A developer replenishment container accommodating assembly, in which a developer replenishment container is removably put in a main body of an accommodating apparatus, replenishes a developer while rotating the developer replenishment container and includes a holding portion provided on the main body and configured to hold the developer replenishment container put in the main body of the accommodating apparatus in a replenishment position for replenishing the developer, and an engaging portion configured to engage with the developer replenishment container when it is positioned in the main assembly. In addition, a biasing member is configured to bias the engaging portion in a predetermined direction so that the developer replenishment container rotating while held by the holding portion is pressed against the holding portion by the biased engaging portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a developer replenishment container accommodating apparatus, a developer replenishment container, and an image forming apparatus, and in particular, to a configuration for suppressing a vibration when replenishing a developer.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a conventional electrophotographic image forming apparatus such as a copy machine and a printer, a fine powder developer (toner) is used as a developer. When the developer of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus main body is consumed, the developer is replenished to the image forming apparatus main body by using a developer replenishment container (toner replenishment container). Because the developer is a considerably fine powder, when replenishing the developer, the developer replenishment container is kept in the image forming apparatus main body so that the developer is not scattered, and the developer is discharged through a small opening little by little (such a system is known as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-345112).
FIG. 27 is a perspective view of a developer replenishment container accommodating apparatus 400 provided in the image forming apparatus main body. The developer replenishment container accommodating apparatus (hereinafter referred to as an "accommodating apparatus") 400 includes a driving portion 22 that is coupled to a toner bottle as a developer replenishment container and drives the replenishment container to rotate. The driving portion 22 includes an open/close control member 21 that is driven to rotate by a driving motor portion 22a including a driving motor (not shown).
FIGS. 28A, 28B, 29A, 29B, 30A, and 30B are diagrams illustrating states of the accommodating apparatus 400 and a toner bottle 1 when the toner bottle 1 is put (accommodated) in the accommodating apparatus 400. FIG. 28A is a diagram illustrating a state in which an operation of putting the toner bottle 1 in the accommodating apparatus 400 is started. In this state, i.e., when the toner bottle 1 is in a position illustrated in FIG. 28A, the toner bottle 1 is not secured to the accommodating apparatus 400, and therefore, a user can mount the toner bottle 1 and remove the toner bottle 1 from the accommodating apparatus 400.
A cylindrical discharging portion 1e for discharging a developer (not shown) is provided on one tip end surface of the toner bottle 1, and an opening 1a of the discharging portion 1e is sealed by a sealing member 2. A release protrusion 4 that is elastically bent is provided on a proximal portion of the sealing member 2, and an engaging protrusion 3 that is elastically bent integrally with the release protrusion 4 is provided on a distal side of the sealing member 2.
FIG. 28B is a diagram illustrating a state in which the toner bottle 1 starts to be put in the accommodating apparatus 400 by a user pushing the toner bottle 1 in a direction indicated by the arrow "a". At this time, the sealing member 2 is inserted into the open/close control member 21 up to the release protrusion 4 provided on the proximal portion. At this time, the release protrusion 4 is pressed in an inner side direction by an inner circumferential surface of the open/close control member 21 and elastically bent in a direction indicated by the arrow "d", and at the same time, the engaging protrusion 3 is also bent toward the inner side. Therefore, the engaging protrusion 3 and the open/close control member 21 are in a state in which they are not engaged with each other. Further, when the sealing member is moved to this position, a positioning member 30 provided on the accommodating apparatus 400 side is engaged with a locking groove 1d formed in a side surface of a main body of the toner bottle 1, and hence a container main body 1c of the toner bottle 1 is locked to the accommodating apparatus 400.
When an operation of closing a replacement cover (not shown) is then started, along with a movement of the replacement cover, as illustrated in FIG. 29A, the open/close control member 21 is retracted in the direction indicated by the arrow "a". With this operation, the release protrusion 4 of the sealing member 2 is recovered from a pressed state, and accordingly the engaging protrusion 3 is elastically locked (stopped) into a locking hole (not shown) provided in the open/close control member 21. Further after that, when the replacement cover is closed, the open/close control member 21 is further retracted in the direction indicated by the arrow "a" keeping in a state of being engaged with the sealing member 2. With this operation, as illustrated in FIG. 29B, the sealing member 2 is separated from the toner bottle 1 so that the opening 1a is opened and the developer can be replenished.
When the driving motor portion 22a is driven in this state, the open/close control member 21 rotates, and the sealing member 2 engaged with the open/close control member 21 is rotated with the rotation of the open/close control member 21. The rotation of the sealing member 2 is transferred to a rotation driving portion 1b so that the container main body 1c is rotated. That is, the sealing member 2 has a function of sealing the opening 1a, a function of receiving a rotational driving force from the accommodating apparatus 400, and a function of transferring the rotational driving force to the toner bottle 1.
By the rotation of the toner bottle 1 via the sealing member 2 in the above-mentioned manner, the developer contained in the toner bottle 1 is sequentially discharged through the opening 1a and received in a hopper 24 that is a temporary developer accommodating container. The hopper 24 includes an agitating member 25 and a screw member 26, and the developer discharged from the toner bottle 1 is dropped to the hopper 24 by gravity and agitated by the agitating member 25.
The agitating member 25 is rotated in a direction indicated by the arrow "c" by a driving mechanism (not shown) so that the developer is moved to the screw member 26 by gravity. The screw member 26 is configured to convey the developer by a driving mechanism (not shown) in an axial direction, i.e., from the back to the front in a direction orthogonal to the cross-sectional view of FIG. 29B. Thus, when the screw member 26 is rotated, the developer is conveyed through a developer discharge port (not shown) of the hopper 24 to a developing device so that replenishment of the developer is performed.
When the replenishment of the developer is completed, the replacement cover is opened. When the replacement cover is opened, the open/close control member 21 moves from the position illustrated in FIG. 29B in a direction indicated by the arrow "b" illustrated in FIG. 29A. At this time, because the toner bottle 1 is locked to the accommodating apparatus 400 by the positioning member 30 with a predetermined biasing force, when the open/close control member 21 moves in this manner, the sealing member 2 is pushed into to seal the opening 1a of the toner bottle 1. At the same time, the release protrusion 4 is pressed toward the inner side by the inner circumferential surface of the open/close control member 21 and elastically deformed and bent in the direction indicated by the arrow "d". Accordingly, the engaging protrusion 3 is displaced toward the inner side so that the engagement of the engaging protrusion 3 and the open/close control member 21 is released, resulting in a state illustrated in FIG. 28B.
As a result, in this state, the toner bottle 1 can be pulled out of the accommodating apparatus 400, and the toner bottle 1 can be pulled out when the user pulls the toner bottle 1 with a force stronger than a maintaining force of a biasing member 31 described later, which is illustrated in FIG. 30A, for biasing the positioning member 30. That is, the putting of the toner bottle 1 in a replenishable position, the release of the toner bottle 1, and the removal of the bottle can be performed by a reciprocating operation of the toner bottle 1 and the open/close control member 21 in the directions indicated by the arrows "a" and "b" that are the rotational axis direction of the toner bottle and a combination thereof.
By the way, the positioning member 30 is protruded in a retractable manner to an insertion portion 400a into which an end portion of the toner bottle 1 is inserted, as illustrated in FIG. 30A. As illustrated in FIG. 30B, the positioning member 30 includes a first tapered portion 30a that is inclined downward along a push-in direction and a second tapered portion 30b that is located on a downstream side of the first tapered portion 30a in the push-in direction and inclined upward along the push-in direction. Further, the positioning member 30 is biased in a direction of protruding into the insertion portion 400a by the biasing member 31 illustrated in FIG. 30A.
When putting the toner bottle 1 in the accommodating apparatus 400, a locking piece 1g that is vertically formed on the discharging portion 1e as illustrated in FIG. 28A and forms a side wall surface of the locking groove 1d on the downstream side in the push-in direction first abuts on the first tapered portion 30a of the positioning member 30. After that, when the toner bottle 1 is further pushed in, the locking piece 1g passes the positioning member 30 along the first tapered portion 30a while causing the positioning member 30 to be retracted from the insertion portion 400a against the biasing force of the biasing member 31. When the locking piece 1g passes the first tapered portion 30a and moves along the second tapered portion 30b, the positioning member 30 is fitted into the locking groove 1d by the biasing force of the biasing member 31.
In this manner, when putting the toner bottle 1 in the accommodating apparatus 400, the positioning member 30 is pressed by the locking piece 1g so as to be retracted from the insertion portion 400a, and then when the locking piece 1g has passed the positioning member 30, the positioning member 30 is protruded to the insertion portion 400a to be fitted into the locking groove 1d, as illustrated in FIG. 28B. With this configuration, when the user pushes the toner bottle 1 into the accommodating apparatus 400, a tension applied by the biasing member 31 is exerted on the user.
However, in the case of using the conventional accommodating apparatus and the toner bottle having the above-mentioned configuration, when fixing the position of the toner bottle 1 with respect to the accommodating apparatus 400, looseness may occur between the locking groove 1d and the positioning member 30. If such looseness occurs, when the toner bottle 1 is rotated to replenish the developer, the toner bottle 1 is rotated while causing a vibration due to the looseness.
When the toner bottle 1 is vibrated in this manner, the vibration may be transferred to an image forming portion, possibly generating an uneven image.

Developer replenishment container accommodating apparatus, developer replenishment container, and image forming apparatus


There is described a method, a bus protocol, a peripheral module, a processing unit, a hub and also to a system consisting of said components, for event signaling between at least one peripheral module and a processing unit by means of a system bus. In this case the data to be transmitted data is encoded into a larger symbol space, from which a standard idle symbol is used in telegram pauses for synchronizing a connection between transmitter and receiver. A message present at the peripheral modules is enabled to be signaled to the processing unit independently of the telegram traffic initiated by the processing unit. This is achieved by a peripheral module wishing to signal an event to the processing unit sending to the processing unit in a telegram pause, instead of the standard idle character, a signaling sequence consisting of an alarm idle symbol and an alarm identifier which contain information about the relevant event as well as the module address of the peripheral module at which the event is present, with the information about the event also being transcoded into the larger symbol space.

Such a method or such a system with the said components using the said bus protocol is employed in all areas in which peripheral modules communicate with a processing unit via a system, as is especially the case in automation technology. The main requirements here are as follows: The system bus master must be able to access the peripheral module by direct access as quickly as possible and with little latency time, the peripheral modules should be able to communicate pending alarms or pending communication requests to the system bus master as quickly as possible and the communication linkage of the peripheral modules must be able to be implemented in a cost-effective manner. In such cases either the (central) processing unit (CPU), which processes the data of the peripheral modules, or an interface module, which establishes the decentralized link via a field bus between the peripheral modules and the central processing unit, functions as the system bus master. The peripheral modules are the input and output modules which receive data from the system bus master or from which the system bus master can read data. In automation technology the peripheral modules establish the connection to the automation process. Furthermore, if the components are connected in accordance with a backplane structure, the use of a hub is possible, which behaves like a peripheral module as regards event signaling.
Regardless of the configuration, the communication sequence on the system follows the known procedures: The pending jobs are prioritized by a scheduler in the system interface of the system bus master and sent over the system bus to the peripheral modules. The peripheral modules may only send data on the bus if they have received a request from the CPU, i.e. the system bus master addresses a peripheral module through a request and waits for an appropriate response. Because of process or diagnostic events however the peripheral modules must also be able themselves to send a message to the CPU which must be transported to the CPU and processed there as quickly as possible. Since a large number of peripheral modules (typically up to 64) are able to be plugged into a system, control must be provided through a special transport mechanism for the messages to the CPU, since in the worst case all peripheral modules want to send a message to the CPU at the same time. In principle access to the bus by the individual bus users/stations, if they wish to send a message, can be defined in different ways.
With Profibus for example there is a token which is exchanged between the master stations. Only the station which has the token may send a message on the bus. All other stations are passive. This means that stations, i.e. the said peripheral modules, may only send a message to the CPU if they have the token. The result is that the reaction time is dictated by the circulation of the token. The token method (token ring, bus) currently operates at baud rates of up to 100 Mbit/s. There is no known system which operates at higher baud rates.
Profibus also supports a polling method in which the master polls all slaves, i.e. the said peripheral modules, and reads the data from the peripheral modules or writes it into the peripheral modules. In this case the reaction or response time depends on the poll cycle of the CPU, until a module can signal to the CPU that there is an alarm or communication request.
With Ethernet the switched networks have come to the fore at 100 Mbit/s. The throughput and the reaction time in such cases are heavily dependent on the available telegram memory in the individual switches and the arrangement (topology) of the switches and the users. Each user may send at any point in time. There is no guarantee however of when the message arrives at the receiver, the CPU in the case of event signaling. This depends on the remaining volume of telegrams. If a collision occurs because two users are sending simultaneously, this collision is resolved by the memory in the switch. The message arriving somewhat later is buffered in the switch and sent after the completion of the first message. There are now also systems (e.g. PROFINET) which use planning to prevent the collision in Ethernet, but this again leads to the users only being allowed to send their spontaneous communication requests, such as alarms for example, at specific, times. Ethernet offers baud rates of 10, 100 and 1000 Mbit/s and beyond.
There are also other systems (CAN-based solutions) in which the bus access and the telegram transmission are regulated by a pure priority control. Each telegram contains a prio field which uniquely prioritizes the messages. The bus access logic evaluates this field and lets the message with the highest priority pass. This type of message transfer is feasible with baud rates up to around 10 Mbit/s, beyond this there is no known system which operates with a solution of this type.
With many automation systems an additional hardware line is provided for the message path from the peripheral modules to the CPU. Here, for an active line, the system bus master had to read out the status from the peripheral modules and determine which module may issue a message to the CPU, after which the CPU could then actively read the message from the peripheral module. This resulted in a high latency time since the CPU did not immediately know on which peripheral module which message was present.
Since the CPU cannot know which module wishes to transmit a message to the CPU at which point in time, a solution is required, in which independently of the telegram processing by the CPU, a message can be transferred from the peripheral modules to the processing unit. Furthermore the system should be able to operate with baud rates of several hundred Mbit/s. A telegram method according to the request/response paradigm is thus suitable as a method or a system underlying the invention, in which the data which is made up of individual symbol, for transmission in a bit transmission layer for a transmitter is transcoded by an encoder into a larger symbol space and is converted back again at a receiver by a decoder and specific characters from the larger symbol space are used to identify start and end of a telegram and a standard idle symbol is used in telegram pauses for synchronizing a connection between the transmitter and the receiver.
8B/10B encoding is known for example from U.S. Pat. No. 4,486,739 A1, said encoding also being employed in Gigabit Ethernet. This means that the 8-bit symbols of the protocol layer in the transmitter are converted by a converter into 10-bit symbols which are then transmitted over the lines. At the receiver the 10-bit symbols are converted back by a decoder into 8-bit symbols. In this case the 10-bit symbols feature at least four level changes which guarantees DC balance and enables clock information for synchronization of the transmission stations to be obtained from the data stream.
At the 8-bit level a maximum of 256 symbols are possible, which through conversion to 10 bits can be distributed to 1024 symbols. The encoding rules used define that the 256 symbols are divided between two disjunctive symbol spaces in the 10-bit symbol space, which occupies 512 10-bit symbols. This means that 512 symbols remain which are not used as data symbols. From this additional symbol set certain symbols stand out because of their "safety margin" to other symbols. These symbols can be used to identify the start and the end of a telegram and to keep the connection between the transmit port and the receive buffer synchronized in the pauses between telegrams. These special symbols include a further class of symbols—also referred to as comma symbols—which even with any given combination of these symbols and other symbols do not create commas across symbol boundaries. These symbols are thus outstandingly well suited for determining the symbol boundaries within the data stream. In this 8B/10B encoding there are three such comma symbols. One of these, the standard idle symbol, is transmitted in the telegram pauses between the ports two of two modules. This means that the transmission is also synchronized in the telegram pauses. This applies for the direction from the CPU to the peripheral modules and also for the direction from the peripheral modules to the CPU.
This 8B/10B encoding is actually a combined 5B/6B and 3B/4B encoding. The DC freedom and integrated synchronization comes at a cost however of a 25% higher bandwidth requirement. A further development of this method exists with 64B/66B encoding, in which only approximately 3% more bandwidth is needed.

Event signaling between peripheral modules and a processing unit


Magnets attach a resilient material protector to the sides of a vehicle. The protector also includes a hook that fits between the vehicle door and the door post to prevent the protector from being removed from the vehicle when the door is locked. The protector has two portions that fold over each other such that the magnets on the respective portions align with each other and secure the portions together in a stowed position. The hook embeds in one portion of the protector and can extend between the vehicle door and its post to secure the protector to the vehicle. A recess opposite the hook in the other portion of the protector receives the hook's free end. The magnets have soft material on their outside to prevent the magnets from scratching the vehicle.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to attachable and removable protectors for preventing nicks, dings and other damages to vehicle doors and panels.
2. General Background and State of the Art
The sides of vehicles suffer damage from contact with other objects. The driver of a vehicle in an adjacent parking space may open his or her door into the vehicle's door or panel. A shopping cart may roll, or a person's luggage or gym bag may strike the door or panel. Even minor contact may cause the panel to dent or the paint to scratch.
For many years, most new vehicles have had built-in rubberized strips attached to their sides. The strips often mount at the widest part of the door and side panels where impact from foreign objects is most likely. Though they vary in shape, length, width and thickness, they often are quite thin. Consequently, they do not project far from the vehicle sides and usually blend into the lines of the vehicle. Therefore, unless a potential damage-causing object aligns with the strip, part of the object may contact the door or panel above or below the strip. Some vehicles advertise panels that resist damage from foreign objects. Nevertheless, scratches and dents remain possible.
To protect customers' vehicles, some parking garages, especially private airport parking garages, hang large pads from the ceiling between adjacent parking spaces. Some garages charge premium rates for those spaces. The pads may be appropriate at airport parking garages because one frequently must open vehicle doors wide to put luggage in a rear or front passenger seat. The very act of moving luggage or luggage carts can cause contact with adjacent vehicles. Nevertheless, hanging large pads is not a practical form of protection for most situations.
The prior art teaches several vehicle protectors. Usually made of resilient material and thick enough to provide more protection than the built-in side strip, they are portable for carrying with the vehicle. Some have magnets to hold the protector to the steel side of a vehicle. The following U.S. Pat. Nos.: Haslam, No. 3,147,176 (1964), McGlone, No. 4,498,697 (1985); Myers, No. 4,726,614 (1988); Bray, No. 4,871,205 (1989); Villaveces, No. 5,188,407 (1993); and Hart No. 5,320,392 (1994), are examples. Some protectors attach with suction cups, but they can dislodge and may affect the vehicle surface.
If magnets or suction cups are the only attaching device, thieves can steal the protectors easily. To solve the theft problem, some prior art patents have a hook secured to the protector that fits between the vehicle door and the door post. The user closes the door on the hook so that the hook is captured between the door and the door post. McGlone, Myers, Bray and Villaveces are examples. Because the user can lock the door, thieves who cannot open the door cannot remove the protector without damaging it. Thus, the hook may prevents thieves from removing the protector and using it on their vehicles.
Having a long protector covers a larger area of the vehicle, but longer protectors are more awkward to store. The prior art teaches folding protectors for storage.


The present invention provides methods and compositions for the production of glial cells and oligodendrocytes from placenta stem cells. The invention further provides for the use of these glia and oligodendrocytes in the treatment of, and intervention in, for example, trauma, ischemia and degenerative disorders of the central nervous system (CNS), particularly in the treatment of demyelinating diseases such as multiple sclerosis.

Embryonic stem cells capable of generating CNS glia can promote functional recovery after trauma to the spinal cord, and have potential for repair in demyelinating and dysmyelinating diseases such as multiple sclerosis. However, the use of embryonic stem cells for clinical therapy raises ethical concerns that cannot be easily addressed.
Somatic stem cells have also been proposed for therapeutic applications. For example, in animal models of cell replenishment therapy. The therapeutic potential of grafted stem cells can only be translated to clinical use if an ethically acceptable source of autologous stem cells is available, and if control of self renewal and fate decisions that program stem cell maturation into specific cell types is achieved.
Neurodegenerative disorders increasingly account for significant morbidity and mortality. Destruction of myelin underlies the most common neurological disorder in young adults, multiple sclerosis, and myelin affects repair after traumatic spinal cord injury, preventing regeneration of damaged neuronal axons and affecting electrical conduction in proximal, undamaged axons. Replacement of oligodendrocytes is thus a significant clinical goal. While oligodendrocytes are obtainable from neural stem cells, such stem cells are difficult to obtain.

Production of oligodendrocytes from placenta-derived stem cells


A pneumatic tire includes circumferential main grooves extending in the tire circumferential direction and a land portion defined by the circumferential main grooves. The land portion includes a through lug groove that passes through the land portion in the tire lateral direction and includes first and second chamfered portions formed on left and right edge portions of the through lug groove. The first chamfered portion opens at one end to one of the edge portions of the land portion and terminates at the other end at a central portion in the groove length direction of the through lug groove. The second chamfered portion opens at one end portion to one of the edge portions of the land portion and terminates at the other end portion at a central portion in the groove length direction of the through lug groove.

Conventional pneumatic tires have a configuration in which a chamfered portion is provided in an opening portion of a sipe to suppress the tread near the sipe from curling up when braking and to ensure braking ability. An example of such a conventional pneumatic tire is the technology described in Japan Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2014-237398.


A component of a motor vehicle comprising a photoluminescent interior member formed of a plastic composition, wherein the plastic composition comprises at least one polymer and a plurality of additives comprising at least one photoluminescent material and at least a first ultraviolet protector, wherein the at least one photoluminescent material absorbs electromagnetic radiation in a first ultraviolet range of an electromagnetic spectrum, and thereafter emits electromagnetic radiation in a visible radiation range of the electromagnetic spectrum, and wherein the first ultraviolet protector is an ultraviolet absorber, wherein the ultraviolet absorber absorbs electromagnetic radiation in a second ultraviolet range of the electromagnetic spectrum and does not absorb electromagnetic radiation in the first ultraviolet range of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Automobiles generally provide lighting for various locations in the vehicle by utilizing one or more discreet light bulbs in the immediate area where illumination is desired. More recently, distributed light systems have found use in the vehicle. For example, what started with a single vehicular dome light has now progressed to as many as 40 light sources distributed through the vehicle to illuminate a wide variety of functional areas.
Furthermore, automobiles also make use of a number of lighting technologies. For example, in addition to incandescent lighting, fluorescent lighting, LED illumination, cold cathode technology, and electroluminescent technology may now find use, further adding to the problem of how to most efficiently manage the many locations, operation and power consumption of the differing technologies.
Even with all the vehicle lights used today, certain areas of the vehicle are still particularly prone to poor lighting, particularly at night. For example, vehicle lighting tends to be relatively inadequate in foot wells, lower sitting areas, storage containers and cargo areas. The problem is exacerbated in the evening and in dimly lit garages where ambient light is relatively low. The lighting in these areas often produces adjacent shadowed areas which become more difficult to observe due to the contrast arising between the lighted and shadowed areas.
What is needed is a means to illuminate various areas of a vehicle interior more uniformly to reduce shadowing effects, as well as illuminate various areas without necessarily requiring power from the vehicle.

Luminescent, ultraviolet protected automotive interior members

International Automotive Components Group North America, Inc.


A semiconductor memory device includes a memory unit configured in page units, an error correction code (ECC) module for generating error correcting codes, a page information addition module for generating page information, and a controller for controlling the reading and writing of data to the memory unit. The controller is configured to associate error correction code information and page information with each frame unit of data written to the memory unit and to store the associated information with each frame unit. The controller is configured to output data to an external host in sizes less than one page unit, such as one frame unit.

There has been an increase in the number of storage appliances and consumer electronic devices which include semiconductor memory devices, such as NAND-type flash memory storage, which require a controller for controlling the operation of the semiconductor memory device.
Generally, memory controllers have been configured so that the data stored in the memory device can be read out per page, where the page is the smallest readout unit, when a host device requests data to be read from the semiconductor memory device.
For this reason, the readout time of the semiconductor memory devices cannot be shortened below the time necessary to read out one page unit of stored data and high-speed read operations are hindered.


A gas generator, in particular for vehicle passive restraint systems, is constructed without pyrotechnical components for gas production, gas release, or gas heating. The gas generator includes a compressed gas container having an opening that is releasably closed by a closure such as a burst diaphragm, and at least one electrical and/or magnetic device arranged to destroy or release the closure upon triggering. It is also possible to achieve gas heating without the use of pyrotechnical components by coupling electrical and/or magnetic energy from the electrical and/or magnetic device into the gas container and particularly into the gas contained therein.

There are known restraint systems which are equipped with a gas bag (airbag) that is inflated by a gas generated by a gas generator. Two basic types are differentiated here: the purely pyrotechnical gas generator and the hybrid gas generator. With a purely pyrotechnical gas generator, ignition and gas generation are effected by the combustion of suitable pyrotechnical propellant agents (generally solid propellants). With a hybrid gas generator, only ignition and gas heating are effected by the combustion of suitable pyrotechnical propellant agents. Hybrid gas generators include a container filled with gas. This gas container is pressurized. To prevent premature release of the gas flow, the container is sealed by a closure in the form of a burst diaphragm. As this gas does not have to be first generated by pyrotechnical means, it is designated as cold gas. Furthermore, a hybrid gas generator comprises an igniter protruding into a combustion chamber, where the igniter, when triggered, will ignite a combustion source in the form of propellant disks, for example. This pyrotechnically generated gas, which is also designated as hot gas, destroys the closure allowing the cold gas to escape from the container. Hot gas and cold gas mix, and then the resulting gas mixture escapes to the outside through a discharge aperture and may then be used for blowing up an airbag or may be conveyed to another gas-consuming load.
However, a disadvantage of these arrangements is that the gas flow contains pollutants such as pollutant gases and combustion residues which are produced by the burning of the pyrotechnical components (propellant disks). The substances required for this purpose are highly explosive, thus necessitating special precautionary measures to be taken. This may cause damage to property and/or personal injury during manufacture and assembly. As the pyrotechnical components must maintain their functionality over a long period of time, on the one hand, but are also extremely sensitive to humidity on the other hand, the combustion chamber must be hermetically sealed. Moreover, a further pyrotechnical igniter is required for igniting the propellant disks, which also has the above-mentioned disadvantages. For disposal and/or recycling, the gas generator must either be first ignited or be opened up with great effort; and it can be into the recycling process only after it has first been cleaned of all contaminants.


This invention relates to methods and devices for synchronization using linear programming, especially over packet networks using, for example, the IEEE 1588 Precision Time Protocol (PTP). Timing protocol messages are exposed to artifacts in the network such as packet delay variations (PDV) or packet losses. Embodiments of the invention provide a two-dimensional linear programming technique for estimating clock offset and skew, particularly from two-way exchange of timing messages between a master and a slave device. Some embodiments include a skew and offset adjustable free-running counter for regenerating the master time and frequency at the slave device.

Packet technologies (e.g., Ethernet, IP) are fundamentally asynchronous, optimized for the bursty nature of data traffic, and provide no inherent timing transfer (frequency and time) capabilities. However, packet technologies like Ethernet are quickly replacing existing provider network infrastructures (widely based on time division multiplexing (TDM) technologies like PDH and SDH). This is due to the relatively higher bandwidths and low costs of packet networking devices, as well as to enhancements in Quality of Service (QoS), Operations, Administration and Maintenance (OA&M), congestion management, and resiliency.
One of the important capabilities missing from a total convergence to packet networking (with Ethernet currently being the technology of choice) is the ability to provide timing and synchronization natively within the network. This would provide Ethernet with the capability to transport time-sensitive applications (such as Circuit Emulation Services (CES) over packet) and to distribute precise frequency and time references.
Time and frequency synchronization plays a crucial role in mobile backhaul networks. Cellular base stations derive their carrier radio frequencies from a highly accurate reference clock, usually within 50 parts-per billion (ppb). This reference clock is typically derived from synchronous TDM interfaces or from expensive GPS receivers located at the base station. Without timing information traceable to a highly accurate Primary Reference Clock (PRC), local interference between channel frequencies, as well as mutual interference with neighboring base stations will occur, ultimately causing dropped calls and degrading the overall user experience. Each base station requires an accurate synchronization reference in order to prevent call drops during handoffs. Call handoffs during mobile client roaming also suffer perceptible delays when base station clocks are not sufficiently synchronized.
Mobile networks fall into two categories, Frequency Division Duplexing (FDD), which uses two separated frequency bands to transmit/receive, and Time Division Duplexing (TDD), which transmits and receives on a single frequency band. Time synchronization (in addition to frequency synchronization) is needed for LTE-TDD, WiMAX TDD, CDMA networks (popular in North America), and TD-CDMA and TD-SCDMA, while only frequency synchronization is required for LTE-FDD, GSM (global system for mobile communications), W-CDMA, and other wireless technologies. Even with the use of LTE-FDD, new LTE mobile services such as network MIMO and location-based services will demand accurate time synchronization.
In the case where clock transfers have to be done end-to-end with no assistance from the packet network (in the form of hop-by-hop Boundary Clocks (BCs) or Transparent Clocks (TCs)), there are no reference clocks traceable to a PRC at both ends of the packet network, or in the absence of a network-wide GPS service, a receiving timing-dependent terminal node has to use an adaptive timing technique to reconstruct the timing signal of the transmitting timing reference source. The receiving terminal source would commonly use a "packet-based" clock recovery mechanism that slaves the receiver clock to a transmitter clock. The clock recovery mechanism is able to process transmitted clock samples (timestamps) encoded within the packet data stream to generate timing signal for the receiver. The purpose of the clock recovery mechanism is to estimate and compensate for the frequency drift occurring between the oscillators of the transmitter clock and the receiver clock. However, the presence of packet delay variation (PDV) and packet losses affects the performance of the clock estimation/compensation process, making the transmitter clock appear faster or slower than it actually is, and ultimately, causing the propagation of mostly wander up to the receiver clock signal. (Wander is clock noise less 10 Hz while jitter is clock noise equal or greater than 10 Hz.)
IEEE 1588 PTP Message Flow
The IEEE 1588v2 PTP defines a packet-based synchronization protocol for communicating frequency, phase and time-of-day information from a master to one or more slaves with sub-microsecond accuracy. PTP relies on the use of accurately timestamped packets (at nanosecond level granularity) sent from a master clock to one or more slave clocks to allow them to (frequency or time) synchronize to the master clock. Synchronization information is distributed hierarchically, with a GrandMaster clock at the root of the hierarchy. The GrandMaster provides the time reference for one or more slave devices. These slave devices can, in turn, act as master devices for further hierarchical layers of slave devices.
The PTP message exchange process (i.e., the PTP Delay Request/Delay Response flow) between a master 1 and a slave 3 is performed as follows and illustrated in FIG. 1. IEEE 1588 PTP allows for two different types of timestamping methods, either one-step or two-step. One-step clocks update time information within event messages (Sync and Delay-Req) on-the-fly, while two-step clocks convey the precise timestamps of packets in general messages (Follow_Up and Delay-Resp). A Sync message is transmitted by a master 1 to its slaves 3 and either contains the exact time of its transmission or is followed by a Follow_Up message containing this time. In a two-step ordinary or boundary clock, the Follow_Up message communicates the value of the departure timestamp for a particular Sync message.
FIG. 1 illustrates the basic pattern of synchronization message exchanges for the two-step clocks. The master 1 sends a Sync message to the slave 3 over a network 2 and notes the time T1 at which it was sent. The slave 3 receives the Sync message and notes the time of reception T2. The master 1 conveys to the slave the timestamp T1 by one of two ways: 1) Embedding the timestamp T1 in the Sync message. This requires some sort of hardware processing (i.e., hardware timestamping) for highest accuracy and precision. 2) Embedding the timestamp T1 a Follow_Up message as shown in FIG. 1. Next, the slave 3 sends a Delay_Req message to the master 1 and notes the time T3 at which it was sent. The master receives the Delay_Req message and notes the time of reception T4. The master 1 conveys to the slave 3 the timestamp T4 by embedding it in a Delay_Resp message.
At the end of this PTP messages exchange, the slave 3 possesses all four timestamps {T1, T2, T3, T4}. These timestamps may be used to compute the offset of the slave's clock 5 with respect to the master clock 4 and the mean propagation time of messages between the two clocks. The computation of offset and propagation time assumes that the master-to-slave and slave-to-master propagation times are equal—symmetrical communication path. Clock frequencies change over time, so periodic message exchanges are required. Because these clock variations change slowly, the period between message exchanges is typically on the order of milliseconds to seconds.
Time/frequency can be transferred in an end-to-end fashion from master 1 to slave 3 without involving the intermediate network nodes 6 as illustrated in FIG. 2. In this scenario the slave 3 is solely responsible for correctly recovering the master clock signal. Compared to the other methods (e.g., using hop-by-hop Boundary Clocks or Transparent Clocks), time/frequency transfer here is more challenging because the slave 3 is exposed to all the PDV generated by the intermediate packet network 2 (as illustrated in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4). The processing and buffering of packets in network devices (switches, routers, etc.) introduce variations in the time latency of packets traversing the packet network 2 that tend to degrade the clock signal transferred. The PDV inherent in packet networks is a primary source of clock noise. The recovered clock from the PTP timing signal at the slave 3 contains clock noise (contributed largely by PDV) that needs to be removed or attenuated. A filtering process is used at the slave 3 to filter out the clock noise, thus generating a "smooth" clock output.
There are several clock synchronization techniques that estimate clock skew through linear regression, linear programming and convex hull methods. Specifically, [1] describes a number of methods one of which is a linear regression technique. The problem with linear regression algorithms is that they are usually not robust to presence of large outliers and thus only valid and work well for certain PDV models (e.g. Gaussian). A more complicated approach is proposed in [1][2] where a linear programming technique is used to estimate the clock skew in one-way network delay measurements. The technique shows improvement in performance compared to other existing algorithms. In [3][4] skew estimation is achieved through the computation of convex hull generated from one-way delay measurements. The authors claim that convex-hull approach provides better insight and handling of error metrics compared to linear regression or linear programming techniques. An extension of this technique is introduced by [5] where both the offsets and skew are estimated by a lower and upper convex hull approach that relies on using downstream (master to slave) and upstream (slave to master) delay measurements.
When clock synchronization is done in an end-to-end manner over a packet network, the timing protocol messages are exposed to packet network artifacts like packet delay variations (PDVs) and packet losses. The PDV inherent in packet networks is a direct contributor to the noise in the recovered clock at the end system.
An object of the present invention is to recover the master clock accurately at the slave in the face of all the PDV generated by the intermediate packet network.
It is a further object of the present invention to achieve accurate and robust synchronization over IEEE 1588 for critical applications that require stringent synchronization margins.

Method and devices for synchronization using linear programming

Khalifa University of Science, Technology, and Research


A rotating union communicates with a rotor member and is operable with either compressible or incompressible coolant media that enters the union through a media inlet. The union includes a housing having a counterbore and a tubular carrier member axially moveable in the housing. The union includes a primary seal assembly having a rotating seal member mounted to the rotor member and a non-rotating member mounted to the carrier member and a secondary seal member positioned about the carrier member. The range of the balance ratio of the primary seal assembly is disclosed when the primary seal assembly has imposed upon it a closing force, an opening force or no force.

The present invention relates to fluid coupling devices such as rotating unions and, more particularly, to an improved seal design that permits a coupling device, having a single inlet passageway and latching external means of lubricating the sealing surfaces used therein, to be operated with lubricating media, such as water-based or oil-based coolants, with non-lubricating media, such as dry air and gases, and with no media of any kind.
Rotating unions are known alternately as fluid couplings, coolant unions, or rotary joints and are employed in high-speed drilling and boring transfer operations, in high-speed machine tool spindles and in other operations where it is necessary to transfer a fluid medium to a rotating device. To optimize the operation of high-speed machine tools, rotating unions are required to conduct either a liquid, such as a water-based or an oil-based coolant, or a dry gas, such as air, from a source of the particular coolant to the rotating machine tool. One such application of a rotating union is the delivery of a liquid to the rotating machine tool as a coolant and lubricant and the subsequent delivery of air to the rotating machine tool for cleaning the machine tool or work area. Another application of a rotating union involves the high-speed machining of special heat-treated steels, wherein the cutting tool may become so hot that a water-based or oil-based coolant would result in thermal shock of the cutting tool. Such applications warrant the use of air-based coolants to cool the cutting tool. A third application of a rotating union involves the machining of certain medical components, where contact with a lubricating medium would render the finished part unfit for use.
When a rotating union must conduct a lubricating medium, one of a number of different arrangements may be employed to ensure tight engagement of the rotating and non-rotating seal members. However, in all such arrangements, the interfacing surfaces of the seal members must be lubricated to avoid a condition known in the art as "dry running". Known prior art, such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,149,160, 6,325,380 and 6,726,213, describe a number of treatments of the face seals which promote lubrication of the interfacing seal surfaces. The running condition results in increased wear on the interfacing seal surfaces, particularly at high rotational speeds, and extended periods of dry running operation will cause severe damage to the seal members, thereby requiring replacement of some or all of the rotating union.
When a rotating union must operate in the absence of any medium, the dry running condition is typically prevented by automatically separating the rotating and non-rotating seal surfaces. Such arrangements are commonly referred to as "pop off" designs. In such designs, the non-rotating seal surface is mounted on a carrier that moves axially in relation to the rotating seal surface and engages the rotating seal surface in the presence of a medium and disengages the rotating seal surface in the absence of a medium. However, single-inlet "pop off" rotating unions have heretofore had the disadvantage of engaging the seal surfaces in the presence of both lubricating and non-lubricating media.
When a rotating union must conduct a non-lubricating medium may be employed to separate the interfacing seal surfaces by a microscopic amount to prevent day running and to insure that the interfacing surfaces are not in direct contact. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,669,636 and 6,406,065 are examples of rotary unions that require at least two separate inlets to operate with lubricating and non-lubricating media. Such arrangements have the disadvantage of requiring complicated and additional piping and valves systems to control the multi-media operations.
Still another arrangement to maintain contact between the interfacing seal surfaces for conducting a non-lubricating medium is described in Japanese application 10-302395 (PCT 2000-130665, for example). To overcome the problem of dry running, such an arrangement attempts to lubricate the interfacing seal surfaces with a separate, externally supplied medium, such as an oil mist. However, such an arrangement has the disadvantage of requiring a separate source of dispensing system for providing the oil mist to the interfacing seal surfaces. This system adds cost and complexity and such arrangements have the further disadvantage of allowing the oil mist to contaminate water-based coolant. This contamination can occur both outside the seals, as a result of excess oil mist running into the rotating union's drain line, and inside the seals, as a result of oil mist being conveyed by so-called "hydropads" or grooves, a concept described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,941,532. Either results in so-called "tramp oil" that must be filtered out from the liquid or water-based coolant, creating further expense in the operation of the rotary union.
As used in the disclosure that follows and as is well known in the art, the term "balance ratio," B, is defined as the ratio between the average load imposed by the sealed pressure on the seal face of the primary seal assembly of a rotary union, pf, over the sealed pressure, p, which can be generally expressed algebraically as:
  B  =            p      f        p  The average load pf involves an expression of the hydraulic surface area and/or dimensions of hydraulic surfaces that contribute to the action of a hydraulic force on the primary seal assembly. In other words, the balance ratio is a non-dimensional parameter that encompasses the hydraulically significant structures of a seal that yield the net hydraulic force during seal operation. With the foregoing in mind, the net hydraulic force tending to engage or disengage a face seal is the result of a balancing between forces acting on the seal in an opening direction and forces acting on the seal in a closing direction. When the opening and closing forces are balanced, the seal will remain stationary even when pressurized. However, when either the opening or closing force is greater than the other, the seal carrier will be urged to move.


A method for manufacturing a FinFET includes forming a merging spacer, through a plurality of sidewall pattern-transferring processes, and modifying a first interval between adjacent first mandrels as shorter than twice of thicknesses of a nitride layer, which is formed on the first mandrels and contoured thereto, followed by a first spacer being formed on a sidewall thereof, so that a FinFET composed of a plurality of fin-shaped structures having a non-integral multiple of pitches as well as an integral multiple of pitches can be manufactured.

In the present generation of tremendous advancement of technology, when pursuing the miniaturization of device, it is also necessary to enhance the performance thereof simultaneously. In contrast to a conventional planar field-effect transistor, it is more appropriate for a fin field-effect transistor (hereinafter referred to as FinFET) to dominate the current therethrough, while alleviate the leakage current and dynamic power dissipation. In the trend of the miniaturization of device, the FinFET has been shrunk in a nanometer scale.
However, due to the restriction of a resolution limit of the photolithography process, the current photolithography process technology is not applicable to the exposure of photoresist patterns with a pitch less than 78 nm. With such a photolithography process technology, it is impossible to increase the density of fin-shaped structures, and difficult to shrink the device's size. Moreover, the current photolithography process technology is just suitable to manufacture fin-shaped structures, in which the patterns are merely characterized by an integral multiple of pitches, needless to say, unable to manufacture a single device, in which the fin-shaped structures are both characterized by an integral multiple of pitches and a non-integral multiple of pitches. That is to say, the conventional photolithography process technology has failed to fulfill the requirement of various fin-shaped structures of respective functional areas in a device.
In view of the aforementioned reasons, there is a need to provide an improved method for manufacturing a FinFET for solving the above mentioned problems.


A method, system and computer program product for preventing sensitive pattern disclosures from Linked Data graphs. The proposed method (i) receives as input a Linked Data graph and a set of query patterns that correspond to sensitive knowledge that needs to be concealed, and (b) minimally distorts the Linked Data graph to generate a sanitized counterpart (graph) in which only the non-sensitive patterns can be discovered. The method supports a variety of utility functions, which it optimizes during the graph sanitization process. The resulting, sanitized graph can be subsequently used for publishing and/or querying purposes.

Linked Data is increasingly used in the Web, both by governmental and business organizations. Linked Data is a way to publish data using standard Web technologies (HTTP and URI), and to leverage the expressiveness of the Semantic Web (Linked Data is encoded using Resource Description Framework (RDF), commonly used to describe Linked Data graphs). A Linked Data graph G is published (using RDF) as web data and is accessible via a browser.
The key differentiating strengths of Linked Data are (1) the well-defined semantics allowing automated reasoning (ability to infer new data from existing one), and (2) the implicitly interlinked nature of the information.
In the Linked Data world, data is represented by entities with formally defined semantics: each entity has a set of properties, and a property can connect two entities or an entity to a value of a defined data type. The resulting underlying data structure is a directed labeled graph, where nodes represent entities, and edges represent properties. Entities and properties are typically uniquely identified by Uniform Resource Identifiers (URIs).
URIs can be dereferenced. Dereferencing consists essentially of an HTTP GET operation, which retrieves additional information about the data (entity or property) identified by the URI being dereferenced.
Well-defined semantics and URI dereferenceability makes Linked Data graphs unique with respect to traditional relational data and graph data. These two characteristic aspects of Linked Data makes it possible for a software program to automatically augment a given Linked Data graph with new information, either by inferring it from the semantics of the graph (through inference) or by retrieving it from the Web (by dereferencing URIs). In such a scenario, it is particularly challenging to guarantee privacy-protection of potentially sensitive information published as a Linked Data graph.
Existing privacy-protection techniques, for example techniques for offering anonymity, work well either on relational data or graph structures (including social network graphs). Further, privacy techniques to conceal sensitive patterns have been proposed in the context of frequent item sets, association rules, and classification rules. None of these techniques is applicable in the context of Linked Data graphs.
As linked data offers a powerful representation for data; together with semantic technologies, it facilitates the easy management, interconnection and consumption (analysis) of large-scale data from distributed sources.
However, this data can come from domains with significant privacy concerns, such as healthcare, social care and public safety. In addition, this data can often be included as context in existing systems, or be published as open data.
In any case, Linked Data are highly vulnerable to sensitive pattern disclosure attacks, i.e., sensitive inferences that can be drawn when querying Linked Data graphs.

Concealing sensitive patterns from linked data graphs

International Business Machines Corporation


For a high frequency buffer, a high frequency output path may be isolated from a low frequency feedback path using a common mode feedback loop. The common mode feedback loop may be utilized to adjust an output DC level. The common mode feedback loop may comprise a first differential amplifier and a first transistor. An output of the first differential amplifier may be coupled to an input of the first transistor, and the low frequency feedback path may communicate the output DC level from an output of the first transistor to a first input of the first differential amplifier. A reference voltage may be communicated to a second input of the first differential amplifier, and this reference voltage may be variable. The first differential amplifier may be adapted to compare the inputs and generate a control voltage, which may be utilized to adjust the output DC level.

In some conventional systems for wireless communication, a radio frequency (RF) signal is converted to an intermediate frequency (IF), and then from IF to a baseband signal. Generally, the RF signal may be heterodyned, or mixed with a local oscillator frequency that results in two signals that are centered about the sum of the two frequencies and the difference of the two frequencies. Usually the lower frequency, the difference of the two frequencies, may be chosen as the IF. Therefore, a radio that may be receiving several channels, such as an AM or FM radio, may tune to a particular station by changing the local oscillator frequency such that the IF remains constant. This is superheterodyning.
In superheterodyning, the local oscillator may need to be linked to the tuner because they both may need to vary with the carrier frequency. For example, if the IF is set to 40 MHz, in order to tune in a channel at 200 MHz, the local oscillator must be set to a frequency that will heterodyne the 200 MHz to the desired IF of 40 MHz. Therefore, the local oscillator must be set to 160 MHz, or alternatively to 240 MHz, so that the difference frequency will be exactly 40 MHz. When tuned to a different channel, for example, 210 MHz, the local oscillator must change to a frequency of 170 MHz, or 250 MHz, in order to generate an IF of 40 MHz. Accordingly, the local oscillator must be capable of varying the frequency over the same range as the tuner; in fact, they must vary the same amount. Therefore, the tuner and the local oscillator may be linked so they operate together.
There may be three main advantages to superheterodyning, depending on its application. First, the signal may be reduced from very high frequency sources where ordinary components may not work very well. Reducing the frequency may allow lower cost components to be used for a majority of the receiver circuitry. Second, the receiver and/or transmitter circuitry may be optimized and/or made more inexpensively for the IF. And third, superheterodyning may be used to improve signal isolation by arithmetic selectivity.
The ability to isolate signals, or reject unwanted ones, may be a function of the receive bandwidth. For example, a bandpass filter may be used to isolate the desired signal from adjacent signals, or other frequency sources that may interfere with the desired signal. If the performance of the bandpass filter isn't sufficient to accomplish this, the performance may be improved by superheterodyning. Frequently, the bandpass filter bandwidth may be some fraction of the received carrier frequency. For example, if the bandpass filter has a pass bandwidth of 2%, and receives the carrier at 200 MHz and a noise signal at 203 MHz, then signals within the range from 196 MHz to 204 MHz, 2% above and below the carrier frequency, may be passed. This range includes the noise signal 3 MHz above the carrier.
A superheterodyne receiver which may receive the same channel may bandpass filter the 40 MHz IF, and the bandpass filter may allow signals from 39.2 MHz to 40.8 MHz to pass. However, the noise signal, which may be 3 MHz above the desired signal may now be filtered out by the bandpass filter which may have the same characteristic of 2% pass bandwidth. The superheterodyne receiver may be said to be more selective.
However, in order to make superheterodyne receivers work, a reliable, stable source of local oscillator frequency is needed. Often, the local oscillator source may be buffered from the receiver and/or the transmitter circuitry. This may reduce unwanted noise to the local oscillator circuitry. The buffer may also serve to amplify the local oscillator signal to the receiver and or the transmitter circuitry.
Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditional approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such systems with some aspects of the present invention as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings.

Method and system for common mode feedback circuitry for RF buffers


Described herein are compositions of binding agents and carrier proteins, and optionally at least one therapeutic agent, and methods of making and using the same, in particular, as a cancer therapeutic. Also described are lyophilized compositions of binding agents and carrier proteins, and optionally at least one therapeutic agent, and methods of making and using the same, in particular, as a cancer therapeutic. Still also described are methods for treating and/or increasing the therapeutic effectiveness of an immunotherapy of a patient suffering from a cancer which expresses PD-L1 or PD-L2 by administering to the patient a nanoparticle composition and a PD-1 immunotherapy.

Chemotherapy remains a mainstay for systemic therapy for many types of cancer, including melanoma. Most chemotherapeutic agents are only slightly selective to tumor cells, and toxicity to healthy proliferating cells can be high (Allen T M. (2002) Cancer 2:750-763), often requiring dose reduction and even discontinuation of treatment. In theory, one way to overcome chemotherapy toxicity issues as well as improve drug efficacy is to target the chemotherapy drug to the tumor using antibodies that are specific for proteins selectively expressed (or overexpressed) by tumors cells to attract targeted drugs to the tumor, thereby altering the biodistribution of the chemotherapy and resulting in more drug going to the tumor and less affecting healthy tissue. Despite 30 years of research, however, specific targeting rarely succeeds in the therapeutic context.
Conventional antibody dependent chemotherapy (ADC) is designed with a toxic agent linked to a targeting antibody via a synthetic protease-cleavable linker. The efficacy of such ADC therapy is dependent on the ability of the target cell to bind to the antibody, the linker to be cleaved, and the uptake of the toxic agent into the target cell. Schrama, D. et al. (2006) Nature reviews. Drug discovery 5:147-159.
Antibody-targeted chemotherapy promised advantages over conventional therapy because it provides combinations of targeting ability, multiple cytotoxic agents, and improved therapeutic capacity with potentially less toxicity. Despite extensive research, clinically effective antibody-targeted chemotherapy remains elusive: major hurdles include the instability of the linkers between the antibody and chemotherapy drug, reduced tumor toxicity of the chemotherapeutic agent when bound to the antibody, and the inability of the conjugate to bind and enter tumor cells. In addition, these therapies did not allow for control over the size of the antibody-drug conjugates.
There remains a need in the art for antibody-based cancer therapeutics that retain cytotoxic effect for targeted drug delivery to provide reliable and improved anti-tumor efficacy over prior therapeutics.
The programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1, also known as CD279, hereinafter "PD-1") receptor is expressed on the surface of activated T cells, B cells, as well as myeloid cells. PD-1 ligands include programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1, also known as B7-H1, CD274, hereinafter "PD-L1") and programmed death ligand-2 (PD-L2, also known as B7-DC and CD273, hereinafter "PD-L2"), and are commonly expressed on the surface of dendritic cells or macrophages. PD-L1 is expressed on many tumors including cancers developing in various organs such as head and neck, lung, stomach, colon, pancreas, breast, kidney, bladder, ovary, cervix, as well as melanoma, glioblastoma, multiple myeloma, lymphoma, and various leukemias. PD-L1 is commonly over-expressed on the surface of tumor cells, for example, metastatic non-small cell lung carcinomas (NSLC).
When binding to the PD-1 receptors of activated T cells, the PD-L1 expressing tumor cells can exploit the inhibitory signaling of the PD-1 pathway, thereby limiting or even halting a host's own anti-tumor immune responses from T cells. On the flip side of this inhibitory signaling, the blocking or interference of the interaction of PD-1 to PD-L1/PD-L2 would disrupt the inhibition signaled by the pathway. As such, immunotherapies based on antibodies against PD-1, PD-L1 or PD-L2 aim to overcome such immune response resisting ability of tumors and to restore or re-stimulate a host's own immune mechanism against tumors.
Accordingly, there is a need for increasing the therapeutic effectiveness of an immunotherapy treatment of a patient suffering from a cancer which expresses PD-L1 or PD-L2.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Carrier-PD-L1 binding agent compositions for treating cancers

MAYO FOUNDATION FOR MEDICAL EDUCATION AND RESEARCH


A hematophagous arthropod repellent composition includes 3,4-dimethoxybenzaldehyde or vanillin acetate as an effective ingredient. The repellent composition is against hematophagous arthropods which transmit diseases to animals including humans or directly cause discomfort or stress by bloodsucking. The hematophagous arthropod repellent composition not only has excellent repellency against hematophagous arthropods such as mosquitoes and ticks but also has long-lasting repellency, and thus it may be used as a hematophagous arthropod repellent for protecting animals including humans.

Hematophagous arthropods are the animals which transmit diseases by sucking blood not only from animals like poultry but also from humans or cause a stress like sleep disruption and weight loss by direct bloodsucking, and examples of the hematophagous arthropods include a mosquito, a tick (tick, chigger tick, or the like), a fly (stable fly, black fly, tsetse fly, or the like), a gadfly, a crab lice (Pthirus pubis), a bedbug, a mite, or the like.
Among those arthropods, a mosquito transmits a infectious disease like malaria, yellow fever, dengue fever, Japanese encephalitis, West Nile virus, zika virus, chikungunya, or the like to humans (Service, M. W., Management of vectors. In: Youdeowei, A., Service, M. W. (Eds.), Pest and Vectors Management in the Tropics, pp. 265-280, 1983). Furthermore, the arachnid arthropods which parasitize mainly on animals like chigger tick and Haemaphysalis longicornis are major mediators transmitting Lyme disease, spotted fever, rickettsia, severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome, tsutsugamushi disease, or the like.
A repellent is known as the most suitable means for blocking disease transmission caused by hematophagous arthropods. The organic synthetic repellent commercially available from 1950s and most widely used until now is DEET (N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide) of which repellency has been recognized against various insects including mosquito (McCabe, E. T. et al., Insect repellents, III. N,N-diethylamides, Journal of Organic Chemistry. 19: 493-498, 1954). However, DEET is known to have, as much as its excellent effect, various side effects like unpleasant smell, damages on plastics or rubber, inhibition of a central nervous system, causing dermatitis, DNA damages of mammal, or the like (Katz, T. M., J. H. Miller, and A. A. Hebert, Insect repellents: historical perspectives and new developments. J. Am. Acad. Dermatol. 58: 865-871, 2008).
As another organic synthetic repellent, a hydrazide compound and a harmful arthropod-controlling agent containing the hydrazide compound are disclosed in Korean Patent Application Publication No. 2009-0130037, and 1,2,4-thiadiazole compounds and an arthropod controlling composition containing the 1,2,4-thiadiazole compounds are disclosed in Korean Patent Registration No. 1012547. Furthermore, in Korean Patent Application Publication No. 2016-0079851, substituted benzamides for controlling arthropods are disclosed.
In recent years, studies are made on use of a plant essential oil as a raw material of a hematophagous arthropod repellent. However, the plant essential oil generally has lower efficacy for hematophagous arthropods like mosquito and tick and lower repellent persistency when compared to the organic synthetic repellent, and thus there is a problem that it has to be used in a large amount.
Under the circumstances, the inventors of the present invention made an effort to solve the above problems, and, as a result, found that 3,4-dimethoxybenzaldehyde and vanillin acetate have an excellent repellent effect against hematophagous arthropods, and, when they are used as a mixture at specific ratio with other plant essential oil having rather low repellent effect, the repellent effect can be maximized. The present invention is completed accordingly.

Hematophagous arthropod repellent composition


The invention is directed to an optical system for a fundus camera for reflection-free opthalmoscopy having a beam path with refractive and reflective optical elements which are used substantially in common for illumination and observation or recording. An imaging mirror system substantially comprising a plurality of reflecting optical elements in the form of mirrors and is provided for illuminating and imaging the fundus. At least one optical element, for example, mirror, is formed as a freeform mirror with an imaging, reflecting freeform surface. The optical elements are arranged in a housing in a precisely defined position and attitude relative to one another in such a way that an imaging of the reflecting surfaces of the optical elements on the image of the imaged retina is prevented within a wide diopter range of the patient's eye to be examined.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention is directed to an optical system for a fundus camera used for the observation and imaging of the ocular fundus. When the ocular fundus is imaged with a camera of this kind, there are generally reflections at the cornea and at surfaces of the imaging optical system which have a negative effect on the quality of the images and the evaluation thereof.
2. Description of Related Art
A fundus camera basically comprises a multi-stage optical system in which an opthalmoscope lens generates an intermediate image that is imaged by a tracking system or main objective onto a film, onto a CCD matrix of a CCD camera, or also in an intermediate image for visual observation with an ocular. In this system, the opthalmoscope lens is also a component part of the elements of the illumination system.
Reflections at the cornea and at the surfaces of the opthalmoscope lens pose a special problem in the observation and recording of the fundus because the light which is reflected by the retina and which carries the information of actual interest has a substantially lower intensity than the light which is reflected before entering the eye. Interfering cornea reflections are usually prevented by partitioning the pupil of the eye. For this purpose, the opthalmoscope lens images an illumination ring in the eye pupil. The illumination beams reflected at the cornea miss the aperture of the observation system. Only the area inside the illumination ring is used for observation.
DE-OS 35 19 442 describes an optical system in which light components which could enter the observation aperture through reflection at the opthalmoscope lens or at the cornea are blocked out by means of "black point plates" which are arranged at a suitable location in the beam path and which are coated in a defined manner by light-absorbing layers. This type of reflection suppression has come to be known as "anti-reflection point." A disadvantage of this concept is the proximity of the anti-reflection point to the field diaphragm. The absorption of the individual light components can become visible as irregular illumination of the fundus. Ring-shaped shadows occur which impair the image impression and, therefore, impede evaluation by the doctor.
DE 103 16 416 describes an optical system in which a multilens objective is provided in place of the opthalmoscope lens. The lenses of the multilens objective are tilted relative to one another in such a way that direct reflections at the interfaces do not enter the aperture of the observation system. Tilting in the x-direction and y-direction is provided for each pair of lenses. This optical system requires a substantial outlay for mechanical mounts for the individual lenses of the objective. Further, transverse chromatic aberrations and longitudinal chromatic aberrations are produced and must be compensated at great expense in the downstream optics system, both in the observation portion of the beam path and in the illumination portion of the beam path. In applications with very small beam diameters, e.g., in laser applications, the large quantity of optical interfaces and the long glass path within the objective are also disadvantageous. Even slight contamination at the interfaces and in the material of the optical components that are used can adversely mount up, sharply reduce the intensity of the light and generate interfering scattered light.
An arrangement with tilted lenses is also described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,730,910.
Further, fundus cameras are known which have mirror elements in place of the opthalmoscope lens. These systems have simple mirror geometries with which only a small observation field and illumination field can be implemented with adequate optical quality.
Other mirror systems such as those described, e.g., in U.S. Pat. No. 6,585,374, use moving elements to expand the small observation field and illumination field based on scanning principles. However, such systems need complicated mechanisms for precise movement of the elements in question and require complicated image processing techniques.


A sensing device for measuring temperature and pressure of a fluid medium in a pump housing. The device includes a common housing for containing a temperature sensor and a differential pressure sensor. The housing includes a temperature-sensor housing portion and a pressure-sensor housing portion disposed along a common axis. The temperature-sensor housing portion has a substantially cylindrically shaped projection configured for insertion into a corresponding bore in the pump housing and which sealingly encapsulates the temperature sensor therewithin. The projection has pressure measurement apertures defined in its side wall near the free end of the projection for communicating fluid pressures in the pump housing to the differential pressure sensor which is sealingly enclosed within the pressure-sensor housing portion.

The invention relates to a sensor arrangement for a centrifugal pump unit.
Rotary speed controlled centrifugal pump units are considered these days as the state of the art. In particular with circulatory pumps employed in heating installations, the rotary speed control serves for adapting the pump power as optimally as possible to the respective operation condition of the installation, on the one hand to be able to operate the installation as advantageously as possible with respect to energy, and on the other hand to avoid flow noise in the installation. Whilst with pump units with radial wheels, in particular of a small construction and a comparitively low rotary speed, the control variable (rotary speed of the pump) may be effected in a simple manner by acquisition of the electrical variables of the driving motor, with centrifugal pump units of a greater power, higher rotary speed and in particular with pump units with a semi-axial impeller it is demanded that hydraulic variables of the pump are acquired, since in this region the electrical variables of the driving motor behave almost independently of the rotary speed. Such an acquisition of hydraulic variables is clearly more complicated and is today as a rule carried out with the help of an external differential pressure gauge, which via lead connections is connected between the pressure connection piece and the suction connection piece of the pump. Such an arrangement is known for example from DE 39 23 027 A1.
The mounting of such an external differential pressure gauge is complicated, since apart from the electronic apparatus to be separately supplied, a tubing must be effected thereto. This tubing is not only complicated with respect to assembly, but is also sensitive, since these relatively thin tubes may easily be damaged by mechanical external influences.
Furthermore modern frequency converter controlled centrifugal pumps are not only rotary speed controlled but are also variable in their control characteristic. In order to adapt the control characteristic in a suitable manner to the respective operating condition of the installation, it has been shown to be useful to acquire the temperature of the medium to be delivered. This may be effected by a separate sensor for example arranged in the pump housing, which however brings with it corresponding changes on the pump housing side and furthermore necessitates also a separate wiring.


A cutting board kit having a cutting board holder capable of securely receiving two or more cutting boards. The cutting boards may be designated for use with specific classes of food products.

Preparation of food items often requires a preparation step in which a food item is cut using a knife or other sharpened kitchen tool. The preparation step may involve cutting a serving portion from a larger portion of a food item, such as a slice of cooked meat product. The preparation step may alternatively involve preparation of multiple smaller size pieces from a food item, such as a vegetable, by an operation such as chopping, dicing, or slicing.
These steps may be carried out on a counter top or other flat permanent surface in a kitchen or other food preparation area. These steps may also be carried out on flat temporary surfaces referred to as cutting boards. The use of cutting boards allows for the cutting, chopping, etc. to be accomplished in many areas of the kitchen while protecting permanent surfaces from disfiguration from cutting tools or from fluids released from a food item during the processing step. The use of the cutting board may also assist in the transfer of the food item to a cooking vessel. Finally, cutting boards are susceptible of being cleansed in a dishwasher allowing for convenience in cleaning after food preparation and potentially reducing risk from microbial hazards.
Despite their convenience, cutting boards may present a health risk if not properly cared for and cleansed. Raw produce may present various bacterial pathogens such as Shigella sp., E. coli sp. (including E. coli 0157H7), Salmonella sp. and viral pathogens such as Hepatitis A. The levels of these pathogens on produce can often be reduced to a level that will not affect most individuals by rinsing affected produce with fresh water shortly before serving. However, residual amounts of pathogen may be transferred to a surface where produce is placed in the food preparation process such as a cutting board. Proper cleansing of the surface can prevent any pathogen so deposited from contaminating other foods.
In the case where surfaces are not cleansed properly, pathogens may be transferred to other foods that are prepared on the same surface. This cross contamination of foods is particularly an issue where the food that is contaminated is stored in a way that allows the pathogen in the contaminated food to multiply to the point where it can cause illness in a person consuming the contaminated food.
Raw meat and processed meat products may present bacterial pathogens such as E. coli (including E. coli 0157:H7), Salmonella sp., Campylobacter jejuni and Listeria monocytogenes. Careful preparation of raw meat and processed meat products can prevent these potential pathogens from causing illness as a result of eating the meat or meat product. However, it is important that cutting boards used in preparation of meat and meat products be cleansed properly between uses to prevent cross contamination of food products, thereby further reducing the risk of food-borne illness. It is especially important that pathogens present in meat products that would be killed or inactivated during normal cooking not be transferred to foods that are raw or already cooked.
To prevent this transfer, health authorities, food companies and others recommend having cutting boards dedicated for use with certain types of food products during food preparation. For example, in a kitchen a cook may prepare vegetables, breads, fruits and meats for one meal thereby requiring up to four different cutting boards in the course of preparing a meal. Increasingly, health authorities and food companies also recommend that cutting boards be permanently dedicated to one food type or at the very least food preparers should ensure that a cutting board used to for preparation of raw and processed meats only be used for such foodstuffs.
It would therefore be useful to have a cutting board kit for storage of multiple cutting boards. It would also be useful to have the various dedicated cutting boards permanently labeled to ensure consistent use by all personnel using the same kitchen facility.


A method and arrangement is disclosed for managing session keys for secure communication between a first and at least a second user device in a communications network. The method is characterized being independent of what type of credential each user device implements for security operations. A first user receives from a first key management server keying information and a voucher and generates a first session key. The voucher is forwarded to at least a responding user device that, with support from a second key management server communicating with the first key management server, resolves the voucher and determines a second session keys. First and second session keys are, thereafter, used for secure communication. In one embodiment the communication traverses an intermediary whereby first and second session keys protect communication with respective leg to intermediary.

Many access technologies such as GSM, WCDMA, WLAN, WiMAX provide basic security for the first hop, i.e., communication between the user device and an access point of the network. The communication may use layer 2 or layer 3 in the protocol stack. SRTP (RFC3711) and MIKEY (RFC3830) are examples of protocols for media security and key management. MIKEY can be based on both pre-shared keys and PKI. Moreover, MIKEY can be integrated into session set-up signalling (SIP or RTSP) using RFC4567.
However, the basic security provided by these access technologies can not always be considered sufficiently secure. In fact, some access technologies do not provide any basic security, e.g. 802.3/Ethernet or DSL.
Therefore, there is a need to provide added or improved security mechanisms in many access technologies.
A problem with existing approaches to key management relates to the assumption that both end-points use the same type of basic credential. However, this assumption is not always true which is the case in, e.g., Fixed-Mobile Convergence (FMC). In FMC one of the users may be a 3GPP subscriber using SIM-based credential, e.g. SIM, USIM, ISIM, and the other may be e.g. a Cable access user that implements PKI-based credentials.
There are also certain problems with integration of key management into known signalling protocols.
Another example presenting a problem relates to "early media" meaning that media may start to flow back from the responder before the key management operations according to e.g. MIKEY-over-SIP has finished. Thus, although MIKEY may be carried in-band with SIP, there may not be any keys available to protect the first few packets. The alternative, using media-in-band key management would solve this problem but is disadvantageous e.g. from firewall traversal point of view. Furthermore, it is not sound engineering practice to carry signalling in the media path.
Another problem with known methods for key management relates to "forking" wherein the initiator of, e.g., a Multimedia Telephony call (MMTEL) may not be sure which terminal the other end-point will use to answer. Even if all the terminals for answering the call are PKI-enabled, different terminals may use different public keys and thus the initiator cannot know which key to use for an invitation request. More precisely, according to known methods it is not until after the responder has answered that key management can even start and that an appropriate public key can be determined. As mentioned above, media-in-band key management may alleviate the problem, however, being disadvantageous as mentioned above.
Still another problem with known methods for key management is that some IMS services are peer-to-peer (P2P) whereas others provide group services e.g. Push-to-talk over cellular PoC). Requiring users to manage group keys raises problems and, in fact, a user cannot be sure that all group members will even reply to an invitation and participate in the session. There is, thus, in this case a need to make a distinction between members that potentially could be in the group session and the members that are participating in the group session, since it may, e.g., be beneficial to only distribute session keys to the members who are actually participating.
A further problem with prior art is that some services, e.g. messaging, may be handled in different ways depending on whether the responder is on line or not. For instance, an instant message (IM) may automatically be converted into a deferred message (DM) for later delivery if the receiver is not on-line. The sender may not know if the other party is on-line and may thus not know what key management is suitable at the time of sending the message. S/MIME based solutions could possibly alleviate the situation, but S/MIME is not suitable for real-time media such as MMTEL. Therefore, the key management approach may become dependent on which IMS service that is being used which is undesirable. In addition, S/MIME lacks support for pre-shared keys (e.g. SIM) and does not provide replay protection due to the fact that there is no session concept in which two S/MIME protected messages can be correlated.


A non-cytotoxic polyether polyurethane elastomer is made by reacting a polyether triol, polyether diol, and polyether prepolymer terminated with toluene diisocyanate. The reaction is catalyzed with a zinc based catalyst, such as zinc neodecanoate. Silicone oil is also added to the reactants. The polyurethane elastomer is a solid, soft elastomer having a hardness of from 15 Shore 00 to 50 Shore A. The elastomer is particularly suited for use as padding in sleeves, splints and braces where it is in contact with human skin.

Urethane polymers are thermostable, durable, and can be manufactured with a very broad range of hardness. Many different reactants can be used to make urethane polymers. As such, urethane polymers can be used in a wide variety of applications. For example, urethane elastomers have particularly good impact absorption and wear resistance characteristics and can be manufactured to virtually any desired shape and flexibility, making them good candidates for many padding applications.
However, conventional urethanes contain toxic materials that would harm cells that are subjected to prolonged contact with the urethane. The other characteristics make elastomeric urethanes well suited for padding, for example in medical applications, such as in sleeves, splints and braces. The cytotoxicity of urethanes precludes their use in applications requiring direct contact with the skin without a protective layer to form a barrier against the cytotoxic effects of the urethane. The addition of a protective layer complicates the process of manufacturing articles such as sleeves, splints and braces. Using a protective layer also adds another component that can wear with time, and potentially provide a surface where dirt, microbes or other biological hazards, such as fungus and mold, can accumulate raising cleanliness issues.
For this reason, elastomeric silicone is currently the material of choice for skin contact applications where elastomeric properties are desirable. Silicone elastomers are flexible, durable and non-toxic, making them an ideal candidate for applications requiring human skin contact. However, silicone is costly and therefore very expensive to use in large quantities.
There is a long felt need to make a urethane elastomer which is non-cytotoxic and flexible such that it can be used in applications having contact with human skin, such as padding for sleeves, splints, braces and the like.


The invention provides a cerium based composite oxide and its production method, which hardly forms aggregates, is composed of particular acicular particles providing sinterable ceramic materials, has a sharp particle size distribution, and inhibited from aggregating. The composite oxide contains 0.1–50 mol % of metal such as Y, Sc, or rare earth elements excluding Ce and Pm, in terms of oxides, and 50 to 99.9 mol % of cerium in terms of oxides, wherein the composite oxide takes the acicular primary particle form having an average aspect ratio of 1.05–10.0, or secondary particle form, aggregates of the primary particles. The composite oxide containing the primary and second particles have a BET specific surface area of 5 to 40 m2/g, an average particle size of 0.1 to 0.5 μm, and a particle size distribution index represented by formula (1) of not higher than 1.6:Particle Size Distribution Index=(D84−D16)/(2×D50).  (1)

Cerium based composite oxides in the form of fine spherical particles have been in use as ceramic materials utilizing cerium based composite oxides. Such fine spherical particles are conventionally known to be prepared by precipitation or hydrothermal synthesis. An example of the precipitation method reported is a method wherein precipitate of cerium based composite salt is obtained by coprecipitation, separated by filtration, and calcined to obtain a oxide powder material (JP-8-169713-A). An example of the hydrothermal synthesis proposed is a method wherein precipitate of a cerium based composite salt is processed at high temperature under high pressure to synthesize fine spherical particles.
As far as the primary particles are concerned, both the coprecipitation and hydrothermal synthesis mentioned above are capable of providing fine spherical powders. However, the fineness of the powders causes difficulties in washing and filtration in the powder production process, resulting in remarkable aggregation of the oxide powders and a disadvantageously broad particle size distribution. Further, the hydrothermal synthesis involves processing at high temperature under high pressure in a pressure vessel such as an autoclave, so that the industrial productivity is low, and the production cost is high. In addition, when the powders with a broad particle size distribution are directly used as ceramic materials, the powders cause problems in processibility and sinterability, such as cracks in molding or sintering, and insufficient density of sintered products. Thus such powders with a broad particle size distribution requires pre-treatments such as grinding, dispersing, or sieving, before use as ceramic materials, which increases the process steps in the ceramics production and adds to the production cost.
On the other hand, JP-8-169713-A discloses a highly sinterable cerium based composite oxide that provides a sintered product having a relative sintering density of 98.6% at a sintering temperature of 1450° C. However, the raw material powders have a broad particle size distribution and include coarse particles, so that the powders cannot be molded homogeneously and densely. This causes generation of voids in the molded body, which cannot be eliminated during sintering. Thus densely sintered products having a relative sintering density of not lower than 99% have not been obtained.

Cerium based composite oxide, sintered product thereof and method for preparation thereof


A rear axle center (RAC) locating system may include a tractor and a RAC location acquisition unit. The tractor may include a rear axle having a center, a global positioning system (GPS) antenna offset from the rear axle, and inertial measurement units. The RAC location acquisition unit may include a processing unit and a non-transitory computer-readable medium containing instructions to direct the processing unit to determine a geographic location of the GPS antenna based upon signals received by the GPS antenna and determine a geographic location of the center of the rear axle based upon the geographic location of the GPS antenna and combined data from the inertial measurement units.

Tractors are frequently used to carry, push and/or pull attachments and implements when carrying out various tasks. Global positioning systems, also known as global navigation satellite systems, are sometimes used to determine a geo-referenced location of the tractor (and any attachments or implements) when traversing a field, construction site or other landscape.
Throughout the drawings, identical reference numbers designate similar, but not necessarily identical, elements. The figures are not necessarily to scale, and the size of some parts may be exaggerated to more clearly illustrate the example shown, Moreover, the drawings provide examples and/or implementations consistent with the description; however, the description is not limited to the examples and/or implementations provided in the drawings.