An electromechanical microswitch, comprising first and second electromagnets mounted in spaced-apart orientation to one another where each electromagnetic has a field center located a first distance above the mounting surface. A permanent magnet is positioned between the electromagnets and includes a magnetic field center that is higher above the mounting surface than that of the electromagnets so that the permanent magnet is magnetically biased toward the mounting surface. A stripline switch element is mountable between the permanent magnet and mounting surface, and biased against circuit structures on the mounting surface, whereby the stripline switch element moves between first and second activated positions under influence of the electromagnets.

This invention relates to microswitches and, more particularly, to electro-mechanical stripline switches mountable to a circuit board.
Switches have long been used in electrical circuit designs to isolate a portion of an electrical circuit. In its simplest form, a switch operates to allow a signal to pass from an input terminal to an output terminal in a "closed" position and to prevent the signal from passing from the input terminal to the output terminal in an "open" position. Other such switches, such as those having a single pole dual throw (SPDT), switch between contacts for different functions.
Micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) are electro-mechanical devices that generally range in size from a micrometer to a millimeter in a miniature sealed package. In the microwave and mm-wave frequency range, switches are used in instrumentation, communications, radar, fiber optic and many other systems that require high-frequency switching. For example, a switch can be used for pulse modulation, port isolation, transfer switching, high-speed switching, replacement of mechanical parts and other switch applications.
A MEMS device in the form of a microswitch has a movable actuator, sometimes referred to as a movable electrode, that is moved toward a stationary electrical contact by the influence of a gate driver (also referred to as a gate or substrate electrode) positioned on a substrate below the movable actuator. The movable actuator may be a flexible beam that bends under applied forces such as electrostatic attraction, magnetic attraction and repulsion, or thermally induced differential expansion, that closes a gap between a free end of the beam and the stationary contact. If a large enough differential voltage exists between the free end of the beam and the stationary electrical contact, a resulting electrostatic force can cause the beam to self-actuate without any gating signal being provided by a gate driver. In certain current switching applications, this self-actuation can result in catastrophic failure of the switch or downstream systems.
There a number of commercially available high-frequency switches on the market today. Unfortunately, most or all of these switches require trade-offs on performance as they are unable to operate within all desired features simultaneously including obtaining high switch isolation greater than 15 dBm, high power handling above 24 dBm, and low insertion loss of a fraction of a dB from DC to mm-wave frequencies. For example, high-frequency switches employing field-effect transistors (FETs) typically are unable to handle high frequencies in the mm-wave range and/or high power above 24 dBm. In the alternative, FET-based solutions may have high insertion loss. In addition, waveguide-based switches are difficult to integrate and lack the required bandwidth coverage to DC. Furthermore, coupling-based diplexers typically have poor isolation and high insertion loss at the cross-over frequency.
In the field particular to analyzer and scope attenuators, millimeter wave microswitches are desired that are hot-switchable +30 dBm, have a high durability (e.g. rated at 10 million cycles), and are capable of being mountable to a circuit board. However, there is a lack of hot-switchable, small, circuit board mountable switches on the market. Existing millimeter wave switches are large, connectorized assemblies that are not easily gang-assembled to a circuit board. Such existing millimeter switches would be difficult, for instance, to use with a Spectrum Analyzer attenuator with 70 dB of dynamic range where 16 SPDT switches may be required.
Accordingly, the need remains for millimeter wave switches that overcome the drawbacks of the existing art while providing functions useful for today's modern equipment.

Millimeter-wave electro-mechanical stripline switch


An electricity storage device member is provided. The electricity storage device member includes a base material mainly composed of a metal and a resin layer stacked on the base material, in which the resin layer contains a crosslinked fluororesin.

Lithium-ion secondary batteries have been used as a power source of an electronic device. In addition to secondary batteries, other electricity storage devices such as electric double-layer capacitors have also been developed. A secondary battery, for instance, typically includes a pouch-shaped housing made of aluminum laminate film and/or the like, an electrode group composed of a positive electrode, a negative electrode, and the like accommodated in the housing, and a tab lead extending from inside the housing to the outside (see PTL 1).
The tab lead is mainly composed of a metal base material responsible for transferring electric power between the positive electrode or the negative electrode of the electrode group and an external component. Typically, the pouch-shaped housing also includes a metal base material in a film form. For the purpose of electrically insulating the base material of the housing from the base material of the tab lead, resin layers are disposed on these two base materials respectively and these two base materials are bonded to each other with the resin layers being present therebetween. The presence of these resin layers also makes it possible to seal the electrode group within the pouch-shaped housing.
Typically, these resin layers are made of a polyolefin such as polypropylene. These resin layers are required to be adhered to the metal base materials sufficiently. However, a polyolefin, for example, is poorly adhesive to metal. Therefore, in the tab lead or the like, an acid-modified polyolefin is typically interposed between the base material and the polyolefin resin layer when they are stacked on top of one another.

Electricity storage device member, method of manufacturing the same, and electricity storage device


The invention is directed to seed and seed extract compositions containing levels of a human milk protein between 3-40% or higher of the total protein weight of the soluble protein extractable from the seed. Also disclosed is a method of producing the seed with high levels of extractable human milk protein. The method includes transforming a monocotyledonous plant with a chimeric gene having a protein-coding sequence encoding a protein normally present in human milk under the control of a seed maturation-specific promoter. The method may further includes a leader DNA sequence encoding a monocot seed-specific transit sequence capable to target a linked milk protein to a storage body.

Milk proteins such as lactoferrin (LF), lysozyme (LZ), lactoperoxidase (LP), immunoglobulin-A (IgA), alpha-lactalbumin, beta-lactoglobulin, alpha-, beta- and kappa-caseins, serum albumin, lipase and others are known to have a number of nutritional and other beneficial effects, particularly for infants. Breast feeding of fresh human milk has traditionally been considered the best means to provide nutrition to an infant, especially during the first six months of life. Although all the physiological roles of human milk proteins have not yet been elucidated, evidence has been obtained that lysozyme, lactoferrin and other milk proteins can control the microflora in the gut of infants (Lönnerdal, 1985). Breast milk is a source of peptides, amino acids, and nitrogen and also contains casein and whey proteins, which are involved in the development of the immune response (e.g., immunoglobulins), together with other non-immunologic defense proteins (e.g., lactoferrin). Breast milk has additionally been suggested to contain many immune factors that compensate for the undeveloped defense mechanisms of the gut of infants (Saarinen K M et al., 2000). Several human milk proteins have been demonstrated to have beneficial physiologic effects in infants, particularly in the defense against infection and in the optimization of nutrient uptake.
However, many situations arise where the infant cannot be fed mother's milk and synthetic infant milk formulas are used in the place of breast feeding (Motil K J, 2000). Infant formulas and not standard cow's milk are used because (1) cow's milk has more than twice the protein of breast milk or infant formula and this protein may be hard for babies to digest; (2) the level of iron, zinc and vitamin C (which babies need in their diet) is low in cow's milk; and (3) the level of sodium level is three to four times that of breast milk and generally too high for infants less than a year old. A number of types of infant formulas which vary in caloric content, nutrient composition, digestibility, taste, and cost are available as an alternative to breast milk. Examples include standard cow milk-based formulas, soy protein formulas and formulas for premature infants or infants with special dietary needs due to allergies, etc. Considerable effort has been made to improve synthetic infant milk formulas in order to closely simulate mother's milk.
The protein and non-protein composition of the human milk and cow milk is described by Kunz et al., 1999. The relative concentrations of milk proteins vary between human and cows' milk. For example, lactoferrin and lysozyme are present in a relatively high amount in human milk but in only low or trace amounts in cow's milk.
In general, synthetic infant formula that has been prepared using cow's milk does not closely resemble the protein composition found in human milk. Accordingly, cow's milk based infant formula is typically supplemented with various human milk protein components. Typically, commercial infant formulas based on cow's milk contain approximately of 0.1 mg/mL lactoferrin whereas natural human breast milk contains an average concentration of 1.4 mg/mL. Soy-based infant formulas contain no added lactoferrin, lysozyme or other mammalian proteins.
Although addition of recombinant human milk proteins to infant milk or milk formula has been proposed, e.g., using transgenic cows or by addition of microbially produced human milk proteins to milk or milk formula, these approaches do not overcome the various problems of (i) allergies to cow's milk, (ii) the high cost of recombinant protein production and/or (iii) safety issues related to food products.
During the last several decades, improved infant formulas have become available that are safe and contain nutrient concentrations similar to, or higher than, breast milk. However, breast-fed infants still have a lower prevalence of infection than formula-fed infants and when they become ill, the duration of both diarrhea and upper respiratory infections is shorter than in formula-fed infants. (See, e.g., Kovar et al., 1984, and Dewey et al., 1995). In addition, it has been reported that breast-fed infants have a different growth pattern than formula-fed infants (Dewey et al., 1992; Dewey et al., 1993), and epidemiological studies show that they have a lower incidence of chronic diseases, such as diabetes and coronary heart disease.
It has been postulated that many of advantages to infants provided by mother's milk are effectuated through unique proteins present in breast milk, but not in baby formula (Lönnerdal, 1985). Human milk proteins are unique and even if the alternative protein sources used in infant formulas (e.g., skim milk, whey protein and soy isolates) mimic the amino acid concentration and ratio found in breast milk, the biological properties of human proteins cannot be readily copied.
Exemplary unique proteins present in human milk include lactoferrin and lysozyme. Lactoferrin is an iron-binding protein found in the granules of neutrophils which exerts an antimicrobial activity and lysozyme is a crystalline, basic protein present in saliva, tears, egg white, and many animal fluids, which functions as an antibacterial enzyme.
It is therefore desirable to provide transgenic plants that produce beneficial levels of proteins normally present in human milk, while largely avoiding costly recombinant protein production techniques and associated safety issues. More generally, it is desirable to provide a composition containing beneficial levels of proteins normally present in human milk that can be delivered by itself, as a nutraceutical or added to processed foods, for supplying one or more human milk proteins beneficial to human health.

Expression of human milk proteins in transgenic plants


A process for producing a carbon-particle structure, including the step of irradiating opaque carbon dioxide at and/or near its critical point, as light is scattered, with a UV-wavelength laser beam to produce a carbon-particle structure.

Carbon dioxide reduction is a worldwide important task to be accomplished from the viewpoint of global environmental problems. However, effective methods have not been developed for the decomposition treatment of carbon dioxide discharged, for example, from living environment and industrial environment.
Carbon dioxide: CO2 is a compound of carbon and oxygen. Accordingly, if CO2 can be decomposed and utilized as a novel carbon resource, then a great contribution to the society could be realized.
The current situation, however, is that studies on carbon dioxide decomposition and effective utilization of carbon dioxide as a carbon resource have not hitherto been made very eagerly.

Process for producing a carbon-particle structure


A metadata server configured to maintain storage assignment mappings in non-persistent storage is described herein. The tract storage assignment mappings associate servers with storage assignments, the storage assignments representing the data stored on the servers. Responsive to a failure, the metadata server receives the storage assignments from the servers and rebuilds the storage assignment mappings from the storage assignments. The metadata server is also configured to enable clients to operate during a recovery process for a failed server by providing the storage assignment mappings to the clients during the recovery process. Also during the recovery process, the replacement server for the failed server conditionally overwrites stored data with other data received from other servers as part of the recovery process. The replacement server conditionally overwrites based on version information associated with the data and version information associated with the other data, the version information being associated with one or more versions of the storage assignment mappings.

Distributed data storage systems, such as those used in cloud computing environments, often rely on a metadata server to identify which servers store what data. This metadata server typically maintains a metadata table or namespace mapping identifiers associated with data to the servers that store the data. Because the file system must be durable even across reboots of the metadata server, the metadata server typically stores the metadata table or namespace in permanent (durable) storage. While the use of permanent storage may ensure that system metadata is not lost to metadata server failures, permanent storage is typically quite slow. Thus, the use of permanent storage may cause poor performance when the metadata server needs to update or distribute the metadata table.
Also, the metadata server typically manages changes to the metadata table or namespace responsive to failures of other data servers of the system. The metadata server may select a replacement server for a failed server and update the metadata table or namespace to reflect the replacement. The metadata server may also manage a recovery process during which data from a replica of the failed server is written to the replacement server. During this recovery process, the metadata server may delay responding to client requests for an updated metadata table or namespace to ensure that the recovery process is complete prior to client interactions with the servers. This delay, however, comes at the cost of system performance, as clients must wait until the recovery process completes to renew their operations.


Disclosed are a phthalic hydrazide (phthalazine ketone) compound, and a pharmaceutical composition comprising the same. As a DNA repair enzyme poly (ADP-ribozyme) polymerase inhibitor, the compound and the pharmaceutical composition can effectively treat diseases involving PARP enzymatic activity, including cancer, neural degenerative diseases, inflammation and the like.

Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) is a nuclear enzyme that catalyzes poly (ADP-ribosyl)ation, which is one of the important post-translational modifications in eukaryotic cells. Since its discovery over 40 years, PARP has attracted many scholars' attention due to its importance in repair of DNA damage and maintenance of genomic stability. In particular, encouraging progress has been made in the relationship between PARP and tumorigenesis and the improvement of tumor therapy by regulating PARP.
Recent studies have revealed that the PARP family comprises at least subtypes including PARP-1, PARP-2, PARP-3, PARP-4/VPARP, tankyrases (TANK-1, TANK-2 and TANK-3). In human genome, a total of 16 different genes encode PARP superfamily members, all of which have a highly conservative PARP catalytic domain consisting of 50 amino acid residues. Except the conservative PARP catalytic domain, the PARP superfamily members have different primary structures, intracellular locations and specific substrates, indicating that poly (ADP-ribose) is a post-transcriptional regulation protein with different biological functions.
PARP-1 is a polypeptide consisting of 1014 amino acid residues with a molecular weight of 113 kDa and an isoelectric point of 8.0˜9.8. It is the first PARP family member discovered and is best characterized in the family. The PARP-1 polypeptide comprises 3 functional domains. (1) An N-terminal DNA binding domain (DBD, 46 kDa) that ranges from amino acid residues 1˜372 comprises a nuclear localization sequence (NLS) and two Zn finger motifs. These two Zn finger motifs participate in the DNA gap recognition. The first Zn finger motif recognizes DNA single and double-strand breaks, and its mutation will greatly reduce the activation of PARP; the second Zn finger motif only participates in the recognition of DNA single-strand breaks. (2) An automodification domain (22 kDa) that ranges from amino acid residues 374-525, through which PARP-1 binds to ADP ribose and becomes self-glycosylated. The automodification domain may also lead to dimerization of PARP-1. (3) A C-terminal catalytic domain (54 kDa) that ranges from amino acid residues 524-1014 provides the basis to convert NAD into an ADP ribose. The sequence of the catalytic domain is highly conservative, especially the segment of amino acid residues 859-908, which is 100% conservative in vertebrate. The catalytic domain consists of two parts, wherein amino acid residues 662-784 form six α-helixes of A, B, C, D, E, F, which is a unique structure of PARP. The helix region binds to the active region, namely the NAD binding site through F α-helix, which probably relates to the transduction of activation signals. In addition, studies have found that PARP also comprises a leucine zipper structure, which is presumed to play a role in the homodimerization or heterodimerization of PARP.
PARP-1 participates in the DNA gap recognition. After the DNA gap recognition, activated PARP-1 forms homodimers and catalyzes the cleavage process of NAD+, which converts into nicotinamide and ADP ribose, the later was used as the substrate for poly-(ADP-ribosyl)ation of nuclear receptor proteins. The activation of PARP-1 is positively correlated with the degree of DNA damage. PARP-1 activity may also be regulated through a negative feedback by self-repair during the poly (ADP-ribosyl)ation induced by DNA damage, forming a DNA damage-stimulated PARP-1 active cycle. Studies on PARP-1 inhibition and knock-out mice confirmed that PARP-1 plays a critical role in the maintenance of genomic stability.
PARP is abundant in human cells, especially in the immune cells and germ cells. Poly (ADP-ribosyl)ation occurs in many physiological processes. The multiple roles of PARP comprise chromatin degradation, DNA replication, DNA repair, gene expression, cell division, differentiation, and apoptosis.
Upon DNA damage, the PARP-1 enzyme is activated and binds to the DNA to catalyze the ribosylation of poly adenosine diphosphate, and thus initiates the process of DNA damage control and repair. On the other hand, overreaction of PARP-1 could lead to the depletion of NAD+/ATP and eventually lead to cell necrosis. The apparently contradictory dual role of PARP-1 has attracted the broad interest of biologists and pharmaceutical chemists. As a result, small molecule inhibitors of PARP-1 have been widely investigated for anti-tumor therapy, nerve injury inhibition and inflammation injury. It is of great significance to discover and seek PARP-1 inhibitors.
At the molecular level, the strategies for most cancer therapies, e.g. radiotherapy and chemotherapy, kill the tumor cells by damaging the cancer cells' DNA. Accordingly, targeted therapies involved in the recognition, reaction and repair of DNA damage have been the research hotspot in recent years. PARP-1 plays an important role in DNA repair, cell death, proliferation and differentiation. It is hypothesized that the inhibition of PARP-1 activity may result in the inhibition of PARP-1-mediated repair of DNA damage, enhancing the damage of radiotherapy and chemotherapy to tumor cell DNA. Therefore, PARP-1 is of potential therapeutic value in tumor therapy.
Currently, a variety of PARP-1 inhibitors, for example, BSI-201, AZD-2281, ABT-888, NU1025, GP115427, AG014699, CEP-6800, AG14361 and INO1001, etc. have entered clinical trials. Among these PARP-1 inhibitors, AZD-2281 (olaparib/KU-59436) developed by AstraZeneca is an oral small molecule inhibitor of PARP-1, mainly used to treat ovarian cancer, breast cancer and solid tumors. In April 2009, AstraZeneca reported that AZD-2281 alone showed significant inhibitory activity for gastric cancer with good tolerance in Phase I clinical trial. At present, the research of AZD-2281 in combination with cisplatin, carboplatin, paclitaxel for solid tumors treatment is in Phase II clinical trial stage, and the clinical study mainly targeting hereditary breast and ovarian cancer has entered Phase III clinical trials. In addition, a novel PARP-1 inhibitor AG014699 developed by Pfizer is a promising malignant melanoma drug in combination with alkylating agent TMZ, and this compound has entered Phase II clinical trials.
The PARP-1 inhibitors, used alone or in combination with other chemotherapy or radiotherapy, have made important progress in the therapeutic studies in molecular, cellular and organism level in chemotherapy. Many studies have found that PARP-1 inhibitors can strengthen the effects of various antineoplastic drugs (e.g. alkylating agents, topoisomerase inhibitors). Tentori et al. (Blood 2002, vol. 99: 2241) found that NU1025 can prolong the survival of the mice bearing brain lymphoma. Delaney et al. (Clin Cancer Res 2000, vol. 6: 2860) used 12 human tumor cell lines (representing lung, colon, ovarian and breast tumor, each comprising 3 cell lines) and found that the combination of PARP-1 inhibitors NU1025 or NU10285 with antineoplastic drugs alkylating agent (temozolomide, TMZ) or camptothecin (topotecan, TP) can enhance their inhibition of tumor cell growth. The tumor-inhibition enhancement effect of NU1025 and NU10285 correlates to their strength of PARP-1 inhibition. The PARP-1 inhibitor GPI15427 developed by Guilford Inc. can enhance the effect of TMZ and significantly prolong the survival of the mice bearing glioblastoma multiforme, cerebral lymphoma or intracranial malignant melanoma. Studying on the mice subcutaneously transplanted with colon cancer cells, Calabrese et al. (J Natl Cancer Inst 2004, vol. 96: 56) found that AG14361 enhanced the antineoplastic effect of TMZ. Miknyoczki et al. (Mol Cancer Ther 2003, vol. 2: 371) treated the xenograft models corresponding to clinically obtained tumor (i.e. U251MG human glioblastoma, HT29 human colon adenocarcinoma and Calu-6 non-small cell lung cancer) with PARP-1 inhibitor CEP-6800 combined with TMZ, CPT-11 (camptothecin) or cisplatin, showing that CEP-6800 can increase the time and/or percentage of the G2/M phase arrest of the tumor cells treated with TMZ, CPT-11 or cisplatin, and enhance the therapeutic effects of TMZ, CPT-11 and cisplatin on the tumor-bearing nude mice.
Although the studies on the combination of PARP-1 inhibitors and chemotherapy showed significant enhancement in anti-tumor effects, people still concerns about its safety and feasibility. Miknyoczki et al. has found that the therapeutic dose of CEP-6800 did not increase the damage of the three chemotherapy drugs to the isolated human intestinal epithelial and kidney cells, or increase the TMZ gastrointestinal toxicity and cisplatin nephrotoxicity to the living mice, which indicates that the combination of CEP-6800 and chemotherapy is valuable and feasible. Moreover, PARP-1 inhibitor GPI15427 can achieve effective concentration in target tissue by oral administration due to its long half-life and high bioavailability, and a combination treatment of GPI15427 and TMZ on models of central nervous system tumor could achieve good therapeutic efficacy.
Some reports demonstrated that the activation of PARP plays a role in cell death in a number of disease states, suggesting that PARP inhibitors would have therapeutic efficacy in those conditions. For example, enhanced poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation has been observed following focal cerebral ischemia in the stroke rat, it indicated that the PARP was activated (Tokime et al. J. Cereb. Blood Flow Metab. 1998, vol. 18, 991). A substantial body of published pharmacological and genetic data supports the hypothesis that PARP-1 inhibitors would be neuroprotective following cerebral ischemia, or stroke. Inhibitors of PARP-1 protected against NMDA- or NO-induced neurotoxicity in rat cerebral cortical cultures (Zhang et al., Science 1994, vol. 263, 687; Eliasson et al. Nature Med. 1997, 3, 1089). it was observed that a series of PARP-1 inhibitors have protective effect on the nerve.
Suto et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,177,075) found that the potent PARP-1 inhibitor DPQ (3,4-dihydro-5-[4-(1-piperidinyl)butoxy]-1(2H)-isoquinolinone) provided a 54% reduction in infarct volume in a rat model of focal cerebral ischemia (permanent MCAo and 90 min bilateral occlusion of the common carotid artery) following i.p. dosing (10 mg/kg) two hours prior to and two hours after the initiation of ischemia (Takahashi et al. Brain Res. 1997, vol. 829, 46). Intracerebroventricular administration of a less potent PARP-1 inhibitor, 3-aminobenzamide (3-AB), yielded a 47% decrease in infarct volume in mice following a two hour occlusion of the MCA by the suture thread method (Endres et al. J. Cereb. Blood Flow Metab. 1997, vol. 17, 1143). Treatment with 3-AB also enhanced functional recovery 24 hours after ischemia, attenuated the decrease in NAD levels in ischemic tissues, and decreased the synthesis of poly(ADP-ribose) polymers. Similarly, 3-AB (10 mg/kg) significantly reduced infarct volume in a suture occlusion model of focal ischemia in the rat (Lo et al. Stroke 1998, vol. 29, 830). The neuroprotective effect of 3-AB (3-30 mg/kg, i.c.v.) was also observed in a permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion model of ischemia in the rat (Tokime et al. J. Cereb. Blood Flow Metab. 1998, vol. 18, 991).
The availability of PARP knockout mice (Wang, Genes Dev. 1995, vol. 9, 509) has also helped to validate the role of PARP in neurodegeneration. In the mouse suture thread model of ischemia, an 80% reduction in infarct volume was observed in PARP−/− biallelic knockout mice, and a 65% reduction was noted in PARP monoallelic knockout mice (PARP+/− mice). Endres et al. (1997) found a 35% reduction in infarct volume in PARP−/− mice and a 31% reduction in PARP+/− animals. In addition to neuroprotection, PARP−/− mice demonstrated an improvement in neurological score and displayed increased NAD+ levels following ischemia.
Activation of PARP has been implicated in the functional deficits that may result from traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury. In a controlled cortical impact model of traumatic brain injury, PARP−/− mice displayed significantly improved motor and cognitive function compared to PARP+/− mice (Whalen et al. J. Cereb. Blood Flow Metab. 1999, vol. 19, 835). Peroxynitrite production and PARP activation have also been demonstrated in spinal cord-injured rats (Scott et al. Ann. Neurol. 1999, vol. 45, 120). These results suggest that PARP inhibitors could avoid the loss of function following head or spinal trauma.
The role of PARP as a mediator of cell death following ischemia and reperfusion may not be limited to the nervous system. In this connection, a recent publication reported that a variety of structurally distinct PARP inhibitors, including 3-AB and related compounds, reduce infarct size following cardiac ischemia and reperfusion in the rabbit (Thiemermann et al. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. 1997, 94, 679). In the isolated perfused rabbit heart model, inhibition of PARP reduced infarct volume and contractile dysfunction following global ischemia and reperfusion. Skeletal muscle necrosis following ischemia and reperfusion was also attenuated by PARP inhibitors. Similar cardioprotective effects of 3-AB in a rat myocardial ischemia/reperfusion model were reported by Zingarelli and co-workers (Zingarelli et al. Cardiovascular Research 1997, 36, 205). These in vivo results are further supported by data from experiments in cultured rat cardiac myocytes (Gilad et al. J. Mol. Cell Cardiol. 1997, 29, 2585). Inhibitors of PARP (3-AB and nicotinamide) protected the myocytes from the reductions in mitochondrial respiration observed following treatment with oxidants such as hydrogen peroxide, peroxynitrite, or nitric oxide donors. The genetic disruption of PARP in mice was recently demonstrated to provide protection for delayed cellular injury and production of inflammatory mediators following myocardial ischemia and reperfusion (Yang et al. Shock 2000, 13, 60). These data support the hypothesis that administration of a PARP inhibitor could contribute to a positive outcome following myocardial infarction.
The activity of PARP is also implicated in the cellular damage that occurs in a variety of inflammatory diseases. Activation of macrophages by pro-inflammatory stimuli may result in the production of nitric oxide and superoxide anion, which combine to generate peroxynitrite, resulting in formation of DNA single-strand breaks and activation of PARP. The role of PARP as a mediator of inflammatory disease is supported by experiments employing PARP inhibitors in a number of animal models. The PARP inhibitor 5-iodo-6-amino-1,2-benzopyrone reduced the incidence and severity of arthritis in these animals, decreasing the severity of necrosis and hyperplasia of the synovium. In the carrageenan-induced pleurisy model of acute local inflammation, 3-AB inhibited the histological injury, pleural exudate formation and mononuclear cell infiltration characteristic of the inflammatory process (Cuzzocrea et al., Eur. J. Pharmacology 1998, 342, 67).
Furthermore, PARP inhibitors appear to be useful for treating diabetes. In diabetic patients, the blood glucose concentration maintains at a high level for a long term, which disrupts the endothelial cell stability. For example, hyperglycemia will cause the release of the oxidation medium (e.g. NADH/NADPH oxidase) from the mitochondrial electron-transport chain, and enhance the iNOS expression level, leading to the excessive release of vascular endothelial iNOS. The peroxides and superoxides produced by these processes lead to DNA damage, which activates PARP and depletes cellular NAD+, thus triggers a series of pathological processes that lead to the dysfunction of the entire cell and eventually cell death. Heller et al., "Inactivation of the Poly(ADP-Ribose)Polymerase Gene Affects Oxygen Radical and Nitric Oxide Toxicity in Islet Cells," J. Biol. Chem., 270:19, 11176-80 (May 1995), discusses the tendency of PARP to deplete cellular NAD+ and induce the death of insulin-producing islet cells. Heller et al. used cells from mice with inactivated PARP genes and found that these mutant cells did not show NAD+ depletion after exposure to DNA-damaging radicals. The mutant cells were also found to be more resistant to the toxicity of NO.
Recent comprehensive review of the prior art has been published by Jagtap and Szabo in Nature 2005, vol 4: 421. Various PARP inhibitors have been reported in the following references, Hattori et al., J Med Chem 2004, vol. 47: 4151 and Menear et al., J Med Chem 2008, vol. 51: 6581. "PARP inhibitor" has also become as the key words for a number of patents including: WO 99/11645, WO 00/32579, WO 02/36599, WO 02/36599, WO 03/103666, WO 03/063874, WO 2004/096779, WO 2005/023246, WO 2005/054210, WO 2006/003148, WO 2007/138355, WO 2008/017883, US 2004/0248931, US 2006/0063926 and US 2007/0093489, etc.

CHENGDU DI'AO PHARMACEUTICAL GROUP CO., LTD.


Reference coordinates in a coordinate system and designated coordinates in the coordinate system based on coordinate information outputted by a pointing device are set. A distance and direction between the reference coordinates and the designated coordinates are calculated. When the distance has a value smaller than a predetermined threshold value, the distance is converted into a game parameter using a first conversion function is determined. On the other hand, when the distance has a value greater than the predetermined threshold value, the distance is converted into a game parameter using a second conversion function for converting the distance into a value greater than a value into which the distance is converted using the first conversion function. The game is processed using the direction and the game parameter.

1. Technical Field
The exemplary illustrative embodiment presented herein relates to a storage medium having a game program stored thereon and a game apparatus, and more particularly to a storage medium having stored thereon a game program for use with a computer game for which a pointing device such as a touch panel is employed and a game apparatus.
2. Description of the Background Art
Conventionally, well known is an input method in which an input magnitude and an input direction are determined based on coordinates designated by a pointing device. An input device operated using a touch panel by a player is developed as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 11-53115 (hereinafter, referred to as Patent Document 1). As shown in FIG. 3 of Patent Document 1, the input device as disclosed in Patent Document 1 determines a movement direction and a movement distance of a cursor based on a direction and distance between the center of the touch panel and touch coordinates at which the player touches the touch panel.
However, since the input device disclosed in Patent Document 1 calculates a direction and a distance between the center of the touch panel and touch coordinates according to a touch-operation of a player so as to determine two parameters (the direction and the movement distance), it is impossible for the player to specify only one of the parameters (for example, the direction) through the touch-operation using the input device. Further, since the input device determines a movement distance according to a distance between the center of the touch panel and touch coordinates, the player cannot slightly adjust the movement distance.

Storage medium having game program stored thereon and game apparatus


The creamy bleaching agent suspension is mixed with an oxidizing agent prior to applying it to the hair to form a composition for bleaching or decolorizing hair. This creamy bleaching agent suspension contains less than 2.5% by weight water and a mixture of at least one inorganic persalt, at least one alkaline reacting salt, from 0.5 to 20 percent by weight of a thickening substance, which consists essentially of an acrylic acid polymer and one or more cellulose, alginate and/or polysaccharide polymers, and from 26.5 to 35 percent by weight of at least one oil or wax, and, as needed, one or more cosmetic additive ingredient. From 0.1 to 3 percent by weight of the acrylic acid polymer must be present in the composition.

The subject matter of the present invention is a composition for bleaching or decolorizing hair, especially human hair, made from two components.
Oxidizing preparations are usually used for bleaching of hair. These oxidizing preparations are made by dissolving a so-called bleaching powder (powder mixture comprising an alkali salt and inorganic per-salt, such as sodium or ammonium persulfate) in an aqueous hydrogen peroxide solution.
The use of this type of bleaching powder, which is necessarily composed of several ingredients, however results in several disadvantages. Thus frequently during transportation or storage different powder ingredients separate because of the use of ingredients with different densities, since the heavier powder ingredient collects in the lower part and the lighter powder ingredient in the upper part. This separation has the consequence that the same powder amounts can have different chemical compositions and thus a different bleaching effect depending on the location from which they are obtained.
In order to counter this separation effect, it is necessary to shake the powder prior to taking a portion of it for bleaching, but the user usually does not do this.
A separation of ingredients can also be prevented by using powder mixtures with comparatively very much smaller grain size. This however has the disadvantage that this type of powder mixture--especially on opening of the container during removal of powder or mixture with hydrogen peroxide--is strongly inclined to produce dust, which can lead to an irritation of the lungs. Furthermore this type of powder mixture has a comparatively large surface area because of its reduced grain size, whereby uptake of moisture on opening and closing of the container and thus a reduction of the bleaching effect is promoted, because of the deactivation of the acid carrier material.
The preparation of the ready-to-use mixture takes place by stirring the components in a vessel or bowl, among other things by mixing in a shaking flask, whereby particularly the shaking is connected with a troublesome dust production on filling the components into the shaking flask.
Already numerous attempts have been made to solve this problem.
Thus for example in German Patent Application DE-OS 40 26 235, instead of a bleaching powder, a mixture comprising a granulate of inorganic persulfate and a granulate of the remaining ingredients of the bleaching powder is suggested for use. Because of that the problem of dust production is eliminated. The problem of separation however cannot be solved in this way, since it is exceptionally difficult from an engineering standpoint, to make an individual granulate with identical and constant grain size or batch weight. Furthermore because of the differing solubilities of the two granulates, the bleaching action can be impaired. Furthermore from an economical standpoint it appears to be of minor significance to make a mixture of several granulates instead of a single granulate.
In German Patent Application DE-AS 20 23 922 it is recommended to use a granulate instead of a powder. This granulate is made by spraying all the required ingredients to make the bleaching powder with an aqueous, alcoholic or aqueous-alcoholic polymer solution in a suitable mixer.
During the granulating process however there are comparatively large ammonia losses, whereby the bleaching effect of the granulate is impaired. These ammonia losses would be compensated by increasing of the ammonium salt proportion in the powder used and/or by addition of ammonia to the polymer solution. Since the ammonia loss fluctuates comparatively greatly in this granulation process due to process conditions, it is not possible to make a granulate with a constant chemical composition with this process.
Furthermore with this bleaching composition freedom from dust production is not completely guaranteed, since fine dust is produced by friction between the granulate particles, e.g. during transportation.
Because of the poor solubility of the granulate use of this type of bleaching granulate in a shaking flask is not possible.
In European Patent Application EP-PS 0 560 088 a powdery composition for bleaching hair is described, in which an oil or flowing wax is added to prevent dust formation. However here too complete freedom from dust production cannot be achieved. Also a deactivation of the acid material carrier occurs because of the water content of the powdery raw materials and the compact powder form required by the oil addition, whereby the product is unstable and its bleaching action is lost.
Furthermore this type of bleaching composition because of its specific gravity and its hydrophobic character is unsuitable for use in an applicator bottle, since the powder in the hydrogen peroxide solution is not sufficiently wetted after sinking, whereby an inhomogeneous mixing with a proportion of undissolved powder results with the result that the outlet orifice of the applicator bottle is plugged. The results of addition of surfactants to improve solubilities is similarly problematic, since the storability of the powder is thereby impaired.


A communication network having a plurality of nodes and a controller, a plurality of intermediate nodes in communication on a one-to-one basis with the plurality of first target nodes to be programmed. A first file containing a first executable program is transferred in parallel to each of the intermediate nodes. Intermediate nodes then, in parallel, program a respective first target node. The intermediate nodes may begin programming a respective first target node upon receipt of a sufficient portion of the first file to initiate programming or may begin upon receiving the complete first file. The intermediate nodes may also have connected thereto a respective second target node and may program the second plurality of target nodes simultaneously and in parallel using either the first file already transferred or a second file containing a second executorial program transferred in parallel.

The present invention is directed in general to programming nodes in a communication network and more specifically to the parallel program of nodes in the communication network.
With the addition of electro-pneumatically operated train brakes to the railroad freight train, there is a need to provide a communication network between the locomotive and each of the cars of the freight train. Each car includes one or more nodes of the communication network providing for communication and control of the electro-pneumatic brake as well as monitoring functions of other operations at the individual cars. A freight train may have, for example, 100 or more cars and thus, the network would need a minimum of 100 or more nodes in addition to the nodes on one or more of the locomotives. The American Association of Railroads has selected as a communication architecture, for the electric-pneumatic (EP) systems, LonWorks by Echelon. Each car includes a Neuron chip as a communication node in this design. The network and the nodes are interconnected by power and communication trainlines, either over a common power and communication line or over separate power and communication lines.
The consist of the freight train, including one or more locomotives and a plurality of cars, continuously varies as to the length of the train and the cars which make up the train. Similarly, in a single train, the environment in which it is travelling may vary. Thus, it is very beneficial to provide the ability to reprogram the individual nodes, to change the operating parameters or parameters monitored. This requires a reprogram of the individual nodes. The present design of the LonWorks hardware and software requires each of the nodes to be individually programmed one at a time. Thus, the programming of the nodes or a subset of similar nodes, would require an extensive amount of time. This will either require downtime of the whole freight train, or a lack of monitoring and brake control over one or more of the cars while the train is moving. Thus, it limits the amount of reprogramming which can be conducted or requires down time of the train or individual cars. Thus, there exists a need of a method and system for more efficiently and safely reprogramming nodes in a communication network.
Thus, it is an object of the invention to provide a method and apparatus for parallel programming of nodes in the communication network.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an efficient and safe method and apparatus for programming nodes in a communication network.
These and other objects are achieved by providing, in a communication network having a plurality of nodes and a controller, a plurality of intermediate nodes in communication on a one-to-one basis with the plurality of first target nodes to be programmed. A first file containing a first executable program is transferred in parallel to each of the intermediate nodes. Intermediate nodes then, in parallel, program a respective first target node. The intermediate nodes may begin programming a respective first target node upon receipt of a sufficient portion of the first file to initiate programming or may begin upon receiving the complete first file. The intermediate nodes may also have connected thereto a respective second target node and may program the second plurality of target nodes simultaneously and in parallel using either the first file already transferred or a second file containing a second executorial program transferred in parallel. If the first and second target nodes are the same type, the common program can be used and if not, two separate executorial programs must be used.
The network in the preferred embodiment is a LonWorks network where each of the nodes are Neuron based nodes. With the presently available hardware, flash memory is provided to each target node to allow reprogramming. The programming of the target nodes in parallel is performed asynchronously. Preferably, the controller is on one of the locomotives of a train and one or more nodes are on the individual cars of the train.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Parallel programming of a plurality of nodes in a communication network


Coiled conduits such as the plastic water tubing commonly used by plumping contractors may be effectively unwound and strung at a construction site using a unique conduit dispensing device of this invention. The dispensing device includes a container for housing the coiled conduit and a reel for unwinding the coiled conduit from the container. The dispensing device may be equipped with a suspending mount which when mounted at a dispensing position allows a single worker to more effectively install the conduit at the work site.

It is conventional to string continuous flexible conduits along the floor joists so as to provide the necessary utility systems in new and old constructions. For example, a continuous coil of cross-linked polyethylene tubings for use in hot and cold water systems are commercially available in 300 and 1000 foot lengths of continuous tubing coils prepackaged in a cardboard box for use by the plumbing contractor. The 300 foot coiled conduits are lighter and easier to handle than the industrialized 1000 foot size and are generally preferred for use especially in the smaller commercial and residential projects. The prepackaged coiled conduits are indexed with footage markings so as to enable a worker to ascertain the remaining amount of coiled conduit and footage actually used at any given construction site. Typically, a 300 foot continuous coil of the water tubing (e.g. such as AQUAPEX®, a cross-linked polyethylene tubing sold and distributed by Wirsbo Company, an Ill. Corp., having a principal business address at 5925 148th Street West, Apply Valley, Minn., often complimented with a hePEX™ coating serving as an added oxygen barrier coating) will be boxed and shipped in a rectangular cardboard box measuring about 32 inches square in widths ranging from 4, 6, and 10 inches in 300 foot lengths respectively for ½″, ¾″, and 1″ diameter tubes. A boxed and cinched strapped 300 foot of ½ inch coil will typically weigh about eighteen pounds, while a ¾ inch diameter packaged coil weighs about 34 pounds and a one inch prepackaged coil weighs about 56 pounds. In contrast a 500 foot prepackaged coil of one inch diameter tubing will weigh about 94 pounds and accordingly packaged in a container of a wider width to accommodate the larger sized coiled conduit size. In conventional practice, the plumbing contractor will either remove or open the top panel flap of the cardboard box so that, after cutting the binding straps, the outermost tubing free-end may then be unwound from the coil. The most typical procedure involves dispensing the uncoiled water tubing from an open top flap of the shipping box which continues until the tubing ultimately rips thru the bottom of the box. As the tubing is unwound from the coil, it is then typically strung and secured to floor joists by conduit or joist staples or by drilling conduit holes through the floor joists so as to provide the necessary conduit for the water supply system. The stringing process typically commences at one of the terminating ends of the water system and then stringing towards the water source or vice versa. With use, dragging the heavy conduit box across floors, such as concrete basement floors, ultimately damages or destroys the box so it is no longer useful to box the unused coil. Thus, coiled water tubing is poorly suited to be dispensed from the original shipping container in this manner.
It is also not an easy task to uncoil the relatively stiff water tubing from the tubing coil while also trying to string the uncoiled tubular conduit through holes bored through floor joists or onto the conduit anchoring or suspending sites. The water tubing becomes stiffer and less flexible in cold weather. Often, it becomes necessary to interrupt the stringing process to unkink or untangle a snarled coil or to fix a damaged conduit before proceeding any further with the stringing of conduit along the floor joints. If the entanglement becomes too severe, it may become necessary to splice a damaged tube section so as to retain the necessary continuity in the piping or water system. If the conduit containing or shipping box fails to contain the coiled conduit, the conduit often errantly uncoils into a tangled mess which then becomes most difficult to manage and string. Invariably, it becomes necessary in normal operations to remove the last 150 feet or so coiled conduit from the shipping container and use at least two workers to unravel and uncoil the coiled conduit so that it may be effectively strung onto the floor joists. Under the prior art practices, the entire unreeling procedure is at best tedious and fraught with many difficulties which impede effective stringing of the conduit.
The current system for stringing continuous conduits of water tubing is time consuming and if not done with the most appropriate care, can lead to premature uncoiling of the conduit, damage or splicing of the water tubing or other costly delays. In order to facilitate the unwinding of the coiled tubing, it is often advantageous to have one worker pulling or stringing the water tubing along the stringers or floor joists while another worker tends to the unwinding of the coiled tubing. A procedure or device which would allow a single worker to effectively uncoil the conduit and install the system at the construction site would be of particular value and usefulness.
There accordingly exists a need for a utility conduit dispensing device which would allow a single worker to effectively unwind and install a conduit system along the floor joist or other suitable mounts. A dispensing device which would uniformly and unerringly unwind the coiled conduit from its coiled structure or source while allowing a single worker to string, staple or thread the required tubing to the anchoring joists as needed would significantly reduce installation costs and reduce damage to the tubing.


Simplified and improved solid polymer fuel cells for operation at near ambient conditions of temperature and pressure and without humidification are disclosed. In a first embodiment, a fuel cell is disclosed having two electrodes with opposing surfaces and an electrolyte comprising a solution of a proton conducting material deposited at the central portion of the surface of each electrode leaving the outer periphery of each electrode surface exposed. A slightly oversized non-conducting plastic type film having a central hole is located between and in contact with the electrodes, where its central hole surrounds and contacts the electrolyte deposits. The film is bonded with the electrodes and acts as a barrier for reactant cross-overs. In a second embodiment, the electrolyte deposit is thinner and located along the entire surface of the electrodes. A slightly oversized solid polymer electrolyte membrane is located between and is in contact with the electrolyte deposits. The membrane has a low gram equivalent weight, or is thinner but has a higher gram equivalent weight. Thus, the membrane easily transfers protons at a reduced internal electrolyte resistance, making operations possible at mild conditions without humidification.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to improvements of solid polymer fuel cells, otherwise referred to as solid polymer electrolyte or proton exchange membrane fuel cells, where these cells are operable at near ambient conditions of temperature and pressure and do not require external humidification.
2. Description of Related Art
Fuel cells are typically used as a source of primary power in remote areas where the usual sources of power are unavailable and where service and maintenance of equipment is limited. Fuel cells may also be used as an alternative power source in earth and space applications. Examples in this area are unattended communications repeaters, navigational aids, space flights and weather and oceanographic stations. For such applications, the power system must be self-contained and the reliability of the system is of maximum importance.
Generally, a fuel cell is a device which converts the energy of a chemical reaction into electricity. It differs from a battery in that the fuel and oxidant are stored external to the cell, which can generate power as long as the fuel and oxidant are supplied. A fuel cell produces an electromotive force by bringing the fuel and oxidant into contact with two suitable electrodes and an electrolyte. A fuel, such as hydrogen gas, for example, is introduced at a first electrode where it reacts electrochemically in the presence of the electrolyte to produce electrons and protons in the first electrode. The electrons are circulated from the first electrode to a second electrode through an electrical circuit connected between the electrodes. Protons pass through the electrolyte to the second electrode. Simultaneously, an oxidant, such as oxygen gas or air, is introduced to the second electrode where the oxidant reacts electrochemically in presence of the electrolyte consuming the electrons circulated through the electrical circuit and the protons at the second electrode. The first electrode may alternatively be referred to as an oxidizing or as a fuel electrode, and the second electrode may alternatively be referred to as an oxidant or as a reducing electrode. The halfcell reactions at the two electrodes are, respectively, as follows: EQU H.sub.2 .fwdarw.2H.sup.+ +2e- EQU 1/2O.sub.2 +2H.sup.+ +2e-.fwdarw.H.sub.2 O
The external electrical circuit withdraws electrical current and thus receives electrical power from the cell. The overall fuel cell reaction produces electrical energy which is the sum of the separate halfcell reactions written above. A byproduct of the reaction is formed as well as some heat.
In practice, fuel cells are not operated as single units; rather, they are connected in a series, stacked one on top of the other, or placed side by side. A series of fuel cells, referred to as a fuel cell stack, is normally enclosed in a housing. The fuel and oxidant are directed with manifolds to the electrodes, and cooling is provided either by the reactants or by a cooling medium. Also within the stack are current collectors, cell-to-cell seals, insulations, piping, and instrumentation. The stack, housing, and associated hardware make up the fuel cell module.
Fuel cells may be classified by the type of electrolyte, i.e., liquid or solid that they contain. A fuel cell using a solid electrolyte, such as a solid polymer referred to as a proton exchange membrane, operates best when the electrolyte membrane is kept moist with water because the membrane will not operate efficiently when it is dry. The membrane requires constant humidification during operation of the fuel cell, normally by adding water to the reactant gases, usually hydrogen and oxygen, that pass by the membrane on each side of the membrane/electrodes assembly. The accessories required for humidification add instrumentation and hence weight to the fuel cell.
The proton exchange membrane used in a solid polymer fuel cell acts as the electrolyte as well as a barrier for preventing the mixing of the reactant gases. An example of a suitable membrane is a copolymeric perfluorocarbon material containing a basic unit of fluorinated carbon chain and a sulphonic acid group. There may be variations in the molecular configurations of this membrane. One membrane commonly used as a fuel cell solid electrolyte is a well known perfluorocarbon material sold by E. I. DuPont de Nemours under the trademark "Nafion." Dow Chemicals Company has also developed proton exchange membranes that are still in the experimental stage. Excellent performances are obtained using these membranes if the fuel cells are operated under fully hydrated, essentially water-saturated conditions. As such, the membrane must be continuously humidified.
In addition to the humidification problem, the membrane contributes to the ohmic resistance within the cell itself and, in turn, lowers fuel cell performance. If the fuel cell must perform at a lower temperature and pressure and if the reaction kinetics of the two halfcell reactions shown above are slower, the use of less membrane as the electrolyte becomes imperative.
Cooling and humidification requirements increase the cost and complexity of the fuel cell, reducing its use as an alternative energy supply in many applications. Accordingly, there is a need for a fuel cell with no requirement for humidification which operates at near ambient conditions.

Near ambient, unhumidified solid polymer fuel cell


A test probe has a probe portion, a current source lead attachment portion and a voltage sense lead attachment portion. The test probe includes two conductive halves secured together with an electrically insulating material disposed between the halves electrically insulating them from each other. Each half has an “L” shape including a probe portion and a test lead attachment portion extending perpendicularly outwardly from the probe portion, and provides the test probe with an overall “T” shape. The conductive halves can be made of copper-beryllium. Methods of providing and using the test probe can include uncoupling a male coupling member of a power cable connector of a loadbreak bushing assembly from a female coupling member of the loadbreak bushing and inserting the rod-shaped probe portion into the female coupling member.

This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
High voltage transformers in electrical distribution systems typically have loadbreak connectors connecting high voltage cables to the transformers. The loadbreak connectors have loadbreak bushings. In transformers having loadbreak bushings, it is difficult to obtain accurate and consistent transformer winding resistance test results. Most transformer winding resistance testers have a current source output and a separate voltage sense input to measure the resistance of the transformer winding only and ignores the resistance of the test probes.
When measuring the winding resistance of a transformer having loadbreak bushings, a conductive rod of some type, such as a ½ inch diameter rod, must be inserted into the bushing to make contact with the conductive portion of the bushing. This adds to the resistance of the test probe. This can introduce an unknown factor and error to the resistance test results due to the differences in resistivity of the materials of which the conductive rod can be made. The conductive rod can be made of any conductive material such as copper, steel or aluminum. Each of these materials has different resistivity and will therefore introduce an unknown amount of error to the winding resistance measurement. This invention will practically eliminate error introduced by the test probe.

Transformer winding resistance tester test probe and method


According to the present invention, a .beta.-dicarbonyl functionality, an .alpha.,.beta.-unsaturation functionality, or a vinylogous amide functionality is incorporated into an aminoplast resin or an aminoplast resin precursor.

Aminoplast resins are thermosetting resins made by the reaction of an aminoplast resin precursor (e.g., an amine such as melamine, urea, or an amide) with an aldehyde (e.g., formaldehyde). The resins can be used in a variety of applications, including molding, protective coatings, ion-exchange resins, and adhesives, to name but a few. Common thermosetting aminoplast resins are trimethylol melamine, methylol urea, dimethylol urea, ethylene diamine, benzoguanamine, fully alkylated melamine, and partially alkylated melamine. Aminoplast resins are also highly useful as cross-linking agents for other polymers, such as acrylic polymers (e.g., amino- or hydroxyl-functional: acrylic polymers, polyesters, epoxides, phenolics, and urethanes). Alkylated aminoplast resins (e.g., butylated trimethylol melamine) are useful as cross-linking agents.
One problem with aminoplast resins is related to the aldehyde used in the formation of the resin. The aldehyde is usually not fully consumed during the reaction with the aminoplast resin precursor, so some residual aldehyde is present in the uncured resin. Also, when the resin is cured, relatively large quantities of aldehyde are released as a result of the curing stage. Many aldehydes, such as formaldehyde, exhibit undesirable toxic and carcinogenic properties. It would thus be desirable if reductions could be achieved in the level of aldehyde present in uncured aminoplast resins and/or the amount of aldehyde released during the cure of aminoplast resins. It is toward this goal that the present invention is directed.

Aminoplast resin or aminoplast resin precursor


A method and apparatus for transmission of data for voice, signaling data, air traffic control facilities, telephone equipment, communication systems, etc., wherein the data are transmitted in the form of data packets comprising preamble, header, data, and/or signal bytes via--if necessary--a dual bus between preferably decentralized stations connected to the bus, wherein the stations receive the data for transmission from connected peripheral devices, e.g. microphones, telephone equipment, loudspeakers, keyboards, line interfaces, radio equipment, etc., and the stations transmit received data via these peripheral units, and wherein the station clock pulse is synchronized by a synchronizing signal transmitted from a master station. In each station a device, e.g. a Manchester decoder, which recognizes preambles which are shortened in comparison with Ethernet preambles, is connected between the station-internal data processing unit, e.g., a digital signal processor, a microcontroller, etc., and the bus.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for transmission of data, in particular voice and/or signaling data, preferably for air traffic control facilities, telephone equipment, communication systems, etc., wherein the data are transmitted in the form of data packets comprising preamble, header, data, and/or signal bytes via--if necessary--a dual bus between preferably decentralized stations connected to the bus, wherein the stations receive the data for transmission from connected peripheral devices, e.g. microphones, telephone equipment, loudspeakers, keyboards, line interfaces, radio equipment, etc., and the stations transmit received data via these peripheral units, and wherein the station clock pulse is synchronized by a synchronizing signal transmitted from a master station.
In addition, the invention relates to an apparatus for transmission of data, in particular voice and/or signaling data, preferably for air traffic control facilities, telephone equipment or communication systems, comprising--if necessary--a dual bus and decentralized stations connected to the bus, with peripheral devices, e.g. telephone equipment, microphones, loudspeakers, keyboards, line interfaces, wireless equipment, etc., connected to these stations, wherein the clock of the individual stations is adjusted by a synchronizing signal transmitted from a master station.
2. Description of the Related Art
A method and an apparatus of the aforementioned type are described, for instance, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,434,861.

Method of and apparatus for transmission of data

Frequentis Nachrichtentechnik Gesellschaft m.b.H.


The invention provides radiation sensitive compositions that comprise an amphoteric polymer, the polymer comprising at least two distinct carrier groups so that the polymer is positively polarized or negatively polarized upon treatment with an acid or base, respectively, enabling the compositions to be electrodeposited either anaphoretically or cataphoretically. Employing this amphoteric polymer in a radiation sensitive composition also allows the use of either an acid or base solution to image and remove the deposited composition irrespective of whether the composition was applied cataphoretically or anaphoretically. The compositions of the invention are also suitably formulated as liquid coating compositions or used to form dry film resists.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to radiation sensitive compositions. The compositions have particular utility in electrophoretic deposition processes including the manufacture of electronic printed circuit boards and other electronic packaging substrates. More specifically, the amphoteric compositions of the invention contains a polymer that can be selectively treated to render the composition either anodic or cathodic as desired and imaged and stripped in either acid or base chemistries.
2. Background Art
Radiation sensitive compositions include photoresists which are photosensitive coatings capable of transferring an image onto a conductive substrate such as a printed circuit board or a lithographic plate. The photoresist may be of the liquid type which is typically applied by dip-coating, roller-coating, spin-coating or by screen printing. These resists can be negative-acting or positive-acting. In the case of negative-acting resists, after the film is deposited on a surface and the solvent is removed as by heating, the film is selectively exposed, typically through a photomask, to a source of activating energy such as ultraviolet light. The photomask has areas that are opaque and other areas that are transparent to the ultraviolet light. The pattern on the photomask formed by opaque and transparent areas defines the pattern, such as a circuit, to be transferred to the substrate.
Exposed portions of a negative-acting photoresist become less soluble in a developing solution than unexposed areas as the result of a photochemical reaction, for example, between a photoinitiator and an ethylenically unsaturated resin of the resist composition. This difference in solubility allows for the selective removal of the photoresist and the transfer of the photomask image to the substrate. In the case of positive-acting photoresists, exposure to activating radiation will cause the coating to become more soluble in a developing solution than the unexposed areas. Such photoresists are generally well known and are typically formulated from materials such as vinyl cinnamate copolymers, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,737,297; 2,739,892; and 2,801,233; benzal acetophenones such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,716,097 and 2,716,102; quarternary salts such as disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 2,908,667: azide polymers such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,948,610; and naphthaquinone diazide esters and amides such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,634,082; 4,148,654 and 4,439,516, all incorporated herein by reference. The imaged photoresist may act as a protective coating for subtractively etching the metal substrate, known as print-and-etch, or allow the exposed bare metal surface to be further built up in thickness by electroplating methods, known as print-and-plate. The resist may then be selectively stripped. For print-and-plate processes, the exposed metal on the substrate may be etched to form the desired pattern or circuit on the substrate surface. The historical background, types and operation of conventional photoresists, are generally described in Photoresist Materials and Processes, W. DeForest, McGraw-Hill, 1975.
Another type of photoresist is commonly referred to as dry film. A dry film resist is a multilayer film in which a solid photosensitive film is sandwiched between a polyethylene film and polyester cover sheet. Dry film resists are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,469,982, 4,378,264 and 4,343,885. As in liquid resists, they can be either negative or positive acting. Dry film resists are typically laminated onto a printed circuit board by application with hot rollers, after the bottom polyethylene film is peeled from the remaining photoresist film and polyester cover sheet. The transparent cover sheet usually remains on the board to provide mechanical support and to protect the photoresist. After exposure to activating radiation, the cover sheet is removed prior to development.
Electrophoretic deposition of certain photoresist coatings has been reported. Electrophoretic deposition involves a process of electrophoresis which is the motion of charged particles through a liquid medium under the influence of an applied electrical field. The deposition is conducted in a cell with the conductive substrate to be coated serving as one of the electrodes. Deposition of a positively charged material or mixture of materials onto a negatively charged cathode is referred to as cataphoresis while deposition of a negatively charged material or mixture of materials onto a positively charged anode is referred to as anaphoresis.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,738,835 describes the use of anaphoresis to deposit a photosensitive composition of polychloroprene polymer and a photosensitizer such as 4,4-bis(dimethylamino)-benzophenone in a mixed organic solvent. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,954,587; 4,029,561; 4,035,273; 4,035,274; 4,039,414; 4,066,523; 4,070,258; and 4,166,017 also describe coatings that are applied electrophoretically and exposed to activating radiation.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,592,816 describes a negative-acting electrophoretic photoresist that contains at least one polymer that incorporates an ionizable group. The described photoresist compositions incorporate the use of ethylenic unsaturated monomers to crosslink a film layer. For the cataphoretic photoresists described, the developer and stripper solutions required to remove desired areas of the photoresist are acidic in nature. The described anaphoretic photoresists require the use of base to develop an image. This generally exemplifies the art in that known cataphoretic negative working photoresists are imaged and removed only in acid solutions such as lactic acid; and, in like manner, known anaphoretic negative working photoresists are imaged and removed only in base solutions. Such restriction of development and stripping chemistries can impose significant limitations in some processes.
It thus would be desirable to have a cataphoretic photoresist that could be developed and/or stripped with a base solution, and to have an anaphoretic photoresist that could be developed and/or stripped with an acidic solution. It also would be desirable to have a single radiation sensitive composition that could be electrodeposited on a conductive substrate either cataphoretically or anaphoretically. It would be further desirable if such a composition could be formulated as a liquid coating composition or used to form a dry film resist.

Method of forming a relief image comprising amphoteric compositions


The present invention relates to an apparatus and method of preparing carbonate and/or formate from carbon dioxide. The apparatus of preparing carbonate and/or formate from carbon dioxide (CO2), comprising: an electrolysis reactor comprising (i) an anode which contains an aqueous solution of a Group I metal salt as an electrolytic solution, (ii) an ion-exchange membrane through which metal cations derived from the Group I metal salt and water flow from an anode to a cathode, (iii) a cathode, and (iv) a gas diffusion layer which supplies a carbon dioxide-containing gas to the cathode; a power supply unit of applying a voltage between the anode and the cathode; a first gas-liquid separator of recovering the electrolytic solution from the products formed in the anode; a second gas-liquid separator of recovering carbonate and/or formate from the products formed in the cathode; a pH meter of measuring the pH of the electrolytic solution recovered from the first gas-liquid separator; a first reactant supply unit of supplying (a) the electrolytic solution recovered from the first gas-liquid separator and (b) the aqueous solution of the Group I metal salt with which the recovered electrolytic solution is replenished according to the pH of the electrolytic solution, to the anode; and a second reactant supply unit of supplying carbon dioxide or a mixer comprising carbon dioxide and water vapor to the cathode; wherein, when a voltage is applied between the anode and the cathode, in the anode, water undergoes electrolysis to generate hydrogen ions, oxygen, and electrons, and metal cations in the Group I metal salt are substituted with the hydrogen ions, while the generated metal cations move to the cathode through the ion-exchange membrane and the electrons move to the cathode through an external electric line; and in the cathode, carbon dioxide, water, metal cations, and electrons are reacted and produce carbonate and/or formate.

Direct CO2 reduction technologies for storing CO2 emissions from power plants, steel mills, etc. in reservoirs instead of releasing them into the air can be regarded as carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS), and the treatment of captured CO2 is largely divided into direct storage, utilization or industrial uses, mineral carbonation, etc. Among these, CO2 mineral carbonation technology has the advantage of storing CO2 stably and permanently, but the technology is still regarded as being in the early stages of development, and additionally, it is known to be suitable for the treatment of relatively small- and medium-sized amounts of CO2, and requires a high processing cost.
Meanwhile, the way in which carbon dioxide is reduced electrochemically depends on the methods of ion exchange. Among them, the reduction of electrochemical carbon dioxide using a cation-exchange membrane causes the decomposition of water in the anode to generate oxygen, electrons, and hydrogen cations. At the cathode, carbon dioxide reacts with the electrons and hydrogen cations generated at the anode to cause a reduction reaction and is converted to a different material.
Among the products formed by the reaction of carbon dioxide, the product in liquid form has an advantage in that it has a higher energy density and is easier to handle than the product in gaseous form. In particular, formic acid has the advantage that it can be used in the synthesis of medicines or in the production of paper and pulp as well as having a higher price than other liquid products. Because of this, formic acid has attracted much attention compared to other materials that can be produced by reacting carbon dioxide.
Generally, in the liquid-phase reaction of carbon dioxide, the Faradaic efficiency (or current efficiency) is higher than that of the gas-phase reduction reaction by more than 80%, but the product concentration is as low as several ppm because the product is mixed with a liquid electrolyte (Int. J. Hydrogen Energy 39 (2014) 16506). As a result, the product has a very low value and the liquid-phase reaction requires separate separation and concentration processes of the product.
Meanwhile, with regard to the Faradaic efficiency of the gas-phase reaction of carbon dioxide, the highest performance reported so far is 10% (J. Mater. Chem. A, 2015, 3, 3029). Additionally, the concentration of the product in the gas-phase reduction of carbon dioxide is also in the range of several mmol/L to several tens of mmol/L (at the level of thousands of ppm) and thus has a very low value as a product. Therefore, the gas-phase reaction requires separate separation and concentration processes.

Apparatus and method of preparing carbonate and/or formate from carbon dioxide


A compressor rotor of a turbomachine includes a rotor disk; a rotor hub forming or connected to a radially outer edge of the rotor disk; and a plurality of rotor blades on the rotor hub extending radially outwards. The rotor hub includes an axially frontal leading edge, an axially rear trailing edge, a top side, a frontal bottom side extending on a bottom side of the rotor hub from the leading edge in a direction of the rotor disk and transitioning into same, and a rear bottom side extending on the bottom side from the trailing edge in the direction of the rotor disk and transitioning into same. The frontal bottom side and/or the rear bottom side of the hub is contoured in a circumferential direction of the rotor hub to form respectively one indentation in an area below a rotor blade.

The invention relates to a compressor rotor of a turbomachine.
As a basic principle, it should be aimed at introducing residual compressive stresses into a material in order to limit the crack propagation in the material. This also applies to the blades of the compressor rotor of a turbomachine, in which cracks may for example be created by foreign bodies impacting the blade surface. Such foreign bodies may be external objects, in which case the term "foreign object damage" (FOD) is used, or they may be objects of the engine, in which case the term "domestic object damage" (DOD) is applied.
In order to improve the robustness of a blade with respect to foreign bodies, it is known to introduce residual compressive stresses by means of external measures, such as for example by shot peening or compacting with cooled rolling. In the course of this process, the surface roughness is also disadvantageously increased.
Document U.S. Pat. No. 7,445,433 B2 discloses to contour the bottom side of the rotor hub of a compressor rotor in a periodic manner in such a way that the rotor hub is respectively thickened in the area of a blade root.
There is a need to provide a compressor rotor of a turbomachine that has an improved robustness with respect to the damages caused by foreign bodies.

Compressor rotor of a fluid flow machine


A method of operating a wireless communication device installed in a vehicle to transmit data indicative of trips made by the vehicle to a remote device. An ignition state of the vehicle is determined, wherein said ignition state includes at least an ignition ‘on’ state. A time window is defined based on a time at which the vehicle is determined to be in the ignition ‘on’ state, and a type is assigned to a trip to be made by the vehicle, wherein the trip is of a first type when input data indicative of an input by a user on an input device operatively connected to the wireless communication device is received in the defined time window, and is otherwise of a second type. A message is generated, at least for trips of the first type, indicating the type assigned to the trip, and is wirelessly transmitted to the remote device.

It is a common requirement in many countries to log the distance (also referred to as mileage) travelled by a vehicle that is used as part of a business. For example, the tax authorities of a country often require at least the business (or employer), and typically both the business and the driver (or employee), to record and declare both the business and private mileage driven by the vehicle. To facilitate this requirement many vehicles used for business are provided with hardware devices (also called telematics devices) supplied from various telematics service providers that are often connected to the vehicle, such as through a wired connection to the vehicle CAN bus or plugged into the vehicle's on-board diagnostic (OBD) port, and which can collect and record mileage data for trips taken by the vehicle. An example form of telematics device is the LINK range of products supplied by TomTom Telematics. This mileage data can be easily validated by a driver, e.g. directly using the hardware device installed in the vehicle or using a software application (or "app") running on a mobile device, such as a smartphone, that is operatively connected to the hardware device, before being sent to fleet management system of the business. This type of functionality is often referred to as "logbook functionality".
Many telematics devices include functionality for automatically detecting the start and end of trips, which when combined with the functionality of obtaining accurate mileage data on the distance travelled by the vehicle during each trip, e.g. from the odometer of the vehicle and/or using a position determining device within the telematics device, such as a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) device, results in the driver only needing to provide information about the type of trip, i.e. whether it was for a 'business' reason or for a 'private' reasons to meet the minimum legislative requirements. Of course many automated logbooks supplied by telematics service providers also allow the driver to provide additional details about a trip, such as the: purpose of the trip (e.g. weekly sales meeting, meeting with Company X, etc); the location (or addresses) of the start and/or end of the trip; and contact details of a person or company associated with the trip. An example of such enhanced logbook functionality is the TomTom WEBFLEET Logbook app supplied by TomTom Telematics.
Even though automated logbooks only require a driver, as a minimum, to identify the type of trip that is to be driven, or has been driven, it has been recognised that it would still be beneficial to reduce even further the number of interactions that the driver is required to make with the telematics device or associated app in order to identify the type of trip. Accordingly, there remains a need for an improved wireless communication device providing logbook functionally.


This invention provides a control apparatus for an automatic transmission, which includes a plurality of engaging mechanisms. The plurality of engaging mechanisms include a mechanical engaging mechanism configured to function as a brake. The mechanical engaging mechanism can be switched between a first state in which rotation of a rotational element is restricted only in one direction and a second state in which the rotation is restricted in both directions. When switching from the first state to the second state, the control apparatus executes engagement control to set a plurality of hydraulic friction engaging mechanisms in an engaging state. In the engagement control, oil pressure supply control changes depending on the vehicle speed.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a control apparatus for an automatic transmission.
Description of the Related Art
An automatic transmission generally includes planetary gear mechanisms and engaging mechanisms such as a clutch and a brake, and implements each gear range by switching the power transmission path by the engaging mechanisms. As the engaging mechanisms, employing a mechanical engaging mechanism has been proposed in addition to a hydraulic engaging mechanism. In particular, an arrangement that uses a clutch (two-way clutch) capable of switching to a state to do two-way rotation restriction as a brake has been proposed (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2014-202340).
When the two-way clutch is used as a brake, a rotational element connected to the two-way clutch can be switched between a state in which rotation is restricted only in one direction (rotation in the reverse direction is permitted) and a state in which rotation is restricted in both directions. When switched to the state in which rotation is restricted in both directions, the rotational element connected to the two-way clutch is fixed to the casing. For this reason, if switching is done during rotation of the rotational element, unusual noise or vibration occurs, and the two-way clutch breaks. To prevent this, switching may be performed via an engaging combination that brings the rotational element to a standstill.
However, if establishment of the engaging combination that brings the rotational element to a standstill takes time, switching of the gear range may take time. On the other hand, if the vehicle is at rest or has a very low speed, the rotation speed of each rotational element of the planetary gear mechanisms is low, and unusual noise or vibration is small.


The waste heat from a heating part mounted on a vehicle is recovered and extracted by a refrigerant for gas injection so that the heating capacity at a low ambient temperature may be effectively improved while suppressing an increase in the power consumption. At the heating time, the refrigerant is circulated in a closed circuit composed of a compressor, an indoor heat exchanger, a pressure regulator and an outdoor heat exchanger, and the refrigerant, as condensed in the indoor heat exchanger, is regulated to an intermediate pressure by a pressure regulator and introduced into a heat exchanger. In this heat exchanger, the refrigerant extracts the heat from the heating part at the side of the vehicle so that it evaporates. The refrigerant thus having evaporated is introduced through an evaporation pressure regulating valve via a gas injection passage into a gas injection port of the compressor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicular air conditioner system having a function to recover the waste heat of a heating part such as a driving device and, more particularly, to a vehicular air conditioner system which is improved in the heating capacitance at a low ambient temperature by making a gas injection cycle in a heat pump system capable of at least heating. The present invention is suitable as an air conditioning heat pump system for an electric car for arctic areas and a hybrid car equipped with both an electric motor and an internal combustion engine as its prime mover.
2. Description of Related Art
When a heat pump system using an electric compressor is to be mounted on a vehicle such as an electric car, it is necessary for retaining safety of the vehicle drive to defrost the windshield or to prevent it from becoming misty. In Japanese Patent laid-Open No. 5-319077, therefore, there has been proposed a system which is enabled by providing a cooling-dedicated evaporator and a heating-dedicated evaporator independently of each other as a compartment heat exchanger to prevent the windshield from being clouded with the condensed water due to an abrupt evaporation at the time of changing the mode from the cooling to the heating modes and to dehumidify and heat the conditioned air by heating the air again to a desired temperature with the heating-dedicated condenser while dehumidifying it with the cooling-dedicated evaporator.
According to the aforementioned system of the prior art, however, when the ambient temperature in the circumstances using the system lowers, the heat extraction in an outdoor heat exchanger acting as the evaporator at the heating time is reduced to lower the suction pressure of a compressor so that the capacity to the refrigerant is enlarged to reduce the refrigerant circulation, thus raising a problem that the heating capacity lowers.
When the compressor suction pressure drops, moreover, the compression ratio rises to raise the refrigerant discharge temperature so that the compressor cannot be used with its maximum capacity (or highest RPM) for protecting it. This raises a problem that the heating capacity is further lowered.
From this reasoning, the aforementioned system of the prior art is short of the compartment heating capacity in an arctic area having an ambient temperature of -10.degree. C. or less.
In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 54-140247, in order to improve the heating capacity at a low ambient temperature, there has also been proposed an air conditioner which is equipped with a vapor-liquid separator for separating the vapor and liquid of the refrigerant, as regulated to an intermediate pressure, to construct a gas injection type heat pump for injecting the gas refrigerant, as separated by the vapor-liquid separator, into the compression stroke of the compressor and which is further equipped with an auxiliary heat exchanger disposed upstream of the vapor-liquid separator for heating the refrigerant with the air.
In the electric car, however, there is generally adopted a cooling system for cooling a semiconductor switching element or the like of an RPM controlling inverter of a vehicular driving electric motor. In this system, the waste heat of the heating part is extracted to the cooling water, and this cooling water is circulated in a radiator by a water pump so that the waste heat may be released to the atmosphere by the radiator. However, this system has the complicated construction for the heat release through the circulation of the cooling water and requires such a large space for mounting it on the vehicle as to be troubled by retaining the space.
Because the heat pump of the prior art has an ordinary construction, moreover, only one indoor heat exchanger is disposed for both the cooling and heating operations. This heat exchanger cannot exhibit the dehumidifying heating function to heat again the dehumidified conditioned air to a desired temperature. Under a running condition in which the air to be sucked has a high humidity, therefore, there arises a problem that the windshield is liable to become misty.
Since the refrigerant is heated by the auxiliary heat exchanger of an air heat source, on the other hand, the refrigerant heating effect cannot be fully exhibited at the low ambient temperature so that a sufficient heating capacity cannot be expected.

Vehicular air conditioning system for electric vehicles


An improved partition wall material including a skeletal material, partition boards, and fastening plates. The skeletal material is an elongated extruded structure including a beam at a central portion thereof, and two skeletal projections respectively connected to two ends of the beam, each skeletal projection having two ends that respectively bend outwardly to form respective projection ends. Each projection end is connected to a frame. Each frame includes a frame projection provided with a pair of opposed frame hooks, each of which has a curved portion. The skeletal projection and the frames on both sides thereof defining a frame recess. The partition boards are planar boards including a plurality of locking holes arranged along a longitudinal axis thereof. The fastening plates are integrally bent plates that have one end forming a curved hooking portion corresponding to the frame hook, with the other end forming a straight portion that, together with the hooking portion, is engageable with the corresponding frame hooks. The fastening plate further has a rear hole adapted for passage of a screw therethrough to lock the fastening plate to the corresponding locking hole of the corresponding partition board. The fastening plates and the frames of the skeletal material are thereby inter-connected to enable the partition boards to be secured to the skeletal material.

1. (a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an improved partition wall material, and more particularly to an improved partition wall material in which the partition boards will not easily detach from the skeletal materials, and assembly of which is simple and convenient.
2. (b) Description of the Prior Art
In space partitioning, conventional brick walls or plywood boards appear to be rigid, dull, and monotonous in certain environments. In today's world where people want changes and varieties, the so-called flexible partitioning has come into being.
Take offices and clean rooms as an example. As users have different requirements, construction companies usually do not partition the interior spaces after completing office buildings or premises, and the users have to partition the interior spaces according to their requirements.
The so-called flexible partitioning that are commonly seen today in general include using modular wall materials that match partition boards, screws, etc., to partition spaces of a work site using the required tools and equipment. There are various drawbacks with the conventional flexible partitioning. For instance, after the interior spaces have been measured, tools such as drills have to be used to construct the partitions on site, which will cause pollution, such as noise pollution and dust, in the work site. For clean rooms, the problems are even more severe. In addition, as the conventional partition board materials are joined to the wall materials in partitioning, gaps easily result after joining, which will affect the sound-proof and dust-proof effects. Furthermore, in the prior art, partitioning is achieved by using a plurality of wall materials connected in series. After joining or assembly, the wall materials may easy shake or even become distorted or cannot be positioned. On the other hand, since prior partition boards are usually single boards, they cannot meet the demands of users who like varieties in terms of color. Although there have been developed block type partition boards to improve the problems with the prior art, as the partition boards and the wall materials are inter-connected using snap fasteners, the sound-proof and dust-proof effects are unsatisfactory, and the boards can be easily detached from the wall materials easily.

No. 28-1, Lane 195, Yung Fong Road, Tu Cheng