Data communication includes: in a transmit mode: encapsulating first socket protocol based data into first storage protocol based data; receiving a first storage protocol based read request via a storage protocol based interface; and sending the first storage protocol based data in response to the first storage protocol based read request. In a receive mode: receiving a first storage protocol based write request that includes second storage protocol based data, wherein second socket protocol based data is encapsulated within the second storage protocol based data; and processing the first storage protocol based write request to obtain the second socket protocol based data.

Configuration and management of electronic devices, particularly "headless" devices that do not include any user interfaces for direct user input and/or display, can be challenging to the end users and as well as the manufacturers. Typically, such devices are configured by attaching the device to a host such as a personal computer, which retrieves a device driver by downloading from a website or reading from a storage location such as a CD-ROM. The device driver is then installed on the host to facilitate the communication between the device, the host, and/or a third party system such as a remote server. Such an installation process can be complex and error prone.
One way to simplify the configuration procedure is to certify the device driver with the operating system vendors such as Microsoft® or Apple®. A successfully certified device driver is incorporated into the operating system, so that automatic detection and installation of the device driver can be carried out. The certification process can be onerous for the manufacturer, and different versions of device drivers must be produced for different operating systems.

Communication of socket protocol based data over a storage protocol based interface


An applanating member is provided for use in an applanation tonometer and comprises an optical element replaceably held in a tubular carrier. The element is formed as a replaceable plastics moulding with integral means for locating it in the member axially and rotationally. Such an optical element can be used disposably so as to achieve higher standards of hygiene without excessive costs.

This invention relates to instruments for the measurement of intraocular pressures, known as tonometers, and in particular to applanation tonometers.
In an applanation tonometer the eye is observed through an applanating member which is applied against the eye with sufficient pressure to flatten a predetermined are of the surface of the cornea, so that the applied pressure is able to provide a measure of the intraocular pressure.
A known applanation tonometer is described in GB 862920, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. The applanating member comprises a doubling prism which produces a split image of a circular area of the eye against which the member is applied, the two semi-circular part images being relatively displaced as the pressure of application changes. A convenient datum position indicating that a specific area has been flattened is obtained when the two semi-circles are seen as a continuous S-line, as is explained in GB 862920.
The doubling prism is part of a sealed unit that forms the applanating member, the prism being sealed into the forward end of a tubular carrier, the rear end of which is sealed by a plane transparent plate. Because the applanating member is the only part of the tonometer that comes into direct contact with the patient, producing the member as a sealed unit that is detachable from the instrument make periodic sterilisation more convenient. More recently, however, stricter hygiene standards have created problems in this respect. In particular, it is significant that both the herpes simplex virus and the HIV virus have been found in tear fluids. Since the patient's tear fluid may be left on the applanating member there could be a risk of cross-infection if the member is not fully sterilised after use on each patient. To stock sufficient applanating members to allow for the time they are out of use creates a significant burden of cost, in addition to the cost of the sterilisation process itself. It would therefore be desirable to be able to limit the costs of meeting these stricter standards.

Optical elements for applanation tonometers


A chemical composition includes, in mass percent, C: 0.30 to 0.55%, Si: 0.05 to 1.0%, Mn: 0.05 to 0.9%, P: 0.001 to 0.030%, S: 0.005 to 0.12%, Cr: 0.05 to 2.0%, Al: 0.005 to 0.05%, N: 0.0050 to 0.0200%, and the balance being Fe and unavoidable impurities, an amount of N in solid solution being not less than 0.0020%, wherein the contents of Mn and S satisfy relationships expressed by the following expressions:2.6≦Mn/S<15  (1) andMn+6S<1.2  (2).

One of methods for joining two steel members is friction welding that involves bringing joining surfaces of these members into abutment with each other and relatively rotating the members to generate frictional heat whereby softening the joining surfaces, and applying high pressurizing force to the members to form diffusion bonding between the members. Friction welding is employed to manufacture various components, such as propeller shafts for automobiles.
The steel material for friction welding is often required not only to have high friction weldability, but also to have good machinability. For example, the propeller shafts described above are manufactured being subjected to not only friction welding but also machining.
It has been well known that addition of Pb is effective for improvements in the machinability of steel. In contrast, environmental concerns demand Pb-free steel without Pb addition. The addition of S in place of Pb can provide steel with improved machinability; however, which machinability is barely compatible with the friction weldability.
Patent literature 1 discloses a Pb-free steel material for machine structures suitable for friction welding, wherein N is preliminarily present in the form of a compound while the content of N in solid solution is regulated to 0.0015% or less, and the number of MnS grains with a certain size is controlled. This patent further describes that, for the regulation of the content of N in solid solution and the control of the MnS grains, a billet should be heated at a temperature in the range of 1000 to 1250° C. and the temperature should be maintained within the range of 800 to 1000° C. from the start to the end of the hot rolling (Paragraph 0091).
Furthermore, the patent describes that a change in existing form of N present in the steel before and after the friction welding can improve the joining strength after the friction welding, cold workability, and machinability (Paragraph 0029).

Method for producing steel material for friction welding


An operative instrument for endoscopic surgery which can be used in combination with a normal, straight trocar. The operative instrument for endoscopic surgery includes a jacket tube (11), which is formed from an elastic tubular member to normally maintains a curved shape and can be elastically deformed to be insertable into a straight, cylindrical trocar (1), a manipulating shaft (27), which is elastic, has a distal end operative member (24) connected to the distal end thereof for performing a treatment within the body, and is passed through the jacket tube (11), and a manipulating part (30), which is connected to the proximal side of the jacket tube (11) for manipulating the distal end operative member (24) via manipulating shaft (27).

The present invention concerns an operative instrument for endoscopic surgery, which is passed through a tubular trocar and is used to perform a surgical procedure, etc. inside a body cavity under endoscopic observation.
In recent years, endoscopic surgery has come to be performed widely for various types of surgery since the interior of the body cavity can be subjected to surgical treatment without large incision. In the endoscopic surgery, several small opened parts are made in the abdominal wall, a tubular trocar is passed through each opened part, and an endoscope is passed through one trocar while various operative instruments are passed through the other trocars.
The use of the trocars prevents damage of the opened part of the abdominal wall in the process of inserting or removing the endoscope and operative instrument, and prevents leakage of air when operative instruments are used interchangeably.
The length of an operative instrument used in the surgery under endoscopic observation is short since it is to be used upon insertion through a trocar. In general, the operative instrument is designed such that manipulating shaft (or manipulating wire) is retractably inserted and positioned in the axial direction in a rigid jacket tube, and a distal end operative member, which is actuated by advancing and retreating the manipulating shaft, is attached to the distal end of the jacket tube.
In case where the rear side of an organ must be subjected to treatment by endoscopic surgery, an operative instrument with a curved jacket tube is used.
Since the operative instrument is used upon being passed through the trocar as abovementioned, a trocar with a curvature which matches the curvature of the jacket tube must be prepared.

Operative instrument for endoscopic surgery


Arbitration apparatus and method coordinate access to an output of a routing device in a packet switching network. Access to the output is granted to requests having the highest priority in a current arbitration cycle. For requests having the same priority, access is granted to the first of such requests received. Before granting a request, the arbitration apparatus ensures a receiving input buffer has sufficient space for a data packet, as well as any higher priority traffic.

Routing devices in packet switching networks route data packets from one routing device to another until the packets reach their final destination. Routing devices often receive packets at a rate that temporarily exceeds the rate at which the packets can be forwarded, and, consequently, routing devices employ arbitration schemes to determine which packets will be sent at a select time.
Packet switching networks use a variety of arbitration schemes, such as fixed priority or rotating schemes. Conventional arbitration schemes are limited, however, in that they do not ensure that the next destination routing device has capacity to receive a data packet before allowing the data packet to be outputted. Consequently, limited output resources are often wasted on transactions incapable of completion. Moreover, many conventional arbitration schemes are not easily or economically implemented in hardware, which provides for substantially higher performance than microprocessorbased schemes.
In Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) networks, routing devices that estimate the storage capacity of the next destination routing device are known. The estimation is based on the available bandwidth of the network and the rate at which packets are being transmitted. This estimation method is limited, however, in that it does not keep track of the exact amount of space available in the next destination routing device, and, thus, cannot guarantee that sufficient space is available. Consequently, packets are sometimes sent to a routing device unable to receive the packet, and such errors can significantly reduce network performance. The risk of such errors is proportional to the transmission rate, and, thus, to minimize the risk, the packet transmission rate must be reduced. This limitation is particularly severe in multiprocessor-based packet switching networks because multiprocessor-based networks transmit data packets at a significantly greater rate than do ATM networks.
Moreover, when an arbiter employs a fixed priority arbitration scheme, it is desirable to ensure that sufficient space not only exists for the packet, but also for future higher priority traffic. Otherwise, lower priority traffic may delay higher priority traffic. The method used in ATM networks is limited in that it does not ensure that sufficient space exists for a higher priority packets before transmitting a lower priority packet. Therefore, a need exists for an arbitration method in a packet switching network that only allows a data packet access to an output if the next destination routing device has capacity to receive both the packet and, if applicable, future higher priority packets. Additionally, it is desirable to have an arbitration method that can be economically implemented in hardware.

Method and apparatus for coordinating access to an output of a routing device in a packet switching network


A seed drill for planting seed in untilled ground. The drill is pulled by a prime mover and includes an array of double disk furrow opening assemblies in conjunction with a seed dispensing mechanism. The seed drill is equipped with an array of forwardly located trash disks in order to clear trash in the immediate vicinity ahead of each double disk furrow opening assembly. The trash disks clear the ground to facilitate the work of the furrow opening disks. Each trash disk assembly includes a circular trash disk rotatably mounted on a torque arm that is resiliently movable with respect to the frame of the machine. Each trash disk is mounted at an angle canted downward and forward between 15 and 25 degrees. The trash disk has a concave dish shape with a scalloped outer peripheral edge.

The invention pertains to a seed drill for applying seeds such as grass seed to untilled ground. Furrow opening discs or blades of existing seed drills do not function well over hard untilled ground. Having to till the ground prior to using a seed planter to deposit seed is time consuming and expensive. For various considerations such as controlling erosion it is desirable to leave fields in untilled condition.
Untilled soil has an abundance of residual organic debris referred to as trash. In planting an untilled field, it is necessary to contend with the trash. On some machines this comprises the use of trash furrowing disks placed ahead of the seed planting mechanism in an attempt to move the trash aside. Most such machines are unsuccessful. Traditional trash disks crimp or knife the trash into the intended site of the seed slot. Upon subsequent seeding there is poor seed to soil contact. In addition, unwanted weed seed can be pulled up by traditional trash disks, to be left in the seed bed to germinate in competition with the planted seed.


A code reader may include at least one imager configured to capture image data of a scene including a machine-readable indicia. A first circuit may be in electrical communication with the imager(s), and be configured to receive the image data from the imager. A second circuit may be in communication with the imager and the first circuit, and be configured to control operation of said imager, and to process the image data including the machine-readable indicia to decode and/or identify data represented by the machine-readable indicia. The decoded and/or identified data may be output to a computer. A third circuit may be in electrical communication with the first circuit, and be configured to process the image data to produce processed (e.g., subsampled and compressed) image data, and to output the processed image data to the computer.

Barcode readers or code readers are used in a variety of venues and environments. The purpose of a code reader can vary greatly from venue to venue as well as within the venue. Operators of venues in which code scanners or readers are utilized often have needs for cameras to be used for the purposes other than reading machine-readable codes. Such needs include, but are not limited to, security, loss prevention, document verification, payment identification and verification, signature capture, customer identification, product identification, and so on. As understood in the art, image processing of images with machine-readable indicia to be read by code readers consumes a significant amount of processing resources to identify and process (e.g., frame, decode, compress, read, store) images of the machine-readable indicia. As a result, conventional code readers are unable to suitably capture, process, and transfer images, including still and video, for security and/or other purposes without negatively impacting processing capabilities and/or bandwidth for processing the images of the machine-readable indicia.

Barcode scanning system with image or video output(s)


The deposition rate of a porous insulation film is increased, and the film strength of the porous insulation film is improved. Two or more organic siloxane raw materials each having a cyclic SiO structure as a main skeleton thereof, and having mutually different structures, are vaporized, and transported with a carrier gas to a reactor (chamber), and an oxidant gas including an oxygen atom is added thereto. Thus, a porous insulation film is formed by a plasma CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) method or a plasma polymerization method in the reactor (chamber). In the step, the ratio of the flow rate of the added oxidant gas to the flow rate of the carrier gas is more than 0 and 0.08 or less.

The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, and a semiconductor device.
In recent years, in order to reduce the relative dielectric constant of the interlayer insulation film, there have been proposed various methods.
Patent Document 1 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2010-21575) describes the following method for manufacturing a porous insulation film: to the vapor obtained by diluting the vapor of a cyclic organic silica compound (cyclic organic siloxane raw material) with an inert gas, is added an oxidant gas at a flow rate 0.3 time or more and 1.2 times or less the flow rate of the cyclic silica compound, and the mixture is introduced into a plasma to grow a porous insulation film. It is considered that this method can provide an insulation film with a low relative dielectric constant with stability.
Patent Document 2 (WO2007/032261) describes the following method: using a mixed gas of a cyclic organic siloxane raw material, and a compound raw material including a part of the chemical structure forming the cyclic organic siloxane raw material, a porous insulation film is formed by a plasma vapor deposition method. It is considered that this method can provide a porous insulation film suppressed in elimination of hydrocarbon.
Patent Document 3 (WO2008/010591) describes the following method for forming an insulation film. There are used a raw material having a 3-membered cyclic SiO structure in the main skeleton, and a raw material having a 4-membered cyclic SiO structure in the main skeleton. At least one of the two kinds of raw materials has at least one or more unsaturated hydrocarbon groups in the side chain. It is considered that this method can provide a porous insulation film implementing high strength and high density.
Patent Document 4 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2011-192962) describes the following method for manufacturing a semiconductor device. First, two or more organic siloxane compound raw materials each having a cyclic SiO structure in a main skeleton thereof, and having mutually different structures are mixed to be vaporized. Then, using the vaporized gas in a reactor, a porous insulation film is formed by a plasma CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) method or a plasma polymerization method. It is considered that this method can reduce the relative dielectric constant of the insulation film with ease.

Porous insulation film, and a semiconductor device including such porous insulation film


The present invention is directed to a technique that provides enhanced separation resolution in electrophoresis. This technique involves the use of a time-varying field strength, which may be progressively increasing or decreasing, constant or otherwise, as a function of time. The shape of the field strength with respect to time may be continuous or stepwise over time, monotonic or otherwise.. Because the mobility of different size species is a function of the applied electric field, the use of a nonuniform (time varying) electric field increases the resolving power of electrophoresis. This technique has been found to provide enhanced resolution of double-stranded DNA molecules in capillary polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. It has been found that enhanced separation of DNA restriction fragments of 1 to more than 1000 base pairs in size has been achieved employing the technique of the present invention.

1. Field of The Invention
The present invention relates to electrophoresis, particularly capillary electrophoresis, and more particularly capillary gel electrophoresis.
2. Description of Related Art
Recently, there has been a great deal of activity in DNA analysis by capillary electrophoretic methods ([1] Cohen, A. S.; Najarian, D. R.; Paulus, A; Guttman, A; Smith, J. A.; Karger, B. L.; Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 1988, 85, 9660-9663; [2] Paulus, A., Gassmann, E.; Field, M. J.; Electrophoresis, 1990, 11, 702-708; [3] Yin, H. F.; Lux, J. A.; Shomburg, G.; J. High Res. Chrom., 1990, 13, 624-627.) Using this new and powerful technology, results have been published on the separation of single-stranded DNA molecules, such as in synthetic DNA analysis ([4] Guttman, A.; Cohen, A. S.; Heiger, D. N.; Karger, B. L.; Anal. Chem., 1990, 62, 2038-2042), as well as in the separation of double-stranded DNA molecules, particularly concerning PCR products and restriction fragments ([5] Schwartz, H. E.; Ulfelder, K.; Sunzeri, F.; Busch, M.; Brownlee, M.G.; J. Chromatogr. 1991, 559, 267-283.) It was also demonstrated that high-efficiency, fast separations of DNA molecules can be achieved by the use of linear polyacrylamide gel-filled capillary columns ([6] Heiger, D. N.; Cohen, A. S.; Karger, B. L.; J. Chromatogr., 1990, 516, 33-48; [7] Guttman, A.; Cooke, N.; J. Chromatogr., 1991, 559, 285-294.) Even fragments of the same chain length with different sequences were separated by this method due to differences in molecular conformation ([8] Guttman, A.; Nelson, R. J.; Cooke, N. J. Chromatogr., 1991, 593, 297-303.)
Different field operation techniques have been described recently to achieve better separation of different size DNA molecules, mainly with slab gel electrophoresis. Dennison et al ([9] Dennison, C.; Linder, W. A.; Phillis, N. C. K.; Anal. Biochem, 1982, 120, 12-18) employed conical or wedge-shaped slab gels to linearize the logarithmic distribution of bands (nonlinear voltage gradient method) Biggin et al ([10] Biggin, M. D.; Gibson, T. J.; Hong, G. F.; Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 1983, 80, 3963-3965) studied the usefulness of high ionic strength anode buffer where the resistance of the gel in the direction of the anode decreases and creates a negative field- strength gradient along the DNA's migration path. They concluded that this particular method is not practical for ultrathin gels, as is also the case for capillary gel electrophoresis ([11] Guttman, A.; Beckman Instruments, Inc., Research and Development, Unpublished results, 1991). Ansorge et al tried using an increasing cross-sectional area of the slab gels producing a field gradient to achieve enhanced sharpening of bands, thereby increasing the number of resolvable bases per gel ([12] Ansorge, W.; Labeit, S.; J. Biochem. Biophys. Methods, 1984, 10, 237-243.) Cantor et al ([13] Cantor, C. R.; Smith, C. L.; Mathew, M. K.; Ann. Rev. Biophys. Biophys. Chem., 1988, 17, 287-304) introduced the pulsed field method (changing the direction and magnitude of the field in an oscillating manner), that takes advantage of the elongated and oriented configuration of large DNA (<50 kbp) molecules in gels. Heiger et al [6] described the capillary gel electrophoretic separation of double-stranded DNA molecules up to 23,000 base pairs in size using the pulsed field technique with very low gel concentrations. Although in slab gel operation there are some mechanical difficulties involved in handling low concentration gels ([14] Fangman, W. L.; Nucl. Acid Res., 1978, 5, 653-665), this does not present a problem in capillary electrophoresis techniques. Demana and co-workers ([15] Demana, T.; Lanan, M.; Morris, M. D.; Anal. Chem., 1991, 63, 2795-2797) used an analyte velocity modulation method to increase separation power in capillary gel electrophoresis of DNA restriction fragments.

Capillary electrophoresis using time-varying field strength


A method, apparatus and computer program product for identifying a geographic location for a source of a call is presented. A central office receives a call from a calling party, the call including a telephone number of the calling party. A geographic location of the calling party is determined from information associated with the calling party. The geographic location is then provided to the called party.

Incoming Caller Line IDentification (ICLID) is an analog service offered by a central office exchange that transmits the calling party's telephone number to the called party's telephone equipment. ICLID type 1 provides the calling party's telephone number via modem bursts between the first and second ringing cycle and ILCID type 2 provides the calling party's telephone number in the same way while the called party is currently engaged in another call. ICLID is the typical service offered to a residential customer. ICLID is part of the Custom Local Area Signaling Services (CLASS), and can also provide the date and time of the call.

System and method of identifying geographic location for the source of a call


An optical fiber positioning method comprises the steps of: preparing an optical fiber, an optical fiber holder, and a positioning plate; fitting the optical fiber holder in the fitting hole and inserting the optical fiber into an optical fiber holding hole of the optical fiber holder and an optical fiber positioning hole of the optical fiber positioning plate; abutting the optical fiber on the abutting position of the optical fiber positioning hole in the state that the end of the optical fiber holder is fitted in the fitting hole and the optical fiber is inserted into an optical fiber holding hole of the optical fiber holder and an optical fiber positioning hole of the optical fiber positioning plate; and fixing the optical fiber to the optical fiber positioning plate in the state that the optical fiber is abutted on with the abutting position of an optical fiber positioning hole.

A) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to optical transmission path forming techniques using optical fibers, and more particularly to an optical fiber array, an optical fiber positioning method to be used for manufacture of an optical fiber array, and an optical fiber positioning plate to be used for the optical fiber positioning method.
B) Description of the Related Art
As a centering method for a ferrule (optical fiber holder), the positions of optical fiber holding holes have been determined conventionally by using the outer periphery of an optical fiber holder as a reference position. A multi optical fiber holder adopting such a centering method is known such as shown in FIG. 43 (for example, refer to the Official Gazette JP-A-HEI-11-712644).
A multi optical fiber holder 1 shown in FIG. 43 has a first recess 2 and a second recess 3 in the upper part of the rectangular body of the holder 1. The first recess 2 is formed spaced apart by a predetermined distance from the end face 1A. The second recess 3 is continuous with and deeper than the first recess 2. Optical fiber positioning holes 1a to 1d are formed in line through the body of the holder between the end face 1A and first recess 2. Optical fiber alignment grooves 4a to 4d of a C-character cross section are juxtaposed on the bottom of the recess 2 and reach the recess 3. Each optical fiber alignment groove has a region 5a as shown in the groove 4a near the recess 3, the region 5a increasing its diameter toward the recess 3. On opposite sides of the end face 1A, guide pin holes G1 and G2 are formed along the row of the positioning holes 1a to 1d.
A multi optical fiber 6 has optical fibers 8a to 8d covered with a sheath 7. When the multi optical fiber 6 is assembled with the multi optical fiber holder 1, part of the sheath 7 is cut to expose the optical fibers 8a to 8d. The optical fibers 8a to 8d are inserted from the recess 3 side of the holder 1 into the positioning holes 1a to 1d via the alignment grooves 4a to 4d to project the ends of the optical fibers 8a to 8d out of the positioning holes 1a to 1d and sit the sheath 7 on the recess 3. In this state, adhesive is flowed in the alignment grooves 4a to 4d to fix the optical fibers 8a to 8d to the positioning holes 1a to 1d.
According to this prior art, the positions of optical fibers relative to the outer periphery of the optical fiber holder are determined by the positioning holes 1a to 1d. Therefore, the size and position of each positioning hole 1a to 1d are required to have high precision. The pitch of positioning holes of the multi optical fiber holder is also required to have high precision.
A two-dimensional optical fiber array is know such as shown in FIG. 44 (for example, refer to the Official Gazette of JP-A-HEI-10-268145).
In a two-dimensional optical fiber array shown in FIG. 44, holes H1, H2, H3, . . . are formed through a ceramic plate 1a by precision laser work. Such ceramic plates 1b, 1c, . . . are prepared. Guide lines are inserted into a plurality of holes H1, H2, H3, . . . to align hole positions and stack and fix the ceramic plates 1a, 1b, 1c, . . . After the guide lines are pulled out of the holes, optical fibers 2a, 2b, 2c, . . . are inserted into the holes H1, H2, H3, . . . and fixed. The ends of the optical fibers 2a, 2b, 2c, . . . are made flush by polishing an end face of the ceramic plate lamination.
According to this prior art, a plurality of optical fibers can be disposed two-dimensionally at high precision. However, position alignment of a number of holes between a plurality of ceramic plates is not easy even if a precision work is performed, and in addition it is not easy to insert optical fibers through a number of holes in the ceramic plate lamination.

Optical fiber array, optical fiber positioning method and optical fiber positioning plate


Techniques for operating a sensor are provided. An example method according to these techniques includes sensing, at the sensor, changes in intensity of a magnetic field of a magnet affixed to a monitored asset to produce sensor data, wherein the monitored asset is disposed in a non-metallic liquid or solid medium, and wherein the sensor is disposed outside of the non-metallic medium; The method also includes analyzing, at the sensor, the sensor data to produce feature information indicative of vibration of the monitored asset. The method also includes providing the feature information to a predictive algorithm to generate prognosis information indicating an occurrence of a known condition of the monitored asset.

Sensor technology has enabled sensors to be deployed in various settings where direct monitoring of assets may be difficult or impractical. Wireless sensor technology has made it possible to collect vast amounts of information about these assets. However, utilizing this information to improve the function of the monitored assets has proved to be challenging.

Remote vibration detection of submerged equipment using magnetic field sensing


An infusion pump for continuously conveying a fluid includes an inlet, an outlet, a first piston movably supported in a first chamber connected to the inlet, a second piston movably supported in a second chamber connected to the outlet, and a connecting channel connecting the first chamber to the second chamber. At least one control element, in a first position, connects the inlet to the first chamber and, in a second position, connects the first chamber to the second chamber. A controller acts upon the first piston, the second piston, and the control element so that, when the control element is set in the first position, the first chamber is filled while the second chamber is drained, and when in the second position, the first chamber is drained and the second chamber is filled, wherein a constant discharge at the outlet is maintained at a predefined flow rate.

The invention relates to an infusion fusion pump for continually conveying a fluid, comprising an inlet, an outlet, a first piston movably supported in a first chamber, and a second piston movably supported in a second chamber. The invention relates in particular to an infusion pump, using which very small amounts of a drug can be applied precisely and with a constantly uniform flow or conveying rate.
EP 045 8114 B1 already discloses an infusion pump where using four valves two cylinders in each case equipped with a piston can alternately be filled with a drug from a reservoir and the drug can be drained by discharging the drug to the patient. Switching over the drug supply from a drained to a filled cylinder can achieve an approximately continuous conveying of drugs with relatively simple means.
A disadvantage of this infusion pump however is that due to the valve clearance an additional volume is created in the valve when the valve is opened, there being a reduced conveying of the drug. On the other hand, this reduced volume is displaced again when the valve is closed, resulting in increased conveying.
Over longer periods, the drug delivery corresponds to the therapy plan established by the physician. Under certain circumstances however, only a temporally brief under or oversupply of the patient with the drug conveyed by the infusion pump can—as a function of the drug—lead to the desired therapeutic success not being achieved.


Systems and methods for scanning with radiation detectors are provided. One system includes at least one radiation scanning camera-head, an array of at least one pixelated radiation detector having an imaging surface including a two dimensional array of pixels, and a scanning unit positioned between the radiation detector and the object. The scanning unit includes first and second radiation blocking plates having first and second two-dimensional arrays of openings, respectively, wherein the array of pixels and the first and second arrays of openings have a same pitch. Additionally, for each of a plurality of scan positions of the scanning unit, the first and second moveable plates and the imaging surface are positioned differently with respect to each other to produce different inclination angles in response to each scan position.

The subject matter disclosed herein relates generally to systems and methods for the detection of ionizing radiation, such as gamma-ray and X-ray radiation, and more specifically to scanning systems and methods of radiation detection for medical diagnosis including Single Photon Counting Tomography (SPECT).
Different scanning methods are known for use in detecting ionizing radiations, such as systems that use variable collimators. For example, some known methods of three dimensional (3D) image reconstruction use multiple image-acquisitions with different collimations of the imaging-collimator, such as by changing the collimation of the imaging-collimator. These systems use forward looking variable collimators constructed from multiple collimation elements where each collimation element may be varied and may produce multiple corresponding viewing-angles with a primary axis that is normal to imaging planes produced by detectors. These imaging planes are behind the collimators and arranged to receive the radiation emitted from an imaged object via the collimators. The structures of the collimators and collimation elements are designed to reduce or avoid any crosstalk of radiation between the collimation elements, for example, to prevent or reduce the likelihood of gamma rays passing through the gap of one septum into another collimator aperture.
Additionally, the different viewing angles produced by the variable collimation elements are included in each other in a way that each viewing angle contains all the viewing angles that are smaller than this viewing angle. As a result, acquisition of multiple images using variable collimators using conventional systems creates a significant redundancy of information in which the same information appearing in one image appears in another images as well. In some of the images, the repeated information is the major information and only a small fraction in these images is new information that does not appear in other images.
In order to increase the sensitivity of the imaging system, each of the multiple images acquired in different collimation of the imaging-collimator includes the imaged region. This imaged region is on and in the imaged object and is significantly larger than the size of the desired spatial resolution. The reconstruction of the image within the desired spatial resolution is produced by various image-reconstruction methods which include intensive mathematical calculations based on multiple equations derived from the multiple images. For example, in some systems, the number of images acquired for reconstructing a SPECT image times the number of pixels in each image is equal to the number of virtual voxels into which the imaged object is to be divided. Accordingly, the large size of the imaged region, on the imaged object, in each acquired image and the large number of acquired images that is needed for the 3D image reconstruction does not allow for selecting only images acquired with no information redundancy.
Moreover, the redundancy of the acquired information increases the statistical error in the equations that contain the repeated information without adding new information useful for the image reconstruction. Also, the equations in which the repeated information is significant are dependent equations and do not contribute insignificant information for the image reconstruction. The redundant or repeated information in general and especially the redundant or repeated information in the dependent equations, contribute mainly statistical errors without any substantial new information. These statistical errors are enhanced by the intensive mathematical calculations involved in the image-reconstruction methods.
Thus, the reconstruction of images using some known systems and methods includes repetitive information that enhances the statistical errors when using the algorithm for image reconstruction. Thus, reconstructed images may suffer from poor quality and may also include reconstruction artifacts.


A vehicle and a method of controlling the vehicle for adjusting a sound pressure of a virtual engine sound based on external noise are provided. The vehicle may include: a speaker to output a virtual engine sound; a microphone to receive external sound generated outside of the vehicle; and a controller configured to extract noise by separating the virtual engine sound from the external sound, determine each peak sound pressure of a plurality of peak sound pressures as a peak point, identify a plurality of equalizer (EQ) filters having a predetermined bandwidth, generate an amplification filter by combining the plurality of EQ filters, apply the amplification filter to the virtual engine sound and control the speaker to output the virtual engine sound.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
In general, the electric power vehicle may be driven by a motor, and may generate little noise depending on the low noise characteristic of the motor. Accordingly, since the noise is small even when the electric power vehicle approaches, the pedestrian may not notice and the probability of an accident may increase.
Recently, a virtual engine sound system (VESS) that virtually outputs engine sound so that pedestrians can recognize the approach of the electric power vehicle has been installed in the electric power vehicle.
Recently, a technology for amplifying a virtual engine sound based on a frequency average of ambient noise by collecting ambient noise through a microphone of a vehicle has also been developed. However, despite the amplification through the frequency average, distortion due to the masking effect may occur.
The method of creating an amplified equalizer equal to the ambient noise is problematic in terms of computational speed and design cost because it requires an infinite number of digital filters. In the amplification method for each band, unnecessary sound pressure may be amplified to cause distortion of the virtual engine sound.

Vehicle and method of controlling the same


This invention relates to compounds and pharmaceutical compositions, and methods for inhibiting or preventing the amyloid protein deposits in the brain which are associated with Alzheimer's disease and aged Down's syndrome patients. More particularly, it relates to the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

It is estimated that over 5% of the U.S. population over 65 and over 15% of the U.S. population over 85 are affected by Alzheimer's disease. (Cross, A. J., Eur. J. Pharmacol. (1982) 82: 77 -80; Terry, R. D., et al., Ann. Neurol. (1983) 14: 497-506). It is believed that the principal cause of confinement of the elderly in long term care facilities is due to this disease, and approximately 65% of those dying in skilled nursing homes suffer from it.
Certain facts about the biochemical and metabolic phenomena associated with the presence of Alzheimer's disease are known. Two morphological and histopathological changes noted in Alzheimer's disease brains are neuro-fibrillary tangles (NFT) and amyloid deposits. Intraneuronal neurofibrillary tangles are present in other degenerative diseases as well, but the presence of amyloid deposits both in the intraneuronal spaces (neuritic plaques) and in the surrounding microvasculature (vascular plaques) seems to be characteristic of Alzheimer's. Of these, the neuritic plaques seem to be the most prevalent (Price, D. L., et al., Drug Development Research (1985) 5: 59-68). Plaques are also seen in the brains of aged Down's Syndrome patients who develop Alzheimer's disease.
Plaque-rich brains of Alzheimer's patients have been used as a source to extract an approximately 4.2 kd "core" polypeptide, amyloid plaque core protein (APCP). This peptide was designated .beta.-protein by (Glenner, G., et al., Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. (1984) 120: 885-890). The amino acid sequence of the amino-terminus was determined (Glenner, G., et al., Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. (1984) 122: 1131-1135; Masters, C. L., et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci USA (1985) 82: 4245-42259). The amino acid sequences reported by the two groups were identical, except that Glenner et al. reported a glutamine residue at position 11 for Alzheimer's disease cerebral vascular amyloid whereas Master et al. reported glutamic acid at position 11. Also, the former authors reported that the cerebral vascular amyloid has a homogeneous amino-terminus, while the latter authors reported heterogeneous amino-termini. Both groups showed that the same peptide is found in the amyloid plaque cores and vascular amyloid of adult Down's syndrome-afflicted individuals and report glutamic acid at position 11. Wong, C. W., et al. (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA (1985) 82: 8729-8732) showed that a synthetic peptide which was homologous to the first ten amino acids of the .beta.-amyloid core protein described by Masters (supra) was able to raise antibodies in mice and that these antibodies could be used to stain not only amyloid-laden cerebral vessels, but also neuritic plaques. These results were confirmed by Allsop, D. et al., Neuroscience Letters (1986) 68: 252-256 using antibodies directed against a synthetic peptide corresponding to amino acids 8-17. Thus, in general, the plaque protein found in various locations of the brain of Alzheimer's patients appears to be similar in immuno-reactivity. It is highly insoluble, as shown by the inability to achieve solubilization in many commonly used denaturants, such as detergents and chaotropic agents (Masters, supra, Allsop, D., et al. (supra)).
There are six known instances of disease-associated amyloid deposits in which the amyloid is produced from a precursor protein: for primary amyloidosis, the precursor is an immunoglobulin light chain; for secondary amyloidosis, the precursor is amyloid A protein; for amyloidosis, prealbumin or a variant thereof; for medullary carcinoma of thyroid, a procalcitonin fragment; and for hereditary cerebral hemorrhage, gamma-trace fragment (See, e.g., Glenner, G. New England Journal of Medicine (1980.) 302: 1283; Sletton, K., et al. Biochem J (1981) 195: 561; Benditt, et al. FEBS Lett(1971) 19:169; Sletton, K., al., Eur J Biochem (1974) 41: 117; Sletton, K. J Exp Med (1976) 143: 993). The foregoing is a partial list and there are at least a number of additional references with regard to procalcitonin fragment as a precursor for the amyloid of the thyroid carcinoma.
It is believed, by analogy to other known instances of disease-associated amyloid deposits, that the .beta.-amyloid core protein associated with Alzheimer's disease is formed from a precursor protein. A protein containing the .beta.-amyloid core protein sequence within the framework of a larger protein was described by Kang, J., et al., (Nature (1987) 325: 733-736). The sequence of this protein was deduced from the sequence of a cDNA clone isolated from a human fetal brain tissue cDNA library and consists of 695 amino acid residues wherein the amino terminus of the .beta.-amyloid core protein begins at position 597. A second precursor protein containing the .beta.-amyloid sequence was predicted from a cDNA clone isolated by Ponte, et al. (Nature (1988) 331: 525-527). The cDNA clone isolated by Ponte et al. encoded a precursor protein which is identical to that identified by Kang, et al., except that it contains an additional 57-amino acid sequence inserted upstream of the .beta.-amyloid core protein sequence. The 57-amino acid insert sequence comprises a functional domain which is highly homologous to a series of protease inhibitors known as the Kunitz-type serine protease inhibitors. Others have characterized an additional amyloid precursor protein (See Kitaguchi, et al., Nature (1988) 331: 530-532) which contains 770 amino acids. The precursor identified by Kitaguchi is identical to that of Ponte et al., except that it contains an additional 19 amino acids adjacent the 57-amino acid protease inhibitor domain. It is not known that these additional 19 amino acids provide any additional functionality to the molecule. The various amyloid precursor proteins which have been identified from cDNA clones arise as the result of alternative message splicing during transcription of a single amyloid precursor gene.
It has been shown that the amyloid precursor proteins are processed by normal cellular metabolism to produce the .beta.-amyloid core protein (Haass, et al. Nature (1992) 359: 322-325; Shoji, et al. Science (1992) 258: 126-129,; Seubert, et al. Nature (1992) 359: 325-327). It is unclear, however, if individuals with Alzheimer's disease produce higher amounts of the .beta.-amyloid core protein, although it has been shown that individuals with Down's syndrome, who invariably develop Alzheimer's disease, express two-fold more B-amyloid precursor protein (Neve, et al. Neuron (1988) 1: 669-677). It is believed that the development of amyloid plaques in Alzheimer's disease brains results from excess production and/or reduced clearance or sequestration of the .beta.-amyloid protein. Hence, if means could be devised for intervening in the process of plaque formation by preventing or inhibiting the processing of the precursor to produce the amyloid plaque core protein, such means could constitute a method of treating or ameliorating the progression of Alzheimer's disease. Until now, however, the processing of amyloid precursor protein to produce the .beta.-amyloid core protein has not been sufficiently understood to allow for effective therapeutic intervention in the process which results in amyloid deposition.
Numerous reports exist describing putative proteinases which are purported to be responsible for generating the .beta.-amyloid protein and/or Alzheimer's disease pathology. These putative proteinases include a broad spectrum of classes of enzymes, for example, serine, cysteine, and metallo-proteinases. A number of .beta.-amyloid forming proteinases have been isolated and characterized. Some reported candidates include multicatalytic proteinase (FEBS 304: 57-60 (1992) and FEBS Lett. 257: 388-92 (1989)), mast cell chymase (J. Biol. Chem. 265: 3836-43 (1990), metallo-endopeptidase 24.15, Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 185: 746-52 (1992)), calcium-activated neutral proteinases (calpain) (J. Neurosci.) 10: 2400-11 (1990), a calcium-activated serine proteinase (Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 174: 790-96 (1991)), and prolyl-endopeptidase (FEBS Lett. 160: 131-34 (1990)). The physiological relevance for each of these candidate .beta.-amyloid forming proteinases has not been demonstrated, for example, by concomitant inhibition of enzymatic activity with blocked .beta.-amyloid protein formation.
Many proteinases have been reported as being altered in Alzheimer's disease brain tissue. For example, .alpha.-1-trypsin-like immunoreactivity has been shown to be increased in Alzheimer's disease brain (Biochem. Biophys. Res. Comm. Vol. 193(2): 579-84 (1993)), three different metalloproteinases have been reported as elevated in Alzheimer's disease brain (J. Neurochem. Vol. 58: 983-92 (1992)), multicatalytic proteinase alterations have been observed (Neurosc. Res. Comm, Vol. 8(3): 185-90 (1991)), abnormal cathepsin D and B immunoreactivity has been reported (Neurosc. Lett. 130: 195-98 (1991) and Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 87: 3861-65 (1990)), and calcium-activated neutral proteinase (calpain) has been variously shown to be decreased (Neurobio. of Aging, 11: 425-31 (1990)), increased (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 90: 2628-32 (1993)), or to be unaltered (J. Neurol. Sci, 102: 220-34 (1991)) in Alzheimer's disease brain tissue.
The foregoing demonstrates that, although there has been a tremendous amount of work reported in this area, there is no general consensus as to classes of proteinases which are effective in treating Alzheimer's disease or if these proteinases are altered upon contact with Alzheimer's disease brain tissue.
It is an object of the present invention to provide compounds and pharmaceutical compositions, and methods for inhibiting the production of .beta.-amyloid core protein and the formation of amyloid plaques in an individual suffering from dementia of the Alzheimer's type.
It is a further object of the invention to provide pharmaceutical compositions, and methods for treating or ameliorating the progression of Alzheimer's disease.

Inhibitors of .beta.-amyloid protein production


An acoustic crystal structure includes defect cavities that concentrate the driving pressure from applied sound waves into the cavities to cavitate gas bubbles in a liquid to produce sonoluminescence. This device may be used to study sonoluminescence or cavitation or to perform sonochemistry, nuclear fusion etc. in the cavities. A waveguide may be operatively coupled to the acoustic crystal to extract, collect and route a band of electromagnetic (EM) radiation around a specified source wavelength to an output port for emission by an antenna to provide an EM source. The waveguide may, for example, be a photonic crystal defect waveguide, a photonic crystal optical fiber or Sommerfeld waveguide. The marriage of the sonoluminescence phenomena with an acoustic crystal and embedded waveguide provides for an efficient source of narrow or broad band IR or THz radiation.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to sonoluminescent cavitation devices and to their use as sources of infrared (IR) or terahertz (THz) radiation.
2. Description of the Related Art
Sonoluminescence is a well-known phenomenon discovered in the 1930's in which light is generated when a liquid is cavitated. Although a variety of techniques for cavitating the liquid are known (e.g., spark discharge, laser pulse, flowing the liquid through a Venturi tube), one of the most common techniques is through the application of high intensity sound waves.
In essence, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 the cavitation process consists of three stages that are driven by the application of high intensity sound waves 8; bubble formation 10, growth 12 and subsequent collapse 14 that emits a flash or pulse of light 16. The bubble or bubbles cavitated during this process absorb the applied energy, for example sound energy, and then release the energy in the form of light emission during an extremely brief period of time. The intensity of the generated light depends on a variety of factors including the physical properties of the liquid (e.g., density, surface tension, vapor pressure, chemical structure, temperature, hydrostatic pressure, etc.) and the applied energy (e.g., sound wave amplitude, sound wave frequency, etc.). In general, the negative driving pressure causes the bubble to expand; when the driving pressure changes sign, the bubble collapses, resulting in a short pulse of light. The bubbles may grow and collapse with each cycle of the sound wave as illustrated or may grow over multiple cycles before collapsing.
Although it is generally recognized that during the collapse of a cavitating bubble extremely high temperature plasmas are developed, leading to the observed sonoluminescence effect, many aspects of the phenomena have not yet been characterized. As such, the phenomena is at the heart of a considerable amount of research as scientists attempt to not only completely characterize the phenomena (e.g., effects of pressure on the cavitating medium), but also its many applications (e.g., sonochemistry, chemical detoxification, ultrasonic cleaning, nuclear fusion, generation of nano-particles etc.).
In a typical cavitation system, for example as shown by Dan et al. in an article entitled Ambient Pressure Effect on Single-Bubble Sonoluminescence (vol. 83, no. 9 of Physical Review Letters), the cavitation chamber is a simple glass flask that is filled or semi-filled with cavitation liquid. A spherical flask is also disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,659,173. The specification of this patent discloses using flasks of Pyrex®, Kontes®, and glass with sizes ranging from 10 milliliters to 5 liters. The drivers as well as a microphone piezoelectric were epoxied to the exterior surface of the chamber.
In some instances, more elaborate chambers are employed in the cavitation system. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,333,796 discloses a cavitation chamber designed for use with a liquid metal. As disclosed, the chamber is generally cylindrical and comprised of a refractory metal such as tungsten, titanium, molybdenum, rhenium or some alloy thereof. Surrounding the cavitation chamber is a housing which is purportedly used as a neutron and tritium shield. Projecting through both the outer housing and the cavitation chamber walls are a number of acoustic horns, each of the acoustic horns being coupled to a transducer which supplies the mechanical energy to the associated horn. The specification discloses that the horns, through the use of flanges, are secured to the chamber/housing walls in such a way as to provide a seal and that the transducers are mounted to the outer ends of the horns.
A tube-shaped cavitation system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,658,534, the tube fabricated from stainless steel. Multiple ultrasonic transducers are attached to the cavitation tube, each transducer being fixed to a cylindrical half-wavelength coupler by a stud, the coupler being clamped within a stainless steel collar welded to the outside of the sonochemical tube. The collars allow circulation of oil through the collar and an external heat exchanger.
Another tube-shaped cavitation system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,361,747. In this cavitation system the acoustic cavitation reactor is comprised of a flexible tube. The liquid to be treated circulates through the tube. Electroacoustic transducers are radially and uniformly distributed around the tube, each of the electroacoustic transducers having a prismatic bar shape. A film of lubricant is interposed between the transducer heads and the wall of the tube to help couple the acoustic energy into the tube.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,858,104 discloses a shock wave chamber partially filled with a liquid. The remaining portion of the chamber is filled with gas which can be pressurized by a connected pressure source. Acoustic transducers are used to position an object within the chamber while another transducer delivers a compressional acoustic shock wave into the liquid. A flexible membrane separating the liquid from the gas reflects the compressional shock wave as a dilation wave focused on the location of the object about which a bubble is formed.
PCT application Ser. No. US02/16761 (WO/2002/097823 published Dec. 5, 2002) discloses a nuclear fusion reactor in which at least a portion of the liquid within the reactor is placed into a state of tension, this state of tension being less than the cavitation threshold of the liquid. The liquid preferably includes enriched deuterium or tritium, the inventors citing deuterated acetone as an exemplary liquid. In at least one disclosed embodiment, acoustic waves are used to pretension the liquid. In order to minimize the effects of gas cushioning during bubble implosion, the liquid is degassed prior to tensioning. A resonant cavity is formed within the chamber using upper and lower pistons, the pistons preferably fabricated from glass. The upper and lower pistons are smaller than the inside diameter of the chamber, thus allowing cavitation liquid to pass by the pistons. In a preferred embodiment, the upper piston is flexibly anchored to the chamber using wire anchors while the lower piston is rigidly anchored to the chamber.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,510,322 discloses a cavitation chamber separated into three volumes by a pair of gas-tight and liquid-tight seals, each seal formed by the combination of a rigid acoustic reflector and a flexible member, is provided. During chamber operation, only one of the three volumes contains cavitation liquid, the other two chamber volumes remaining devoid of cavitation liquid. The cavitation system also includes a cavitation liquid reservoir coupled to the cavitation chamber by a conduit, a valve allowing the cavitation chamber to be isolated from the cavitation liquid reservoir. A second conduit couples the two unfilled chamber volumes to a region above the liquid free surface within the cavitation liquid reservoir. A second valve allows the two unfilled chamber volumes to either be coupled to the cavitation liquid reservoir by the second conduit, or be coupled to a third conduit, the third conduit leading either to the ambient atmosphere or to a high pressure gas source. The cavitation system also includes at least one acoustic driver.

Acoustic crystal sonoluminescent cavitation devices and IR/THz sources


An ultrasonic probe (102) which has high propagation efficiency of ultrasound and can obtain a high resolution ultrasonic diagnostic image. The ultrasonic probe (102) includes an ultrasonic transducer including: a piezoelectric body (208) which generates ultrasound; and a first matching layer (101) which is disposed in a predetermined direction as seen from the piezoelectric body (208) and is for performing acoustic matching between the piezoelectric body (208) and a subject. The first matching layer (101) includes a plurality of matching regions (101a, 101b, 101c) which have a uniform thickness in the predetermined direction, are arranged in a direction perpendicular to the predetermined direction, and include at least two matching regions having frequency characteristics of ultrasound transmittance that are different from each other.

Various imaging technique have been developed in the medical field to observe the inside of a subject to make diagnosis. In particular, ultrasound imaging which obtains internal body information of subject by transmitting and receiving ultrasound allows not only real-time observation of images but also saves the subject from exposure to radiation, unlike other medical image technique such as an X-ray photograph and a radio isotope (RI) scintillation camera etc, Therefore, as highly safe imaging technique, ultrasound imaging is used not only for a fetal diagnosis in obstetrical field but also used for wide range of areas such as the gynecologic system, the circulatory system, and the digestive system. The ultrasound imaging is an image generation technique which takes advantage of the property that the ultrasound is reflected at the boundary of regions having different acoustic impedances (e.g., a boundary of a structure). The contour of a structure that exists inside the subject (e.g., an internal organ, and diseased tissue) is extracted by transmitting the ultrasound beam to the inside of the subject such as a human body, receiving an ultrasound echo generated in the subject, and obtaining a reflecting point at which the ultrasound echo is generated and its reflection intensity.
A device which performs the ultrasound imaging (called, for example, an ultrasonic diagnostic device, and an ultrasonic imaging device) includes a transducer (piezoelectric transducer) as an ultrasonic transducer which transmits and receives ultrasound. The transducer generally used is obtained by forming electrodes on both sides of a piezoelectric body such as a piezoelectric ceramic represented by a Pb (lead) zirconate titanate (PZT), and a polymeric piezoelectric body material represented by a polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF).
FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing an example of a one-dimensional array type ultrasonic probe. As shown in FIG. 2, an ultrasonic probe 403 that is of a one-dimensional array type includes: a plurality of ultrasonic transducers 205 each including a piezoelectric body 208, a signal electrode 206, a ground electrode 207, and a matching layer 203; a backing 201; a grounding line 202; signal wiring 204; and an acoustic lens 209.
All of the ground electrodes 207 are connected to the one grounding line 202. Each of the signal electrodes 206 is connected to a corresponding one of the signal wiring 204. The signal electrode 206 and the ground electrode 207 are bonded to a pair of opposing surfaces of the piezoelectric body 208. The direction toward the ground electrode 207 as seen from the signal electrode 206 is referred to as +Z. The matching layer 203 is provided on the +Z side with respect to the ground electrode 207.
As shown in FIG. 2, the ultrasonic probe 403 that is of the one-dimensional array type includes a plurality of the ultrasonic transducers 205 arranged in a one-dimensional array on the +Z side of the backing material 201 which absorbs sound waves. Furthermore, further on the +Z side with respect to the ultrasonic transducer 205, the acoustic lens 209 is provided. The ultrasonic probe 403 emits ultrasound to a subject (not shown) via the acoustic lens 209.
The voltage applied to each of the two electrodes 207 and 206 of the ultrasonic transducer 205 causes expansion and contraction of the piezoelectric body 208 due to the piezoelectric effect, and ultrasound is thus generated. It is possible to form an ultrasound beam which is transmitted to a predetermined direction, by arranging the ultrasonic transducers 205 one-dimensionally (or two-dimensionally) as described above, and driving each of the ultrasonic transducers sequentially. Furthermore, the ultrasonic transducer receives the ultrasound reflected off the inside of the body of the subject, and expands or contracts to generate an electric signal. The electric signal is used as a reception signal of the ultrasound.
FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing an example of an ultrasonic diagnostic device. As shown in FIG. 4, an ultrasonic diagnostic device 401 includes an ultrasonic probe 403. The ultrasonic probe 403 and a diagnostic device main body 404 are connected via a cable 405. The diagnostic device main body 404 transmits, via the cable 405, a signal for vibrating the ultrasonic transducer to the ultrasonic probe 403, and creates an image of internal condition of the subject as an ultrasonic diagnostic image based on the signal from the ultrasonic probe 403.
The above-described ultrasonic probe includes the matching layer 203 between the piezoelectric body 208 and the subject due to the following reason.
The propagation efficiency of the ultrasound at the interface where different substances contact each other changes depending on the acoustic impedance of the each of the substances. Specifically, the ultrasound reflects well at the interface where the difference in acoustic impedance is large, which causes large propagation loss of the ultrasound.
In view of this, a matching layer is provided between the ultrasonic transducer and the subject to match the acoustic impedance. The acoustic impedance changes in a stepwise manner through the matching layer from the transducer toward the subject. This lowers reflectance of ultrasound at each of the interfaces and thereby propagation loss of the ultrasound is reduced.
However, providing the matching layer to increase the propagation efficiency of the ultrasound is known to cause an adverse effect, that is, the frequency band becomes narrow and thus the resolution of the ultrasonic diagnostic image becomes degraded. The realization of the matching layer which does not degrade the resolution of the ultrasonic diagnostic image is required.
Conventionally, to build the matching layer which does not degrade the resolution of the ultrasonic diagnostic image, a technique has been disclosed to widen the band by providing, in a plane perpendicular to the propagation direction of the ultrasound, a plurality of regions in which the matching layers have different thicknesses (e.g., patent literature 1).

Ultrasonic probe and ultrasonic diagnostic device

PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.


The present invention relates to a method for producing helper-free stocks of recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) which can be used to efficiently and stably transduce foreign genes into host cells or organisms. The method comprises the cotransfection of eukaryotic cells with rAAV and with helper AAV DNA in the presence of helper virus (e.g. adenovirus or herpesvirus) such that the helper AAV DNA is not associated with virion formation. The crux of the invention lies in the inubility of the helper AAV DNA to recombine with rAAV vector, thereby preventing the generation of wild-type virus. In a specific embodiment of the invention, the vector comprises a recombinant AAV genome containing only the terminal regions of the AAV chromosome bracketing a non-viral gene, and the helper AAV DNA comprises a recombinant AAV genome containing that part of the AAV genome which is not present in the vector, and in which the AAV terminal regions are replaced by adenovirus sequences. In a further embodiment of the invention, cell lines are created which incorporate helper AAV DNA which can directly produce substantially pure recombinant AAV virus. The pure stocks of recombinant AAV produced according to the invention provide an AAV viral expression vector system with increased yield of recombinant virus, improved efficiency, higher definition, and greater safety than presently used systems.

The present invention relates to a method for producing substantially pure stocks of recombinant adeno-associated virus (AAV), free of the adeno-associated helper virus found associated with previously available recombinant AAV. According to the invention, the substantially pure stocks of recombinant AAV may be used to introduce exogenous genetic sequences into cells, cell lines, or organisms; in the absence of the adeno-associated helper virus, the recombinant AAV will remain stably integrated into cellular DNA. In another embodiment of the invention cells containing integrated recombinant AAV may be exposed to helper viruses, resulting in excision, replication, and amplification of integrated sequences, thereby providing a means for achieving increased expression of gene product. The present invention also provides for novel recombinant AAV vectors and adeno-associated helper viruses.
Viral vectors permit the expression of exogenous genes in eukaryotic cells, and thereby enable the production of proteins which require postranslational modifications unique to animal cells. Viral expression vectors (reviewed in Rigby, 1983, J. Gen. Virol. 64:255-266) have been developed using DNA viruses, such as papovaviruses (i.e. SV40), adenoviruses, herpes viruses, and poxviruses (i.e. vaccinia virus, Mackett et al., 1982, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 79:7415-7419; Panicoli et al., 1982, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 79:4927-4931) and RNA viruses, such as retroviruses.
In disclosing the construction and applications of a murine retrovirus shuttle vector, Cepko et al. (1984, Cell 37:1053-1062) cites several properties which may be desirable in a mammalian gene transfer system, including, the ability of the vector to be introduced into a wide range of hosts and the recoverability of transferred sequences as molecular clones (i.e. a vector which can xe2x80x9cshuttlexe2x80x9d between animal and bacterial cells; see DiMaio et al., 1982, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 79:4030-4034). As efficient shuttle vectors, retroviruses have become a popular vehicle for transferring genes into eukaryotic cells. Retrovirus packaging cell lines (Mann et al., 1983, Cell 33:153-159; Watanabe and Temin, 1983, Mol. Cell. Biol. 3:2241-2249; Cohn and Mulligan, 1984, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 81:63496353; Sorge et al., 1984, Mol. Cell. Biol. 4:1730-1737) allow production of replication-defective retrovirus vectors in the absence of helper virus; the defective retroviral vectors are able to infect and integrate into cells but cannot replicate. The ability to produce helper-free stocks of defective retroviruses using packaging cell lines protects against spread of the recombinant virus, and avoids possible dissemination of recombinant virus-induced disease. However, some retrovirus packaging lines have been shown to produce only low titers of retroviral vectors, or produce high levels of helper virus; furthermore, some retroviruses exhibit limited host ranges (Miller and Baltimore, 1986, Mol. Cell. Biol. 6:2895-2902). The recognition of human retroviruses over the past decade as the etiologic agent of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and some cases of T-cell and hairy cell leukemia, and the numerous examples of oncogenic animal retroviruses, have created an awareness of health risks potentially associated with the use of retrovirus vectors, particularly relevant to future prospects in human gene therapy. Many of the alternative viral vectors currently available either do not integrate into host cells at high frequency, are not easily rescuable from the integrated state, are limited in their host range, or include other viral genes, thereby creating a need for the development of a safe and efficient viral vector system.
Adeno-associated virus (AAV) is a defective member of the parvovirus family. The AAV genome is encapsidated as a single-stranded DNA molecule of plus or minus polarity (Berns and Rose, 1970, J. Virol. 5:693-699; Blacklow et al., 1967, J. Exp. Med. 115:755-763). Strands of both polarities are packaged, but in separate virus particles (Berns and Adler, 1972, Virology 9:394-396) and both strands are infectious (Samulski et al., 1987, J. Virol. 61:3096-3101).
The single-stranded DNA genome of the human adeno-associated virus type 2 (AAV2) is 4681 base pairs in length and is flanked by inverted terminal repeated sequences of 145 base pairs each (Lusby et al., 1982, J. Virol. 41:518-526). The first 125 nucleotides form a palindromic sequence that can fold back on itself to form a xe2x80x9cTxe2x80x9d-shaped hairpin structure and can exist in either of two orientations (flip or flop), leading to the suggestion (Berns and Hauswirth, 1979, Adv. Virus Res. 25:407-449) that AAV may replicate according to a model first proposed by Cavalier-Smith for linear-chromosomal DNA (1974, Nature 250:467-470) in which the terminal hairpin of AAV is used as a primer for the initiation of DNA replication. The AAV sequences that are required in cis for packaging, integration/rescue, and replication of viral DNA appear to be located within a 284 base pair (bp) sequence that includes the terminal repeated sequence (McLaughlin et al., 1988, J. Virol. 62:1963-1973).
At least three regions which, when mutated, give rise to phenotypically distinct viruses have been identified in the AAV genome (Hermonat et al., 1984, J. Virol. 51:329339). The rep region codes for at least four proteins (Mendelson et al., 1986, J. Virol. 60:823-832) that are required for DNA replication and for rescue from the recombinant plasmid. The cap and lip regions appear to encode for AAV capsid proteins; mutants containing lesions within these regions are capable of DNA replication (Hermonat et al., 1984, J. Virol. 51:329-339). AAV contains three transcriptional promoters (Carter et al., 1983, in xe2x80x9cThe Parvovirusesxe2x80x9d, K. Berns ed., Plenum Publishing Corp., NY pp. 153-207; Green and Roeder, 1980, Cell 22:231-242; Laughlin et al., 1979, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 76:5567-5571; Lusby and Berns, 1982, J. Virol. 41:518-526; Marcus et al., 1981, Eur. J. Biochem. 121:147-154). The viral DNA sequence displays two major open reading frames, one in the left half and the other in the right half of the conventional AAV map (Srivastava et al., 1985, J. Virol. 45:555-564).
AAV-2 can be propagated as a lytic virus or maintained as a provirus, integrated into host cell DNA (Cukor et al., 1984, in xe2x80x9cThe Parvoviruses,xe2x80x9d Berns, ed., Plenum Publishing Corp., NY pp. 33-66). Although under certain conditions AAV can replicate in the absence of helper virus. (Yakobson et al., 1987, J. Virol. 61:972-981), efficient replication requires coinfection with either adenovirus (Atchinson et al., 1965, Science 194:754-756; Hoggan, 1965, Fed. Proc. Am. Soc. Exp. Biol. 24:248; Parks et al., 1967, J. Virol. 1:171-180); herpes simplex virus (Buller et al., 1981, J. Virol. 40:241-247) or cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus, or vaccinia virus. Hence the classification of AAV as a xe2x80x9cdefectivexe2x80x9d virus.
When no helper virus is available, AAV can persist in the host cell genomic DNA as an integrated provirus (Berns et al., 1975, Virology 68:556-560; Cheung et al., 1980, J. Virol. 33:739-748). Virus integration appears to have no apparent effect on cell growth or morphology (Handa et al., 1977, Virology 82:84-92; Hoggan et al., 1972, in xe2x80x9cProceedings of the Fourth Lepetit Colloquium, North Holland Publishing Co., Amsterdam pp. 243-249). Studies of the physical structure of integrated AAV genomes (Cheung et al., 1980, supra; Berns et al., 1982, in xe2x80x9cVirus Persistencexe2x80x9d, Mahy et al., eds., Cambridge University Press, NY pp. 249-265) suggest that viral insertion occurs at random positions in the host chromosome but at a unique position with respect to AAV DNA, occurring within the terminal repeated sequence. Integrated AAV genomes have been found to be essentially stable, persisting in tissue culture for greater than 100 passages (Cheung et al., 1980 supra).
Although AAV is believed to be a human virus, its host range for lytic growth is unusually broad. Virtually every mammalian cell line (including a variety of human, simian, and rodent cell lines) evaluated could be productively infected with AAV, provided that an appropriate helper virus was used (Cukor et al., 1984, in xe2x80x9cThe Parvovirusesxe2x80x9d, Berns, ed. Plenum Publishing Corp., NY, pp. 33-66).
No disease has been associated with AAV in either human or animal populations (Ostrove et al., 1987, Virology 113:521-533) despite widespread exposure and apparent infection. Anti-AAV antibodies have been frequently found in humans and monkeys. It is estimated that about 70 to 80 percent of children acquire antibodies to AAV types 1, 2, and 3 within the first decade; more than 50 percent of adults have been found to maintain detectable anti-AAV antibodies. AAV has been isolated from fecal, ocular, and respiratory specimens during acute adenovirus infections, but not during other illnesses (Dulbecco and Ginsberg, 1980, in xe2x80x9cVirologyxe2x80x9d, reprinted from Davis, Dulbecco, Eisen and Ginsberg""s xe2x80x9cMicrobiologyxe2x80x9d, Third Edition, Harper and Row Publishers, Hagerstown, p. 1059).
Samulski et al., (1982, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 79:2077-2081) cloned intact duplex AAV DNA into the bacterial plasmid pBR322 and found that the AAV genome could be rescued from the recombinant plasmid by transfection of the plasmid DNA into human cells with adenovirus 5 as helper. The efficiency of rescue from the plasmid was sufficiently high to produce yields of AAV DNA comparable to those observed after transfection with equal amounts of purified virion DNA.
The AAV sequences in the recombinant plasmid could be modified, and then xe2x80x9cshuttledxe2x80x9d into eukaryotic cells by transfection. In the presence of helper adenovirus, the AAV genome was found to be rescued free of any plasmid DNA sequences and replicated to produce infectious AAV particles (Samulski et al., 1982, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 79:2077-2081; Laughlin et al., 1983, Gene 23:65-73; Samulski et al., 1983, Cell 33:135-143; Senapathy et al., 1984, J. Mol. Biol. 179:1-20).
The AAV vector system has been used to express a variety of genes in eukaryotic cells. Hermonat and Muzyczka (1984, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 81:6466-6470) produced a recombinant AAV (rAAV) viral stock in which the neomycin resistance gene (neo) was substituted for AAV capsid gene. and observed rAAV transduction of neomycin resistance into murine and human cell lines. Tratschen et al. (1984), Mol. Cell. Biol. 4:2072-2081) created a rAAV which was found to express the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) gene in human cells. Lafare et al. (1988, Virology 162:483-486) observed gene transfer into hematopoietic progenitor cells using an AAV vector. Ohi et al. (1988, J. Cell. Biol. 107:304A) constructed a recombinant AAV genome containing human xcex2-globin cDNA. Wondisford et al. (1988, Mol. Endocrinol. 2:32-39) cotransfected cells with two different recombinant AAV vectors, each encoding a subunit of human thyrotropin, and observed expression of biologically active thyrotropin.
Several AAV vector systems have been designed. Samulski et al. (1987, J. Virol. 61:3096-3101) constructed an infectious adeno-associated viral genome that contains two XbaI cleavage sites flanking the viral coding domain; these restriction enzyme cleavage sites were created to allow nonviral sequences to be inserted between the cis-acting terminal repeats of AAV.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,797,368, Carter and Tratschen, filed May 15, 1985, issued Jan. 10, 1989 relates to AAV vectors contained in a plasmid, capable of being packaged into AAV particles, and functioning as a vector for stable maintenance or expression of a gene or a DNA sequence in eukaryotic cells when under control of an AAV transcription promoter.
A problem encountered in all AAV systems prior to the present invention has been the inability to produce recombinant virus stocks free of helper AAV virus. The presence of helper AAV virus can potentially result in continued spread of recombinant AAV, could detract from the efficiency of rAAV production and the transduction of foreign genes, and could interfere with efficient expression of the foreign genes. Further, recombinant virus stocks produced using prior AAV helper systems did not produce a linear increase in the number of cells containing stabily integrated recombinant virus DNA as the multiplicity of infection increased. This presumably resulted, at least in part, from inhibitory effects of AAV gene products expressed by helper AAV virus.
Various methods have been used in attempts to decrease the percentage of contaminating helper virus. Hormonat and Muzyczka (1984, supra) inserted bacteriophage A sequences into a nonessential region of rAAV which resulted in a DNA length too large to package into virions; a variable number of virions containing wild-type AAV continued to contaminate rAAV stocks. Lebkowski et al. (1988, Mol. Cell. Biol. 3:3988-3996) report a method for producing recombinant AAV stocks with minimal contamination by wild-type virus, in which deletion mutant AAV are used to complement recombinant AAV viral functions. According to the method of Lebkowski et al., two independent recombinant events were required to produce wild-type contaminants. However, given the large number of viral particles produced during productive infection, a significant number of wild-type virus were generated which contaminated the recombinant stock. U.S. Pat. No. 4,797,368 uses various methods including using rep(xe2x88x92) (replication deficient) helper virus, to reduce the level of contaminating wild-type AAV, but acknowledge that xe2x80x9cit is not as yet possible to completely avoid generation of wild-type recombinants.xe2x80x9d
The present invention relates to a method for producing substantially helper-free stocks of recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) which can be used to efficiently and stably transduce foreign genes into host cells or organisms. The method comprises the cotransfection of eukaryotic cells with rAAV and with helper AAV DNA in the presence of helper virus (e.g. adenovirus or herpesvirus) such that the helper AAV DNA is not associated with virion formation. The crux of the invention lies in the inability of the helper AAV DNA to recombine with rAAV, thereby preventing the generation of wild-type virus.
In a specific embodiment of the invention, the vector comprises a recombinant AAV genome containing only the terminal regions of the AAV chromosome bracketing a non-viral gene, and the helper AAV DNA comprises a recombinant AAV genome containing that part of the AAV genome which is not present in the vector, and in which the AAV terminal regions are replaced by adenovirus terminal sequences. The substantially pure stocks of recombinant AAV produced according to the invention provide an AAV viral expression vector system with efficient yield of helper-free recombinant virus. These stocks are able to introduce a foreign gene into a recipient cell at higher efficiency than has been obtained previously using stocks that contain helper AAV virus.
In a further embodiment of the invention, the helper AAV virus DNA may be incorporated into a cell line, such that rAAV constructs may be grown directly, without a need for separate helper AAV DNA.
helper virus: a virus such as adenovirus, herpesvirus, cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus, or vaccinia virus, which when coinfected with AAV results in productive AAV infection of an appropriate eukaryotic cell.
helper AAV DNA: AAV DNA sequences used to provide AAV functions to a recombinant AAV virus which lacks the functions needed for replication and/or encapsulation of DNA into virus particles. Helper AAV DNA cannot by itself generate infectious virions and may be incorporated within a plasmid, bacteriophage or chromosomal DNA.
helper-free virus stocks of recombinant AAV: stocks of recombinant AAV virions which contain no measurable quantities of wild-type AAV or undesirable recombinant AAV.
rAAV vector: recombinant AAV which contains foreign DNA sequences and can be produced as infectious virions.
a lower case xe2x80x9cpxe2x80x9d placed in conjunction with the name of a virus, e.g., sub201, to form psub201, denotes the virus inserted into a plasmid.

Helper-free stocks of recombinant adeno-associated virus vectors


A method of building a foundation, a foundation element (2), and a foundation for an antenna mast of a wireless communication system are provided. The foundation comprises at least three foundation elements (2). Each foundation element (2) comprises an elongated body (4). The elongated body (4) comprising a first end (6). At least one bar (16) extends from the elongated body (4) at the first end (6). An attachment arrangement (18) for the antenna mast is provided on the foundation element (2). The at least three foundation elements (2) are arranged to extend substantially symmetrically from a central portion (24) of the foundation (30). A central concrete portion is cast in the central portion (24) of the foundation (30) to join the at least one bar (16) of each of the three foundation elements (2).

An antenna mast for a wireless communication system is mounted to a foundation. A common foundation used for masts of a wireless communication system is a slab foundation, wherein the mast bears on a single slab of concrete underlying the entire area of the mast. A way of producing such a foundation is to excavate a hole in, the ground, build a rectangular or square mould in the hole, arrange steel reinforcement bars in the mould, and cast concrete in the mould. The weight of the mast is transferred to the soil through the slab foundation. The slab foundation extends in a horizontal plane at least as much as a footprint of the mast to be supported by the relevant foundation. Depending on the size of the mast, the slab foundation may extend e.g. 5×5 meters in the horizontal plane and may be e.g. 1 meter deep.
The slab foundation requires substantial excavation and concrete casting work to be performed. A considerable amount of concrete has to be produced and cast. Also, when an antenna mast is removed from a site, removing such a large concrete casting may be cumbersome.

Method and arrangements relating to foundation for antenna mast of wireless communication system


Arrangements for autonomously re-initializing one or more applications after a detected change in device state are provided. In some examples, a configuration file may be received from one or more computing devices, such as a server, hosting one or more client-facing applications. In some examples, the configuration file may be modified. For instance, one or more properties or attributes may be modified or added to identify applications that have an always running status and identifying a custom class having automatic start enabled. A modified configuration file may be generated and transmitted to the one or more devices. Accordingly, upon detecting a change of device state (e.g., reboot, refresh, or the like) the modified configuration file may reboot and cause the identified applications to automatically or autonomously re-load, re-initialize and recompile prior to receiving a first request for access from a customer or user device.

Aspects of the disclosure relate to electrical computers, systems, and devices for autonomously initializing applications on one or more devices. In particular, one or more aspects of the disclosure relate to autonomously re-initializing applications based on detecting changes in a device state.
Large enterprise organizations provide numerous applications that serve clients and other users. Because of the large volume of data cashed by the devices (e.g., server devices, and the like) supporting these applications, the devices are often refreshed or rebooted on a periodic basis to avoid services being in a hung state or other fault due to loss of resources. In some examples, that reboot may occur on a predetermined schedule (e.g., each night at midnight, or the like). Further, issues can arise at any time that may cause a fault in a device, cause a reboot or refresh to occur, or the like. However, because applications hosted by the devices do not re-initialize after a reboot (either scheduled or unscheduled), a first request to access an application may take longer than is provided in a service level agreement (SLA). Accordingly, it would be advantageous to automatically re-initialize applications on detection of a change in device state (e.g., reboot, or the like).

Autonomously re-initializing applications based on detecting periodic changes in device state


A hole trimmer (10) for removing peripheral material projecting inside a hole (1), including a severing mechanism (11) with first (14) and second (15) opposing cutting surfaces, configured such that the first cutting surface (14) is incapable (whilst the second cutting surface (15) is capable) of passing through the hole (1). The hole trimmer also includes an actuation mechanism (12) for reversibly moving the first (14) and second cutting surfaces (15) towards and away from each other. The first cutting surface has a lower surface intersected by the actuation mechanism. In use, the second cutting surface (15) is inserted into the hole (1) the actuation mechanism (12) is then activated to move the second cutting surface (15) into abutting contact with the lower surface of the first cutting surface (14) severing any material interposed therebetween.

The game of golf is one of the most longstanding and widely played games to date. One of the virtues of golf is its intrinsic simplicity requiring a minimum of equipment and possessing few complex rules. However, due in part to the heightened media coverage of golf at the top level and a corresponding increase in popularity with the game as a whole, a greater emphasis has been placed on the standard and maintenance of existing and new golf courses.
Whilst differing settings for the golf courses engender different feelings of challenge, satisfaction and general wellbeing to the players, the ultimate focus of each game is primarily the actual golf hole itself. Whilst the golf hole may not normally receive much direct consideration from the players it is nevertheless a fundamental requirement that each hole should be of a uniform size and standard and that deterioration of the golf hole periphery which may affect player's strokes is kept to an absolute minimum.
The maintenance of a golf course is primarily the work of a relatively small number of people i.e., green keepers and possibly some support staff who may or may not be paid and/or full time dependent on the size of the golf club. Large high profile international venues would clearly have greater resources for support staff and equipment and would be expected to maintain each hole in a pristine condition. The level of maintenance at less prestigious clubs extending through to local town and private golf clubs would naturally be somewhat lower, and consequently individual golf holes would be expected to be used for more prolonged periods without maintenance.
Although the timing of the following sequence would vary according to the available resources of the golf club as discussed above, a fresh hole would initially be cut by known means using a cylindrical golf hole cutter and the extracted turf and earth (assuming the presence of a previous hole) is replaced into the existing hole. A substantially cylindrical plastic holder is inserted into the bottom of the golf hole and this provides lateral support for the hole walls and a central aperture for the insertion of a flag.
The hole would then be left untouched for a period of time until the performance of remedial maintenance by the grounds staff. Such procedures include the trimming/removing of any overhanging dirt and/or grass surrounding the periphery of the hole which may respectively have sagged inwards over the top of the golf holder insert or, dependent on the time scale involved simply have grown in place.
Existing tools for such maintenance include scissors—both conventional and shaped, curved pressure boards and cutting implements. The work is time consuming and requires skilled input. The typical restrictions on resources and time available for such maintenance places a direct limitation on the frequency in which all the holes of the golf course may be attended. After a given time, the ground staff would determine that a hole may no longer be successfully maintained and a fresh golf hole would be cut. The earth and turf extracted from the new hole would be replaced into the old hole and the sequence would be repeated.
Clearly, any device which would speed the process of maintaining the golf holes would be advantageous to both the ground staff,—by virtue of their increased efficiency, and eventually to the players by a possible lowering of green fees and/or any other overhead-related costs.
Furthermore, it would be also advantageous to provide a means of ensuring a uniform and accurate golf hole could be provided with minimum of expertise to ensure that each hole meets the desired dimensional requirements of the respective governing bodies of the sport.
There are also other non-golfing applications where it is desirable to trim material from the edge of an aperture where access is only possible or convenient from one side of the aperture. This type of restriction may be found in a variety of applications where an existing aperture may have been formed with a roughened edge and requires a precise finishing, such as apertures in large sheets of paper, carpet, walls, roofs, floors, piping and so forth.
It is an object of the present invention to address the foregoing problems or at least to provide the public with a useful choice.
Further aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the ensuing description which is given by way of example only.