line attached to the pulling arm. The pulling arm acts upon a spring mechanism incorporating the rod and ground stake, thereby causing controllable movement of the tail-feathers. The result is life-like simulated full strut gobbler tail movement.
An alternative embodiment of the present invention comprises a modification to the construction design, including the use of lighter components utilizing arrow shafts, thereby resulting in a lighter and easier to carry decoy apparatus. This alternative embodiment has the same function and operating principles as found in the preferred embodiment.
The present invention may also be adapted to move an entire decoy. This is accomplished by removing the tail-feathers, and instead attaching any other decoy to the rod. The remaining assembly, preparation, and movement of this alternative embodiment is similar to that of the preferred embodiment.
The foregoing and other features of the method and apparatus of the present invention will be further apparent from the description which follows.

Method and apparatus for manually activated turkey decoy


An internal space of a closed container is divided into a first chamber and a second chamber by a deformable partition member. The first chamber is provided as a chamber for reserving a liquid crystal and connected to an object through a first port of the closed container. The second chamber receives a pressurized fluid from a pressurized fluid supply source through a second port of the closed container. The liquid crystal within the first chamber is pressurized through the partition member by a pressurized fluid which is introduced into the second chamber and the liquid crystal is delivered to the object.

This invention relates to an apparatus for delivering a liquid crystal to an object.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 37529/1989 discloses an apparatus for delivering a liquid crystal to a cell (object) in order to manufacture a liquid crystal display unit. This apparatus includes a closed container for reserving a liquid crystal. The closed container is formed with a first port and a second port. When a compressed inert gas from a tank is supplied to an upper space of the closed container via the second port, the liquid crystal reserved in the closed container is pushed out of the first port by this compressed gas and delivered to the cell.
In the above apparatus, since the compressed gas contacts directly the liquid crystal within the closed container, a gas is likely to be mixed into the liquid crystal although such a gas is very small in quantity. The gas thus mixed into the liquid crystal becomes a foam or gas-bubble within the cell and degrades the quality of the liquid crystal apparatus.


A demolition claw has a support, a pivot pin mounted on the support and centered on and extending along an axis, and two jaws each having a hole through which the pivot pin extends so that the jaws can pivot on the support about the axis. The jaws have adjacent the respective holes confronting flat faces. An arcuate formation fixed on one of the faces adjacent the respective hole projects axially therefrom toward the other of the faces and is generally centered on the axis. A retaining formation fixed on the other of the faces adjacent the respective hole projects axially therefrom toward the one face, is radially offset from the arcuate formation, axially overlaps the arcuate formation, and surrounds the arcuate formation. Structure is provided on one of the jaws for preventing axial separation of the jaws.

A demolition claw such as described in U.S. RE35,432 of LaBounty has a support carrying a heavy-duty pivot pin on which two massive jaws are mounted. Respective actuators are braced between the arms and the support for pivoting the jaws so that they can grasp and even cut through a workpiece. Typically one of the jaws is formed as two fixed-together and similar parts that are axially spaced and that axially flank the other jaw, 80 that when the claw is closed the other jaw actually fits axially in the one jaw.
The problem with this structure is that it is frequently necessary to take the demolition claw off the machine and replace it with another demolition claw suitable for other materials, or with another tool altogether. Once the pivot pin is pulled, the claw can typically be slipped out of the support relatively easily. Once thus removed, however, the two jaws can separate from each other. Keeping track of the jaw when its parts are separated is difficult, and reinstalling it in the arm of the equipment requires that the two jaws be fitted together and then fitted to the arm.


A coupling is provided for detachably connecting a mobile part of a piece of furniture to a drive. The coupling includes a coupling element that can be moved between the mobile part of the piece of furniture and the drive in a limited manner in at least one direction, in order to compensate for position tolerances in relation to the at least one direction.

The present invention concerns a coupling for releasably connecting a movable furniture part to a drive, wherein the coupling has a coupling portion. Couplings of this kind suffer from the problem that, due to positional tolerances of the movable furniture part relative to the drive, it may be difficult to make the connection between the movable furniture part and the drive. The positional tolerances may involve, for example, installation tolerances. They are to be attributed to the fact that neither the drive nor the movable furniture part is mounted exactly at the same location on a body or carcass of an article of furniture, in each mounting operation.
A further example of positional tolerances are operating tolerances which are therefore not to be attributed to inaccurate fitment of the drive or the furniture part in the furniture body or carcass, but which inevitably occur in operation of the movable furniture part. It is known, for example, that a movable furniture part which is in the form of a drawer can rise or fall by some millimeters, depending on the respective loading condition.

Coupling for a movable part of a piece of furniture


A technique includes performing first electromagnetic field measurements to obtain a first set of data and performing second electromagnetic field measurements to obtain a second set of data. The first set of data is relatively sensitive to an effect caused by an air layer boundary and is relatively insensitive to the presence of a resistive body. The second set of data is relatively insensitive to the effect and is relatively sensitive to the presence of the resistive body. The technique includes combining the first and second sets of data to generate a third set of data, which is relatively insensitive to the effect and is relatively sensitive to the presence of the resistive body.

The invention generally relates to electromagnetically detecting thin resistive bodies in shallow water and terrestrial environments.
One technique to locate an oil reservoir beneath the sea floor is to measure electromagnetic fields that are produced by a controlled electromagnetic source. More specifically, in a technique called controlled source electromagnetic (CSEM) surveying, an electrical dipole (i.e., a controlled electromagnetic source) may be towed by a surface vessel a short distance above the sea floor. Measurements of the resulting electric and/or magnetic fields are then measured using receivers, which may be deployed, for example, on the sea floor. Ideally, the presence of a thin resistive layer, such as an oil reservoir, affects the measured electric and magnetic fields in a way that can be detected from the measured data.
CSEM surveying typically is limited to deep water, as a phenomenon called an "air wave effect" (as referred to in the literature) currently limits the use of CSEM surveying in shallow water environments. More specifically, the electromagnetic fields that are produced by the electric dipole interact with the air-sea interface to generate electromagnetic energy, or "air waves," which diffuse from the sea surface down to the receiver. For shallow water, the air waves dominate the measured electromagnetic data so that the presence of a thin resistive body may not be readily discernible from the data. Similar challenges limit the application of CSEM surveying to terrestrial environments.
Thus, there is a continuing need for better ways to process data that is generated by controlled source electromagnetic surveying in shallow water and terrestrial environments.

Electromagnetically detecting thin resistive bodies in shallow water and terrestrial environments


The present invention provides a family of novel cytotoxic pentapeptides, which show potent antitumor activities against several cancer lines. The antibody-drug conjugates prepared from those pentapeptides can efficiently kill cancer cells.

Since the introduction of the concept of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) three decades ago, this area has been advanced greatly along with improved ADC and linker technology. The approved drugs Adcetris (Brentuximabvedotin) in 2011 and Kadcyla (Trastuzumabemtansine) in 2013 have dramatically increased the interests and efforts on ADC drug discovery and development all over pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical and research institutions worldwide. Success ratios of ADC drugs in clinical trials are largely dependent on ADC biomolecules's efficacy and toxicity, especially when the free drugs could not be cleaved and released from the whole ADC molecules in biological system before reaching the targeted cancer cells. So far there are only three main families of cytotoxins successfully used for ADC drugs developed in clinical trials. Among them, auristatin, such as monomethylauristatin E (MMAE) derived from natural dolastatin 10 has been used for Adcetris, an approved drug for the treatment of Hodgkin lymphoma/ALCL non-Hodgkin lymphoma. MMAE is generally conjugated antibodies through a peptide-cleavable self-immolating linkage system. [Gail Lewis Phillips, Antibody-Drug conjugates and Immunotoxins, Humana Press, 2013]. Maytansinoids have been used for marketing Kadcyla for treatment of late stage Her2 positive breast. Auristatins and maytansinoids are microtubule-binding agents. The third one is calicheamicin, a DNA-damaging agent, which was also used for several ADCs developed in clinical trials. Some of the problems facing the first generation of ADCs are in employing ADCs bearing more highly potent agents. The use of ADCs bearing more highly potent effectors will increase the probability of delivering a therapeutic dose to tumors cells that have low antigen expression or have poor processing. The properties of high potency, stability in circulation, reasonable aqueous solubility, and efficient metabolite release in targeted cells will be highly important in designing new payloads for ADCs.
Thus, there remains a need to discover novel cytotoxins which show higher potency against cancer cells, but lower toxicity for normal cells. Our current disclosure addresses the invention of a novel family of dolastatin pentapeptide-like cytotoxins and biological results of the ADC molecules prepared thereof.

Potent and efficient cytotoxic peptides and antibody-drug conjugates thereof and their synthesis


A taste enhancer comprising a high-boiling fraction of cold-pressed citrus oil as an active ingredient. The taste enhancer is environment- and human-friendly and, when added to a food, enhances the tastes inherent to the food, such as volume, juiciness, body, and mildness.

Various attempts have been made to satisfy a desire to have more delicious foods. As one of these attempts, there has been known a method wherein various compounds are preliminarily blended with a food to give a favorable taste at taking the food. For example, Document 1 discloses a technique of adding protamine and/or its salt to a drink to eliminate or lessen its bitterness or astringency, while Document 2 proposes to add a water-extract of coffee beans to relieve the sourness of a food or a drink containing organic acids. Moreover, Document 3 reports that the characteristic taste of a souring agent can be improved by adding water-soluble dietary fiber to the souring agent. Although these methods are somewhat efficacious in lessening astringency or bitterness or relieving sourness, little effect of enhancing the inherent taste of a food can be achieved thereby.
To solve this problem, Document 4 discloses a technique of extracting fresh vanilla pots with a polar solvent and adding the thus obtained extract to various foods or drinks. However, the above-described problem cannot be sufficiently solved even by this technique.
Furthermore, there has been required to develop a material of improved performance of not only enhancing the characteristic taste of a food or a drink but also being nondetrimental to the environment and humans.
Document 1:
Japanese Patent No. 3133182.
Document 2:
JP-A-9-94080.
Document 3:
JP-A-2001-133.
Document 4:
JP-A-8-154619.
An object of the present invention is to provide a taste enhancer having an excellent effect of enhancing the taste of a food, a drink or a composition for the oral cavity and to provide a taste enhancing method. Another object of the present invention is to provide a taste enhancer which is friendly to the environment and humans. The term "taste enhancer" as used herein, which is a so-called flavor enhancer, is a compound having no excellent taste per se but exerting an effect of further enhancing the taste of a tasty compound, food, drink or composition for the oral cavity coexisting therewith.


A frequency adjustable radio antenna includes a conductive whip on an insulated cylindrical coil housing electrically connected to the upper end of a tuning coil within the housing. A commutator attached to a conductive shaft is raised/lowered to interpose less/more coil turns between shaft and whip to tune the antenna. An RF de-coupler slidably contacts the shaft, and electrically contacts the lower end of the coil and a conductive mast which supports the housing, thus shorting out lower portions of the coil to suppress harmonic currents from being induced therein. A method for making the coil includes winding wire onto a mandrel in a first direction, sliding a housing over the windings, and rotating the mandrel in an opposite direction to cause coil convolutions in a helical mandrel groove to increase in diameter and thereby spring out of the mandrel groove and into a helical coil housing groove.

A. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a radio transceiver antenna which is tunable to a range of radio frequencies. Radio transceivers are quite sensitive to antenna performance, requiring that the antenna have a sufficiently low Voltage Standing Wave Ratio (VSWR) and sufficiently high power handling capacity to efficiently radiate transmitter power output under varying environmental conditions. Such antennas are employed universally by Maritime, Aviation, Military and Government services, and by the general public as well, and it is the use of mobile transceivers and antennas which is the focal point of this invention.
It is the High Frequency (HF) range of radio transmission with which this invention is particularly concerned, although it is to be understood that the tuning concepts herein disclosed are equally applicable to other radio frequency bands as may be required. With respect to the HF range covering 1.6 to 30 MHz frequencies, the size, and particularly the length of the antenna is frequently a limiting factor on mobile transceiver performance. Assuming that a transceiver is installed on and transported by a moving vehicle, clearance along most highways and roadways is 14 feet, whereas the optimum vertical height of a properly tuned antenna can far exceed said highway or roadway clearance. Therefore, it is an object of this invention to increase and decrease the tuned, electrical antenna length (as distinguished from physical height), thereby avoiding limitations imposed by highway and/or roadway vertical clearance.
B. Description of Background Art
Heretofore, some RF antennas have been tuned by means of inserting coils into an antenna circuit that extend the antenna""s effective length without extending the height thereof. In practice, individual coils have been employed and installed for each radio frequency to be matched. Or, complicated and expensive Antenna Tuners have been used, but they are bulky extra equipment.
It is therefore a general object of this invention to provide an antenna which can be fine tuned to any radio frequency within a specified range, and in particular for example in this disclosure, the practical High Frequency HF range from 3.5 to 30 MHz In practice, the antenna is center loaded with a coil and a longitudinally movable commutator that adjustably extends the effective length of the antenna.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an antenna which includes an actuator mechanism that is energizable by a remote switch, by which means the antenna can be adjustably tuned from a transceiver located at some distance from the antenna.
Another object of the invention is to provide matching impedance of the antenna by means of a shunt to ground, as will be described.
Another object of the invention is to provide a frequency adjustable mobile antenna which includes a first disk-shaped commutator having a circumferential surface for longitudinally movable commutation with convolutions of an upper portion of a coil, the electrical length of which upper coil portion determines the resonant frequency of the antenna.
Another object of the invention is to provide a frequency adjustable antenna having in addition to a first disk-shaped commutator for longitudinally movable tunable commutation with the upper portion of a coil, a second, lower disk-shaped contactor for resiliently and electrically conductively contacting a coaxially located shaft longitudinally slidable within the lower contactor, the contactor being in electrical contact with the lower end of the coil winding and the upper end of the shaft being in electrical contact with the disk-shaped commutator, whereby the lower portion of the coil is electrically shorted or xe2x80x9cRF de-coupled,xe2x80x9d thereby suppressing any harmonic currents which might otherwise be generated in the lower portion of the coil by auto transformer action.
Another object of the invention is to provide a method of making a coil assembly for a frequency adjustable antenna which includes the steps of winding a coil on a helically grooved mandrel, inserting the coil and mandrel into coil housing having formed in an inner cylindrical wall surface thereof a helical groove, expanding the diameter of the coil to thereby release it from the mandrel grooves and loosely seat the coil convolutions into the convolutions of the helical groove within the coil housing, removing the coil housing from the mandrel, and further expanding the diameter of the coil to rigidly fix the coil within the coil housing groove.
Various other objects and advantages of the present invention, and its most novel features, will become apparent to those skilled in the art by perusing the accompanying specification, drawings and claims.
It is to be understood that although the invention disclosed herein is fully capable of achieving the objects and providing the advantages described, the characteristics of the invention described herein are merely illustrative of the preferred embodiments. Accordingly, I do not intend that the scope of my exclusive rights and privileges in the invention be limited to details of the embodiments described. I do intend that equivalents, adaptations and modifications of the invention reasonably inferable from the description contained herein be included within the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
Briefly stated the present invention includes a frequency adjustable antenna for use with radio transceivers, particularly those used in vehicles. One embodiment of the invention includes a lower, electrically conductive hollow tubular mast section electrically isolated from a mounting bracket and having a radio frequency connection to a transceiver, and an upper electrically conductive extensible mast section insulated electrically from the lower mast section and adapted to hold an elongated whip antenna. The upper and lower mast sections are fastened in coaxial alignment therewith to the upper and lower ends of a hollow cylindrical coil housing, which is made of an electrically nonconductive material and has formed in the inner cylindrical wall surface thereof an elongated helical groove. The groove holds conformally therewithin convolutions of an electrically conductive tuning coil, the lower end of which is in electrical contact with the lower mast section. A disk-shaped contactor means or commutator fits coaxially within the coil, the commutator having a circumferential spring member which has a resilient outer circumferential surface which is in electrically conductive, longitudinally slidable contact with inner circumferential surfaces of convolutions of the tuning coil, the contactor being carried by and in electrical contact with the upper mast section. An electric motor and lead screw mechanism within a hollow interior space of the lower mast section of the antenna raises and lowers the upper extensible mast section and the commutator in response to external command signals, thus interposing more or less coil convolutions in series between the lower end of the upper mast and the lower mast, thus resonating the antenna to lower or higher frequencies, respectively.
In another embodiment of an antenna according to the present invention, the conductive whip at the upper end of the antenna is fixed in a cap attached to the upper end of an insulated coil housing and is electrically connected to the upper end of a tuning coil within the housing, and remains stationary. In this embodiment, a commutator disk at the upper end of a conductive shaft is raised or lowered to interpose less or more turns between the lower end of the shaft and the whip to tune the antenna. This embodiment also includes an RF de-coupler which has an annular ring-shaped spring member that has a resilient inner circumferential surface in longitudinally slidable contact with the outer surface of the conductive shaft, and an outer surface in electrically conductive contact with the lower end lead of the coil and a lower conductive mast, thus shorting out the lower portion of the coil and thereby suppressing harmonics or subharmonic currents from being induced therein.
According to a method of making a coil assembly of the type described above for the frequency adjustable mobile antenna, wire is wound into a helical groove formed in a mandrel of smaller diameter than the inner diameter of an elongated cylindrical coil housing having formed in an inner cylindrical wall surface thereof a helical housing groove, by rotating the mandrel in a first direction, a coil housing is slipped over the wound coil on the mandrel, the mandrel is turned in an opposite direction to cause coil convolutions in the mandrel groove to increase in diameter and thereby spring out of the helical mandrel groove and into the helical coil housing groove, and wire from a supply reel is severed, whereupon the coil and housing are removed from the mandrel, and a resilient paddle forcibly inserted sequentially into opposite longitudinal ends of the coil bore and turned to further increase the diameter of the coil helix and thereby securely seat the coil within the coil housing.

Frequency adjustable mobile antenna and method of making


A television receiver is disclosed which is designed to display two types of input picture signals, for example, an NTSC signal and a VGA signal on at least two display areas of one image screen simultaneously. The television receiver includes an auxiliary coil and a switching circuit. The auxiliary coil is operable in first and second operation modes. The first operation mode is such that an electron beam is scanned in sequence along the scanning lines to reproduce the VGA signal having a horizontal scanning frequency of substantially twice that of the NTSC input signal, while the second operation mode is such that the scanning line intervals are controlled so as to scan the electron beam two times along the same scanning line to reproduce the consecutive two of line signals of the frequency-converted NTSC signal which are formed by the same portion of the NTSC input signal. The switching circuit is responsive to an area signal indicative of the display area of at least one of the frequency-converted NTSC signal and the VGA signal to switch between the first and second operation modes of the auxiliary coil for displaying high-quality images on the different display areas of the image screen.

TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates generally to a television receiver designed to double the number of scanning lines (i.e., a horizontal scanning frequency) of an input video signal and to scan the same line signal two times along the same scanning line, in sequence, for recreating a picture on a screen. More particularly, the invention relates to a television receiver designed to scan, in an improved scan format, a video signal whose horizontal scanning frequency converted to be twice that of an input video signal and the input video signal which is double-speed converted for displaying them on different areas of one image screen simultaneously.

Scanning circuit structure of a television receiver


Methods are provided for determining and controlling polymer properties on-line in a polymerization reactor system, such as a fluidized bed reactor. The methods include obtaining a regression model for determining a polymer property, the regression model including principal component loadings and principal component scores, acquiring a Raman spectrum of a polyolefin sample comprising polyolefin, calculating a new principal component score from at least a portion of the Raman spectrum and the principal component loadings, and calculating the polymer property by applying the new principal component score to the regression model. The property can be controlled by adjusting at least one polymerization parameter based on the calculated polymer property.

Gas phase processes for the homopolymerization and copolymerization of monomers, especially olefin monomers, are well known in the art. Such processes can be conducted, for example, by introducing the gaseous monomer or monomers into a stirred and/or fluidized bed of resin particles and catalyst.
In the fluidized-bed polymerization of olefins, the polymerization is conducted in a fluidized-bed reactor, wherein a bed of polymer particles is maintained in a fluidized state by means of an ascending gas stream including gaseous reaction monomer. The polymerization of olefins in a stirred-bed reactor differs from polymerization in a gas fluidized-bed reactor by the action of a mechanical stirrer within the reaction zone, which contributes to fluidization of the bed. As used herein, the term "fluidized-bed" also includes stirred-bed processes and reactors.
The start-up of a fluidized bed reactor generally uses a bed of pre-formed polymer particles. During the course of polymerization, fresh polymer is generated by the catalytic polymerization of the monomer, and polymer product is withdrawn to maintain the bed at constant volume. An industrially favored process employs a fluidization grid to distribute the fluidizing gas to the bed, and also to act as a support for the bed when the supply of gas is cut off. The polymer produced is generally withdrawn from the reactor via one or more discharge conduits disposed in the lower portion of the reactor, near the fluidization grid. The fluidized bed includes a bed of growing polymer particles, polymer product particles and catalyst particles. This reaction mixture is maintained in a fluidized condition by the continuous upward flow from the base of the reactor of a fluidizing gas which includes recycle gas drawn from the top of the reactor, together with added make-up monomer.
The fluidizing gas enters the bottom of the reactor and is passed, preferably through a fluidization grid, upwardly through the fluidized bed.
The polymerization of olefins is an exothermic reaction, and it is therefore necessary to cool the bed to remove the heat of polymerization. In the absence of such cooling, the bed would increase in temperature until, for example, the catalyst became inactive or the polymer particles melted and began to fuse.
In the fluidized-bed polymerization of olefins, a typical method for removing the heat of polymerization is by passing a cooling gas, such as the fluidizing gas, which is at a temperature lower than the desired polymerization temperature, through the fluidized-bed to conduct away the heat of polymerization. The gas is removed from the reactor, cooled by passage through an external heat exchanger and then recycled to the bed.
The temperature of the recycle gas can be adjusted in the heat exchanger to maintain the fluidized-bed at the desired polymerization temperature. In this method of polymerizing alpha olefins, the recycle gas generally includes one or more monomeric olefins, optionally together with, for example, an inert diluent gas or a gaseous chain transfer agent such as hydrogen. The recycle gas thus serves to supply monomer to the bed to fluidize the bed and to maintain the bed within a desired temperature range. Monomers consumed by conversion into polymer in the course of the polymerization reaction are normally replaced by adding make-up monomer to the recycle gas stream.
The material exiting the reactor includes the polyolefin and a recycle stream containing unreacted monomer gases. Following polymerization, the polymer is recovered. If desired, the recycle stream can be compressed and cooled, and mixed with feed components, whereupon a gas phase and a liquid phase are then returned to the reactor.
The polymerization process can use Ziegler-Natta and/or metallocene catalysts. A variety of gas phase polymerization processes are known. For example, the recycle stream can be cooled to a temperature below the dew point, resulting in condensing a portion of the recycle stream, as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,543,399 and 4,588,790. This intentional introduction of a liquid into a recycle stream or reactor during the process is referred to generally as a "condensed mode" operation.
Further details of fluidized bed reactors and their operation are disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,243,619, 4,543,399, 5,352,749, 5,436,304, 5,405,922, 5,462,999, and 6,218,484, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The properties of the polymer produced in the reactor are affected by a variety of operating parameters, such as temperatures, monomer feed rates, catalyst feed rates, and hydrogen gas concentration. In order to produce polymer having a desired set of properties, such as melt index and density, polymer exiting the reactor is sampled and laboratory measurements carried out to characterize the polymer. If it is discovered that one or more polymer properties are outside a desired range, polymerization conditions can be adjusted, and the polymer resampled. This periodic sampling, testing and adjusting, however, is undesirably slow, since sampling and laboratory testing of polymer properties such as melt index, molecular weight distribution and density is time-consuming. As a result, conventional processes can produce large quantities of "off-spec" polymer before manual testing and control can effectively adjust the polymerization conditions. This occurs during production of a particular grade of resin as well as during the transition process between grades.
Methods have been developed to attempt to provide rapid assessment of certain polymer properties and rapid adjustment of polymerization conditions. PCT publications WO 01/09201 and WO 01/09203 disclose Raman-based methods using principal components analysis (PCA) and partial least squares (PLS) to determine concentrations of components in a slurry reactor. The concentration of a particular component, such as ethylene or hexene, is determined based on measurements of a known Raman peak corresponding to the component. U.S. Pat. No. 5,999,255 discloses a method for measuring a physical property of a polymer sample, preferably nylon, by measuring a portion of a Raman spectrum of the polymer sample, determining a value of a preselected spectral feature from the Raman spectrum, and comparing the determined value to reference values. This method relies on identification and monitoring of preselected spectral features corresponding to identified functional groups, such as NH or methyl, of the polymer.
Additional background information can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,144,897 and 5,151,474; European Patent application EP 0 561 078; PCT publication WO 98/08066; and Ardell, G. G. et al., "Model Prediction for Reactor Control," Chemical Engineering Progress, American Institute of Chemical Engineers, U.S., vol. 79, no. 6, Jun. 1, 1983, pages 77–83 (ISSN 0360-7275).
It would be desirable to have methods of determining polymer properties such as melt index, density and molecular weight distribution, on-line in a fluidized bed polymerization reactor, without the need to preselect or identify spectral features of a polymer to monitor. It would also be desirable to have methods of controlling a gas-phase fluidized bed reactor to maintain desired polymer properties, based on a rapid, on-line determination of the polymer properties.

On-line measurement and control of polymer properties by raman spectroscopy


The present invention provides nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compounds and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof and a process for making thereof. The compounds have inhibitory activity on the phosphorylation of kinases, which inhibits the activity of such kinases. The invention also provides intermediate compounds useful in the process, as well as final products produced by the process, and salts or prodrugs thereof. The invention further provides a method of inhibiting kinases and treating disease states in a mammal by inhibiting the phosphorylation of kinases comprising administering an effective amount of a compound according to the invention to a patient in need thereof.

Platelet derived growth factor (PDGF) is known to act as an aggravating factor for cell-proliferative diseases such as arteriosclerosis, vascular reobstruction after percutaneous coronary angioplasty and bypass operation, cancer, glomerulonephritis, glomerulosclerosis, psoriasis and articular rheumatism. See Cell, 46: 155-169 (1986); Science, 253: 1129-1132 (1991); Nippon Rinsho (Japanese J. of Clinical Medicine), 50: 3038-3045 (1992); Nephrol Dial Transplant, 10: 787-795 (1995); Kidney International, 43 (Suppl. 39): 86-89 (1993); Journal of Rheumatology, 21: 1507-1511 (1994); Scandinavian Journal of Immunology, 27: 285-294 (1988).
Quinazoline derivatives which are useful as drugs, N,N-dimethyl-4-(6,7-dimethoxy-4-quinazolinyl)-1-piperazine carboxamide is described as a bronchodilator in South African Patent No. 67 06512 (1968). Dimethoxyquinazoline derivatives are described as inhibitors of phosphorylation of epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor in Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. 208911/93 and WO 96/09294. Quinoline derivatives having benzodiazepin receptor agonist activity are described in Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior, 53, 87-97 (1996) and European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 31, 417-425 (1996), and quinoline derivatives which are useful as anti-parasite agents are described in Indian Journal of Chemistry, 26B: 550-555 (1987).
Inhibitors of phosphorylation of PDGF receptor so far known include bismono- and bicyclic aryl compounds and heteroaryl compounds (WO 92/20642), quinoxaline derivatives. See Cancer Research, 54: 6106 (1994), pyrimidine derivatives (Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. 87834/94) and dimethoxyquinoline derivatives Abstracts of the 16th Annual Meeting of the Pharmaceutical Society of Japan (Kanazawa) (1996), 2: 275; 29(C2): 15-21. Nitrogenous heterocyclic compounds are also described in WO 98/14431 published on Apr. 9, 1998. The WO document describes various processes for making such compounds and phosphorylation inhibition activity thereof.

Nitrogenous heterocyclic compounds and process for making nitrogenous heterocyclic compounds and intermediates thereof


A continuous method and apparatus for cooking cereal grains such as wheat is provided. The method comprises two stages, a first continuous pre-cooking stage wherein the grains are hydrated by heating in water at a temperature below 95.degree. C. for a period of time sufficient to raise the moisture content of the grains to from about 28% to about 36% while allowing a substantial amount of starch to remain ungelatinized and a second continuous stage wherein the grains are heated in water at a temperature above about 95.degree. C. for a period of time sufficient to substantially fully cook the grains.

The production of ready-to-eat cereal products involves the step of cooking raw grain, typically wheat, oat, rice, barley, maize or rye. This is generally followed by one or more of a variety of further processing stages depending upon the type of end product. Examples of such processing includes tempering, flaking, shredding, extrusion, expansion and baking. Thus in the production of shredded wheat, whole wheat berries are cleaned, cooked in water to gelatinize the starch content, cooled, dried and tempered. The tempered cooked berries are shredded by passage between pairs of rollers, one smooth and one grooved, and the shreds formed into biscuits which are then baked to provide the finished ready-to-eat product.
Cooking of wheat on an industrial scale for breakfast cereal manufacture is conventionally carried out as a batch process in which raw, whole grains are cooked. For example, in the cooking of wheat for shredded wheat manufacture, wheat berries are heated in water at or near boiling point, typically for about 30 minutes.
Batch cooking is not however entirely satisfactory. A major disadvantage is the inconsistency of cook of the wheat which is often observed both within and between batches. Thus within a batch there are variations in moisture content between berries and, most importantly, variations in the degree of cooking. Furthermore, inconsistencies within a batch result from the filling and discharge times which means that not all the berries are subjected to elevated temperatures for the same period of time, and from the "dead spots" which exist within the cooking drum, i.e. areas where the stirring devices do not reach, for example near the outlet; any wheat berries which lodge in such areas will tend to be undercooked.
Undercooked berries tend to be hard and brittle; also biscuits made from shredded undercooked berries have a tendency to disintegrate and to rise inadequately during baking. Conversely, overcooked berries are sticky, have poor handling properties and are more difficult to shred. In the case of a batch process in which the proportion of undercooked or overcooked berries is intolerably high, an entire batch needs to be discarded as being unsuitable for further processing. There is thus a need for improved cooking processes which produce a more consistent product suitable for further processing to ready-to-eat breakfast cereals.
Continuous cooking has previously been proposed for ready-to-eat breakfast cereal. However operational problems were encountered and inconsistency of cook remained a problem. Continuous cooking is not in general industrial use in this technical area.
We have now developed a continuous cooking process for grain, particularly wheat, which can be used to produce a product of consistently high quality, in terms of texture and flavor, at least equal to that obtainable by batch methods.


Aliphatic nitrate esters having a sulfur or phosphorus atom .beta. or .gamma. to a nitrate group and their congeners having efficacy as neuroprotective agents are described. Preferred nitrate esters may be synthesized by nitration of a 3-bromo-1,2-propanediol, and subsequent reaction to yield the desired mono-, di- or tetra-nitrate ester.

The nitrate ester, glyceryl trinitrate (GTN) or nitroglycerin, has been used as a vasodilator in the treatment of angina pectoris for over a hundred years, and the dominant contemporary belief is that GTN exerts its therapeutic effect through in vivo release of nitric oxide (NO). Other organic nitrates, such as isosorbide dinitrate, have also been identified as effective and clinically important vasodilators. NO itself has been identified as Endothelium Derived Relaxing Factor (EDRF) and several classes of compounds, for example nitrosothiols, in addition to organic nitrates, have been proposed as NO donors or NO prodrugs. Well-known examples of these classes of compounds and GTN itself have been suggested to demonstrate neurotoxic or neuroprotective effects by dint of interactions with the redox modulatory site of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) excitatory amino acid receptor. Thus GTN is firstly a potent vasodilator and secondly possesses neuroprotective properties. Several attempts have been made to increase the efficacy or potency of alternative nitrate esters as vasodilators relative to GTN, for example, by incorporation of propanolamine or cysteine functionalities. However, no attempt has been made to separately regulate the vasodilatory and neuroprotective effects of GTN. Indeed, postural hypertension, weakness and other signs of cerebral ischemia are adverse effects, associated with the vasodilatory effects of GTN and observed in treatment, which are highly contraindicative of GTN itself as a clinically useful neuroprotective therapeutic agent.
In as much as the potent vasodilatory effects of nitrate esters may prove (a) deleterious to or alternatively (b) synergistic with the neuroprotective effects of GTN, it is postulated herein that regulation of these two effects is required for development of new and useful neuroprotective therapeutic agents. Further, it is postulated that such regulation may be achieved through use of nitrate esters incorporating sulfur-containing or phosphorus-containing functionalities into the structure of the nitrate esters or through use of their congeners. Interaction of nitrate esters with amino acid neurotransmitter receptors, including the NMDA receptor, will provide examples of compounds with neuroprotective properties, but modulation of the .gamma.-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor response will provide examples of nitrate esters capable of cognition enhancement. These postulates are based, in part, on bioassay data on such compounds. Thus, there is a need for synthetic aliphatic nitrate esters containing sulfur or phosphorus functionalities or their congeners as new and useful therapeutic agents for use in neuroprotection and/or cognition enhancement. It will be appreciated, therefore, that these compounds can be used for treatment of: stroke; Parkinson's disease; Alzheimer's disease; Huntington's disease; multiple sclerosis; amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; AIDS-induced dementia; epilepsy; alcoholism; alcohol withdrawal; drug-induced seizures; viral/bacterial/fever-induced seizures; trauma to the head; hypoglycemia; hypoxia; myocardial infarction; cerebral vascular occlusion; cerebral vascular hemorrhage; hemorrhage; environmental excitoxins of plant, animal and marine origin; dementias of all type, trauma, drug-induced brain damage, aging.

Nitrate esters and their use for neurological conditions


Video signals to be displayed are applied via a video driver amplifier to the cathode electrode of a kinescope. A beam current sensor, also coupled to the cathode electrode, provides a beam current indicating signal. An AKB regulator, responsive to the beam current indicating signal, supplies a black level correction signal to the driver amplifier for regulating the black level of images displayed by the kinescope. A screen grid supply system is provided for controlling the G-2 (screen grid) voltage of the kinescope as a predetermined function of the black level correction signal thereby forming with the AKB regulator a dual feedback loop for providing black level regulation by both the driver amplifier and the screen grid thereby maximizing or extending the overall black level control range. Consequently, the high voltage screen control potentiometer normally required for setting screen grid bias may be completely eliminated if desired, or, in applications where it is retained, no adjustments are required subsequent to an initial adjustment.

Most television display systems currently in use employ kinescopes as display devices. The screen or G2 grid, interposed between the control grid and the focusing electrodes, influences a number of significant kinescope operating parameters. Incorrect adjustment may adversely affect the nominal black level of the picture, the color temperature, the kinescope driver amplifier dissipation and the spot size or sharpness capability.
In more detail, in a color kinescope the black level voltage of each electron gun is related to the magnitude of the bias voltage applied to the kinescope G2 (screen) grid. A color kinescope with an "in-line" electron gun structure has a G2 grid electrode energized in common to all three electron guns while a kinescope with separate "delta-type" electron guns has separately energized G2 grid electrodes for each gun. In either case, the G2 bias voltage is often set at a value between 400 and 800 volts, illustratively, so that a desired cathode-to-G1 (control) grid voltage produces a black level condition.
High brightness and high resolution in a reproduced image require a high kinescope peak beam current capability and a small spot size. For each gun, peak beam current capability increases with increasing black level voltage, which is related to the G2 bias voltage. The need for high brightness and high resolution suggests that the highest available G2 bias voltage should be used, consistent with other requirements and constraints on the receiver design.
Some television receivers also employ automatic kinescope bias (AKB) control systems for maintaining a desired black level kinescope cathode bias. Such systems operate to maintain desired cathode-to-G1 bias for each electron gun, and should be capable of operating over a range of black level bias voltages at least as great as the maximum difference in black level voltage between any two kinescope electron guns, which, illustratively, may be on the order of 50 volts or so. To compensate for other system parameter tolerances as well, the operating range of a typical AKB system may be as great as 100 volts. The choice of an operating point within that range is determined by the G2 grid bias voltage. Consequently, it is conventional practice to manually adjust the G2 bias voltage on each receiver to insure that the black level bias voltage of each kinescope electron gun is within the operating range of the AKB system. Furthermore, to obtain high brightness and resolution in a displayed image, the G2 bias voltage should be adjusted so as to make the black level bias voltage of the electron gun with the highest (i.e., most positive) black level voltage nearly equal to the highest usable black level bias voltage capable of being produced by the kinescope driver stages.
When adjusting the G2 screen grid bias, it is also desirable to assure that adequate dynamic range in the blacker than black direction exists for image blanking reserve purposes, particularly in the presence of variations of the operating supply voltage for the kinescope driver circuits.
A known approach to G2 bias adjustment is described by Tallant in U.S. Pat. No. 4,584,596 entitled TELEVISION RECEIVER ALIGNMENT SYSTEM which issued Apr. 22, 1986. The adjustment is manually performed in the receiver service mode and requires modification of the normal bias voltages of both the cathode and the control grid G1 to produce a predetermined cathode-to-G1 voltage. In an illustrative embodiment, the receiver is placed in a service mode which disables the output transistor of the kinescope driver, concurrently disables the automatic kinescope bias (AKB) circuitry and applies an elevated bias voltage (e.g. about double the normal value) to the kinescope control grid G1 whereupon the G2 adjustment is made manually by setting a screen voltage potentiometer.

Video display system with AKB responsive screen grid supply


A method of exchanging data between a first electronic entity and a second electronic entity includes the following steps:                initiating (E400) communication between the first electronic entity and the second electronic entity subsequently to bringing the first and second electronic entities closer together;        in consequence of the initiation, transmitting (E415) an application from the second electronic entity to the first electronic entity;        storing (E416) the application in the first electronic entity.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a method for exchange of data between two electronic entities.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the framework of the exchange of data between two electronic entities (which data can be represented in the form of electrical signals in these electronic entities, for example in memories carried by these electronic entities), it has been proposed in particular to implement short range communication (also known as near field communication (NFC)), as described in patent application WO 2007/121 791. The expression short range generally refers to a range of less than 1 m, for example a range of the order of 50 cm, or even 20 cm.
The RFID technology is frequently used to provide such short range communication, and consists in providing a remote power feed by means of a reader to an electronic circuit (for example carried by a "tag", but possibly also by any other object, for example a mobile telephone) which can then communicate with the reader and transmit to it data intended in particular (in the most standard uses of this technology) to identify the product or the person bearing the tag.
Although the limitation of the interaction between the reader and the electronic circuit to the near field generated by the reader (which is in practice a magnetic field) might initially seem problematic, it is to the contrary seen as an advantage of this technology, because communication is initiated by bringing the electronic circuit and the reader close together and thus, typically, stems from an intentional action on the part of the bearer of the electronic circuit.
The patent application WO 2006/115 842 describes a use of this type, for example.
At present, each electronic circuit designed to use the RFID technology is designed with a particular object (i.e. with a view to a particular service) and in that context holds only data relating to the service concerned (for example the code associated with the user's account in the aforementioned document WO 2006/115 842). If the electronic circuit is carried by a telephone, the data relating to the service is thus stored in a memory of the telephone, for example. This solution is lacking in flexibility, however, and for example obliges a user to obtain in advance a plurality of tags each configured to work with each service that they wish to enjoy. Generally speaking it is impossible to access services for which the electronic circuit is not configured.

Method of exchanging data between two electronic entities


A finger sensing device may include a finger sensing area to receive a user's finger moved in a sliding motion, and a controller cooperating with the finger sensing area for generating successive image samples at least some of which are separated by different time intervals. The controller may generate finger movement signals based upon the successive image samples and the different time intervals. The controller may generate a plurality of repeating groups of ratio-metrically related image samples based upon the different time intervals. The reduced number of image samples may provide greater processing efficiency and reduced power consumption.

Fingerprint sensing and matching is a reliable and widely used technique for personal identification or verification. In particular, a common approach to fingerprint identification involves scanning a sample fingerprint or an image thereof and storing the image and/or unique characteristics of the fingerprint image. The characteristics of a sample fingerprint may be compared to information for reference fingerprints already in a database to determine proper identification of a person, such as for verification purposes.
A particularly advantageous approach to fingerprint sensing is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,963,679 to Setlak and assigned to the assignee of the present invention. The fingerprint sensor is an integrated circuit sensor that drives the user's finger with an electric field signal and senses the electric field with an array of electric field sensing pixels on the integrated circuit substrate. Such sensors are used to control access for many different types of electronic devices such as computers, cell phones, personal digital assistants (PDA's), and the like. In particular, fingerprint sensors are used because they may have a small footprint, are relatively easy for a user to use, and they provide reasonable authentication capabilities.
U.S. Published Patent Application No. 2005/0089203 also to Setlak and assigned to the assignee of the present invention discloses an integrated circuit biometric sensor that may sense multiple biometrics of the user, and that is also adapted to either a static placement sensor or a slide finger sensor. A slide finger sensor includes a smaller sensing surface over which the user's finger is slid. The images collected during the sliding process may be collected for matching, such as for authentication, or may be used for navigation, for example.
U.S. Published Patent Application No. 2005/0078855 to Chandler et al., and assigned to the assignee of the present invention, discloses a finger sensor used for navigation. More particularly, a processor is coupled to the finger sensing area to generate a plurality of menu items on a display, and for scrolling an indicator along the menu items based upon static placement of a finger adjacent a selected portion of the sensing area.
U.S. Published Patent Application No. 2001/0017934 to Palonieme et al. discloses a cellular telephone including a finger sensor for sensing surface the relief areas of human skin, and a movement detector for detecting movement of skin across the sensor. A user interface is responsive to the finger sensor to perform navigation functions.
U.S. Published Patent Application No. 2005/0012714 to Russo et al. also discloses a finger sensor used in a portable electronic device that translates a difference between first and second positions on the sensor into a plurality of sets of signals. Each set of signals may be used to emulate the signals generated by an input device, such as a steering wheel, a mouse, a joystick, a navigation bar, a scroll wheel, and a pressure sensitive button.
Unfortunately, prior art finger sensors used for navigation typically required a series of images or image samples, equally spaced in time, each one compared with the previous one, to estimate X-Y motion. The sampling interval was desirably short enough to capture the fastest motion expected. This may be both time and power consuming.

Finger sensing device for navigation and related methods


A computer system and method including commands to permit interaction between a client and a component in a backend system. The command has an input object, for transformation by the backend system, and defines one or more output objects, representing the input object after transformation by the backend system. The command includes a connection specification, for identification of the backend system with which the client is to interact, and an interaction specification, for identification of the component in the backend system with which the client is to interact. The command also includes a communication object, for carrying out a connection between the client and the component of the backend system. The input object is supplied to the component of the backend system in accordance with the interaction specification and the connection specification. The command is driven by an execute method and the command signals a successfully or an unsuccessful event depending on exceptions being encountered by the component of the backend system in processing the input object. Navigators are built for constructing an interaction flow. Navigators contain chained commands and other navigators.

The present invention is directed to an improvement in computing systems and in particular to patterns for modeling interactions between computer systems or components.
There are many different computer systems known as application systems. Examples include database management or transaction processing systems. Such systems are sometimes referred to as xe2x80x9cbackendxe2x80x9d systems because certain users do not access the systems directly, but rather through a particular xe2x80x9cfrontendxe2x80x9d or user interface, which in turn communicates with the application system to carry out the function requested by the user. Backend systems typically provide access to the functions of the backend system by a communication interface which allows remote and distributed use of the backend system.
Since backend systems have been developed by different companies or groups, they provide different access methods, for example, different sets of APIs to use their services. This causes a serious problem for the application developer who is forced to learn to use different APIs to support various backend systems or even various communications methods with the same system Moreover, it is very hard to provide general tooling or any type of automation of such access, for example code generation requires customized tools that are not reusable and cannot support multiple targets. As well, such tools require specific runtime support that also cannot be reused. This problem is especially annoying since abstraction of the access to the functionality of various backend systems is very similar.
It is therefore desirable to have a standard set of high level interfaces, to which such systems would adhere to permit the modeling of these interactions between computer systems or components in a generic pattern.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an improved computer system and method.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an improved computer system and method for interacting or communicating between a client and a component in a backend system.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer system comprising a command for interacting between a client and a component in a backend system, the command comprising an input object, for transformation by the backend system, one or more output objects, representing the input object after transformation by the backend system, a connection specification, for identification of the backend system with which the client is to interact, an interaction specification, for identification of the component in the backend system with which the client is to interact, and a communication object, for carrying out a connection between the client and the component of the backend system wherein the input object is supplied to the component of the backend system in accordance with the interaction specification and the connection specification and wherein the one or more output objects receive the transformed input object after processing by the component of the backend system, wherein the command is driven by an execute method and wherein the command signals a successful event on no exception being encountered by the component of the backend system in processing the input object, and wherein the command signals an unsuccessful event on an exception being encountered by the component of the backend system in processing the input object.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided the above computer system in which the command is an object oriented class.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided the above computer system in which the input object and the one or more output objects are each a record bean in a defined Java framework.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer system comprising a navigator for forming an interaction flow with a backend system, the navigator comprising a set selectively comprising subcommands and subnavigators, wherein the execute method for each of the subcommands and subnavigators in the set is triggered by a one of an internal event in the navigator derived from the execute method for the navigator, or a successful event from another selected one of the set of subcommands and subnavigators whereby the successive execution of the subcommands and subnavigators in the set defines an interaction flow with the backend system, wherein the navigator is driven by an execute method and wherein the navigator signals a successful event on no unsuccessful event being signalled by the successive execution of the subcommands and subnavigators in the set, and wherein the navigator signals an unsuccessful event on an unsuccessful event being signalled by any one of the successive executions of the subcommands and subnavigators in the set, and wherein subcommands have characteristics identical to commands, and wherein subnavigators have characteristics identical to navigators.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an object oriented computer environment comprising a command class for interacting between a client and components in backend systems, the command class comprising an input object, for transformation by a selected one of the backend systems, one or more output objects, representing the input object after transformation by the selected one of the backend systems, a connection specification, for identification of the selected one of the backend systems with which the client is to interact, an interaction specification, for identification of a selected one of the components in the selected one of the backend systems with which the client is to interact, and a communication object, for carrying out a connection between the client and the selected one of the components of the selected one of the backend systems wherein the input object is supplied to the selected one of the components of the selected one of the backend systems in accordance with the interaction specification and the connection specification and wherein the one or more output objects receive the transformed input object after processing by the selected one of the components of the selected ones of the backend systems, wherein the instance of the command signals a successful event on no exception being encountered by the selected one of the components of the selected one of the backend systems in processing the input object, and wherein the command signals an unsuccessful event on an exception being encountered by the selected one of the components of the selected one of the backend systems in processing the input object.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided the above object oriented computer environment in which the environment is the Java programming language environment and in which the input object and the one or more output objects are each a record bean in a defined Jave framework, and in which navigators, as described above are defined as a class.
Advantages of the present invention include the provision of a solution to the problem by providing a generic runtime that supports interactions with different backend systems using different communications.
Media encoded with program code to effect the above-described systems or processes is also provided in the invention.

Patterns for modeling computer component interactions

International Business Machines Corporation