Methods for safe and effective treatment of inflammatory lesions of rosacea in a subject are described. The methods involve once daily topically applying to an affected skin area a topical composition containing ivermectin and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier. It has been demonstrated that once daily topical treatment with ivermectin is significantly superior than twice-daily topical treatment with metronidazole in reducing inflammatory lesion counts.

Rosacea is a highly prevalent, chronic inflammatory skin condition estimated to affect 16 million Americans.1-2 Rosacea is a common, chronic and progressive inflammatory disease with skin features characterized by blushing and flushing, facial erythema, papules, pustules, telangiectasia and sometimes ocular lesions known as ocular rosacea. In severe cases, particularly in men, rhinophyma, or a bulbous enlargement of the nose, may occur. Rosacea develops over the course of several years with periods of exacerbation triggered by various stimuli such as temperature changes, alcohol, spicy foods, sun exposure and emotional factors.
The prevalence of rosacea in the European population ranges between 0.09 and 22%, with a peak age of onset between 25 and 70 and is much more common in people with a light complexion. It more particularly affects women although the condition is generally more severe in men. The prevalence of family histories of rosacea has been reported.
Four subtypes of rosacea have been defined according to the degree of primary features, such as vasomotor flushing, persistent erythema, papules and pustules, telangiectasias (Wilkin J et al., JAAD, 2002, 46: 584-587). Erythematotelangiectatic rosacea (ETR) is mainly characterized by vasomotor flushing and persistent central facial erythema. Telangiectasias are commonly observed but are not essential for the diagnosis of this subtype. Central facial edema, burning or stinging sensations and rough, flaky skin are also symptoms that have sometimes been reported. A history of flushing as the only symptom is commonly found in people with erythematotelangiectatic rosacea.
Papulopustular rosacea (PPR) is characterized by persistent central facial erythema and transient crops of papules and/or pustules in the center of the face. However, the papules and pustules can also occur in periorificial regions, i.e., around the mouth, nose and eyes. The papulopustular subtype resembles acne vulgaris, but comedones are absent. Rosacea and acne may coexist in a same patient, in which case comedones may also be present alongside the papules and pustules suggestive of rosacea. People with papulopustular rosacea sometimes complain of a burning or stinging sensation. This subtype is often observed before or at the same time as ETR (including the presence of telangiectasias). The telangiectasias may be obscured by the persistent erythema and the papules and pustules, but they tend to become more visible after successful treatments that cover up these features. Papulopustular rosacea (PPR) is a subtype of the inflammatory lesions that is associated with great psychological distress.3 Facial blemishes have been found to significantly impair health-related quality of life, along with a fear of negative evaluation by others.4 Moreover, PPR is characterized by the presence of inflammatory infiltrates that accompany flares, along with a heightened immune response involving neutrophilic infiltration and increased gene expression of IL-8 (Steinhoff et al. J Investig Dermatol Symp Proc 2011; 15:2-11)
Phymatous rosacea is characterized by a thickening of the skin, irregular surface nodularities and swelling. The nose is most commonly affected but phymatous rosacea can also involve other areas such as the chin, the forehead, the cheeks and the ears. Patients with this subtype sometimes exhibit prominent, enlarged follicles in the affected areas as well as telangiectasias. This subtype often occurs before or at the same time as ETR or PPR (including the presence of persistent erythema, telangiectasias, papules and pustules). In the case of rhinophyma, these additional stigmata may be particularly pronounced in the nasal region.
Ocular rosacea (or ophthalmic rosacea) exhibits symptoms restricted to the ocular area with blepharitis, conjunctivitis and keratitis. The diagnosis of ocular rosacea should be considered when a patient presents with one or more of the following ocular signs and symptoms: watery or bloodshot eyes (interpalpebral conjunctival hyperemia), foreign body sensation, burning or stinging, dry or itchy eyes, sensitivity to light, blurred vision, conjunctival telangiectasias or eyelid margin telangiectasias or erythema of the eyelid and periocular area.
The pathogenesis of rosacea is not yet completely understood. Its etiology is multifactorial. In addition to exogenous factors (including UV light, heat and alcohol), it may be secondary to parasitic involvement (particularly Demodex folliculorum mites).5-6 Such factors activate neurovascular and/or immune responses, and consequently inflammatory cascades. Intermittent flares may contribute to the chronicity of rosacea as they are associated with prolonged vasodilation, perivascular inflammation, edema and exposure to cytokines and cellular infiltrates. Some studies of PPR observed higher mite densities compared to controls (Forton et al., Br J Dermatol 1993; 128(6):650-9; Karincaoglu et al., J Dermatol 2004; 31(8):618-26). Skin affected by rosacea is highly sensitive and prone to iffitation.7
Management of rosacea is difficult and currently the most used therapies comprise oral antibiotics (tetracycline or its derivatives, metronidazole and macrolides) and oral retinoids. There are only a few current treatment options for inflammatory lesions of rosacea, and not many alternatives exist with high efficacy and once-daily dosing. A recent Cochrane review noted that it is unclear which is most effective, while some evidence supports the efficacy of topical metronidazole, azelaic acid and subantimicrobial-dose doxycycline in the treatment of moderate to severe rosacea.8 In a national survey of current rosacea medication users, 46% of patients had previously changed medications, usually due to a lack of improvement.9 Slow and incomplete treatment, and short period of relapse-free time have been noticed with some conventional treatments.
Ivermectin is an anti-parasitic drug derivative from the macrocyclic lactones family approved for human use for treatment and chemoprophylaxis of onchocerciasis and strongyloidiasis since 1996 in the USA and since 1988 in France. In addition, it has been in approved in France for the treatment of human scabies. Oral ivermectin in human and animal demodicidosis was effective in reducing Demodex folliculorum and improving demodicidosis. Moreover, when administered orally, ivermectin combined with a subsequent weekly application of topical permethrin showed treatment efficacy in a patient presenting chronic rosacea-like demodicidosis (14).
U.S. Pat. No. 5,952,372 discloses a method of treating rosacea in humans involving orally or topically administering ivermectin. However, according to U.S. Pat. No. 5,952,372, because of the skin barrier effect, topical treatment with ivermectin would be anticipated to require once- or twice-daily applications for as long as four weeks to achieve sufficient follicle penetration and effective miticidal activity. It further describes that after ivermectin carries out its miticidal activity on skin Demodex folliculorum organisms, inflammatory responses to them begin to diminish but remnants of the dead mites still elicit some flushing and lesion formation until the cleanup processes of the body remove them, a process that requires six to eight weeks. It suggests to employ conventional anti-rosacea medications, such as oral tetracycline and topical metronidazole, to suppress early flareups and to give early clinical response during the initial phase of ivermectin administration. U.S. Pat. No. 5,952,372 contains no specific disclosure on topical treatment of PPR.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,133,310 and U.S. Pat. No. 8,415,311 also disclose a method of treating acne rosacea by topical application of ivermectin. However, they contain no specific disclosure on treating inflammatory lesions of rosacea or PPR.
Accordingly, there is a need for an once-daily topical treatment of inflammatory lesions of rosacea with an earlier onset of significant effectiveness and a prolonged time to relapse than the currently available treatments, in order to provide safe, more rapid and longer lasting relief, and better patient compliance to those in need of such treatment. Such need is met by the present invention.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Treatment of inflammatory lesions of rosacea with ivermectin


The container is a capable, hollow rectangular container having an open small end. Various supports for the printed circuit board combine to maintain a chosen position of the integrated circuit board in the container. The container is stackable and crushproof, while protecting an enclosed circuit board from physical or electrostatic damage.

Integrated circuit boards are part and parcel of daily life. There is a special class of integrated circuit boards used in the United States by telephone companies. Such boards are an integral part of the great efficiency of any telephone system, especially the United States telephone system. These specialized boards are used in great numbers and have a particular structure. The integrated circuit board includes a platform and an end piece secured in a perpendicular manner to the platform. The platform carries the desired circuit. The end piece serves a carrying, inserting, removing or other function for the printed circuit board. Furthermore, the end piece assists in the placing of the printed circuit board into the desired circuit.
It is highly desirable to transport these boards in an efficient and effective manner. It is also desirable to store these boards efficiently, while making them easily retrievable and accessible. The prior art shows several containers for use in transporting the circuit boards. These prior art containers for an integrated circuit board lack the easy readability required for easy recovery from storage.
Such a container also lacks the ability to withstand the rough physical and electrostatic conditions inherent in transporting of the integrated circuit board. Both the physical and electrostatic transporting conditions can damage the board and prevent proper operation of the board when the final destination is reached. Typical of a physical problem is a cracked or otherwise damaged board. A typical electrostatic problem occurs when an electrostatic charge causes damage to a board component. This electrostatic charge may render the board completely inoperative or cause a substandard performance of the board. The container must, therefore, provide protection against both the physical and electrostatic problems or conditions.
Also it is desirable to have the containers for integrated circuit boards be of the stacking or nesting type. If the containers for the integrated circuit boards stack or nest, the container and the board therein are both easier to transport and easier to store upon receipt; especially for a great quantity thereof. Yet providing stacking or nesting capabilities interferes with the determination and cataloging of the various boards that are received.
Important also is determination of the appropriate type of material for construction of the container and what type of construction can be used to efficiently form the container. Additionally, it must be determined what type of special requirement such as antistatic, conductive, non-conductive or other shielding is required. A further determination requires the consideration of temperature limits, to which the container and the board will be exposed.
Other custom features may be needed in the container. These features can include, in addition to stacking or nesting, storage and various sizes of the container. The options of storing and transporting must include easy adaptability to various covers, rings or handles encountered in the use or storage of the integrated circuit board. This great plurality of requirements for the device clearly complicates selecting the appropriate parameters and maximizing the advantage of each parameter.
Various points are needed to support an integrated circuit board in a container. It is difficult to form all of the required supports. Even if the container is made in two parts, it is difficult to efficiently join and seal the two parts together.
Clearly, it is desired to provide a container which can protect the circuit board in transport. This container must be resistant to difficult physical handling and must protect the integrated circuit board from various electrostatic charges. With such a container, the desired protection of the printed circuit board can be obtained.


A letter producing system includes: a printing unit for performing printing on a paper sheet for enclosure and a paper sheet for envelope and outputting the paper sheet for enclosure before the paper sheet for envelope; an inserting and sealing unit for making an envelope from the paper sheet for envelope and inserting and sealing the paper sheet for enclosure in the envelope; an enclosure size obtaining section for obtaining size information of the enclosure; a paper output timing obtaining section for obtaining information of output timing of the first paper sheet for enclosure from the printing unit based on the size information of the enclosure; and a paper output control section for controlling timing of output of the first paper sheet for enclosure from the printing unit to the inserting and sealing unit based on the information of output timing.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a letter producing system, which includes a printing unit for performing printing on printing paper sheets and an inserting and sealing unit for producing a letter by making an envelope from a printing paper sheet subjected to printing at the printing unit and inserting and sealing another printing paper sheet subjected to printing in the envelope. In particular, the present invention relates to control of timing of output of the first printing paper sheet from the printing unit to the inserting and sealing unit.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, along with the increased use of letters, such as advertising letters, various letter producing systems are proposed, which automatically performs printing on printing paper sheets with a printing unit, makes envelopes using the printed printing paper sheets and inserts and seals each enclosure in each envelope.
In such a letter producing system, specifically, each printing paper sheet for envelope and each set of printing paper sheets for enclosure subjected to printing and outputted from the printing unit are received by an inserting and sealing unit. At the inserting and sealing unit, the printing paper sheet for envelope is folded in three, for example, to form an envelope, and the set of printing paper sheets for enclosure, which is also folded in three, for example, is inserted and sealed in the envelope, thereby producing a letter.
The letter producing system, as described above, includes a mechanical mechanism for folding the printing paper sheet for enclosure and the printing paper sheet for envelope, a mechanical mechanism for inserting the printing paper sheet for enclosure in the envelope, etc. Such mechanical mechanisms need to be initialized depending on the size and the type of fold of the printing paper sheet for enclosure and the printing paper sheet for envelope before output of the printing paper sheets from the printing unit to the inserting and sealing unit is started.

Timing control for letter producing system and inserting and sealing unit


A mold releasing resin composition is provided which contains at least one fluorinated compound end-blocked with a dimethylhydrogensiloxane group and optionally having a fluorinated polyether linkage. The composition is applied to the inner surface of a silicone rubber mold and cured thereat before a curable resin is admitted into the mold, cured therein, and then removed from the mold.

The fabrication of molded articles by admitting molding materials such as urethane resin, epoxy resin, polyester resin and so forth into molds of silicone rubber followed by curing is now of widespread use covering from the manufacture and reproduction of artistic handicrafts to the fabrication technique of industrial plastic articles which is also known as a vacuum casting technique. It is a common practice to apply a mold release agent to the inner surface of a silicone rubber mold before admission of resinous material into the mold in order to prevent the resinous material from sticking to the mold for increasing the number of molding cycles permissible for the mold. The commonly used mold release agents include silicone oil, modified silicone oil, wax and paint. However, some of these mold release agents can cause the silicone rubber to swell, some can poorly wet the silicone rubber mold surface, and some are less satisfactory in the retention of their mold releasability.

Mold releasing resin composition and molding of curable resin using the same


According to the cellular mobile radiotelephone call access method of the present invention, a directed retry message is sent in response to an attempted call access in a first cell experiencing congestion. A subsequent retry and a second cell of the attempted call access is detected, and, if a traffic channel allocated to the first cell is then available, a traffic channel allocated to the first cell is assigned from the second cell. The call is therefore established in the original cell more often, and interference is reduced.

The present invention relates to interference reduction in a cellular mobile radiotelephone system and more particularly to reduction of interference in such a system resulting from a conventional, unrestricted directed retry function.
In mobile radiotelephone systems, one of the main technological challenges is to provide a sufficiently large number of radio channels to meet system demand while at the same time minimizing interference of those channels with one another. In cellular mobile radiotelephone systems, this problem has been addressed by allocating frequencies to cells according to a frequency reuse pattern such that a specified distance, known as the frequency reuse distance, separates geographical areas using a common frequency. Such a technique has proven effective in preventing undue interference of same-frequency channels.
Interference can also occur, however, between different frequency channels assigned to adjacent cells. Normally, transmission power on cell transmitters is regulated so as to minimize such interference. If, however, a mobile station transmitting on the frequency of one of two adjacent cells is located relatively far inside the interior of another of the two adjacent cells, the mobile station becomes a local interference radiator, and interference may become quite pronounced.
Such a situation may arise, for example, when a call access is attempted at a time when all of a cell's voice channels are occupied (cell congestion). The switching center typically responds to such a situation by sending a "directed retry" instruction to the mobile station attempting access together with a list of the frequencies of all of the congested cell's neighboring cells. The mobile station then monitors reception on each of the neighboring cell's frequencies and chooses a strongest received frequency on which to reattempt access. Given a flat topography, the frequency chosen will usually be that of the neighboring cell closest to the mobile station. Because of varying topography, however, the propagation paths and resulting signal strengths may also vary such that the strongest received channel may not always be that of the closest neighboring cell but rather may be that of a more distant neighboring cell. This increases the potential for audible interference.

Method of and apparatus for advanced directed retry


Methods and systems for thwarting denial of service attacks originating in a DOCSIS-compliant cable network (DCN) are described. A DCN comprises one or more sub-networks each comprising an access network, one or more cable modem termination systems (CMTSs) and one or more cable modems (CMs). The DCN also accesses an edge server and a local DNS cache server. The DCN interfaces with the Internet and accesses a remote DNS server according to well-known protocols. The CMTS is adapted to compare the source IP address included in IP packet headers to the IP address of the customer premises equipment (CPE) from which the IP packet originates as assigned by the DNS. Data packets that have spoofed addresses are either deleted or quarantined. Packets reaching the edge server are evaluated by an attack detection system. A packet determined to be part of a denial of service attack is inspected and the source IP address and the destination IP address extracted. A cache controller is instructed to prevent a DNS cache server from responding to a domain name request containing both the extracted source IP address and destination IP address.

Embodiments of the present invention relate to systems and methods for thwarting denial of service attacks originating in a DOCSIS-compliant cable network. Particular systems and methods are directed to detecting "spoofed" source IP addresses in messages sent from cable modems and to metering DNS queries from specific source IP addresses in a cable network environment.
The Internet, also termed the "information superhighway", has revolutionized how data and information can be accessed. Presently, "online" information sources mirror most of the information available from traditional sources such as newspapers, reference books, databases and other public information sources. Users are also able to subscribe to private information sources, order goods and services and download information content and receive radio and television transmissions. Communication between users is also available and includes "chat" rooms, semi-private virtual area networks, telephone service (termed voice over Internet protocol or VoIP) and online competitive video gaming.
As uses of the Internet increase, users seek faster connection speeds and greater bandwidth. Data over cable networks are becoming a preferred solution in providing high data transfer rates to users at attractive pricing. At increased bandwidth, user enjoyment is enhanced with shorter wait and download times.
Users select the Internet websites they wish to connect to by identifying the website by its Internet Protocol (IP) address or its domain name. Most users prefer using domain names instead of the IP address. Primary amongst the reasons for this preference is the ease of remembering domain names and the implementation of dynamically assigned Internet addresses to particular domain names.
A DNS server receives a name from a user, associates the name with an IP address, and sends the IP address to the user. The user then communicates with a server via the server's IP address. If a DNS server does not know the address associated with a particular name, the DNS server contacts a root name server. A root server "knows" the IP address for all of the DNS servers that handle the top-level domains. For example, a DNS server might "ask" a root server for the IP address associated with www.Yahoo.com, and the root might "respond" (assuming no caching), "I don't know the IP address for Yahoo.com, but here's the IP address for the COM name server." Of the various software available for operating a DNS server, most common is the UNIX based Berkeley Internet Name Domain (BIND) software.
While DNS makes the Internet more user friendly, DNS servers are used by malicious attackers bent on disrupting normal communications over the Internet. Such attacks are generally referred to as denial of service (DoS) attacks. While some DoS attacks do not involve DNS servers directly (e.g., attacks that exploit implementation bugs and attacks that exploit legitimate protocol features of an Internet service), attacks on server bandwidth use the DNS to congest a target's networks with (useless) traffic. The high volume of incoming DNS requests can cause routers to crash, compounding the problem. Some bandwidth attacks generate easily identifiable packets that can be filtered or rate-limited because they never occur in high volume during normal operations. Other bandwidth attacks may look like transient high volume traffic.
To be effective, bandwidth attacks require a group of attackers to cooperate in order to generate sufficient traffic. A variant of the DoS is the "distributed" DoS or "DDoS." An attacker using this form of attack breaks into hundreds or thousands of computers connected to the Internet and installs software on them that allows the attacker to control all the captured computers. The attacker then launches coordinated attacks on a target site by issuing a single command to the captured machines instructing them to launch a particular attack against a specific target. When the attacker decides to stop the attack, another single command is sent. These attacks typically exhaust bandwidth, router processing capacity, or network stack resources, breaking network connectivity to the targets.
Tracing the origins of a DoS attack is difficult to say the least. Devices on the Internet are identified via IP addresses. IP addresses are structured (organized into groups) so that special-purpose traffic-handling computers, called routers, can direct messages (in the form of packets) in the right direction to reach their intended destination. Each of these packets is handled separately by the Internet and reassembled at the remote computer. Each of these packets has a pair of addresses in it, called the source and destination IP addresses. These are the addresses of the originating machine, and the recipient. They are analogous to the address and return address on an envelope, in traditional mail.
When a packet is sent over the Internet, it is passed first to the nearest router; commonly this router is at the point where the local network connects to the Internet. This router is often called a border router. The border router passes it upstream to a core router, which interconnects with many other core routers all over the Internet; the core routers pass the packet on until it reaches its destination as determined by the destination IP address. The source IP address is normally ignored by routers.
A router necessary "knows" the addresses of every network attached to it, so that it can correctly route packets to them. In a DDoS attack, the source addresses is forged or "spoofed." The border router, the first router to receive a packet, is in a position to look at the source address, determine whether it matches the network it's coming from, and, if not, discard the packet. However, if the packet is forwarded by the border server, downstream servers will not be able to detect the forged source IP address and the attack will be all but unstoppable.
A DNS server offers an attacker a convenient means for executing a packet flooding denial of service attacks. An attacker sends a large number of UDP-based DNS requests to a DNS server using a spoofed source IP address. Any DNS server response is sent back to the spoofed IP address as the destination. In this scenario, the spoofed IP address represents the target of the denial of service attack. The DNS server is an intermediate party in the attack. The true source of the attack is difficult for an intermediate or a target site to determine due to the use of spoofed source addresses. Because DNS server responses can be significantly larger than DNS requests, there is potential for bandwidth amplification. In other words, the responses may consume more bandwidth than the requests. An intruder may use multiple DNS servers on diverse networks in this type of an attack to achieve a DDoS attack against target sites.
An intermediary DNS server may receive packets back from the target. In particular, port unreachable packets may be returned from the target to the intermediary in response to an unexpected UDP packet sent from the intermediary DNS server to the target host. Sites with DNS servers used as intermediaries may experience performance degradation and a denial of DNS service as a result of an increase in DNS query traffic. It is also possible to experience higher bandwidth consumption and a bandwidth denial of service attack on the intermediary DNS server's network. Target sites may experience a bandwidth denial of service attack due to a high volume of DNS response packets being forwarded by one or more intermediary DNS servers.
Spoofing is also employed in attacks that exploit the hand-shake mechanism used by the transmission control protocol (TCP). TCP enables two hosts to establish a connection and exchange streams of data. TCP guarantees delivery of data and also guarantees that packets will be delivered in the same order in which they were sent. Any system connected to the Internet and providing TCP-based network services, such as a Web server, FTP server, or mail server, is potentially subject to an attack that exploits the TCP handshake. A TCP connection starts with a client sending a SYN message to a server, indicating the client's intention to establish a TCP connection. The server replies with a SYN/ACK message to acknowledge that it has received the initial SYN message, and at the same time reserves an entry in its connection table and buffer space. After this exchange, the TCP connection is considered to be half open. To complete the TCP connection establishment, the client must reply to the server with an ACK message. In a TCP SYN flooding attack, an attacker, sends many SYN messages, with fictitious (spoofed) IP addresses, to a single server (target). Although the server replies with SYN/ACK messages, these messages are never acknowledged by the client. The half-open connections data structure on the target server system will eventually fill until server is unable to accept any new incoming connections. While a timeout can be associated with a pending connection to expire half-open connections, the attacking system can simply continue sending IP-spoofed packets requesting new connections faster than the victim system can expire the pending connections. In most cases, the victim of such an attack will have difficulty in accepting any new incoming network connection. In these cases, the attack does not affect existing incoming connections nor the ability to originate outgoing network connections.
In a variation of the TCP SYN flooding attack, the spoofed source address is a real address and is the target (or a second target) of the attack. The ACK messages from the first target server are sent to the address of the second target server, overwhelming the second target with message traffic requiring that it send an ACK message. The second target server's resources are ultimately consumed disrupting its operation.
The location of the attacking system is obscured because the source addresses in the SYN packets are often implausible. When the packet arrives at the victim server system, there is no way to determine its true source. Since the network forwards packets based on destination address, the only effective way to validate the source of a packet is to use input source filtering. This can be accomplished by checking whether the "AWK" bit is set in the header. If the packet is a first packet, the AWK bit is not set. If the packet is a response packet, the AWK bit in the head is set.
Another attack form that relies on spoofing of the source IP address uses user datagram protocol (UDP) packets in place of TCP packet. TCP is the protocol most commonly used for services on the Internet. For example, Telnet, FTP, SMTP, NNTP, and HTTP are all TCP-based services. TCP is reliable in that it makes three guarantees to the application layer: the destination will receive the application data in the order it was sent, the destination will receive all the application data, and the destination will not receive duplicates of any of the application data. TCP is bi-directional in that once a connection is established, a server can reply to a client over the same connection. By contrast, UDP is a low-overhead alternative to TCP because it makes none of the reliability guarantees made by TCP (delivery, ordering, and nonduplication) and doesn't require reliability mechanisms to support it. Every UDP packet is independent, which means that unlike TCP, UDP packets are not part of a "virtual circuit."
UDP packets are very similar to TCP packets in structure. A UDP header contains UDP source and destination port numbers, just like the TCP source and destination port numbers. However, a UDP header does not contain an ACK bit and does not use the SYN/ACK handshake. There is no way for a packet filtering router to determine, simply by examining the header of an incoming UDP packet, whether that packet is a first packet from an external client to an internal server, or a response from an external server back to an internal client.
In a UDP-based attack, an intruder sends a large number of UDP-based DNS requests to a DNS server using a spoofed source IP address. Any DNS server response is sent back to the spoofed IP address as the destination. In this scenario, the spoofed IP address represents the victim of the denial of service attack. The DNS server is an intermediate party in the attack. The true source of the attack is difficult for an intermediate or a victim site to determine due to the use of spoofed source addresses. As noted earlier, because DNS server responses can be significantly larger than DNS requests, there is potential for bandwidth amplification. In other words, the responses may consume more bandwidth than the requests.
Multiple DNS servers on diverse networks can be used in this type of an attack to achieve a distributed denial of service attack against victim sites. UDP DNS queries can be crafted to request the same valid DNS resource record from multiple DNS servers. The result is many DNS servers receiving queries for resources records in zones for which the DNS server is not authoritative. The response of the DNS server depends on its configuration. If the target DNS server allows the query and is configured to be recursive or to provide referrals, the DNS server's response could contain significantly more data than the original DNS request, resulting in a higher degree of bandwidth amplification. A target DNS server configured without restrictions on DNS query sources may not log malicious queries at all.
The intermediary DNS server may receive packets back from the victim host. In particular, ICMP port unreachable packets may be returned from the victim to the intermediary in response to an unexpected UDP packet sent from the intermediary DNS server to the victim host. Sites with DNS servers used as intermediaries may experience performance degradation and a denial of DNS service as a result of an increase in DNS query traffic. It is also possible to experience higher bandwidth consumption and a bandwidth denial of service attack on the intermediary DNS server's network. Victim sites may experience a bandwidth denial of service attack due to a high volume of DNS response packets being forwarded by one or more intermediary DNS servers.
Cable networks have become popular means for high-speed data connections to the Internet. Cable networks that comply with Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS) standards (DOCSIS version 1.0 was issued in 1997 and DOCSIS version 1.1 replaced version 1.0 in 1999-2001) offer connectivity through a cable modem (CM) that is managed and monitored by a cable modem termination system (CMTS). One advantage of a DOCSIS-compliant network (DCN) is that the IP address of the CM and the IP addresses of other devices connected to the CM are issued by systems under the control of the DNS.
It is desirable to implement systems and methods to thwart DoS attacks that originate from within a DCN by detecting "spoofed" source IP addresses in messages sent from cable modems and by metering DNS queries from specific source IP addresses within a DCN. As is demonstrated below, applicants have developed such systems and methods that have additional benefits of reducing cable network load factors and reducing the potential that packets originating from the DCN will be blocked by other Internet service providers.

Thwarting denial of service attacks originating in a DOCSIS-compliant cable network


A modular quadcopter is provided for vertical flight. The quadcopter includes a housing, a quadrilateral set of extensions, and a quadrilateral set of arms. The housing contains flight control and sensor equipment, and has a relative vertical orientation. The housing is configurable for either stowage or deployment. The extensions are disposed on each corner of the housing. Each extension has a hinge that pitches outward and upward. Each arm is disposed on the hinge and contains an electric motor and a speed controller. The configurable below the housing for the stowage and extends radially from respective the extension in relation to the orientation for the deployment.

The invention relates generally to quadcopters. In particular, the invention relates to a configurable unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that can be folded for stowage.
UAVs have become popular in the past few years, and many of them have been designed to be foldable. Many of the foldable UAV designs are intended to insert into backpacks. Most UAVs have the arms fold up beside or around the body compromising mission flexibility.

United States of America, as represented by the Secretary of the Navy


A seating system for a vehicle includes a seat portion with a front edge and a rear edge, and a back portion with an upper edge and a lower edge, where the rear edge of the seat portion is connected to the lower edge of the back portion. The system includes a platform portion of the vehicle configured to support an underside of the seat portion when the seat assembly is in a seating position. A pivot connection couples the platform to the seat portion to selectively move the seat assembly from the seating position to a cargo storage position. A cargo storage surface is provided on the underside of the seat assembly that is supported above a floor portion of the vehicle by the back portion of the seat assembly when the seat assembly is in the cargo storage position.

The present invention relates to a seating system for a vehicle. The present invention also relates to a seating system adaptable for use in a seating application and a cargo storage application.
The following patents and/or patent applications are hereby incorporated by reference: U.S. Pat. No. 6,015,071 titled xe2x80x9cVehicle Storage Dividerxe2x80x9d issued Jan. 18, 2000; U.S. Pat. No. 6,050,202 titled xe2x80x9cStorage Divider Shelfxe2x80x9d issued Apr. 18, 2001; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,199,948 titled xe2x80x9cInterchangeable Module Systemxe2x80x9d issued Mar. 13, 2001.
It is well-known to provide seats in vehicles for accommodating the comfort of vehicle occupants and the spatial requirements for cargo storage. The seats are typically movable in either a horizontal or vertical orientation, or both, for improving the comfort of the vehicle occupants and providing the vehicle operator with proper access to the vehicle controls. Such seats typically include seats positioned in a front portion of the vehicle for an operator and for a front passenger, and additionally include one or more rows of seats for passengers in the rear of the vehicle. With the increasing demand for vehicles having improved cargo storage management systems combined with passenger capacity, while maintaining or reducing overall size, weight and cost of the vehicle, it would be desirable to provide a seating system with reduced complexity, improved cargo storage capacity and improved flexibility in using the available cargo storage space.
Rear seating systems in vehicles typically include a seating portion having a generally horizontal seating portion and a generally horizontal back rest portion that are pivotally connected. Such rear seating systems often provide a variety of pivot, hinge, latch, slide and linkage mechanisms between the seat portion and the backrest portion and between the seat portion and the vehicle floor so that the seat portion and the backrest portion may be folded together in a variety of orientations to improve the cargo storage capacity of the vehicle when the rear seats are unoccupied. It would be desirable to provide a rear seating system adaptable for use in both a seating position and a cargo storage position without the need for numerous and complicated mechanisms for moving the seats in order to improve the ease of operation by a user. It would be further desirable to provide a rear seating system without numerous and complicated mechanisms to reduce manufacturing costs, reduce overall vehicle weight, reduce the number of assembly steps needed to produce the seat and reduce the installation time during vehicle assembly.
When folded to a cargo storage position, the known seating systems typically provide for the back rest portion and the seat portion to be collapsed with the planar portion of the seat or back rest in facing engagement with each other and stored adjacent to a planar portion of the vehicle such as a floor or wall section, which reduces their accessability for serving as cargo storage devices when the seating system is in a cargo storage position. Therefore it would be desirable to provide a seating system where the seat and back rest portions remained accessable for serving as cargo storage devices when the seating system is in the cargo storage position.
Such known folding rear seating systems often have a seat portion and back rest portion formed from a frame designed to hold a cushion, which is usually surrounded by an upholstery material to form a comfortable seat for the occupants. Such seating structures typically provide limited adaptability for use as storage devices when the seats are in a cargo storage position. Therefore it would also be desirable to provide a seating system where the seat and back rest portions provide a variety of alternative storage systems for use when the seat portions are in either a seating position or a cargo storage position.
It would be desirable to provide a system having any one or more of these or other advantageous features.
The present invention relates to a seating and cargo storage system for a vehicle having a seat portion with a front edge and a rear edge, and a back portion with an upper edge and a lower edge, where the rear edge of the seat portion is connected to the lower edge of the back portion. A platform portion of the vehicle is configured to support an underside of the seat portion when the seat assembly is in a seating position and a connection couples the platform to the seat portion to selectively move the seat assembly from the seating position to a cargo storage position. A cargo storage surface is provided on the underside of the seat assembly and is supported above a floor portion of the vehicle by the back portion of the seat assembly when the seat assembly is in the cargo storage position.
The present invention also relates to a seating and cargo storage system for a vehicle having means for moving a seat assembly from an upright seating position to an inverted cargo storage position, means for providing an interchangeable cargo storage surface on an underside of the seat assembly and means for supporting the cargo storage surface in a generally horizontal orientation above a floor portion of the vehicle with a back portion of the seat assembly.
The present invention further relates to a seating and cargo storage system for a rear seat in a vehicle having a seat assembly with an integral, non-articulating seat portion and a back portion and a seat base extending upward from a floor portion of the vehicle and adapted to support an underside of the seat portion. A coupling cooperates between a front portion of the seat base and a front edge of the seat portion to allow the seat assembly to move forward from an upright seating position to an inverted cargo storage position where an upper surface on the back portion of the seat assembly is configured to engage an interior portion of the vehicle to support the seat assembly in the inverted cargo storage position so that the upper surface of the seat base and the underside of the seat portion in the inverted cargo storage position provide a substantially flat cargo storage surface.

Seating and cargo storage system for a vehicle


A method is described for manufacturing a molded product having a recessed/protruding part from a molded substrate (A) including reinforcing fibers and a matrix resin by press molding, the method comprising: a step (I) of placing the molded substrate (A) between molds including an upper mold and a lower mold and deforming the molded substrate (A) in an in-plane direction by heating and pressing the molds; and a step (II) of deforming the molded substrate (A) in an out-of-plane direction by depressurizing the molds subsequent to the step (I), wherein a deformation rate ratio T represented by the following formula (1) is within a range of 0.1 to 1:T=X/Z   (1)where X and Z are as defined.

In recent years, market demands for lightweight properties are increasing year by year for industrial products such as automobiles, aircraft, and sporting products. To meet these demands, a press-molded product using a fiber-reinforced resin which is light and has excellent mechanical properties is widely used for various kinds of industrial applications. Specifically, to satisfy lightweight properties, use of structures having voids is widely studied (see Patent Document 1). Here, press molding is a method for subjecting various materials exemplified by a metal, a plastic material, and a ceramic material and the like to deformations such as bending, shearing and compression deformations using a processing machine, a mold, and a tool and the like, to perform molding and processing. The press molding is different from injection molding, and is excellent in molding large-sized members. The following molding method is well known (Patent Documents 2 and 3). In press molding of a molding material using reinforcing fibers and a thermoplastic resin, the molding material preheated to a melting temperature or higher so that it is in a softened state is supplied between a mold having a recessed part and a mold having a protruding part. Subsequently, the molding material is press-molded to obtain a molded product having a desired shape.


A system includes a general synchronization module at the client site for operating within a first firewall and for examining first version information to determine whether a first workspace element has been modified. The system further includes a synchronization agent at a global server for operating outside the first firewall and for forwarding to the general synchronization module second version information which indicates whether an independently-modifiable copy of the first workspace element has been modified. A synchronization-start module is maintained at the client site for operating within the first firewall and for securely initiating the general synchronization module and the synchronization agent when predetermined criteria have been satisfied. The system further includes means for generating a preferred version from the first workspace element and from the copy by comparing the first version information and the second version information, and means for storing the preferred version at the first store and at the second store.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to computer networks, and more particularly to a system and method for securely synchronizing multiple copies of a workspace element such as a file in a secure network.
2. Description of the Background Art
Data consistency is a significant concern for computer users. For example, when maintaining multiple independently-modifiable copies of a document, a user risks using an outdated version. Further, by the time the user notices the inconsistency, interparty miscommunication or data loss may have resulted. The user must then spend more time attempting to reconcile the inconsistent versions.
The problem of data inconsistency is exacerbated when multiple copies of a document are maintained at different network locations. For example, due to network security systems such as conventional firewall technology, a user may have access only to a particular one of these network locations. Without access to the other sites, the user cannot confirm that the version on the accessible site is the most recent draft.
Therefore, a system and method are needed for providing users with data consistency, and more particularly for synchronizing multiple copies of a workspace element such as a document in the secure network environment.

System and method for securely synchronizing multiple copies of a workspace element in a network


In some embodiments, a mobile device includes an interface configured to scan information from a communication tag associated with an asset, a memory operable to store the information, and a processor communicatively coupled to the memory. The information comprises a header describing the information, business application data, and asset identification data uniquely identifying the asset. The processor is configured to extract the business application data from the information scanned from the communication tag and extract the asset identification data from the information scanned from the communication tag.

Asset management may refer to systems whereby items of value to an entity or group are monitored and/or maintained. Asset management may apply to both tangible and intangible concepts. Asset management may include a systematic process of operating, maintaining, and upgrading assets cost-effectively. Asset management may also include the practice of managing assets so that the greatest return is achieved.

Discovery of asset information through scanning of communication tags associated with assets


A phased array antenna system accommodating onto a platform for tracking a target moving relatively to the platform, the antenna system comprising a first planar active subsystem operable for receiving/transmitting an RF signal of a certain linear polarization direction and for selectively performing electronic scanning; a second, roll subsystem coupled to the active subsystem and operable for rotational movement of the active subsystem about a first axis perpendicular to a plane defined by the planar active subsystem; a third, elevation subsystem coupled to the second, roll subsystem and to a fourth azimuth subsystem, the azimuth subsystem defining a central axis of the antenna system and being operable for providing rotational movement of the first planar subsystem about the central axis, the elevation subsystem being configured to provide a certain angular orientation between the plane defined by the active subsystem and a plane defined by the azimuth subsystem, thereby allowing positioning the first planar active subsystem with respect to the target such that the linear polarization direction is substantially aligned with a linear polarization direction of RF radiation received and/or transmitted by the target.

Nowadays, many moving platforms (e.g. aircrafts, ships, cars, etc.) are required to have satellite communication capabilities. One exemplary requirement relates to an entertainment system for offering passengers with e.g. internet access, live television broadcast and the like.
During motion, the moving platform (e.g. the aircraft) is engaged in communication with a particular satellite, tracking it across the sky until it disappears over the horizon, and prior to its disappearance establishes communication with another satellite. Therefore, antennas on-board the moving platforms are typically equipped with suitable positioning and tracking systems.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,796,370 discloses a dual polarization antenna for direct broadcast satellites. The antenna is orientable, directional and capable of use as a transmit and/or receive antenna. It includes at least one reflector, at least one source of electromagnetic radiation including means for exciting the source with two orthogonal linear polarizations and a mechanical system for positioning and holding the source and the reflector. The orientation of the antenna is made up of depointing and rotation about a preferred direction of propagation of the radiation and the mechanical system enables such rotation while keeping the source fixed, so conserving the orientation of the orthogonal linear polarization. A preferred embodiment of the antenna includes a parabolic main reflector and a hyperbolic auxiliary reflector in a Cassegrain geometry, and the mechanical system enables rotation of both reflectors about the preferred direction of radiation and holds the source fixed to conserve the orthogonal linear polarization axes of the beam. Applications include radar, direct broadcast satellites and telecommunications employing frequency re-use by polarization diversity, especially advantageous in space and airborne applications.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,034,634 discloses an inexpensive high gain antenna for use on terminals communicating with low earth orbit (LEO) satellites which include an elevation table mounted for accurate movement about a transverse axis on an azimuth turntable mounted for rotational movement about a central axis. A plurality of antenna elements forming a phased array antenna is mounted on the top of the elevation table and have a scan plane which is parallel to and extends through the transverse axis of the elevation table. The antenna may be both mechanically and electrically scanned and is used to perform handoffs from one LEO satellite to another by positioning the elevation table of the antenna with its bore sight in a direction intermediate the two satellites and with the scan plane of the antenna passing through both satellites. At the moment of handoff, the antenna beam is electronically scanned from one satellite to another without any loss in data communication during the process.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,034,643 discloses a directional beam antenna device that includes an antenna supporting member which is supported on a base in such a manner as to be rotatable about a first rotational axis; an antenna portion which is supported on the antenna supporting member in such a manner as to be rotatable about a second rotational axis which is perpendicular to an antenna aperture and is inclined at a first angle with respect to the first rotational axis, the direction of an antenna beam being inclined at a second angle with respect to the second rotational axis; a first driving unit for rotating the antenna supporting member about the first rotational axis with respect to the base; and a second driving unit for rotating the antenna portion about the second rotational axis with respect to the antenna supporting member. A directional beam controlling apparatus is provided with a controlling unit for controlling an elevation angle of the antenna beam to a target value by causing the second driving unit to rotate the antenna portion with respect to the antenna supporting member, and for controlling an azimuth angle of the antenna beam to a target value by causing the first driving unit to rotate the antenna supporting member with respect to the base.
PCT Application No. WO2004/075339 discloses a low profile receiving and/or transmitting antenna that includes an array of antenna elements that collect and focuses millimeter wave or other radiation. The antenna elements are physically configured so that radiation at a tuning wavelength impinging on the antenna at a particular angle of incidence is collected by the elements and focused in-phase. Two or more mechanical rotators may be disposed to alter the angle of incidence of incoming or outgoing radiation to match the particular angle of incidence.
Also relating to positioning of satellite communication antennas on-board moving platforms are U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,400,315, 6,218,999, 6,741,841, 6,356,239, and 6,751,801.
As is known, polarization of a linear polarized radio wave may be rotated as the signal passes through any anomalies (such as Faraday rotation) in the ionosphere. Furthermore, due to the position of the Earth with respect to the satellite, geometric differences may vary due to relative movements between the satellite and the communicating station (e.g. aircraft, fixed station. etc.). Therefore, most geostationary satellites operate with circular polarization, as circular polarization will keep the signal constant regardless of the above-mentioned anomalies. However, some geostationary satellites use linear polarization. In linear polarization, a misalignment of polarization of 45 degrees will degrade the signal up to 3 dB and if misaligned 90 degrees, the attenuation can be 20 dB or more. Furthermore, polarization purity is required by international regulation of satellite communication. Therefore, on-board antenna systems for communication with a satellite using linear polarization need to provide polarization tracking.
Furthermore, on-board antenna systems for moving platforms are required to be relatively small in size and low in profile (diameter and height) in order to adapt to the overall design and specifically the aerodynamic design of the moving platform. However, polarization tracking typically requires a considerable antenna size, for compensating for losses of signal strength involved in polarization tracking.
There is a need in the art for an improved antenna that provides positioning capabilities as well as polarization tracking capabilities. There is a further need in the art for an improved antenna suitable for use on board moving platforms and specifically airborne platforms and aircrafts, which is relatively small and has low profile (e.g. diameter of about 90 cm or less).

Phased array planar antenna and a method thereof


An MTJ MRAM cell is formed above or below an intersection of vertically separated, magnetically clad, ultra-thin orthogonal word and bit lines whose thickness is less than 100 nm. Lines of this thickness produce switching magnetic fields at the cell free layer that are enhanced by a factor of approximately two for a given current. The word and bit lines also include a soft magnetic layer of high permeability formed on their surfaces distal from the cell to improve the magnetic field still further. The fabrication of a cell with such thin lines is actually simplified as a result of the thinner depositions and eliminates the necessity of removing material by CMP during patterning and polishing, thereby producing uniform spacing between the lines and the cell free layer.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the design and fabrication of magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJ) as memory storage devices, particularly to a design wherein word and bit lines are placed very close to the MTJ and cladded with magnetic material so as to produce higher magnetic flux at the MTJ free layer for a given write current.
2. Description of the Related Art
The magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) basically comprises two electrodes, which are layers of magnetized ferromagnetic material, separated by a tunnel barrier layer, which is a thin layer of insulating material. The tunnel barrier layer must be sufficiently thin so that there is a probability for charge carriers (typically electrons) to cross the layer by means of quantum mechanical tunneling. The tunneling probability is spin dependent, however, because it depends on the availability of tunneling states that accept electrons with different spin orientations. Therefore, the overall tunneling current will depend on the number of spin-up vs. spin-down electrons, which in turn depends on the orientation of the electron spin relative to the magnetization direction of the ferromagnetic layers. Thus, if the relative magnetization directions are varied for a given applied voltage, the tunneling current will also vary. As a result of this behavior of an MTJ, sensing the change of tunneling current for a fixed voltage can enable a determination of the relative magnetization directions of the two ferromagnetic layers that comprise it.
The use of an MTJ as an information storage device requires that the magnetization of at least one of its ferromagnetic layers can be varied relative to the other and also that changes in these relative directions can be sensed by means of variations in the tunneling current or, equivalently, the junction resistance. In its simplest form as a two state memory storage device, the MTJ need only be capable of having its magnetizations put into parallel (low resistance) or antiparallel (high resistance) configurations, when writing data, and of having its tunneling current variations or resistance variations measured, when reading data.
In practice, the free ferromagnetic layer of the MTJ can be modeled as having a magnetization which is free to rotate but which energetically prefers to align in either direction along its easy axis (the direction of magnetic crystalline anisotropy). The magnetization of the fixed layer may be thought of as being permanently aligned in its easy axis direction. When the free layer is anti-aligned with the fixed layer, the junction will have its maximum resistance, when the free layer is aligned with the fixed layer, the minimum resistance is present. In typical MRAM circuitry, the MTJ devices are located at the intersection of orthogonal current carrying lines called word lines and bit lines. When both lines are carrying current, the device is written upon by having the magnetization direction of its free layer changed. When only one line is carrying current, the resistance of the device can be sensed, so the device is effectively read. Note that an additional current carrying line may be present in some device configurations to sense the resistance of the device, but in simplest terms the device behaves as described above. Such an MTJ device is provided by Gallagher et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,650,958), who teach the formation of an MTJ device with a pinned ferromagnetic layer whose magnetization is in the plane of the layer but not free to rotate, together with a free magnetic layer whose magnetization is free to rotate relative to that of the pinned layer, wherein the two layers are separated by an insulating tunnel barrier layer.
In order for the MTJ MRAM device to be competitive, in terms of power consumption and device density, with other forms of DRAM, it is necessary that the MTJ be made very small, typically of sub-micron dimension. Parkin et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 6,166,948) teaches the formation of an MTJ MRAM cell in which the free layer is formed of two antiparallel magnetized layers separated by a spacer layer chosen to prevent exchange coupling but to allow direct dipole coupling between the layers. The free layer thereby has closed flux loops and the two layers switch their magnetizations simultaneously during switching operations. Parkin notes that sub-micron dimensions are needed to be competitive with DRAM memories in the range of 10–100 Mbit capacities. Parkin also notes that such small sizes are associated with significant problems, particularly super-paramagnetism, which is the spontaneous thermal fluctuation of magnetization in samples of ferromagnetic material too small to have sufficient magnetic anisotropy (a measure of the ability of a sample to maintain a given magnetization direction). To overcome the undesirable spontaneous thermal fluctuations in MRAM cells with very small cross-sectional areas, it is necessary to make the magnetic layers thick. Unfortunately, the size of the required switching field increases with layer thickness, so the price paid for a thermally stable cell is the necessity of expending a great deal of current to change the magnetic orientation of the cell's free layer.
Some degree of anisotropy is necessary if an MTJ cell is to be capable of maintaining a magnetization direction and, thereby, to effectively store data even when write currents are zero. As cell sizes have continued to decrease, the technology has sought to provide a degree of magnetic anisotropy by forming cells in a wide variety of shapes (eg. rectangles, diamonds, ellipses, etc.), so that the lack of inherent crystalline anisotropy is countered by a shape anisotropy. Yet this form of anisotropy brings with it its own problems. A particularly troublesome shape-related problem in MTJ devices results from non-uniform and uncontrollable edge-fields produced by shape anisotropy (a property of non-circular samples). As the cell size decreases, these edge fields become relatively more important than the magnetization of the body of the cell and have an adverse effect on the storage and reading of data. Although such shape anisotropies, when of sufficient magnitude, reduce the disadvantageous effects of super-paramagnetism, they have the negative effect of requiring high currents to change the magnetization direction of the MTJ for the purpose of storing data.
One way of addressing the problem of the high currents needed to change the magnetization direction of a free layer when its shape anisotropy is high, is to provide a mechanism for concentrating the fields produced by lower current values. This approach was taken by Durlam et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 6,211,090 B1) who teach the formation of a flux concentrator, which is a soft magnetic (NiFe) layer formed around a copper damascene current carrying line. The layer is formed around three sides of the copper line which forms the digit line at the underside of the MRAM cell.
Deak (U.S. Patent Application Publication No.: U.S. 2003/0207486 A1) discloses an array of MRAM devices formed between word and bit lines that are clad with low remanence (remaining B field after the inducing H field has been reduced to zero) flux concentrators. The remanence thereby serves an advantageous purpose of providing the cell with a biasing magnetic field.
Sharma et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 6,593,608 B1) provides a magnetic memory device having two soft magnetic reference layers (fixed layers) and two barrier layers, wherein the two barrier layers are formed on the soft magnetic reference layers which also play the role of cladding layers.
Goronkin et al (U.S. Pat. No. 6,525,957 B1) provides a MRAM type multi-state memory cell in which magnetic flux is confined within the cell by forming the cell around the current carrying line.
Jones et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication No.: U.S. 2003/0151079 A1) forms a magnetically clad bit line structure in which the bit line is formed within a trench whose sidewalls contain the magnetic cladding.
This invention addresses the problem of the high current required to reorient the magnetization of the free layer in ultra-small MRAM cells wherein the super-paramagnetic behavior requires thick free layers. It does so by forming composite, ultra-thin word and bit lines, each line of thickness less than 100 nm, each line with an adjacent soft magnetic layer that concentrates the magnetic field at the free layer and each line formed on the same side of the free layer.

Magnetic random access memory array with proximate read and write lines cladded with magnetic material


A cable junction box for connecting and branching communication cables with a longitudinally divided socket tube and closure sections bounding the longitudinal division, with sealing members, embraced by the socket tube, being provided with cable passages adaptable to different cable diameters, and peripheral seals arranged between the socket tube and the sealing members, the socket tube having a circumferential jacket reinforcement extending to the region of its longitudinal division on both its both end faces, the longitudinally divided socket tube additionally having a groove section for receiving a longitudinal seal and a spring section engaging into the grooved section for compressing the longitudinal seal so that the longitudinal seal is pressed against the peripheral seals, the longitudinal groove of the grooved section have a chamber constriction in a region devoid of inner legs.

The invention is directed to a cable junction box for connecting or branching cables, especially communication cables, with a longitudinally divided socket tube with locking-sections bounding the longitudinal division. Sealing members are embraced by the tubular box for closure or sealing of its ends, with the sealing members comprising cable passages adaptable to different cable diameters. Also, peripheral or circumferential seals are disposed in circular locating grooves between the socket tube and the sealing members.
With such cable junction boxes, which as a rule are laid underground, a sound seal of the socket tube against the sealing member must naturally be achieved. On the one hand, peripheral seals are provided for this purpose and, on the other hand, the socket tube is clamped together not only in the region of the longitudinal division by one more closure clamps which under- and overlap the closure sections, but they also exert clamping forces on the sealing member in order to press the peripheral seals into their locating grooves. Since the socket tube is fabricated out of a plastic sleeve of comparatively small thickness, for instance 4 mm, excessive elongation or expansion and a widening resulting therefrom cannot be excluded during application of a clamping force upon the sealing members. Such an excessive elongation or widening can, however, lead to an impairment of the sealing of the socket tube against the sealing member.


A method for manufacturing a free-standing substrate made of a semiconductor material. A first assembly is provided and it includes a relatively thinner nucleation layer of a first material, a support of a second material, and a removable bonding interface defined between facing surfaces of the nucleation layer and support. A substrate of a relatively thicker layer of a third material is grown, by epitaph on the nucleation layer, to form a second assembly with the substrate attaining a sufficient thickness to be free-standing. The third material is preferably a monocrystalline material. Also, the removable character of the bonding interface is preserved with at least the substrate being heated to an epitaxial growth temperature. The coefficients of thermal expansion of the second and third materials are selected to be different from each other by a thermal expansion differential, determined as a function of the epitaxial growth temperature or subsequent application of external mechanical stresses, such that, as the second assembly cools from the epitaxial growth temperature, stresses are induced in the removable bonding interface to facilitate detachment of the nucleation layer from the substrate.

A free-standing substrate is defined as a substrate, whose thickness is sufficient that it carries itself without support. Reasonably, such a substrate must thus have a thickness of at least 100 μm. However, in order to be able to be manipulated in a manufacturing line without risk of breaking, it must generally be thicker.
By way of example, the commercially available free-standing substrates comprised of GaN or AlN have a thickness of 300 μm. Such free-standing substrates comprised of GaN or AlN are used in onto-electronic devices such as LEADS, lasers, sensors or in micro-electronic devices (transistors) or function in a high-temperature environment, or even in the field of hyper frequency power or power electronics.
A first possibility for obtaining free-standing substrates can comprise fashioning them from a block of the material concerned by sawing and polishing.
Unfortunately, at the present time, there is no manufacturing method for GaN or AlN ingots that can be used on an industrial development scale.
The article "Bulk and homo epitaxial GaN growth and characterization", Porowski-S, Journal of Crystal Growth, Vol. 189-190, June 1998, pp 153-158, describes a process for growing monocrystalline GaN ingots in the liquid phase under a pressure of 12 to 20 kbars (12 to 20×108 Pa) and at a temperature of between 1400 and 1700° C. These conditions are difficult to implement, however, in the course of mass production. In addition, they only produce crystals having a maximum diameter of 18 mm.
Other teams of researchers have also worked on methods for growing ingots in liquid phase at reduced pressure (less than 2 bars (2×105 Pa)) and at a temperature of 1000° C. The diameter of the crystals obtained is larger, in the vicinity of 50 mm, but the crystalline quality obtained is less satisfactory than in the previously mentioned method.
Finally, the article "Growth and characterization of GaN single crystals", Balka et al., Journal of Crystal Growth, Vol. 208, January 2000, pp. 100-106, discloses the growth of monocrystalline GaN by sublimation. The manufacturing conditions used are a pressure of less than 1 bar (105 Pa) and a temperature of from 1000 to 1200° C. The crystal quality is very good but the size of the crystal is 3 mm, which is clearly inadequate for the intended applications in the semiconductor field.
At the present time, there is no monocrystalline gallium nitride or aluminum nitride on the market, in a massive form, of good quality, having sufficient diameters and at a reasonable price. In order to resolve this problem, one notes in the literature a number of attempts at manufacturing substrates comprised of monocrystalline, free-standing gallium nitride by thick heteroepitaxy and then eliminating the epitaxy substrate. This thick epitapy or hydride vapor phase epitapy (known to the skilled artisan under the acronym HVPE or "hydride vapor phase epitapy") consists of producing epitaxial growth of GaN on diverse substrates between 1000° C. and 1100° C. at atmospheric pressure with a view to obtaining a layer of GaN of several tens or hundreds of microns. This technique is advantageous in that it enables one to obtain a good crystal quality and in that it is not necessary to face or to cut the ingots of crude material as in the aforementioned prior art. However, the GaN plates obtained in this fashion have many residual stresses and tensions connected with heteroepitaxy.
Several methods are distinguished according to the nature of the epitaxy support substrate and the technique used to remove the substrate. Thus, according to the article "Physical properties of bulk GaN crystals grown by HVPE", Melnik et al., MRS Internet Journal of Nitride Semiconductor Research, Vol. 2, Art. 39, a method for growing GaN monocrystals using HVPE on a substrate comprised of monocrystalline silicon carbide (SiC) with removal of the substrate by reactive ionic etching (known to the person skilled in the art under the acronym RIE according to the English expression "reactive ionic etching"). However, removal of this SiC substrate is very time-consuming because it is chemically very inert.
Also, according to the article "Large free-standing GaN substrates by hydride vapor phase epitaxy and laser-induced lift-off," Kelly et al., Jpn. J. Appl. Phys., Vol. 38, 1999, a method for growing GaN by HVPE epitaxy on a sapphire substrate and subsequent removal of the substrate by laser is known (known by the English terminology, "laser-induced lift-off"). Implementing this removal technique is delicate for treating large surfaces because the laser beam scanning is long.
It is also possible to remove the sapphire substrate by mechanical polishing but this method is likewise time-consuming and further presents the risk of breakage of the GaN layer at the time of removal of the substrate that releases the stresses.
In other respects, the article "Preparation of large free-standing GaN substrates by hydride vapor phase epitaxy using GaAs as a starting substrate," Motoki et al., Jpn. J. Appl. Phys., Vol. 40 (2001), pp. L140-L143 describes a method for growing GaN on a substrate comprised of gallium arsenide (GaAs) by HVPE and then chemical dissolution of the substrate. This technique enables easy removal of the substrate, however, the latter is lost, which is less of an advantage from an economic point of view.
Other attempts have also been made by implementing a technique comprised of growing GaN or aluminum nitride (AlN) on a supporting substrate of silicon (Si {111}) by HVPE and then removing the supporting substrate by chemical etching. This technique has the same drawbacks as those mentioned previously.
Finally, according to U.S. Pat. No. 6,176,925, U.S. Patent applications Publication Nos. 2001/0006845 and 2001/00022154 and European Patent Application No. 1,045,431, methods are known for obtaining a thick layer of gallium nitride by epitaxial techniques on a seed layer which itself has been obtained by epitaxy. However, none of these four documents mention the possibility of placing a nucleation layer on a support by molecular adhesion bonding.
The important points for realizing free-standing substrates are on the one hand the capacity of realizing thick epitaxy; that is, at least 100 microns while having good crystal quality and on the other hand easy separation of the thick layer from its epitaxy support. The present invention now remedies the aforementioned drawbacks while respecting these important points.

Method for manufacturing a free-standing substrate made of monocrystalline semiconductor material

S.O.I.Tec Silicon on Insulator Technologies


A communication method in a wireless communication system, includes transmitting, from a base station to a mobile station, transmission parameters, and by the mobile station, encoding a control channel and a data channel based on the transmission parameters, multiplexing, after coding, the control channel and the data channel, and transmitting the multiplexed control channel and data channel.

The standardization organization 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) has stated a work item called LTE (Log Term Evolution) to study a wireless access method, which is higher in data-rate transmission, short in delay, and packet-transmission oriented, as a successor of the third-generation mobile communication method such as W-CDMA or HSDPA/HSUPA (see Non-Patent Document 1 and Non-Patent Document 2).
The target communication speed of LTE is 100 Mbps−1 Gbps for the downlink, and 50 Mbps for the uplink. In LTE, the candidate for the FDD (Frequency Division Duplex) wireless method is OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) for the downlink, and SC-FDMA (Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access) for the uplink. The use of those wireless methods requires the wireless base station to perform adaptive scheduling in both the frequency domain and the time domain.
If data is left stagnant in the transmission buffer in a mobile station on the uplink on which data is transmitted via SC-FDMA, the mobile station requests the wireless base station to allocate uplink resources. The wireless base station performs adaptive scheduling at a TTI (Transmit Time Interval), and sends the transmission permission signal (Signaling) to the mobile phone at a TTI. Upon receiving the transmission permission, the mobile station sends the data signal at the TTI. The mobile station sends the control signals such as Ack/Nack, CQI (Channel Quality Indicator), and MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) parameter, periodically or at a predetermined timing.
When there is a data signal to be sent, the control signal described above is time-division multiplexed with the data signal on a physical channel called PUSCH (Physical Uplink Shared Channel). As this control signal that is time-division multiplexed, the standardization organization has almost reached a decision that the control information (Data Associated Signal), which is used to notify the transmission parameters of the data signal, be not used.
[Non-Patent Document 1]
3GPP TS 36.211 ver. 0.3.0(Physical Channels and Modulation (Release 8))
[Non-Patent Document 2]
3GPP TS 36.300 ver. 0.1.0(Overall description Stage 2 (Release x))

Wireless communication system, data transmission method for uplink thereof, base station device, and mobile station device


A ground-based interceptor missile, part of a larger ballistic missile defense system, is provided for intercepting enemy intercontinental ballistic missiles. The interceptor employs a method based on numerical partial derivatives for computing required divert velocity corrections to remove predicted ground-based interceptor miss errors for engagement during the midcourse of the enemy missile flight.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a ballistic missile defense system to protect against intercontinental ballistic missile attacks, the ground-based interceptor missile part of that defense system to intercept enemy missile warheads, and more particularly, a method for computing required divert velocity corrections to remove predicted ground-based interceptor miss errors for engagements during the midcourse of the enemy missile flight.

Method of computing divert velocity for the ground-based interceptor using numerical partial derivatives


An apparatus for generating a three-dimensional model of an object includes a storage unit that stores three-dimensional coordinates of plural vertices on a standard model of the object, an image input unit that inputs plural input images acquired by photographing the object, a first detection unit that detects a coordinate of a first point corresponding to a vertex on the standard model, from a first image selected from among the plural input images, a second detection unit that detects a coordinate of a second point corresponding to the coordinate of the first point, from a second image other than the first image, a depth computation unit that computes a depth of the first point by using the coordinates of the first and second points, and a first update unit that updates the three-dimensional coordinate on the standard model based on the coordinate of the first point and the calculated depth.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a three-dimensional model generating apparatus method and program, which are arranged to enable generation of a highly-accurate three-dimensional model of a subject.
2. Description of the Related Art
A lot of methods for generating a three-dimensional model of a subject from images acquired by photographing the subject have been proposed.
Particularly, in a widely-used method, three-dimensional points (herein after called as "vertices" in order to distinguish those from two-dimensional points) set on the surface of a previously-prepared standard model of a subject are associated with points on a photographed image, and corrections are made on coordinates of the vertices on the standard model in accordance with the association, thereby generating a three-dimensional model of the subject. According to this method, in the case of generation of a three-dimensional model of, e.g., a face, so long as eyes, nasal cavities, and the like, vertices on the standard model of the face are indexed, indices of vertices on the thus-generated three-dimensional model are common with those on the standard model at all times. Therefore, we can easily know a particular vertices, such as eyes or nasal cavities. That is a merit of this method using on the standard model.
One of face image model generating apparatuses mentioned, above is Japanese Patent No. 2,787,612 (pg. 2 and FIG. 2). In order to correct coordinates of vertices, this generating apparatus detects a center line of a face from an image acquired by photographing the face of a person from the front, detects a contour line of the face from the image acquired by photographing the face of the person from the side, detects points on the image corresponding to vertices on a standard model in view of the relationship between the center line and the contour line, and calculate the depths of the detected points.
Vertices on the standard model to which corresponding points are not detected are interpolated in a three-dimensional space. Therefore, depths of interpolated vertices on the thus-generated model is magnified not always accurate, thereby resulting in a failure to obtain a geometrically-accurate three-dimensional model.
As mentioned previously, according to the related art, the points on the image and the vertices on the standard model are associated with each other in the three-dimensional space. Hence, the discrepancy between the thus-generated model and the geometry of the actual subject is magnified, thereby yielding a problem of a failure to obtain a three-dimensional model of accurate geometry.
The present invention is conceived to solve the drawbacks of the related art and aims at providing a three-dimensional model generating apparatus, a three-dimensional model generating method, and a three-dimensional model generating program, which enable generation of a highly-accurate three-dimensional model of a subject.

Generating a three-dimensional model from a standard model and multiple two-dimensional images


An air return is useable in a venturi system having an upstream air induction member feeding a product flow line downstream of the air induction member. The air return itself comprises a housing having a product flow region to be fitted in line with the product flow line, an air draw region separated from the product flow region by a perforate divider with a baffle internally of the divider and an air flow line from the housing to be fitted back to the air induction member.

In line venturi systems are used to move product from place to another. An example of an inline venturi system is described in my own U.S. Pat. No. 5,002,092 issued Mar. 26, 1991 where I use a blower feeding air to a venturi device to create a low pressure region causing air to be drawn into and through the system.
One of the keys to my earlier patented system is the use of a static regain chamber downstream of the venturi device which substantially enhances capacity of my system.
In line venturi systems are typically limited in the length of conduit that they can service simply because the amount of air flow that can be generated at the upstream end of the conduit drops over the length of the conduit. After a certain conduit length, the air flow drops to the point that the product will no longer move through the conduit. With prior art techniques, the only way to overcome this problem is to first drop the material into a settling box or cyclone and then pick it up with a further venturi and blower. This will not work with certain types of material such as continuous strips of material because the material would ball up once it is settled into the box. Furthermore, whenever dust is associated with the product and you drop it into the settling box or cyclone it creates a serious dust problem. This requires the addition of a dust collection substantially adding to the cost of the prior art systems.


A bone fixation device comprises an elongated body. The elongated body includes a first end portion with a coil and an opposite second end portion with an elongated tail. The second end portion also includes an attachment portion configured for engagement with a fastener.

Bone fixation devices are used to help heal a fracture by stabilizing the pieces of the fractured bone. Bone fixation devices may be external or internal devices. An internal bone fixation device may be engaged with an intramedullary portion of one of the bone pieces to hold the bone pieces in position while the fracture heals. Such an internal bone fixation device may also be used to reduce the fracture.


1,2-substituted 5-pyrrolidinone compounds are provided, and methods of treatment and pharmaceutical composition that utilize or comprise one or more such compounds. Compounds of the invention are useful for a variety of therapies, including treating or preventing preterm labor, dysmenorrhea, asthma, hypertension, infertility or fertility disorder, undesired blood clotting, preeclampsia or eclampsia, an eosinophil disorder, sexual dysfunction, osteporosis and other destructive bone disease or disorder, renal dysfunction, an immune deficiency disorder, dry eye, ichthyosis, elevated intraocular pressure, sleep disorder, or gastric ulcer, inflammatory disorders and other diseases and disorders associated with the prostaglandin family of compounds.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention provides substituted 1,2-substituted 5-pyrrolidinone compounds, methods of treatment and pharmaceutical compositions that utilize or comprise one or more such compounds. Compounds of the invention are useful for a variety of therapies, including preterm labor, ovulation induction, cervical ripening, dysmenorrhea, asthma, hypertension, infertility or fertility disorder, undesired blood clotting, preeclampsia or eclampsia, an eosinophil disorder, sexual dysfunction, including erectile dysfunction, osteoporosis and other destructive bone disease or disorder, renal dysfunction (acute and chronic), immune deficiency disorder or disease, dry eye, skin disorders such as ichthyosis, elevated intra-ocular pressure such as associated with glaucoma, sleep disorders, ulcers, inflammatory disorders and other diseases and disorders associated with the prostaglandin and receptors thereof. The invention further provides methods and pharmaceutical compositions comprising prostaglandin EP4 receptor agonists for the treatment of infertility disorders. More specifically, the present invention relates to such methods and pharmaceutical compositions for inducing ovulation, particularly ovulation triggering.
2. Background
Prostaglandins (PGs) which belong to the prostanoids family are known to have diverse biological activities such as contraction and relaxation of smooth muscle, inhibition and enhancement of neurotransmitter release, inhibition of lipolysis, inhibition of gastric secretion, inhibition of inflammatory mediator release (Coleman et al. Prostanoids and their Receptors. In Comprehensive Medicinal Chemistry, vol. 3, Ed J. C. Emmett, 643-714, Pergamon Press, Oxford, UK, 1990) that are mediated by different receptor subtypes (Coleman et al. Pharmacological Reviews 1994 46 (2), 205-229). Four subtypes of the prostaglandin EP receptor have been identified: EP1, EP2, EP3, and EP4. See also U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,605,814 and 5,759,789.
Knock-out mice lacking each type and sub-type of the EP receptor showed different roles for these receptors (Ushikubi at al. 2000, Jpn. J. Pharmacol. 83, 279-285) in various mechanisms such as ovulation, blood pressure control, closure of ductus arteriosus and bone resorption. Additional roles of EP receptors have been reported such as smooth muscle relaxation in cat trachea for EP2, vasodilatation for EP4 (Gardinier, Br. J. Pharmac. 1986, 87, 45-56; Coleman et al. 1994 Pharmacological Reviews 46 (2), 205-229) and anti-inflammatory activity for EP4 (Takayama et al. 2002, The Journal of Biological Chemistry, 277, 46, 44147-44154). Renal Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) is crucial of normal renal function by dilating the glomerular microcirculation and vasa recta, supplying the renal medulla and modulating salt and water transport in the distal tubule.
Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) is a natural ligand for all sub-types of the EP receptor. Consequently, selective effects on one of the sub-types of the EP receptor is impossible to achieve with the endogenous prostaglandins.
Certain prostanoid receptors and modulators of those receptors have been largely reported (Eicosanoids: From Biotechnology to Therapeutic Applications (Plenum Press, New York); Journal of Lipid Mediators and Cell Signalling 14: 83-87 (1996); The British Journal of Pharmacology, 112: 735-740 (1994); WO 96/06822; WO 97/00863; WO 97/00864; WO 96/03380; EP 752421; U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,211,197, 4,211,876; 3,873,566; and Bennett et al. J. Med. Chem., 19(5): 715-717 (1976).
Certain prostaglandin ligands and analogs have been reported to provide biological activity associated with prostaglandins (U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,288,120; 6,211,197; 4,090,019; 4,033,989; 4,003,911). E-type prostaglandin reported to be mediated through interaction with the prostaglandin E receptor(s). Certain compounds also have been reported as EP4 agonists (WO 02/24647, EP 1110949A1, WO03/009872 and WO 03/007941).
It would be desirable to have new compounds and methods for treatment of diseases and disorders associated with the prostaglandin family of compounds.

Gamma lactams as prostaglandin agonists and use thereof

Applied Research Systems ARS Holding N.V.


A dual open console for use with a vehicle. The console includes a lock assembly that allows opening of only one side of the console at a time. The lock assembly includes a pivot bar engaging locks on both sides of the lid of the console. The pivot bar operates to ensure that the lock on one side of the lid remains engaged when the lock on the other side is released.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a console for use with a vehicle and more specifically to a console that can be opened from either side of the console.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is well known to provide a console between the driver and front passenger seats in an automotive vehicle. The console has many functions. It may operate as an arm rest, a storage unit, a writing table or cup holder. Three types of center consoles exist, those that open on one side, those that open on two sides, and those that open from the front. Each type of console has disadvantages.
Consoles that open on one side only, typically open in a manner that limits access only to the driver of the vehicle. Further, those that open on one side only are not suitable in today's global marketplace; i.e., a console suitable for a right-hand drive vehicle would not be suitable for a left-hand drive vehicle. Consoles that open from the front are not desirable. While they provide access to both the driver and the passenger in the front seat, they do not allow access to passengers sitting in the rear seats. Finally, consoles that open on two sides typically utilize a complex dual-hinge system. Such systems result in increased manufacturing costs.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for an inexpensive dual opening console that eliminates the need to design separate consoles for right-hand and left-hand drive vehicles. There is also a need in the art for a lock assembly that allows only one side of the console to open at a time.