Methods, apparatus, and products are disclosed for configuring compute nodes of a parallel computer in an operational group into a plurality of independent non-overlapping collective networks, the compute nodes in the operational group connected together for data communications through a global combining network, that include: partitioning the compute nodes in the operational group into a plurality of non-overlapping subgroups; designating one compute node from each of the non-overlapping subgroups as a master node; and assigning, to the compute nodes in each of the non-overlapping subgroups, class routing instructions that organize the compute nodes in that non-overlapping subgroup as a collective network such that the master node is a physical root.

1. Field of the Invention
The field of the invention is data processing, or, more specifically, methods, apparatus, and products for configuring compute nodes of a parallel computer in an operational group into a plurality of independent non-overlapping collective networks.
2. Description of Related Art
The development of the EDVAC computer system of 1948 is often cited as the beginning of the computer era. Since that time, computer systems have evolved into extremely complicated devices. Today's computers are much more sophisticated than early systems such as the EDVAC. Computer systems typically include a combination of hardware and software components, application programs, operating systems, processors, buses, memory, input/output devices, and so on. As advances in semiconductor processing and computer architecture push the performance of the computer higher and higher, more sophisticated computer software has evolved to take advantage of the higher performance of the hardware, resulting in computer systems today that are much more powerful than just a few years ago.
Parallel computing is an area of computer technology that has experienced advances. Parallel computing is the simultaneous execution of the same task (split up and specially adapted) on multiple processors in order to obtain results faster. Parallel computing is based on the fact that the process of solving a problem usually can be divided into smaller tasks, which may be carried out simultaneously with some coordination.
Parallel computers execute parallel algorithms. A parallel algorithm can be split up to be executed a piece at a time on many different processing devices, and then put back together again at the end to get a data processing result. Some algorithms are easy to divide up into pieces. Splitting up the job of checking all of the numbers from one to a hundred thousand to see which are primes could be done, for example, by assigning a subset of the numbers to each available processor, and then putting the list of positive results back together. In this specification, the multiple processing devices that execute the individual pieces of a parallel program are referred to as 'compute nodes.' A parallel computer is composed of compute nodes and other processing nodes as well, including, for example, input/output ('I/O') nodes, and service nodes.
Parallel algorithms are valuable because it is faster to perform some kinds of large computing tasks via a parallel algorithm than it is via a serial (non-parallel) algorithm, because of the way modern processors work. It is far more difficult to construct a computer with a single fast processor than one with many slow processors with the same throughput. There are also certain theoretical limits to the potential speed of serial processors. On the other hand, every parallel algorithm has a serial part and so parallel algorithms have a saturation point. After that point adding more processors does not yield any more throughput but only increases the overhead and cost.
Parallel algorithms are designed also to optimize one more resource the data communications requirements among the nodes of a parallel computer. There are two ways parallel processors communicate, shared memory or message passing. Shared memory processing needs additional locking for the data and imposes the overhead of additional processor and bus cycles and also serializes some portion of the algorithm.
Message passing processing uses high-speed data communications networks and message buffers, but this communication adds transfer overhead on the data communications networks as well as additional memory need for message buffers and latency in the data communications among nodes. Designs of parallel computers use specially designed data communications links so that the communication overhead will be small but it is the parallel algorithm that decides the volume of the traffic.
Many data communications network architectures are used for message passing among nodes in parallel computers. Compute nodes may be organized in a network as a 'torus' or 'mesh,' for example. Also, compute nodes may be organized in a network as a tree. A torus network connects the nodes in a three-dimensional mesh with wrap around links. Every node is connected to its six neighbors through this torus network, and each node is addressed by its x, y, z coordinate in the mesh. In a tree network, the nodes typically are connected into a binary tree: each node has a parent, and two children (although some nodes may only have zero children or one child, depending on the hardware configuration). In computers that use a torus and a tree network, the two networks typically are implemented independently of one another, with separate routing circuits, separate physical links, and separate message buffers.
A torus network lends itself to point to point operations, but a tree network typically is inefficient in point to point communication. A tree network, however, does provide high bandwidth and low latency for certain collective operations in which all compute nodes participate simultaneously, such as, for example, an allgather operation. An allgather operation is a collective operation on an operational group of compute nodes that concatenates segments of data stored on each compute node in rank order and provides the entire concatenation results to all of the compute nodes in the operational group.
The set of compute nodes in a parallel computer upon which collective operations execute is referred to as an operational group. An operational group may be implemented as, for example, a 'communicator' described in the Message Passing Interface ('MPI') specifications promulgated by the MPI Forum. Although collective operations are typically performed on the entire operational group, parallel application designers often perform collective operations on a subset of compute nodes in the operational group. Because the tree network in the current art only supports one collective operation at any given moment, when collective operations execute on multiple subsets of compute nodes in the operational group, the collective operations are typically performed using the torus network. As mentioned above, the torus network lends itself to point to point operations, and it typically inefficient for collective operations. As such, readers will appreciate any improvements that configure compute nodes of a parallel computer in an operational group into a plurality of independent non-overlapping collective networks.

Configuring compute nodes of a parallel computer in an operational group into a plurality of independent non-overlapping collective networks


A diverter, apparatus and method of bypassing an exhaust gas recirculation cooler in order to selectively cool recirculated exhaust gas is disclosed. The diverter relies on the Coanda effect to direct the exhaust gas flow to the cooler or to a bypass around the cooler and thus preferred embodiments do not require a valve to be provided in the exhaust gas flow for this purpose. This simplifies the assembly of the diverter and apparatus and provides for a more reliable diverter compared to certain known systems.

Emissions regulations are requiring reduced emissions from vehicles, particularly the Euro 5, Bin 5 and US 06 regulations. To reduce harmful emissions, such as NOx, it is known to recirculate exhaust gas through the engine. Under normal conditions the exhaust gas is cooled before recirculation and it is known to pass the exhaust gas through an exhaust gas recirculation cooler. However, under "cold start" or low operating conditions, the gas can be over-cooled resulting in increased hydrocarbon emission and CO2 production.
It is known from various publications to provide a valve and a bypass to bypass the cooler or alternatively direct the exhaust through a portion of the heat exchanger in which the heat transfer is minimal.
This avoids cooling the exhaust gas during such low operating conditions.
British Patent No 2,303,177 discloses an EGR system in which a portion of the exhaust gases produced by an engine are recirculated from an exhaust line of the engine into an intake line of the engine. In this system a cooler is arranged to cool the recirculated portion of the exhaust gases, and a bypass line is arranged to bypass the cooler. U.S. Pat. No. 6,141,961 discloses a further EGR loop with bypass.
In these systems, a valve selectively directs the flow of exhaust to either the exhaust gas recirculation cooler or to the bypass around the exhaust gas recirculation cooler. The valve requires good high-temperature compatibility, corrosion resistance, and resistance to plugging or sticking due to soot and other contaminants in the exhaust gas; all whilst remaining cost effective.
Whilst generally satisfactory, the prior art suffers from problems associated with plugging and sticking of the valves and the high specification required for the valves increases their cost.
An object of the present invention is to eliminate or mitigate any of the problems associated with the prior art.

Diverter for exhaust gas recirculation cooler


A system that employs a torque converter and a shiftable mechanical lock to start up rotating industrial equipment. A gear mechanism is employed to account for rotational slippage inherent in the torque converter. The torque converter and gear mechanism are used during start-up to increase the speed of the rotating industrial equipment. When the speed of the rotating industrial equipment is substantially synchronized with the speed of the driver, the mechanical lock is engaged.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to systems from transmitting torque from a rotating driver to one or more items of rotating industrial equipment. In another aspect, the invention concerns a method and apparatus for starting up a large compressor driven by a gas turbine.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Rotating drivers powering rotating equipment are employed in many industrial applications. For example, facilities that produce electrical power frequently employ a gas turbine to power an electrical generator. Further, liquified natural gas (LNG) facilities typically employ at least one gas turbine or electrical motor to power a refrigerant compressor.
When large inertia and operating loads are imposed by rotating industrial equipment on rotating drivers, it may be impossible for the driver to reach operating speed while it is coupled to the rotating equipment. In the past, additional "starter" motors have frequently been employed to assist the start-up of large rotating industrial equipment. The starter motors are typically used to help bring the rotating equipment up to operating speed. However, starter motors that are powerful enough to increase the rotational speed of large rotating industrial equipment from zero to full operating speed require complex variable frequency electrical supply and control systems that are very expensive.

Mechanical soft-start system for rotating industrial equipment


A device for securing a spindle to a hub in a mortise lock for a door. The device includes a hub defining a central opening about an axis of rotation and a spindle with a first end adapted to be received in the opening in the hub to apply rotational force to the hub. A securing element is moveable between a first position in which the securing element engages the spindle and the spindle is secured to the hub, and a second position in which the securing element is disengaged from the spindle and the spindle may be freely removed from the opening in the first hub. The securing element may be adapted for reciprocal linear movement in the housing, and may engage the first spindle by part of the securing element being received in a peripheral groove in the spindle.

Embodiments described herein relate generally to door latches, and more particularly to latch operator connection apparatus for a mortise lock that is inserted in a mortise in the edge of a door.
A mortise lock includes a housing with, among other things, a hub rotatably disposed in the housing and operatively connected through linkages to a latch bolt. Rotating the hub in one direction effects linear retraction of the latch bolt. A latch operator such as a knob or a lever handle is provided for rotating the hub. A spindle, which is usually square in cross section, connects the latch operator and the hub. The hub defines a receptacle, also usually square, for nonrotatably receiving the spindle. When either handle is rotated or depressed, the hub rotates, which results in retraction of the latch bolt, allowing opening of the door. Two separate hubs may be provided in a mortise lock, where inside and outside latch operators independently operate each hub. The two hubs are coaxial, but are functionally separate from one another.
Some configurations of a spindle may include a unitary spindle that extends through the case and is secured at each end to the inside and outside latch operators, respectively. In this arrangement, the inside handle is permanently engaged with the hub and the outside handle. A second configuration consists of separate spindles for each of the latch operators. The separate spindles may be joined at their inner ends by an "all-thread" threaded rod such that the spindles are connected but may rotate relative to one another. This second configuration can be used with a single hub or two independent hubs. In the latter arrangement, the latch operators separately actuate the hub or hubs. Assembly and disassembly may require significant time and effort.


A new and distinct Kniphofia plant characterized by its habit of forming multiple crowns fast and each crown produces one or two inflorescences in the first season, large inflorescences of yellow flowers on short stems, a very long bloom time with repeat blooming from July through October in Canby, Oreg., a short habit, narrow, grassy leaves, and excellent vigor.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct Kniphofia, and given the cultivar name 'Poco Yellow'. Kniphofia is in the family Xanthorrhoeaceae. 'Poco Yellow' is a hybrid resulting from a planned breeding program to produce short, compact, reblooming Kniphofia. The cross was made using the following proprietary, unreleased plants: Kniphofia 41-1, as the seed parent, and an unknown yellow flowering seedling as the pollen parent. It was selected for best habit, flower color, reblooming, and crown count from many seedlings of the cross in Canby, Oreg.
Compared to Kniphofia 41-1, the seed parent, the new cultivar is more free-flowering and has a shorter habit.
Compared to Kniphofia 'Lemon Popsicle', U.S. Plant Pat. No. 24,011, the new cultivar is ⅓ shorter and has lighter yellow flowers and broader inflorescences.


A compound of formula (I):

Protein kinases play important roles in cellular signal pathways that regulate various cell functions such as differentiation, proliferation, migration and apoptosis. Deregulation of protein kinases is implicated in a number of diseases including cancer.
FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 ("FLT3"), vascular endothelial growth factor ("VEGF") receptor, and aurora kinase, are three common protein kinases.
FLT3 is a receptor tyrosine kinase. Mutations of FLT3 can lead to development of cancer, e.g., acute myeloid leukemia. See Pratz et al., Current Drug Targets, 2010, 11(7), 781-9.
VEGF is a signal protein produced by cells that stimulates the growth of new blood vessels. It stimulates cellular responses by binding to a tyrosine kinase receptor, i.e., VEGF receptor ("VEGFR"), on the cell surface, causing it to dimerize and become activated through transphosphorylation. VEGFR has been identified as the predominant regulator of tumor angiogenesis. See Hicklin et al., J Clin Oncol., 2005, 23, 1011-1027.
Aurora kinases are essential for cell proliferation. Defects in these kinases lead to severe mitotic abnormality, a condition which is highly associated with tumorigenesis. See Fu et al., Mol. Cancer Res., 2007, 5, 1-10.
These three protein kinases are attractive therapeutic targets in cancer treatment.

Pyrazole compounds and thiazole compounds as protein kinases inhibitors

Abstract: A compound of formula (I):

Abstract: wherein A, B, D, X, Y, R1, R2, R3, m, p, and q are defined herein. Also disclosed is a method for inhibiting FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3, aurora kinase, or vascular endothelial growth factor receptor.


A mobile device for electronic mailing of data utilizing a data reference, the mobile device having: a communications subsystem for communicating with a wireless gateway; a user interface; a processor interacting with the user interface and the communications subsystem; an electronic mail application adapted to run on the processor; a data application adapted to run on the processor; and memory adapted to be accessed by the electronic mail application and the data application, the memory storing a data reference identifier for data in the data application, the data reference identifier capable of identifying the data on a data server remote from the mobile device, wherein the data application is adapted to interact with the electronic mail application to send data in an electronic mail message, and wherein the data is replaced in the electronic mail message with the data reference identifier.

Mobile devices are used for numerous functions including electronic mail. However, as mobile devices become more sophisticated, users use the mobile device for a variety of additional functions. For example, a user may be able to generate a memo for storing information such as meeting minutes, details of telephone conversations, grocery lists or whatever else the user may need to create a memo for. Other forms of data besides memos can also be created on the mobile device.
One limitation on mobile data devices currently is the sharing of data content with others. For example, if a user creates a series of tasks that are required to be accomplished in a memo, the user may wish to share these tasks with other individuals. Currently this requires the copying of the data from the data application and pasting it into an electronic mail application in order to send it to various recipients.
Once the data is pasted into the electronic mail message, it is then sent over the air to a wireless gateway. This requires network bandwidth in order to transfer the data, along with battery power to operate the transmitter at the wireless device.
Similarly, if the user is receiving data from other sources, and would prefer to store them in the data application (such as a memo application), currently the user must copy the data from the electronic mail format and paste it into the data application in order to store it in the data system. Further, the data must be transferred over the air from the wireless gateway, again requiring sufficient bandwidth to transfer the data.

Method and apparatus for electronic mailing of data utilizing a data reference


A system of worksurfaces for workstations and the like comprise at least first and second individual worksurfaces adapted to be supported in a generally horizontal orientation at a substantially common height. Each worksurface has a top surface, with an inner edge configured to accommodate a user thereby, and also has lateral edges shaped to abut one another when the first and second worksurfaces are positioned adjacent each other. The inner edges are elliptically contoured wherein the ellipse defined by the inner edges is substantially coplanar with the worksurfaces and is aligned with a horizontal diagonal of the workstation thereby adapting the worksurfaces to particular uses. The inner edges are variably tapered in elevation to be deeply tapered in areas of frequent user interaction and shallowly tapered in areas used primarily for storage and minimal user interaction.

The present invention relates to worksurfaces, and in particular to a system of worksurfaces for office workstations.
Open office plans are well-known in the art, and generally comprise large, open floor spaces in buildings that are furnished in a manner that is readily reconfigurable to accommodate the ever changing needs of a specific user, as well as the divergent requirements of different tenants. One arrangement commonly used for furnishing open plans includes movable partition panels that are detachably interconnected to partition off the open spaces into individual workstations or offices. Such partition panels are configured to receive hang-on furniture units, such as worksurfaces, overhead cabinets, shelves, etc., and are generally known in the office furniture industry as "Systems Furniture." Another arrangement for dividing or partitioning open plans includes modular furniture arrangements, in which a plurality of differently shaped, freestanding furniture units are interconnected in a side-by-side relationship, with upstanding privacy screens attached to at least some of the furniture units to create individual, distinct workstations, or offices.
Such prior art partitioning arrangements create relatively permanent, multi-function workstations for the users, wherein the workstations are required to support both individual work activities as well as facilitating interpersonal activity in today's highly dynamic and technology based workplace. The worksurfaces incorporated in these workstations are typically comprised of a series of rectilinear worksurfaces arranged about the interior perimeter of the workstation. These worksurfaces may also include one or more worksurfaces having either a circular or polygonal inner edge presented to the user. These worksurfaces are relatively uniform in size and shape which, in the traditional office, was satisfactory for an individual worker whose work activities concentrated on primarily hard copy, paper-based work day activities. However, these types of conventional worksurfaces and worksurface systems are not particularly adapted to support workers engaged in today's electronic office in which the worker has at his disposal and as an integral part of his workstation, computers, dictaphones, communications equipment, and other electronic office appliances in addition to the traditional paper-based aspects of an office. As a result of the varied uses of the worksurfaces in an individual workstation, the worksurfaces employed therein must be adaptable to a number of uses and must do so efficiently. The worksurface elements employed in the workstation must provide the worker with a maximum surface area for supporting the electronic and communications equipment utilized therein while concurrently presenting a user friendly and ergonomic work area for the user to perform the more traditional paper-based aspects of employment.
These varied necessities of the modern work-place require a worksurface configuration in a workstation to incorporate worksurface elements of differing depths to facilitate the requirements of varied worksurface usage. Additionally, the worksurfaces should provide a maximum surface area storage while simultaneously providing ease of user access to those areas of the worksurface used in the paper-based aspects of day-to-day work. These requirements must be satisfied while presenting the user with an ergonomic and aesthetically pleasing environment having a user interface area that continuously transitions from one worksurface capability to another, and thus eliminating discontinuities such as internal corners which tend to be avoided by the user and thus become unusable work space. As building costs continue to escalate, increasing numbers of workers are now being supported in open office settings instead of conventional private offices in order to gain increased efficiency of real estate and life cycle costs. Such efficiency has heretofore not been found in current configurations of worksurfaces utilized in work spaces. Thus, there is a need for a system of worksurfaces providing the worker with a combination of surface storage and user interface areas in an efficient ergonomic setting.


The invention provides a conjugate comprising (i) a nucleic acid which is complementary to a target nucleic acid sequence and which expression prevents or reduces expression of the target nucleic acid and (ii) a selectivity agent which is capable of binding with high affinity to a neurotransmitter transporter. The conjugates of the present invention are useful for the delivery of the nucleic acid to a cell of interests and thus, for the treatment of diseases which require a down-regulation of the protein encoded by the target nucleic acid as well as for the delivery of imaging agents to the cells for diagnostic purposes.

The use of nucleic acids has proved effective for altering the state of a cell. The introduction of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) or ribonucleic acid (RNA) into a cell can be used to up- or down-regulate the expression of particular genes in the cell, thereby, impacting one or more biochemical pathways. Of the nucleic acid-based technologies used to alter cell physiology, RNA interference (RNAi) is the general term given for regulating the expression of genes at the post-transcriptional level in diversified organisms. RNAi gene silencing can be accomplished using homologous short (21-23 bp) dsRNA fragments known as short interfering or "siRNA." When a long dsRNA is introduced into a cell line, the cellular enzyme Dicer will cleave it into short interfering RNA (siRNA) molecules. This short interfering RNA molecule is now called the guided RNA. The guided RNA will guide the RNA-Induced-Silencing-Complex (RISC) to the homologous target mRNA. Once it forms a hybrid structure to the homologous mRNA sequence, the RISC will cleave the mRNA. As a result, protein that is encoded by the mRNA will no longer be produced, thereby causing the silencing of the gene. RNA interference refers to the process of sequence-specific post-transcriptional gene silencing in animals mediated by short interfering RNAs (siRNAs).
However, a major obstacle for the development of a RNAi-based therapeutic approaches for brain pathologies is the blood-brain barrier (BBB). The brain is shielded against potentially toxic substances by the presence of two barrier systems: the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and the blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier (BCSFB). The BBB is considered to be the major route for the uptake of serum ligands since its surface area is approximately 5000-fold greater than that of BCSFB. The brain endothelium, which constitutes the BBB, represents the major obstacle for the use of potential drugs against many disorders of the CNS. As a general rule, only small lipophilic molecules may pass across the BBB, i.e., from circulating systemic blood to brain. Many drugs that have a larger size or higher hydrophobicity show promising results in animal studies for treating CNS disorders.
Besides direct intrabrain administration, different strategies have been described for achieving gene silencing in the CNS by means of systemically-administered RNA interfering molecules. For instance, Kumar et al. (Nature, 2007, 448:39-44) have described conjugates of siRNA and a peptide derived from the rabies virus glycoprotein comprising a nonamer arginine and their ability to silence gene expression in the brain after intravenous injection. Xia et al. (Pharmaceutical Research, 2007, 24:2309-2316) have described conjugates comprising a biotinylated siRNA and a conjugate comprising avidin-anti-transferrin receptor antibody which are capable of silencing gene expression in the central nervous system after systemic delivery. WO200979790 describe conjugates comprising siRNA and a series of peptides collectively known as Angiopeps which are capable of crossing the blood-brain barrier by receptor-mediated transcytosis using the low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein-1 (LRP-1) and which allows the delivery to the CNS of systemically administered conjugates comprising said peptides. WO2007107789 describes the use of compounds capable of causing RNA interference and which are specific for targets present in the CNS and the delivery to the CNS by the use of intranasal administration.
However, while all these systems allow the delivery of systemically administered siRNAs to the CNS, they do not allow delivery to specific cell types within the brain. In fact, no delivery system has been described to date which allows delivery of a therapeutic agent to a specific cell type within the CNS. The possibility of delivering siRNAs of known specificity to the central nervous system will be usesful for the treatment of diseases which are caused by an undesired activity/expression of a given gene, including depression, cognitive disorders, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, etc.
Depression is recognized as a disease of the central nervous system. Depression is both biologically and genetically a heterogeneous disorder, with symptoms manifested at the psychological, behavioural and physiological level. Moreover, depression shows a high degree of co-morbidity with anxiety disorders and anxiety itself (typically anticipatory anxiety) is one of the most prevalent symptoms in depressive patients. Indeed, most anxiety disorders are also treated with antidepressant drugs.
The first drugs used in the treatment of major depression were the tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) of the imipramine type and the monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs). These drugs were discovered in the late 1950s and proved efficacious, yet they presented a number of severe side effects that led to the development of new drugs, such as the Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) or the selective Serotonin and Noradrenaline Reuptake Inhibitors (SNRIs).
The discovery that TCAs (and later, SSRIs and SNRIs) inhibited the reuptake of the monoamines serotonin (5-HT) and noradrenaline (NA) into the presynaptic cell, increasing levels of 5-HT within the synaptic cleft, thereby enhancing their activity at postsynaptic receptor, led to the first hypotheses of the ethiology of depression, i.e., that it was caused by a deficit of the activity of these monoaminergic neurotransmitter systems in the brain. Ever since, all marketed antidepressant drugs have targeted serotonergic and/or noradrenergic transporters or receptors.
5-HT receptors are located on the cell membrane of nerve cells and other cell types in animals. With the exception of the 5-HT3 receptor, all other 5-HT receptors are G protein coupled seven transmembrane (or heptahelical) receptors that activate an intracellular second messenger cascade. Some of the identified 5-HT receptors include the 5-HT1A and the 5-HT1B/1D receptors expressed, presynaptically on serotonin neurons (autoreceptors) and on neurons postsynaptically located to 5-HT nerve terminals. The 5-HT receptor more directly linked with the antidepressant effects of SSRIs has been the 5-HT1A receptor.
New antidepressant drugs are now being registered with mechanisms of action based on relatively selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibition (NARI), e.g. reboxetine, or in the dual blockade (SNRIs), such as venlafaxine or duloxetine. Other drugs, such as nefazodone, trazodone or mirtazapine have a weaker action at monoamine transporters and block monoaminergic receptors instead.
However, notwithstanding the commercial success of SSRIs, these compounds have two major limitations: 1) only 60% of patients experience a therapeutic response (reduction to half of baseline severity), and 2) response occurs only after several weeks of continued treatment. This is due to a negative feedback mechanism that takes place in the pre-synaptic neuron. Briefly, high serotonin levels induced by the blockage of serotonin reuptake will not only activate the post-synaptic serotonin receptors, but also activate presynaptic autoreceptors, which serve as a feedback sensor for the cell. The activation of 5-HT1A autoreceptor by 5-HT (also called pre-synaptic 5-HT1A receptor or pre-synaptic 5-HT1AR), or selective agonists, suppresses cell firing and impulse-dependent 5-HT release, whereas 5-HT1B receptors control 5-HT synthesis and release at terminal level. Both, 5-HT1A and 5-HT1B receptors, are also localized on neurons postsynaptic to 5-HT nerve terminals, mainly in cortico-limbic areas. The increase of extracellular 5-HT produced by reuptake blockade of sertraline (SERT, a SSRI) activates pre-synaptic 5-HT1A receptor in the midbrain raphe nuclei, suppressing cell firing and terminal release, an effect that attenuates the extracellular 5-HT increase produced by reuptake blockade. 5-HT1B autoreceptors exert a similar negative feedback at a local level. Following repeated administration of SSRIs, 5-HT1A autoreceptors desensitize, which enables serotoninergic neurons to recover cell firing and leads to an increase in extracellular 5-HT, to a level higher than that seen after single treatment. These (slowly proceeding) neurophysiological adaptations of the brain tissue are not only the reason why usually several weeks of continuous SSRI use are necessary for the antidepressant effect to become fully manifested, but also why increased anxiety is a common side effect in the first few days or weeks of use. It is known that the blockade of these negative feedback mechanisms with 5-HT1A and/or 5-HT1B receptor antagonists potentiates the 5-HT increase produced by SSRIs and, therefore, might serve to accelerate the clinical effects of SSRIs.
The pharmacological strategy to accelerate the antidepressant response by blocking the action of pre-synaptic 5-HT1A receptors during SSRI administration was tested using (±)pindolol. This compound is a β1-2 adrenergic receptor antagonist with a putative antagonistic action on 5-HT1A receptors. (±)Pindolol antagonized several actions mediated by the activation of central 5-HT1A receptors, such as hypothermia or hormonal secretion. In general, the addition of pindolol to SSRIs accelerates the antidepressant response. However, although pindolol has been shown in some studies to partially occupy 5-HT1A receptors in the human brain at clinical doses, other studies have found a low occupancy. Additionally, it is not to be forgotten that 5-HT1A receptors are localized on the serotoninergic neurons as well as on neurons postsynaptic to the serotoninergic neurons. Indeed, an important concern is the lack of selectivity of these agents for pre-synaptic versus postsynaptic 5-HT1A receptors: the full blockade of postsynaptic receptors may cancel the increased transmission through forebrain 5-HT1A receptors produced by antidepressant drugs.
Thus, despite the advances made in the development of antidepressants, there is still the need of alternative compounds which specifically act on the pre-synaptic 5-HT1A receptors.
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that often impairs the patient's motor skills, speech, and other functions (Olanow). The symptoms of Parkinson's disease result from the greatly reduced activity of dopaminergic cells in the pars compacta region of the substantia nigra (SNpc) (Olanow, Dawson). These neurons project to the striatum and their loss leads to alterations in the activity of the neural circuits within the basal ganglia that regulate movement, in essence an inhibition of the direct pathway and excitation of the indirect pathway. The direct pathway facilitates movement and the indirect pathway inhibits movement, thus the loss of these cells leads to a hypokinetic movement disorder. The lack of dopamine results in increased inhibition of the ventral anterior nucleus of the thalamus, which sends excitatory projections to the motor cortex, thus leading to hypokinesia.
PD is characterized by a progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons in the SNpc and the presence of intracellular inclusions designated as Lewy bodies (LB). Neurochemically, PD is marked by mitochondrial complex I dysfunction and increased indices of oxidative stress. Several pathogenic mechanisms have been proposed for PD including oxidative and nitrosative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, protein misfolding and aggregation, and apoptosis. PD is mostly sporadic but some of the PD cases have been shown to be familial-linked. The first familial-linked PD gene identified was α-synuclein (α-syn) which in fact is the major component of LB in all PD patients. The normal function of α-synuclein is poorly understood. α-Synuclein can bind to lipids and, in neurons, is associated with presynaptic vesicles and the plasma membrane, possibly via lipid rafts. The deposited, pathological forms of α-synuclein are aggregated and show lower solubility than the normal protein. Three point mutations have been described to cause familial PD, but also duplications and triplications of the SNCA gene have been reported to be responsible of PD and Lewy body disease. Therefore, even without sequence variants, α-synuclein dosage can be causal for Lewy body disease.
α-Synuclein affects mitochondria and probably induces apoptosis. In fact, there is accumulating evidence for a close relationship between α-synuclein and oxidative damage: overexpression of mutant α-synuclein sensitizes neurons to oxidative stress and damage by dopamine and complex I inhibitors, resulting in increased protein carbonylation and lipid peroxidation in vitro and in vivo. Conversely, dysfunction of mitochondrial complex I has been associated to sporadic forms of PD. Complex I dependent oxidative damage and defective mitochondrial function is a main cause of neuronal degeneration and cell death in PD. Thus impaired mitochondrial function and ROS production increases the cytochrome c pool level in the mitochondrial intermembrane space, allowing its rapid release when the cell death agonist Bax is activated.
To sum up, the scenario in PD would be a situation of neuronal mitochondrial dysfunction with increase ROS production that on one hand would increase α-synuclein accumulation and on the other would activate Bax-mediated cell death. Further, α-synuclein accumulation, in turn, would increase cellular ROS production and induction of neuronal degeneration.
The most widely used treatment for PD is L-DOPA in various forms. However, only 1-5% of L-DOPA enters the dopaminergic neurons. The remaining L-DOPA is often metabolised to dopamine elsewhere, causing a wide variety of side effects. Dopa decarboxylase inhibitors like carbidopa and benserazide are also used for the treatment of PD since they help to prevent the metabolism of L-DOPA before it reaches the dopaminergic neurons and are generally given as combination preparations of carbidopa/levodopa and benserazide/levodopa. Moreover, dopamine agonists are moderately effective and act by stimulating some of the dopamine receptors. However, they cause the dopamine receptors to become progressively less sensitive, thereby eventually increasing the symptoms.
Antisense approaches might also be helpful, and have been reported to work in the rat and mouse brain. This approach is predicated on the idea that α-synuclein really is dispensable for CNS function in humans, as it appears to be in the mouse but perhaps even a modest decrease in protein levels would be enough to decrease PD progression.
However, despite the advances made in the development of PD therapeutics, there is still the need of alternative compounds which specifically are capable of preventing the reduced activity of dopaminergic cells in the pars compacta region of the substantia nigra.
Mesocortical and mesolimbic dopamine (DA) systems play a crucial role in many psychiatric disorders including schizophrenia. A general enhancement of brain dopaminergic neurotransmission in schizophrenia was suggested by pharmacologic evidence (Seeman and Lee, 1975; Creese et al, 1976). Current views, however, indicate a hyperactivity of subcortical DA transmission together with a hypoactive mesocortical. The overall efficacy of classical (DA D2 receptor antagonists) and atypical antipsychotics (APDs, preferential 5-HT2A/2C vs. DA D2 receptor antagonists) to treat positive (psychotic) symptoms is similar. In contrast, some agents of the latter group, and particularly clozapine, are superior to classical antipsychotics for the treatment of negative symptoms and cognitive impairment. This clinical feature has been related, at least in part, to the ability to increase DA release in the mesocortical pathway, an effect induced by atypical—but not classical-antipsychotics. Indeed, an optimal prefrontal DA function is crucial for working memory and executive functions.
DA release in mesocortical and mesolimbic DA pathways is regulated by several factors. Firstly, it depends on the firing mode (tonic/phasic) of VTA DA neurons. Secondly, it is tightly regulated by the activation of somatodendritic and terminal D213 autoreceptors which control cell firing and DA release. Finally, the DA transporter (DAT)-mediated reuptake is one of the key mechanisms that define decay kinetics of extracellular DA concentrations. Previous studies indicate a different density of DAT in PFC and striatum.
Moreover, noradrenaline (NA) axons may contribute to the removal of DA from the extracellular brain space, since the NA transporter (NAT) shows a similar affinity for NA and DA. Thus, NAT inhibitors preferentially increase the extracellular DA concentration in the medial PFC (mPFC) compared to caudate and nucleus accumbens (NAc). Hence, NA axons from locus coeruleus (LC) neurons may contribute to regulate the extracellular DA concentration in PFC either by taking up or co-releasing DA. Some researchers have shown the effects of a new combination treatment based on NA-targeting drugs (NAT inhibitor plus a2-adrenergic antagonist) to selectively enhance mesocortical DA transmission.
However, there is still a need for compounds capable of enhacing mesocortical DA transmission.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Compositions and methods for selective delivery of oligonucleotide molecules to specific neuron types


A low level laser therapy (LLLT) system. The laser therapy apparatus comprises a laser head and a detachable battery section. When the laser head is mounted to the battery section the apparatus assumes the shape of a penlight or flashlight and can be used as a handheld laser therapy apparatus. The detached laser heads can be placed and held in apertures of a bandage that is applied to a joint of a patient to be treated for use of the apparatus as a patient worn device.

LLLT is used to treat various injuries, including, but not limited to, inflammatory sport injuries such as epicodylitis lateralis (tennis elbow), ligament injuries, tendonitis, etc., and chronic ailments such as carpal tunnel syndrome and arthritic pain. These therapies can advantageously be applied to the human and to the animal body. The key to success with LLT is to apply the laser locally at the right spot, and at the proper dosage. The LLLT should therefore only be administered by an experienced physician, after a thorough examination.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,312,451 discloses a low level laser therapy apparatus for treatment of various tissue injuries including a handheld laser probe coupled to a control unit for selecting and controlling laser energy dosage from about 1 joule/point to about 10 joules/point. The apparatus emits laser energy at a wavelength from about 630 nm to about 904 nm, with a mean power output of between about 100 mW to about 500 mW. The apparatus further includes an access control mechanism to limit operability to trained personnel. The apparatus can only be used as a handheld device which means that the physician or ancillary medial staff needs to be present during the whole treatment session to hold the apparatus.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,616,140 discloses a battery operated, portable laser bandage having one or many lasers or hyper-red light emitting diodes imbedded in the bandage, which may be worn by a patient and applied to a specific treatment area. The device supplies the patient with a pre-programmed laser therapy regimen. The patient may wear the device for up to a week between visits to a physician. At the end of the prescribed treatment length or at the end of a week, batteries in the device may be changed or recharged and the physician may re-program the device for a different treatment regimen, if desired. The apparatus can only be used as a device worn by a patient and cannot be used as a handheld laser therapy apparatus.
It would be desirable to provide a laser therapy apparatus that could be used both as a handheld and as a patient worn apparatus.


A multicore processor system includes a core configured to detect a change in a state of assignment of a multicore processor; obtain, upon detecting the change in the state of assignment, number of accesses of a common resource shared by the multicore processor by each of process that are assigned to cores of the multicore processor; calculate an access ratio based on the obtained number of accesses; and notify an arbitration circuit of the calculated access ratio, the arbitration circuit arbitrating accesses of the common resource by the multicore processor.

In a conventional shared-memory multicore processor system, coherence between caches has to be maintained if one of the central processing units (CPUs) updates shared data on a cache, to enable other CPUs to access the latest data updated from the shared data. Maintaining coherence between caches is called "cache coherency." Snooping is one method for cache coherency.
In the snooping, an update of shared data is detected by monitoring, by a snoop controller, the state of lines of the cache and caches of other CPUs and exchanging information concerning update with the caches of the other CPUs. Upon detection of an update, each cache purges data before the update via a data bus or a snoop bus and caches the updated data via a data bus.
If multiple CPUs in a multicore processor issue access requests to a bus at the same time, an arbitration circuit determines a CPU of which access is permitted according to round robin, whereby a right to access the bus is given to the CPUs sequentially.
The arbitration circuit includes a request buffer, and permits access requests registered in the request buffer sequentially from the top. According to round robin, an access request concerning a process assigned to one CPU and the other CPUs is temporarily suspended when the time (i.e., time slice) allotted to the access request elapses, and input into the end of the request buffer.
A process, which is a unit of processing performed by an application, is classified into two categories, namely, a process representing a function, etc. (hereinafter, "coarse-granularity process") and a process representing a loop process, etc. (hereinafter, "medium-granularity process"). The medium-granularity process is further classified into two categories, namely, a process having no dependency between loop iterations (hereinafter, "doall process") and a process having a dependency between loop iterations (hereinafter, "doacross process") (see, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 2008-217825 and Kasahara, Hironori. "Parallel Processing Technology," CORONA PUBLISHING CO., LTD, Jun. 20, 1991, page. 131).
However, if a doacross process is divided into parallel processes and assigned to different CPUs, respectively, snooping has to be executed frequently due to the dependency between iterations, thereby increasing the number of times the bus is used.
On the other hand, if a doall process is divided into parallel processes and assigned to different CPUs, respectively, synchronization is taken at the end of the loop process since calculation can be independently done for each iteration. On the other hand, the coarse-granularity process requires no snooping due to iteration.
Conventionally, since the right to access the bus is given to the CPUs sequentially according to round robin, the doacross process cannot perform snooping via the bus while the doall process or the coarse-granularity process uses the bus, thereby increasing the execution time of the doacross process that frequently accesses the bus.

Multicore processor system, computer product, and control method


The present invention discloses a bidirectional mechanical converting unit, comprising: a main shaft; a driving mechanism, which including a driving means and a reversing means which are coupled to each other; and a rotation means for inputting torque, an rotation axis of the rotation means being coaxial with the main shaft, the rotation means and the driving mechanism being coupled to each other, and the driving mechanism delivering the torque to output at the main shaft at a predetermined direction, no matter in which direction the rotation means rotates; wherein the predetermined direction can be switched via the reversing means. The present invention is simple structured, not only can efficiently utilizes the movements of the rotation means in either way, but also can switch the rotation direction of the output shaft conveniently upon demand, with easy operations.

During the using of common manual tools such as screwdrivers and torque wrenches, there is a movement limitation of the human hand in rotation direction, namely the inability of the human hand to turn continuously in one direction. The operation of such a tool whose rotation axis of the handle is coaxial with the tool's main shaft consists of a repetition of the following cycle: first, the hand rotates the handle in the desirable direction (e.g., tightening or loosening a screw); second, the hand rotates in the opposite direction to reposition the tool for next cycle. During the second portion of the above mentioned cycle, the band's reversed rotation can be achieved by re-grasping the handle after releasing it, or by the tool which is equipped with a one-way means such as a ratchet to keep the main shaft stationary during the reversed rotation of the handle, or by re-inserting the tool bit to the screw after extracting the bit from engagement with the screw. However, in any case, the hand's reversed rotation could not bring any effective advance of the fastener, and therefore it becomes a wasted movement. U.S. Pat. No. 5,931,062 discloses a mechanical rectifier, which comprises a shaft; two driving elements mounted on the shaft, each having a one-way clutch interposed between it and the shaft, with the clutches oriented in the same way on the shaft so that the shaft is always entrained in only one direction of rotation when either one of the two driving elements is rotated in that direction, and the shaft is overrun by a driving element that is rotated in the opposite direction; a rotation means positioned along the axis of the shaft and engaging a selected one of the driving elements; and a reversing mechanism coupling the two driving elements together and forcing them to always rotate in opposite directions so that one driving element entrains the shaft and the other driving element overruns the shaft, thus causing the shalt to always turn in only one direction, regardless of the direction of rotation of the driving elements, so that transfers the bidirectional rotations of the rotation means (e.g., a handle) into the unidirectional rotation of the shaft. This mechanical rectifier can efficiently utilizes the rotations of the rotation means in either way, i.e., no matter the handle rotates clockwise or counterclockwise, the shat rotates in a same direction, therefore it can improve the efficiency of hand motion, and save operation time.
However, the converting mechanism of that invention can only make the shaft rotate in one direction. To meet the requirement of rotating the shaft in two ways (e.g., tightening or loosening a fastener in the application of a screwdriver), the handle of that invention must be able to be removed from the shaft which is coaxial with it, and the two ends of the shaft (assumed to be end A and end B) should be able to adapt with tool bits. Assuming end A is used to tighten a fastener in the beginning, in order to loose this fastener, the handle mounted on end B of the shaft must be removed from the shaft, then people should re-mount the handle to end A of the shat, insert a suitable tool bit on end B, and then start the fastener-loosing action. If the fastener to be loosed is the same type as the one being tightened in the beginning, the tool bit must be removed from end A before the handle re-mounting, and be inserted to end B. It is obvious that the direction-switching of the shat is very inconvenient. It is even troublesome to replace the bit to the two ends of the shaft for multi-purpose screwdrivers with replaceable bits. Furthermore, it means the integrity of the whole screwdriver itself can not be ensured and its parts are easy to get lost, to assure the handle can be removed from the shaft easily.
Therefore, it is desired to develop a bidirectional mechanical converting unit which can switch the rotation direction of the shaft conveniently.

Bidirectional mechanical converting unit


A system, method and program product for rotating a first image in an image buffer such that the resulting, rotated image is substantially free of an aliasing error, i.e., broken lines, stair stepped edges, etc., is disclosed. An algorithm is applied to the first image that uses weighted sums of data points of the first image to create the rotated image. The weighting is based on the skew angle and data point location of the first image. The resulting rotated image also has a reduced data storage space requirement compared to rotated images created by prior art techniques.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to document imaging and, more particularly, to image rotation with substantially no aliasing error in the resulting image.
2. Related Art
Digital imaging of documents, photographs and other objects provides numerous advantages including the ability to easily process, analyze and communicate images. One common method of creating a digital image is scanning. During scanning, a rectangular window, called an image buffer, which includes the image is typically created. An actual image is then extracted from the image buffer so further data analysis may be conducted on just the image. It is not an infrequent occurrence, however, for the object being scanned to be skewed or angled relative to the image window representation of the image buffer. During the extraction process, it therefore becomes advantageous to rotate the image to attain a properly justified replication.
Present extraction processes are often inadequate for creating accurate replications of images after rotation because the extraction process imposes mistakes in the images. The mistakes, referred to as artifacts, may include such things as broken lines, stepped edges and other abnormalities. One particular type of artifact is referred to as "aliasing error," and generally includes stepping or breaks in lines of the image. Current correction methods for these mistakes are inadequate, processor intensive and time consuming.
Another challenge faced by users of digital imaging is to balance the desire to retain details in images while minimizing storage space for images. Data compression techniques, for example JPEG, have been developed to increase the ability to retain details, but reduction of data storage remains a problem.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for a high speed system and method for rotating an image such that the resulting image is substantially free of aliasing errors. It would also be advantageous if this system and method reduced data storage requirements.

Image rotation with substantially no aliasing error

International Business Machines Corporation


A choke control for an outboard motor having a cowling, a water propulsion device and an internal combustion engine positioned in the cowling and arranged to propel the water propulsion device is disclosed. The engine has at least one combustion chamber and an intake system including an intake pipe extending along a side of the engine for providing air to the combustion chamber. A choke control is provided for actuating a choke valve associated with the intake pipe. The choke control includes a choke actuator which is positioned exterior to the cowling and supported by a mount associated with the cowling, the choke actuator connected to the choke valve via a choke linkage which is positioned within the cowling generally above the intake pipe.

Watercraft are often powered by an outboard motor positioned at a stem of the craft. The outboard motor has a powerhead and a water propulsion device, such as a propeller. The powerhead includes a cowling in which is positioned an internal combustion engine, the engine having an output shaft arranged to drive the water propulsion device.
In many instances, the engine includes a manually operated choke mechanism. The choke mechanism may comprise a butterfly-type valve movably mounted in an intake pipe of the intake system. A choke control is provided for moving the valve. When the engine is cold, it is desirable to close the choke valve to increase the ratio of fuel to air for starting the engine. In many instances, however, the choke control is positioned in a rather inaccessible location. The powerhead of an outboard motor may be positioned some distance beyond the hull of the watercraft. Often, the motor is arranged to be readily removable from the watercraft, and so does not include a remotely controllable choke control which permits actuation of the choke valve from within the watercraft. Instead, the choke control may be positioned along a side of the motor or other inaccessible location, requiring the operator of the motor to lean over the water beyond the stem of the watercraft to manipulate the choke.
A choke control associated with an engine powering an outboard motor which overcomes the above-stated problems is desired.


There are provided an electrical connection structure, an electrical connection method and an electric connector capable of improving contact reliability, and an electric device including the electrical connection structure. The electrical connection structure includes a swage part configured to sandwich a first electric conductor and a sheet member having a second electric conductor, and an elastic member provided between the first electric conductor and the sheet member in a sandwiching portion of the swage part, the elastic member being configured to connect between the first electric conductor and the sheet member. The first electric conductor and the second electric conductor are electrically connected to each other via a contact point provided in the first electric conductor and a contact point provided in the second electric conductor in the sandwiching portion.

Techniques for electrically connecting two electric conductors by swaging have been known conventionally. Patent Literature 1 listed below, for example, discloses a technique in which a sealing layer such as a rubber plate is provided on either side of a hard substrate, terminals are placed on the both sides of the hard substrate via the sealing layers, and a rivet is then passed therethrough and fixed by swaging in order to electrically connect the terminals disposed on the both sides of the hard substrate. According to this technique, the terminals are brought into intimate contact with the rivet due to the reaction force of the sealing layers. Thus, its contact reliability is improved as compared to a case without the sealing layers.

Electrical connection structure, electrical connection method, electric connector, and electric device


In the context of recording program contributions, in particular television transmissions, it is frequently undesirable for the advertising blocks broadcast during the transmission also to be recorded and displayed in the event of subsequent reproduction. The invention is concerned with the problem of reliably suppressing such advertising blocks in the event of subsequent reproduction. To that end, it proposes firstly recording the transmission including the broadcast advertising blocks and then carrying out a search during which the beginning and the end of the advertising blocks (WU1–WU3) are marked. The information items (CIDN1, CDIN3) thus obtained are used in order either to subsequently record associated navigation data (CN1–CNi+3) on the storage medium (43), the said navigation data ensuring that the stored advertising blocks are masked out in the event of reproduction, or resorting of the recorded data cells is performed, in the case of which the data of the program contribution are then packed as compactly as possible and the data cells for the advertising blocks are eliminated in this way.

The invention is based on a method for the recording and reproduction of transmitted programme contributions of the generic type of the independent Claim 1. The recording and reproduction of programme contributions has long been known from video recorder technology. With the growth of commercial television, it is noticeable that very many advertising interruptions are inserted into a broadcast television transmission. Therefore, when such a television transmission is recorded, it is very often undesirable for the advertising blocks to be concomitantly recorded. However, since unambiguous signalling of advertising blocks is not made available by most programme providers, it is a difficult problem to reliably identify such advertising blocks actually during recording and to prevent them from being recorded. Admittedly, there are also approaches which attempt to automatically identify the broadcasting of an advertising block and correspondingly suppress its recording. These approaches are mainly based on an analysis of the picture contents, e.g. in such a way that the omission of the programme provider's logo during the broadcasting of advertising is detected or, in the case of a television transmission being broadcast in the 16:9 format, a format changeover during the advertising interruption is detected. As a further criterion, a check is also frequently made to see whether an increased loudness level is received, since the sound is often set to be louder in advertising blocks. However, all these known methods for automatically identifying advertising blocks do not operate with 100% reliability since, in particular, the programme providers from time to time change the broadcasting behaviour in the case of advertising blocks, with the result that the criteria checked are not always reliable criteria for the identification of an advertising block.

Method and apparatus for the recording the reproduction of transmitted programme contribution


Automatic exchange of information in an ad-hoc computing environment is disclosed. According to one embodiment of the invention, a collection agent module facilitates a search for a first device to connect to via a wireless network. The collection agent queries for and receives a first document from the first device based on metadata associated with the first document and the collection agent automatically forwards the received first document to a second device connected to the wireless network upon receiving the first document from the first device. The collection agent also automatically sends a second document to the first device upon the first device connecting to the wireless network.

The exchange of information is typically performed over a wired communications connection. However, smaller portable mobile devices have been used to exchange information over a wireless communication connection. For example, a personal digital assistant (PDA) typically includes an infrared communications port to allow a user to exchange information with another PDA. However, this process obviously becomes laborious and time-consuming if the user must exchange the same data with multiple PDA devices. In addition, the user must physically manipulate the device using small, difficult to use user interfaces. Another method of exchanging information may be to use electronic mail (e-mail) to share the desired information with multiple mobile devices. However, exchanging information via e-mail is awkward and time-consuming using small mobile devices such as PDAs and mobile phones because of the small size of the screen displays and the awkward input mechanisms (e.g. mobile phone touch-pads, miniature keyboards, PDA Graffiti, etc.) especially given the user must actively send the e-mail message after inserting the list of recipients. Furthermore, these methods of exchanging information do not assist the recipient of the information to organize, categorize, and store the received disparate information.
Thus, a better method and system is needed for the automatic exchange of information in an ad-hoc computing network.


An implantable cardiac stimulator includes a cardioversion/defibrillation unit connectable to at least one ventricular sensing electrode and one ventricular defibrillation electrode, and is designed to generate and deliver cardioversion or defibrillation shocks. A ventricular sensing unit having automatic threshold adaptation is connectable to the ventricular sensing electrode, and is designed to process the signals of the sensing electrode and detect a chamber contraction, and if a chamber contraction is detected, to output a ventricular sensing signal. The ventricular sensing unit processes the signals of the sensing electrode with at least two switchable sensing thresholds wherein after every sense, a VF detection window is started at a first lower sensing threshold; once the VF detection window has passed, a T wave blanking window is activated at an upper second sensing threshold; and once the T wave blanking window has passed, sensing at a second lower threshold is started.

Tachycardia, the term referring to abnormally high heart rate, includes conditions such as tachycardiac arrhythmias, in which case an affected chamber of the heart (ventricle or atrium) contracts in an orderly manner, although at a physiologically inappropriately high rate. In the case of fibrillation, however, a heart chamber contracts in a disorderly manner due to circulating excitation, and the affected heart chamber basically no longer assists in pumping blood volume. Ventricular fibrillations (VF) can therefore be fatal. If they are detected quickly and reliably, they can be terminated using a defibrillation shock from a defibrillator.
Implantable cardiac stimulators in the form of cardiac pacemakers or implantable cardioverters/defibrillators (ICDs) are well known. Such cardiac stimulators are typically connected to electrode leads which include stimulation or defibrillation electrodes in or near a heart chamber. A cardiac pacemaker can use a stimulation electrode to deliver an electrical stimulation pulse to the muscle tissue of a heart chamber to thereby induce a stimulated contraction of the heart chamber, provided the stimulation pulse has sufficient intensity and the cardiac muscle tissue (myocardium) is not in a refractory phase at the moment. Electrode leads including stimulation electrodes having relatively small surface areas are typically used to trigger a stimulated contraction of a heart chamber in this manner, since the initial stimulation of only a small portion of the myocardium of the heart chamber is sufficient to trigger a stimulated contraction. Such a stimulated contraction of a heart chamber is referred to in this document as a "stimulated" event. If a natural contraction of the heart chamber occurs, this is referred to as a "natural" or "intrinsic" event. For example, a contraction of the right atrium of a heart may be referred to as an atrial event, which can be a natural (or intrinsic) atrial event, or where triggered by an atrial cardiac pacemaker or similar device, can be a stimulated atrial event. Similar distinctions can be made between natural (intrinsic) and stimulated left ventricular events and right ventricular events.
A local excitation of the myocardium propagates from the excitation site by conduction in the myocardium, resulting in depolarization of the muscle cells and thus contraction of the myocardium. After a short period of time the muscle cells are repolarized and the myocardium therefore relaxes. During the depolarization phase, the cardiac muscle cells are insensitive to excitation, i.e. they are refractory. The electrical potentials associated with depolarization and repolarization can be sensed, and the course thereof over time—referred to as an electrocardiogram—can be evaluated. In the electrocardiogram, a so-called R peak represents a depolarization of the ventricular myocardium and therefore a contraction of the ventricle. The repolarization of the ventricular myocardium is expressed as a so-called T wave. These signal features can be detected automatically using an appropriate sensing unit, typically by comparing signal values with threshold values. When this is done, a T wave can exceed the threshold value for detecting R peaks, and therefore a T wave is incorrectly identified as an alleged R peak. This phenomenon is referred to as T wave oversensing.
Such natural (intrinsic) events are detected by determining the electrical potentials of the myocardium of a selected heart chamber using sensing electrodes which are part of a corresponding electrode lead. The sensing electrodes can also serve as stimulation electrodes, wherein the electrodes alternate between stimulation and sensing functions (i.e., delivery and detection of potentials). Typically, a pair of electrodes composed of a tip electrode and a ring electrode is provided for the sensing, wherein the tip electrode is also used as the stimulation electrode. A bipolar recording of an intracardiac electrocardiogram (IEGM) is obtained in this manner. In that case, sensing and stimulation take place in the ventricle using a ventricular electrode lead, and stimulation and sensing take place in the (right) atrium using an atrial electrode lead which is separately connected to the cardiac stimulator. If a left ventricular electrode lead is also provided, it typically extends via the coronary sinus and a lateral vein branching off therefrom into the vicinity of the left ventricle, where it can include a stimulation electrode and/or sensing electrode having a small surface area.
During operation of the cardiac stimulator, the sensing electrodes are connected to appropriate sensing units which are designed to evaluate a recorded electrocardiogram using a sensing electrode (or a pair of sensing electrodes), and, in particular, to detect intrinsic atrial or ventricular events, i.e. natural atrial or ventricular contractions. This takes place, for example, by comparison with a threshold value, i.e. an intrinsic event is detected when a particular intracardiac electrocardiogram exceeds a suitably specified threshold value. Sensing units, which are connected to intracardiac electrodes during operation, are typically provided in an implantable cardiac stimulator for the detection of intrinsic events.
So-called blanking periods and refractory periods are typically provided during the course of sensing intrinsic events. A blanking period is started once an R peak is detected, to prevent the same event from being detected twice. No events are sensed during the blanking period. When an R peak is detected, a refractory period is also started, during which intrinsic events are sensed (outside of the blanking period), but are not detected as such. If the refractory period is dimensioned such that it extends beyond the moment when a T wave is expected, such a T wave is not detected as an intrinsic event (contraction of the heart chamber).
The intrinsic atrial heart rate (atrial frequency) or ventricular heart rate (ventricular frequency) can be derived from the frequency at which the atrial and ventricular events follow one another, thus enabling the detection of tachycardias, for example. T wave oversensing is a problem here, since T wave oversensing can suggest the alleged presence of tachycardia.
The invention assists with improving the detection of ventricular fibrillation (VF) in combination with good suppression of T wave oversensing. The solution is particularly advantageous for VF signals having significantly fluctuating amplitudes.
Input stages of modern implantable cardioverter/defibrillators (ICDs) or cardiac stimulators for cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT-Ds) already provide algorithms for the automatic adaptation of sensing thresholds to the signal conditions. However, they typically utilize sensing thresholds that derived from measured signal amplitudes. Furthermore, to blank the T wave after detection of an R wave, a so-called upper threshold (e.g. 75% of the R wave amplitude) is often used, which is then switched to a lower threshold (e.g. 25%) after the expected duration of the T wave (e.g. after 360 ms). The result is that the T wave can be blanked in that it remains below the threshold, yet smaller fibrillation waves can then be detected using the subsequently activated lower threshold.
Typical methods have the disadvantage that fibrillation waves having greatly fluctuating amplitudes cannot be adequately sensed by using a so-called upper threshold of 75%, for example, for a period of 360 ms. However, if the upper threshold is set lower (e.g. 50%), a large T wave cannot be blanked, and so patients with large T waves are at risk of limited VF sensing.


An insect-repellent composition is disclosed which includes an insect repellent such as p-menthane-3,8-diol and a synergistic amount of an acetal of formula (Z). A method of forming a preferred composition is also disclosed in which citronellal undergoes an acid-cyclization reaction to yield an impure mixture of p-menthane-3,8-diols and acetals. The impure mixture is subjected to fractional distillation to remove a low boiling point fraction and to thereby yield a remaining fraction which constitutes the preferred composition.

Compositions that repel insects, particularly insect pests such as mosquitoes, flies and fleas, are widely used to prevent animals from being bitten by such insects. The importance of preventing biting is essentially two-fold. Firstly, there are a number of insects which are capable of infecting animals with disease causing parasites, an example being the transmission of Plasmodium by mosquitoes to cause malaria. Secondly, in many cases whether disease is transmitted or not, the bite can be extremely irritating.
Of course, man is one animal that suffers from biting insects. Man also suffers irritation from non-biting, annoying insects such as domestic flies and from insects that transmit disease by contact.
The prior art discloses many compositions having repellency to some or a number of insect species. Of these compositions, the most widely used includes the active ingredient N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide (DEET).
Generally, compositions based on DEET are in the form of lotions or aerosols to be applied or sprayed onto the exposed skin. Such compositions may include a variety of other ingredients such as film forming agents to enhance substantivity to the skin and potentiators such as those disclosed in WO89/06904-A.
Although DEET containing compositions are relatively effective particularly in repelling domestic flies and mosquitoes, concerns have been expressed about its toxicity to humans.
Other compositions that are known repellents include various extracts of naturally occurring compounds obtained from eucalyptus species. One series of naturally occurring compounds obtained from Eucalyptus citriodora are the p-menthane-3,8-diols. These compounds are known to exert a repellent effect on insect pests such as mosquitoes and fleas.
Thus in Nishimura et al. Agric. Biol. Chem. 46(1) 319 (1982), the authors disclose the isolation of cis and trans p-menthane-3,8-diols in the form of racemic mixtures from Eucalyptus citriodora. In addition (+) and (-) cis and (+) and (-) trans isomers were synthesized. All compounds were tested for their effectiveness as plant growth regulators but no mention is made of any insect repellent properties.
In an earlier publication, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 75, 2367 (1953), Zimmerman and English report the synthesis of the cis and trans p-menthane-3,8-diols, designated Va and Vb respectively, through the acid cyclization of citronellal. Again no mention is made of any insect repellent properties.
In JP60-199804-A (Nippon Kayaku KK), it is disclosed that the cis and trans p-menthane-3,8-diols are effective insect repellents, as are a number of analogues. This patent application teaches that the p-menthane-3,8-diols may be prepared using the method disclosed in J. Am. Chem. Soc. 75, 2367 (1953). Using (+)-citronellal as the starting material and a reaction time of 27 hours at room temperature cis:trans p-menthane-3,8-diols in a ratio of 5:2 are obtained. These compounds are obtained in pure form following chromatographic separation and recrystallization. There is no mention of the use of the so-purified p-menthane-3,8-diols with any other insect repellent.
EP 367140-A (Takiron Co. Ltd) also relates to the use of p-menthane-3,8-diols as insect repellents. This application teaches slow-release compositions wherein the diols are included in compositions with an ethylene/vinyl acetate copolymer.
Although the p-menthane-3,8-diols are effective insect repellents, even the most efficient routes of synthesis currently known results in products that are so costly that repellent compositions including these menthanediols are too expensive compared with known alternatives.
However, in view of the effectiveness of the menthanediols, considerable effort has been put into developing more cost efficient routes of synthesis.
To that end the present applicants in investigating more efficient routes of synthesis pursued a synthetic route in which the starting material, citronellal, was subjected to acid catalysed cyclization (Prins reaction). This reaction causes the cyclization of the citronellal to produce an impure mixture of 40-45% cis and trans p-menthane-3,8-diols and is essentially the method disclosed in J. Am. Chem. Soc. 75, 2367 (1953). This impure mixture also includes unreacted citronellal, compounds having a boiling point about the same as or lower than citronellal and high boiling point compounds.
As it has been found that the cis isomer is more active than the trans isomer, the cis isomer may be isolated from the above mixture and used in its pure form. For the purposes of comparison, the cost of the impure mixture is significantly lower than that of cis isomer of 99% purity.


An apparatus, system, and method are disclosed for medializing the middle turbinate following sinus surgery, thus preventing synacheiae, granulation tissue, and other complications of the prior art. The apparatus utilizes a fastening device configured to attach the middle turbinate to the nasal septum, a prong comprising a slender wand portion and a fastening module, and a handle configured to trigger deployment of the fastening means by activating the fastening module. The fastening device may be a staple, rivet, glue, or another similar device.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to devices for surgery and more particularly relates to devices for sinus and nasal surgery.
2. Description of the Related Art
Adherence of the middle turbinates to the lateral wall of the nasal cavity is a common post-operative problem following sinus surgery performed on either the maxillary ethmoid sphenoid or frontal sinuses. This condition, known as synechiae, blocks the middle meatus, or opening to the sinuses, causing persistent sinusitis and sinus disease.
Development of synechiae can require lysing to separate the middle turbinate from the lateral nasal wall. This can be performed under local anesthesia in a doctor's office or under general antisthetic, using endoscopic visualization. It is, however, an additional surgical procedure, inconvenient and often painful for the patient.
Attempts to avoid this problem include placement of a middle meatus spacer consisting of dissolvable or non-dissolvable packing positioned to medialize the turbinate away from the lateral wall. Packing, however, can foster the growth of granulation tissue as the body's inflammatory response to a foreign body. Granulation tissue can cause persistent sinus disease. Another medializing technique employs sutures to secure the middle turbinates to the septum. Placement of the sutures, however, is a time consuming and painstaking process.
Existing surgical instruments such as bowel staplers are not adapted to the environment of the nasal cavity. The existing septum stapling instruments are narrow enough to enter the nasal cavity but are not configured with attachment means of sufficient length and otherwise appropriate to secure the middle turbinate.
From the foregoing discussion, it should be apparent that a need exists for an apparatus, system, and method for reliably medializing the middle turbinate away from the middle meatus with its opening to the sinus. Beneficially, such an apparatus, system, and method would be time effective for the physician as well as safe and comfortable for the patient.

Apparatus, system, and method for middle turbinate medializer


Compounds of Formula I, commonly referred to as bis-indole pyrroles, including isolated naturally-occurring compounds, synthetic and semi-synthetic derivatives thereof having antimicrobial properties and to antimicrobial compositions that include one or more of bis-indole pyrroles and their derivatives or analogs having antimicrobial properties are disclosed. Pharmaceutical compositions comprising such compounds and methods of treating bacterial infections with the disclosed compounds or the disclosed pharmaceutical compositions are also disclosed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to certain compounds and to methods for the preparation and the use of certain compounds in the fields of chemistry and medicine. More specifically, the present invention relates to compounds and procedures for making and using compounds that are useful as antimicrobial agents, and relates to pharmaceutical dosage forms comprising such compounds.
2. Description of the Related Art
Antimicrobials are generally used to destroy or suppress the growth or reproduction of microbes such as bacteria. Antimicrobial compounds may act on the targeted microbes in a variety of ways. For example, the antimicrobial compound may prevent DNA or protein synthesis, may alter the cell wall of a microbe, either by altering cell wall permeability or by altering cell wall synthesis and repair.
While there are numerous known antimicrobial compounds, and numerous known mechanisms by which antimicrobial compounds may function, concerns over the availability of antibiotic treatment options, for both early- and late-stage infections from bacteria, have recently increased. There are many reasons for the increase in concern, but one major reason relates to the potential of bioweapons engineering of resistant isolates, and evolutionary development of resistance to existing antibiotics. As such, new antimicrobials and new sources of antimicrobials are desired and are increasingly valuable.
There are many characteristics that can be relevant when trying to decide whether or not a particular compound is useful as an antimicrobial. Relevant factors include, but are not limited to, the relative potency of the compound against a specific microbe or against a spectrum of microbes, and the relative selectivity of the antimicrobial activity of the compound in targeting the invading pathogen versus the host organism. There are also long-term concerns, including the likelihood that the microbe may develop resistance to one or more antimicrobial compound. There are also practical concerns, such as the cost and commercial availability of the antimicrobial compound.
A possible source of antimicrobial compounds is marine-derived natural products. The oceans are massively complex and house a diverse assemblage of microbes that occur in environments of extreme variations in pressure, salinity, and temperature. Marine microorganisms have developed unique metabolic and physiological capabilities that not only ensure survival in extreme habitats, but also offer the potential to produce metabolites that would not be observed from terrestrial microorganisms. (Okami, Y. 1993 J Mar Biotechnol 1:59.) Representative structural classes of such metabolites include terpenes, peptides, polyketides, and compounds with mixed biosynthetic origins. Many of these molecules exhibit anti-tumor, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory or immunosuppressive activities (Bull, A. T. et al. 2000 Microbiol Mol Biol Rev 64:573; Cragg, G. M. & D. J. Newman 2002 Trends Pharmacol Sci 23:404; Kerr, R. G. & S. S. Kerr 1999 Exp Opin Ther Patents 9:1207; Moore, B. S 1999 Nat Prod Rep 16:653; Faulkner, D. J. 2001 Nat Prod Rep 18:1; Mayer, A. M. & V. K. Lehmann 2001 Anticancer Res 21:2489), validating the utility of this source for isolating therapeutic agents. Further, the isolation of novel antibiotics that represent alternative mechanistic classes to those currently on the market will likely address mechanism-based resistance that may have been engineered into pathogens for bioterrorism purposes.
One such class of compounds, studied in other, unrelated, fields of research, is the bis-indole pyrrole and, in particular, chromopyrrolic acid. A subset of this class of molecules is disclosed by Hoshino et al. (Biosci, Biotech, Biochem, 57, 775-781 (1993)). Hashimoto et al. (Tetrahedron Letters 35:2559-2560 (1994) suggests that one particular derivative, a doubly substituted pyrrole with two methoxy carbonyls attached symmetrically to the pyrrole, had moderate anti-HSV-1 virus activity in vitro. The functionality of this compound, and of its analogs, is not well understood. Other references have examined similar derivatives for these compounds (Frode et al. Tetrahedron Lett. 35:1689-1690 (1994)).
More recently, Sodeoka et al., (U.S. Pat. No. 6,589,977, issued Jul. 8, 2003), which is incorporated by reference herein, has suggested a role for bis-indole pyrrole derivatives as cell death inhibitors. Sodeoka et al. examined several different bis-indole pyrrole derivatives for cell death inhibitory activity.

Bis-indole pyrroles useful as antimicrobials agents


According to some embodiments, a method in a wireless device of reducing collisions between device-to-device (D2D) communication resources and D2D discovery resources comprises obtaining a first plurality of transmission resources available for transmitting D2D discovery messages, and obtaining a second plurality of transmission resources comprising a subset of the first plurality. The subset comprises transmission resources potentially unavailable for transmitting D2D discovery messages. The method includes associating a first weighted value with each transmission resource of the first plurality not included in the second plurality, and associating a second weighted value with each transmission resource of the second plurality. The method includes selecting a transmission resource from the first plurality of transmission resources using the first and second weighted values, and determining whether the selected transmission resource is available to transmit a discovery message. The method includes transmitting the discovery message using the selected transmission resource.

Device-to-device (D2D) communication in the cellular spectrum enables direct wireless communication between parties in close proximity of each other, sometimes referred to as proximity services (ProSe). When a cellular network infrastructure is available it may assist user devices with D2D communication. When the cellular network infrastructure is unavailable (e.g., because of network damage, or simply because the user devices are out-of-coverage), user devices may perform D2D communication in an ad-hoc and autonomous fashion. As a particular example, in Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks, this type of D2D communication may be referred to as LTE direct. LTE direct may be used in commercial applications, such as proximity based social networking or in public safety situations in which first responders need to communicate with each other and with victims in a disaster area [3GPP TR 22.803]. Of the number of proximity-based applications that may use D2D communications, one particular D2D communication application addresses the needs of various public safety organizations by defining a next generation of National Security and Public Safety (NSPS) standard with broadband capabilities.
D2D communication was standardized under the umbrella of 3GPP in Release 12 and enhanced D2D features are under standardization in 3GPP Release 13. 3GPP Release 12 describes two types of services: (1) Direct Communication where user equipment (UEs) in proximity of each other establish a direct user plane connection, or (2) Direct Discovery where UEs transmit in broadcast and monitor discovery announcements to learn the type of content/service each UE can share using D2D communication, and the proximity between UEs.
3GPP specifies operative mode 1 and operative mode 2 for ProSe communication. In mode 1, an RRC_CONNECTED UE requests D2D resources from an eNB and the eNB grants them via a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) (DCI5), similar to a cellular uplink (UL) grant. In mode 2, a UE autonomously selects resources for transmission from a pool of available resources that the eNB provides in broadcast via SIB18 for transmissions on carriers other than the PCell or via dedicated signaling for transmission on the PCell.
Mode 1 provides a more accurate scheduling than mode 2. For example, the eNB can better control the resources used for ProSe communication and also reduce interference associated with resource allocation by the UE. Mode 2 is less complex to implement and uses less signaling from the eNB at the expense of a potential increase in interference associated with resource allocation by the UE. Moreover, mode 1 only applies to RRC_CONNECTED UEs, while mode 2 communications may be performed by RRC_CONNECTED or RRC_IDLE UEs.
Regardless of the mode, ProSe communication uses the Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH) during the sidelink control (SC) period. The characteristics of the SC period (e.g., duration, SFN offset, etc.) may be signaled in broadcast by the ProSe discovery carriers. Within the SC period, each PSSCH transmission is preceded by a Scheduling Assignment (SA) period that occurs in a special Physical Sidelink Control Channel (PSCCH) channel. Transmitting UEs use PSCCH to inform other nearby UEs of characteristics associated with the following PSSCH transmission, such as physical resource blocks (PRBs), time pattern, modulation and coding scheme (MCS) parameters, etc.
3GPP also specifies two operative modes for ProSe Direct Discovery: Type 1 and Type 2B. Similar to mode 1 communication described above, in Type 2B discovery the eNB provides grants via dedicated RRC signaling. In Type 1 discovery, similar to mode 2 communication, a UE autonomously selects discovery resources. Such discovery resources are provided via dedicated signalling for UEs in the PCell that are RRC_CONNECTED, or acquired from SIB 19 for UEs that are in RRC_IDLE. More specifically, in Type 1 discovery the network provides one or more resource pools where each pool is characterized by a set of PRBs and subframes in which discovery can take place. The UE autonomously selects one of such pools either randomly or on the basis of reference signal received power (RSRP) measurements related to the different pools. Then the UE randomly selects the time/frequency resources to use within the pool, and each time/frequency resource has an equal probability of being selected.
Discovery messages are transmitted in the physical sidelink discovery channel (PSDCH) during the discovery period (SC period). The configuration of the discovery period (e.g., duration, SFN offset, etc.) is provided as part of the resource configuration. For example, the discovery period subframes that a UE can potentially use for discovery transmission (or retransmission) are signaled via a bitmap, where 0 or 1 indicates whether a specific subframe is allowed for transmission. Each pool may be configured with different bitmaps values and bitmap lengths, and can be repeated for a maximum of 5 times within the discovery period. A discovery message can be retransmitted within the pool using a different puncturing of the encoder according to the principles of soft combining.
3GPP Release 13 extends D2D discovery to UE-to-Network Relay applications. For example, a remote UE (e.g., an out-of-coverage UE) may use D2D discovery to discover a relay UE (e.g., a public safety UE) to establish a network connection.
In 3GPP Release 12, time-domain conflicts between resources selected for Type 1 ProSe discovery and ProSe communication may occur. 3GPP Release 12 specifies that in such cases ProSe communication is prioritized over discovery, and the discovery transmissions will not take place, thereby penalizing discovery performance. This behaviour might have a greater-than-negligible impact on discovery performance considering that discovery occasions typically occur on a slower time scale compared with communication. Moreover, always down-prioritizing discovery over communication might not be desirable for ProSe discovery in public safety applications (e.g., UE-to-Network relay discovery). An example of a collision is illustrated in FIG. 1.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a time-domain collision between Type 1 discovery resources and communication resources. The horizontal axis represents the time-domain. Resource pool 5 comprises all transmission resources 10 available to a UE. Resource pool 14 comprises transmission resources 10 available to a UE for D2D discovery. Resource pools 12 include transmission resources 10 available for control and data transmission.
Discovery MAC PDUs (including potential retransmissions) are transmitted on the PSDCH according to resource pool 14, which is identified by a discovery bitmap as specified in 3GPP Release 12. In FIG. 1, at least one such MAC PDU collides with subframes selected for control or data transmission in PSCCH or PSSCH, respectively.
In the illustrated example, a UE allocates transmission resources 10b and 10d from resource pool 14 for transmitting discovery messages. The UE also allocates transmission resource 10a in resource pool 12a and transmission resource 10d in pool 12b. Transmission resources 10c and 10d collide because transmission resources 10c and 10d refer to the same time/frequency resource(s). The transmission resource may be used either for discovery or for control or data transmission, but not for both at the same time.
An eNB may alleviate the collision problem for Type 2B discovery. For example, the eNB may schedule discovery resources orthogonal to the subframe pools used for communication. Additionally, for Type 1 discovery the eNB may configure the discovery pools such that their resources do not overlap with communication resources, by configuring the discovery/SC period and the discovery/SA offset accordingly. Only a few possible configurations (e.g., setting control period and discovery period to the same value), however, completely avoid resource collisions. A problem with this solution is that it limits configuration flexibility.


A string trimmer head having a frame and a flexible cutting member attached to the frame. The frame is a one-piece member with two hook sections on opposite sides of the frame. The hook sections each have a receiving slot with an entrance facing towards a substantially closed bottom side of the frame and a closed end at a substantially open top side of the frame. In one embodiment the receiving slots have different widths to accommodate attachment of different diameter flexible cutting members to the frame. In another embodiment, the frame is adapted to have either one flexible cutting member attached to it or two flexible cutting members attached to it with the flexible cutting member(s) extending from the frame in uniform patterns in either arrangement.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to vegetation cutters and, more particularly, to a rotary cutting head with a fixed flexible cutting member.
2. Prior Art
String trimmers which use a rotary head with flexible cutting lines made of plastic or metal are generally well known in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 5,433,006 discloses a rotary mowing head with a one-piece frame and two cutting lines. The cutting lines are located in tapered spaces and the frame has hooks for the cutting lines. U.S. Pat. No. 4,190,954 discloses a cutting head with two cutting lines attached to the top side of the frame.