A process for reducing the aliphatic sulfur content of a crude oil in a production site is disclosed. A crude oil with a high aliphatic sulfur content is treated at ambient reaction temperature with an oxidant which comprises formic acid and hydrogen peroxide. Preferably, the crude is treated with an amount of the oxidant of about 2 moles of oxidant for each mole of aliphatic sulfur in the crude. Preferably reaction temperature ranges from about 30.degree. F. to 100.degree. F. The oxidant converts the aliphatic sulfur compounds of the crude to a water soluble phase which is separated from the crude oil in a water wash.

Sulfur is present in crudes in a wide range of both aliphatic and aromatic compound types. Moving crudes which contain high levels of sulfur through pipelines which are dedicated to crudes containing low levels of sulfur is not permitted and crudes that do not qualify as low sulfur crudes will have to be transported separately, a costly proposition.
Although various methods for desulfurization are known, their application is most practical in refineries and not in oil production sites because of the sophisticated equipment and materials required. For example, the process equipment utilized in catalytic hydrotreating, which removes sulfur, is costly and requires careful operation and maintenance which would be difficult and economically impractical to implement on the site of crude production. Additionally, these processes require hydrogen production which relates to still more costly process equipment. Since crude production facilities are often located in remote areas which, although equipped with certain crude treating equipment such as separators and precipitators, lack the sophisticated refinery operations, equipment and technology necessary to implement hydrotreating units.
It would be economically advantageous to reduce the sulfur content of the crude, prior to transport through the pipeline system to distant locations dedicated to the transportation of low sulfur containing crudes to reduce the costs associated with separate crude transport pipelines.

Process for reducing the sulfur content of a crude


A gear fluid composition for extreme pressure applications. The composition includes a base oil component and a friction modifier mixture. The mixture is provided by an alkyl phosphonic acid diester of the formula:

New and advanced differential gear and transmission systems are being developed by the automotive industry. These new systems often involve high energy requirements. Therefore, component protection technology must be developed to meet the increasing energy requirements of these advanced systems.
An example of a gear apparatus is the limited slip differential. Limited slip differentials are provided in many vehicles to counteract a commonly occurring situation where one of the two driving tires or wheels is essentially void of traction. This may be in loose soil, sand, mud, or ice. In the standard open differential, the driving tire void of traction receives all of the powertrain torque, but spins without moving the vehicle in the desired direction. In a limited slip differential, a mechanism divides, or shares, a portion of the torque delivered by the powertrain with both driving wheels. By sharing the available torque, a wheel with some traction receives enough torque to move the vehicle in the desired direction. In addition, high performance vehicles have so much torque that in certain turning situations the torque on one wheel exceeds the available traction and, thus, performance suffers. The limited slip differential shares the torque between both wheels, enhancing the performance of the vehicle.
Limited slip differentials have a variety of mechanisms to provide torque transfer from the input pinion gear to the axle shafts. A common mechanism is a multi-plate wet clutch that transfers torque from the differential carrier to the side gear. These multi-plate clutches typically have a set of friction plates of one material or facing material, and a set of steel plates. One set of plates is linked through some means to the differential carrier, while the other set of plates is linked through a similar means to the side gear. As the side gear drives the axle shaft, torque is therefore transferred to the axle shaft and thereby the wheel and tire of the vehicle. This then gives a motive force to the vehicle.
In operation, the limited slip differential friction and steel clutch plates spin at different speeds with respect to one another when in a vehicle turn or when traction to one wheel is reduced or void. The relative rotational speed of the clutch plates may range from near zero revolutions per minute to very high speeds of several hundred revolutions per minute. The clutch plates are operated in most cases by a biasing spring force that pushes the two sets of plates together, as well as the differential gear set separating force.
Limited slip differentials require that the lubricant for the rear axle have proper friction characteristics, and that the friction characteristics last for a sufficient elapsed mileage or duration. The proper friction characteristic is that the friction coefficient rises with increasing plate rotational speed, and falls with decreasing plate rotational speed.
To provide the proper friction characteristics and lifetime, certain additives may be added as a top treat to the gear lubricant. These additives can be selected from a wide range of friction modifiers and related compounds. However, a particularly effective additive will not stay in solution in a top treat.
For the purposes of this disclosure, the phrase "gear fluids" is intended to include, but is not limited to, the foregoing gear and transmission systems and applications.
Gear fluids formulated according to the present disclosure are suitably formulated to protect transmission and gear drive components in metal-on-metal contact situations. However, additives which provide such improvement are difficult to maintain dissolved in a concentrate for deliverance to a gear fluid.
In an embodiment, a gear fluid composition for extreme pressure applications is provided. The gear fluid contains an base oil component and a friction modifier mixture. The friction modifier includes                (i) at least one alkyl phosphonic acid diester of the formula:
wherein R1 is a hydrocarbyl group containing from about 8 to about 24 carbon atoms, R2 and R3 are independently selected from a hydrocarbyl group containing from about 1 to about 8 carbon atoms;                (ii) at least one alkyl phosphonic acid monoester of the formula
wherein R4 is a hydrocarbyl group containing from about 8 to about 24 carbon atoms, R5 is selected from hydrogen and a hydrocarbyl group containing from about 1 to about 8 carbon atoms; and                (iii) at least one amine salt of a partial ester of phosphoric acid represented by the formula
                wherein each of R6 and R8 is, independently, a hydrocarbyl group, and        R7 is hydrogen or a hydrocarbyl group, and wherein the ratio of (i) to        (ii) ranges from about 3 to about 5.5.
In another embodiment, there is provided a method of improving the solubility of friction modifier components in a friction modifier additive package. The method includes blending at least one alky phosphonic acid diester of the formula:
with at least one alkyl phosphonic acid monoester of the formula:
and at least one amine salt of a partial ester of phosphoric acid represented by the formula
wherein R1 and R4 are selected from a hydrocarbyl group containing from about 8 to about 24 carbon atoms; R2, R3 and R5 are independently selected from hydrogen and a hydrocarbyl group containing from about 1 to about 8 carbon atoms; each of R6, and R8 is, independently, a hydrocarbyl group; and R7 is hydrogen or a hydrocarbyl group. The ratio of the diester to the monoester of the alkyl phosphonic acids in the mixture ranges from about 3 to about 5.5 and the total acid number (TAN) of the alkyl phosphonic acid diester is up to about 15. The foregoing components are blended in an amount of the base oil component sufficient to stabilize substantially all of the alkyl phosphonic acid diester and monoester.
An advantage of the compositions and methods described herein is that the components of the additive package remain substantially solubilized or stabilized in the base oil component without the need for additional solubilizing additives so that the additive package is substantially free from additive drop-out. The additive package described herein also enables a high concentration of friction modifier component to be delivered to a gear fluid. Such additive packages are particularly suitable for a wide variety of gear and/or transmission applications including, but not limited to, automotive gears, industrial gears, stationary gears, rear axles, limited slip differentials, conventional differentials, and/or automatic and manual transmissions. Further, such additive packages are suitable for use in multi-plate differentials, cone clutch differentials, torsen differentials, and/or dog clutch differentials.

Abstract: wherein R1 is a hydrocarbyl group containing from about 8 to about 24 carbon atoms, R2 and R3 are selected from a hydrocarbyl group containing from about 1 to about 8 carbon atoms, an alkyl phosphonic acid monoester of the formula

Abstract: wherein R4 is a hydrocarbyl group containing from about 8 to about 24 carbon atoms, R5 is hydrogen or hydrocarbyl group containing from about 1 to about 8 carbon atoms, and an amine salt of a partial ester of phosphoric acid represented by the formula

Abstract: wherein each of R6 and R8 is a hydrocarbyl group, and R7 is hydrogen or a hydrocarbyl group, and wherein the ratio of (i) to (ii) ranges from about 3 to about 5.5.


An integrated circuit device includes a capacitor structure, wherein the capacitor structure includes: a bottom electrode over a substrate; a supporter on a sidewall of the bottom electrode; a dielectric layer on the bottom electrode and the supporter; and a top electrode on the dielectric layer and covering the bottom electrode. The bottom electrode comprises: a base electrode layer over the substrate and extending in a first direction that is perpendicular to a top surface of the substrate, and a conductive capping layer including niobium nitride that is between a sidewall of the base electrode layer and the dielectric layer, and also between a top surface of the base electrode layer and the dielectric layer.

Along with the downscaling of integrated circuit devices, the sizes of capacitor structures of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) devices have also been reduced. As the sizes of capacitor structures have been reduced, methods of forming capacitor dielectric layers in crystal phases having high dielectric constants have been proposed to increase the capacitance of the capacitor structures. However, because aspect ratios of bottom electrodes also have been increased along with the decrease in the sizes of capacitor structures, voids or seams may be formed inside conductive layers of bottom electrodes during formation of the conductive layers, and such voids and seams may contribute to deterioration in electrical performance of DRAM devices.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Integrated circuit devices and methods of manufacturing the same


There is provided a recording method, in which a glitter pigment ink and a clear ink containing substantially no color material is used with respect to a coated paper or a film, including: at least one of (A) primarily-applying the clear ink before applying the glitter pigment ink and (B) applying the clear ink in the same scanning at the time of applying the glitter pigment ink; and (C) secondarily-applying the clear ink after applying the glitter pigment ink.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a recording method and a printer used in the recording method.
2. Related Art
In the related art, various methods for recording an image on a recording medium have been known. For example, in an ink jet recording method, an image is recorded on a recording medium by microscopic ink droplets ejected from nozzles of a head for ink jet recording.
The image recorded on the recording medium, from the viewpoint of sharpness and clarity, is required to have good glossiness. For example, it is disclosed in JP-T-2005-532924 that, when ink containing colorant and ink containing no colorant are used, and ink containing no colorant is printed only at the position at which ink containing colorant is not present on a recording medium, an image having uniform glossiness can be recorded on the recording medium.
In recent years, an image having glitter caused by the gloss of metal or the like has attracted attention because it has unique design properties, among such properties as glossiness. For example, it is disclosed in JP-A-2008-174712 and JP-A-2011-137164 that a glitter image is formed using a glitter ink containing a glitter pigment (for example, gold powder or silver powder made of brass or aluminum fine particles).
In addition, it is disclosed in JP-A-2010-18651 and JP-A-2013-91761 that an image having metallic gloss is formed by an ink containing a glitter pigment such as a metallic pigment, and this image is protected by a colorless transparent ink.
However, since a coated paper whose surface is coated with a white pigment, such as kaolin, calcium carbonate, or titanium dioxide, and a binder, such as latex or starch, has micron order irregularities on the surface thereof, the coated paper is affected by the unevenness of a medium even in the case of leafing a glitter pigment, and thus diffused reflection of light is likely to occur. Therefore, there is a problem in that it is difficult to obtain an image having good glitter. In addition, there is a problem in that, when the glitter image obtained by a colorless transparent ink is coated, the glitter of the image is further deteriorated by the influence of the slight light absorption characteristics of the colorless transparent ink and the surface unevenness of the image, and, if the application of the colorless transparent ink is insufficient, sufficient scratch resistance cannot be obtained.
Meanwhile, when a glitter image is formed by ejecting a glitter pigment ink onto a film such as a polyvinyl chloride film or a PET film, even if a resin is added to the glitter pigment ink, a good uniform film is not formed due to the difference in hardness or linear expansion coefficient of the glitter pigment ink, which is generally an inorganic material, and the resin, and, as a result, scratch resistance is likely to become insufficient.
As described above, in the related art, it is difficult for good glitter of the glitter image and scratch resistance of the glitter image to be compatible with each other.


Wood chips having low bleachability are impregnated with a chemical liquor at a pH range of 7-12 in aqueous solution and the chemical liquor from the impregnated chips is drained, whereby extractives contained in the chips and consuming bleaching agents can be removed to improve the effect of bleaching agents in a subsequent bleaching step. Bleached mechanical pulp is prepared by defibration by primary refining—bleaching—beating by secondary refining wherein pulp fibers are washed after defibrating wood chips having low bleachability and before bleaching the pulp fibers, whereby the amount of bleaching agents used can be reduced and bleached mechanical pulp having a Hunter brightness of 45-65% after secondary refining can be obtained.

The present invention relates to processes for preparing mechanical pulps having high brightness from wood chips having low bleachability, and more specifically to a pretreatment for extracting causative factors responsible for low bleachability from wood chips having low bleachability.
As for mechanical pulps, the main properties of their quality depend on the nature of the wood fibers from which they are prepared. However, even wood species previously known to be unsuitable for mechanical pulps have recently been used as starting materials because of changes in the demand for application of wood and pulp quality as well as changes in the supply of forest resources relating to the momentum of environmental protection. These wood species used as starting materials often fail to meet desired qualities when they are converted into pulps under conventional process conditions. On the other hand, high value-added papers such as lightweight coated (LWC) paper and supercalendered (SC) paper have recently attracted attention as grades of papers containing mechanical pulps, so that there are demands for a technique for preparing pulps with a quality comparable to or higher than those of conventional pulps from starting materials unsuitable for mechanical pulps.
M. Jackson mentions conifers such as Douglas fir, Jack pine and Larch as starting materials unsuitable for mechanical pulps in 1998 Tappi Pulping Conf. Proc. pp. 455-465. These materials are especially disadvantageous in their low brightness and they require large quantities of bleaching agents such as hydrogen peroxide during the bleaching step to attain a desired brightness because they contain high levels of polyphenolic extractives which consume bleaching agents.
In particular, these species have the disadvantage that the heartwood is colored because it contains high levels of extractives. Mechanical pulps prepared from sapwood alone seem to have qualities closely comparable to those obtained from conventional wood species, but the brightness is lowered when heartwood containing higher levels of extractives than sapwood is included in starting materials and large quantities of bleaching agents have to be added to reach a desired brightness.
Prior techniques for improving the brightness of mechanical pulps are described in several prior applications as follows. JPA SHO 56-85488 discloses a technique comprising pretreating wood chips with 0.5-3.0% by weight of an alkali on the basis of bone dry chips and 0.2-0.7 times the amount of hydrogen peroxide based on the alkali before bleaching them with hydrogen peroxide in a refiner. Japanese Patent No. 1240510 describes a process for preparing bleached mechanical pulp from wood chips, comprising defibrating wood chips in the presence of an organic chelating agent and a sulfite and then bleaching unbleached pulp with a peroxide. Japanese Patent No. 1515223 describes a refiner bleaching technique for preparing bleached mechanical pulp by refining wood chips in the presence of an alkaline hydrogen peroxide bleaching solution, comprising primary refining with an alkaline hydrogen peroxide bleaching solution containing an alkali in an amount enough to attain, after primary refining, pH 9.0-11.0, and then, after primary refining, adding 0.05-3.0% by weight of a mineral acid on the basis of bone dry pulp during the period from the instant immediately after primary refining to the instant immediately before secondary refining, followed by secondary refining. Japanese Patent No. 1515224 describes a refiner bleaching technique for preparing bleached mechanical pulp by refining wood chips in the presence of an alkaline hydrogen peroxide bleaching solution, comprising primary refining with an alkaline hydrogen peroxide bleaching solution containing an alkali in an amount enough to attain pH 7.0-9.0 exclusive after primary refining and then, before secondary refining, adding an alkaline material in an amount equivalent to 5-50% of the amount of the alkali added during primary refining, followed by secondary refining. JPA SHO 59-15589 discloses a process for preparing mechanical refiner wood pulp, comprising a two-stage treatment using sodium sulfite before and after primary refining.
However, none of these prior techniques focused attention on the fact that extractives such as polyphenols contained in conifers are causative factors for lowered brightness, nor did they intend to positively remove these factors to improve the brightness of the resulting bleached mechanical pulp. It would be desirable to develop a novel technique capable of preparing bleached mechanical pulp having high brightness from materials having low bleachability containing high levels of extractives.
The present invention aims firstly to provide a novel technique capable of preparing bleached pulp having high brightness from materials having low bleachability containing high levels of extractives and secondly to provide a technique capable of reducing the amount of bleaching agents used in processes for preparing bleached mechanical pulps.

Process for impregnating, refining, and bleaching wood chips having low bleachability to prepare mechanical pulps having high brightness


This invention relates to a pipette tip or tube designed to perform biological or chemical sample preparation, purification or separation. The narrow end of the pipette tip is twisted in such a way that it forms a narrow spiral passage, which allows the retention of the chromatographic material in the pipette tip. The narrow spiral formed by twisting the capillary or the tube creates an opening that is large enough to permit the passage of fluids or smaller particles, but small enough to block the passage of solid materials or larger particles, The device described herein can be used for sample separation or purification using a vacuum, pressure, centrifugation, gravitation or other separation methods.

Tube: means capillary, tube, pipette tip, with any geometry of hole such as round, square, cylindrical, triangular, elliptical, parabolic or any shape which can be in the form of a tube. Internal diameter of the tube is from 0.001-25 mm. The length of the tube can be from 0.1-10000 mm.
Narrow Spiral Opening: means that the tube or capillary is twisted along the length of the tube in such a way that one end is fixed and other end (rotating end) is twisted with force at any given angle to form a spiral shape. The center of the spiral can be at any place between the two ends of the tube. During the twisting process, the length of the tube can be changed or unchanged depending on the application.
Spiral shape is created by twisting the tube at any angle from 1 degree to 360 degree or multiple turns of an angle between 1-360 degree.
Chromatographic material means, the regular, irregular, spherical, broken particles of silica, metal, polymers, metal oxides, non-metal oxides. These particles can be porous or nonporous. The pore size can be from 20-40000 nm. These particles can be modified chemically, physically, mechanically or by affinity media. The size of the particles can be from 0.001-1 mm.
Although a spectrum of analytical methods for small sample separation and purification have been developed, a number of problems, such as the slow speed of the separation process and the loss of sample volumes, limit the quality of currently available methods.
In this invention, we describe the use of a tube such as pipette tip, which has a spiral narrow opening at the lower end of the tip, designed for sample filtration or separation. The spiral narrow opening is of such dimensions that fluids and smaller particles can pass through the lower end while larger particles are retained. The application of such a device is useful for performing sample separation and filtration with chromatography and other separation media because it eliminates the need to place a filter or secondary solid matrices into the tip to retain said chromatography and other separation media within the tip during sample preparation. Depending on the specifications of the chromatography material, selected molecules from the sample can be separated or purified by binding to, or by being entrapped into the said material. The bound molecules can later be eluted from the said material by the use of different solvents.
Filters and secondary solid matrices are traditionally used in separation columns such as pipette tips to retain the solid matrix or column material in the container, while letting fluids and desired sample components flow through. Currently available sample preparation pipette tips rely on filters and solid matrices to hold chromatography and separation media in the tip while permitting selective components of the sample to pass through the lower end of the tip. The filters used in such devices may be made of silica, polypropylene, nylon, polytetrafluoroethylene or any other inert materials that do not react with the elution solution. The pore size of the filter material should be smaller than the particle size of the solid matrix or chromatography material placed above it so that the solid matrix or chromatography material is retained in the tip.
In pipette tips or other separation columns using filters, sample separation can be performed by centrifugation, gravitation, and vacuum suction, pressure application or by syringe- or pipette-based sample delivery through the tip or column. Such devices are used for the separation and purification of small sample volumes of bio-molecules such as proteins, peptides and DNA. The solid matrix or column material can consist of any material such as gel-filtration, affinity, ion-exchange, reverse-phase, and silica or modified-silica materials.
When sample volumes in the micro liter range are separated using currently available pipette tips and other separation/chromatography columns, one of the commonly associated problems is sample loss during the separation process due to retention of the sample on the filter or within the secondary solid matrices. Since the concentration of bio-molecules in micro volume samples is very small, the retention of molecules in the filter or secondary solid matrix can result in significant loss of the total sample volume. Also, since the volume of the filter or secondary solid matrix is often as large as the volume of the micro volume sample itself, the separation or chromatography process is adversely affected due to the large volume of filter material through which the sample must pass during the separation process. The filter material may also absorb proteins or bio-molecules from the sample, resulting in lower than desirable sample recovery.
Also, the filter material and solid matrix or column material may behave differently in different elution media, subsequently interfering with both the quality of the separation process and the volume of the sample retained. Furthermore, the presence of the filter material also slows down the sample separation process because the sample is first passed through the column material and then the filter prior to the completion of sample separation. Additionally, the structure and design of many micro-pipette tips, designed for micro-liter sample volumes, is not well suited for the addition of filters or secondary solid matrices into the tip.
The invention described and claimed herein comprises a tube or pipette tip designed to perform filtration or sample separation on the basis of a narrow spiral opening in the tip for sample filtration or separation. The narrow spiral opening is of such dimensions that fluids and smaller particles can pass through while larger particles are retained in the tip. During the process of sample separation, performed by centrifugation, gravitation, vacuum suction, pressure application or by syringe-based sample delivery through the container described herein, the filter solid matrix or column material will be retained in the tip while the sample will pass through.
The features of the present invention eliminate the need for filters or secondary solid matrices at the bottom of the tip to support the chromatography material during sample separation. Thus, the present invention, as described herein, will result in higher sample recovery due to the lack of sample retention on the filter or secondary solid matrix. The present invention will also eliminate separation problems associated with filter-materials and secondary solid matrices interacting differently with alternate elution media, thus improving the quality of the separation. The present invention also leads to more rapid sample separation since the sample does not flow through a filter or secondary solid matrices as part of the separation process.
The various features of novelty, which characterize the invention, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its advantages and objects, reference is made to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which a preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated.


A stent is a tubular member comprising cylindrical lumen size-holding portions 1 for holding a lumen of a living body open, and connecting portions 2 for longitudinally connecting the lumen size-holding portions 1 adjacent to one another. The lumen size-holding portions 1 are configured into repeated patterns running vertically in the developed conditions thereof. Each of the repeated patterns comprises a first curved pattern portion 11 having axis extending in a lateral direction and second and third curved pattern portions 12 and 13 having axes extending in vertical directions. The upper and lower first curved pattern portions 11 adjacent to one another are connected at one end thereof by the second curved pattern portion 12, and at the other end by the third curved pattern portion 13. The stent is excellent in flexibility and trackability to lumens. Further, the stent is capable of being passed through three-dimensionally meandering lumens and possesses a sufficient strength for holding a widened size of a lumen.

Up to now, stents have been used to widen a lumen such as a blood vessel and then to maintain the resultant size of the lumen. Expansion of the stent may be done by various methods such as, for example, a balloon expansion process, a self-expansion process utilizing a shape memory material, a mechanical expansion process and the like. Among them, it is general practice to use a balloon expansion process. In the balloon expansion process, the stent is introduced into a desired site of a lumen in the living body along with a balloon catheter, and then expanded by inflating the balloon, thereby widening a size of the lumen. Next, the balloon is deflated and removed from the site, leaving the expanded stent in place.
The stent generally comprises lumen size-holding portions for widening and holding a size of the lumen of a blood vessel, and connecting portions for connecting these lumen size-holding portions in a longitudinal direction thereof. The stent maintains its shape after being expanded.
Various types of stents have been suggested in Japanese Patent Gazette. For example, JP-A H06-181993 discloses a stent comprising a plurality of cylinder components independently expandable in a radius direction, which are arranged around a common axis and connected to one another. JP-A S62-231657 discloses a stent comprising a tubular-shaped member expandable in a radius direction thereof and being formed by a plurality of intersecting elongated members. JP-A H08-155035 discloses a stent comprising at least two circular members each comprising a signal wire bent to form segments that are substantially straight and un-overlapped and are integrally connected at turns of the wire. JP-A H10-503676 discloses a stent comprising a tube having a patterned shape which has first and second meander patterns having axes extending in first and second directions. JP-A H11-505441 discloses a stent of open structure comprised of end-connected struts making up the parts with angular interconnects between the parts.
The aforementioned stents of the prior art have been improved in flexibility to some extent, but it is rather difficult to say that they have a sufficient flexibility. Since these stents become a burden to the inner wall of the blood vessel adjacent to edge portions of the stent, there is a fear of causing obstruction or constriction in the lumen. Further, if the lumen is of a three-dimensionally meandering structure, it is occasionally difficult to advance the stent to the desired site within the lumen. In addition, there is a fear of injuring the blood vessel during advancement of the stent to the desired site.


Trusted platform telemetry mechanisms and associated methods, apparatus, and firmware components. Trusted telemetry mechanisms are provided for securely collecting platform telemetry data from telemetry data sources on a compute platform, such as machine specific registers (MSRs), device registers, system management bus (SMBus) and memory controllers. The telemetry data is collected from the telemetry data sources using various mechanisms, and securely stored on the compute platform in a manner that is inaccessible to software running on the compute platform. A submission queue and completion queue model may also be implemented to facilitate collection of telemetry data. In addition, a memory-mapped input-output (MMIO) aliasing scheme is provided to facilitate collection of telemetry data from platform telemetry data sources using various access mechanisms.

Increases in processor speeds, memory, storage, and network bandwidth technologies have resulted in the build-out and deployment of networks with ever increasing capacities. More recently, the introduction of cloud-based services, such as those provided by Amazon (e.g., Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) and Simple Storage Service (S3)) and Microsoft (e.g., Azure and Office 365) has resulted in additional network build-out for public network infrastructure, in addition to the deployment of massive data centers to support these services that employ private network infrastructure.
Cloud-based services are typically facilitated by a large number of interconnected high-speed servers, with host facilities commonly referred to as server "farms" or data centers. These server farms and data centers typically comprise a large-to-massive array of rack and/or blade servers housed in specially-designed facilities. Many of the larger cloud-based services are hosted via multiple data centers that are distributed across a geographical area, or even globally. For example, Microsoft Azure has multiple very large data centers in each of the United States, Europe, and Asia. Amazon employs co-located and separate data centers for hosting its EC2 and AWS services, including over a dozen AWS data centers in the US alone.
In order to more effectively manage data center resources, telemetry data concerning various data center resources is collected and analyzed, which is referred to as data center analytics or cloud analytics. An example of telemetry data is the amount of L2/L3 cache consumed on a processor, which can reveal much more detailed information regarding processor (and platform) utilization and usage than conventional CPU utilization measurements. Telemetry data is also used to verify performance metrics in service level agreements (SLAs) when data center resources are leased, such as for Infrastucture as a Service (IaaS) SLAs.
The current approach is to use software to collect telemetry data. For example, modern operating systems provide means for accessing various processor performance data, memory utilization, processes, threads, etc. This is facilitated by software code running in memory on a host system, which is inherently untrustworthy, since such code can be easily manipulated and/or hacked. For example, a cloud service provider could modify telemetry data to meet SLA requirements, and there would be little way for a customer to refute the data. It would be advantageous to be able to ensure telemetry data is both accurate and trustworthy.

Trusted platform telemetry mechanisms inaccessible to software


The present invention describes the use of nitric-oxide-liberating or transferring compounds, stimulators of endogenous NO formation, as well as stimulators of guanylate cyclase, for prevention, treatment and elimination of endothelial dysfunctions and the diseases accompanying these dysfunctions or caused by them, as well as the use of said compounds to produce pharmaceutical products for the cited areas of application.

Organic nitrates, like glycerol trinitrate (GTN) (Murrel, Lancet: 80, 113, 151 (1879)), pentaerythrityl tetranitrate (PETN) (Risemann et al., Circulation, Vol. XVII, 22 (1958), U.S. Pat. No. 2,370,437), isosorbide-5-mononitrate (ISMN) (DE-OS 22 21 080, DE-OS 27 51 934, DE-OS 30 28 873, DE-PS 29 03 927, DE-OS 31 02 947, DE-OS 31 24 410, EP-PS 45 076, EP-PS 57 847, EP-PS 59 664, EP-PS 64 194, EP-PS 67 964, EP-PS 143 507, U.S. Pat. No. 3,886,186, U.S. Pat. No. 4,065,488, U.S. Pat. No. 4,417,065, U.S. Pat. No. 4,431,829), isosorbide dinitrate (ISDN) (L. Goldberg, Acta Physiology. Scand, 15, 173 (1948)), propatyl nitrate (Medard, Mem. Poudres 35: 113 (1953)), trolnitrate (FR-PS 984 523) or nicorandil (U.S. Pat. No. 4,200,640) and similar compounds are vasodilators, which have found extensive therapeutic use for decades chiefly in the indication angina pectoris and ischemic heart disease (IHD) (Nitrangin.RTM., Pentalong.RTM., Monolong.RTM., Isoket.RTM., Elantan.RTM. and others). Organic nitrates of new types, for example, SPM 3672 (N-[3-nitratopivaloyl]-L-cysteine ethyl ester) (U.S. Pat. No. 5,284,872), as well as its derivatives exhibit, comparable and improved pharmacological efficacy when used in the aforementioned indications. The use of organic nitrites, like isoamyl nitrite, as coronary dilator has also long been known (Brunton, Lancet, 97 (1867)). Other NO-liberating or transferring compounds, like thionitrites, thionitrates, S-nitrosothiols or nitrosoproteins (Harrison et al., Circulation, 87:1461-1467 (1993), as well as substituted furoxanes (1,2,5-oxadiazole-2-oxide, furazan-N-oxide) (Feelisch al., Biochem. Pharmacol. 44:1149-1157 (1992) or substituted sydnonimines, especially molsidomine (DE-AS 16 95 897, DE-AS 25 32 124, DD-PS 244 980), are also described as potent coronary dilators. All these substances themselves or in the form of pharmacologically active metabolites, for example, the molsidomine metabolites SIN 1 and SIN 1A (Noack Nitroglycerin VII, Walter de Gruyter & Co., Berlin, 1991, 23-28), as well as their derivatives and structural analogs (Noack and Feelisch, Molecular mechanism of nitrovascular bioactivation, in "Endothelial Mechanisms of Vasomotor Control" (editors Drexler et al.), pp. 37-50, Steinkopff Verlag, Darmstadt, FRG (1991)), are capable of in vivo liberation or transfer of nitric oxide.
The galenic processing of organic nitrates and nitrites, as well as other NO-liberating or transferring compounds to pharmaceutical preparation for treatment of angina pectoris and ischemic heart disease is generally known. It occurs according to procedures and rules generally familiar to pharmaceutical experts, in which selection of the technologies to be applied and the galenic auxiliaries to be employed is primarily guided according to the active principle being processed. Questions of chemical-physical properties, the chosen form of administration, the desired effect time, as well as avoidance of drug auxiliary incompatibilities are of special significance here. Peroral, parenteral, sublingual or transdermal administration in the form of tablets, coated tablets, capsules, solutions, sprays or plasters is primarily described for drugs with the indication angina pectoris and ischemic heart disease (DD-PS 293 492, DE-AS 26 23 800, DE-OS 33 25 652, DE-OS 33 28 094, DE-PS 40 07 705, DE-OS 40 38 203, JP Application 59/10513 (1982)).
In addition to the applications of nitrosylating substances that have been known for years, their use to treat and prevent diseases caused by pathologically increased concentrations of sulfur-containing amino acids in body fluids is also described. These disease entities, caused by congenital or acquired defects in metabolism of these amino acids and characterized by increased blood and urine concentrations of said amino acids (homocystinuria), are combined under the term homocysteinemia [sic] .sup.* (WO 92/18002).
The antiischemic effectiveness of organic nitrates and the other aforementioned substance classes is explained by hemodynamic effects, especially a heart-unloading effect that leads to economy of oxygen consumption of the heart or corrects the imbalance between O.sub.2 supply and demand present in IHD. The cause is preferred expansion of venous pooling and a reduction in preload with a direct coronary dilatation effect, especially in the area of coronary stenosis. The post-stenotic reduced perfusion could be favorably influenced precisely by this (positive steal effect) since the organic nitrates obviously have a more potent effect in atherosclerotic vessels than in healthy vessels (Koida et al., Endothelium 1 (supplement): Abstract 299, p. s76 (1993)), especially in the area of coronary stenoses. This purely hemodynamic effect is mediated by radical nitric oxide (NO.multidot.), which is uniformly liberated from all nitrovasodilators despite the very different chemical structure of the compounds. The bioactivation pathways that ultimately lead to production of NO.multidot. in situ, i.e., in the endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells of the vessel, are very different, however (Noack and Feelisch, Molecular mechanism of nitrovascular bioactivation, in: "Endothelial Mechanisms of Vasomotor Control" (editors Drexler et al.), pp. 37-50, Steinkopff Verlag, Darmstadt, FRG (1991)). This was clarified beyond question in recent years by direct NO measurement by different techniques (method of Noack et al., Neuroprotocols, 1:133-139 (1992)). NO has a vasodilatory effect by activating soluble guanylate cyclase. Formation of cGMP from GTP is stimulated by this. cGMP in turn leads to various phosphorylation reactions (e.g., on protein kinases) that promote intracellular Ca storage (Karczewski et al., Z. Kardiol. 79 (supplement 1):212 (1990)). Relaxation then occurs from the reduction in intracellular free Ca.sup.2+ level. It has been known since 1987 that the endothelium derived relaxing factor (EDRF) is identical to NO or an NO-containing substance (Palmer et al., Nature, 327:524-526 (1987); Ignarro et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 84, 9265-9269 (1987)) and has important significance for local blood supply. FNT .sup.* [Translator's note: homocystinemia?]
The endothelial cells form a continuous monolayer in the region of the internal wall of a blood vessel. This results in a total surface of about 800 m.sup.2 for an adult person with an intrinsic weight (1.5 to 2 kg) corresponding to that of the human liver. According to the present view, the functions exerted by the endothelial cells are of two kinds: mechanical and functional. On the one hand, they exert a sort of barrier function with which penetration of blood components, like low-density lipoproteins (LDL), into the vessel wall near the lumen (intima) is supposed to be prevented. On the other hand, they possess an endocrine function. Increased synthesis of bioactive substances occurs from different stimuli, like EDRF/NO and prostaglandin-I.sub.2 (PGI.sub.2) with which the function of the flowing cells (Pohl and Busse, Eur. Heart J., 11 (supplement B), 35-42 (1990)) regional hemodynamics (Furchgott, Circ. Res. 53:557-573 (1983)) and the structure of the vessel wall (Di Corleto, Exp. Cell Res. 153:167-172 (1984)) are fundamentally influenced. The fact that a pathological effect on endothelial function that can have different consequences invariably occurs during damage to the endothelium for any reason (endothelial damage from hypercholesterolemia (T. J. Verbeuren et al., Circ. Res. 58:552-564 (1986)), endothelial damage in the postinfarction phase (M. R. Sigreid et al., Circ. 86 (supplement 1) :21 (1992)) is thus explained informally at the same time. Regional vasoconstriction and vasospasm and reconstruction or growth processes in the vessel wall that are viewed as initial processes of atherogenesis are included here.
Endothelial dysfunction is generally characterized by a limitation or loss of physiological vasodilation mediated by the endothelium. A reduction or increase in NO-mediated vessel relaxation, vascular protection mediated by NO and growth processes suppressed by NO in the intima and media is observed simultaneously. Endothelial dysfunction is also characterized by proliferative processes in the vessel wall as a result of increased mitogenesis, increased endothelial adhesion and migration of leukocytes and macrophages, as well as increased oxidation of low density lipoproteins (LDL), which damage the endothelium. It is regularly observed in pathophysiological states within the scope of atherosclerosis, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes mellitus and cardiac insufficiency (Creager et al., J. Clin. Invest. 86, 228-234 (1990); Linder et al., Circulation 81:1762-1769 (1990); Zeiher et al., Circulation 83:391-401 (1991)). Hypoxia and limited shear forces are also triggering events for an endothelial dysfunction. Among other things, it leads to a situation in which vasoactive substances, like acetylcholine or serotonin, which normally produce vasorelaxation, cause vasoconstriction because of their direct vasoconstrictive effects on smooth vascular musculature, which adversely affects the disease picture (Golino et al., N. Engl. J. Med. 324:641-648 (1991)). Physiological vasomotor regulation is therefore not just disturbed during endothelial dysfunction, but in fact reversed. These changes are even more pronounced during atherosclerotic reconstruction of the internal wall of the vessel (Ludmer et al., N. Engl. J. Med. 315:1046-1051 (1986)).
With its autocrine and paracrine activity, the endothelium contributes not only to maintaining health of the wall of the blood vessel, but also influences the effect of exogenous NO liberators, like PETN or GTN, by forming EDRF/NO itself. If the endothelium is removed, for example, mechanically, from the wall of the artery (during invasive catheter diagnosis or extracorporeally on isolated vessel segments), or if endothelial NO formation is suppressed by specific inhibitors, the vasodilative effect of nitrovasodilators like GTN or PETN is intensified (Busse et al., Cardiovasc. Pharmacol. 14 (supplement 11) :S81-S85 (1989); Kojda et al., J. Vasc. Res. 29:151 (1992A)). Pharmacological inhibition of endothelial NO synthesis leads to the same effect on coronary veins (Kojda et al., Naunyn-Schmiedeberg Arch. Pharmacol. 346:R35 (1992B)). It is known that the effect of calcium antagonists, especially those of the 1,4-dihydropyridine type (DHPs), is weakened after removal of the endothelium (Kojda et al., Bas. Res. Cardiol. 86:254-256 (1991)). Further studies have shown that these substances are probably stimulators of endothelial NO formation and liberation (Gunther et al., Basic Res. Cardiol. 87:452-460 (1992)). Kinins, like bradykinins, also exert their biological activity via increased endothelial formation and liberation of EDRF/NO (V. A. Briner et al., Am. J. Physiol. 264:F322-F327 (1993); Kelm et al., Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 154:236-244 (1988)).

Pharmaceutical preparations and medicaments for the prevention and treatment of endothelial dysfunction


A wide-band antenna comprises a series-resonant antenna and a resonant circuit. The antenna has a radiative element and a feed pin. The resonant circuit comprises an inductive element connected to the feed pin and a capacitor connected in parallel to the inductive element, which has a center tap for adjusting the impedance of the resonant circuit relative to the antenna impedance. The antenna can be a low-impedance PILA, a helix, monopole, whip, stub or loop antenna. The wide-band antenna can be used for the low (1 GHz range) or high (2 GHz range) band. The antenna can be made to simultaneously cover both 850 & 900 bands with the ground plane small enough to be implemented in a mobile phone or the like. The center tap is either connected to the feed of the antenna or connected to an RF front-end dependent upon the impedance level of the antenna element.

Typical 50 ohm low-band (850 & 900) planar inverted-F antennas (PIFAs) used in mobile phones have a single resonance and, consequently, a low bandwidth in the order of 50–60 MHz. Standard PIFA implementations are not capable of simultaneously covering both 850 band and 900 band (with a total required bandwidth of 136 MHz, from 824 MHz to 960 MHz). Available bandwidth could be increased by using a longer ground-plane or a higher antenna, but in most cases the ground plane length is limited to 100 mm and the antenna should be no higher than 5–6 mm. In these cases, getting enough bandwidth for both 850 and 900 is not possible without the use of load switching, for example. In 2 GHz area, it is possible to use a parasitic element in standard PIFA implementations to achieve dual-resonance. However, it is not feasible to use a parasitic element for the 1 GHz range because a much larger parasitic element is needed.
Thus, it is advantageous and desirable to provide a wide-band antenna for use in a mobile phone to cover both 850 band and 900 band, preferably from 824 MHz to 960 MHz.


A shipping protector is provided which is to be disposed between a substantially rectangular article and a shipping container for the article. The article is of the type having a base having four base corners and a top having four top corners, each of which is in substantially vertically spaced relationship with one of the base corners. The protector includes a base support configured to engage the article's base and each of the base corners. The base support has a thickness sufficient to define an upwardly facing surface adjacent each of the base corners. A first top support is provided which is configured to engage two of the top corners and which has a downwardly extending structural section adjacent each of the corners. The structural sections have a length sufficient to allow the lower ends thereof to engage the upwardly facing surface associated with one of the base corners. A second top support, similar to the first, is configured to engage the other two of the top corners and has similarly configured downwardly extending structural sections. As a result, with the base support and the first and second top supports engaging the article to be shipped while in the shipping container, vertical forces applied to the container will be reacted to the top supports and will be transferred through the downwardly extending sections to the base support.

The present invention relates to a protector for interposition between an object being shipped and a shipping container, and particularly to such a protector providing adequate support for a substantially rectangular object, which is packaged in a shipping container and is subject to such containers being stacked on top of one another.
It is common practice when packing various objects in a shipping carton to provide protecting means between the object being shipped and an outer packaging such as a cardboard box. Such protecting means commonly take the form of styrofoam protectors positioned upon the corners of the objects being shipped to in effect suspend the object within the shipping container.
Specifically, it is common practice when shipping substantially rectangularly shaped window room air conditioners to provide several styrofoam protecting means to engage the corners thereof prior to placing the air conditioner in its final shipping carton.
It has been found that prior art protecting means for window air conditioners have not provided adequate protection during shipping and storage. Specifically, it has been found that in some large air conditioners, which include heavy compressors, the basepan is not adequately supported and may flex and distort during shipping. Further, it is common practice when shipping air conditioners contained in cardboard cartons to stack a number of units one upon the other in trucks, warehouses and other storage locations. Such stacking of components has been found to result in damage to the air conditioner housing as a result of multiple units being stacked one upon the other. Another mode of damage experienced with such units is experienced when strapping materials and the like are wrapped around an individual carton, or a number of cartons contained upon a pallet or the like are retained by restraining straps which impart forces upon unprotected portions of the container and results in distortion and damage to the article within the container.
Accordingly, it is desirable to have a protecting means for room air conditioners and other similarly shaped rectangular objects which will provide protection to the unit under the above described conditions of shipping and/or storage.


Systems and methods which facilitate return shipment of items, such as to provide for the return of goods from a purchaser to a merchant, are shown. Embodiments provide shipping management functionality for managing return requests, processing of return requests, authorizing returns, tracking of the processing of a return request, and/or tracking of return shipments. A shipping management system of embodiments operates to make shipping functionality and/or information utilized with respect to return shipments, which may not otherwise be readily available to the return shipper, conveniently accessible for use by the return shipper. Embodiments provide for some or all return shipping fees to be borne by the merchant rather than the return shipper.

The shipment of items, such as new and used goods shipped from merchants to purchasers or other recipients, has been commonplace for years. For example, it is commonplace for various merchants, whether they be "brick and mortar" merchants, online merchants, or sellers through an electronic marketplace (e.g., eBay, Amazon Marketplace, etc.), to ship goods using a number of forms of shipping services and media, such as letters, flats, and parcels, via various shipping service providers, such as the United States Postal Service (USPS), United Parcel Service (UPS), Federal Express (FedEx), Dalsey, Hillblom and Lynn (DHL), and local and regional couriers With the advent of the Internet and the advent of innumerable e-commerce merchants, not only have the number of items shipped increased appreciably in recent years, but so too have the number of shippers and recipients of such items.
Sometimes there is a need for a recipient to return the items to the merchant, such as where the incorrect item was mistakenly originally shipped, where the item was defective upon receipt, where the recipient elects to take advantage of a liberal merchant return policy, etc. Where the items are initially shipped to the recipient, such a return may necessitate a return shipment from the purchaser or other recipient back to the merchant, particularly where the merchant does not have a brick and mortar location disposed near the returning individual. Managing the return of such items, particularly where shipment of the item by a recipient is involved, can be difficult for a merchant. For example, merely keeping abreast of the particular items for which return has been requested, returned items which are in transit to the merchant, etc. can be daunting.
Further complicating item returns for many merchants is that a number of merchants or online marketplaces (e.g., Amazon, Zappos, etc.) offer free return shipping to purchasers, such as for a marketing differentiator, to alleviate purchasers' consternation regarding engaging in ecommerce, etc. Although other merchants (e.g., smaller merchants, merchants without sophisticated shipment management infrastructure, casual sellers, etc.) may desire to offer similar free return shipping to some or all of their purchasers, they nevertheless may be unable to practicably provide such benefits. For example, offering free returns might be accomplished by including a prepaid return shipping label (e.g., a USPS shipping label having prepaid postage indicia thereon) in each shipment. However, such prepaid shipping labels represent value which, even if unused by the purchaser to return the items, is an expense to the merchant, thus making this an option which is too costly to implement in most scenarios (e.g., only a small portion of purchased goods are expected to be returned in many scenarios, thereby resulting in a large amount of unused postage value "spoiling"). Alternatively, a merchant might provide for such prepaid shipping labels in an ad hoc manner in response to purchaser requests. However, handling such requests and employing logistics to provide such shipping labels to the purchasers using the tools available to merchants today results in this solution being impractical for most merchants (e.g., the management of requests, generating appropriate return shipping labels, and coordinating their being provided to the respective purchasers can be a significant burden).
A number of systems have been developed for use in managing the shipment of items. For example, shipping management systems, such as the SHIPSTATION shipping management system provided by Auctane LLC of Austin Tex., provide functionality for the management of item orders, managing the picking and packing of items for order fulfilment, generation of invoices, packing slips, manifests, shipping labels, and postage or other prepaid shipping indicia, and tracking of shipment of items through a shipping service provider. However, shipping management systems have generally not provided robust functionality with respect to item returns. In particular, shipping management systems have not provided management of return shipment requests and their processing or tracking of the return shipments themselves. Moreover, shipping management systems have heretofore not provided functionality implementing free return shipping.

Systems and methods for managing and/or facilitating return shipment of items


The invention provides a NAND-type semiconductor memory device capable of high speed operation. A semiconductor memory device of the invention includes: a memory array, which forms a plurality of memory cells arranged in a matrix direction; a vertical selecting mechanism, which couples to the memory array, and selects the memory cells in a vertical direction of the memory array according to a vertical address signal; a horizontal selecting mechanism, which couples to the memory array, and selects the memory cells in a horizontal direction of the memory array according to a horizontal address signal; and a controlling mechanism, which reads data from the memory cells or writes data into the memory cells. A plurality of cell units is disposed in the memory array. Each cell unit is consisted of a data memory cell which storages data and a reference memory cell which storages reference data.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to a semiconductor memory device, and more particularly, to an operation method enabling high speed reading and writing.
2. Description of Related Art
Generally, an NAND-type (Not AND type) flash memory, such as a flash memory disclosed in below, is known to include a memory array containing NAND strings that connects a plurality of memory cell in series, and a page buffer connected to bit lines in the memory array, wherein the page buffer maintains data transmitted from a selected page of the memory array or maintains data used to programming the selected page. This type of page buffer includes a data register and a cache register, so as to achieve high speed reading and programming (reference patent 1).

Semiconductor memory device, reading method, and programming method


The present invention is directed to a method for producing a condensed phase of a silk fusion protein, the method comprising the steps of preparing a solution of a silk fusion protein in an aqueous medium and concentrating the silk fusion protein in the aqueous medium, wherein the fusion protein is isolated from a recombinant production host and comprises a silk-like protein sequence and two separate non-silk terminal module sequences, such as cellulose binding modules, SpyCatcher domains, tenth type III module of Fibronectin, gamma-crystallin D, flanking the silk-like protein sequence; wherein the method is performed so that the silk fusion protein is not precipitated and subsequently dissolved to the aqueous medium. The present invention is also directed to using such fusion proteins as adhesives.

Silk and silk-like proteins are a large group of proteins found in many different organisms where they fulfill a variety of different roles. A very well-known example is the domesticated silk moth Bombyx mori that is used on an industrial scale to produce silk fiber. Related silk-proteins are produced by for example by spiders when making webs1. Also, other organisms, for example, mussels produce silk-like proteins as part of the nacreous structures in their shells2. Because of the structural properties of silk-like proteins in natural materials are very desirable, there is a large industrial interest in making silk-like proteins. One envisions that industrially produced silk-like proteins could replace current synthetic or other natural polymers in specific applications or on a large scale. Although Bombyx mori silk is widely used, there are limitations to its use and industrial scale-up. It is desirable to use recombinant organisms or cells that can be grown in bioreactors to produce silk-like proteins, because of scalability and process considerations. It is also desirable to produce silk-like proteins in forms that are not naturally found in order to make new types of silk-like polymer materials3.
In the literature, the problem of forming fibers by recombinantly produced silk proteins is well documented. The invention relates to the general problem of processing recombinantly produced silk protein into a state from which, for example, fibers can be made and that is in a state that naturally produced silk proteins, such as spider webs, are found. As a first step bacteria or eukaryotic cells are used to produce the silk-like proteins. For this, standard methods of recombinant DNA technology are used4. A typical way to proceed is to collect the recombinant protein produced by said organisms in an aqueous solution, which can be the medium in which the organisms have been grown in. Often the silk proteins are then precipitated from the solution. After precipitation the silk protein is collected and often lyophilized5. The collected and precipitated protein is then dissolved using some solubilization chemicals such as 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoro-2-propanol (HFIP)6-10, lithium bromide (LiBr)11, or guanidinium thiocyanate (GdmSCN)12. In the next step, the excess solubilization chemicals are removed by, for example, dialysis or other forms of buffer exchange. The silk protein solution is typically concentrated or desalted, and then extruded into a coagulation bath containing an antisolvent such as methanol or isopropanol10,12,13. Sometimes this procedure is performed using microfluidic devices14,15. Alternative ways are also described. For example, the silk protein solution can also be processed by electrospinning to produce fibers16,17.
Sometimes the protein is not purified by precipitation, but instead using chromatographic techniques. In these cases, a polypeptide tag is genetically fused to the silk-proteins. These tags are, for example, sequences of histidine residues (His-tags), thioredoxin (Trx)18, or a SUMO tag19. When removing tags (such as Trx or SUMO) the solubility of the protein decreases and fiber formation can occur. In these cases, fibrils are formed in the solution or at the air-water interface and the fibers can be pulled out of the aqueous solution6.
The present invention addresses the problem of how silk proteins can be produced and processed for assembly into fibers or other structures such as films or coatings in a way that does not require precipitation of the silk protein nor subsequent solubilizing the protein. The invention does not require the use of fusion tags that must be removed by processing with protease enzymes or other means of cleavage of fusion protein tags20. The invention allows production of fibers of recombinant silk proteins without the use of coagulation baths such as isopropanol or methanol. Because the steps of solubilization, fusion protein removal, and the use of coagulation baths are not needed, there is a significant benefit of the invention in making fibers.
Solubilization of precipitated silk proteins requires the use of harsh chemicals, in particular, HFIP, lithium salts, and GdmSCN are either toxic or add substantial cost to the process. Solubilization can also cause physical damage to the silk proteins. The use of proteases to cleave protein domains prior to assembly require protease enzymes that are expensive and add processing steps such as chromatography that limits scalability.
The present invention discloses a way in which recombinant silk proteins can be brought into a condensed phase which then can be used to form fibers, adhesives, coatings, films, or other material structures.

Method for producing a condensed adhesive phase of silk fusion proteins


This invention pertains to a controlling device for operating various appliances. It includes a personal computer, which is programmed to provide for regulation of the sequence of operations of various electrical devices, such as a controller, the controller functions to initiate or turn OFF a relay or switching electronics device, which can provide for the operations of an appliance, whether it be an industrial or household appliance, or appliances that are used specifically in the entertainment field, such as a scent emitting device, a dimmer, a misting mechanism, and a vibratory motor. These are examples.

The invention provides in one aspect, an automation/operator control system for generating the required signals required for controlling the system described below:
The invention is a system that is comprised of:                A 4-6V electronic control/relay board wired to standard Edison style outlets, of which accepts the widest range of connection to external emitting device that are powered by AC. An AC to DC adapter cable allows for DC connection from the same universal outlet (provided that the DC connection is made with RCA (composite) male plugs connectors.) All controller/relay electronics support both AC and DC power.
A housing for such electronics that incorporate a standard IED power chord jack for accepting AC input from the widely universal IED female AC power chords.                A housing that accepts DC control signal input from the housing top using standard female video jacks. Controller boards not integrated with the relay electronics accomplish the transport of the DC signal through such mentioned method using universal video cables—RCA type for 2 line needs, S-video for 3-4 line needs.        A housing that utilizes both of the outlets on a standard duel Edison plug in a manner that each plug is a separate controllable channel.        A method in which the controller (integrated or separate from the relay/switching electronics) can be controlled via standard 5V USB signal through a PC.        A method, (for when using a relay/switching electronics) in which the controller can be unplugged from a PC and alternately operated manually via 5V signal from battery pack or any 3rd party controller cable of a "universal" 5V signal.        A housing that consists of input plugs utilizing the same video cable standard of RCA (composite) or S-video. Inputs can be used to trigger outputs from an external source via the universal 5V DC standard. In this method the input directly correlates to the output signal in such a way that a motion director or pressure mat can trigger or channel or even multiple channels vs. the traditional methods.        A method to power such relays/switching electronics without the presence of a 5V signal from PC (generally provided through the USB). Using the universal RCA (composite) connection, such relay/switching electronics can be powered by 4-6V alkaline batteries or an AC to 5V DC wall adapter for continuous power needs. This applies to relays/switching electronics that are not integrated with a built in USB controller.        A connector that allows the use of standard speaker wire to make RCA (composite) plug connections.        A housing that uses color coding of the video input jacks too simply and eliminate confusion as to proper connection.        A permanent connection for USB cables to all relays/switching electronics that do incorporate a built-in controller. This method eliminates lost cables and weakening or internal USB jacks from continuous plugging and unplugging as such USB connections.        A system consisting of a plurality of PC software applications that can alternately be used to control the system beyond the limitations of manual triggering. To include but not limited to:                    1. Wireless signal triggering            2. Synced triggering from entertain media (or user timed)            3. Manually hardwired triggering from PC input devices (mouse, joystick, motion sensor)                        A modular system including hardware in which a user can set up a to be configured in a manually controlled environment and later (or in the same session) move to a PC controlled system while still maintaining the same relays/switching electronics.        A system that will allow interface with various existing control systems such as DMX and X-10 or any others utilizing a servo or 5V signal.        A system that has the ability to connect directly to a battery and run DC devices without the needs of an AC system (mobile, emergency backup, off-the grid etc.)        A system that has the ability to connect up to 127 USB controllers per PC. The number of channels would be depending on the configuration, but could yield as many as 1016 channels from a single PC.
In prior instances such electronic relay/controller boards and/or relay or switch boxes require the user to assemble, solder and/or create a custom configuration for such a system to be together in one complete unit. Prior art is not considered a "turn-key solution" due to having no set standard as to how connections would be made and/or taken to produce a universal complete system. In any prior custom system, a clip or screw type connections would be used to make connections between components. Such connections generally make it harder to produce such a universal system because bare wire must be used vs. a clean connection using standard type plug connectors mentioned prior in the section above. In addition to claims made in Background of Invention, the following additionally set the invention apart from other systems.
Prior art systems are comprised of the following limitations:                An electronic control board wired to standard Edison outlets in a "tandem" connection where each duel outlet can handle only one channel.        Housing for such electronics that incorporate a standard IED power chord without a separate jack for accepting various brands and lengths or detachable IED AC power chords.        A system that only uses proprietary signal cables and connectors directly related to the manufacturer's brand or protocol of per se system. Such systems also employ integrated jacks for mentioned cables into the emitting devices rendering them in-portable (non-universal) with any system not belonging to the same brand, manufacturer or signal transmission protocol.        A system with no color coding for connection ports.        Software that is proprietary and does not lend itself to integration with entertainment type media.        A controller or PC application controller that does not utilize any other PC input devices for controller other than mouse, keyboard or integrated levers from a stand alone controller.        A system that generally supports only on/off and variable power (dimming) of AC lights. DC devices, motor position and speed control or motors are not generally available. Manual triggering of signals are also not generally supported.

Universal control system with universal interface to operate a plurality of devices


Green coffee beans are dried prior to roasting to a moisture content of from 0.5 to 7%. The drying is conducted at from 70.degree. to 325.degree. F. (21.degree. to 163.degree. C.) for from 1 minute to 24 hours. The dried green beans are fast roasted to a Hunter L-color of from 10-16. The dried roasted beans are blended with non-dried coffee beans roasted to a Hunter L-color of from 17-24 and having a moisture content before roasting of greater than about 7%. The blend contains from 1-50% of the dried dark roasted beans and from 50-99% of the non-dried roasted beans. The blend has a surprisingly high yield.

Numerous attempts have been made in the past to make roasted coffee which has both an enhanced brew coffee yield (volume of coffee brew per weight of roasted coffee) and an acceptable brewed flavor.
It is known that the extractability of roasted coffee (the amount of brew solids which can be extracted from a given weight of coffee from which a coffee brew is made) can be increased by grinding the roasted coffee to finer particles sizes. These fine grinds, however, are physically difficult to brew. The fine particles are subject to pooling, channeling and compaction during brewing. Fine grinds also have an undesirable balance of flavor and strength.
It is also known that extractability can be enhanced by flaking roast and ground coffee. Flaking involves roll milling a roast and ground coffee. More coffee can be brewed from flaked coffee due to the increased extractability. However, flaked coffee has lower levels of container aroma. It also lacks a desirable balance of flavor and strength.
It is known that fast roasting of coffee beans can also increase brew coffee yields. Roasting times affect product density and extractability. Fast roasted coffee, i.e., roast times less than about 5.5 minutes, is less dense than longer roasted coffee. Fast roasted coffee also provides an enhanced extractability. Fast roasted coffee, however, can also lack a desirable balance of flavor and strength.
It can be seen that enhacing extractability and brew coffee yield can be achieved but often at the expense of balanced flavor of the coffee brew.
There is therefore a need to provide a roasted coffee that has both an enhanced brew coffee yield (referred to herein as high-yield) and a balanced flavor.

High-yield roasted coffee with balanced flavor


A system for mounting a picture projection screen between two upright floor-standing speaker units in which the picture screen can be drawn out from one of the speaker units and extended to and attached to the other speaker unit in one position and retracted back into the first speaker unit in another position includes a winding system arranged in the one speaker unit and an attaching system for attaching the free end of the screen in the other speaker unit. The winding system and the attaching system can be arranged to be repositioned so that at top edge of the screen is above the upper surfaces of the speaker units so as to provide access to electronic equipment arranged at a lower level between the two speaker units.

The present invention relates to a speaker apparatus with a picture projecting screen.
Recently, because of the increase of video players for reproducing a high-quality picture signal such as, for example, a digital VTR (video tape recorder) or a DVD reproducer (DVD: Digital Versatile Disk), and because of the spread of video monitors for displaying a high-quality picture and a stereo reproducer for reproducing high-quality sound, it has come to be possible to construct an AV apparatus (AV: Audio Visual) in homes, which can reproduce a vivid and powerful picture of a movie, sport, music or the like by a wide screen, with a high-quality picture, and a high-quality sound.
By referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, prior art examples of such AV apparatus will be described below. First, by referring to FIG. 1, an AV apparatus is described, which has a monitor whose display unit is formed of a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube).
In FIG. 1, 80 indicates an AV apparatus as a whole. Left and right speakers 81L, 81R reproducing stereo sounds are located on the left and right sides apart from each other by a specified distance, and at the center between the left and right speakers 81L, 81R, a monitor unit 82 mounted on a rack 83 is located.
In the rack 83, for example, AV devices such as a digital VTR 84 or a DVD reproducer 85 are contained. Picture signals from the AV devices such as the digital VTR 84 or the DVD reproducer 85 are supplied to the monitor unit 82 to display a picture, and at the same time, sound signals are supplied to the left and right speakers 81L, 81R to reproduce stereo sounds.
Such an AV apparatus 80 is located, for example, along a wall of a room or the like, and viewers face to the AV apparatus 80 to look at (enjoy) the pictures of a movie or the like.
In the AV apparatus 80 of FIG. 1, a picture screen of the monitor 82 is made large-sized. If a still larger picture screen is to be achieved, it is necessary to arrange a projector and a large-sized screen in place of the monitor 82 so as to project and display a picture on the screen.
Next, by referring to FIG. 2, a prior art example of an AV apparatus with a projector and a screen will be described. However, in FIG. 2, AV devices such as the digital VTR 84, the DVD reproducer 85 or the like in FIG. 1 are omitted in the figure. Left and right speakers 81L, 81R for reproducing stereo sounds are located on the left and right sides by a specified distance apart from each other, and between the left and right speakers 81L, 81R, a screen 91 hung on a wall or the like is located, and a projector 90 is located on the floor in front of (behind is also possible) the screen 91.
On the screen 91, a rectangular picture projecting portion 91a coated with fine glass beads is formed, and a large-sized picture with a diagonal length of, for example, 80 to 120 inches can also be projected.
Picture signals from AV devices such as the digital VTR, the DVD reproducer and so on, which are not shown in the figure, are supplied to the projector 90, and the light projected from the projector 90 is projected on the screen 91 to reflect a picture of a wide screen, and at the same time, sound signals are supplied to the left and right speakers 81L, 81R to emit stereo sounds.
Furthermore, the screen 91 may be a screen hung down from a ceiling or a screen supported by a pair of poles instead of a screen hung on a wall or the like. Moreover, the projector 90 also may be attached to a ceiling to be used instead of a projector put on a floor.
According to the prior art AV apparatus in FIG. 1, a picture with high brightness can be displayed by the monitor unit 82. Moreover, according to the prior art AV apparatus in FIG. 2, a picture of a wide screen can be projected on the screen 91.
When not used, the screen 91 of the prior art AV apparatus in FIG. 2 is, for example, to be removed from, for example, the wall and accommodated in a closet or the like for preventing the screen 91 from being stained or preventing the screen 91 from interfering, and further, when the screen 91 is used, the screen 91 is to be taken out of the closet or the like. Consequently, handling of the screen is inconvenient and ensuring a place for accommodating the screen also becomes necessary.
Furthermore, in the screen 91 to be hung on the wall when used among screens 91 of the prior art AV apparatus, the height of the screen 91 cannot easily be adjusted afterward, in a case where a hook is secured in a position at a specified height of the wall considering the looking and listening position of viewers and the screen 91 is hooked on the hook.
Moreover, another screen device may be imagined, in which a screen is wound up to a ceiling or the like with a motor when not used, and is rewound down to be spread along the wall when used. However, it is not suitable for use in a common household because the price of the apparatus itself and the expense of the installation are high.
Furthermore, in a case where AV devices such as the digital VTR 84, the DVD reproducer 85 and so on are located between the left and right speakers 81L, 81R like the AV apparatus in FIG. 1, and in front of the AV devices, the screen 91 like a screen of the AV apparatus in FIG. 2 is located, the screen stands in the way when adjusting the AV devices to be used by operating knobs of the AV devices or by using a remote commander.
Furthermore, in the prior art AV apparatus in FIG. 1, in a case where the screen 91 used in the prior art AV apparatus in FIG. 2 is located in front of the monitor unit 82, and the monitor 82 and the screen 91 are selectively used, the screen 91 should be put away and be accommodated in a closet or the like even when the monitor unit 82 is to be used. Consequently, the selective use of the monitor unit 82 and the screen 91 becomes complicated.
Moreover, in a case where the monitor unit 82 and the screen 91 are located in separate positions and are used selectively, the positions of the left and right speakers 81L, 81R need to be changed according to each use so that sounds may be listened in a good orientation, and consequently, the use becomes complicated.

Speaker apparatus with a picture projecting screen


A detection system for detecting failure in a primary load path of a flight control actuator and annunciating engagement in a secondary load path of the flight control actuator. The failure in the primary load path causes axial movement in a secondary rod of the secondary load path. The detection system includes a secondary mounting assembly that guides axial movement of the secondary rod; and a sensor that electronically detects relative axial displacement between the secondary rod and the secondary mounting assembly upon a primary load path failure and annunciates transition to engagement in the secondary load path.

Aircraft typically include a plurality of flight control surfaces that, when controllably positioned, guide the movement of the aircraft from one destination to another. The number and type of flight control surfaces included in an aircraft may vary, but typically include both primary flight control surfaces and secondary flight control surfaces. The primary flight control surfaces are those that are used to control aircraft movement in the pitch, yaw and roll axes, and the secondary flight control surfaces are those that are used to influence the lift or drag (or both) of the aircraft. Although some aircraft may include additional control surfaces, the primary flight control surfaces typically include a pair of elevators, a pair of ailerons and a rudder, and the secondary flight control surfaces typically include a horizontal stabilizer, a plurality of flaps, slats and spoilers.
Modern aircraft have horizontal stabilizers located at the tail section of the fuselage or the rudder section that are pivotally supported relative to the airplane fuselage to "trim" the aircraft during flight by selective adjustment by the operator or pilot from an internal control unit. This involves adjusting the position of the horizontal stabilizer by a stabilizer actuator to accommodate different load distributions within the aircraft and different atmospheric conditions, i.e. wind, rain, snow, etc. In this regard the stabilizer is traditionally pivotally connected to the tail section of the fuselage at a point generally midway along its length.
One common trimmable horizontal stabilizer actuator consists of a primary ball nut assembly connected with an actuating drive gimbal which is pivotally connected to one end of the horizontal stabilizer structure. The primary ball nut assembly includes a primary ball nut and a rotatable ball screw extending axially and usually vertically through the primary ball nut and a drive gimbal. The primary ball nut is connected to the drive gimbal by a trunnion segment. The ball screw, in turn, may have its upper end remote from the actuating drive gimbal and may be fixed from translation or axial movement by a connection to a second, support gimbal which is pivotally secured to the tail section.
As the ball screw is rotated, the drive gimbal and primary ball nut will be moved in translation. Thus, as the ball screw is rotated in one direction, the primary ball nut is moved towards the ball screw distal end and the leading edge of the horizontal stabilizer is pivoted upward in a first direction. On the other hand, by rotating the ball screw in an opposite direction, the primary ball nut is moved toward the ball screw proximal end and the leading edge of the horizontal stabilizer is pivoted downward in a second direction. Rotation of the ball screw is routinely effected by a motor and associated gearing which is actuated by the pilot via the internal control unit.
The horizontal stabilizer movement, as controlled by the operator, is transmitted by the ball screw through the actuating drive gimbal by way of the primary ball nut assembly which defines a primary load path. The movement has a load with tensile and compressive components as well as a torque component due to the ball screw thread lead. Failures of the primary load path, such as caused by the shearing off of the connecting trunnion segment or by the loss of nut ball members from the ball nut assembly, can result in the partial or complete loss of control of the horizontal stabilizer. For this reason, stabilizer actuators are often provided with a secondary load path as a protection against such catastrophic failure of the primary path.

Fixed end electronic detection of secondary load path engagement of aircraft flight control actuator


A foldable spectacle frame having two lens frames forming a plane, two temples which are foldable to a thin form in substantially the same plane as the lens frames without lapping over the lens frames. Each of the temples comprises an auxiliary temple member supported by a pivot provided at an outer portion of the lens frames and being movable about the pivot in an auxiliary plane of pivotal movement substantially orthogonal to the plane of the lens frames, and a main temple member pivoted to the auxiliary temple rotatably in a main plane of pivotal movement orthogonal to the auxiliary plane of pivotal movement of the auxiliary temple member. The spectacle frame further comprises a slide member slidably provided within the auxiliary temple and having a length permitting a base end thereof to project from the auxiliary temple member, and biasing means for biasing the slide member away from the pivot when folding the spectacle frame. The pivot includes engaging means for engaging the slide member with the pivot of the lens frames by cooperation of the slide member, the pivot, and the main temple member. The slide member will engage with the pivot when the main temple member is brought into an unfolded state, and will disengage from the pivot when the main temple member or the auxiliary temple member is folded.

The present invention relates to improvements in foldable spectacle frames.
It is disclosed U.S. Pat. No. 4,820,035 one type of spectacle frame comprising lens frames and temples, wherein the temples are foldable to a thin form in substantially the same plane as the lens frames without lapping over the lens frames, such as shown in FIG. 8.
As shown in FIG. 8, the opposed temples, indicated as 306 and 306a, each comprises an auxiliary temple member 303 and a main temple member 304. The auxiliary temple member 303 which has a length corresponding to a vertical width of the lens frame 301, is supported by an outer portion of upper side 310 of the lens frame and is movable about a pivot 331. in an auxiliary plane of pivotal movement substantially orthogonal to the plane of the lens frame 301. The main temple member 304 is pivoted at a pivot 337 to the auxiliary temple member 303 and movable about the pivot 337 in a main plane of pivotal movement that is orthogonal to the auxiliary plane of pivotal movement of the auxiliary temple member 303.
The auxiliary temple members 303 and the main temple members 304 of the above spectacle frame can be located substantially in the same plane as the lens frames after folding. Accordingly, the spectacle frame has advantage of being foldable to a thickness smaller than common spectacle frames having temples which lap over the lens frames when folded.
With the spectacle frame described, the auxiliary temple member 303 is biased in an unfolding direction by a torsion spring at a location that the auxiliary temple member 303 is pivoted to the lens frame 301. However, the torsion spring is small and low in spring force. Accordingly, when only one of the temples 306, 306a is unfolded, (e.g., the temple 306) and grasped by one hand to wear the spectacles, the angle xcex11 that each temple in relation to the plane of the lens frames 301 varies owing to the gravity acting on the lens frames 301 as shown in FIG. 8. Thus, the opposed temples 306a, 306 are out of balance with respect to the plane of the lens frames 301, so that the spectacles tilt as shown in FIG. 9 if worn in this state. The spectacles must then be worn again after correcting the unfolded state of the auxiliary temple members 303 with both hands.
An improved foldable spectacle frame is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,23 1,429 (see FIGS. 11A and 11B) and intends to solve the above problems, wherein the foldable spectacle frame is provided with a slide member 352 that engages with the lens frame 301 when the main temple member 304 is brought into an unfolded state and disengages from the lens frame 301 when the main temple member 304 is folded.
The above solution, however, has encountered difficulty in actual practice since sizes of projections 351 protruded from the slide members 352 and of the recessed portions formed on blocks 313 of the lens frames 301 are limited due to limited space available on the blocks 313. Hence, the projections 351 are liable to damages when users unintentionally or accidentally pivot the auxiliary temple members 303 prior to folding the main temple members 304.
The present invention provides a spectacle frame which is free of the above problems.
The present invention provides a foldable spectacle frame comprising two lens frames and two temples, wherein each temple comprises an auxiliary temple member being supported by a pivot provided at an outer portion of the lens frame and being movable about the pivot in an auxiliary plane of pivotal movement that is substantially orthogonal to the plane of the lens frame, and a main temple member pivoted to the auxiliary temple member rotatably in a main plane of pivotal movement that is orthogonal to the auxiliary plane of pivotal movement of the auxiliary temple member. The spectacle frame further comprises a slide member slidably provided within the auxiliary temple member and having a length permitting a base end thereof to project from the auxiliary temple member, and biasing means for biasing the slide member in a direction away from the pivot when folding the spectacle frame, wherein the pivot includes engaging means for engaging the slide member with the pivot by cooperation of the slide member, the pivot, and the main temple member. The slide member engages with the pivot when the main temple member is brought into an unfolded state and disengages from the pivot when the main temple member or the auxiliary temple member is folded.
The advantages and features of this invention can be easily comprehended by persons skilled in the art through the drawings and detailed explanations.

Foldable spectacle frame with engaging means for maintaining the spectacle frame in unfolded state while wearing


A surgical instrument, such as an electrical ablation device, including a first elongate body having an insert and a second elongate body having an electrically insulative sheath that defines a bore. A mating element mates the elongate bodies when at least a portion of the insert is received within the bore. The second elongate body is configured to receive electrical energy from the first elongate body and transmit the electrical energy to an electrode. In certain embodiments, the electrical ablation device may include first and second elongate bodies. The first includes an electrically conductive insert configured to electrically couple to an energy source and apply the electrical energy to tissue, and the second includes an electrically insulative sheath defining a bore configured to receive the insert therethrough and move proximally or distally relative to the insert.

Minimally invasive medical procedures are desirable because such procedures may reduce pain while providing relatively quick recovery times compared with conventional open medical procedures. Many minimally invasive procedures are performed with an endoscope (including, without limitation, laparoscopes). Such procedures permit a physician to position, manipulate, and view minimally invasive medical instruments inside the patient through a small access opening in the patient's body. In these types of procedures, instruments are often inserted into a patient through trocars placed through a body wall including several layers of overlapping tissue/muscle before reaching treatment sites in body cavities. One technique that may be part of a minimally invasive procedure is electrical ablation therapy. Electrical ablation therapy has been used to treat undesirable tissue, such as, for example, diseased tissue, cancer, malignant and benign tumors, masses, lesions, and other abnormal tissue growths. Conventional ablation therapies may include electrical ablation therapy, such as, for example, high temperature thermal therapy including, focused ultrasound ablation, radiofrequency (RF) ablation, and interstitial laser coagulation, chemical therapy in which chemical agents are injected into the undesirable tissue to cause ablation, surgical excision, cryotherapy, radiation, photodynamic therapy, Moh's micrographic surgery, topical treatments with 5-fluorouracil, and laser ablation.
Placement of medical instruments within patients transcutaneously or percutaneously, with or without laparoscopic guidance, may be hindered by various connections as well as limitations related to available arrangements, orientations, and configurations of such instruments. Minimally invasive medical procedures also may be complicated by positional deterioration of properly placed instruments caused by muscle contractions, respiration, or various localized and gross movements. Depending on severity, positional deterioration may partly or entirely displace instruments, precipitating a negative outcome. Accordingly, optimal placement and positional maintenance of instruments is desirable.

Reusable electrode and disposable sheath