This invention includes methods of fabricating brachytherapy implant seeds, methods of fabricating brachytherapy implant seed cores, and brachytherapy implant seeds independent of method of fabrication. In one implementation, a brachytherapy implant seed includes a sealed inorganic metallic cylinder having a radioactive core received therein. The radioactive core includes an inorganic amorphous silicate glass tube having an exterior surface extending axially along the tube. An inorganic crystalline ceramic coating is received on at least a portion of the inorganic amorphous glass tube exterior surface. The coating includes a therapeutic dose of radioactive material. A radiographic marker is received within the sealed inorganic metallic cylinder. Other aspects and implementations are contemplated.

Radiation therapy (radiotherapy) refers to the treatment of diseases, primarily but not limited to the treatment of tumors such as cancer, with radiation. Radiotherapy is used to destroy malignant or unwanted tissue without causing excessive damage to the nearby healthy tissues.
Ionizing radiation can be used to selectively destroy cancerous cells contained within healthy tissue. Malignant cells are normally more radiosensitive than healthy cells. Therefore, by applying radiation of the correct amount over the ideal time period, it is possible to destroy all of the undesired cancer cells while saving or minimizing damage to the healthy tissue. For many decades, localized cancer has often been cured by the application of a carefully determined quantity of ionizing radiation during an appropriate period of time. Various methods have been developed for irradiating cancerous tissue while minimizing damage to the nearby healthy tissue. Such methods include the use of high-energy radiation beams from linear accelerators and other devices designed for use in external beam radiotherapy.
Another method of radiotherapy includes brachytherapy. Here, substances in the form of seeds, needles, wires or catheters are implanted permanently or temporarily directly into/near the cancerous tumor. Radioactive materials used include radon, radium and iridium-192. More recently, the radioactive isotopes cesium-131, iodine-125 and palladium-103 have been used. Examples are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,351,049; 4,323,055; and 4,784,116, which are incorporated herein by reference.
During the last 30 years, over 100 papers (both scientific and lay publications) have been published on the use of iodine-125 and palladium-103 in treating slow growth prostate cancer. Despite the demonstrated success of iodine-125 and palladium-103, there are certain disadvantages and limitations in their use. While the total dose can be controlled by the quantity and spacing of the seeds, the dose rate is set by the half-life of the radioisotope (60 days for I-125 and 17 days for Pd-103). For use in faster growing tumors, the radiation should be delivered to the cancerous cells at a faster, more uniform rate, while simultaneously preserving all of the advantages of using a soft X-ray emitting radioisotope. Such cancers are those found in the brain, lung, pancreas, prostate and other tissues.
The low energy X-ray seeds of I-125 and Pd-103 have been used successfully in the treatment of cancer. Methods for encapsulation of these radioactive isotopes as seeds or capsules for interstitial brachytherapy are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,753,287; 3,351,049; 4,323,055; 4,702,228; 4,784,116; 4,891,165; 4,994,013; 5,163,896; 5,405,309 and 6,099,458, and are incorporated herein by reference.
Some of the above-referenced seeds suffer from a number of disadvantages and limitations. They include: (a) the lower energy of the X-ray from Pd-103 (20 key); (b) the half-life of the I-125 seed (60-days) is typically too long to permit its use as a permanent implant in anything other than slow growing tumors; (c) the use of a silver wire marker incorporated into I-125 seeds (U.S. Pat. No. 4,323,005) has a large unwanted amount of characteristic low energy (<10 keV) silver K-X-rays; and (d) seeds with various internal components with non-optimized geometrics, which require a greater amount of isotope to compensate for the non-uniform dose pattern surrounding the seed.
The use of sealed radioactive sources became so widespread that standards used for production were established for radiation protection. Leakage test methods for sealed radioactive sources continue to be refined (ISO 9978:1992(E) and ISO 2919:1999(E)). In order to meet these standards, the sealed seeds must be exposed to various environmental stresses while remaining completely sealed. The most difficult test to pass is the impact test, which requires that the metal seed body be placed on a steel anvil, and that a 2.54 cm diameter, 50 gram weight be dropped on the seed from a height of 1 meter. Even though the typical titanium cased seed can is then flattened, there must be no leakage from the metal seed body. To pass this stringent test, seed manufacturers (e.g., in constructions such as in prior art such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,702,228; 4,784,116; 4,891,165; 5,405,309, etc.) incorporate thick end welds, thick end caps and/or massive internal components in order to retain the original cylindrical shape. However, these characteristics can result in non-uniform dosimetric patterns around the seed due to the self-absorption of the radiation. This non-isotropic dose increases the probability that cancer cells residing in this shadowed low dose area will survive and give rise to a return of the cancer at a later date.
Several prior art seed designs (U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,351,049; 4,994,013; and 5,163,896) suggest the use of plastics, a multitude of ion exchange resin types (nylon, cellulose ester or acetate binders, or rubber) to capture and hold the radioactive material. With increasing concentrations of radioisotopes, unacceptable gas pressure (e.g., H2, CO, CO2, CH4, etc.) may be generated by the autoradiolysis of organic materials within the cavity of the seed. Release of radioactive material due to a breach in the seed can by over-pressurization is a risk.
While the invention was motivated in addressing at least some of the above issues, it is in no way so limited. The invention is only limited by the accompanying claims as literally worded, without interpretative or other limiting reference to the specification, and in accordance with the doctrine of equivalents.


There is shown an electric motor control of the engine valves of an internal combustion engine. A brushless torque actuator controls the rotation of a cam member which provides the appropriate lift to the engine valve to move the valve from the closed to the open position. The electronic control which is connected to the actuator includes a look-up table for controlling the timing of the engine in accordance with the operation of the internal combustion engine. The electronic control operates to return the cam member to its home position closing the engine valves.

Prior art control, as found on many applications of internal combustion engines, of engine valves is by means of timing cams positioned on a timing cam shaft which is operatively connected to the engine. Since this is a mechanical control and the cams are fixed, variations in timing of the operation of the valves is not possible.
Other prior art control is by means of controlling the flow of hydraulic fluid to and from solenoid valves which are aligned with the valve stems. One example of such a system is in U.S. Pat. No. 4,61 5,308 assigned to a common assignee by Wakeman, and entitled "Engine Valve Timing Control System". This form of control will allow a change in either the opening or the closing of the engine valve, but since the prime mover is still a cam, large variations in operational timing are not available to the engine performance designer.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,598,814, issued on Feb. 4, 1997, entitled "Method and Apparatus for Electrically Driving Engine Valves", describes a motor control including position transducers for generating crankshaft position and motor position pulse trains. The pulse trains are compared to detect any phase difference between engine and motor positions. Tables are generated to define the desired phase difference needed for particular valve characteristics. The phase difference represents the instantaneous deviation from the basic profile. One of the tables is selected according to the engine conditions and the motor is driven to achieve the desired phase differences.


A method and apparatus for digital power processing operating with zero-voltage switching, which enables zero-voltage switching under the condition that the frequencies are not constant, or the load currents are different. Two switching components are connected with the power supplies and are in parallel connection with a capacitance and in reverse parallel connection with a diode, respectively, which switching components, together with their auxiliary components, constitute up side and down side of a semi-circuitry which connects to a output of the converter via an inductance. The frequencies of the control signals of this converter can be variable, thus the converter can achieve the zero-voltage switching under the condition that the frequencies are not constant.

Conversion of digital power must be working in the turn-on and turn-off status. Each operation of turn-on and turn-off is completed in a limited period of time and the duration for the turn-on and turn-off status of the switching components (or circuits) is determined by their properties. Each turn-on or turn-off operation will cause consumption. The value of the switching consumption equals to the value obtained by integrating multiplication of the current flowing in the switching components (or circuits) by the voltage across the switching components (or the circuits) over the duration of one turn-on or turn-off operation. Thus, the higher the switching frequency of the switching component is, the more the switching consumption becomes. Especially when the frequency is very high, such switching consumption becomes majority of the consumption and can increase the aggregate switching consumption of the switching components. Sometimes, such switching consumption can even take more than 15% of the total power. And such switching consumption will cause negative influences to the switching components (or circuits), for instance, the increase of the working temperature, the excursion of working parameters of the switching components (or circuits), etc. In order to diminish this kind of switching consumption, many technologies relating to soft-switching are being developed. The working principle of these technologies is to make the current flowing through or the voltage across the switching components (or circuits) be zero or near zero during the turn-on and turn-off operation. In this way, the switching consumption shall be decreased accordingly. But heretofore, these types of soft-switching technology can only be used in DC power converts controlled by invariable frequency. And auxiliary circuits of such types of soft-switching are of great complexity with multiple components.

Half-bridge converter with zero-voltage switching and snubber


A system and method of flavoring food, for example, snack food, is provided. The system may include a metering tray coupled to a frame. The metering tray may be configured to hold a food flavoring. A metering roller also may be coupled to the frame. An exterior axial surface of the metering roller may define a plurality of indentations, which may be configured to capture the food flavoring as the metering roller rotates. The system may also include a metering blade configured to level the food flavoring as the food flavoring is dispensed by the plurality of indentations of the metering roller as the metering roller rotates. The system also may include a displacement blade having a plurality of teeth that are configured to correspond to the plurality of indentations. The teeth may be configured to positively displace the food flavoring as the metering roller rotates.

Many commercially available snack food items include seasonings or other toppings of one form or another deposited upon their surfaces. Examples of such snack foods include potato chips, which can be seasoned with salt, barbecue flavoring, sour cream and onion flavoring, cheese-based toppings, etc. Corn chips and other snack food items, such as pretzels, corn puffs and popcorn, can be similarly seasoned. In addition to the savory snack food items just described, sweet snacks commonly are topped with powdered and granular sugars, decorative toppings, and the like.
Toppings can be applied to snack food items in a variety of ways, for example the topping may be dispensed onto snack food items, which are tumbling in a rotating drum. The tumbling action of the snack food items aids in the even distribution of the topping over the entire contents of the drum.
Commonly used savory snack food seasonings and toppings exhibit a variety of physical properties, which govern their behavior during the dispensing operation. Flour salt, the finely powdered salt used as a topping for potato chips, is extremely dry and free flowing. Thus, this topping tends to rapidly pass through dispensing equipment, and its flow must be carefully metered and regulated to avoid over-salting the snack food product. Sour cream and onion toppings (as well as cheese-based, dairy-based, and oil-based toppings in general) are relatively moist and tend to resist free flow through dispensing equipment. These relatively "clumpy" or "sticky" toppings tend to clog dispensing apparatus and are prone to intermittent, uneven flow.
Thus, one important attribute of a topping dispensing equipment is the ability to dispense, in a controlled, evenly regulated manner, both free-flowing and sticky toppings. The even distribution of seasoning and toppings is important to many aspects of the snack food production process. First, even distribution is essential to providing a uniform appearing and tasting product. Further, uneven or wasteful topping dispensing can adversely impact the economy of the manufacturing process. Finally, over-topped and under-topped items may need to be discarded to avoid inconsistencies in the final, packaged product.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A novel method of detecting and characterizing protein-peptide interactions is provided, which can be used for isolating peptides and proteins, respectively, as well as in drug screening and development.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to the technical field of molecular biology. More specifically, the invention relates to method for detecting and identifying peptides involved in protein-peptide interaction in cellular systems. In particular, the present invention relates to methods for detecting, identifying and optionally isolating peptides such as functional peptide ligands of target proteins.
2. Description of Related Art
Peptides show a wide variety of biological activities in cells one important example of which are natural peptide hormones acting as important molecular signals by binding to cellular receptors. It has also been shown that synthetic peptides can modulate the activity of proteins and even inhibit protein-protein interactions and are therefore important lead compounds in the field of drug discovery. Due to their high activity and specificity, during the last years there was an increased focus on peptides as therapeutic effectors.
The development of methods for detecting interactions between target proteins and peptides under physiological conditions is of major interest. Although there exists already a number of methods for detecting interactions between proteins and peptide ligands as well as for isolating novel peptide ligands, in particular, methods for identifying novel peptide ligands are of special interest in drug discovery. However, existing in vitro methods for the identification of binding peptides (Liu et al., Exp. Hematology 31 (2003), 11-30) require as a prerequisite the purification of the protein of interest, resulting in most cases in a decreased biological activity and binding quality, since many target proteins adopt their preferred conformation exclusively in the cytoplasm which can differ from their conformation under non-physiological conditions.
One common method for isolating peptide ligands allowing the presentation of peptide libraries on the surface of a filamentous phage (Smith, Science 228 (1985), 1315-1317), comprises the introduction of exogenous peptide sequences into the genome of phage capsid proteins, because of which this method is also referred to as phage display technology. International application WO95/31723 describes the use of this method for in vitro selection of peptides from biological peptide libraries, but although there are few examples for its application to living organisms (Arap et al., Proc. Natl. Am. Soc. 99 (2002), 1527-1531), its use for in vivo selection is limited.
To date, there exist different methods for identifying binding partners in cellular systems. In this context, yeast as a eukaryotic cell is a preferred organism to analyze protein-protein interaction in vivo. One characteristic method using yeast as a preferred organism is the yeast two-hybrid system, which represents a further development of the two-hybrid protein interaction assay (Fields and Song, Nature 349 (1989), 245-246). These cellular methods comprise one binding partner fused to a DNA binding domain, while the respective other binding partner is fused to a strong transcription activation domain, and as a result of the molecular interaction of the partners the generation of a functional transcription factor, leading to a change in phenotype of the cell due to expression of respective genes.
However, since the above-mentioned methods are based on the detection of transcriptional activation, they have several drawbacks such as the generation of false positive responses, since many proteins containing transactivation as well as DNA binding domains can activate the system without a respective interaction. Furthermore, since transcription occurs in the nucleus, the above-mentioned methods are neither appropriate for investigating proteins which are toxic to cells when expressed in the nucleus nor proteins mainly acting in the cytoplasm, because of which those proteins obviously cannot be analyzed.
Hence, there is still a need for assays detecting interactions between proteins and peptides under physiological conditions in living cells.

Means and methods for detecting protein-peptide interactions


A construct comprising a dermal extracellular matrix gel, polymer fibers, and microparticles containing a nitro oleic acid agent.

Ventral hernia is one of the most common complications following abdominal surgery. In 2004, more than 1,000 patients died with abdominal wall hernia as the underlying cause. The definitive treatment remains surgical repair. About 115,000 hernia and abdominal wall defect repairs are performed every year in the U.S., producing a consistent healthcare burden and substantially impacting the quality of life for those patients.
Prosthetic materials, either synthetic or from allogenic and xenogenic sources, have increasingly been accepted as a better strategy than direct tissue apposition. This reduced the impact of typical complications such as chronic patient discomfort, surgical site infections or fistulas. In spite of these advances, a number of issues remain unsolved including high hernia recurrence, mesh encapsulation, partial tissue remodeling, mechanical mismatch at the native tissue-implant interface, and reduced vascularity of the implanted volume.
These limitations encouraged a further paradigm shift toward the regenerative medicine/tissue engineering approach where synthetic meshes are combined with cells or with biologic materials, designed to function as temporary tissue surrogates and intended to be gradually replaced by the antagonist action of tissue remodeling and scaffold degradation.
Previous experiences with elastic biodegradable synthetic materials such as poly (ester carbonate) urethane ureas (PECUUs) combined with dermal extracellular matrix (ECM) gels have demonstrated the capacity to improve cellular infiltration, native tissue-prosthesis mechanical interaction, and tissue remodeling. Despite these achievements, tissues that both underwent constructive remodeling and gained sufficient mechanical strength following scaffold implantation have not restored the level of muscle function and vascularity observed in the native healthy abdominal wall. Towards this end, in situ controlled release of angiogenic factors might substantially leverage the clinical relevance of such materials for the reconstruction of the diseased abdominal wall or for a variety of other applications, such as cardiovascular tissue repair and augmentation.

Nitro-oleic acid controlled release platform to induce regional angiogenesis in abdominal wall repair

University of Pittsburgh—Of the Commonwealth System of Higher Education


Methods for producing an activated pectin-containing biomass composition are provided. The method includes (A) mixing a starting pectin-containing biomass material having an insoluble fiber component and an insoluble protopectin component with an aqueous solution of an alcohol to form a mixture; (B) activating the starting pectin-containing biomass material to form an activated pectin-containing biomass material having the insoluble fiber component and a soluble pectin component by subjecting the starting pectin-containing biomass material to (i) an activating solution formed by adding acid to the mixture to adjust the pH of the mixture within the range from at or about 0.5 to at or about 2.5 and (ii) heat to a temperature greater than at or about 40 degrees Celsius; and (C) applying mechanical energy either (i) to the mixture of step A), (ii) during the activating of step B), or (iii) to the mixture of step A) and during the activating of step B); and (D) separating the activated pectin-containing biomass material from the mixture; wherein during the method the alcohol present in the mixture is at or greater than about 40 weight percent based on the total weight of the mixture. Activated pectin-containing biomass compositions are also provided.

Dietary fiber or roughage is the indigestible portion of food derived from plants. The consumption of foods high in fiber has been found to reduce appetite. Dietary fiber is made up of soluble and insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber, which dissolves in water, is readily fermented in the colon into gases and physiologically active byproducts and can be prebiotic and viscous. Insoluble fiber, which does not dissolve in water, is either metabolically inert and provides bulking or can be prebiotic and metabolically fermented in the large intestine.
Dietary fibers can act by changing the nature of the contents of the gastrointestinal tract and by changing how other nutrients and chemicals are absorbed. Some types of soluble fiber absorb water to become a gelatinous, viscous substance which is fermented by bacteria in the digestive tract. Some types of insoluble fiber have bulking action and are not fermented. Lignin, a major dietary insoluble fiber source, may alter the rate and metabolism of soluble fibers. Other types of insoluble fiber, notably resistant starch, are fully fermented.
Chemically, dietary fiber consists of non-starch polysaccharides such as arabinoxylans, cellulose and many other plant components such as resistant starch, resistant dextrins, inulin, lignin, waxes, chitins, pectins, beta-glucans, and oligosaccharides. A novel position has been adopted by the US Department of Agriculture to include functional fibers as isolated fiber sources that may be included in the diet. The term "fiber" is something of a misnomer, since many types of so-called dietary fiber are not actually fibrous.
Food sources of dietary fiber are often divided according to whether they provide predominantly soluble or insoluble fiber. Plant foods contain both types of fiber in varying degrees, according to the plant's characteristics.
Advantages of consuming fiber are the production of healthful compounds during the fermentation of soluble fiber and insoluble fiber's ability (via its passive hygroscopic properties) to increase bulk, soften stool, and shorten transit time through the intestinal tract.
Often dietary fiber compositions are used in the food or consumer product industry for their functional properties that include viscosifying, water absorbing, bulking, emulsifying and even gelling properties. The addition of a functional dietary fiber can provide textural benefits, nutritional benefits, and in some cases simpler labels replacing less consumer friendly options.
Some plants contain pectin as the soluble fiber component. Pectin is a polysaccharide useful as a colloidal in many applications such as food products, beverages, personal care products, pharmaceuticals, and detergents. Typically, pectin is commercially recovered in its water soluble form from a pectin-containing biomass material by extraction.
Unfortunately, the pectin extraction process is often harsh resulting in the degradation of the quality of pectin measured as intrinsic viscosity. Pectin with a higher intrinsic viscosity is often desirable because high intrinsic viscosity indicates that the extracted pectin is closer to its original state in the raw material and therefore has not been degraded during the extraction process. From a cost optimization perspective, the extraction process should be designed to extract the greatest amount of pectin available from plants, but pectin yield is often limited in exchange for pectin quality. Further, processing of plants is also challenging due to the proclivity of pectin to bind with water.
Thus, there remains a need for providing a dietary fiber from pectin-containing plants that can be processed with ease and retain both soluble and insoluble fiber components with high quality properties.

Activated pectin-containing biomass compositions and products


In a vacuum prober, a head plate is arranged on a prober chamber. A stage, first moving mechanism, recessed chamber, and sealing member are provided in the prober chamber. The stage is arranged below a probe card. The first moving mechanism vertically moves the stage in at least the Z direction. The recessed chamber has a bottom portion and side portion. A lower camera, an upper camera, and the stage are operated to obtain data for alignment. When the upper end of the side portion of the recessed chamber comes into tight contact with the lower surface of the sealing member and a vacuum mechanism evacuates the recessed chamber, a vacuum chamber is formed. As the chamber has a small capacity, the time required for evacuation can be shortened.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vacuum prober and vacuum probe method which test the electrical characteristics of an object to be tested in a vacuum environment.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a process of manufacturing a semiconductor device, a probe system is used to test the electrical characteristics of a device formed on a wafer in a vacuum environment.
Patent reference 1 (Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2000-260839) discloses a low-temperature testing device in which a so-called prober chamber is entirely used as a vacuum vessel. In this low-temperature testing device, the entire prober chamber must be evacuated to produce a vacuum environment. Accordingly, evacuation takes time. Patent reference 1 discloses nothing concerning shortening of the evacuation time. Patent reference 1 does not disclose an alignment technique for a sample and probe needles, either.
Patent reference 2 (Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 7-37945) discloses the following prober having an alignment mechanism. A container for accommodating a table and a multilevel interconnection substrate having a pump, the container is formed to be dividable into a cover portion and base portion. An optical unit integrally having upper and lower cameras is introduced between the cover and base portions, to image probes and electrode pads of an object to be tested. This prober, however, is not a vacuum prober that performs testing in a vacuum environment as in the present invention. This prober employs the optical unit which integrally has the upper and lower cameras. Such an optical unit has a complicated structure, and the focusing mechanisms of the two cameras require a specific contrivance.
Patent reference 3 (Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2004-128202) describes a prober in which a vacuum chamber is arranged in a prober chamber. A table is arranged in the vacuum chamber to test the electrical characteristics of a device in the vacuum chamber.
In this prober, however, the table cannot be moved in the X, Y, and Z directions in the vacuum chamber. To test the electrical characteristics of a plurality of devices formed on one wafer, steps of formation of an atmospheric environment→formation of a vacuum environment→testing must be repeated for the respective devices, leading to low throughput.


A method and kit for inhibiting the proliferation of carcinoma cells are disclosed, based on a combination of an EGF pathway inhibitor and a telomerase inhibitor. When used in cancer therapy, the two compounds in combination enhance the anti-cancer treatment efficacy obtained with the antibody alone or the telomerase inhibitor alone.

In view of the continuing high number of deaths each year resulting from cancer, a continuing need exists to identify effective and less toxic therapeutic regimens for use in anticancer treatment.
For a variety of epithelial cell cancers, or carcinomas, treatment with an epithelial growth factor (EGF) pathway inhibitor has been proposed or demonstrated. Trastuzumab (Herceptin®), a humanized monoclonal that specifically targets the human epidermal growth factor 2 (HER2) receptor, inhibits the EGF signaling pathway associated with HER2. The anti-HER2 antibody may be indicated particularly in the treatment of cancers, such as breast and ovarian cancers, characterized by HER2 overexpression in carcinoma cells.
Cetuximab (Erbitux®) is a chimeric monoclonal antibody that likewise acts as an EGF pathway inhibitors by binding to epidermal growth factor receptor 1 (EGFR, ErbB-1 or HER1), and may be indicated, for example, for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer and head and neck cancer.
A number of small molecule anti-cancer agents that target the EGF pathway have also been proposed in anti-cancer treatment. Erlotinib (Tarceva®) and gefitinib (Iressa®) specifically target the tyrosine kinase activity of EGFR, which may be highly expressed and occasionally mutated in various forms of cancer. The drug molecules bind in a reversible fashion to the adenosine triphosphate (ATP) binding site of the receptor, effectively blocking autophosphorylation of EGFR homodimers, and thus blocking the signal cascade to the nucleus. Both compounds have shown a survival benefit in the treatment of lung cancer in phase III trials, and have been approved for the treatment of locally advanced or metastatic non small cell lung cancer.
EGF pathway inhibitors are but one class of a large number of anti-cancer agents that may be selected for treating cancer. In addition, any selected class of anti-cancer agent may be tested with one or more other anti-cancer agents in a combination treatment, to determine if the two or more agents together are capable of producing an additive therapeutic effect, or other significant advantage, such as a reduction in undesired side effects, due to a reduced dose of the more toxic component, and/or a reduction in the development of drug-resistance in the cancer being treated.
It would be desirable to provide a combined-drug cancer therapy for the treatment carcinomas in which both drug components are relatively specific against cancer cells, each acting through a mechanism that involves specific binding of the drug compound to a cellular component associated preferentially with the cancer cells.

Treatment of carcinomas with a combination of EGF-pathway and telomerase inhibitors


In order to provide a sufficient isolation between the resonators of a band-stop filter, prior art band-stop filters must be manufactured from separate ceramic resonator blocks. According to the invention the band-stop filter can be manufactured in a single ceramic block (1), having on one side surface strip-like areas (14; 15) of electrically conducting material extending perpendicularly from the bottom edge to the top edge and being located in the area between the resonators (A and B, B and C) and having dimensions selected so that they substantially cancel the electric and magnetic field between the resonators. If necessary, the coupling between the resonators can be adjusted by changing the width of the strip-like areas (14; 15) or by providing them with discontinuities.

This invention relates to a dielectric band-stop filter comprising two or more transmission line resonators of the coaxial type.
It is known that a ceramic resonator comprises a basic structure, where a hole is made in a ceramic block of a material with a high dielectric constant, e.g. titanate, the block having side surfaces, a top surface and a bottom surface, and the hole extending from the top surface to the bottom surface. The surfaces of the block are coated, except for the top surface, with an electrically conducting material. Circuit patterns are applied to the top surface, the circuits capacitively coupling a signal to the resonator and outputting the signal. The structure forms a transmission line resonator whose resonance frequency is determined by the length of the hole, i.e. by the thickness of the block. Usually the length of the hole is dimensioned so that a transmission line resonator of a quarter-wave length is obtained. When several holes are made in the block it is possible to realize a band-pass filter with several nodes, but the number of zeroes is limited to one, because it is difficult to isolate from the other resonators a resonator corresponding to a zero. Thus band-stop filters realized in ceramic technology became commercially available only recently. It is characteristic to all these known band-stop filters, that the filter is composed of separate resonators or of the basic structures described in the introduction, where a ceramic block contains a hole and where the block at least on the side and bottom surfaces is coated with conducting material. A desired number of these coated separate reasonator blocks are arranged in a row, whereby a band-stop filter is obtained with a desired bandwidth and center frequency. In a sense each resonator block forms a draining circuit, and these draining circuits are then coupled in a series through inductive or reactive circuits, connecting the upper ends of the resonators using e.g. a separate transmission line length. It is necessary to use separate resonators coated on the outside, because otherwise the mutual inductive and capacitive leaks between the resonators are difficult to control, i.e. in order to obtain sufficient isolation between the resonators. The isolation between the separate resonators is formed with the same coating, which forms an effective partition between the blocks.
A disadvantage of a band-stop filter assembled of separate resonators is that a filter made of many blocks requires a high production capacity, because every block is separately sintered and coated, and the blocks are electrically individually connected to each other, usually by soldering the connecting wires by hand. Further the separate blocks must be fastened to some mounting support in a mechanically reliable way.
In principle it would be possible to make a band-stop filter comprising several resonators in a single ceramic block. Then the distance between the resonator holes must be made very large, resulting in a very bulky filter. This would increase material costs, and a big size is also otherwise inconvenient in portable radio equipment.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,823,098, Motorola, describes a monolithic ceramic filter with band-stop characteristics. The filter comprises 7 resonators located in the same ceramic block, of which three operate as a band-stop filter and the other as a band-pass filter. The resonators in the band-stop section are interconnected via quarter-wave transmission lines. The transmission lines invert the impedance of the resonators, so that the resonators generate zeroes in the filter. It is stated in the publication, that by sawing it is possible to separate said three filters from the block and to coat the new side wall obtained in the cutting with conducting material, whereby the obtained filter operates as an independent band-stop filter with several zeroes. It is not mentioned in the publication what influence the inductive coupling between the resonators, effected through the ceramics, has on the filter characteristic, but it seems probable that mutual coupling between the resonators makes it difficult to control the characteristics.
The Finnish patent applications FI-892855 and FI-892856, applicant LK-Products Oy, describe band-pass filters realized in a single ceramic block, where the basis of the inventive idea is that one side surface of the filter is substantially uncoated and that strip conductor patterns are applied on this side surface for connections to the transmission line resonators. When the circuit patterns are made on the side surface of the body, the filter input and output and the connections between the resonators can be made in a desired way, either purely capacitive or inductive, or as a combination of these.


The present invention provides a hot-melt resin composition which comprises 1 to 30% by weight of a compound represented by the general formula (1) EQU Q-(X-A)n (1). (wherein X is a urethane or urea group, Q is a group with a valence of n, A is a univalent group, one of Q and A being an isocyanate residue and the other being an amine or alcohol residue, and n is an integer of 1 to 3) and 70 to 99% by weight of a thermoplastic polyurethane resin (B); a method of producing a powder form of said hot-melt resin composition; and a hot-melt resin powder composition which comprises said powder-form hot-melt resin composition.

Hot-melt adhesives recently employed for rationalization of sewing works have indeed radically rationalized sewing works and are currently in wide use. The hot-melt adhesives so far in use include polyethylene-based, polyamide-based, plasticized polyvinyl chloride-based, polyvinyl acetate-based and polyester-based ones, among others. However, they respectively have problems. Thus, 1 polyethylene-based adhesives are unsatisfactory in bonding strength, feeling, and resistance to dry cleaning; 2 polyamide-based adhesives are sufficient in bonding strength and resistance to dry cleaning but unsatisfactory in feeling and resistance to laundering; 3 plasticized polyvinyl chloride-based adhesives are sufficient in feeling and resistance to laundering but unsatisfactory in resistance to dry cleaning, and they have other problems in that they are subject to changes in bonding performance, feeling and other properties with the lapse of time due to migration of plasticizer during storage of interlining cloths; 4 polyvinyl acetate-based adhesives are satisfactory in feeling but insufficient in resistance to laundering and to dry cleaning; and 5 polyester-based adhesives are satisfactory in bonding strength and resistance to laundering but insufficient in resistance to dry cleaning.
To overcome the above problems, a hot-melt adhesive comprising a thermoplastic polyurethane resin powder has been proposed (Japanese Kokoku Publication Sho-63-15930; Japanese Kokai Publication Sho-55-110173). However, this polyurethane resin powder-based adhesive has problems in that it is insufficient in hot-melt property, hence its bonding property cannot be improved to a satisfactory extent.
On the other hand, the slush molding technique has recently acquired wide popularity in the manufacture of automotive upholstery, among others, since products complicated in shape and form (undercuts, deep formings, etc.) can be molded with ease and uniform thicknesses and good yields can be obtained by this technique. Plasticized polyvinyl chloride (hereinafter briefly referred to as PVC) powders are mainly used in such applications.
However, because any plasticized PVC contains a low molecular weight plasticizer in a large proportion, it tends to cause various problems due to aging, e.g. fogging of the windshield of a car due to formation of an oil film interfering with the driver's vision by volatilization of the plasticizer, loss of matting and a soft feel of shaped articles due to migration of the plasticizer to the surface, and yellowing of the articles due to degradation of the PVC with time.
Modified PVC compositions prepared by incorporating a flexible thermoplastic polyurethane resin are known as materials for providing a soft feel without using any low-molecular plasticizer (e.g. Japanese Kokoku Publication Sho-53-29705, Sho-59-39464 and Sho-60-30688). In each modification, however, the base resin is PVC and therefore the problem of degradation of articles with time has not been resolved as yet. Attempts have been made to improve such problems and obtain products with desired physical properties by using polyurethane resins alone (e.g. Japanese Kokai Publication Hei-02-38453 and Hei-03-97712). However, the resin powders used therein have poor hot-melting properties, hence can hardly give molded sheets with good surface smoothness, rendering it difficult to use it in slush molding.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a hot-melt resin composition which shows good (sharp) hot-melting property and which, when used as an adhesive for interlining, shows good adhesiveness, flexibility (feel), resistance to laundering and resistance to dry cleaning and, when used as a slush molding material, gives molded sheets with good smoothness, flexibility, antifogging property and resin strength and to provide a hot-melting property improving agent to be used in said composition.

Hot-melt resin composition, production of powder form thereof, and hot-melt resin powder composition


Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to the field of electronic sensing technologies, and provide a chemical sensing unit, a chemical sensor, and a chemical sensing device. The chemical sensing unit includes a thin film transistor arranged on a substrate, and a light emitting diode coupled to the thin film transistor. The thin film transistor includes a semiconductor active layer, a source, and a drain, and the semiconductor active layer is mainly composed of a chemically sensitive semiconductor material. The chemical sensing unit is provided with a via hole in a region between the source and the drain, such that the semiconductor active layer is exposed at a position corresponding to the via hole. The light emitting diode includes a first electrode, a light-emitting functional layer, and a second electrode which are stacked in sequence, wherein the first electrode is coupled to the drain.

Chemical sensors are instruments that are sensitive to various chemical substances and convert their concentrations into electrical signals for detection. Analogous to human sensory organs, the chemical sensors generally correspond to human olfactory and gustatory organs, but are not simple simulations of human organs, and they can sense some substances imperceptible to human organs, such as H2 or CO.
In recent years, with the development of the Internet of Things (IoT) and information technologies, sensors have been developed rapidly, and the chemical sensors have been developed from traditional signal detection to multi-functionality, flexibility, small size, and high precision.

Chemical sensing unit, chemical sensor, and chemical sensing device electrically coupled to light emitting diode

Hefei Xinsheng Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd.


An MP3 player (10) is provided with an image sensor (16) capable of imaging invisible infrared tags (78) on a substrate (70). The tags (78) encode identity data which is directly or indirectly associated in a computer system with one or more audio clips in an MP3 format.

Purpose-specific devices such as radios and audio cassette players, as well as more general-purpose devices such as personal computers and organizers, can be used to play back audio material such as music. Many of these devices can also be used to record audio material, such as voice dictation.
In general, these devices don't provide access to situated audio, e.g. to a music clip associated with a concert poster encountered at a train station, or spoken instructions associated with a page in a workshop manual. Each device must be used to seek out the desired audio material through a virtual space accessible through the device, or the audio material must be brought to the device in a device-compatible physical format.
The present invention utilizes methods, systems and devices related to a system referred to as "netpage", which is described in our co-pending applications listed above.

Abstract: The MP3 player (10) can be used to select and play audio clips. It acquires tag identity data via the image sensor (16), transmits it to the computer system, and downloads associated MP3 clip(s) for playback via a speaker (22).


There is provided a method of diversity error control coding for a system having variable-length packets that carry prioritized data. High priority packets in a data sequence are replicated to form virtual replications. Parity symbols are generated from the data sequence and from the virtual replications, and tag information is generated that indicates a number of the virtual replications used to generate the parity symbols, for subsequent transmission of only the data sequence, the parity symbols, and the tag information to reconstruct the data sequence.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to information transmission systems having variable-length packets that carry prioritized data and, more particularly, to a diversity error control coding method and apparatus for use with such systems.
2. Background of the Invention
Some information transmission systems employ both variable-length packets as well as prioritized data (i.e., some data can be classified as low-priority and some can be classified as high priority). Examples of such systems include those having recent audio and video coding schemes.
Prior systems have included separating high and low priority traffic and differentially protecting them with different error control codes. Interleaving is also commonly used to spread/despread a burst of errors to make the block coding mechanism more efficient.
Other information transmission systems only employ variable-length packets and not prioritized data. In such systems, the prior art (see, e.g., J. Boyce, "Packet Loss Resilient Transmission of MPEG Video Over The Internet", Signal Processing: Image Communication 15, pp. 7–24, 1999) discusses techniques to group several variable-length packets together and to form code words along the vertical dimension. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a grouping of variable-length packets 102A–F, according to the prior art. Code words are formed across several packets vertically, and the associated parity symbols are transmitted in a separate packet. For example, the first codeword is formed from the first symbol from each packet. The second codeword is formed from the second symbol from each packet, and so on. The associated parity bytes are transmitted in a separate packet. Since some code words are shorter than others, the size of the vertical code words will vary. A mother code can be used and variable-length codewords can be formed by shortening the mother code to the appropriate length.
The problem with the prior art techniques is that no additional protection is given to high priority data. One possibility is to group the high priority packets together and send them separately using more parity symbols. However, the drawback of this approach is that there will be increased latency while waiting for enough high priority packets. In practice, the high priority packets are arranged sparsely. For example, in video, a high priority packet might contain an I-frame and it will be in the middle of several predictive frames that would be marked as low-priority.
Accordingly, it would be desirable and highly advantageous to have a diversity error control coding method and apparatus for use with information transmission systems having variable-length packets that carry prioritized data that overcomes the above-described deficiencies of the prior art.

Diversity scheme for error control coding in a system with prioritized data


An adaptive control, capable of operating a plurality of models, that determines which model it is operating by scanning its output device circuits. The control automatically deleting options requiring output devices the scan determines not to be present. A model may be further defined by detecting other components that alter the impedance of the output device circuits. These components allow a circuit to further identify the features beyond simply which output device is present and/or enable the control to determine whether an output device is not present or is non-functional. When applied to control panels using display elements to indicate the options selected, the present invention permits deletion of an option(s) without removing the switch used to select that option. This allows a single contact to select from a group of options any of which may be deleted by removing the corresponding display element from the panel. To extend the model range, control panels using position switches rather than display elements to indicate options can be handled using the I/O and scan. A complete circuit indicates the presence of an option whether it is completed by a display output device or the contacts of a switch.

The present invention relates to controls that alter their operation to handle a plurality of models, in particular to controls that automatically identify the features of the model it is operating. Typically each control has handled only a single or very few of the models. Material and labor costs to include model identifying parts as well as the extra control I/O and program memory requirements to read these parts have exceeded the cost benefits realized by the volume production possible for a universal control.
The model options the present invention is concerned with affect the operation of the control. These options can generally be divided into two types, operator and preset. Operator options are chosen by the operator, typically with a control panel, to adjust the operation of the device. Preset options are fixed at the time of manufacture.
In prior art, deletion of an operator option is often accomplished by removing the switch connection used to select that option. Removing the switch connection eliminates the possibility of the operator selecting its option whether it be made by a momentary or position switch. This technique requires a unique switch connection for each operator option. It is not applicable to panels in which a single switch connection is used to choose from a group of options indicated by display elements.
Another prior method used to determine options, is to have the control read ID circuits, connections dedicated solely for identification purposes. Typically ID circuits determine preset options, such as brand and the number and type of output devices in the model. Each additional ID connection adds to the cost of the control. An ID connection may represent an individual feature or group of features. Individual connections allow the greatest flexibility as any combination of features is possible. Fewer group ID connections are required, but this approach requires more program space to look up what options belong to what connection while allowing fewer potential models.
Each option represented by an ID connection requires an additional circuit and a means to selectively read it. Placing ID connections on the control means it is not universal since the connections must be set for each model. Alternatively making ID connections off the control board enables the control to be universal but requires extra connectors, connections and wires to make the ID connections. In either case the extra I/O, connections, labor and parts to complete them and program memory to read and decode them raises the cost of the control. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,412,291 the wiring harness makes ID connections saving one set of connectors. This approach trades a universal control for the requirement of a unique harness for each model.
Another type of automatic identifying process is seen in personal computers. A PC scans components such as memory boards to identify the amount of memory present. The PC scans components designed to receive and transmit data to determine the options available. U.S. Pat. No. 6,739,145 uses this approach utilizing configuration memory to identify options. The output devices scanned by the present invention are not designed to transmit data to the control through the energizing circuit.
The present invention also relates to controls that scan the circuits of output devices to correctly and safely operate the output device. However while proir art shows controls altering their operation based on these scans, prior techniques do not teach using scans of output devices to identify the options of the model it is operating. In prior art scan of output device circuits allow proper operation of a model they do not identify the model. The control is either model specific or as in the case of U.S. Pat. No. 6,739,145 it uses others means to identify the model.

Control using transducers present to determine model


A check valve includes a casing member, a tear-drop shaped ball member installed in the casing member, a latching member which is formed at an inner wall of the casing member and an airtight valve which is formed at an inner wall of the casing member. When forward flux occurs, the ball member is fixed at the latching members absolutely to circulate the forward flux stably. When backward flux occurs, the ball member is latched at the airtight member to close the casing member and thus, to suppress the backward flux.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a check valve, an auxiliary circulating device such as a blood auxiliary circulating device which is typified by an auxiliary artificial heart utilizing the check valve, and to a method for driving the auxiliary circulating device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Such various properties as durability, retention for blood circulation, blood compatibility (antithrombogenicity, antihemolysis), and histocompatibility are required for a check valve to be employed for an blood auxiliary circulating device such as an auxiliary artificial heart to support a dysfunctional heart. As of now, as the check valve are exemplified a mechanical valve such as a ball valve, a tilting disk valve and a two lobe valve.
At present, the two lobe valve is mainly employed as the check valve because the valve can make large central flow and large efficient valve opening area easily, and requires only small space in closing motion. With the two lobe valve, however, blood may be coagulated and accreted at the hinge of the disk of the valve.
In view of high durability and high degree of freedom of material selectivity, in contrast, it is desired to employ the ball valve as the check valve. With the ball valve, however, when spherical ball members are latched at latching members in the casing member of the valve, the ball members may be slipped away from the latching members by forward flow flux due to the insufficient latching. Therefore, blood can not be flowed stably, resulting in thromboembolism.
FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a conventional ball valve. As shown in FIG. 1, when forward flux occurs, in the casing member 1, the spherical ball member 2 is moved upstream and latched at the latching members 3. In this case, the forward flux is flowed through the space around the ball member 2. However, the ball member 2 is slipped away from the latching member 3 due to the backward vortex flow for the upstream from the forward flux because the ball member 2 is made spherical. As a result, the forward flux may be blocked with the slipped ball member 2, resulting in the thromboembolism.

Check valve, auxiliary circulating device and method for driving the auxiliary circulating device


A document processing technique which provides an editing function of, e.g., combining separately created document files into one document file is disclosed. When an instruction to insert the second document file to the first document file displayed in the display region is input, candidates for the insertion method of the second document file in inserting the second document file to the first document file are presented in accordance with the input instruction. The second document file is inserted to the first document file on the basis of the insertion method selected from the presented candidates.

Different types of data such as characters, tables, and images require different structures which define the data and different editing operations for the data. Various application programs are provided in accordance with the type of data. The user uses different application programs for different types of data to be edited: for example, a character processing program in order to edit characters, a spreadsheet program in order to edit tables, and an image editing program in order to edit images.
In this manner, the user generally uses different application programs for different types of data to be edited. However, a document to be created by the user generally contains a plurality of types of data such as characters and tables or characters and images, rather than a document formed by only one type of data such as characters, tables, or images. To create a target document containing a plurality of types of data, the user must print data by various applications using their printing functions, and combine printed materials in a desired order.
There is known a print preview function of, before actually printing on a paper sheet in printing data such as a document or image edited by an application program for editing a document or image, displaying an image to be printed in a printing layout on the display and presenting the preview to the user.
Application software which combines data generated by various applications into one document has been devised. The present applicant has filed a mechanism disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-280756. This system has a function of displaying a hierarchical structure of chapters, pages, and the like as a document structure in a tree format simultaneously when displaying a preview of a loaded document. The user can newly add a chapter or page to an existing document by directly inserting files created by various applications to the tree display region by drag-and-drop.
In this system, however, the user cannot perform detailed settings such as a chapter structure when inserting an object such as a document file or image file to the tree display region in the preview window by drag-and-drop. For example, whether to insert a dragged/dropped document as a chapter or page is automatically determined by the application (fixed such that a document is inserted as a chapter or an image file is inserted as a page), and cannot be designated by the user.

Document processing method, program and apparatus for processing a document file in pages


Disclosed herein are rubber compositions comprising bio-oil produced by a recombinant cell. Also disclosed are methods of controlling the variability of fatty acid content in bio-oil containing rubber compositions or tires comprising at least one component incorporating the bio-oil containing rubber composition, and a method of providing a bio-oil-containing tire with a reduced carbon footprint.

Most rubber compositions that are intended for use in or used in a tire will incorporate some amount of oil, either processing oil, extender oil for one or more rubbers, or both. For many decades the oils utilized in such rubber compositions were primarily petroleum or fossil-fuel based. However, more recently bio-oils sourced from the components of various plants have been used in such rubber compositions.

Oil-containing rubber compositions and related methods

Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, LLC


A programmable logic array integrated circuit device includes a plurality of regions of programmable logic disposed on the device in a two-dimensional array of interesting rows and columns. Interconnection conductors are associated with each row and column. The interconnection conductors associated with each row include some that extend continuously along the entire length of the row and some that extend continuously along only the left or right half of the row. To increase the flexibility with which the logic regions can be connected to the row and column conductors, adjacent regions are paired and circuitry is provided for allowing the outputs of each pair to be swapped for driving the row and column conductors. Registers in logic regions can still be used for other purposes when not being used to register the main combinatorial outputs of the logic regions. Many other enhanced features are also provided.

This invention relates to programmable logic array integrated circuit devices, and more particularly to improved features for such devices (e.g., improved programmable interconnectivity between the programmable logic regions of such devices).
Programmable logic array integrated circuit devices are well known, as shown, for example by Pedersen et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,260,610 and Cliff et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,260,611. Such devices often include a large number of regions of programmable logic disposed on the device in a two-dimensional array of intersecting "rows" and "columns" of such regions. Each region is programmable to perform any of several logic functions on signals applied to the region. Each row may have associated "horizontal" conductors for conveying signals to, from, and/or between the regions in the row. Each column may have associated "vertical" conductors for conveying signals from row to row. Programmable connections may be provided for selectively connecting the conductors adjacent to each region to the inputs and outputs of the region, and also for selectively connecting various conductors to one another (e.g., connecting a horizontal conductor to a vertical conductor). Interconnection of regions through the above-mentioned conductors and programmable connections makes it possible for the programmable logic array device to perform much more complicated logic functions than can be performed by the individual regions.
Advances in integrated circuit fabrication technology have made it possible to produce programmable logic array devices with very large numbers of logic regions. As the number of logic regions increases, however, it becomes increasingly important to select the numbers and arrangements of the interconnection conductors and the programmable connections between those conductors and the regions. Complete generality of these interconnection resources (i.e., so that any desired interconnection can be made no matter what other interconnections are made) would lead to exponential growth in the chip area occupied by those resources as the number of logic regions increases. This is especially disadvantageous in the case of reprogrammable devices because of the larger size and greater circuit loading and signal propagation delay of reprogrammable interconnection elements as compared to one-time-only programmable interconnection elements. (One-time-only programmable devices are shown, for example, El Gamal et al., "An Architecture for Electrically Configurable Gate Arrays," IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits, Vol. 24, No. 2, June 1989, pp. 394-98; El-Ayat et al., "A CMOS Electrically Configurable Gate Array," IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits, Vol. 24, No. 3, April 1989, pp. 752-62; and Elgamal et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,758,745.) Moreover, most of any completely general interconnection resources would be unused and therefore wasted in virtually all applications of the device. On the other hand, many applications of the device may require substantial interconnection resources, and because the device is intended to be a general-purpose device, it is extremely important to commercial success that the device be capable of satisfying a very wide range of potential applications, many of the requirements of which cannot be known in advance by the designer of the programmable logic array device.
Considerations such as the foregoing make it essential to provide increasingly sophisticated interconnection resources in programmable logic array devices, and especially in reprogrammable logic array devices. The aim is to hold down the fraction of the "real estate" of the chip that is devoted to interconnection resources, e.g., by optimizing various features of those resources, by increasing the flexibility with which those resources can be used, etc. Moreover, this is preferably done without undue circuit loading and speed penalties due to passing signals through excessive numbers of switches or tapping conductors to large numbers of switches. (Compare the above-mentioned El Gamal, El-Ayat, and Elgamal references, as well such other references as Freeman U.S. Pat. No. Re. 34,363 and Carter U.S. Pat. No. 4,642,487, all of which rely heavily on programmably piecing together relatively short conductor segments when longer conductors are needed.)
In view of the foregoing it is an object of this invention to provide improved programmable logic array devices.
It is a more particular object of this invention to provide improved arrangements of interconnection resources on programmable logic array integrated circuits.


Provided is a battery capable of improving cycle characteristics without increasing the thickness of an anode current collector. An anode active material layer including at least one kind selected from the group consisting of Sn and compounds thereof is formed on an anode current collector having a projection on a substrate through a vapor deposition method, a liquid-phase deposition method or a sintering method, and the anode current collector and the anode active material layer are alloyed with each other in at least a portion of an interface therebetween. By a function of the projection, the anode current collector can be prevented from being cracked into small pieces due to expansion and shrinkage of the anode active material layer. Further, a stress on the anode active material layer due to the expansion and the shrinkage can be spread out so that cracks produced in the anode active material layer can be scattered in various directions to reduce the size of the cracks.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an anode comprising an anode current collector and an anode active material layer, and a battery using the anode.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, as mobile devices have higher performance and more functions, secondary batteries with higher capacity used as power sources of the mobile devices have been desired. As a secondary battery which meets the requirement, there is a lithium secondary battery. However, in a now-typical lithium secondary battery using lithium cobalt oxide as a cathode and graphite as an anode, its battery capacity is in a saturation state, so it is extremely difficult to significantly increase the capacity. Therefore, it has been considered since a long time ago that lithium (Li) metal is used for an anode, but in order to put the anode to practical use, it is required to improve precipitation/dissolution efficiency of lithium and control dendrite deposition.
On the other hand, recently, an anode with higher capacity which uses silicon (Si), tin (Sn) or the like has been studied actively. However, due to expansion and shrinkage of an anode active material which occur when charge and discharge are repeated, the anode active material is cracked into small pieces, thereby the anode has extremely poor cycle characteristics such as a decline in current collecting performance, and promotion of the decomposition of an electrolyte solution due to an increased surface area. Therefore, an anode which includes an anode active material layer formed on an anode current collector through a vapor deposition method, a liquid-phase deposition method or a sintering method has been studied (refer to, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. Hei 8-50922, Japanese Patent No. 2948205 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. Hei 11-135115). According to the anode, compared to a conventional coating type anode formed through coating with slurry including an anode active material in a particle shape, a binder and so on, the anode can be prevented from being cracked into small pieces, and an anode current collector and an anode active material layer can be formed as a unit, so electronic conductivity in the anode becomes very good, and in terms of capacity and cycle life, the anode is expected to have higher performance. Moreover, a conducive material, a binder, a gap and so on conventionally included in the anode can be reduced or eliminated, so the anode can be formed into a thin film in essence.
However, even in the anode, due to intense expansion and shrinkage of the anode active material upon charge and discharge, the anode active material layer is cracked into small pieces, and a decline in current collecting performance, and promotion of the decomposition of the electrolyte due to an increased area surface occur, thereby resulting in a loss in the capacity. Therefore, the cycle characteristics in the anode are not sufficient enough. Moreover, due to intense expansion and shrinkage of the anode active material layer, linear and large cracks are produced in the anode active material layer, thereby when the strength of the anode current collector is not sufficient, a fracture is produced in part of the anode current collector, so sufficient cycle characteristics cannot be obtained accordingly. In order to secure the strength of the anode current collector, the anode current collector is required to have a larger thickness, but in terms of higher capacity, the anode current collector preferably has a smaller thickness.


A reclosable fastener tape includes a first fastener strip and a second fastener strip that is adapted to mate with the first fastener strip in a reclosable fashion. A sheet connects the first fastener strip to the second fastener strip. The sheet has an unpunctured tear line formed between the first fastener strip and the second fastener strip for providing a tamper evident hermetic seal when the fastener tape is sealed with a bag.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to reclosable bags, and more specifically, but not exclusively, concerns sealed, tamper evident reclosable bags.
2. Background
Various inventions have been made in the area of reclosable plastic bags with slider zippers. For example, the Herrington U.S. Pat. No. 5,007,143 shows a zipper profile which is opened and closed by a slider that is grasped by the user for opening and closing the bag. It is desirable in certain situations to provide tamper evidence to the user of the reclosable bag. The Hustad et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,456,928 is an example of a patent disclosing a reclosable bag for use with food products which has tamper evident means incorporated therein. There are certain situations, for example, where a slider zipper reclosable bag is used to contain a product that is being marketed and it is also desirable to provide tamper evidence.
Certain types of items, such as perishable foods, need to be hermetically sealed within bags so as to prevent contamination. To ensure that contents of the bag have not been contaminated or tampered with by the bag being opened, such bags typically incorporate some sort of tamper evident feature. Tear lines on the bags, for example, have been used as one type of tamper evident indicator. At the tear line, the walls of the bag are weakened to allow for tearing of the bag, but the walls are not punctured along the tear line so as to maintain a hermetic seal. In one technique to create the hermetically sealed tear line, the tear line is thermally treated in order to weaken the material along the tear line. For instance, one technique uses a laser to heat and weaken layers of plastic sheets in the bag as the laser traverses along the tear line. As should be appreciated, through laser scoring a tamper evident tear line for hermetically sealed bags is able to be created. However, laser scoring equipment can be too expensive for some vendors. In addition, to ensure that the walls of the bag are not punctured, process control tolerances are required during laser scoring. Some bag manufacturers do not have the capability, environment, training, equipment and/or experience to be able to maintain appropriate control tolerances. Therefore, it is desirable for vendors that do not have the systems in place to produce hermetically sealed score lines to be able to produce hermetically sealed tamper evident bags with conventional equipment.


A wrap-around carrier with gusset panels connected to the bottom panel that automatically fold into their upright position when the bottom panel flaps are set up for locking engagement. The resulting upright portions of the gusset panels contact the bottom portion of adjacent articles in the carrier to prevent the articles from falling out through the ends of the carrier. The fold lines connecting the gusset panels to the side panels are angled back to lengthen these fold lines while cutouts in the gusset panels shorten the length of the other fold lines of the gusset panels. This increases the pulling power of the gusset panels while decreasing the bias force which must be overcome in order for the gusset panels to be folded into their upright position.

Wrap-around carriers provide an inexpensive, effective means for packaging articles, requiring blanks of only minimum size which are capable of running on packaging machines at high speeds. A wrap-around carrier is formed by first grouping the articles to be packaged in the same arrangement they will have in the package, then wrapping a carrier blank around the articles and securing the ends of the blank together. Although some wrap-around carriers include integral end panels, most are open-ended. The articles are prevented from falling out through the open ends by tightly wrapping the carrier blank around them and also by designing the package so that the bottom portions of the articles protrude through openings in the side panels of the carrier. For example, cutouts in the side panels are conventionally employed to receive the flanges of cans and other flanged articles, while heel cutouts in the lower portions of the side panels are employed to receive the heels or bases of beverage bottles.
While such measures have been successful in containing bottles of traditional design in their wrap-around carriers, new bottle designs do not always lend themselves to conventional treatment The trend to larger beverage bottles makes it incumbent to employ carriers that are not only structurally capable of supporting heavier loads but are able to positively prevent outward movement of the end bottles. This becomes more difficult when the bottle design is such that it no longer includes a conventionally shaped heel which normally would be held in place by a heel cutout. The packaging of bottles provided with petaloid bottom designs, the bottom portions of which have an inward slope instead of an outward slope, is particularly difficult in this respect.
It would be desirable to be able to employ wrap-around carriers to package bottles and other articles whose design makes it difficult or impossible to be held in place by side panel cutouts, and to do so without danger of the articles sliding out the ends of the carrier.


An elongate member assembly having an elongate member, a connecting member provided between one end and another end of the elongate member, and a swaging member that swages and fixes the connecting member to the elongate member, and fixing member connected to the connecting member. The connecting member includes a swaging portion pressed by the swaging member on the elongate member, and a connecting portion connected to the fixing member. The fixing member includes an anchor portion mounted to a mounting object member, and a ring-shaped portion connected to the connecting portion. The connecting portion includes, a rotation permitting portion that permits the ring-shaped portion to move, and a movement limiting portion that limits movement of the ring-shaped portion. The elongate member assembly facilitates the fixing thereof onto the mounting object member.

When an elongate member such as a control cable is used for remote control, one end is connected to an operating object, and the other end is connected to an operation member and mounted to a mounting object. At this time, the elongate member is disposed at a predetermined position and fixed to the mounting object so as not to change the disposed position. To fix the elongate member to the mounting object, an elongate member assembly (e.g., Patent Literature 1) including, for example, an elongate member and a bracket which is a fixing member fixed by swaging on the outer circumference of the elongate member and fixing to the mounting object such as a vehicle.


A method and apparatus for distributing protocol processing among a plurality of computing platforms. Data communications equipment such as Remote Access Devices, Communication Servers, Terminal Servers, and Dial-up Routers provide single user or large-scale multiple user communication access to various computing environments. The equipment costs and performance of levels of providing such access equipment is related to the amount of CPU processing capability and memory required to support the desired number of serial communication links. It is common to use protocols that terminate in their entirely in the same processing machine. This invention encompasses methods developed to increase the cost/performance capabilities of the communication equipment that supports these serial links, primarily by means of distributing the protocol processing across multiple computing platforms, including devices such as modems.

This invention relates generally to the fields of telecommunications and the processes by which telephone calls are switched into and out of a computer system from a telephone line or other communications link. The invention is particularly suitable for use in an environment in which a high volume of calls are routed into or out of the computer system at the same time.
The methods disclosed herein can be performed by an element of communications equipment we have called a "network access server." The network access server is a device that receives incoming calls and routes them to a computer system via a network, or that receives calls from the network and routes them onto a communications link. In our distributed processing invention, a dramatic increase in the efficiency of the call routing process is achieved, thereby maximizing call throughput and minimizing the overall call connect time. This result is achieved by distributing computationally intensive protocol processing (such as Point-to-Point Protocol or PPP processing) among multiple computing platforms such as the modems of the network access server. Heretofore, the protocol processing has been performed in a single computing platform at the network interface.
Various types of communication devices are placed at the interface between a modem and a computer network, such as routers, terminal servers, and modules sometimes referred to as "gateway cards". These devices implement software programs that control the inflow and outflow of calls between the modems and the network. One layer of the software hierarchy that is run in these devices is known in the art as an "application layer". This document makes frequent reference to the terms "application", "application layer" and "application software layer". As used herein, these terms mean a communication control and management software layer above the protocol stacks in a communication device, the device typically placed at the gateway (or interface) between a modem and a computer network.
State of the art modems, such as the V.34 Quad Modem developed by U.S. Robotics Corp., of Skokie, Ill., the assignee of the present invention, have a feature whereby two protocols are implemented in the modem. The first protocol is a modified version of an asynchronous High-level Data Link Control (HDLC) framing of Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP). The protocol could be synchronous HDLC framing of PPP in other implementations. The modem performs the flag sequence, data transparency, and Frame Check Sequence (FCS) on each PPP frame. The second protocol performed in the modem is Serial Line Internet Protocol (SLIP).
In the prior art, when an application software routine at the network access server gateway creates a PPP (or SLIP) frame, it checks each byte, looking for a byte that is a control character. If the application finds a control character, a PPP Escape character (or SLIP Escape character) is stuffed into the data stream. Then, the original control character is translated to a transparent character and stuffed into the data stream. This usually requires two buffers, because extra characters are added. For PPP frames, while the application is looking at each byte of the frame, it must also calculate the FCS. When the application receives a PPP (or SLIP) frame, it must do the reverse of the above process. In some network access servers, such as the U.S. Robotics NETServer, up to 60 modems may be active at any one time. This means that the gateway computing platform in the network access server would be doing this process for each of the 60 modems if the prior art technique was used. This results in a extremely heavy processing load on one computing platform, and introduces latencies and delays in the call routing process. These effects combine to significantly reduce call throughput, particularly where a large volume of calls are simultaneously received or transmitted through the network access server.
One prior art approach to increasing call throughput has been to incorporate communications controller hardware, such as the Cirrus Logic CL-CD 2430/CD 2431 device, into the protocol processing circuitry. The present invention eliminates the need for such expensive hardware devices, by enabling the performance of the protocol processing within existing computing platforms, such as the processors in the modems associated with the network access server.

Communication access system with distributed processing


A recombinant bifunctional fusion protein comprises a first component which is the antigenic ectodomain of measles virus hemagglutinin protein (MeaH) genetically modified not to bind to human cells; and a second component fused thereto which is capable of binding to the surface structure of genetically variable viruses such as HCV or HIV or other therapeutic targets. The second component binds to the target and the first component is recognised by anti-measles antibodies present in the majority of the population. The protein may be used therapeutically to treat HCV or HIV infection or against other therapeutic targets.

The principle of vaccination has been known since the 18th century in the form of empirical treatment against smallpox. The first scientific vaccine was developed by Pasteur (rabies). This was a first generation vaccine, as was the smallpox vaccine, using live animals for production. Second generation vaccines are produced in eggs (Influenza, Yellow fever) and third generation vaccines are produced in cell culture (Polio, Measles, Rubella, Mumps, Tickborne encephalitis). Fourth generation vaccines are produced in various expression systems by recombinant DNA technology and are represented by hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBsAg).
A vaccine can consist of the whole microorganism (bacteria, virus, parasite etc.) or its part (subunit vaccine). In the former case the microorganism is either inactivated (killed) or attenuated. In addition, as mentioned above, recombinant antigens or synthetic immunogenic peptides have been used recently and DNA vaccines have been developed relying on the host cell to produce the desired antigen(s).
The primary purpose of vaccination is and always has been prophylactic—prevention of particular disease.
Nevertheless, even relatively speedy development of vaccines against some life-threatening diseases may be too late for people already infected. The number of people infected worldwide with three of the most common human viruses—hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) represents up to 10% of human population when the latest figures of 300-400 million for HBV, more than 60 million for HCV and more than 30 million for HIV are combined. There is thus a clear need for therapeutics and one of the options is development of therapeutic vaccines.
Vaccine development is expensive and the cost of developing a vaccine is between $US 50 million and 200 million. Much of the cost reflects efforts to make sure that a variety of antigenic variants of the particular infectious agent are disarmed by the vaccine. This is difficult with moderately genetically divergent microorganisms but it is almost impossible with viruses having antigens as variable as the surface glycoproteins of HIV, HCV or influenza. On the other hand, there are highly successful vaccines with a proven record of efficacy and safety, such as polio and measles, mumps and rubella (MMR). The main difference between HCV, HIV and influenza on the one hand and polio, measles, mumps and rubella on the other hand is that members of the latter group against which there are successful vaccines are genetically much more stable than the former group.
Influenza vaccination is targeted each season at particular variants which are predicted to appear based on epidemiological studies. Experimental HIV vaccines are based on various constructs of envelope protein(s) originating from one or several strains. However, it is still unlikely that this approach will be effective for the entire spectrum or at least a majority of worldwide field isolates. There is no vaccine in trials for HCV yet.
In contrast, as mentioned earlier viruses such as measles are genetically more stable. Vaccine strains induce broadly cross-reactive antibodies. Measles hemagglutinin (MeaH) is a major target of these antibodies. It is a glycoprotein as is the second surface protein—fusion protein (F). Both of them are required for a fusion of cell membranes, but the sequence of events starts with MeaH binding to the cell receptor, thought to be CD46. MeaH is a membrane anchored protein with amino acids 1 to 34 proposed to form a cytoplasmic domain, while 35 to 58 comprise a transmembrane domain (see FIG. 1). Residues 59 to 181 are thought to form a stalk, part of which (135 to 181) probably forms a hinge of a molecule [Sato et al., J. Virol. 69, 513-516 (1995)1. Spikes of MeaH on virion surface consist of tetramers (dimers of disulfide bridge-linked homodimers). Cysteines 139 and 154 were suggested to participate in intermolecular disulfide bonding between monomeric MeaH glycoproteins. Soluble forms resulting from endoproteinase digestion of measles virus particles all reacted with monoclonal antibodies suggesting the preservation of antigenicity/reactivity [Sato et al., J. Virol. 69, 513-516 (1995)]. MeaH domain required for hemadsorption and hemagglutination activities was mapped between residues 451 and 505 [Hummel & Bellini, J. Virol. 69, 1913-1916 (1995)]. In addition to hemadsorption, the mutagenesis Val451Glu and Tyr481Asn also abrogated CD46 downregulation and HeLa cell fusion [Lecouturier et al., J. Virol. 70, 4200-4204 (1996)]. A novel site required for CD46 interaction was mapped between 473 and 477 [Patterson et al., Virology 256, 142-151 (1999)]. Additional neutralizing epitope NE244-250, located next to CD46 downregulating amino acid Arg 243, may be involved in CD46 binding [Fournier et al., J. Gen. Virol. 78, 1295-1302 (1997)].
It is an object of the present invention to provide a therapy for people infected with genetically variable viruses and other therapeutic targets.


Reformed casein micelles are produced from an aqueous solution or dispersion of commercially available processed casein by the sequential addition, over an extended period of time, of calcium ions and a soluble phosphate salt, after which the aqueous reaction medium is concentrated such as by ultrafiltration or diafiltration, to increase the level of casein micelles thereon and remove excess salts. The reformed casein micelles are used as a complete or partial replacement for fat in a variety of food products, particularly coffee whiteners. Coffee whiteners containing reformed casein micelles as a replacement for the fat component have functional and organoleptic properties equivalent to conventional coffee whiteners.

Casein is the principal protein of milk, with the casein being present as micelles, that is, naturally occurring proteinaceous microparticles comprising a calcium caseinate-phosphate complex having a diameter of from about 0.1 to 0.4 microns. It has been suggested heretofore that concentrated, substantially non-aggregated casein micelles obtained by the ultrafiltration of skim milk may be used as a fat substitute in certain food products such as whipped or quiescently frozen or refrigerated desserts, puddings, whipped toppings, sauces, dips, and the like.
However, when casein is isolated for commercial utilization, such as in the production of acid casein or alkali metal caseinates, the micelles are destroyed. Consequently, since such commercially available casein products no longer contain casein in micelle form, they are not suitable for use as a fat replacer.

Powdered coffee whitener containing reformed casein micelles


A method for manufacturing metal components includes the steps of providing a waste feedstock having a selected chemical composition; producing an additive manufacturing (AM) grade alloy powder from the waste feedstock using a cold hearth mixing process; providing an additive manufacturing system; controlling the producing of the alloy powder such that the properties of the alloy powder optimize building of the components using the additive manufacturing system; and building the components using the alloy powder and the additive manufacturing system.

Working metals into alloys has been done throughout human history. High temperature alloys are a very recent discovery. These metals are being utilized in industries that need materials to withstand high temperatures, such as airplane engines, turbine blades, and chemical processing equipment. However, the high heat tolerance of these metals makes recycling difficult to accomplish. Current recycling technologies, while successful, are not efficient enough for today's industry requirements.
In addition, the minerals containing the metals needed to make high temperature metal alloys must be imported into the United States due to these mineral deposits not being present on US soil. This makes optimizing the metal recycling process essential for reducing international dependence on obtaining these valuable metals.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need in the art for improvements in recycling processes for high temperature metal alloys. This disclosure relates to a method for recycling high temperature metals from a variety of waste feedstocks, which are converted into an additive manufacturing (AM) grade powder, and then into metal alloy components, such as aircraft components.

Method for manufacturing metal components using recycled feedstock and additive manufacturing


A stacker assembly receives signatures and supports the signatures as an intermediate stack is formed. A jogger assembly engages an intermediate stack supported by the stacker assembly to accurately align edge portions of the signatures. The stacks of signatures are deposited onto a turntable to form a main stack. The turntable rotates the main stack to offset relatively thick folded edge portions of signatures. The stacker assembly includes a plurality of slats which are moved along a first continuous circuitous path by a first drive assembly. The stacker assembly also includes a plurality of slats which are moved along a second continuous circuitous path by a second drive assembly. The drive assemblies move the slats along the continuous circuitous paths with the longitudinal axes of the slats horizontal and parallel. The jogger assembly has jogger plates which extend into central portions of the continuous circuitous paths along which the slats are moved by the drive assemblies.

The invention relates to a new and improved apparatus for use in stacking signatures and, more specifically, to an apparatus which receives signatures, forms intermediate stacks of signatures, and deposits the intermediate stacks of signatures on a main stack of signatures.
An apparatus which receives signatures, forms intermediate stacks of signatures and deposits the intermediate stacks of signatures on a main stack of signatures is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,068,567, issued Jan. 17, 1978 and entitled "Combined Ejector-Gate Means for Rotatable Table of an Article Counter-Stacker". The apparatus disclosed in this patent includes a stacker section which receives newspapers. The newspapers are stacked on cooperating pairs of upwardly angled blades carried on endless chains. A stack supporting table is disposed beneath the stacker section and receives stacks of signatures from the stacker section. The table is rotatable to offset relatively thick folded edge portions of the signatures received from the stacker section. Apparatus for use in forming stacks of signatures is also disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,532,230; 3,599,807; 4,183,704; and 4,678,387.


A system for extracting ontological information from a body of text is disclosed. The system parses one or more sentences from the body of text into parse tree format to generate a set of parsed sentences. The system further performs named-entity-recognition by identifying a subset of parsed sentences from the set of parsed sentences. A subset of noun phrases from the subset of parsed sentences are identified and the noun phrases are examined to classify the noun phrases as an entity or as a property. The system also identifies and outputs a conceptual relationship between the entity and the property based at least partially on grammatical relationship of the entity and the property.

The embodiments described herein relate generally to language processing systems and, more particularly, to techniques for extracting ontological information from a body of text.
Information Extraction (IE) is the science of automating the extraction of information from unstructured or semi-structured documents. Known information extraction systems rely on natural language processing (NLP), and are traditionally implemented as a pipeline of special-purpose processing modules targeting the extraction of a particular kind of information. A major drawback of such an approach is that whenever a new extraction goal emerges or a module is improved, extraction has to be reapplied from scratch to the entire body of text even though only a small part of the text might be affected.
Other known information extraction systems rely on keyword search, which involves a set of keywords and a search mechanism as a way of locating information in text documents. However, the search mechanism relies on identifying specific words that appear in the documents without taking into account the meaning of the words. Traditional word-based approaches ignore syntactic and grammatical information present in the sentence as a whole.
Information extraction systems also rely on named-entity recognition. In analyzing documents, information extraction systems need to recognize and classify individual elements. Some known approaches to named-entity recognition involve use of a dictionary, a list of known individual elements and their pseudonyms. However, dictionaries are not always available for specific subject matter domains, such as for specific engine components or engine failure symptoms. Creating dictionaries that encounter all possible syntactic variations of technical concepts in a given subject matter domain can be a labor-intensive task. Another known approach is to devise a supervised approach to generate models based on manually annotated data. However, this approach is also a labor-intensive task.

System and method for extracting ontological information from a body of text