A recombinant polypeptide is described including at least one PUF RNA-binding domain capable of specifically binding to a cytosine RNA base. The PUF RNA-binding domain of the polypeptide includes at least one RNA base-binding motif of the general formula X1X2X3X4X5X6X7X8X9X10X11 wherein X1 is selected from a defined group and wherein the RNA base-binding motif is operably capable of specifically binding to a cytosine RNA base.

The following discussion of the background art is intended to facilitate an understanding of the present invention only. The discussion is not an acknowledgement or admission that any of the material referred to is or was part of the common general knowledge as at the priority date of the application.
The regulation of gene expression and cellular function in cells is controlled at many levels, including the regulation of the extent of chromatin structure, epigenetic control, transcriptional initiation and control of the rate thereof, messenger RNA (mRNA) transcript processing and modification, mRNA transport, mRNA transcript stability, translational initiation, control of transcript levels by small non-coding RNAs, post-translational modification, protein transport, and control of protein stability.
Antisense RNA (aRNA) and RNA interference (RNAi) technologies are well established tools for regulating gene expression through steric hindrance of translation and mRNA transcript degradation respectively. RNAi involves the introduction of short interfering RNA (siRNA) or microRNA (miRNA) into a cell, followed by the activation of RNAi cellular machinery and cleavage of a target messenger RNA (mRNA) transcript by RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC). However, the design of functional siRNA that is appropriately recognised by RNAi cellular machinery is highly complex and subject to various constraints (Tuschl, T. et al. (1999) Genes & Dev 13: 3191-3197). The siRNA must be 19-21 nucleotides in length and have a 2-nt 3′ overhang. The siRNA must exhibit limited G/C content and avoid consecutive stretches of the same base. Furthermore, the selectivity of strand loading into the RISC complex depends on the differential thermodynamic stabilities of the two ends of an siRNA duplex (Schwarz, S. D. et al. (2003) Cell 115:199-208), the less thermodynamically stable end being favoured for binding.
The design of pre-miRNA or miRNA to be processed into siRNA is further complicated by the requirement of secondary structural elements such as imperfectly base-paired stem regions flanked by free 5′ and 3′ ends and an unpaired loop region (Lund, E. and Dahlberg, J. E. (2006) Regulatory RNAs, Volume 71 of Cold Spring Harbor symposia on quantitative biology, CSHL Press). Thus, the constraints within which siRNA and miRNA molecules must be designed not only make the production of these molecules both challenging and complex but also limit the number and sequence of potential mRNA targets.
Despite the purported specificity of RNAi and aRNA technology for specific mRNA targets, cross-hybridization and non-specific binding can occur. In addition to the possibility for cross-hybridization of the antisense strand of siRNA to different mRNAs, siRNAs have demonstrated undesirable binding to various proteins (Bruckner, I. & Tremblay, G. A. (2000) Biochemistry 39: 11463-11466) causing significant nonspecific effects (Stein, C. A. (1995) Nat Med 1: 1119-1121). Moreover, the binding to affinity of siRNA-mediated binding of activated RISC to target mRNA (RNA-RNA interaction) is limited to that provided by canonical Watson and Crick base pairing, with guanine-cytosine interactions restricted to the expected three intermolecular hydrogen bonds, and adenine-uracil or uracil-guanine to the expected two intermolecular hydrogen bonds. Further disadvantages of RNAi technology include the need for transfection reagents or delivery vehicles, low and variable transfection efficiency sometimes necessitating the use of multiple transfection steps, partial and transient gene suppression effects, dependence upon processing by RNAi machinery, the limitation of mechanism to mRNA transcript degradation, and undesirable siRNA hairpin formation. siRNA is also known to be a potent activator of the mammalian innate immune system or IFN response (Judge, A, et al. (2008) Human Gene Therapy. (2008) 19: 111-124). The use of siRNA has been reported to cause an undesirable stimulation of immune activity and inflammatory response which may be further potentiated by the use of delivery vehicles, resulting in significant side effects due to excessive cytokine release and associated inflammatory syndromes. The potential for siRNA-based drugs to be rendered immunogenic is thus a cause for concern and has implications for both the development of siRNA-based drugs and the interpretation of gene-silencing effects elicited by siRNA (Judge, supra).
Alternatives to RNAi include the use of naturally occurring RNA-binding proteins which have been found to play essential roles in the regulation of gene expression. However, the modes by which such proteins bind RNA are idiosyncratic, restricted to sequence specific interactions, and difficult to predict so that their general use in biotechnological and medical applications is restricted. Information on the physiological targets of many RNA-proteins is limited and the binding of most RNA-proteins to their targets is reported to be idiosyncratic or require a combination of sequence and structural features such that their binding cannot be generally applied to other targets.
The PUF family of proteins (Drosophila Pumilio (Pum) and C. elegans FBF (fem-3 binding factor)) are an evolutionarily conserved family of RNA-binding proteins including Drosophila Pumilio and Caenorhabditis elegans FBF (for a review see Spassov, D. S. & Jurecic, R. (2003) IUBMB Life, 55: 359-366). PUF proteins contain an RNA-binding domain, known as the PUF domain or the Pumilio homology domain (PUM-HD), typically composed of eight tandem imperfect repeats of 36 amino acids plus conserved N and C-terminal flanking regions, aligned in tandem to form an extended curved arc-like molecule (Edwards, T. A. et al. (2001) Cell 105: 281-289). Target RNA binds to the inner concave surface of the protein, each of the eight repeats contacting a separate RNA base via three conserved amino acid residues positioned in the middle of the repeats (Wang, X. et al. (2002) Cell 110: 501-512). PUF proteins regulate RNA stability and translation by binding to specific sequences, such as the nanos response element (NRE), that are most often found in 3′ untranslated regions of target mRNAs (Gupta, supra). The PUM 1 NRE sequence is composed only of adenine, guanine or uracil.
The modular nature of the PUF-RNA interaction has been used to rationally engineer the binding specificity of PUF domains (Cheong, C. G. & Hall, T. M. (2006) PNAS 103: 13635-13639; Wang, X. et al (2002) Cell 110: 501-512). However, only the successful design of PUF domains with repeats that recognize adenine, guanine or uracil have been reported to date (Cheong, supra; Wang, supra). The specificity of individual repeats recognizing adenine, guanine or uracil were respectively switched by mutating only the positions that make contacts with the Watson-Crick edge of the base, providing engineered PUF domains capable of recognising endogenous RNA sequences composed of adenine, guanine or uracil (Wang, Y. Et al (2009) Nat Methods 6: 825-830; Tilsner, J. et al (2009) Plant 57: 758-770; Ozawa, T. et al (2007) Nat Methods 4: 413-419). Most of the known naturally occurring target sequences of PUM1, such as the NRE sequence, are composed of only adenine, guanine or uracil. However, despite focussed attempts to engineer PUF domains, the use of PUF domains designed with repeats that recognize these bases has remained substantially limited to sequences composed only of adenine, guanine or uracil.
There thus exists is a continued need for alternative methods for the specific regulation of gene expression and for agents for use therefor.

Peptides for the specific binding of RNA targets


A method and apparatus for generating a compressed representation of a two-dimensional image where the image is described as a sequence of pixels in raster order. The method includes receiving the two-dimensional image as a sequence of pixels in raster order. For each pixel, the system determines whether the pixel is part of a first string of pixels that is identical to a second string of pixels found previously in the image at one of a plurality of preselected fixed distances from the first string of pixels. If so, the first string of pixels is encoded as a string token that is a reference to the second string of pixels. Otherwise, the pixel is encoded as a non-string token.

The present invention relates generally to the storage of data in a device, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for reducing memory storage requirements in an output display device.
A computer system can output data to a wide variety of output display devices. Output display devices such as laser printers, plotters, and other printing devices produce an image or "visual representation" onto a sheet of paper or the like, while output display devices such as computer monitors develop visual representations on a computer screen.
Many output display devices receive display data in the form of a "bitmap" or "pixel map" and generate visual representations from the display data. A pixel is a fundamental picture element of a visual representation generated by a display device, and a bitmap is a data structure including information concerning a number of pixels of the representation. Bitmaps that contain more than on/off information are often referred to as "pixel maps." As used herein, both bitmaps and pixel maps are referred to as "bitmaps."
A printer can print dots on a piece of paper corresponding to the information of a bitmap. Alternatively, a computer monitor can illuminate pixels based upon the information of the bitmap. A "raster" output device creates a visual representation by displaying the array of pixels arranged in rows and columns from the bitmap. Many output devices are raster output devices. Typically, a "page" of pixels corresponding to a printed or displayed page is received and stored in memory before the pixels are displayed by the output display device.
A visual representation can contain a number of image types, including text, graphics, photographic images, and so on. Data of these types can be efficiently stored in files with other image information as high level "objects." An "object," as referred to herein, is the data and attributes defining a particular visual representation. The objects can be edited or otherwise manipulated using an application program ("software") running on a computer. When displaying the objects with an output display device such as a printer or display screen, the objects are typically first rasterized (or "rendered") into bitmaps. The output display device stores display bitmap data in memory before displaying a page of data.
A problem in the prior art methods of providing bitmaps to output display devices is that a large amount of storage space is required to store the bitmap before it is displayed. Storage space requirements have increased as the demand for high-resolution representations with more realistic attributes has become more prominent. For example, using a laser printer capable of printing black-and-white bitmaps at a resolution of 600 dots per inch (dpi), a typical displayed page (8.5×11 inches) requires about 3.8×106 bytes of memory. When printing a page of color pixels, for example, having 4 colors per pixel and 8 bits per color, the memory requirement increases to about 121×106 bytes of memory. With such memory requirements, a significant portion of the cost of manufacturing an output display device capable of processing one or more pages such as a laser printer is the cost of the required memory.
A method that has been used to reduce the memory requirements for displaying high-resolution images involves the compression of the bitmap data according to a compression method or algorithm. A compression algorithm can significantly reduce the space needed to store bitmaps by removing redundancy. Some compression algorithms are "lossless," meaning that they compress data and reduce storage requirements with no loss of information. This type of compression is often used with text objects and the like, since bitmaps of text objects typically contain considerable redundancy allowing for significant compression. Lossless compression techniques are ideal for text objects because any loss of information during the compression and subsequent decompression processes would adversely affect appearance and legibility of the text. Other types of compression algorithms are "lossy," meaning that they compress data with some loss of information. These types of compression algorithms are typically used with image bitmap data, photographs and the like, since the loss of information can often be unnoticeable in a high resolution image.
When the compressed bitmap is to be displayed, it is decompressed using a corresponding decompression algorithm and sent to a print engine, monitor, or other output display device.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Reducing storage requirements for display data


A motor vehicle has a movable roof with a cover and whose front end can be secured indirectly or directly to the windshield frame. The roof, in its open position, can be stowed in the rear vehicle region. The roof has a rear region in the closed position with at least one rigid cross member and can be turned upside down and disposed on top of a part of the movable roof region adjoining it to the front in the direction of travel (F).

It is known to configure movable roof regions with rear ends that are not fixedly secured to the car body nor, with the help of a material retraining bracket, beneath a movable rear window on a top storage well cover which can be moved open and closed. Targa-like roofs with manually removable roof parts are known for this purpose, for example. It is also known to lower fixed roof parts of this roof region via a motor control to open them.
With roof regions covered with a cover or soft tops, whose rear ends are neither permanently fastened directly to the car body nor held under tension via a material retaining bracket which is set onto a top storage well cover under pressure, there is a lack of practical solutions to configure the roof region such that an automated stowing is made possible.

Motor vehicle having a movable roof assembly


An optical information recording medium is provided with a plurality of information layers (2, 3), each of which has a sector structure in which a data area (8, 12) is divided in the circumferential direction by a sector address (9, 13). The positions of the sector addresses (9, 13) of the respective information layers (2, 3) coincide in the circumferential direction. This can prevent errors during reproduction caused by the effect of other information layers and stabilize recording characteristics, resulting in an increased recording capacity of a rewritable recording medium having a plurality of information layers with a sector structure.

Conventionally, optical disks or optical cards are known as optical information recording media on which information can be recorded or reproduced optically. These recording media use a semiconductor laser as a light source, and a great deal of information can be recorded or reproduced by irradiating the recording media with light that is finely focused by a lens.
At present, there is much research on the above recording media to improve their recording capacities. For example, a recording medium having a multilayer structure, where recording capacity is doubled by laminating information layers for recording or reproducing information signals, has been proposed (U.S. Pat. No. 5,726,969). Under such circumstances, read-only DVD-ROM disks including two information layers have been put into practical use.
On the other hand, optical disks that can be recorded in the user's environment have been achieved using a phase changeable material, a magneto-optical recording material, a dye material, or the like. There are two systems for recording signals on such optical disks: a sector-structure system and a continuous recording system. The former is used mainly to record data information, while the latter is used to record sound information, such as CD-Rs.
In the optical disks having a sector structure, an area for managing information to be recorded and a data area on which information signals are recorded by users are separated. However, when the recording system of a sector structure is applied to a multilayer recording medium, reproduced signals are distorted because of the recorded state of adjacent layers.
FIG. 9 shows a cross section of a conventional two-layer disk and an example of reproduced signals from an information layer. In the two-layer disk shown in FIG. 9(a), a first information layer 2 and a second information layer 4 are formed on a substrate 1, and a separating layer 3 is provided between the two information layers. On top of that, a protective substrate 5 is formed.
The first information layer 2 has a sector structure including a data area 8 for recording information signals and a sector address 9 spaced at predetermined intervals along the length of the data area. The sector address 9 is used for management information for recording/reproducing information signals. Similarly, the second information layer 4 also includes a data area 12 and a sector address 13.
In FIG. 9(a), the first information layer 2 is not recorded, whereas signals are recorded on the second information layer 4.
FIG. 9(b) shows reproduced signals from the second information layer 4. In this case, since transmissivity of the first information layer 2 is unchanged, constant signals in accordance with a pattern recorded on the second information layer 4 can be reproduced.
On the other hand, in FIG. 9(c), the first information layer 2 is recorded; FIG. 9(d) shows reproduced signals in such a case. Here, the first information layer 2 has the characteristic in which its transmissivity is increased by recording information. As shown in FIG. 9(d), the reproduced signals from the second information layer 4 have a waveform whose amplitude is increased in the area corresponding to the recording area of the first information layer 2.
As described above, in an optical disk having a sector structure, signals are recorded only on the data area, not on the sector address. Therefore, when information signals are reproduced, the amplitude of reproduced signals and the signal level fluctuate significantly depending on the recorded state of the opposite layer. In particular, when the reproduced signals from the second information layer are demodulated, reproduction errors are caused in the area corresponding to the boundary between the address portion and the data area of the first information layer, so that the recorded information cannot be demodulated correctly.
Similarly, in recording, the amount of light that reaches the second information layer varies depending on the recorded state of the first information layer, so that information does not recorded correctly.

Optical information recording medium, method of manufacturing thereof, and method of recording and reproduction

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


Methods and apparatus are provided for improving ARC4 processing in a cryptography engine. A multiple ported memory can be used to allow pipelined read and write access to values in memory. Coherency checking can be applied to provide that read-after-write and write-after-write consistency is maintained. Initialization of the memory can be improved with a reset feature occurring in a single cycle. Key shuffle and key stream generation can also be performed using a single core.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to accelerating ARC4 processing. More specifically, the present invention relates to methods and apparatus for improving ARC4 based data stream encryption and decryption.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventional software and hardware designs for implementing ARC4 processing handle ARC4 operations in sequence. An ARC4 processing block in a cryptography engine typically reads and writes values into a memory in a set sequence. One read may be dependent on a prior write, or a write may be dependent on another prior write. Because of the dependencies, ARC4 operations are typically performed in a strict sequence. ARC4 and other key stream algorithms are described in Applied Cryptography, Bruce Schneier, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (ISBN 0471128457), incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes.
To generate a single byte of key stream using ARC4, three reads and two writes to a memory are required. The dependencies in the read and write operations can cause a single round of ARC4 processing to take many clock cycles simply for data value reads and writes. In a conventional approach using a single ported memory, it takes 5 cycles to generate a single byte of key stream.
It is therefore desirable to provide methods and apparatus for improving ARC4 processing in a cryptography engine with respect to some or all of the performance limitations noted above.

Methods and apparatus for accelerating ARC4 processing


A radiation image detective sheet is disclosed, comprising a support having thereon a luminescent substance layer containing particles of a luminescent substance dispersed in a binder, wherein a ratio of the binder to the luminescent substance contained in the luminescent substance layer is 0.1 to 3.0% by weight and a filling ratio of the phosphor in the phosphor layer is not less than 65%. Further disclosed are a radiographic intensifying screen and a radiation image converting panel containing a phosphor and a stimulable phosphor as the luminescent substance, respectively, each having the same structure as the radiation image detective sheet.

Cited as a means for obtaining a radiographic image for medical diagnosis or non-destructive testing of a various types of tissues and applying it to diagnosis and radiographic flaw detection are: radiography by a combination of a silver halide photographic light sensitive material and a radiographic intensifying screen, or radiographic image conversion method by the use of a stimulable phosphor from which, after absorption of radiation energy, the accumulated radiation energy is emitted in the form of fluorescence by stimulation with electromagnetic waves such as visible light or infra-red rays (hereinafter referred to as stimulable phosphor).
Diagnosis or examination with radiography is such that radiation transmitted through or emitted from photographic object is converted, through absorption by phosphor contained in the radiographic intensifying screen and its excitation, into visible light, which produces a radiographic image on the silver halide photographic light sensitive material. The radiographic image is formed by exposing, to radiation through an object, the silver halide photographic light sensitive material having on one side or both sides of a support a silver halide emulsion layer, which is in contact with a radiographic intensifying screen to a radiation through an object.
The phosphor has a high brightness and can form a radiographic image with a relatively small dose of radiation, so that exposure to radiation of the object can be minimized. It is well known that sharpness and graininess of the image depend upon the particle size and dispersion of the phosphor, and homogeneity and in particular upon the filling ratio in a phosphor containing layer.
The radiographic image conversion method employing the stimulable phosphor includes the employment of a radiation image converting panel containing the stimulable phosphor (hereinafter, referred to as stimulable phosphor panel). In this case, the radiation transmitted through or emitted from the object is absorbed by a stimulable phosphor contained in the panel, followed by stimulating time-sequentially the phosphor with electromagnetic waves such as visible light and infra-red rays (also known as stimulating light), and emitting the radiation energy accumulated in the phosphor, in the form of light (photo-stimulated luminescence). The photo-stimulated luminescence is read as electric signals and based the electric signals obtained, the object or its radiographic image is reproduced as a visible image. The panel which has already been read is treated to eliminate residual images and made ready for the next photograph. Thus, the conversion panel can be repeatedly employed.
Similarly to the screen, brightness, image sharpness and granularity of the panel are also dependent upon the particle size, dispersibility, homogeneity and filling ratio of the stimulable phosphor. Of these, the filling ratio of the stimulable phosphor is particularly affectional.
There was proposed a technique of enhancing the filling ratio by compressing the phosphor containing layer or stimulable phosphor containing layer. The phosphor or stimulable phosphor has a disadvantage in that it is liable to produce defect or destruction of the crystal structure under pressure, resulting in lowering of the sensitivity. In order to keep the phosphor or stimulable phosphor from destruction, it must contain a large amount of resin, so that the proportion of the resin in the phosphor layer or stimulable phosphor layer increases and light is more easily diffused, leading to undesired lowering of the sharpness.
JP-A 3-196036 (herein, the expression "JP-A" refers to an unexamined and published Japanese Patent Application) discloses a technique of improving sharpness of the screen by controlling the weight ratio of the binder and the filling ratio of the phosphor, in which the weight ratio of the binder to the phosphor and the filling ratio of the phosphor are defined to be 4-11% and 60-70%, respectively.
The upper limit of the filling ratio of the phosphor being 70% is ascribed to a higher ratio of the weight ratio of the binder and the fact that an increase of the phosphor filling ratio rapidly reduces the void ratio by volume as a factor of light scattering and as a result, light is easily diffused, resulting in deterioration of image sharpness.
JP-A 3-196036 described above discloses a technique of enhancing the filling ratio by applying compression-heating. In this technique, the more the filling ratio is enhanced, the more severe the compression-heating condition is forced to be, causing destruction of the phosphor and denaturation of the binder and leading to lowering of the sensitivity. In view thereof, it can be understood that the phosphor filling ratio is at most, 70%.
Contrarily, if the weight ratio of the binder is decreased without applying a means such as compression-heating or with heating under low compression, the phosphor filling ratio can easily exceed its upper limit of 70%.
As described in JP-A 3-196036, when the weight ratio of the binder is less than 4%, strength of the intensifying screen is often markedly lowered; therefore, and further modification is required for maintaining the strength of the screen at a desired level, along with a lower weight ratio of the binder.
Inventors of the present invention found that an intensifying screen with sufficient strength even when the binder weight ratio was 0.1 to 3.0%, having a high filling ratio of the phosphor even without being compressed or with a little compression, and capable of providing an image with superior performance, could be obtained through selecting physical properties of the resin used as a binder, a solvent suitable therefor and a dispersing method and dispersing apparatus, and optimizing viscosity of a coating solution, dispersing power and dispersing time to thinly cover the surface of phosphor particles with a binder, thereby allowing the particles to closely approach to each other and forming a fine, soft and uniform network.
The above technique can be applied to the panel containing the stimulable phosphor.

Radiographic intensifying screen and radiation image converting panel


Memorialization structures, niches, and methods for manufacturing niches having a recess or cavity that is accessible after installation of the memorialization structures and/or post-burial or post-entombment of a deceased are generally described. In some embodiments, a memorialization niche may include a recess and a door configured to enclose the recess. The door may include a lock configured to prevent public access to the recess. A patron associated with the niche may unlock the door and access the recess. The patron may remove objects from and/or insert objects into the recess post-burial or -entombment of the deceased without disturbing the memorialization structure and/or adjacent memorialization structures and/or requiring a memorial operator to unseal the recess. Accordingly, the patron may continually update the personalization effects of a memorialization structure and achieve a dynamic memorial for the deceased while maintaining the security of any bodily remains and/or personal objects stored in the recess.

Traditional burial and entombment structures ("memorialization structures") are generally formed from static, permanent elements that are fixed at the time of installation or very shortly thereafter. Purchasers of memorialization structures and individuals associated with the deceased are increasingly interested in the ability to personalize memorialization structures at the time of purchase as well as after installation. One conventional method for personalization includes placing objects, such as mementos and flowers, on or around the memorialization structure. However, such a method leaves the objects exposed to the elements and accessible to the general public. Another conventional method for personalization of entombment structures, such as crypts and mausoleums, is to place personal objects, such as photographs, within a sealed recess of the structure visible from the outside. Although such recesses allow for personalization, the objects placed therein may not be changed after installation without unsealing the recess through potentially costly and time consuming methods, which may also unseal and expose recesses of adjacent entombment structures. Accordingly, the memorialization industry may benefit from a memorialization structure configured to provide access to purchasers of the memorialization structure and/or certain select individuals associated with the deceased to allow them to personalize the memorialization structure after installation thereof.


Disclosed is a method and system for analyzing patient hospitalization data to determine a Nosocomial Infection Marker (NIM), the method comprising receiving from a database hospitalization data associated with at least one patient, calculating from the hospitalization data the number of specimens with non-duplicate hospital isolates (SNDHI) markers, calculating from the hospitalization data antibiotic utilization criteria (AUC) markers, and determining the nosocomial infection marker (NIM) for each patient, based upon the calculated SNDHI and AUC markers.

A "hospital-acquired infection" is a localized or systemic condition that results from an adverse reaction to the presence of an infectious agent(s) or its toxin(s) and that was not present or incubating at the time of admission to the hospital. Hospital-acquired infections affect about 2,000,000 patients per year in the U.S., causing about 90,000 deaths. They are the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S., behind only cancer, strokes, and heart disease. In addition to their human toll, each infection costs nearly $14,000 to treat, totaling $28B each year in the U.S.
Consumers, employers, hospital insurers, regulatory agencies and others wish to know how many infections occur and how many people acquire an infection occur each year in a given hospital. However, few hospitals can answer these questions.
The current state of the art for identifying hospital-acquired infections is advanced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) through its National Nosocomial Infection Surveillance (NNIS) program. Under NNIS, there are 13 major site categories and 48 specific sites or types of infection for which criteria have been developed, (Garner et al., APIC Infection Control and Applied Epidemiology: Principles and Practice, 1996). The method requires specially trained hospital clinical personnel to manually review clinical and other data for each patient, including patient admission, transfer and discharge data, laboratory results, pharmacy data, radiology data, physician notes, and nursing notes for each patient.
Here is an example of one of the forty-eight infection criteria:
DEFINITION: Other infections of the urinary tract must meet at least one of the following criteria:
Criterion 1: Patient has organisms isolated from culture of fluid (other than urine) or tissue from affected site.
Criterion 2: Patient has an abscess or other evidence of infection seen on direct examination, during a surgical operation, or during a histopathologic examination.
Criterion 3: Patient has at least two of the following signs or symptoms with no other recognized cause: fever (>38° C.), localized pain, or localized tenderness at the involved site and at least one of the following:
a) Purulent drainage from affected site;
b) Organisms cultured from blood that are compatible with suspected site of infection;
c) radiographic evidence of infection, e.g., abnormal ultrasound, CT scan, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), or radiolabel scan (gallium, technetium);
d) Physician diagnosis of infection of the kidney, ureter, bladder, urethra, or tissues surrounding the retroperitoneal or perinephric space; or
e) Physician institutes appropriate therapy for an infection of the kidney, ureter, bladder, urethra, or tissues surrounding the retroperitoneal or perinephric space.
This current state of the art for identifying hospital-acquired infections is a manual process that is so time consuming that no hospital has the personnel required to apply it to all patients in the hospital. Each patient admission requires at least 20 minutes to determine if a hospital-acquired infection was present, (Gavin P J, et al., SHEA 2004). At that rate, a hospital with 20,000 yearly admissions would require five full time trained reviewers just to measure the hospital's infection rate. Very few hospitals have this level of staffing for Infection Control.
In response to the lack of resources required to apply the NNIS method to all patients within most hospitals, the NNIS program eliminated the "hospital-wide component" (the calculation of the incidence of hospital-acquired infections throughout the hospital) in January 1999, (National Nosocomial Infections Surveillance (NNIS) System Report. Am J Infect Control 1999). As a result, most hospitals only identify certain infections in a subset of patients at certain times of the year. With this limited perspective, hospitals cannot determine the full extent of the problem of hospital-acquired infections nor its financial impact.
Moreover, the current manual process includes many criteria that require the subjective judgment of hospital clinical staff. In the 20+ years that the NNIS method has been used, there has been only one study regarding its objectivity, (Emori, et al., Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 1998). That study compared the number of infections reported from the same 1,136 patient charts when reviewed by three groups: NNIS participating hospitals, CDC-trained expert reviewers and CDC epidemiologists. The number of infections found by the three groups looking at the same 1,136 patient charts were 611, 1264 and 865, respectively. Moreover, many wish to compare the infection rates of several hospitals. However, this lack of objectivity makes such comparisons unreliable.

Method for measuring the incidence of hospital acquired infections


Disclosed herein are adhesive compositions comprising (a) a first component; (b) a second component that chemically reacts with said first component; and (c) graphenic carbon particles having an oxygen content of no more than 2 atomic weight percent. Disclosed herein are associated methods for forming the adhesive compositions and applying the adhesive compositions to a substrate to form a bonded substrate.

Adhesives are utilized in a wide variety of applications to bond together two or more substrate materials. For example, adhesives may be used for bonding together wind turbine blades or bonding together automotive structural components.
The present invention is directed towards one-component (1K) and two-component (2K) adhesive compositions that provide sufficient bond strength, are easy to apply, and, where applicable, have sufficiently long pot lives for use in bonding together substrate materials.

Adhesive compositions containing graphenic carbon particles


A method and system is provided to review and control clinical data quality in the reporting of hospital claims data. The method and system perform data quality checks and generate turn-around documents that establish communications between coders and physicians in order to obtain the best description of a case for reporting purposes. The system provides file security and tracks cases through the entire review process to final reporting. Patient data and system performance data are aggregated into a common data base. From this integrated data base, a variety of summary reports are generated to identify systematic problems in data quality and to assess the success of the data correction process. The system interfaces with existing data systems to optimize the performance efficiency of a total health information system functioning within a hospital or within third-party claims review organizations including payers of hospital claims.

Medicare and numerous other payers have recently converted their reimbursement mechanism to the "prospective payment system". This payment mechanism utilizes diagnosis-related groups, commonly known as "DRG's" to determine the level of hospital payments. Conceptually, DRG's cluster patients to economically homogenous groups, i.e. cases that require comparable resources for their care and that therefore are to receive identical fixed payments. DRG's are assigned by a complex federally-mandated computer program and based upon "case complexity" as conveyed through the configuration of diagnoses reported and/or procedures performed during the course of the hospital stay.
It is the hospital's obligation under federal law to file valid claims statements in seeking compensation for services provided under federal beneficiary programs. Under the DRG-based prospective payment system, the validity of claims statements is dependent upon an appropriate description of case complexity and compliance with reporting requirements since both can affect the DRG assignment and thus the payment received.
There are several tasks that must be performed to enable a hospital to submit an appropriate claim statement for any given case. First, the responsible physician must record and substantiate each diagnosis and procedure term that is relevant to the case, these terms must then be coded in compliance with coding guidelines and reported in compliance with definitional data requirements.
Failure to comply with the conditions described above expose the hospital to two main risks: the risk of inappropriate financial loss and the risk of incurring penalties for misreporting. If the physician fails to describe fully and accurately (and also to document properly) the diagnostic complexity of the case or the full extent of procedural interventions actually performed, the hospital is likely to be inappropriately underpaid. If the diagnosis and/or procedure are inappropriately coded or are otherwise not in compliance with definitional and reporting requirements, the hospital faces potential penalties for filing false claims.
Because data requirements, coding guidelines and reporting rules vary in regard to their specificity, their relevance to the given case, and also with respect to the consequences of non-compliance, the risks which the hospital actually faces can vary in severity from minor to major. Consequently, judgments often must be made as to whether a given case poses risks that are serious enough to warrant the investment of resources necessary to undertake an in-depth case review.
Since there is a strong linkage between the risk of inappropriate financial loss and clinical descriptions of the case in the medical record (i.e. diagnostic and procedural terms recorded), it is appropriate to refer primarily to physicians cases that are at risk of potential financial loss. Because coding practices and definitional requirements are directly linked to misreporting, it is appropriate to refer primarily to coders cases that are at risk of potential penalties.
As previously described, valid DRG-assignments are dependent upon accurate and substantial descriptions of the complexity of a patient's clinical status as documented in the medical record, precise descriptions of procedures performed during the hospital stay, and compliance with established data requirements and coding guidelines in the reporting of hospital claims data.
Consequently, there are two main tasks for third party reviewers such as payers or peer-review organizations to undertake in order to determine whether claims statements that hospitals submit for payment under the DRG-based prospective payment are valid or not.
It is typical of third party organizations responsible for determining the validity of DRG assignments that there is a formal division of responsibility in conducting the record review and data validation process. Typically, case review is initiated by a "review coordinator", usually a nurse. Based upon what is found in the record, the reviewer decides whether there is reason to question the validity of data reported on the payment claim. Cases in which the accuracy of coding is questioned are referred to coding experts or data specialists for final action. In the event that the clinical validity of diagnostic or procedure terms or the adequacy of substantiating documentation is at question, cases of this type are referred to a physician reviewer for final action. Since there is a clear-cut division of responsibility for dealing with clinical as opposed to coding issues, the efficiency of case based review activities is dependent upon routing problem cases to the review personnel who have assigned responsibility for them.
Finally, there is the added dimension that third party review organizations are also responsible for detecting systematic problems in data quality or reporting biases that result in systematic overpayments to hospitals or other care providers. By generating performance profiles from aggregated data, systematic problems in data quality can be detected and related to causative factors. Comparative analyses can be performed across hospitals (and/or other care providers) to establish rational priorities for future in-depth review activities, i.e. to indicate where the investment of personnel and resources would be most productive.
Because there are so many federally-mandated rules and regulations that define the accuracy and validity of diagnosis and procedure terms reported on hospital claims forms subject to the prospective payment system, there is a need for a computer-assisted process designed to promote compliance with these rules and regulations that define the quality of hospital claims data.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,491,725 to Pritchard discloses a medical insurance verification and processing system which Verifies a patient's insurance coverage, electronically files a claim, converting claim codes as necessary such that the claim is sent to the correct insurance company with the correct claim codes, ensuring the claim will provide payment appropriate for the treatment claimed.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,667,292 to Mohlenbrock discloses "a computer system for identifying the most appropriate of the billing categories . . . prescribed by a government entity as a basis for determining the amount that health care providers, such as hospitals, are to be reimbursed . . . ". The system includes a process by which billing categories generated by diverse techniques "can be compared by the computer system, . . . if they agree, a high degree of confidence exists in the (selected category) . . . if they disagree,. it is known that a reconciliation must be made . . . this assists the hospital to obtain the maximum reimbursements to which it is entitled."
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,700,297 to Hagel , Sr. discloses a relocation management reporting system which "upon entry of a request for reimbursement the data and expenses category are verified and (stored data) is retrieved and processed to authorize or reject the . . . request."
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,857,713 to Brown discloses "A hospital error-limiting program . . . directed primarily at reduction of hospital errors in delivery of medications, goods, services, or procedures in patient treatment . . . "
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,858,121 to Barber discloses a computerized medical payment system which includes patient, doctor, and carrier verification, and error trapping.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,591,974 to Dornbush is of a more general interest.
Other Products: Several software products have been or currently are being marketed that deal in a more direct manner with the impact of data reporting on DRG assignments and hospital claims payments than does any of the above-described patented systems. Taken as a group, these newer products share in common a DRG Grouper, files containing diagnoses and procedure codes, files containing defined data error conditions, and a mechanism for generating messages when error conditions are detected in hospital claims data through data edit checks. Some of these products generate a patient data base while others do not. A few generate worksheets to facilitate coder-oriented case review but others do not. The product that methodologically is closest in resemblance to the method and system that is the subject of this application is the Patient Data Quality Manager (PDQM) which was developed by the assignee of this application.
The Patient Data Quality Manager (PDQM) is defined as an integrated set of menu-driven executable computer programs designed to manage the process of improving the quality and accuracy of reportable hospital claims data. It is a stand-alone, microcomputer-based system for processing data quality edits interactively for individual patients.
The principal function served by the PDQM is that of data quality assurance. This function is implemented through a series of interactive transactions supported by an extensive set of Data Quality edits. After the claims data for a given case are key entered into the system, a command is given to run the data quality checks. At the completions of the data quality checking process, any messages generated are displayed on the computer screen. A decision is then made as to whether worksheets are to be generated and printed (in real time or later) to facilitate the human aspect of the data correction process including review of data in the medical record or asking clinicians to provide data not previously recorded.
Worksheets: Two different types of worksheets can be generated: one is formatted to serve the functional needs of data specialists and the other is formatted to facilitate communication with physicians. However, the system operator must personally select the message(s) to be displayed on either type of worksheet.
For example, if a given problem in data quality arises from technical coding issues that can be addressed by the data specialist, a Coding Worksheet can be generated and the system operator selects from a menu the specific message(s) that is (are) to be printed on the worksheet. If the system operator decides that a given data quality message involves clinical judgment or requires additional input from the physician, a Physician Data Quality Worksheet can be generated and the message(s) similarly selected to be displayed on it.
The system is also capable of generating and tracking the Attestation Document that Medicare requires attending physicians to sign for the purpose of verifying claims data. The content of this document is standardized nationwide and contains no data quality messages.
Support Functions: Secondary functions support the logistics of the data correction process, a component of the overall process of improving the quality of reportable hospital claims data. Among the logistic support features of the PDQM are the following:
interactive data entry functions, PA1 a data base system containing patient claims data and identifier information on data specialists and physicians, PA1 a data archive program that transfers data from closed cases to diskettes for user-selected time periods, PA1 certain utility programs that implement user-selected data display options and data base managers to support the basic function of data correction and file maintenance. PA1 DRG Group programs, PA1 ICD-9-CM diagnostic and procedure codes and titles, PA1 revised ICD-9-CM codes and titles, PA1 other reportable data elements necessary for assigning DRGs, and PA1 Medicare edit checks. PA1 Automated screening of groups of cases (batch mode) to determine the hospital's risk of potential financial loss and the risk of penalty; PA1 Selectively sorting the problems detected as to their seriousness or priority; PA1 The generation of appropriate messages that describe both problems in data quality and their solutions in comprehensive terms; and PA1 Selectively printing on worksheets messages that are appropriate to the individuals responsible for resolving the problems. PA1 aggregation of the data quality status reports for a whole group of cases; PA1 classification of detected data quality problems as to the nature of the risk to which the hospital is exposed (i.e. financial loss vs. penalty), PA1 generation of summary profile reports that characterize the distribution of data quality problems by type, severity and source in a format suitable for recognizing patterns of systematic data quality problems and suitable also for monitoring the results of the hospital's data correction process. PA1 Automated screening of grounds of cases (batch processing mode) to determine the likelihood of invalid claims reporting on the basis of unsubstantiated clinical descriptors of case complexity and/or non-compliance with established reporting requirements and coding guidelines. PA1 Selectively sorting the problems detected as to their seriousness or priority. PA1 Generation of messages that describe the nature of the data quality problem detected and cite the documentary evidence needed to validate (or invalidate) the data as reported. PA1 Printing messages on worksheets that are appropriate to the professional status of the reviewer(s) responsible for making a determination of data validity. PA1 Transferring of patient data sets from host computer to portable computer in the event that interactive on-site record reviews are to be conducted in hospitals. PA1 Aggregating data quality status for groups of cases. PA1 Classifying the data quality problems detected as to their likely cause or source. PA1 Generating a summary profile report that characterizes the likely causes or sources of problems in data quality detected in the group of cases processed. The report format is suitable for providing feedback to the hospital (or care provider) and also for prioritizing future review activities. PA1 Generating a more focused report in a format designed to detect and quantify systematic reporting bias that results in inappropriately increased payments to the hospital or other care provider.
While the preponderance of data quality edits contained in the PDQM are proprietary as are all support programs, the program utilizes as sub-routines a number of resources belonging initially to the public domain. Among these are:
A set of security features is also built into the PDQM to protect the confidentiality of patient data.
Log Control Reports: There are several logistic support case listings ("logs") that resemble "tickler" files and contain data essential to determine whether data correction steps for each case have been completed or not or whether there are outstanding data quality worksheets. Other listings are used to assign review cases to specific case review personnel, etc.
In spite of the fact that the PDQM contains a more extensive set of data quality messages and more optional features than is offered by any known competing products, this software package has not been well received in the marketplace and only a few installations have occurred. Many enhancements and user options have been added over a six-year period without materially affecting its marketability. There has also been a relatively high contract cancellation rate for installed systems.
Based on a recent survey of former users, it has been determined the design configuration of the PDQM is flawed. While the intent was to reduce a hospital's risk to both penalties and inappropriate financial losses due to the misreporting of case data, no provisions were made in the PDQM to distinguish one from the other. All messages addressed issues of data quality without classifying them as to reporting risk potential. Neither was any means offered to prioritize cases on the basis of the seriousness of the potential consequences of various types of misreporting. Similarly, while it was also the intent that messages pertaining to inappropriate coding should be transmitted only to data specialists and messages pertaining to clinical documentation problems should be transmitted only to physicians, no built-in mechanism was provided in the PDQM to selectively route these messages to their proper destinations. Message selection was left to operator judgment. Other major deficiencies of the PDQM are that its stand-alone design resulted in duplicated data entry problems for hospitals and its lock-step, operator-dependent, interactive processing of case data was inefficient, resulting in billing delays.

Patient data quality review method and system


An apparatus is provided for controlled spray etching, in which panels, such as printed circuit boards are delivered through an etching chamber, to have a spray etchant sprayed generally on upper and lower surfaces of the panel. The spray is controlled such that a reduced amount of etchant is provided on the perimeter surface portions of the panel, relative to the central surface portions of the panel, transversely of the path of travel of the panels through the etching chamber. The spray may be varied in amount, preferably by varying the pressure at different locations transversely of the chamber; the spray longitudinally through the chamber, may vary, to spray leading and trailing surface portions of the panels a lesser amount than central portions of the panels, measured longitudinally. The control of the spray of leading and trailing surface portions of the panels may be facilitated by one or more sensors that control an intermittent discharge of spray etchant near the inlet to the etch chamber.

In the course of the manufacture of many articles, including printed circuit boards, the boards, printed circuit film, or other panels are generally delivered along a preferably horizontal path, while being horizontally disposed, as they pass through a chamber in a longitudinal direction from inlet to outlet. During the course of such delivery, and particularly with respect to printed circuit boards, film and the like, it has become commonplace to etch surface portions of the panels, or boards, removing metallic material from the upper and lower surfaces thereof. Generally, such metallic material is copper, and the etchant can be any of various etchants capable of removing metallic material from surfaces of the boards.
As such boards or panels traverse an etching chamber, from inlet to outlet, it has been noticed that, because etchant is being dispersed on the boards from various spray nozzles, often with fairly uniform application of etchant, there is a tendancy for perimeter surface portions of the panels to become etched to greater depths than central surface portions of the panels. It is believed that this phenomena is due to upper and lower panel surfaces generally seeing more etchant at their perimeters than at central surface portions, as a result of flow of etchant from central surface portions outwardly over edges, such that the perimeter or edge portions of the panels receive not only the spray that is impinged directly thereon, but also etchant that was sprayed onto central surface portions of the panels and which runs across the perimeter portions of the panels, as it leaves the panels by travelling over perimeter edges.
In instances in which the depth of metal on panel surfaces is of minimal thickness, more greatly etched perimeter surface portions of the panels may result in an undesirable depth of metal being etched from the panels, leaving the metal surface portions at the perimeters of the panels too greatly etched, or having insufficient metal thereon, for proper subsequent uses, such as for proper carrying of electrical signals, or the like, especially in instances when the panels are printed circuit boards.


Disclosed is a toothbrush storage and sanitizing container, comprising a housing having a lower portion and an upper portion. The lower portion comprises an interior fluid reservoir and an open interior between the reservoir and the walls of the housing for retaining the handles of at least one toothbrush. The upper portion is a removable enclosure that supports the toothbrush heads in an upstanding configuration. A nozzle device connects the reservoir to the upper portion of the housing, while a heating element within the reservoir rapidly heats and vaporizes the water therein. High pressure and high temperature steam is communicated through the nozzle ports in the upper portion of the housing to subject the toothbrush heads to a burst or continuous spray of steam for cleaning and sanitation purposes.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to toothbrush containers and sanitizers. More specifically, the present invention pertains to a toothbrush sanitizing container having a heating means for vaporizing a quantity of water and utilizing the steam to clean at least one toothbrush within the interior of the assembly.
Toothbrush containers and storage devices are a well described device in the prior art. These devices provide an enclosed or semi-enclosed structure that shrouds the head of several toothbrushes to prevent contamination and contact with substances that may be harmful for human consumption. Generally toothbrushes are stored in a bathroom setting and in close proximity to a toilet or sink, wherein water splatter and contaminates are readily dispersed through the air. Protecting the bristle portion of a toothbrush is of key importance with respect to preventing contamination in these environments; however simple enclosures do no prevent contaminates such as bacteria and fungi from spreading along the bristles after an initial exposure. This exposure may occur when the toothbrush is in use, after which the brush is placed into the enclosed housing of a holder and left untreated.
More advanced brush holders have been developed to combat this known problem, and generally relate to devices that incorporate a disinfectant solution and further to a means of drying the brushes after use to prevent mold development. Those that utilize disinfectant solution include a reservoir of solution to immerse the bristles of a toothbrush, loosening debris and eliminating germs from the bristles between uses. Drying containers provide a heating source and generally and exhausting means rapidly dry moistened bristles and to evacuate the heated air from the container, which prevents festering of the bristles and fungi from forming thereon, which is a common occurrence in dimly lit, moistened environments.
The present invention pertains to a toothbrush container that provides a sanitizing feature for the same effect, however using a heating element and reservoir of water to vaporize the water and create a high pressure, high temperature steam environment that kills germs and disinfects a plurality of support toothbrush bristles within an enclosure. A heating element on a timer switch rapidly heats a small quantity of water, which transforms into steam that is conveyed to the bristle upper portion of the enclosure to heat and kill germs and fungi from the brush heads. The enclosure itself is adapted to support a plurality of toothbrush devices in an upright and covered configuration, wherein the steam cleaning means is stored in a lower portion and activated as necessary by the user prior to or just after use of a toothbrush.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Devices have been disclosed in the prior art that relate to toothbrush disinfecting and storing containers. These include devices that have been patented and published in patent application publications. These devices generally relate to containers that utilize a cleaning solution, dryer or heater. The devices deemed most relevant to the present disclosure are herein described for the purposes of highlighting and differentiating the unique aspects of the present invention, and further highlighting the drawbacks existing in the prior art.
Specifically, U.S. Pat. No. 4,845,859 to Evans discloses a toothbrush storage and dryer device having an upright cylindrical housing sized to receive at least one toothbrush axially therein. The housing is separated into an upper chamber and lower chamber, wherein a light bulb heating source is placed within the lower chamber. The light bulb heats the lower chamber, whereafter the heated air flows across the chamber boundary to dry a toothbrush positioned within the upper chamber. The head of the toothbrush is adapted to be placed within the upper chamber to allow the heated air to dry and sterilize the brush. While providing a novel means to dry a toothbrush using a heated chamber, the Evans device fails to contemplate the use of superheated steam as a means to sterilize the toothbrush head. The present invention provides a structure that quickly heats a body of water to create steam, whereafter the high pressure steam is sent through nozzles and into a chamber housing at least one toothbrush head for cleaning.
Similar to the Evans device, U.S. Pat. No. 7,225,559 to Padilla discloses a toothbrush dyer device comprising a substantially hollow housing having an interior chamber adapted to accept a plurality of toothbrushes via retaining clips, along with a blower/heater mechanism that circulates warm air through the interior chamber. The interior chamber provides a means to retain the toothbrushes, while the heater/blower mechanism dries the items. A thermostat is further incorporated into the housing to control the operation of the blower/heater mechanism to prevent overheating, while a magnetically latching door provides a means of access and closure for the interior chamber. The Padilla device includes similar failings as the Evans device, wherein no steam means of sterilizing the toothbrush heads is provided.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,874,247 to Hsu discloses another toothbrush dryer device comprising a housing having a cover that defines an interior of the housing, along with a heating device for heating a drying pan formed along the bottom portion of the housing that transfers heating to a plurality of suspended toothbrushes connected to the pan. Air is further heated within the housing interior, while a thermosiphon discharges moisture outwardly from the housing to prevent bacteria or fungi contamination. The structure of the housing is one that encloses the head of several toothbrushes, while each brush is suspended from a plurality of recesses along the bottom portion of the housing. The Hsu device discloses a drying device that includes a heating pan, but lacks the ability to superheat a container of water for creating steam, which is then utilized as a cleaning agent.
Further, U.S. Pat. No. 5,107,987 to Palazzolo describes a toothbrush holder and disinfectant device, wherein a main container is disclosed having an internal chamber filled with a disinfectant solution for immersing a toothbrush head therein of loosening material and debris therefrom. The base of the container chamber comprises a plurality of upstanding protrusion support elements, which are spaced apart to support a toothbrush from the base of the chamber. Spaces between the protrusions allow sediment and debris to settle, while the toothbrush head is suspended thereabove by the protrusions and away from the settled debris that is trapped within the protrusions. The Palazzolo device describes a novel means of immersing and separating foreign material from a toothbrush head, which improves sanitation and contamination of the toothbrush head while in storage. This device, however, while providing a toothbrush container, diverges in spirit and structure from the present invention, which pertains to a steam cleaning toothbrush container device.
Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 6,565,819 to Herrera discloses a toothbrush sanitizer that rapidly sanitizes a toothbrush using a housing containing a reservoir of water, a tube connected for carrying the water to a pan mounted along the lower portion of the housing. The pan is heated by a heater device, which rapidly vaporizes a small amount of water delivered from the tube. A motor rotates an armature that allows a small quantity of water to be delivered onto the pan, while a timer controls the heating element and thus the vaporizing operation. The steam is utilized to sanitize the bristles of a toothbrush that is downwardly supported above the pan. The Herrera device, while utilizing steam as a means to sanitize, utilizes a structure that is adapted to function using droplets of water dispensed from a tube, as opposed to a heated reservoir of water that is carried through a series of nozzles for sanitizing a plurality of toothbrush assemblies in the upper portion of the present invention.
The present invention comprises an internal chamber of water that is adapted to be rapidly heated and vaporized into steam, whereby the steam is forced through aperture nozzles to an upper enclosed portion wherein at least one toothbrush head is positioned. The high temperature steam cleans the bristles of the brush head by removing debris and killing bacteria and fungus. The enclosure over the upper portion of the container is removably securable during operation, while the heating means is maintained by a timer switch to prevent overheating and fire risk. In light of the aforementioned prior art, it is submitted that the present invention substantially diverges in design elements from the prior art, and consequently it is clear that there is a need in the art for an improvement to existing toothbrush cleaning and container devices. In this regard the instant invention substantially fulfills these needs.


A medical apparatus includes a first jaw; a second jaw that opens and closes with the first jaw; a shaft to which the second jaw is pivotably attached; and a sliding member provided between the second jaw and the shaft, abutted to each of the second jaw and the shaft, and configured to be slidable with respect to at least one of the second jaw or the shaft.

US2017/0000556A1 discloses a medical apparatus that grasps a treatment target, such as living tissue, between a pair of grasping pieces, and conducts a treatment on the grasped treatment target using treatment energy, such as a high-frequency current. In this medical apparatus, the pair of grasping pieces includes a pair of treating surfaces facing each other. An electrode is provided on each of the treating surfaces, and electric energy (high-frequency power) is supplied to each of the electrodes. Upon supply of electric energy (high-frequency power) to each of the electrodes, a high-frequency current flows between the grasping pieces through the treatment target, and the treatment target is thereby treated.
In a medical apparatus similar to the one disclosed in US2017/0000556A1, a wiper structure may be provided in either one of the grasping pieces so as to equalize grasping power applied to the treatment target. In this case, the grasping piece provided with such a wiper structure includes a jaw and a swing unit. The swing unit is swingably attached to the jaw through a pin. An electrode is provided in the swing unit. Electric energy (high-frequency power) is supplied to the electrode through the jaw and the pin. In a treatment with a use of such a medical apparatus, the jaw constitutes a part of an electric path for supplying electric energy to the electrode, and for this reason, heat is often generated in the jaw. Moreover, heat generated in the electrode is often transferred to the jaw.


A suspension assembly includes an upper suspension subassembly with an upper end secured to a ceiling, a connecting device including an upper end having a spherical surface engagement relationship with a lower end of the upper suspension subassembly, and a lower suspension subassembly including an upper end having a spherical surface engagement relationship with a lower end of the connecting device and a lower end securely attached to a motor for driving a ceiling fan.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to improved suspension assemblies for ceiling fans.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional suspension rods cannot effectively absorb shocks of ceiling fans. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08,885,264, filed on Jun. 30, 1997, discloses suspension assemblies to overcome this problem. The present invention is intended to provide different designs in this regard.


An antenna includes a cylindrically shaped dielectric resonator placed on a longitudinally extended axis of an elongated dielectric strip disposed on a planar conductor and another planar conductor having an opening covers the dielectric strip with the opening on the dielectric resonator. There may be another dielectric strip placed perpendicularly to the first dielectric strip such that the dielectric resonator is where the lines longitudinally extended from the axes of both dielectric strips will cross.

This invention relates to a millimeter wave antenna using nonradiative dielectric waveguide (NRD guide) used in particular, for example, in a collision-warning radar for an automobile.
Prior art millimeter wave NRD guide antennas are shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. FIG. 8 shows a NRD guide comprising planar conductors 51 and 52 sandwiching therebetween a dielectric strip 53. An antenna 54 is formed by connecting a transceiver circuit (not shown) at one end of the NRD guide and causing the dielectric strip 53 to protrude from between the conductors 51 and 52. The antenna 54, thus formed, is adapted to emit electromagnetic waves in the longitudinal direction of the dielectric strip 53 (in the direction of the X-axis in FIG. 8).
FIG. 9 shows a planar antenna 66 comprising a dielectric strip 61 having notches 61a formed in the direction of its width (in the direction of the X-axis in FIG. 9) for radiating electromagnetic waves and a coaxial line 62 attached to its side surface near one end for feeding in power. A NRD guide structure is formed by attaching planar conductors 63 and 64 on the upper and lower surfaces of the dielectric strip 61, and the antenna 66 is formed by providing a plurality of slots 65 to the conductor 63 on the upper surface in the longitudinal direction of the dielectric strip 61 (in the direction of the Y-axis in FIG. 9). The planar antenna 66, thus formed, is adapted to radiate electro-magnetic waves from the dielectric strip 61 in the horizontal direction (in the direction of the X-axis in FIG. 9). Electromagnetic waves are radiated through the slots 65 in the perpendicular direction to the planar antenna 66 (in the direction of the Z-axis in FIG. 9) if the slots 65 are formed in the conductor 63 with intervals therebetween equal to its wavelength.
If the prior art antenna 54 is used in a collision-warning radar and is to be attached in such a way that the direction of electromagnetic waves radiated therefrom will coincide with the direction of motion of the automobile, the antenna 54 must be disposed parallel to the direction of motion of the automobile because it can radiate electric waves only in the longitudinal direction of its dielectric strip 53 (in the direction of the X-axis in FIG. 8). Since this may cause the conductors 51 and 52 of the antenna 54 to protrude, for example, into the engine room, there is a severe limitation as to where the antenna 54 can be attached.
As for the prior art planar antenna 66, since it is used in the millimeter waveband, a high level of precision is required in the production of the notches 61a in the dielectric strip 61 and the slots 65 of the conductor 63. Since a plurality of slots 65 are required, furthermore, the surface area of the conductors 63 and 64 becomes large, and if the conductors 63 and 64 are not sufficiently strong, the conductors 63 and 64 tend to bend, causing fluctuations in antenna characteristics. Since the gain of the antenna 54 depends on the length of the dielectric strip 53, furthermore, antenna efficiency of only 20% to 50% can be attained if the loss in the dielectric strip 53 is taken into consideration. In order to increase the gain, therefore, the planar antenna 54 must be made large.

Antenna with nonradiative dielectric waveguide


Provided are structurally-reconfigurable, optical metasurfaces constructed by, for example, integrating a plasmonic lattice array in the gap between a pair of microbodies that serve to locally amplify the strain created on an elastomeric substrate by an external mechanical stimulus. The spatial arrangement and therefore the optical response of the plasmonic lattice array is reversible.

Recent work has considered reconfigurable platforms in which the external stimuli, such as voltage, strain, temperature, and light, dynamically change the distance between the plasmonic scatters and/or the optical constant of the medium. Existing approaches, however, exhibit comparatively low sensitivity. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for improved strain-sensitive materials, platforms, and devices.

Ultra-sensitive, mechanically-responsive optical metasurfaces via strain amplification

The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania


A shallow trench isolation structure is formed which enables the growth of a high quality gate oxide at the trench edges. Embodiments include forming a photoresist mask directly on a pad oxide layer which, in turn, is formed on a main surface of a semiconductor substrate or an epitaxial layer on a semiconductor substrate. After masking, the substrate is etched to form a trench, an oxide liner is grown in the trench surface, and a polish stop layer is deposited over the oxide liner and the pad oxide layer. The polish stop layer is then masked to the trench edges, and the polish stop in the trench etched away. The trench is then filled with an insulating material, the insulating material is planarized, and the polish stop is removed by etching. Thus, the oxide liner is allowed to grow on the trench edges without the restraint of a polish stop, resulting in a thick, rounded oxide on the trench edges. Additionally, no polish stop layer remains in the trench to cause unwanted electrical effects.

Current demands for high density and performance associated with ultra large scale integration require submicron features of about 0.25 microns and under, increased transistor and circuit speeds and improved reliability. Such demands for increased density, performance and reliability require formation of device features with high precision and uniformity.
Conventional semiconductor devices comprise a substrate and various electrically isolated regions, called active regions, in which individual circuit components are formed. The electrical isolation of these active regions is typically accomplished by thermal oxidation of the semiconductor substrate, typically monocrystalline silicon or an epitaxial layer formed thereon, bounding the active regions.
One type of isolation structure is known as trench isolation, wherein shallow trenches are etched in the substrate and a thin oxide liner is thermally grown on the trench walls. The trench is then refilled with a thick insulating material. The resulting structure is referred to as a shallow trench isolation (STI) structure. The active region typically comprises source/drain regions formed in the semiconductor substrate by implantation of impurities, spaced apart by a channel region on which a gate electrode is formed with a gate oxide layer therebetween. The gate electrode controls the turn-on and turn-off of each transistor. The quality and thickness of the gate oxide are crucial to the performance of the finished device.
A typical method of trench formation comprises initially growing a pad oxide layer on the substrate, and depositing a nitride layer thereon. A photoresist mask is then applied to define the trench areas. The exposed portions of the nitride layer are then etched away, followed by the pad oxide layer. The etching continues into the substrate to form the shallow trench. When etching of the trench is completed, the photoresist is stripped off the nitride layer.
Next, the substrate is oxidized to form an oxide liner on the walls and base of the trench to control the silicon-silicon dioxide interface quality and to round the trench comer. The trench is then refilled with an insulating material (or "trench fill"), such as silicon dioxide derived from tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS). The surface is then planarized, as by chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP) using the nitride layer as a polish stop. In subsequent operations, the nitride and pad oxide are stripped off, and a gate oxide layer is grown on the exposed silicon of the substrate.
Disadvantageously, the gate oxide layer typically does not grow uniformly. Rather, it tends to be thinner at the trench edges, because the gate oxide growth rate is smaller there due to the sharpness of the trench edges and the different crystallographic orientation of the silicon at the trench edges. The thinness of the gate oxide and the sharpness of the trench edges increase the electric field strength at the trench edges, thereby decreasing device reliability.
In copending application Ser. No. 08/993,858, a method is disclosed for forming trench isolation wherein an oxide layer at the trench corners is thick and rounded. The disclosed methodology comprises growing a pad oxide layer on the substrate, then applying a photoresist mask directly on the pad oxide layer to define the trench areas. The exposed portions of the pad oxide layer are etched away, and the etching continues into the substrate to form the shallow trench. When etching of the trench is completed, the photoresist is stripped off the pad oxide layer, and the substrate is oxidized to form an oxide liner on the walls, base and top edges of the trench. A polish stop such as a nitride is then applied over the pad oxide and oxide liner. Next, the trench is refilled with an insulating material, and planarized down to the nitride polish stop. FIG. 1 illustrates an STI structure formed by this methodology and comprising substrate 100, pad oxide layer 102, trench 104 with trench edge 104a, liner oxide 106, polish stop 108, and insulating material 110. Since the liner oxide 106 is formed directly on the trench edge 104a without the restraint of a nitride polish stop, it grows thick and rounded, and upon removal of the nitride polish stop 108 over the active area 100a by anisotropic etching, remains over the trench edge 104a, thereby contributing to the improvement of the quality of the subsequently grown gate oxide.
The methodology disclosed in copending Application Serial No. 08/993,858 contributes to solving the problems of thin gate oxide at the trench edges and sharpness of the trench edges, thereby reducing the electric field between the gate electrode and substrate in proximity to the trench edges and improving gate oxide quality. However, as a result of this methodology, the nitride polish stop 108 remains in the trench 104 upon completion of the STI structure. The presence of the nitride polish stop 108 in the trench 104 is potentially disadvantageous due to the high dielectric properties of the nitride polish stop 108, which can cause unwanted electrical effects, such as low field threshold voltages at the bottom of the trench 104 and transistor edge leakage at the trench edge 104a.
There exists a continuing need for shallow trench isolation methodology wherein the resulting gate oxide layer at the trench edges exhibits high reliability without unwanted electrical effects.

Shallow trench isolation formation with improved trench edge oxide


Systems and methods are provided to recommend software patches based on task operation mapping. In embodiments, a method includes abstracting test cases for a software patch into a sequence of task operations and parameters associated with each task operation; encoding the task operations and the parameters associated with each task operation based on predetermined rules, thereby generating encoded task operations with unique identifiers assigned thereto and associated encoded parameters with numeric values assigned thereto; generating, using machine learning, a list of frequent operation items, based on the encoded task operations and the associated encoded parameters; generating, using clustering, clusters of parameters for each frequent operation item in the list of frequent operation items; and sending a software patch package including the list of frequent operation items, the clusters of parameters and the software patch to a remote server for distribution to one or more user devices.

Aspects of the present invention relate generally to software updates and, more particularly, to automated software patch mapping and recommendations.
Once a company releases commercial software, it is common for the company to receive reports of software defects from customers. After software patches are developed to address the software defects, the company will need to deliver the software patches to their customers, and guide users to install the software patches in the customer's production environment (e.g., user device). In general, there are several ways to guide users to install software patches. One method is to push a new version of the software, containing one or more software patches, to customers for direct download and installation, wherein the customers are notified that the new version of the software addresses one or more software defects. This method is commonly used for mobile applications.

Automated software patch mapping and recommendation

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION