An oxygen sensor testing device having an oxygen sensor disposed in a rear stage of a synthetic gas passage to evaluate the oxygen sensor using a synthetic gas supplied to the synthetic gas passage, in which a sulfur dioxide gas passage supplied with sulfur dioxide gas communicates with a front stage of the synthetic gas passage to supply sulfur dioxide gas to the synthetic gas passage, thereby enabling exact evaluation of the oxygen sensor using the synthetic gas having composition close to actual exhaust gas containing sulfur dioxide.

Ratio of air and fuel, or air/fuel ratio, of the air/fuel mixture supplied to an internal combustion engine is controlled in accordance with the operating conditions of the vehicle to suppress noxious substances in the exhaust gas and/or to enhance the thermal efficiency of the engine. This control is performed using an oxygen sensor (O.sub.2 sensor) for detecting oxygen concentration of the exhaust gas and an air/fuel ratio control device for controlling the air/fuel ratio fo the air/fuel mixture. The oxygen sensor is employed to feedback control the air/fuel control device in dependence on the output of the O.sub.2 sensor, so that the air/fuel ratio of the air/fuel mixture is near the stoichiometric mixture ratio. The O.sub.2 sensor used in air/fuel ratio control is tested and evaluated for its output and response characteristics using a testing device.
Conventional testing devices include those which use combustion gas of a propane burner to test O.sub.2 sensors, and those which use exhaust gas of an actual engine to test O.sub.2 sensors. In the device using a propane burner, output and response characteristics of O.sub.2 sensors are evaluated using the combustion gas. The device using an actual engine uses a computer to control the composition of air/fuel mixture to higher fuel concentrations than the stoichiometric mixture ratio (rich condition) or lower fuel concentrations than the stoichiometric mixture ratio (lean condition), and output and response characteristics of O.sub.2 sensors are evaluated using exhaust gas close to that of actual vehicles under rich, lean, and transient conditions.
The O.sub.2 sensor using a propane burner, since it is not able to evaluate exact characteristics because the composition of the combustion gas differs from that of actual exhaust gas, is used only for confirmation of quality control of O.sub.2 sensors.
Evaluation of O.sub.2 sensors using exhaust gas of an actual engine is expected to provide the same results as evaluation of exhaust gas of actual vehicles. However, the engine varies in characteristics as it is operated for an extended period of time, and, if the engine is replaced with another one, evaluation results may differ even for the same O.sub.2 sensor, with poor test reliability. Furthermore, when the air/fuel ratio of mixture varies from rich to lean condition, or lean to rich condition, or when such variation occurs abruptly, conditions which are most important to evaluate the characteristics of O.sub.2 sensors, the engine must be operated at a high speed and under a heavy load. This adversely affects the engine and impairs the reproducibility of the test. Therefore, evaluation of O.sub.2 sensors has been reliable only when the engine is operated at a low speed and with a light load. Evaluation of characteristics of O.sub.2 sensors has been inaccurate when the air/fuel ratio of mixture varies largely or abruptly.
With a view to obviating the above prior art defects, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a testing device for oxygen sensors which is able to create an exhaust gas of composition close to that of actual exhaust gas and containing constituents adversely affecting evaluation of O.sub.2 sensors, and, to simulate exhaust gas of various running conditions of the vehicle with good repeatability. This enables evaluation of O.sub.2 sensors under conditions close to those of actual driving conditions, and improves reliability of the test.

Mitsubishi Jidosha Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha


A control system includes at least one guiding device including a long range guiding water jet generator having a plurality of first nozzles each projecting a jet of water upwardly and a first illumination apparatus projecting a plurality of beams of light upwardly each in concert with the jet of water projected from each of the first nozzles so as to guide the flight vehicle along a predetermined direction when the flight vehicle is located at a longer distance relative to the guiding device and a short range guiding water jet generator having a plurality of second nozzles each projecting a jet of water upwardly and a second illumination apparatus projecting a plurality of beams of light upwardly each in concert with the jet of water projected from each of the second nozzles so as to guide the flight vehicle along the predetermined direction when the flight vehicle is located at a shorter distance relative to the guiding device. At least one support water jet generator includes a third nozzle projecting a jet of pressurized water upwardly for supporting the flight vehicle when landing.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a control system, and more particularly to a control system for a flight vehicle when landing and taking off.
2. Related Prior Art
A conventional guiding system is provided for guiding and directing a flight vehicle along a predetermined travel direction and is not suitable for supporting the flight vehicle smoothly and steadily when landing.
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the disadvantages of the conventional guiding system for a flight vehicle.


A system for emulating a mouse button event via an absolute coordinate input device. The system includes a computer having an operating system capable of receiving mouse type relative coordinate input commands from an absolute coordinate input device adapted to generate coordinate data in response to a finger touch down event. A controller is operably connected to the coordinate input device and adapted to resolve left and right mouse button touch down events and respective coordinate data for such events.

Various methods and apparatuses are known in the art for facilitating the movement of a cursor to a point on the display of a computer or the like. Such methods and apparatuses are useful in assisting electronic device users (such as users of general purpose or dedicated computers) in selecting text, graphics, or menus for subsequent manipulation.
Coordinate based input devices include relative coordinate devices such as mice, track balls and absolute coordinate devices including digitizing tablets, touch screens, and touch pads. A mouse is a hand-held device which typically has between one and three feature buttons (physical electrical switches) for selecting different features related to or useful to a coordinate selected. The mouse buttons are typically arranged horizontally and referred to as left, right and middle mouse buttons. Digitizers and touch screens are utilized in a similar manner and most generally employ either an active or passive stylus. Where an active stylus is employed one or more buttons located on the stylus may be actuated so as to allow mouse button-type feature selection.
Features available for mouse selection can be broken down into the following categories: (a) primary features which are most commonly supported; (b) secondary features which are often supported yet are less common than primary features; and (c) tertiary features which are sometimes supported yet are less common than secondary features.
In the case of a single button mouse, primary features are the only available features. Single button mouse users typically select these features via the index finger pushing the single mouse button.
In the case of a two button mouse, both primary and secondary features are available. A typical right handed user makes primary feature selection via the index finger pushing the left mouse button. In addition, said user makes secondary feature selection via the long finger pushing the right mouse button.
In the case of a three button mouse, primary, secondary and tertiary features are available. A typical right handed user makes primary feature selection via the index finger pushing the left mouse button. In addition, said user makes secondary feature selection via the third finger pushing the right mouse button. Finally, said user makes tertiary feature selection via the long finger pushing the middle mouse button.
Note that users have the option of orienting mouse buttons differently than stated above. However, for the remainder of this document, left mouse button input will be associated with primary feature selection, right mouse button input will be associated with secondary feature selection and middle mouse button input will be associated with tertiary input selection.
Where a passive stylus is utilized other means for selecting mouse button-type features must be employed. Additionally, in absolute coordinate data input devices an initial contact is interpreted as primary mouse (e.g., left mouse button) activation. For example, Calder, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,432,531, teaches a coordinate processor capable of locking a cursor position and allowing differentiation between cursor movement from button click commands without requiring a manually operable push button. However, the Calder, et al., teaching does not disclose means for issuing relative coordinate device right mouse button commands.
Systems capable of emulating relative coordinate device right mouse button commands have been disclosed. For example, Ward, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,491,495, teaches a system for simulating a mouse by displaying a mouse icon overlay so as to allow a user to select a coordinate with a stylus and then select a mouse button by moving the stylus to the mouse icon overlay. However, the Ward, et al., system utilizes relative coordinate location of the stylus input based upon a graphical simulacrum of a mouse. Therefore, the Ward, et al., system requires (a) additional processor time to process the mouse icon display, (b) an icon which covers a viewable sized area of the display, and (c) a user to drag the icon into position rather than allowing a user to simply point and act on the coordinate desired.
It is, therefore, a primary object of the present invention to provide touch screen and touch pad users with full mouse-like input. Likewise, it is another object of the present invention to provide a system which allows right mouse emulation with touch screens and touch pads. Further, it is another object of the present invention to provide a system which performs without degrading computer performance. It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a system which allows both point as well as drag-and-drop selection. Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a system which does not impede the viewable area of a display during operation.

Supplemental mouse button emulation system, method and apparatus for a coordinate based data input device


An eyeglass frame particularly adapted for mounting a safety lens having a straight outer wall circumscribed by a groove is provided. The eyeglass frame includes a T-wire having a centrally disposed rib portion receivable in the lens groove, and a pair of oppositely extending rims flexibly cantilevered from the rib portion. Each of the rims includes a retaining wall that engages opposite ends of the outer wall of the lens in line contact. Each of the retaining walls is tapered relative to the outer wall of the lens so that the retaining walls can flex toward greater surface contact with the outer lens wall in response to hoop stresses generated by a shock to the lens, thereby increasing the amount of shock that the lens can absorb before becoming broken or dislodged from the T-wire of the frame.

This invention generally relates to eyeglass frames and is specifically concerned with an eyeglass frame having an improved shock absorbing T-wire for mounting a safety lens.
Safety eyeglass frames for mounting prescription lenses are known in the prior art. Like regular eyeglass frames, such safety frames generally comprise a pair of lens-retaining rims connected by a bridge which rests on the upper portion of the wearer""s nose when the glasses are worn. Temples hingedly connected to the sides of the rims secure the lenses in front of the eyes of the wearer.
Safety eyeglasses differ from ordinary eyeglasses in that the lenses must effectively resist being dislodged from the rim in the event that a shock or impact force is applied onto the front surface of the eyeglass lenses. Consequently, prescription eyeglass rims formed from wire having a T-shaped cross-section were. adopted in the prior for use in safety glasses. Such T-wire rims include a rim portion having a centrally disposed, inner rib that protrudes upwardly from the inner rim surface at a right angle. The inner rib extends into a groove centrally disposed around a generally straight outer wall of the lens. The interfitting rib and groove arrangement creates a stronger connection between the lens and the surrounding rims, making it less likely that the lens will dislodge upon the application of an impact or shock force.
While such prior art T-wire rims have generally worked well for their intended purpose, the applicant has noted that the conventional T-wire design is much more prone to failure when applied to thinner lenses. Recent advances in polycarbonate chemistry have led to transparent plastic materials which advantageously combine the properties of higher shock resistance, and a higher index of refraction. Such new plastics will soon allow the thickness of safety prescription lenses to be reduced to only 2 millimeters. While the use of such thinner lenses advantageously reduces the weight of the eyeglasses and enhances their overall appearance by giving them the trim, lightweight look of ordinary prescription glasses, it also results in a weakened connection between the T-wire and the outer edges of the lenses, and promotes the occurrence of cracking in the lens in the vicinity of the centrally-disposed groove. Surprisingly, the applicant has observed that such dislodgment and cracking are not caused solely by the reduced thickness of the lens in the vicinity of the lens-rim joint, but instead from the generation of hoop stresses between the outer surface of the lens and inner surface of the T-wire in response to a sharp impact force on the outer surface of the lens. The applicant has determined that such hoop stresses are caused by the generally convex profile of the front surface of lens, which is present even when it is non-prescription, in combination with the increased flexibility of the lens due to its smaller thickness. These two geometries increase the tendency of the outer walls of the lens to momentarily flex outwardly in a radial direction in response to shock in what may be termed an xe2x80x9coil canxe2x80x9d effect. This momentary radial expansion in turn causes the T-wire to tighten so that the rim portions on either side of the rib of the T-wire momentarily apply powerful wedging forces to the groove that circumscribes the outer wall of the eyeglass lens. The resulting wedging forces between the T-wire and the lens groove may generate cracks at the end of the groove which may cause fracture and dislodgment of the lens in an accident situation. Even if the lens is not dislodged, the resulting fractures may necessitate replacement of the lens. The applicant has further observed that the increased tendency of such thinner lens to bend in response to shock or impact force can also result in slippage between the relatively short rib of the rims and the groove in the lens. Such slippage is another factor that can result in dislodgment of the lens from the rim.
Clearly, what is needed is an improved eyeglass frame having a T-wire rim which is capable of securely gripping the outer walls of an eyeglass lens during an accidental impact to the lenses without slippage, yet does not generate the wedging forces in the vicinity of the grooves circumscribing the lens that promote cracking and fracture. Ideally, the T-wire of the eyeglass frames should be compatible for use with lenses having a conventionally shaped straight outer walls circumscribed by a groove of conventional shape to obviate the need for new grinding or shaping techniques for safety lenses. Finally, it would be desirable if the T-wire of the frame were easily and inexpensively manufactured with existing machinery.
Generally speaking, the invention is an eyeglass frame for mounting a lens that overcomes the aforementioned shortcomings associated with the prior art. The eyeglass frame of the invention is particularly adapted for mounting a lens having a straight outer wall circumscribed by a groove, and comprises a T-wire including a centrally disposed rib portion receivable in the lens groove, and a pair of oppositely extending rims flexibly cantilevered from the rib portion. Each of the rims includes a retaining wall that engages opposite ends of the outer wall of the lens in line contact. Each of the retaining walls is shaped such that they flex toward the outer lens wall in response to momentary hoop stresses generated by shock to the lens in order to absorb the same.
In the preferred embodiment, the retaining walls of each of the oppositely extending rims are tapered at an angle between the rib portion and their outer edges. The taper angle of each of the retaining walls of the rims is preferably between about 10xc2x0 and 20xc2x0 relative to a line orthogonal to a central axis of the rib portion. When a momentary hoop stress is created by shock directed toward the front of the lens, each of the flexibly cantilevered rims flexes toward the lens, thereby reducing the taper angle and increasing surface contact between the outer edges of the retaining walls of the rims and the outer wall of the lens. After the shock abates, the cantilevered rims flex back into line contact with the lens.
To further increase the resistance of the frame to lens slippage when the lens is exposed to shock or impact forces, the rib portion includes a rib which projects from the rims a distance greater than the rims project from the rib portion. The depth of the groove is greater than the distance than the rib projects from the rims so that the distal end of the ribs does not come into contact with the bottom of the groove even during the application of shock to the lens. Sidewalls of the ribs are tapered with respect to the lateral walls of the groove to further eliminate the possibility of engagement and stress between the rib and the walls of the groove.
Finally, the joint between the rib portion and the cantilevered rims is rounded to facilitate flexible movement between these components.


Using a nucleic acid construct, association of a polypeptide with a sequence coding therefor and screening of a polypeptide that binds to a target substance are carried out, which nucleic acid construct comprises a 5′-untranslated region and a coding region, wherein the above-mentioned coding region comprises a sequence coding for a polypeptide subjected to be displayed, a sequence coding for a first nucleic acid binding polypeptide, and a sequence coding for a second nucleic acid binding polypeptide; the above-mentioned 5′-untranslated region comprises a first sequence capable of binding to a first nucleic acid binding polypeptide and a second sequence capable of binding to second nucleic acid binding polypeptide; and, when the above-mentioned nucleic acid construct is introduced in a translation system, a fusion protein translated from the coding region of the above-mentioned nucleic acid construct forms a complex with an RNA corresponding to the above-mentioned nucleic acid construct.

The term "peptide aptamer" is a general term for an artificial peptide that binds specifically to a specific target molecule. At present, small peptide aptamers that exhibit binding functions similar to "antibodies" have drawn much attention as probes for molecular detection, inhibitors of a biological functions, or the like in both chemical research and biological science research. Further, in the field of medicine, they are also expected to serve as molecular target drugs for the next generation in place of antibody pharmaceuticals.
Recently, a phage display method has been mainly used as a technique of creating peptide aptamers. In this technique, a strategy employed is to select a peptide aptamer that specifically binds to a target molecule from about 109 kinds of peptide libraries that are displayed on part of a coat protein of a phage. Yet, there are a number of problems remained to be solved. For instance, (1) in a process of selecting the peptide aptamer, the life cycle of Escherichia coli and phages is utilized and therefore peptides that adversely affect their life activity end up being automatically eliminated. Hence, a phenomenon that no peptide aptamers having an intended function are obtained often takes place. Further, (2) there is bias in the occurrence frequency of each of the codons coding for 20 kinds of amino acids in cells, and there is concern in that a large gap is created between the variety of theoretically designed-synthesized peptide libraries and that of libraries actually used. Furthermore, (3) what frequently happens to a peptide aptamer selected by this technique is a phenomenon that the properties to bind to a target molecule end up decreasing or disappearing in a state where it is separated from the coat protein of phage. That's because a state where the peptide aptamer and the protein derived from the phage are fused is essential for developing and maintaining the binding property to the target molecule. In the case of using the phage display method, this is an unavoidable serious issue. Hence, in order to avoid the above problem, it is required to construct a peptide library or protein library by not using living cells but using only intracellular translation reactions. And, development of an "in vitro display method", by which a peptide aptamer specifically binding to an intended target molecule can be efficiently selected from a library, is imperative.
As such an in vitro display method, there has been a ribosome display method (Patent documents 1 to 4 and Non-patent document 1). As compared with a mRNA display method, in the ribosome display method, peptide (protein) libraries of various sizes can be designed and utilized in accordance with research applications and furthermore, an intended peptide aptamer can be selected and identified from those libraries by a quick and simple process. Therefore, the research can evolve with a view to commissioning and supplying in a kit or automation by robots in the future. However, because a peptide-ribosome-mRNA complex peptide aptamer that is used in the selection process is very unstable, it often happens that the intended peptide aptamer can not be identified. Therefore, even throughout the world, very few researchers are capable of freely dealing with this principle, condition, and technique in the present situation.
In order to increase the stability of the peptide-ribosome-mRNA complex, Non-patent document 2 discloses a technique in which Cv sequences are incorporated into the 5′-untranslated region of mRNA and Cvap dimer is included in a polypeptide to be expressed to carry out a ribosome display (Non-patent document 2). Yet, in order to increase the efficiency of the ribosome display, further improvement has been demanded.

Nucleic acid construct, nucleic acid-protein complex, and use thereof


A method for automatically installing covers on industrial lead-acid battery cells including the steps of placing cell groups within a cell jar, then automatically straightening the posts of the group. The cover is then placed on the jar containing the group, the cover is sealed to the jar, and the excess flash, which may have been produced during the cover sealing operation, is removed. Next, the posts are welded to bushings mounted in the cover. The sealed cell is then tested to insure that no leaks are present. Those cells passing the seal test will be passed on for further assembly operations while those cells which do not pass the seal test will be automatically shunted aside for subsequent manual inspection and rework where possible. The apparatus comprises a series of interlocked and interrelated conveyors, accumulators and pinchstop mechanisms which automatically convey the cells being sealed to machines which perform the operations delineated in the aforementioned method in the proper sequence.

The present invention relates to production of lead-acid batteries and more particularily to a method and apparatus for automatically installing a cover on a container, or jar, containing a group comprising elements of a cell of an industrial lead-acid battery.
In the past, the covers have been installed on the jars manually, a procedure which is time consuming, mistake prone and which has become increasingly expensive. A typical manual operation involves straightening the terminal posts of the group contained within the jar by banging them with a mallet. This procedure was performed to more or less insure that each terminal post would slide through its respective bushing which had been previously molded into the cover.
The cover was then placed over the terminal posts and forced into the top of the jar again using a mallet. This operation was especially time consuming and mistake prone since different portions of the cover had to be struck by the mallet to ensure that the cover was installed with its top surface substantially level with respect to the top of the jar and at a predetermined height thereabove.
This was followed by pouring an asphalt like compound into a grove formed around the perimeter of the cover, the grove being formed by the contour of the cover in conjunction with the inner top surfaces of the jar. Once the compound substantially cooled and hardened, the terminal posts were then welded to the bushings by using a hand torch. This is another operation, the quality of which depends greatly on the skill of the person performing the function. Upon completion of the terminal post welding operation, the jars were sent off for further assembly operations. As a result, defects in the industrial battery cell resulting from the cover sealing operation were not discovered until much later in the assembly cycle and possibly not until the battery was delivered and in use.

Method and apparatus for automatically installing covers on lead-acid battery cells


To provide close coupling between movable elements, such as segments (18) capable of varying the effective diameter of a folding blade cylinder (2) or a movable jaw (38) of a folding jaw cylinder, a first gear gear element (21, 47) is coupled via a positioning spindle (20, 43) to the respective movable element (18, 38); a second gear element (22) is coupled to the spindle (20, 43) and further rotationally coupled to the cylinder shaft (11, 35). A positioning or adjustment gearing, for example a differential, or a planetary gearing is positioned in close vicinity to a side wall of the machine, facing the respective cylinder, the positioning gearing being operable to be controlled to change the relative angular relationship between input or received rotation and output or delivered rotation, and being coupled to the second gear element (22), to receive rotation therefrom and further to the first gear element to deliver rotation and additional adjustment movement thereto. The adjusting gearing, which superimposed adjusting or positioning movement, is controlled by a positioning control element, such as a hand wheel (not shown), or a remote positioning control motor (30) coupled thereto by a gear, and controlled, for example, by a suitable electrical-electronic control unit, which can receive input data relating adjusting movement to, for example thickness of paper products being folded, number of paper products in a stack, and the like.

It is frequently necessary to utilize an existing folding system, using folding cylinders with varying numbers of sheets to be folded, in dependence on specific printing jobs. The German Patent Disclosure Document DE 38 38 314, Michalik, discloses a folding jaw and folding blade cylinder combination, which has an arrangement to adjust the spacing of the folding jaws, to thereby accommodate different numbers of sheets to be folded. The folding jaw cylinder has a cylinder shaft with a carrier arrangement formed of two carrier disks. The carrier disks support a movable folding jaw row; two further carrier disks carry fixed folding jaw rows. The carrier disks are suitably journalled in side plates or side frames of the folding apparatus. The carrier disks can be pivoted about the cylinder shaft by interposed slide bearings. They can be secured to the cylinder shaft by clutches. The cylinder shaft has an axial bore extending about one-third df its length, and a radial bore emanating therefrom. The two bores receive positioning shafts and an associated positioning spindle which are coupled by suitable bevel gears with a drive wheel of the folding jaw cylinder and with adjustment carriers, located in the carrier or support disks. A drive gear is driven by a positioning motor. The positioning motor receives positioning commands in the form of electrical signals, supplied thereto by a three-step controller. The three-step controller is coupled to a command input which permits introduction of input values representative of paper thickness, and further to a feedback sensor which measures the thickness of a paper web or paper web assembly.
It has been found that the arrangement has difficulties in operation since the positioning drive is remote from the positioned element, namely the folding jaws. In order to transfer positioning movement, a plurality of transmission elements must be used, such as gear belts, sprockets in engagement therewith, spindles, bevel gears and the like. The control must be accurate and reflect the input signals, so that all these transmission elements must be accurately constructed with as little play as possible. An additional difficulty arises due to the bore in the drive shaft, which is subjected to high loading. The drive shaft of the folding jaw cylinder is mechanically weakened by this bore, which impairs its long-time stability.


The preferred embodiment provides apparatus for ablating a vessel by generating heat within a vessel to cause blood clotting to occlude the vessel. The apparatus includes an electrically resistive element at the distal end of the apparatus, the resistive element being uncoated and therefore in bare form. An alternating current supply feeds electrical current through the resistive element to cause heating of the element and surrounding blood or tissue. The alternating current power supply preferably is balanced about a centre point so as to create a net sum of alternating pulses of zero. It has been found that the supply of alternating current to the resistive element reduces or eliminates corrosion of the resistive element in blood as the resistive element is heated. Use of conductive coatings for a sacrificial anode can be avoided.

There are instances where it is desirable to insert or implant into the body of a person an electrically conductive circuit, in particular a conducting wire. Examples may be to provide heating, an electrical connection between implanted components, an antenna or as any other electrical conduction part of a device. Electronic circuits used in the human body are typically isolated from the person's blood, tissue or interstitial fluids by physical barriers such as with coatings, sleeves, envelopes and so on. The present invention, described below, proposes the use of a bare electrical conductor and associated power supply system.
It is often necessary or desirable to occlude a body vessel. There are numerous known techniques to achieve this, the most invasive typically being by ligation of the vessel from outside. A number of endoluminal procedures are also known, such as by implantation of vascular plugs, embolization coils or particles, as well as by electrical methods including RF embolization. Implantation of a vessel blocking device, such as a coil or plug, leaves within the patient's body a foreign object, which can result in complications. Furthermore, the implanted device may not provide proper occlusion and/or may move over time, losing occlusive efficacy. RF embolization has been the subject of numerous studies. In particular two principal systems have been investigated, the first being a monopolar system in which a conductor providing an anode is placed endoluminally at the location at which it is desired to ablate the vessel, and a conductor providing a cathode pad is placed adjacent the patient, at a location as close as possible to the anode. The second system is a bipolar system in which both the anode and the cathode conductors are disposed in the vessel to be treated, for instance by being disposed on a common endoluminal carrier. RF embolization relies on passing current at RF frequencies through the electrode of the system and use of ionic conduction through the patient's blood or tissue. The RF energy causes heating of the blood or tissue and ablation either by generation of a blood clot or by collapse of the vessel due to the ablation energy. In theory such a system can work effectively, however, it does suffer from drawbacks. During the RF ablation process blood (or tissue) coagulates around the anode. Once this occurs the coagulation creates a current barrier with a resultant loss of ablation function. If ablation up to that point has not been sufficient to close the vessel, there will be incomplete occlusion. For this and other reasons, RF energy is supplied at a power high enough to seek to ensure that sufficient blood or vessel tissue is ablated to create a good enough seal of the vessel. However, this can result in an excess of energy and an excess of heating being applied to the vessel, with the risk that there can be damage to the vessel and/or nearby organs. For these and other reasons, RF ablation has had mixed results.
Examples of some prior art implantable conductive circuits are described in US-2011/0180421, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,019,877, 6,189,536, US-2008/0283417, US-2010/0010640 and US-2008/0319501.

Electrochemical protection of conducting circuit in the body of a patient


Embodiments include a method for installing a subscription profile, a terminal, and a server. The method includes obtaining, by a local profile assistant (LPA) in the terminal, metadata of a subscription profile, determining, based on an authorization file, whether use of each policy rule included in the metadata is allowed. The method further includes obtaining, by the LPA, the subscription profile when the use of each policy rule included in the metadata is allowed. The method further includes sending the subscription profile to an embedded universal integrated circuit card (eUICC) in the terminal. The method further includes determining, by the eUICC based on the authorization file, whether use of the subscription profile is allowed. The method further includes installing, by the eUICC, the subscription profile when the use of the subscription profile is allowed.

Currently, a terminal user purchases a SIM (Subscriber Identification Module, subscriber identification module) card or a UICC (Universal Integrated Circuit Card, universal integrated circuit card) from an operator, and can access, based on a profile written to the card, a network of the operator by inserting the SIM card or the UICC into a terminal (device). An eUICC is a UICC that supports secure remote management of a subscription profile (profile) and/or a UICC that supports local management of a profile.
Because the eUICC is usually integrated into a terminal by a terminal manufacturer, and is usually not purchased or manufactured by the operator, after the terminal leaves a factory, the eUICC may not include data that allows access to the network of the operator. The terminal needs to connect to an SM-DP+ (Subscription Manager-Data Preparation+, subscription manager-data preparation entity) by using a remote management technology, to receive a profile delivered by the SM-DP+, and download the profile to the eUICC, so that the eUICC can then access the network of the operator by using the profile.
The profile may include a plurality of policy rules (policy rules). A RAT (Rules Authorization Table, rules authorization table) is preconfigured in the terminal. The RAT records applicable-operator information and user authorization information that are respectively corresponding to the plurality of policy rules, and limits a rule with which the operator needs to comply when setting the policy rules. For example, the RAT records that a policy rule 1 applies to an operator A and an application condition is that user consent is required. If a profile includes the policy rule 1, and the profile including the policy rule 1 is installed in the terminal, when the terminal is to access the operator A based on the profile, the terminal can access a network only after obtaining the user consent.
The prior art does not relate to how to download the RAT to the eUICC in the terminal, and an existing RAT lists only a list of operators that are allowed to use a policy rule, where either all operators are allowed to use the policy rule or a specific operator is allowed to use the policy rule. In addition, there is a case in which use of one or more policy rules is forbidden in some regions, and according to the prior art, these policy rules may not be defined in the RAT. In this case, these policy rules not only cannot be used in the regions, but also cannot be used in other regions. This greatly limits an application scope of the terminal.

Method for installing subscription profile, terminal, and server


A portable multipurpose chair provides hooks on a frame that can be hooked around a bleacher seat or alternatively be used as legs of the chair in outdoor environments such as a beach or campsite. Telescoping frame sides include an elastic cord to bias the hooks together to remain engaged around a bench seat when the chair is used in a bleacher environment. The back of the seat includes a backrest against which a user can lean. Rigid cross members ensure that the chair remains in a stable position when in use.

The present invention relates to a multiuse recreational chair that can be used in a variety of situations and environments. Generally, these chairs have been made of lightweight materials and are often collapsible to enhance the portable nature of this type of chair. One existing problem with these chairs, however, is that they are not adaptable to many different outdoor environments. One situation, in particular, that has not been well addressed by current chairs on the market is a suitable chair to be used with bleachers at ball parks, stadiums and other outdoor arenas.
One example of a chair that attempts to address the bleacher seat problem is disclosed within the U.S. Pat. No. 4,045,834 to Mason. The chair disclosed by Mason is adapted for use on a conventional bleacher seat having a single plank as a bench. These bench-type seats are often uncomfortable due to the fact that they have no back rest on which a person can lean. Mason attempts to resolve this problem by using an attachment to the bench that hooks around the plank and provides a flexible back to lean back upon.
The bleacher attachment of Mason suffers from several disadvantages. The first is that the construction of Mason""s backrest causes the uprights of the backrest to collapse inwardly toward a person""s body when he leans back upon the flexible backing. The collapse of the back rest defeats the major purpose of the device, which is to improve the comfort of a conventional bench seat. Another disadvantage of Mason""s device is that it does nothing to improve a person""s comfort relative to the bench seat. Bench seats are often hard and can collect and retain moisture making the seats very uncomfortable. With Mason""s device, it would be necessary to carry an additional seat cushion or a sheet of waterproof material to make the bench more comfortable. A further disadvantage of Mason""s device is that it is made for a single purpose, specifically as a backrest for bench seats, and cannot be adapted for other outdoor or recreational uses.
It is an object of this invention to provide a chair that can be adapted for use with a bleacher-type seat that allows a person to lean back upon a back rest and have a layer of material over the bench to provide further comfort to the user. Another object the invention is to provide a chair that is adaptable to a variety of environments and recreational situations. It is a further object of the invention to provide a chair that is simple in design and manufacture, collapsible for easy portability of the device, and sturdy in construction to withstand a variety of conditions. Other objects of the invention will be apparent hereinafter from the specification and from the recital of the appended claims, particularly when read in conjunction with the accompany drawings.
The present invention comprises a chair having a backrest hinged or otherwise attached, evenly removably attached, to a seat portion. The seat portion includes telescoping members on either side of a sheet of material attached between the telescoping supports. The supports include hook members that can be hooked around a bleacher seat or alternatively be used as legs of the chair in outdoor environments such as a beach or campsite. The telescoped supports include a spring bias to force the hooks to remain hooked around a bench seat when the chair is used in a bleacher environment. The back of the seat includes a backrest against which a user can lean to allow further comfort. Rigid cross supports are provided to ensure that the chair remains in a stable position when in use. The hinge between the back and seat portions allow the device to collapse onto substantially a single plane to allow the seat to be easily carried and stored.


A circuit arrangement and method of dynamically repairing a redundant memory array utilize dynamically-determined repair information, generated from a memory test performed on the redundant memory array, along with persistently-stored repair information to repair the redundant memory array. In one implementation, for example, the persistent repair information is generated during manufacture to repair manufacturing defects in the array, with the dynamic repair information generated during a power-on reset of the array to address any additional faults arising after initial manufacture and repair of the array. Furthermore, repair of dynamically-determined errors may utilize otherwise unused redundant memory cells in a redundant memory array, thus minimizing the additional circuitry required to implement dynamic repair functionality with an array.

Solid state memory arrays are frequently used in computers and other electronic devices where fast access times are desired. For example, solid state memory arrays are often used as the main working storage repository for a computer, as well as in higher speed cache memories, implemented either separate from or in the same integrated circuit device as the principal processing circuitry for the computer.
Solid state memory arrays are typically implemented on a semiconductor integrated circuit device using multiple memory "cells" assigned to different memory addresses and arranged together with support circuitry suitable for accessing specific memory cells in the array. Due to processing variations that are inherent in all semiconductor manufacturing processes, it is not uncommon for one or more memory cells in a manufactured memory array to be faulty, and thus be incapable of reliably storing information. While a memory array may contain thousands or millions of memory cells, if even one memory cell in the memory array is faulty, the entire memory array is essentially unusable.
To address this concern, a portion of the memory cells in many memory array designs are designated as "redundant" memory cells that are selectively used to repair the memory arrays whenever primary memory cells are found to be faulty. Typically, such repairs are made by selectively activating "fuses" disposed on the same integrated circuit device as a memory array. Often, a fuse is implemented as an conductive interconnect that is selectively (and permanently) broken using a laser or an excessive electrical current. The fuse is coupled to routing logic for the memory array, such that, when the fuse conducts, a primary memory cell, or bank of primary memory cells, are accessed whenever a specific memory address associated with such a cell is requested. However, whenever the fuse is broken, the routing logic will instead access a redundant memory cell, or bank of redundant memory cells, in place of the primary memory cell(s) associated with that memory address.
Through the use of redundant memory cells, the manufacturing yield of semiconductor devices incorporating memory arrays can be significantly improved, since memory arrays containing relatively minor faults can be repaired, rather than having to be completely scrapped. Particularly when a memory array is integrated onto the same integrated circuit device as a complex and expensive logic circuit (e.g., as a level one cache for use with a microprocessor core), the cost savings associated with fuse-based repairs can be substantial.
However, even after manufacture and repair, memory arrays are capable of failure in the field, most often due to single bit errors resulting from the failure of single memory cells. To address this concern, ABIST logic is often utilized to detect additional faulty memory cells in a memory array, typically during initialization of the memory array (e.g., during power-on reset of an integrated circuit device within which the memory array is implemented). Whenever a memory cell is determined to be faulty, the memory address associated with that memory cell is marked as "bad" and not used. In some instances, simply marking a memory location as bad is sufficient until the integrated circuit device can be replaced by service personnel. In other instances, however, the computer may crash, and thus be unusable until the failed device can be replaced. Particularly in multi-user and fault-tolerant computer systems where accessibility is a paramount concern, computer crashes are extremely costly and highly undesirable.
As a result, a significant need continues to exist in the art for an improved manner of addressing memory array failures in the field.

Dynamic repair of redundant memory array

International Business Machines Corporation


A machine and method for securing fabric layers to the core of a fabric panel. The machine includes top rollers and side rollers for stretching the fabric layers along the top surface and side surfaces of the core. Staplers preserve the stretch by stapling the edge of the fabric to the side surfaces. A front stapler and rear stapler are also provided for stapling the fabric to the rear surface and front surface of the core.

The present invention relates generally to fabric panels, and more particularly, to a machine for attaching fabric to a core.
Fabric panels are a well-known piece of furniture that are typically used in office areas to create individual work spaces. Work spaces using fabric panels have been widely adopted by office designers because of the many advantages that these work spaces offer over traditional office designs. One advantage of fabric panel work spaces is the greater flexibility that is available to office designers. Thus, office designers can easily tailor an entire office area to the unique needs of a group of workers. For instance, the size of the individual work spaces can be modified in size to fit the available office area. Convenient aisle pathways can also be designed between the work spaces. Work spaces can also be designed in larger configurations in which several workers share the same work space. In addition, the fabric panels can be manufactured with integral storage cabinets and desks to provide even greater flexibility.
A significant advantage of fabric panel work spaces is the ease with which they can be reconfigured. This flexibility allows office designers to quickly and inexpensively modify an entire office area when the needs of the workers change. By comparison, this type of flexibility is a significant improvement over traditional office designs, which are typically expensive and time-consuming to modify since permanent walls must be torn down and rebuilt.
Work spaces provide workers with a higher level of privacy than is available in traditional unwalled, open office areas. In addition, the fabric panels reduce visual distractions and lower the ambient noise in an office area. Thus, the workers are able to work more comfortably and can concentrate more fully on their work.
Because of the many advantages of fabric panel work spaces, the market demand for fabric panels remains consistently high. The demand for quality manufacturing also remains high. Another market trend that appears to be increasing is the desire for more variety in the fabric panels. For instance, one area that is of particular interest is the type of outer fabric that is secured onto the panels. Increasingly, office designers prefer unique colors and fabric textures in order to distinguish an office area from other office areas.
These demands have made it difficult for traditional manufacturing operations to keep pace with increasing expectations and changing needs. For example, in order to meet the increased demand for fabric panels, manufacturers must raise production volumes while maintaining high quality standards for the fabric panels. At the same time, manufacturers desire to minimize the manpower required for production in order to minimize costs. In addition, the manufacturing operations must be flexible so that a variety of different styles of fabric panels can be produced quickly and easily.
Generally, fabric panels have been manufactured in a largely manual operation. Typically, this manual operation involves two operators working together around a support table. The operators first lift a core and position it onto the support table. Next, the operators place a number of fabric layers onto the top surface of the core and visually align the fabric layers to the core. Typically, the fabric includes excess material along the edges of the fabric so that the operators can insert the excess edge material into clamps positioned along the side, front, and bottom surfaces of the core. The clamps then grasp and stretch the fabric. While the fabric is stretched, the operators staple the edges of the fabric to both sides and front and rear surfaces of the core. Typically, a manual stapler is used with a guide that contacts the top surface of the panel to provide height location for the stapling. Finally, the operators release the clamps and trim the excess fabric from the panel. Usually, this process is repeated at a second station, where fabric is secured to the other side of the core.
This type of manual operation, however, is not well-suited for high volume production of fabric panels because of the large manpower requirements. The quality of the fabric panels also tends to become poorer as the operators tire and become fatigued. One quality criteria that sometimes suffers is the alignment of the outer fabric layer to the core. Proper alignment of the outer fabric layer is especially important because the threads in the fabric are usually visible to office workers. Thus, fabric panels with threads that are aligned almost perfectly vertical and horizontal, as compared to crooked, are preferred. Alignment of the fabric threads is often a problem with manual operations because the operators usually align the fabric to the core with a simple visual alignment. Office workers also prefer the appearance of fabric panels that have a consistent stretch across the entire surface of the fabric. However, inconsistent stretching can be a problem if the operators are not consistent from panel to panel when clamping the fabric. Another problem with manual operations is inconsistency in the stapling. Typically, a spacing of 0.125 inch is preferred between each of the staples. However, because the operators manually staple the fabric to the core, the spacing of the staples varies as the operators vary the speed of the stapler. The manual clamping and stapling arrangement described also has the disadvantage of requiring extra excess fabric around the edges, which is wasted after the trimming process. Thus, a larger piece of fabric is necessary to provide the clamps with sufficient fabric for grasping than is actually used on the panel after stapling and trimming.
Accordingly, a machine is provided for stretching and securing fabric to a core. The machine includes a first station for loading a core, aligning fabric layers to the core, and stapling the front edge of the fabric layers to the front surface of the core. A second station then stretches the fabric along the top surface of the panel with top rollers that rotate due to friction that is created between the rollers and the fabric. The top rollers are angled so that an outer end of each roller engages the fabric before an inner end of the rollers. A pair of powered side rollers then stretch the fabric along the side surfaces of the core. After the fabric is stretched, side staplers staple the fabric to the side surfaces of the core. Next, a powered roller stretches the fabric along the rear surface of the core, and a rear stapler staples the fabric to the rear surface. A brake is also provided to resist the forward force of the rear stapler. Preferably, a third station with a flipping member is provided for turning the panel over. A fourth and fifth station that are comparable to the first and second stations then secure fabric layers to the other side of the panel.
Thus, the machine provides a higher volume process for manufacturing fabric panels. In addition, the machine improves the quality of the fabric panels by providing a consistent stretch in the fabric and consistent spacing between the staples. A smaller piece of fabric can also be used since extra fabric material is not needed around the edges for the clamps. Finally, an improved method for quickly and easily aligning the fabric to the core is provided in which the edge of the fabric is aligned with a guide.

Machine and method of securing fabric to a core


There is provided cyclic peptides of the general formula ##STR1##. wherein x represents the amino terminus, one amino acid or amino acid sequence starting with amino add 604 and going back as far as amino acid 586 (gp41-HIV-1); and y represents the carboxy terminus, an amino acid or amino acid sequence starting with amino acid 612 and extending up to amino acid 629 (gp41-HIV-1). There is also provided peptides of the general formula ##STR2##. wherein x.sup.1 represents the amino terminus, one amino acid or amino acid sequence starting with amino add 596 and going back as far as amino acid 578 (gp42-HIV-2) and a and b represent the amino and carboxy terminals, respectively, as well as substituents which are effective to make the peptides more useful as an immunodiagnostic reagent; and y.sup.1 represents the carboxy terminus, an amino acid or amino add sequence starting with amino acid 604 and extending up to amino acid 613 (gp42-HIV-2) and a and b are as defined previously. These cyclic peptides alone or in admixture with certain linear peptides are particularly useful in detecting HIV-1 and HIV-2 antibodies.

It has been postulated that Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), AIDS related complex (ARC) and pre-AIDS are caused by a retrovirus, the Human Immunodeficiency virus type 1 HIV-1; also known as HTLV-III, LAV-1 and ARV). Recently another pathogenic human retrovirus named HIV-2 (formerly LAV-2) was isolated from west African patients with AIDS (Montagnier et al, in PCT/FR 87/00025, published on Jul. 30, 1987 under International Publication no. WO 87/04459). It has recently been shown (Guyader et al. Nature 326, 662-669, 1987) that HIV-2 shares a number of conserved sequences with HIV-1 and the Simian Immunodeficiency viruses (SIV).
Even though other numbering systems are used in the prior art referred to herein, the numbering systems for amino acids used herein is that of Ratner et al., Nature, 313 277-284, 1985 for the HIV-1 proteins and that of Guyader et al, Nature, 326, 662-669 (1987) for the HIV-2 proteins. The amino adds used herein in the peptides are given with the single letter code as follows: ala=A, arg=R, asn=N, asp=D, cys=C, gln=Q, glu=E, gly=G, his=H, ile=l, leu=L, lys=K, met=M, phe=F, pro=P, ser=S, thr=T, trp=W, tyr=Y and val=V.
The initial immunodiagnostic tests for the detection of antibodies in the serum of patients infected with HIV-1 utilized the whole virus as antigen. Second generation tests made use of polypeptide sequences obtained by the recombinant DNA methodology. Cabradilla et al. Bio/Technology 4 128-133 (1985) and Chang et al. Bio/Technology 3, 905-909 (1985) succeeded in obtaining bacterially synthesized viral protein fragments of 82 and 102 amino acid residues respectively. E.P. 86202314 and 86114243 describe recombinant polypeptides covering regions of the gp41 and gp120 that are immunoreactive alone or in mixtures. Shoeman et al. Anal. biochem. 161, 370-379 (1987) also describe several polypeptides from gp41 that have immunoreactive properties with antibodies present in sera from patients infected with HIV-1. None of the above assay procedures is acceptable. Their lack of sensitivity is serious as it may permit blood containing virus to escape detection and thereby potentially res the infect blood product receivers. The impurities present in these antigen preparations are also responsible for unacceptably high levels of false positive results which cause healthly individuals to suffer distress.
It then became apparent that a tendency of the prior art was the identification of shorter epitopes. This is because of the ease and lower cost with which they could be prepared and more importantly because of the reduced risk of obtaining falsely positive test results due to the presence of shared epitopes with viral proteins not related to AIDS. In this regard, Gallaher, (Cell 50, 327-328, 1987) has found that a region of the gp41 of HIV-1 shares a sequence of five adjacent amino acid residues with the respiratory syncytial virus and of four equally distributed amino acids of the measles virus F1 glycoprotein. Thus, even highly purified recombinant polypeptides containing this region, or any other common regions yet to be discovered, would potentially be responsible for falsely positive results.
Apart from its superior specificity, the identification of shorter peptide sequences corresponding to unique and highly conserved epitopes of the HIV viruses makes its production by chemical synthesis easier and cheaper. Empirical methods have been described. These methods are capable of assisting in the selection of short amino acid sequences which are likely to be exposed on the surface of the native protein (for a review see Hopp and Woods, J. Immunol. Met. 88: 1-18, 1986). Although somewhat useful, these methods are no more than indicative. Nonetheless they have been applied by many for the identification of epitopes present on the protein of the viruses responsible for AIDS. For example: U.S. Pat. No. 4,629,783, International Patent Appl. No. PCT/US86/00831. and E.P. Appl. No. 86303224 disclose various synthetic peptides from the p18, p25, gp41 and gp120 proteins of HIV-1 that are claimed useful in AIDS diagnostic kits.
This trend towards smaller antigens however is accompanied by a risk that the synthesized epitope is not able to assume a rigid conformation that is recognized by the antibody. Although the number of serum samples tested in each of these cases is very limited, specificity was found to be very high (95%-100%) with small synthetic peptides but the overall sensitivity varied between 80 and 100%. In the only example where 100% sensitivity was attained only ten samples had been tested.
Smith et al., (J. Clin. Microbiol. 25, 1498-1504, 1987) described two overlapping peptides, E32 and E34, that are highly immunoreactive. No false positive result, out of 240 seronegative specimens, were obtained but the test missed three seropositive samples out of 322 (sensitivity of 99.1%). Wang et al. (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 83, 6159-6163, 1986) described a series of overlapping peptides (including amino acid residues of the E32 and E34 peptides discovered by Smith et al.) among which one 21-mer peptide showed 100% specificity and 98% sensitivity (out of 228 seropositive samples taken from patients with AIDS, 224 were found positive with this peptide).
In U.S. patent appl. Ser. No. 120,027 Filed Nov. 13, 1987, there is disclosed a short synthetic peptide covering residues 606 to 620 (SGKLICTTAVPWNAS) of gp41 (HIV-1) which is said to be immunoreactive with antibodies of patients infected by the AIDS viruses. In this example, specificity was also excellent (63/63) but 6 seropositive specimens out of 57 confirmed positive could not be detected (sensitivity of 89%).
Gnann et al. (J. Virol. 61, 2639-2641, 1987 and J. Infec. Dis. 156, 261-267, 1987) also reported a series of overlapping peptides from an immunodominant region of gp41 (HIV-1). Of particular interest was their finding that one peptide having the sequence SGKLIC (606-611) was not immunoreactive with any of the 22 HIV-1 positive sera tested. The addition of a cysteine residue to the N-terminus restored some immunoreactivity, 21 of 44 sera reacted with the 7-mer peptide (48% sensitivity). Gnann et al. concluded that cys-605 was essential for the immunoreactivity of that segment of the gp41-(HIV-1) protein.
Gnann et al. have also speculated that the cysteine residues at positions 605 and 611 (Ratner's numbering system) of gp41 (HIV-1) might play a critical role in the antigenic conformation of this region of the protein possibly through the formation of a loop via disulfide bonding. However, attempts by the authors to identify and prove the formation of the disulfide bonding have failed. Since Gnann et al. never demonstrated that they did have a synthetic peptide containing the partial amino acid sequence 605-611 wherein the two terminal cysteine groups were linked by disulfide bonds, the properties of a peptide having such a disulfide bond are unknown and unpredictable.
The 7-amino acid partial sequence containing two cysteine residues at position 605-611 also has been disclosed in other documents such as PCT/US 86/00831 published on Nov. 6, 1986 under International Publication No. WO 86/06414 where peptide X(39), which is encoded by the region from about bp 7516 through 7593, and peptide XIII(79) which is encoded by the region extending from about bp 7543 through bp 7593, both contain the 7-amino acid sequence (amino acids 605-611) discussed by Gnann et al. in the above noted publication. The peptides are reported as linear and the authors have not mentioned any formation of cyclic structures.
Rosen et al. in PCT/US 87/00577 published on Oct. 8, 1987 under International Publication No. WO 87/06005 have reported that a series of synthetic peptides encompassing the Cys(605)-Cys(611) residues of the HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein (gp41) undergo a series of spontaneous oxidative transformations upon solubilization in neutral or basic aqueous buffer. The authors have speculated that under these conditions, the peptides used in ELISAs are a random mixture of linear monomer, cyclic monomer, linear or cyclic dimers and linear polymers of various lengths. However, the inventors did not prove the presence of cyclic components and have not characterized the other various dimers and polymers present, they have speculated that the polymer forms are the most important components for reactivity in ELISA testing.
Gnann et al. (Science 237, 1346-1349, 1987) reported a short linear synthetic peptide covering residues 592 to 603 of gp42 (HIV-2) that contains two cysteines in a region homologous to the one on gp41 (HIV-1) including Cys(605) and Cys(611). This peptide reacted with 5 out of 5 sera taken from HV-2 infected patients.
Although the references discussed above do provide peptides which are useful in identifying HIV-1 antibodies, they also present certain drawbacks such as inability to full detection (100%) of positive serum samples. For example, Gnann et al. (J. Virol. 61, 2639-2641, (1987)) in their tests with their 600-611 amino acid sequence detected 22 out of 22 positive sera however they also stated that similar tests carried out by another author at the Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, Ga. with the same 12-amino add sequence (600-611) detected 78 out of 79 positive sera. Gnann et al. in J. Infect. Dis., 156, 261-267, 1987 showed that the same 12-amino acid sequence from gp41-(HIV-1) was shown to be reactive with 131 out of 132 HIV-1 infected patients from the United States.
In the same article, it is also clearly shown that when the HIV-1 positive sera are diluted by a factor exceeding 500, some of these diluted sera are found to be negative thus indicating a low sensitivity.
Another potential drawback of these prior art assays is their use of a poorly defined and unpredictable peptide mixture as the probe. This mixture comprises peptides having many oxidative forms of cysteine produced spontaneously during peptide preparation, processing and use.
It would appear highly desirable to provide peptides or peptide mixtures which are resistant to spontaneous oxidation. Such peptides would, thus, have a well defined structure. Moreover, such peptides would, under normal test conditions, detect all HIV-1 and/or HIV-2 antibody-containing samples as positive even when extremely low levels of antibody are present.

Synthetic peptides and mixtures thereof for detecting HIV antibodies


The present invention includes bis- and tris-benzamide compounds that block AR signaling and have anticancer activity. Uses for these compounds, and pharmaceutical compositions containing the same, also are provided.

Androgen receptor (AR) signaling is essential for prostate cancer development, growth, and progression at all stages of disease. AR signaling occurs via both genomic and non-genomic pathways and is mediated by AR interaction with cofactors including a scaffolding protein PELP-1. Recently, the inventors have discovered that PELP-1 interacts with AR and that this interaction is critical for both AR-mediated genomic and non-genomic signaling. Thus, they hypothesize that disruption of the interaction of AR and PELP-1 may influence AR-signaling.
Peptidomimetics (also known as peptide mimetics) are small organic molecules that do not possess the peptide backbone structure, however still retain a capability to interact with the same target protein by arranging essential functional groups (i.e., pharmacophores) in a required three-dimensional pattern complimentary to a binding pocket in the protein. Since peptides and proteins adopt and utilize secondary structures (e.g., α-helix, β-sheet, and reverse turns) to make their global shapes and to recognize their binding partners, rational design of secondary structure mimetics is an important strategy in developing small molecule modulators for protein complex formation, compared to conventional high-throughput screening of a chemical library.
At present, no compounds are known that specifically inhibit the interaction with PELP-1 and AR. The identification of such compounds, and assessment of their use as anti-cancer agents, would therefore be highly desireable.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

The Board of Regents of the University of Texas System


A method for drying a thick wet layer coated on one face of a cardboard sheet, the method being, of the type in which the coated cardboard sheet is fed continuously and a high frequency electric field is applied thereto in such manner that the lines of force of said electric field go only through said thick layer to selectively heat said layer, wherein a further electric field is applied to the coated cardboard sheet in such manner that the lines of force thereof go at least through the cardboard sheet. The method includes starting to apply the further electric field before the first mentioned electric field is applied. Apparatus for performing the method is additionally provided, the apparatus including at least one pair of oppositely polarized electrodes positioned along one face of the cardboard sheet and a second pair of oppositely polarized electrodes positioned along the opposed face of the cardboard sheet.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for drying a thick wet layer coated on one face of a cardboard sheet, the method being of the type in which the coated cardboard sheet is fed continuously and a high frequency electric field is applied thereto in such manner that the lines of force of said electric field go only through said thick layer to selectively heat said layer.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
There is disclosed in German Pat. No. 730,782 an apparatus for selectively drying by high frequency heating the surface portion of a plate. This apparatus comprises two electrodes of opposite polarities disposed along the longitudinal side edges of the plate. With such an arrangement, the lines of force of the high frequency electric field concentrate in the surface portion and a selective drying is achieved.
The drying thus obtained is so active and rapid, however, that ionized particles tend to be attracted out of the layer by field effect so that they are deposited on the electrodes and stain the same.

Method and apparatus for drying a thick wet layer coated on one face of a cardboard sheet

Service d'Exploitation Industrielle des Tabacs et des Allumettes


The timepiece has a gear housing containing a horometric movement and a minute hand gear 12 operatively connected to the movement. Also, the timepiece comprises a drive gear 2 operatively connected to the movement, a cylinder gear 4 engaging the drive gear 2 by crown teeth 24 disposed on both gears 2 and 4, a leaf spring 6 biasing the cylinder gear 4 against the drive gear 2, a rod 8 and a sliding switch 10 pivotally disposed on the rod 8. The sliding switch 10 has a switch tooth 68 that removably engages the cylinder gear 4, forcing the crown teeth 24 to slide into an adjacent position which independently moves an hour hand 54. Other embodiments employ a spindle switch 78 and a pop-up switch 88.

I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of time measurement devices. More particularly, the present invention relates to an analog timepiece having an independent hour hand adjustment switch.
II. Description of the Related Art
In most states of the United States, clocks must be reset twice per year to accommodate daylight savings time. With typical analog clocks the individual must turn a single knob that not only moves an hour hand, it also inconveniently moves a minute hand. Requiring the individual to remember the exact minute at the moment of correction activity is significant inconvenience. Further, this type of clock generally has the knob in the rear of the clock, requiring the individual to handle or remove clocks which are mounted on walls. It is desirable to be able to change the hour indicated by the hour hand without disturbing the position of the minute hand or affecting the timekeeping of the clock.
Others have devised analog clocks to assist the individual in changing the hour indication without moving the minute and, if provided, a second hand. However, these clocks have complicated mechanisms and are not readily adaptable to existing clocks.
A watch described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,254,403 by Billet has an epicyclic speed reduction gearing to drive an hour hand from the minute hand. The watch has an epicyclic gear train which drives an hour hand spindle, a selectively rotatable hour setting wheel, and guiding means operatively connected between portions of the epicyclic gear train and the setting wheel. Although this complicated arrangement is capable of moving the hour hand alone, the individual is responsible for locating the hour hand placement to be in proper relation to the minute hand.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,210,721 granted to Kikuchi describes an analog universal watch has a pawl fastened to an hour wheel which engages with a ratchet wheel fastened to an area dial spindle so that an hour hand spindle is driven indirectly. An hour hand correcting wheel engages with and releases a hand setting stem to set the hour hand alone to the desire time. This device is also complicated with multiple gearing arrangement, and is not readily adaptable to existing clocks.
A timepiece described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,383,156 by Vaucher has a first and a second toothed wheel coaxially mounted on an hours pipe, a jumping device coupling the first and second wheels and a star gear intermediate the first wheel and a ring for permitting the wheel to drive the ring. The first wheel is in gear with the dial train, and is mounted to rotate freely on the hours pipe. The second wheel is secured to the hours pipe for rotation and has a means for permitting the second wheel to be operated by the stem for correcting the position of the hours hand without rotating the ring. As with the other mentioned devices, the gearing structure is complicated and is not readily adaptable to existing clocks.

Switch for resetting an analog clock hour hand


Furniture hinge whose cabinet-related part is configured as a supporting arm of channel-shaped cross section astride the corresponding mounting plate, the mounting plate being composed of two separable members which are adjustable relative to one another. The bottom mounting plate member can be fastened to the cabinet and the upper plate is releasably joined to the supporting arm by a catch mechanism. The catch mechanism has projections extending from its opposite lateral surfaces in the door end of the upper mounting plate member while at the inner end of the supporting arm more remote from the door at least one resilient tongue having a catch section is formed, which engages a catch recess on the inner end of the upper mounting plate member. The supporting arm straddles the upper mounting plate member at least at its end pointing into the cabinet interior, and is provided in the straddling area with two tongues which are resiliently flexible parallel to the supporting wall surface. Each tongue has a catch section which is matingly engaged with an associated catch recess in the upper mounting plate member. The catch sections and the catch recesses can be brought out of engagement by squeezing the tongues together. Each tongue has a handle which is accessible when the supporting arm is mounted on the upper mounting plate member, for the purpose of squeezing the tongues together parallel to the supporting wall surface.

The invention relates to a hinge for hanging a door on the carcase of a piece of furniture, with a door-related hinge part which can be fastened to the door and a carcase-related hinge part. The carcase-related hinge part can be placed removably on a mounting plate affixed to the wall of the carcase, is coupled to the door-related part by a linking mechanism, and is configured as a supporting arm with an inverted U-shaped cross section straddling the mounting plate. The mounting plate is composed of two separable members which can be adjusted relative to one another; the bottom member nearer the cabinet wall can be affixed to the cabinet wall, and the upper part more remote from the cabinet wall is joined releasably to the supporting arm by a catch mechanism. The catch mechanism has, in the front end area of the upper mounting plate member nearer the door leaf, projections extending from its confronting lateral surfaces; these projections are associated with slots opening in the bottom margin of the lateral flanges of the supporting arm and permitting the introduction of the projections, while at the inner end of the supporting arm remote from the door leaf at least one resilient tongue with a detent section is formed, which in the proper connecting position is engaged in a catch recess at the inner end of the upper mounting plate member.
In the hinges constructed in this manner (DE-OS 31 19 571; FIGS. 3 to 7) it is possible to release successively from the wall the supporting arms of the hinge whose other part is mounted on a door or to fasten them thereon, without the need for difficult manipulations, by releasing the catch mechanism and raising the hinge supporting arm. This is advantageous especially in the case of tall cabinets on which the doors are mounted with more than two hinges, because the doors can then be dismounted and reinstalled even by unassisted persons.
The catch mechanism of the known hinge is formed by a bent end section of the cabinet-interior web of the [channel-shaped] supporting arm which can be snapped over a transverse edge formed on the upper mounting plate member. This catch connection alone, however, is not sufficiently secure against unsnapping to hold the supporting arm by itself, i.e., without additional securing. Consequently, an additional mounting screw which can be driven into a tap in the upper mounting plate member is provided, whose threaded shank passes through a slot in the free transverse edge of the bent end section of the web, and whose head, when tightened down, holds the bent end section of the web on the upper mounting plate member. Therefore, before the supporting arm is unsnapped, first the mounting screw has to be backed out of the tap in the upper mounting plate member sufficiently to permit the supporting arm to be released. This loosening of the mounting screw upon disassembly and turning it back in after assembly is obviously time-consuming and laborious and thus is an obstacle to the quick and simple mounting of the supporting arm on the mounting plate and its removal therefrom. Therefore methods have already been developed for a simpler and quicker mounting and dismounting of hinges at their cabinet-related end, in which the catch mechanism is provided not between the supporting arm and the mounting plate but between the upper and lower mounting plate members, so that a supporting arm once fastened in the conventional manner on the mounting plate can be dismounted by unsnapping the upper mounting plate member, which remains on the supporting arm, from the lower mounting plate member, and by snapping the upper mounting plate member back onto the bottom mounting plate member. The snap mechanism of a known (DE-OS 35 25 279) mounting plate that is constructed in this manner is formed by a slide which is guided in the bottom mounting plate member and biased to the catching position by a spring, and which has a catch projection having a ramp surface. The catch surface in the upper mounting plate, which has a ramp surface of complementary inclination, is held resiliently in engagement in the upper mounting plate member. The slide is operated by means of a handle disposed on the rearward prolongation of the slide pointing into the cabinet interior. The catch mechanism has proven practical, yet it is of a relatively complex construction and is accordingly expensive. The handle provided on the carcase-interior end of the mounting plate is operated by exerting an unlocking movement on the handle outwardly from the case interior. Now, it is not entirely impossible that, in the case of a very fully packed cabinet, the handle may be accidently shifted in the unlocking direction when the door is closed, if, for example, it comes in contact with a protruding coat hanger or other projecting object, before the door is entirely closed. In the worst case this might then result in an unsnapping of the upper mounting plate member from the bottom mounting plate member and thus of the hinge held on this mounting plate, which in the case of doors hung with only two hinges on the cabinet makes it not unlikely that they might fall off.
It is the purpose of the invention to create an effective catch mechanism between the hinge's supporting arm and the upper mounting plate member of the bipartite mounting plate, which will substantially improve the simplicity of the catch mechanisms of hinges provided on the carcase side and at the same time securing it against unintentional release.


Provided are a power control apparatus, a power supply system, and a method for controlling a power supply system that can reduce the power loss when charging a storage battery from a power generation apparatus. A power control apparatus (power conditioner) controls connection between a storage battery and a power generation apparatus and includes a controller capable of selecting between a first electrical path in which the storage battery is connected to an inverter via a first power converter and the power generation apparatus is connected to the inverter via a second power converter, and a second electrical path in which the power generation apparatus is connected to the inverter via the second power converter and the storage battery is connected to an intermediate point between the power generation apparatus and the second power converter via the first power converter. When surplus power is generated from the power generation apparatus, the controller selects the second electrical path and charges the storage battery with the surplus power.

As a power conditioner in a power supply system provided with a power generation apparatus, such as a fuel cell, a power conditioner that allows interconnected operation, to connect to a commercial power grid (abbreviated below as grid) and output AC power, and independent operation, to output AC power with no relation to the grid, is known. A power supply system provided with a distributed power source other than a power generation apparatus, such as a storage battery, is also known.
Some such power conditioners have a distributed power source or the like connected thereto at an intermediate link that has a predetermined DC voltage. For example, WO2012/144473 (PTL 1) discloses a power supply system with a configuration that directly connects a gas power generation apparatus and a storage battery to an intermediate link.

Power control apparatus, power supply system, and method for controlling power supply system


A memory circuit includes a RAM having a memory cell section and a bit manipulation section for controlling a writing of a bit unit to the memory cell section. The RAM is configured to be able to be read and written at different timings by at least two devices. A register stores mask bits for controlling an operation of the bit manipulation section for each bit of data written to the memory cell section. In the bit manipulation operation, a content of a memory cell within the memory cell corresponding to an inactive bit in the register is rewritten by the bit manipulation section, but a content of a memory cell within the memory cell corresponding to the active bit in the register is maintained as it is.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a memory circuit used in a field of data processing, and more specifically to a bit manipulation circuit capable of using one memory in common.
2. Description of Related Art
In microcomputers configured to use one memory in common, generally, a time sharing system is used in which one common memory is accessed (read or written) at different timings by a central processing unit (called a "CPU" hereinafter) and a peripheral function section including for example a timer and an interrupt controller. In this time sharing system, if the common memory is not accessed by one of the CPU and the peripheral function section, the other of the CPU and the peripheral function section can access the common memory. Conventionally, the common memory used in the time sharing system has been so constructed that 8 bits of data in the common memory are accessed as one unit by the CPU and the peripheral function section access. However, in the case that the memory is used as a flag or the like, the 8-bit data is often used in units of one bit. This is ordinarily called a "bit manipulation".
In the case of executing the bit manipulation, the 8-bit data to which the bit manipulation is to be executed is read out of the memory, and the read-out 8-bit data is supplied to a logic gate such as an AND gate or an OR gate so that an objective bit of the read-out 8-bit data is set or reset, and thereafter, the read-out 8-bit data is subjected to an arithmetic and logic operation. The read-out 8-bit data subjected to the arithmetic and logic operation is written back to the same location (address) of the memory as that of the memory from which the 8-bit data was read out. This sequential operation is called a "read-modify-write" operation.
In this "read-modify-write" operation, the peripheral function section performing the bit manipulation accesses to the memory when the data is read from the memory and when the data subjected to the arithmetic and logic operation is written to the memory, but does not access the memory when the arithmetic and logic operation is being performed for the read-out data.
For example, when the CPU performs the bit manipulation for data of the memory, there is possibility that during a period in which the CPU performs the arithmetic and logic operation for the read-out data, the peripheral function section rewrites the data stored in the location (address) of the memory as that of the memory from which the 8-bit data was read out by the CPU. In order to prevent this situation, the conventional microprocessor has included a flag bit for inhibiting the memory access of the peripheral function section during not only a memory access period of the CPU but also a period of the bit manipulation. This flag bit is called a "semaphore bit". This semaphore bit is also provided in association with the peripheral function section in order to prevent a similar situation when the peripheral function section performs the bit manipulation for dan of the memory.
Thus, in the conventional microcomputers, when the read-modify-write operation for the bit manipulation is performed by one of the CPU and the peripheral function section, the semaphore bit is activated to inhibit the memory access made by the other of the CPU and the peripheral function section, during the period in which the one of the CPU and the peripheral function section performs the arithmetic and logic operation for the read-out data. Therefore, a substantial time has been required for each one operation of the bit manipulation. In addition, since the memory can be accessed only after the semaphore bit is checked, the performance of the CPU resultantly lowers.

Memory circuit capable of executing a bit manipulation at a high speed


A liquid-tight connector for joining a jacketed flexible metal clad cable to an electrical enclosure with a continuous ground path between the cladding and the enclosure. To a standard body-gland nut arrangement is added a sealing ring and a grounding ring effectively operated to grip the cable jacket and metal cladding respectively as the gland nut is tightened upon the body. Reduction of the sealing ring bore to cause the ring to grip the cable jacket is accomplished by an undercut in the ring wall and a dual outer diameter arrangement which deforms the sealing ring as its enlarged portion is forced into the body bore and as the ring is compressed between the gland nut and stops on the grounding ring. The sealing ring further operates the grounding ring whose upstanding arms are moved and deformed into intimate contact with the metal cladding of the cable. Supports on the arms assure proper displacement of the arms while stops insure proper compression of the sealing ring.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of coupling jacketed metal-clad cables to electrical enclosures while maintaining a continuous ground path between the metal cladding and the enclosure.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A common prior art connector employs a metallic grounding ring having a contact tooth intended to be inserted between the outer surface of the metal cladding and the inner surface of the cable jacket. The ring is split to permit it to accommodate a range of cable diameters and has a fringed end to insure contact between the ground ring and the connector body to provide a good electrical path therebetween. Today's improved cables employ tightly shrunk-on jackets over the cable armor or cladding making insertion of the contact tooth between the cladding and the jacket difficult, if not impossible. Also, such prior art connector must be totally disassembled permitting a loss of connector parts.
Because the contact tooth is difficult to install, it is often improperly installed or discarded entirely by the workman and thus there is no assurance that there is a continuity of ground path between the metal cladding and the electrical enclosure. The fully internal mounting of the ground ring makes it difficult to determine from the outside of the connector whether the ground ring has been improperly installed or discarded.
A second type of connector for jacketed metal clad cables employs a split overlapped ring brought into contact with the metal cladding by means of three set screws operated from outside of the metal body of the connector. The screw holes and the screws themselves offer leakage paths for moisture to enter the connector.
With both types of connectors liquid-tightness and strain relief for the cables is provided by means of a resilient sealing ring have a conically tapered leading surface forced into contact with a complementarily tapered bore within the connector body by the tightening of a gland nut upon the body. The degree of strain relief and liquid-tightness will depend upon how well the tapers match and how tightly the gland nut is applied to the body. Thus, if both types of connectors are tightly applied proper strain relief is applied to the cable and some liquid-tightness. However, the proper ground path can only be established by separate operations which may or may not be carried out properly or at all. In the former case, the contact tooth could be discarded and in the latter the set screws could be left in their loose condition.


An ophthalmic lens pallet having wells for receiving one or more lens containers at the receiving point achieves the requisite uniformity of motion in the direction of motion, and stability when transporting the lens in the orthogonal, non-translating directions by restraining the pallet between rails. A spring-loaded roller ball located on the side walls of the pallet body cooperate with guide rails on the conveyor to compress the spring-loaded roller ball when the pallet is between the guide rails. Blind holes on the pallet engage a drive which transports the pallet from the lens receiving point to an inspection station then to a lens disposition mechanism. The pallet wells comprise holes that pass through the pallet. These holes along with the rail and transport system make possible an arrangement of a lamp and camera for capturing an image of a lens.

Previous inspection of ophthalmic lenses, especially molded, hydrophilic contact lenses, employed human inspection utilizing trays having a rectangular array of wells in which the lenses were submerged in saline solution.
In this system, a tray containing lenses and saline is transferred to an inspection station attended by a human operator. When the tray is placed in the inspection station, a viewing assembly is positioned above a first well. The lens in the well is illuminated from below and an image is transferred by the viewing apparatus and projected upon a screen at the inspector's eye-level.
After looking for the appropriate lens characteristics and deviations from accepted standards, the human inspector makes a decision as to whether the lens is acceptable. The inspector often finds it is useful to move or displace the lens slightly relative to the tray well in which it is contained, or to otherwise disturb the saline solution, in order to distinguish between foreign particles in the saline and imperfections in the tray well from characteristics or defects on the lens.
The inspector enters his decision by pushing the appropriate electrical switch to indicate that the lens is either acceptable or to be rejected. The viewing mechanism then indexes over to the next well in the tray where the inspection procedure is repeated. As can be appreciated, certain time constraints must be placed upon the inspector such that if a decision is not made within a predetermined amount of time, the lens is automatically considered defective, and the viewing apparatus indexes to the next well. Likewise, lenses that may otherwise be acceptable but are accompanied by extraneous pieces of foreign material or if two lenses are found in the same well, the situation is considered unacceptable and the contents of the well rejected.
Upon the completion of the inspection of an entire tray of lenses, the inspector activates another electrical switch to initiate disposition of the lenses of the tray just inspected. A disposal unit visits each well of the tray where an unacceptable lens was indicated to suction out and dispose of those lenses. The tray is then transferred along for the packaging of the acceptable lenses.
As can be appreciated by one skilled in the art, although the inspectors are highly trained and are given objective criteria by which to judge the quality and ultimate acceptability of the lenses, human inspection leaves much to be desired. Human inspectors lack inspector-to-inspector uniformity, and repeatability by a single inspector may be lacking based on the inspector's mental condition and accumulated fatigue.
An automated inspection system can be implemented where an image of the lens to be inspected is captured using a strobe lamp and a camera and the image then digitized and processed by a computer to make a determination whether the lens is acceptable.
There are with such a system, however, a number of requirements particular to this type of automated inspections that are not found when using human inspection.
Because of the limited field-of-view of a camera system, and the desire to utilize the field to the maximum extent, it is important that the .lens be centered in the field while it is being carried so that lenses are found in a repeatable position from one lens to the next.
Due to the manner in which an image is captured by the camera, a second requirement is that the image be as clear as possible and not blurred by external vibrations, either of the lens or the saline in which it is placed. For this reason, it is necessary that the transport system carrying the container in which the lens is found travels as uniformly as possible in the direction in which the lens is traveling and is stationary in the two orthogonal directions.
Both of these requirements must be met while permitting the lamp and camera to be positioned to allow the camera to capture a high quality image of the lens. It is preferable that the above objectives be achieved while the lamp and camera are on opposite sides of the lens allowing the light to pass through the lens, an image to be captured by the camera then digitized. These requirements mandate that the mechanism for holding and moving the lenses be located substantially to the sides of the lens travel path in order not to obstruct the light from the lamp from which the image is captured.
The above requirement of capturing a clear, well-centered image of the lens further dictates that there be a precise triggering mechanism associated with each lens to activate a sensor to illuminate the strobe lamp.
A further object of the present invention is provide a receptacle for receiving one or more contact lens containers that can then be transported by a conveyor to an inspection station comprising the lamp and camera.

Pallet for receiving and transporting ophthalmic lens containers