In a communication system in which a server apparatus on the Internet is connected to at least one client apparatus on an intranet via a firewall, the client apparatus comprises: acquisition means for acquiring, from the server apparatus, information associated with a transmission interval at which notifications are periodically transmitted to maintain the connection to the server; and management means for maintaining the connection by periodically transmitting the notifications based on the information associated with the acquired transmission interval, and the server apparatus comprises: decision means for deciding an interval, in which the connection in the push communication can be maintained in non-communication, based on the communication status information; and notification means for notifying the client apparatus of the decided interval as information associated with the transmission interval used to maintain the connection in the push communication.

A communication scheme for continuously maintaining communication connection without imposing any unwanted load on a network has been proposed conventionally. In the conventional technique, disconnection can be prevented by periodically transmitting packets (Keep-Alive). As, for example, a client autonomously decides an appropriate Keep-Alive interval, connection is continuously maintained without imposing any unwanted load on a network (see, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-18235).
On the other hand, a push communication scheme of performing communication past a proxy server by continuously maintaining connection from a server on the Internet to a client on an intranet located inside a firewall has been proposed (see, for example, "The WebSocket protocol: draft-ietf-hybi-thewebsocketprotocol-17," [online], Sep. 30, 2011, IETF, [Searched on Dec. 27, 2011], Internet <URL:http://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-ietf-hybi-thewebsocketprotocol-17>).
In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-18235, appropriate Keep-Alive transmission is impossible when communication is performed past a firewall by push communication as shown in "The WebSocket protocol: draft-ietf-hybi-thewebsocketprotocol-17," [online], Sep. 30, 2011, IETF, [Searched on Dec. 27, 2011], Internet <URL:http://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-ietf-hybi-thewebsocketprotocol-17>. This indicates that in push communication, a communication device such as a firewall is present in a communication path, so a server cannot perform Keep-Alive transmission to a client apparatus on an intranet at an appropriate interval. As a result, a communication apparatus in a communication path may disconnect connection, so communication from the server on the Internet to the client apparatus becomes impossible.
Also, if the Keep-Alive interval is short, the amount of excess communication increases, so the amount of traffic increases, and the communication efficiency lowers. However, if the Keep-Alive interval is long, communication interruption occurs due to the presence of a firewall, and connection cannot be maintained, so instant data transfer becomes impossible.

Communication system, client apparatus, server apparatus, communication method, and program


A wireless communication terminal that communicates on a plurality of sub-carriers divided into a plurality of frequency bands, wherein each frequency band includes at least one sub-carrier. The terminal measures a channel quality indicator (CQI) for a plurality of frequency bands, identifies a subset of frequency bands for which the channel quality indicator has been measured based on a subset criterion, and transmits a report identifying a subset of frequency bands for which a channel quality indicator has been measured or frequency bands not in the subset. In some embodiments, the report also includes a subset CQI value associated with at least the subset of frequency bands identified.

In Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) based wireless communication protocols and other protocols based on multi-carrier modulation methods, scheduling optimization can be performed in the time and frequency dimensions using a Frequency Selective (FS) scheduler. Idealized FS scheduling may result in as much as a 50% improvement in system throughput relative to Frequency Non-Selective (FNS) scheduling. FNS scheduling occurs in a Time-Division, Code Division Multiple Access (TD-CDMA) physical layer, which effectively permits scheduling only in the time domain. It is known generally for each mobile terminal, or equivalently User Equipment (UE), to provide a per-frequency band channel quality indicator (CQI) to enable FS scheduling by a Base Station (BS) scheduler.
The various aspects, features and advantages of the disclosure will become more fully apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art upon careful consideration of the following Detailed Description thereof with the accompanying drawings described below.

Channel quality indicator for time, frequency and spatial channel in terrestrial radio access network


A heat-equalizing device is provided suitable to transfer heat from hooter areas to colder areas, and is particularly suitable for equalizing surface temperatures along a heated structure. The heat-equalizing device includes graphite fibers embedded in insulating material. The graphite fibers form a contact surface extending over and against the heated surface. The contact surface can be flat or curved as necessary for proper operation on the heated surface.

Many heated structures require a high degree of uniformity and heat distribution to achieve uniform results and performance of the structure. As heat from the heated structure is taken away, heat distribution becomes transiently non-uniform. Such a transient non-uniformity of temperature across the structure or on a heated surface may result in unacceptable performance of the structure. For example, heat distribution on the surface of a fuser roll in a photocopier can be disturbed as a printing media is passed over a part of a surface of the fuser roll. If printing on one size medium is followed immediately by printing of a different size medium, the second medium will receive non-uniform heat applied thereto from the fuser roll. Since proper fusing of fusible inks is a function of heat, residence time and pressure, if the pressure and residence time are the same but the heat applied varies from one part of the medium to another part of the medium, non-uniform fusing can occur. Under fused inks can cause smearing, offset and other unacceptable conditions.
A simple solution to the non-uniformity of heat distribution is to allow a sufficient time lag between operations for the structure to reheat such that the heat is distributed substantially uniformly on the critical region. However, such delay itself can be unacceptable. In photocopiers and printers, increased speed and performance are highly sought after. Thus, delaying a subsequent copying function for a different size medium following a first size medium can require unacceptable delay in a high-speed office machine. As heat is applied, non-uniformity can remain if all areas are heated equally until a maximum temperature is reached and distributed evenly.
It is known to use heat pipes to achieve improved heat distribution uniformity. However, the heat response time of a heat pipe depends on the outer surface material, and it is often difficult to maintain a very thin outer surface on a heat pipe. The heat pipe requires a liquid or vapor within the heat pipe, and the assembly is somewhat cumbersome to install and expensive to manufacture.
What is needed in the art is an improved construction for a heat-equalizing device to maintain heat equilibrium of a heated structure, and to minimize transient temperature differences within critical areas of the heated structure.


An adsorbent of high-mobility-group proteins (HMG protein) which can remove HMG protein in body fluid is disclosed. The adsorbent according to the present invention has a water-insoluble carrier on which (a) substance(s) having (a) hydrogen-bondable functional group(s) and/or (a) hydrophobic functional group(s) is(are) immobilized.

HMG proteins are a group of non-histone DNA-binding proteins, and HMG-1, HMG-2, HMG14, HMG17, HMG-I(Y) and the like are known. HMG have been thought to participate in acceleration of transcription and growth of cells by binding to DNA in the cells. It was proved that amphoterin discovered as a factor which exists on the surface of nerve cells and extends dendrite is HMG-1 that is one of HMG proteins, so that it is suggested that HMG proteins exhibit a wide variety of actions.
Recently, it was reported that HMG-1 is secreted to the outside of the cells and acts as a strong mediator of systemic inflammation reaction and septic shock (Wang et al., (1999), Science, vol. 285, p. 248). That is, if lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is administered to a mouse, HMG-1 level in the serum is drastically increased at 8 to 24 hours after administration and the mouse dies. In case of administering purified HMG-1 together with LPS, these synergistically act and show lethal activity, and the lethal action by LPS is inhibited by administering an anti-HMG-1 antibody, so that it was shown that HMG-1 is an important mediator of endotoxin shock. In patients suffering from sepsis, HMG-1 level is drastically increased, especially where the patient dies. HMG-1 level in blood is also increased in hemorrhagic shock (Ombrellino et al., (1999), Lancet, vol. 354, p. 1446). Further, it has been reported that production of HMG-I(Y) belonging to HMG-1 is induced by stimulation with LPS.
It was observed that in autoimmune hepatitis, inflammatory bowel disease and in systemic rheumatic diseases, autoantibodies to HMG proteins such as HMG-1, HMG-2, HMG-14 and HMG-17 are produced, so that it is suggested that HMG proteins participate in these inflammatory diseases (Sobajima et al., (1997), Clin. Exp. Immunol., vol. 107, p. 135). Further, it has been reported that HMG proteins participate in growth of cancers (Taguchi et al., (2000), Nature, vol. 405, p. 354).
Thus, although HMG proteins have functions which are necessary to the body, in diseases such as sepsis, they are secreted in excess to the outside of the cells to make the disease worse and to make the body die. A candidate of the method for improving the state of the diseases caused by HMG proteins is to administer a drug such as an antibody, which binds to HMG and inhibits its action. However, in view of the fact that HMG proteins have functions which are necessary in the cells and on the surfaces of the cells, it is concerned that administration of a drug inhibiting HMG activity may cause serious side effects. Thus, it is desired to provide means for selectively removing extracellular HMG proteins which are undesirable to the body.
It has been reported that some substances such as heparin and RAGE, in addition to the above-mentioned antibodies, bind to HMG proteins (Hori et al., (1995), J. Biol. Chem. vol. 270, p 25752, and so on). However, it has not hitherto been proposed to use these HMG protein-binding substances for removing HMG proteins from the body, and no materials which can remove HMG proteins from body fluids are known.

Adsorbent of high-mobility-group protein and body fluid-purification column


An ophthalmological diagnostic system and method providing improved resolution and enhanced visualization of internal anatomical structures of the eye. The optical transform of light reflected and scattered by the internal anatomical structures of the eye is modified to selectively provide dark field, phase contrast and fourier filtered images, and also to provide interference patterns of difficult to visualize transparent or translucent internal structures of the eye such as the nerve fiber layer of the retina.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to medical instruments for examining the anatomy of the eye, and more particularly to an improved apparatus and method for visualizing translucent or transparent internal anatomical structures at the back of the eye.
2. Description of the Related Art
In-vivo examination of the retina of the eye is routinely performed during ophthalmological examinations because small changes in the condition of the retina are often indicative of the onset of several sight threatening diseases, such as glaucoma, diabetes, cystoid macular edema, age related macular degeneration, subretinal neovascular membranes, retinal edema arising as a result of various vascular diseases and diseases of the cranial nerves. For example, detectable changes in the condition of the optic nerve head may reflect the loss of retinal ganglion cell axons, which has been found to occur in the early stages of glaucoma. Similarly, changes in the neuroretinal rim and the optic disk may also be correlated with changes in vision during the course of an ocular disorder.
Degenerative diseases of the retina, or changes in the retina due to glaucoma, may be quantitatively evaluated using various methods, such as tonometry, visual field analysis and other techniques. Photographic techniques, coupled with computer enhancement of the resulting photographs may also be used to document the condition of the retina. While these methods provide valuable information about the gross anatomy and general condition of the retina, they lack the sensitivity or resolution necessary to resolve the fine structure of the retina, such as the nerve fiber layer. The ability to view the nerve fiber layer, and to be able to detect and measure changes in its structure and thickness, is important in diagnosing the onset and course of glaucoma.
Because glaucoma affects a large number of people and produces serious visual loss, a wide variety of diagnostic equipment and techniques have been utilized to view the nerve fiber layer of the retina. Most of the techniques currently used to evaluate the retina utilize a device known as the ophthalmoscope to observe the retina. Using the ophthalmoscope, a physician visualizes the retina, and, using a camera or optoelectronic imaging tube, records an image of the retina. Where the image is electronically obtained, the electronic signals comprising the image may then be processed using a computer and image enhancing software to enhance the structural details of the retina that are present.
In indirect ophthalmoscopy, examination of the retina of the eye is performed by observing a real aerial image of the retina. Various optical systems have been developed to generate the real aerial image of the retina. Typically, an ophthalmoscope consists of a light source and a combination of optical elements adapted to transmit light from the light source onto the retina and then to transmit any light scattered by the structures of the eye back to the observer for viewing and recording. For example, one system uses an objective lens to converge light from an ophthalmoscope light source onto the retina and also to form the aerial image. One problem with all of the techniques employing the ophthalmoscope is that only retinal and ocular structures capable of scattering light back into the optical elements of the ophthalmoscope are visible. Transparent or translucent structures of the eye, such as the nerve fiber layer, scatter very little of the light provided by the ophthalmoscope's light source, and so are extremely difficult to visualize.
One approach used to increase the sensitivity of the ophthalmoscope has been to increase the amount of light scattered by translucent structures such as the nerve fiber layer by increasing the amount of the light supplied by the light source. The disadvantage of this approach is that the retina is extremely sensitive to light, and can suffer permanent damage if the light provided by the light source is too intense. Thus, the maximum intensity of the light supplied by the light source of the ophthalmoscope is limited by the requirement that no damage be caused to the eye during the diagnostic procedure. Unfortunately, the amount of light scattered by the nerve fiber layer, even with the light source providing light at its maximum safe intensity, is often too small to allow visualization of subtle changes in the nerve fiber layer that are valuable in diagnosing glaucoma. Moreover, the increased intensity of light provided to the eye also results in increased scattering of the light by other structures of the eye that further obscures the detail of the nerve fiber layer by overwhelming the small percentage of the scattered light that is actually reflected by the nerve fiber layer.
Several methods have been proposed to improve nerve fiber layer visibility by increasing the relative amount of light scattered by the nerve fiber layer compared to other ocular structures. One approach has been to illuminate the retina with light having a wavelength that is preferentially scattered by the nerve fiber layer and which is not scattered by other ocular structures. One such method interposed a green filter between the light source of the ophthalmoscope and the eye, but has been unsuccessful in obtaining images with enough resolution to view the nerve fiber layer because there is only a small difference in the scattering of light between the nerve fiber layer and other ocular structures at the wavelength of light transmitted by the green filter.
Another approach utilized polarized light in an attempt to increase the relative scatter of the light by the nerve fiber layer based on the theory that the nerve fibers, being long thin cylinders, should be strongly birefringent. This approach was also unsuccessful in significantly improving the visualization of the nerve fiber layer because the nerve fiber layer proved to be only weakly birefringent; thus the expected increase in scattered light by the nerve fiber layer in relation to non-birefringent structures of the eye was not obtained.
Alternative approaches that do not directly visualize individual nerve fibers but instead measure some anatomical feature of the nerve fiber layer have also been attempted. Ellipsometry, which can be used to estimate the thickness of the nerve fiber layer by measuring the degree of birefringence of the nerve fiber layer, is one such method. Using ellipsometry, it is possible to determine the birefringence of the nerve fiber layer at several points on the surface of the retina. The thickness of the nerve fiber layer may then be calculated from these measurements since the degree of birefringence is dependent upon the thickness of the layer. However, the resolution of this technique is limited because the other structures of the eye are significantly more birefringent than the nerve fiber layer; light scattered by these structures interferes with the measurement and reduces its accuracy. Thus, this method can only measure relatively large differences in the thickness of the nerve layer, and is incapable of detecting the subtle changes in nerve fiber layer thickness caused by glaucoma.
Several methods have been used to produce cross-sectional images of the retina in an attempt to detect changes in the nerve fiber layer. One such method is confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscopy. While this method is capable of producing cross-sectional images of the nerve fiber layer, the images produced do not have sufficient resolution to enable detection of small changes in the thickness of the nerve layer. Another method capable of producing cross-sectional views of the retina is coherence domain tomography, also known as laser doppler interferometry. In theory, this method should be capable of estimating the thickness of the nerve fiber layer with an accuracy of ten microns, but is adversely affected by the amount of light scattered intraretinally by the nerve fiber layer. As a practical matter, this method is useful for detecting retinal defects extending through the full thickness of the retina, but has not provided the accuracy needed to monitor changes in the thickness of the nerve fiber layer caused by glaucoma. In addition to the specific disadvantages discussed above, ellipsometry, confocal laser ophthalmoscopy and coherence domain tomography are all incapable of visualizing individual nerve fibers in the nerve fiber layer.
When an image of the retina has been obtained and stored using optoelectronic means, as discussed above, or where a photograph of an image has been digitized, the image may be processed using specialized computer software to enhance the details of the image. The degree to which a stored image can be enhanced, however, depends on the quality and detail of the original image. Where the original image contains little information, as in the case where little light is scattered by the nerve fiber layer, image processing is typically of little value.
What has been needed, and heretofore unavailable, is an accurate and reliable apparatus and method for visualizing individual nerve fibers in the retina and for measuring the thickness of the nerve fiber layer to a high degree of accuracy without requiring unsafe or uncomfortable levels of illumination.


A method for manufacturing TFTs is provided. It can be applied to both inverted staggered and co-planar TFT structures. The manufacturing method for the staggered TFT includes the formation of a gate electrode, a gate insulator, an active channel layer, a drain electrode, and a source electrode on a substrate. It emphasizes the use of metal oxides or II-VI compound semiconductors and low-temperature CBD process to form the active channel layer. In a CBD process, the active channel layers are selectively deposited on the substrates immersed in the solution through controlling solution temperature and PH value. The invention offers the advantages of low deposition temperature, selective deposition, no practical limit of panel size, and low fabrication cost. Its low deposition temperature allows the use of flexible substrates, such as plastic substrates.

Flat panel electronic displays have become more and more popular in many electronic media because of their flexibility, lightweight, and mechanically robust property. Such potential for flat panel electronic displays and other devices on plastic substrates has motivated considerable research on new materials and improved processes for fabricating TFTs.
The requirements and applications to the active devices for TFTs are getting more. Low-temperature film formation, less-selectivity on substrate, and direct patterning are the basic requirements in the fabricating process for the applications of TFTs. In addition, it requires the active devices to be suitable for the applications of both glass substrate and plastic substrate, in order to achieve the advantages of low fabrication cost and getting a large display area.
A recent attempt to fabcriate a TFT by a solution method has the advantages of easy and accurate control on material components, low-temperature fabricating process, high quality on the film, and low fabrication cost.
In general, TFTs can be catagorized into two types of structure, inverted staggered and co-planar. As shown in FIG. 1, the co-planar TFT structure has a gate electrode 101 formed on the top of an active channel layer 102. On the contrary, the inverted staggered TFT structure has an active channel layer 202 formed on the top of a gate electrode 201, as shown in FIG. 2. These TFTs are usually formed from a thin film of amorphous silicon (a-Si) or polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si). The a-Si and poly-Si thin films are typically deposited by sputtering or chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD), respectively. The deposition temperature of either CVD or LPCVD is relatively high (around 350° C. for CVD and 500° C.-650° C. for LPCVD). This not only requires high-energy consumption but also limits the choices of panel substrates and panel sizes. Therefore, a low processing temperature for fabricating TFTs is highly desired.
In order to meet the requirements of low-temperature processing, deposition of TFTs using chemical solutions was proposed. In 1997, organic semiconductors were adopted by Dimitrakopoulos et al in U.S. Pat. No. 5,946,551 to fabricate active channels of TFTs. The drawback of the organic TFTs is that their performance (e.g., carrier mobility and ratio of on-current and off-current Ion/Ioff) is much inferior to their a-Si counterparts.
TFTs deposited by chemical solution method using CdS or CdSe as an active semiconductor was disclosed by Gan et al in U.S. Pat. No. 6,225,149 in 1999. The active layer of the TFTs was first deposited by a chemical bath deposition (CBD) method. Then, the active semiconductor layer was patterned using lithography and etching process. The method for fabricating a TFT requires an annealing step at 400° C. In addition, the toxic materials involved in the fabrication process are one of the major concerns of their applications.
In order to meet the low processing temperature requirements of flexible substrates (e.g., plastic substrates) and to maintain a performance equivalent to their a-Si counterpart, ZnO TFTs fabricated by rf magnetron sputtering was proposed by Carcia et al in 2003 (Appl. Phys. Lett., Vol. 82, No. 7, 1117). Although low-temperature solution deposition of ZnO has gradually received attention in the research community, the applications of the deposition method to TFT fabrication have not been applied yet. It is still in the research state on the characteristics of semiconductors.
Based on both low-temperature requirements and environmental concerns, future development trend is believed to focus on metal oxides and high dielectric constant materials. The materials used for thin-film devices fabrication will play an important role and guide the direction of technology development.

Methods for manufacturing thin film transistors that include selectively forming an active channel layer from a solution

Industrial Technology Research Institute


A control system for a manufacturing apparatus includes manufacturing information input unit acquiring time series data of apparatus parameters controlling manufacturing apparatuses; failure pattern classification module classifying in-plane distributions of failures of each of the wafers into failure patterns; an index calculation unit configured to statistically process the time series data by algorithms to calculate indices corresponding to the respective algorithms; an index analysis unit providing first and second frequency distributions of the indices categorized with and without the target failure pattern, to implement significance test between the first and second frequency distributions; and an abnormal parameter extraction unit extracting failure cause index of failure pattern by comparing value of the significance test with test reference value.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to detection of abnormal operation of manufacturing apparatuses used in manufacturing processes of semiconductor integrated circuits. In particular, the invention relates to a control system for a group of manufacturing apparatuses and a method for controlling the manufacturing apparatuses. The control system identifies a reason for a failure and achieves an optimal operation of the manufacturing apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
One of the most important problems in the production of a semiconductor device such as a large-scale integrated circuit (LSI) is to improve the yield rate. Improving the yield rate increases productivity. In order to improve the yield rate, it is important to analyze a yield loss and thus, analyze a manufacturing process, a manufacturing apparatus or a design condition so as to determine the cause of the yield loss. Then, remedial measures can be taken to avoid or prevent yield loss. However, the LSI is produced, for example, by a sequence of several hundred processes and manufacturing apparatuses. Accordingly, once a failure occurs in the LSI, it is generally very difficult to detect a reason for the failure.
Test results of electrical characteristics of a wafer, conducted after completion of a wafer process in the LSI production, sometimes give an important clue for identifying the reason for the failure. This is because the wafer tests are performed on a wafer after completion of the production process. The results of the wafer test are mapped and displayed with respect to positions on a wafer surface, and failure positions on the wafer surface are detected. A representative example of such a map is a fail bit map (FSM) acquired in a memory product. In a logic product, a merged memory logic product and the like, a pass/fail map is acquired by the test where a nondefective chip (pass) or a defective chip (fail) are mapped and displayed.
A failure distribution on the wafer surface may be classified into two types in broad terms, i.e., a random failure in which failures are evenly distributed regardless of positions on the wafer surface; and a clustering failure in which the failures disproportionately occur in a portion of the wafer surface. In many cases, the clustering failure is caused by a systematic factor attributable to the manufacturing process, the manufacturing apparatus and the like. The clustering failure is a major reason for a decrease in the yield rate. The failure attributable to the manufacturing process, manufacturing apparatus and the like generates a failure pattern on the wafer surface inherent in the manufacturing process and the manufacturing apparatus. Hence, a pattern analysis of the clustering failure is a clue for identifying the reason for the occurrence of the failure.
Detection of the reason for a failure in the production of an electronic device such as the LSI is implemented by tracing back into the manufacturing record of the LSI for wafers or manufacturing lots in which the same clustering failure has occurred. For example, a search is made as to whether or not there is a commonly used manufacturing apparatus for processed wafers on which the same clustering failures have occurred in the same manufacturing process. For detecting the reason for a failure, there has been proposed a method of implementing a significance test for the manufacturing apparatuses regarding characteristic quantities obtained by quantifying the clustering failures (refer to Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-359266).
A manufacturing apparatus includes a unit which collects and records operation requirement information such as conditions and set values of the manufacturing apparatus during processing of wafers. The operation requirement information of the manufacturing apparatus is referred to as an apparatus parameter. Detail analysis of apparatus parameters enables identification of a name of a manufacturing apparatus in which a failure occurs, as well as an abnormal operation portion of the manufacturing apparatus. Therefore, measures to prevent the occurrence of the failure may be provided at an early stage. Even statistical tests, by use of apparatus parameters themselves, however, sometimes have a problem that does not lead to the identification of a cause of the abnormality. Also, beginning a search for a cause of a failure, after detecting the failure from wafer test results, creates a problem in some cases in that the feed back to the manufacturing process is too late. In addition, extraction and the maintenance of operation requirements of a manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing products at a high yield are extremely difficult because the number of apparatus parameters is huge and the apparatus parameters are correlated with each other.

System and method for monitoring manufacturing apparatuses


A rotary damper comprises a casing fixable to a structure and which comprises a wall which surrounds a chamber filled with a viscous fluid and has an inner surface facing the chamber. A cover is mounted and welded on a shoulder surface of the wall of the casing in such a way as to close the chamber in a sealed manner. A rotor which is mounted rotatably on the casing and comprises a disc portion, adapted to rotate within the chamber, and has a shaft portion extending axially from the disc portion and emerging through the cover so as to be operationally associable with a movable member. The cover has peripherally a collar-like protuberance, extending along the entire perimeter of the cover and coupled to the inner surface of the wall of the casing in such a way as to oppose the infiltration of the viscous fluid between the collar-like protuberance and the inner surface of the wall.

Devices of this type are normally used for softening the movement, brought about by spring means, of sliding drawers, such as some types of ash-tray in the dashboard of automotive vehicles, or of hinged doors, of the type used for example in cassette recorders. To this end, such devices comprise a rotor partially received within a chamber of a casing filled with a viscous fluid. The chamber is closed in a sealed manner by a cover, through which emerges a shaft of the rotor. In the majority of the devices on the market, the cover is fixed by welding to a shoulder surface of the casing.
During the mounting of the components on the casing, compression of the viscous fluid occurs, which fluid tends to emerge through the interstice between the cover and the wall of the casing which encloses the rotation chamber. If the viscous fluid succeeds in soiling the shoulder surface onto which the cover is to be welded, this fact may have a negative influence on the quality of the weld, and therefore the seal of the cover. For this reason, the amount of viscous liquid is generally limited compared with that which could theoretically be contained within the chamber. This, however, results in the presence, within the assembled and welded device, of air sacs which may adversely affect the performance of the device.

Device for braking the movement of a door, drawer or similar movable member


A method for cleaning an oil spill in a marine environment includes forming a particle-stabilized emulsion containing seawater, carbon black and at least one oil spill component and allowing the at least one oil spill component to degrade, thereby removing said component from the marine environment. Carbon black can be added to an oil-seawater mixture to form a stabilized emulsion containing at least one oil spill component and the oil spill component allowed to degrade, thereby removing the at least one oil spill component from the oil spill. Also disclosed is an emulsion that includes one or more oil spill components, seawater and carbon black particles.

Marine oil spills, the release of oil into ocean or coastal waters, often occur when oil tankers, underwater pipelines, offshore oil rigs, or offshore oil wells are damaged, resulting in a breach of oil containment. As the oil is released from its source, it forms a film, or oil slick, on the surface of the water that expands horizontally. The rate of expansion of the oil slick is governed by factors such as the viscosity, surface tension and specific gravity of the oil.
Marine oil spills are a major environmental concern. Oil spills both physically smother marine life with a coating that is difficult to remove and expose it to toxic substances contained within the oil. These toxic substances then enter the food chain and become harmful to marine life not directly contacted by the oil spill, having far reaching implications for the entire marine ecosystem. Oil spills further impact the marine ecosystem by blocking the entry of sunlight into marine waters, reducing photosynthesis of marine plants and phytoplankton. Over time, this also can have far reaching effects on the marine food chain.
One example of the dramatically harmful effect of oil spills on marine organisms is the effect of oil spills on marine birds. When birds are physically exposed to the oil, their feathers become matted, leaving them unable to fly and susceptible to drowning due to decreased buoyancy. They also have reduced insulation capacity. When the birds preen, they ingest the toxins present in the oil. The toxins can cause damage to multiple organ systems and ingestion typically results in death. Even if the marine birds do not directly come into contact with the oil spill, local prey fish populations may become contaminated with the toxins in the oil, again causing the birds to ingest the toxins and become ill.
Because of the harmful and far-reaching effects of oil spills on the marine environment, it is critical to clean spills as thoroughly and as quickly as possible. Current methods for cleaning oil spills include traditional methods of mechanically containing and removing the spill and more recent chemical and biological approaches.
Traditional methods for cleaning oil spills require first physically containing the spill. This is usually done by surrounding the spill with a series of booms. Booms are flotation devices that include both above and below-water projections to contain the oil. Once the contaminated water is contained, it is removed using one of several methods.
One option is to use a skimmer, a device for mechanically recovering the oil layer from the water surface. A second option is the use of sorbents. Sorbents are dry materials that soak up the oil, resulting in a semi-solid mixture that facilitates oil collection. Yet another option is controlled burning of the oil layer off of the water surface.
The main drawback of mechanical methods for cleaning oil spills is that they are most effective in calm waters. When seas are rough, waves carry oil over the booms, allowing it to escape into the surrounding environment. Skimmers are no longer effective in rough waters. Controlled burning must also be done in calm seas.
More recent innovations in cleaning oil spills include biological and chemical approaches. The main biological approach is bioremediation. If an oil spill is left untreated, biodegradation will eventually occur, typically in a process by which microorganisms break down the oil as they consume it for nutrients. Bioremediation is a series of techniques for speeding up this process, either by adding nutrients to the environment to speed up the oil-degrading activity of existing microorganisms, or by adding additional oil-degrading microorganisms to the environment. While bioremediation is a valuable technique, it is a long-term process that is often employed after other methods of oil spill clean-up have been exhausted, rather than a replacement for other methods.
The use of dispersing agents is a chemical approach for breaking up oil spills. Generally, dispersants are chemical compounds containing surfactants. They function by stabilizing oil droplets that form when the seawater and oil are mixed rapidly. These droplets remain dispersed in the water column, where they are then degraded by natural processes such as bioremediation. Although the oil is not physically removed from the marine environment, smaller oil droplets scattered by currents cause far less harm and degrade more easily than an oil slick. When spills occur below the sea surface, subsurface dispersants can be applied before the oil reaches the surface. Although an effective method for dispersing an oil spill, there are several concerns with the current use of dispersants. One concern relates to the (premature) release of the surfactant from the oil, before degradation has occurred. Another concern relates to the toxicity of many existing dispersants, further endangering the marine environment. Also, the dispersant is diluted into such a large volume it can be difficult to achieve a threshold concentration necessary for the droplets to be stabilized; even if formed, the emulsion will tend to destabilize due to low background concentrations caused by dilution. And in many cases, surfactants used are not 'active' for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

Oil emulsification and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon adsorption using fine particles as dispersants


A thermally stable drilling fluid system includes drilling fluid and an additive wherein the additive includes styrene-butadiene copolymers having an average molecular weight greater than about 500,000 g/mol, wherein the drilling fluid system exhibits fluid loss control at high temperature and high pressure conditions.

The invention relates to drilling fluids and, more particularly, to a thermally stable drilling fluid including an additive which provides thermal stability and enhanced fluid loss control.
Drilling fluids are commonly used in the process of drilling bore holes in subterranean formations. Oil-based drilling fluids are known and used for recovering oil as well as gas. However, a general problem that remains in the industry is that commercially available drilling fluids demonstrate unsatisfactory thermal stability and, after exposure to temperatures higher than about 300.degree. F., tend to exhibit a decrease in rheological properties such as gel strength and yield point, as well as a decrease in fluid loss control.
Furthermore, known drilling fluids typically include many ingredients, most of them of solid nature, which make the drilling fluid expensive. Since large volumes of fluid are used in the course of drilling, the various ingredients have a large economic impact on the overall drilling procedure. This kind of additive in conventional drilling fluids is further undesirable since solids can cause damage to the formation during drilling.
It is therefore clear that the need remains for a thermally stable fluid system which can be used at temperatures higher than 350.degree. F. which will maintain rheological properties and fluid loss control at such high temperatures, and which is economically desirable while minimizing formation damage.
It is therefore the primary object of the present invention to provide a thermally stable drilling fluid having an additive for enhancing thermal stability and maintaining fluid loss control at high temperature.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a thermally stable drilling fluid system wherein fewer ingredients than conventionally necessary are used to provide a suitable fluid.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a thermally stable drilling fluid system wherein solid content and subsequent potentiality for formation damage are reduced.
Further objects and advantages of the present invention will appear hereinbelow.


A radiation attenuation system for use with Computed Tomography procedures is disclosed. The system includes a shield made of a radiation attenuation material and may be useful in blocking or attenuating radiation, and assisting in the protection of at least one of a patient and a medical personnel present during the Computed Tomography procedure. The system may be useful for both Computed Tomography scanning procedures and Computed Tomography fluoroscopy procedures.

Computed Tomography (CT) procedures are commonly used to obtain cross-sectional images of the patient's body, including images of a patient's brain, lungs, heart, liver, bones, blood vessels, etc. CT procedures are often used to diagnose different kinds of diseases such as cancer, to plan radiation treatments and surgeries, and to guide physicians during biopsies and other invasive procedures.
CT procedures involve the use of CT machines that use x-ray radiation to obtain the cross-sectional images. In conducting a CT procedure, a patient is placed in the CT machine between an x-ray generating source and an x-ray detecting sensor. The CT machine delivers controlled amounts of x-ray radiation from the x-ray generating source to the portion of the patient's body being examined. The x-ray detecting sensor is positioned on the other side of the patient and captures the x-ray radiation passing through the body of the patient. The x-ray detecting sensor sends an output signal to a processor representative of the amount of x-ray radiation absorbed by the patient. The processor receives the output signal from the x-ray detecting sensor and processes the signal to create the cross-sectional images of the patient on a display.
As presently configured, areas in which CT procedures are conducted (i.e. CT areas) expose not only the patient to radiation, but also the physicians and other medical personnel that may be present during the procedure. In CT procedures, significant amounts of radiation may be scattered to the patient and to the physician, or other medical personnel in the CT area (i.e. scatter radiation). The likelihood of having radiation scattered to the physician or other medical personnel is increased for CT fluoroscopy guided interventional procedures during which the medical personnel is in the CT area during the scan.
Exposure to radiation may create potential health concerns. Radiation specialists and government agencies recognize the potential health risks caused by ionizing radiation and have developed the principle of ALARA (As Low As Reasonably Achievable). The principle of ALARA requires that radiation levels be reduced to the greatest degree possible taking into account a reasonable cost and physical application.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide a radiation attenuation system that may be used during CT procedures to minimize a patient's exposure to radiation. It would further be advantageous to provide a radiation attenuation system that reduces the amount of radiation exposure for medical personnel working in a CT area. It would also be advantageous to provide a radiation attenuation system that is relatively flexible and compliant, and adaptable for use with a variety of CT machines and CT procedures. It would also be advantageous to provide a radiation attenuation system that is disposable. It would also be advantageous to provide a radiation attenuation system that is sterilizible before use. It would also be advantageous to provide a radiation attenuation system that may be coupled to CT devices having different configurations. It would further be advantageous to provide a radiation attenuation system for protecting medical personnel that is suitable for use with CT fluoroscopy procedures where medical personnel may need to insert biopsy needles or other instrumentation without hindrance. It would also be advantageous to provide a radiation attenuation system which provides a relatively high degree of comfort to the user. It would be desirable to provide for a radiation attenuation system having one or more of these or other advantageous features.

Worldwide Innovations & Technologies, Inc.


Source separation system for processing input signals (E.sub.i (t)) formed by instantaneous linear mixtures of primary signals (X.sub.j (t)) that result from sources (S1-Sn) and for producing at least one estimated primary signal (x.sub.k (t)) . The system includes separation apparatus (10) and characterization apparatus (15) which determine cumulants of the input signals for extracting estimated mixing coefficients (.alpha..sub.ij). The coefficients are transformed into separation coefficients (C.sub.ki, d.sub.ki) in the separation apparatus (10). The separation apparatus (10) may have a direct structure or a recursive structure.

The technique of separating primary signal sources, which consists of processing mixtures of primary signals to produce an estimate of each primary signal, is known. Said technique is applied to primary signals resulting from independent sources, which signals are only available in the form of said mixtures. This may relate to convolutional linear mixtures or instantaneous linear mixtures. They may be generated by propagation mechanisms of primary signals and/or by superposition mechanisms for signals that result from various sources or other causes.
Generally, the technique of source separation works "in the blind", that is to say, the sources are supposed to be unknown, to be independent, to have unknown mixtures. Therefore, various samples of said mixtures are detected on the basis of which the use of separation algorithms permits of restoring one or various estimates of the original primary signals.
Such a technique, applied to the separation of instantaneous linear signal mixtures is disclosed, for example, in the document entitled "Separation of Independent Sources from Correlated Inputs" by J. L. Lacoume and P. Ruiz, IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing, Vol. 40, No. 12 Dec. 1992, pages 3074 to 3078.
For effecting the source separation, that is to say, obtaining on the output an estimate of each source that forms the mixture, this document reveals a method of calculating cumulants, For this purpose, it teaches to adapt parameters of the source separation system in such a way that cumulants of output signals which are expressed as a function of cumulants measured on the input signals resulting from the mixtures are set to zero, while the cumulants are of a higher order than the second order. By setting these cumulants to zero, inverse mixing coefficients are indirectly derived to obtain an inverse transform of the transform obtained from the application of mixing operations to the primary signals. The teaching of this document leads to giving a direct structure to the system of source separation. Moreover, as the input signals are statistically dependent because they result from mixtures, the equations that link the cumulants of the output signals to the cumulants of the input signals are very complex.
Such a technique has turned out to be very complex to implement and does not yield a simple solution in the case of real signals which generally result from instantaneous linear mixtures.

System for estimating signals received in the form of mixed signals


The present invention relates to a formulation, in particular an aqueous formulation comprising (i) a poxvirus of one of the genera orthopoxvirus, avipoxvirus, parapoxvirus, capripoxvirus and suipoxvirus, (ii) a disaccharide, (iii) a pharmaceutically acceptable polymer and optionally (iv) a buffer. The aqueous formulation is particularly suitable for freeze drying processes resulting in a stable, freeze-dried, poxvirus containing composition. The invention further concerns a method for preparing a freeze-dried, poxvirus containing composition and the thus obtained product.

The poxviridae comprise a large family of complex DNA viruses that replicate in the cytoplasm of vertebrate and invertebrate cells. In humans smallpox was by far the most important poxvirus infection. The causative agent of smallpox is the variola virus, a member of the genus Orthopoxvirus. Vaccinia virus, also a member of the genus Orthopoxvirus in the family of Poxviridae, was used as live vaccine to immunize against smallpox. Successful worldwide vaccination with Vaccinia virus culminated in the eradication of variola virus (The global eradication of smallpox. Final report of the global commission for the certification of smallpox eradication; History of Public Health, No.4, Geneva: World Health Organization, 1980). In the meantime, most of the stocks of infectious variola viruses have been destroyed. However, it can not be excluded that poxviruses inducing smallpox or smallpoxlike diseases might again become a major health problem. Thus, it is necessary to be in a position to produce stable vaccines against poxvirus infections, in particular variola infections, such as vaccines based on vaccinia virus.
In the past vaccinia viruses have also been used to engineer viral vectors for recombinant gene expression and for the potential use as recombinant live vaccines (Mackett, M., Smith, G. L. and Moss, B. [1982] P.N.A.S. USA 79, 7415–7419; Smith, G. L., Mackett, M. and Moss, B. [1984] Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering Reviews 2, 383–407). This entails inter alia DNA sequences (genes), which code for foreign antigens being introduced into the genome of the Vaccinia viruses with the aid of DNA recombination techniques. If the gene is integrated at a site in the viral DNA which is non-essential for the life cycle of the virus, it is possible for the newly produced recombinant Vaccinia virus to be infectious, i.e. the virus is able to infect foreign cells and thus to express the integrated DNA sequence (EP 83286 and EP 110385). The recombinant Vaccinia viruses prepared in this way can be used, on the one hand, as live vaccines for the prophylaxis of infectious diseases and on the other hand, for the preparation of heterologous proteins in eukaryotic cells. Other examples for recombinant vaccinia viruses are viruses harboring therapeutic genes such as suicide genes, ribozyme genes or antisense genes.
Modified Vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA) is known to be exceptionally safe. MVA has been generated by long-term serial passages of the Ankara strain of Vaccinia virus (CVA) on chicken embryo fibroblasts (for review see Mayr, A., Hochstein-Mintzel, V. and Stickl, H. [1975] Infection 3, 6–14; Swiss Patent No. 568, 392). Examples for MVA virus strains deposited in compliance with the requirements of the Budapest Treaty are strains MVA 572 deposited at the European Collection of Animal Cell Cultures (ECACC), Salisbury (UK) with the deposition number ECACC V94012707, MVA 575 deposited under ECACC V00120707 and MVA-BN with the deposition number ECACC V00083008.
MVA is distinguished by its great attenuation that is to say by diminished virulence or infectiosity while maintaining good immunogenicity. The MVA virus has been analyzed to determine alterations in the genome relative to the wild type CVA strain. Six major deletions of genomic DNA (deletion I, II, III, IV, V, and VI) totaling 31,000 base pairs have been identified (Meyer, H., Sutter, G. and Mayr A. [1991] J. Gen. Virol. 72, 1031–1038). The resulting MVA virus became severely host cell restricted to avian cells. Furthermore, MVA is characterized by its extreme attenuation. When tested in a variety of animal models, MVA was proven to be avirulent even in immunosuppressed animals. More importantly, the excellent properties of the MVA strain have been demonstrated in extensive clinical trials (Mayr et al., Zbl. Bakt. Hyg. I, Abt. Org. B 167, 375–390 [1987], Stickl et al., Dtsch. med. Wschr. 99, 2386–2392 [1974]). During these studies in over 120,000 humans, including high-risk patients, no side effects were associated with the use of MVA vaccine. Recombinant MVA useful as vaccines have already been constructed (see, e.g., WO 97/02355) and are used in clinical trials. WO 98/13500 discloses a recombinant MVA containing and capable of expressing DNA sequences encoding dengue virus antigens. The foreign DNA sequences were recombined into the viral DNA at the site of a naturally occurring deletion in the MVA genome.
An MVA strain showing an even stronger attenuation and enhanced safety characteristics is the strain MVA-BN, deposited at the European Collection of Animal Cell Cultures (ECACC), Salisbury, UK with the deposition number V00083008.
Besides vaccinia virus other poxviruses have been used as vectors to deliver genetic information into mammalian cells. In this context reference is made to avipox viruses such as fowlpoxvirus. Fowlpoxviruses containing HIV genes in the genome are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,736,368 and 6,051,410.
Processes for preparing poxvirus containing compositions suitable as vaccines are known to the person skilled in the art (see for example Joklik W. K., Virology (1962),18, 9–18; Richter, K. H., Abhandlungen aus dem Bundesgesundheitsamt (1970), 9, 53–57). The known purification results in aqueous, poxvirus containing solutions or in poxvirus containing sediments. The poxviruses in these solutions and sediments are not stable, i.e. the infectivity of the viruses rapidly decreases. However, it is necessary that a vaccine can be stored and distributed in a stabilized form, especially when the vaccines need to be transported in tropical regions with limited distribution infrastructure. A freeze-dried product can be stored at temperatures in the range from 4° C. to 25° C. This is a clear advantage compared to the standard storage conditions for liquid formulations, which have to be stored below −20° C. ("Cryopreservation and freeze-drying protocols" Day J, McLellan M; Methods in Molecular Biology, 38, 1995, Humana Press).
Processes for the freeze-drying of poxviruses, in particular vaccinia virus, and virus containing compositions and solutions suitable for this purpose are known (Burke et al., Critical Reviews in Therapeutic Drug Carrier Systems (1999), 16, 1–83). In general terms freeze-drying of a vaccine involves freezing of the vaccine containing aqueous formulation suitable for freeze-drying, followed by removing water by sublimation under conditions of reduced pressure and low temperatures and further followed by removal of water by desorption under conditions of reduced pressure and higher temperatures
The known poxvirus-containing formulations for freeze-drying have important disadvantages. Many of the known vaccinia virus containing compositions for freeze-drying contain peptone or haemaccel, which are often of animal origin. However, there are concerns that animal diseases such as BSE could be transmitted from animal to man via animal products such as peptone, gelatine or haemaccel. Moreover, the poxviruses in the known virus containing formulations for freeze-drying have not been purified. Thus, the poxvirus containing compositions for freeze-drying known in the prior art contain inter alia large amounts of proteins derived from the cells of the cell or tissue culture system and from the bovine serum used during cell cultivation, respectively.
The person skilled in the art also knows freeze-drying compositions that do not contain additional compounds of animal origin (which are e.g. peptone or haemaccel). In this case the compositions contain the following compounds alone or in certain combinations: sodium glutamate, sorbitol, lactose, salts, amino acids and glycerin. However, the product obtained after the freeze-drying process is often rather unstable, i.e. the overall loss in virus titer is unacceptably high during storage. Moreover, it has been shown that the poxvirus tends to form aggregates in some of these formulations and that other compounds precipitate before or during freezing.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,577,526 discloses a smallpox vaccine characterized by the fact that it is made up of a ground virus material of the vaccine dispersed in sucrose. The amount of sucrose is in the range of 20 to 40%. The formulation may further comprise 5% dextran. The term ground virus refers to virus derived from pulps and pustules. Basically, the lymph is ground to break up lumps and separate the liquid from the dead hair and skin. Thus, the protein load of the vaccine preparation is very high and contributes to the stabilization of the virus.

Poxvirus containing formulations and process for preparing stable poxvirus containing compositions


A structure for circuit assembly is applied to positional alignment in bonding process. The structure for circuit assembly comprises a first substrate, having a plurality of first terminals and both a first alignment mark and a second alignment mark located in the vicinity of the first terminals, and a second substrate, having a plurality of second terminals and a transmissive area located in the vicinity of second terminals. During the first substrate bonding with the second substrate, as the edge of the transmissive area is located between the first alignment mark and the second alignment mark, and the first alignment mark is outside of the transmissive area, the first terminals are normally connected with the second terminals.

(1) Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a structure for circuit assembly, specifically to such a structure which is used for circuit assembly of a display apparatus.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Assembly for display normally uses the technology of tape automated bonding (TAB) or of chip on glass bonding (COG), and so on. Compared to TAB, COG uses less amount of flexible circuit boards and printed circuit boards, and thereby can reduce the production cost.
For further reducing the demand of the amount of flexible circuit boards and the layers of printed circuit board to gain more cost benefit, those products using the technology of COG also apply the wiring-on-array (WOA) on array substrate to cascade driver chips. Among the cascaded driver chips, data and control signals are transmitted only to the first driver chip, and thereafter they can be delivered to the other cascaded driver chips. As a result, the amount of wiring on the flexible circuit board and printed circuit board can be reduced, and the cost can be further decreased. Because driver chips are cascaded with the WOA on the array substrate, thereby simplifying the design for printed circuit board and reducing the number of layers of circuit board can lead to further cost down.
Because function of signals on gate drivers is less than those on source drivers, the number of connections required for gate drivers is relatively limited. It thus makes it easier to design the peripheral layout surrounding the display area and the arrangement of bonding pads to the design with cascade. For the cost-down requirement today, an attempt to cascade source drivers has become a dedicated approach field in the panel manufacture. While there are a number of function of signals on the source drivers, the flexibility of design for the peripheral layout will be restricted by the limit of size of a flip-chip; moreover, it has increased the difficulty to be compatible with the present process, such as using the same testing method, module tools, and so on. Therefore, how to improve the design of WOA on the array substrate so as to further reduce the cost of components on panel has become a request to achieve in the panel manufacture.
Refer to FIG. 1A, showing a conventional display. A panel 10 comprises a display area 11, a plurality of source drivers 12, and a plurality of gate drivers 13 disposed at the surrounding of the display area 11. The source drivers 12 and the gate drivers 13 respectively connect with printed circuit boards 17a and printed circuit boards 17b via respective flexible circuit boards 20. As shown in FIG. 1B, on the panel 10, an area 14 between two source drivers, the driver 12a and the driver 12b which are not cascaded but adjacent to each other, only keeps a few of dummy patterns 16 and an alignment structure 15, providing for circuit assembly of the panel 10 and the flexible circuit board 20.
As shown in FIG. 1C, the alignment structure 15 includes an alignment mark 151. While assembling the panel 10 and the flexible circuit board 20, a positional alignment is examined for the board 20 though a transmissive area 21 which is light-transmissive and the alignment mark 151 on the panel 10. If the alignment mark 151 is properly positioned inside the transmissive area 21, the pads 121 the from source driver 12 are aligned to leads 22 of the flexible circuit board 20. As shown in FIG. 1D, while the location of the transmissive area 21 shifts from that of the mark 151, this means that the location of the pad 121 also shifts from that of the lead 22. However, the degree of assembly shift is not very clear for visual check.
As shown from the layout design in the figure, the edge of every panel 10 is required to keep the alignment mark 151 during a bonding process. Because these alignment marks 151 are located between two drivers and their positions can not be changed arbitrarily under the limitation of manufacturing tools, the space between every two adjacent leads of the drivers can not be effectively utilized for constructing prospective wiring. In particular, the demand in increasing number of contacts for the source drivers can't be met and thereby the pattern design with the WOA on array substrate is greatly limited.


A sensor device for measuring at least one property of a fluid medium, in particular of an exhaust gas of an internal combustion engine. The sensor device includes at least one protective housing for accommodating at least one sensor element; within the protective housing, at least one flow path being provided that allows flow therethrough by the fluid medium. The flow path has a number of at least three deflection points, where the fluid medium undergoes a directional change about an angle of at least 90°. The sensor device is highly resistant to thermal shock, while, at the same time, the sensor element has a high dynamic response.

Sensor devices for measuring at least one property of a fluid medium, preferably of a gas, are available. These include sensor devices having at least one sensor element for measuring at least one parameter of a gas, in particular at least one property of an exhaust gas of a combustion engine, such as the concentration of a constituent of the exhaust gas, in particular the oxygen concentration, the nitrogen oxide concentration, and/or the concentration of gaseous hydrocarbons, for example. Other properties that can be measured using such a sensor device are the particulate matter formation, the temperature and/or the pressure of the fluid medium, for example. In particular, such a sensor device can be a lambda probe. Lambda probes are often used in the exhaust branch of an internal combustion engine, above all for measuring the partial pressure of oxygen in the exhaust gas. Lambda probes are described, for example, in Konrad Reif, Sensoren im Kraftfahrzeug (Sensors in the Motor Vehicle), Springer Wieweg publishers, 2nd edition, 2012, pp. 160-165.
At the exhaust gas-side tip thereof, such sensor devices notably have a protective housing that extends into the exhaust stream. The protective housings are used for protection against mechanical stresses that arise during installation, as well as due to particles that occur in the exhaust system, and are used for a controlled guidance of the flow of the fluid medium within the sensor device to the sensor element located therein, as well as for protecting the sensor element from a condensate from the exhaust gas and from an attendant thermal shock to the sensor element. What is commonly known as thermal shock occurs, in particular, when a condensate drop forms from the exhaust stream and precipitates onto the hot, ceramic sensor element, thereby producing local temperature differences on the surface of the sensor element that can result in high, thermally induced stresses in the sensor element that can eventually lead to damage to or even destruction of the sensor element. The protective housing is normally designed to minimize a loading of the sensor device with liquid occurring in the exhaust system, preferably to a volume that is harmless to the sensor element, to a dew point temperature. Moreover, to protect the sensor element from thermal shock, it is preferably also provided with a coating for purposes of thermal insulation and/or fluid binding. In this connection, it is especially advantageous that the coating include a ceramic, in particular an aluminum oxide.
In many cases, however, the requirements for the protective housing are contradictory. In practice, there is, in particular, a conflict of objectives between the requirements for a high level of protection from thermal shock and for a high dynamic response of the sensor device. This especially means that measures performed on the protective housing, that lessen the loading of the sensor element with liquid, often simultaneously reduce the dynamic response of the sensor device. This is due to the fact that, normally, a most rapid possible gas exchange near the sensor element enhances the dynamic response of the sensor device, while the liquid loading of the sensor element is simultaneously hereby increased, generally thereby reducing the protection against thermal shock. In practice, this means that, normally, only one of the two requirements, high dynamic response or high level of protection against thermal shock, can largely be met satisfactorily for a certain selected protective housing.
The protective housing itself may have a one-part or multipart design, a multipart design mostly having an inner housing and an outer housing surrounding the inner housing, between which an intermediate space is formed, in which further protective tubes are possibly located. Protective housings having two or three protective tubes and which, therefore, are also referred to as double or triple protective tube (housings), are used very frequently. A triple protective tube normally provides a better protection against thermal shock than does a double protective tube. However, there are a number of disadvantages inherent in the conventional triple protective tubes. In comparison with a double protective tube, a triple protective tube normally has a longer flow path that the gas stream must travel from the inlet openings at the protective housing to the sensor element. Such a design is, in fact, conducive to protection against thermal shock, but mostly degrades the dynamic response of the sensor device due to the longer flow path. Because of the more stringent requirements placed on the dynamic response, conventional triple protective tubes are no longer suited for such purposes. Moreover, the triple protective tube design, which is customary at present, requires that the inner housing be introduced from the side of a reference air space into the outer housing. Since the diameter of the inner housing must be limited as a result, the limited space in the inner housing necessitates using only those sensor elements that do not have any additional protective coating against thermal shock. However, the lack of a sensor element coating considerably diminishes the liquid volume from the exhaust stream that the sensor element can act upon. In spite of an additional protective tube, this usual triple protective tube configuration ultimately results in the protective action of the entire sensor device against thermal shock being altogether only insignificantly or not enhanced since the sensor element's protection against thermal shock is reduced.
European Patent Application EP 2 333 534 A2 describes a sensor device for measuring at least one property of a fluid medium that is provided with a protective housing for accommodating at least one sensor element. Located within the protective housing is the flow path that is traversable by the fluid medium flow and that extends from the inlet openings in the outer housing across the intermediate space and access openings in the inner housing to the sensor element; within the protective housing, the flow path having two deflection points where the fluid medium undergoes a directional change by an angle of 90°. In addition, at least one wall body is provided within the protective housing along the flow path. It is configured and adapted to absorb heat from the fluid medium that is moved past the wall body at a lowest possible velocity.

Sensor device for measuring at least one property of a fluid medium


A motorcycle with a disk brake device and an anti-dip device for improving the external appearance of the front forks and for simplifying the fixing of the hoses. A single hose includes a hydraulic passage k extending from a secondary master cylinder and one end of the hose is connected to one opening of a three-way opening coupling fixed to the front forks. One end of a single hose is supported by the secondary master cylinder and the other end is supported by the three-way opening coupling. Thus the hose clamps may be omitted, the number of components is conspicuously reduced and the arrangement is simplified. In comparison to extending two hoses from the secondary master cylinder, only a single hose is extended according to the present invention. Thus, the handling of the hoses is simplified and the outer appearance near the front forks is improved.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a motorcycle provided with a disk brake device and an anti-dive device.
2. Description of Background Art
A motorcycle is known that is provided with a disk brake device. See, for example, JP-B No. H7-30800, FIG. 1. In the following description hereafter, the reference numerals in brackets are the same as those shown in JP-B No. H7-30800.
A disk plate (3) is rotatably attached to an axle (2) on front forks (1). A primary caliper (5) and a secondary caliper (9) that cause a damping effect on a disk plate (3) are provided on the front forks (1).
A secondary master cylinder (10) is mounted on the primary caliper (5) and a push rod (13) of the secondary master cylinder (10) is connected to the front forks (1).
During braking, the primary caliper (5) swings clockwise in the figure. Thus the secondary master cylinder (10) advances forward and produces a hydraulic pressure. The hydraulic pressure is supplied to the secondary caliper (9) through a brake hose (15).
An anti-dive device is attached to the front forks (1) to mitigate the phenomenon of dipping of the front section of the vehicle body during braking.
Hydraulic pressure is also supplied to the anti-dive device from the secondary master cylinder (10).
Thus the hose from the secondary master cylinder (10) to the anti-dive device must branch from the hose (15) towards the secondary caliper (5). As a result, the plurality of hoses about the front forks (1) must be fixed using a complicated arrangement of hose clamps which adversely affects the external appearance near to the front forks (1).
Consequently there is a need for a structure which simplifies the fixing of the hoses and which improves the external appearance near to the front forks.


A component for a gas turbine engine is disclosed. In various embodiments, the component includes a diffuser ring, a combustor and a spring element connecting the diffuser ring to the combustor.

Conventional gas turbine engines, such as those used to power modern commercial and military aircraft, include a fan section to propel the aircraft, a compressor section to pressurize a supply of air from the fan section, a combustor section to burn a hydrocarbon fuel in the presence of the pressurized air, and a turbine section to extract energy from the resultant combustion gases in order to power the compressor and fan sections.
Miniature gas turbine engines operate in much the same way as conventional gas turbine engines operate in that a fuel is combusted in the presence of compressed air to generate high energy gases for producing thrust and powering a compressor. As with a conventional gas turbine engine, a turbine is used to drive the compressor to compress air for the combustion process and to drive a fan or eject gases at high velocity to produce thrust. Miniature gas turbine engines are, however, much smaller such that they are readily applicable as propulsion systems for small vehicles. For example, miniature gas turbine engines are often used as propulsion systems for small-scale aircraft, such as, for example, reconnaissance drones. Miniature gas turbine engines extend the range of these small-scale aircraft beyond what is traditionally available from conventional rocket engines. While miniature gas turbine engines often operate under expendable circumstances, it is nevertheless desirable for the engines to exhibit reliability and, at the same time, be cost effective.

Additive integral combustor expansion spring


A method and computer usable medium storing a computer program for performing failed wireless communication diagnostics are disclosed. A failed transmission condition is recognized. A cleared number communication channel is established between a telematics unit and either a service provider or a call center responsive to the received failed transmission condition. A communication device identifier is sent to the service provider. A communication parameter associated with data generated by the service provider is received at the telematics unit.

The opportunity to personalize features in a mobile vehicle is ever increasing as the automobile is being transformed into a communications platform as well as a transportation platform. Projections are that in the future many new cars will include some type of telematics unit to provide wireless communication and location-based services. These services may be accessed through interfaces such as voice-recognition computer applications, touch-screen computer displays, computer keyboards, or buttons on the dashboard or console of a vehicle.
Currently, telematics service call centers, in-vehicle compact disk (CD) or digital video display (DVD) media, web portals, and voice-enabled phone portals provide various types of location services, including driving directions, stolen vehicle tracking, traffic information, weather reports, restaurant guides, ski reports, road condition information, accident updates, street routing, landmark guides, and business finders.
For example, traffic and driving directions are accessible through a voice portal that uses incoming number identification to generate location information based on the area code or prefix of the phone number, or to access location information stored in a user's profile associated with the phone number. In some embodiments, users are prompted to enter more details through a voice interface. Other examples are web and wireless portals that offer location-based services such as maps and driving directions: the user enters both a start and end addresses. Some of these services have a voice interface.
When a cellular communication device, such as for example, an embedded or in-vehicle phone or a telematics unit, initiates a call, a cellular communication channel is typically established between the cellular communication device and the wireless carrier system. Prior to permitting the initiated call to be placed through the wireless carrier system, the wireless carrier system performs a check on behalf of the service provider to ensure that the cellular device is registered for service with the service provider. If the wireless carrier system discovers a problem with the cellular device registration, registration of the cellular device is denied and the call is not allowed.
If the telematics unit was denied a call while attempting to perform a telematics unit function that is transparent to the mobile vehicle user, the mobile vehicle user may not know that many telematics services may be unavailable due to wireless communication failure. If the mobile vehicle user discovers the failed wireless communication problems when attempted to place a call using the embedded or in-vehicle phone, the user may not know how to begin to resolve the wireless communication failure. The mobile vehicle user may take the vehicle into a dealership so that a trained technician can troubleshoot the failed communication problems. This can be time consuming and expensive for the mobile vehicle user if the mobile vehicle is no longer under warranty. This may lead to customer dissatisfaction with the telematics services, the mobile vehicle and/or the mobile vehicle manufacturer. If the mobile vehicle is still under warranty, the repair costs are borne by the vehicle dealership or vehicle manufacturer.
It is desirable, therefore, to provide methods and computer usable mediums to perform wireless communication diagnostics responsive to a failed transmission signal, thus overcoming the limitations described above.

Method and system for performing failed wireless communication diagnostics


A transdermal reservoir and method for loading a material into a reservoir includes providing a bibulous reservoir blocking a backing with an interior surface having a patient contact surface with a shape disposed on the interior surface of the backing. A closure is sized and shaped to engage the backing for forming a releasable seal to isolate the bibulous reservoir from the ambient environment. The closure has an inside surface with a section of an absorbent material disposed thereon. When the closure is disposed on the backing, the absorbent material is positioned in intimate physical contact with the reservoir. The method includes applying an aliquot of a material to the absorbent material,. placing the closure on the backing so that the absorbent material is in intimate physical contact with the contact surface of the bibulous reservoir and the closure forms the releasable seal with the backing. The reservoir is allowed to stand for a sufficient time to allow the aliquot to be absorbed into the bibulous material thereby loading the reservoir.

The present invention is related to a method of loading a material into a bibulous reservoir useful for drug delivery and more particularly into a method for loading a medicament into an iontophoretic reservoir-electrode and a iontophoretic reservoir-electrode formed by the method.
Iontophoretic delivery of a medicament is accomplished by application of a voltage to a medicament loaded reservoir-electrode, sufficient to maintain a current between the medicament loaded reservoir-electrode and a return electrode (another electrode) applied to a patient""s skin so that an ionic form of the desired medicament is delivered to the patient.
Shelf storage stability problems for many of the iontophoresis devices reported in the literature require that the medicament be stored separately from the reservoir-electrode until immediately prior to use. lontophoretic delivery of medicaments is recognized as desirable for many medicaments, but it is not widely used because no devices are commercially available that meet all of the needs of the potential user population. An important requirement for a product to enjoy widespread usage is shelf storage stability. If a drug product is not stable under normal shelf storage conditions, it is unlikely to be a successfully commercialized product because the short shelf life limits the product""s utility to most potential users as most of the product""s useful life is exhausted during the time required for manufacturing and the distribution process. Thus, determination of shelf storage stability is an important part of a drug product""s regulatory approval process. If there are difficulties with storage stability, regulatory approval may be withheld. Often, the reservoir-electrode also is maintained in a dry (unhydrated) condition prior to use also because of the tendency of the active electrode material to undergo physical and chemical changes during shelf storage. The need to store the several components separately has limited the use of iontophoretic devices, since in order to use the device, the reservoir-electrode needs to be charged with the medicament and hydrated either by a practitioner or user immediately prior to use. There are regulatory requirements related to the accuracy and precision of content of a particular drug in an individual dosage form. When a drug dosage form is a tablet, there are specific requirements related to weight variation, dissolution, content and stability. Parenteral dosage forms require concentration assay and stability. Other more complex dosage forms such as transdermal or iontophoretic delivery devices are developing similar standards, but the problems related to loading the devices and the stability of the charged devices are continuing problems.
Several United States Patents disclose devices that attempt to overcome the problem of shelf storage stability and facilitate the preparation of the device for use. U.S. Pat. No. 5,320,598 discloses a dry-state iontophoretic drug delivery device that has drug and electrolyte reservoirs that are initially in a non-hydrated condition. The device has a liquid containing pouch or breakable capsules that contain water or other liquid, the liquid being releasable by disrupting the liquid containers prior to use. Commercial manufacture of a device utilizing this disclosure would be complex.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,385,543 also discloses a dry-state iontophoretic drug delivery device that has drug and electrolyte reservoirs. The disclosed device includes a backing layer with at least one passageway therethrough that allows the introduction of water or other liquids into the drug and electrolyte reservoirs prior to use followed by joining the reservoirs to the electrodes. The patent teaches that by joining the reservoirs to the electrodes after hydration, delamination problems are reduced.
No commercial products utilizing the technology disclosed either in the ""598 or the ""543 patents have been produced.
A different approach to the shelf storage stability problem is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,817,044. In this disclosure, the device is divided or otherwise separated into at least two portions, with one portion containing the electrode reservoir and the other containing the drug reservoir, which may include a medication in a dry form. In this disclosure, the user causes the two portions to come into electrical conducting contact with one another to at least partially hydrate one of the reservoirs, by either folding the device to bring the two portions into contact with one another or by removing a barrier dividing the two portions. While this device is somewhat seems to be somewhat easier to use than the devices disclosed in the above patents, there currently is no commercial device that utilizes this disclosure.
International Application WO 98/208869 discloses an iontophoretic device for delivery of epinephrine and lidocaine HCl. The disclosed device includes materials that deter microbial growth and anti-oxidants to enhance the stability of epinephrine. While this disclosure recognizes the need for shelf storage stability and addresses the problem of epinephrine stability by including anti-oxidants, there is no teaching of the need or ability to uniformly load the reservoir-electrode. Again, there is no commercial product based on the information in this disclosure.
A further problem related to production of a successful commercial pharmaceutical product is related to the requirements for accuracy and precision of dosage. In some of the iontophretic drug delivery devices described above, the user or the practitioner is required to perform some action to hydrate the reservoir-electrode and introduce the medicament introduce the medicament to be delivered into the delivery device prior to use. Such operations that depend upon the practitioner or user to charge the medicament into the device under relatively uncontrolled conditions may result in improper dosing. Regulatory requirements for pharmaceutical products generally specify that not only medicaments contain between ninety and one hundred-ten percent of the label claim, but also that the delivery be uniform from sample to sample.
It is well recognized that many medicaments are not stable to conditions necessary for assembly and storage of iontophoretic reservoir-electrodes. A method of accurately and repeatedly loading the medicament and any required stability enhancing excipients during the assembly process of reservoirs useful for passive transdermal drug delivery and reservoir-electrodes for iontophoretic drug delivery devices that was compatible with a mechanized assembly process and also provided a charged reservoir-electrode with satisfactory stability properties would represent an advance to the art of delivery of medicaments. By providing a stable ready-to-use device as disclosed below, the method of the invention substantially eliminates used induced variability due to loading. Summary A method of the present invention for loading a material into a hydrophilic transdermal medicament delivery reservoir includes providing a transdermal delivery device including a backing with an interior surface that has a bibulous reservoir having a patient contact surface disposed on the inside surface. The method of the invention further includes placing a section of an absorbent material on the patient contact surface of the bibulous reservoir, applying a preselected aliquot of a material to be charged into said bibulous reservoir onto the absorbent material and allowing the absorbent reservoir having the absorbent material with the aliquot of the material applied thereto to stand for a sufficient time for the material to be absorbed into the bibulous material, thereby loading the material into the reservoir.
A method of the present invention for loading a material into an iontophoresis reservoir-electrode includes providing an iontophoresis reservoir-electrode including a backing with an interior surface having an electrode thereon and a bibulous reservoir having a patient contact surface with a shape disposed on the interior surface of the backing in electrical contact with the electrode. The method also includes providing a closure sized and shaped to engage the backing for forming a releasable seal to isolate the bibulous reservoir from the ambient environment, the closure is removable from the housing to expose the patient contact surface for use. The provided closure has an inside surface with a section of an absorbent material disposed thereon. The provided section has a first surface with a similar shape to the contact surface of the bibulous reservoir so that when the closure is disposed on the backing, the absorbent material first surface is positioned in intimate physical contact with the contact surface of the reservoir. The method further includes applying a preselected aliquot of a material to the absorbent material on the inside surface of the closure and placing the absorbent material on the patient contact surface of the reservoir. The method also includes allowing the reservoir-electrode with the closure applied thereto to stand for a sufficient time to allow the aliquot of the material to be absorbed into the bibulous reservoir thereby loading the reservoir-electrode.
An iontophoresis reservoir-electrode of the invention includes a backing with an interior surface including an electrode, a bibulous reservoir that has a patient contact surface with a shape disposed on and in electrical contact with the electrode. The reservoir-electrode is charged with a preselected aliquot of a material and has a closure that is sized and shaped to isolate the bibulous reservoir from ambient environment. The closure is removable from the backing to expose the patient contact surface for use. The closure has an inside surface with a section of an absorbent material disposed thereon. The section has a first surface with a similar shape to the contact surface of the bibulous reservoir and with the closure disposed on the backing, the absorbent material first surface is positioned in intimate physical contact with the contact surface of the bibulous reservoir and removed from the patient contact surface of the bibulous material when the closure is removed from the backing.
The device formed by the method of the invention overcomes the problem of reliably applying the correct amount of the desired materials to passive transdermal reservoirs and for iontophoretic devices. Both the medicament and excipients for the active reservoir-electrode or the materials necessary for the return reservoir-electrode are accurately and precisely loaded into the reservoir. Many materials that are suitable for forming the reservoir are cross-inked by the application of ionizing radiation or require application of thermal energy in forming. If the medicaments are mixed with the material before forming or cross-linking, the medicament is exposed to the forming conditions, i.e., ionizing radiation, thermal energy, chemically reactive cross-linking agents and the like, that may adversely effect the medicament. Thus there is a need for a method of loading the transdermal reservoir or the iontophoretic reservoir-electrode after the reservoir is formed. The method of the invention uniformly loads the reservoir-electrode of the invention during the assembly process, improves the efficiency of assembly of both passive transdermal reservoirs and iontophoresis reservoir-electrodes and is compatible with the high-speed assembly line manufacture necessary for a successful commercial product. The method and the device of the invention greatly improve the efficiency of assembly of complete medicament loaded reservoir-electrodes and thus advances the art of iontophoretic drug delivery by making a prefilled ready-to-use device available that fulfills the regulatory requirements of accuracy and precision.

Medicament-loaded transdermal reservoir and method for its formation


A mounting bracket assembly for mounting a second container to a first container bracket comprises a first mounting bracket for mounting to a vertical wall for mounting a first container, the bracket having a vertical panel portion with an upper horizontal edge and lower horizontal edge, a second mounting bracket having a vertical arm with a hook at an upper end arm for latching engagement with the upper horizontal edge, and a latching arm extending outward from a lower end of the vertical arm for latching engagement with and supporting a second housing.

The present invention relates to the mounting of disposable containers for hospital sharps and dispensing containers for hospital supplies, and pertains particularly to a mounting bracket assembly for mounting a supply container to a mounting bracket of a disposable container.
Hospitals and medical clinics use great quantities of sharps, such as needles, syringes, surgical blades, and the like, that are disposed of rather than cleaned and reused. It is necessary that the sharps be disposed of in a manner that prevents them being reused without sterilization. In particular, it is necessary to keep them from falling into the hands of those, such as intravenous drug users and the like, who are likely to use them without proper sterilization.
Numerous containers have been developed in recent years, which are reasonably secure and disposable for receiving and disposing of hospital sharps, wastes and the like. Many of these disposable containers, however, are out dated and do not provide adequate security against pilfering of used syringes and the like from such containers. While improved containers have been developed which cannot readily be reopened and articles cannot be easily removed therefrom, such containers must be kept in a secure place or securely mounted to non-removable structure to prevent unauthorized removal. The disposable container and its mounting bracket must not only be secure, it must be simple and inexpensive to manufacture, and it must be simple and easy to use and to mount and remove the container.
Reasonably secure mounting brackets have been developed and are widely used to prevent unauthorized removal of the containers. However, more recently developed improved containers have new and improved mounting brackets which are easier to mount and use and are more secure. These brackets are typically mounted on walls or similar surfaces and are securely anchored by lag bolts and the like.
An example of a recently developed improved container and mounting bracket is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,103,997, granted Apr. 14, 1992 to Shillington et al. This patent discloses a sharps container having a mounting bracket adapted to be mounted to a wall with inter-engaging projections and slots on the bracket and container, and a locking lever for securing the container to the bracket.
There is always a need for convenient placement and mounting of other containers, such as supply containers. In most examining and operating rooms, there already exists a number of containers conveniently mounted to walls and other support structure.
It is, therefore, desirable that an improved bracket assembly be available for mounting a second container to a bracket of a first container.

Mounting bracket for mounting a second container to a first container bracket


Provided is a microkernel architecture control system of an industrial server and an industrial server, which relate to the technical field of industrial servers. According to the microkernel architecture control system, scheduling configuration information is customized on the basis of an architecture including a plurality of microkernels and a virtual machine monitor prior to startup of a system, each microkernel including industrial control middleware and a real-time operating system.

A virtual operating system (e.g., Core i7) based on industrial server hardware supports four physical cores. One virtual machine, that is, one micro-control kernel including a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC), runs on each core.
However, that only one PLC can run on one core wastes resources and also limits executable functions. In addition, the scheduling mode of multi-core PLC includes a priority-based scheduling algorithm applied in service scenarios with high real-time requirements and a timetable-based scheduling algorithm applied in service scenarios with low real-time requirements. In a scenario with complex service requirements, any of the above scheduling algorithms can hardly meet users' service requirements and would cause low utilization of CPU resources. At a conventional industrial site, only one PLC control system runs on one hardware platform, making functions fixed and unchangeable; and once a plurality of control systems (PLC/DCS/Motion/CNC) are involved, the management and maintenance would be difficult and inefficient.

Control system for microkernel architecture of industrial server and industrial server comprising the same