A nonvolatile semiconductor memory has a semiconductor substrate, a first insulating film formed on a channel region on a surface portion of the semiconductor substrate, a charge accumulating layer formed on the first insulating film, a second insulating film formed on the charge accumulating layer, a control gate electrode formed on the second insulating film, and a third insulating film including an Si—N bond that is formed on a bottom surface and side surfaces of the charge accumulating layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a nonvolatile semiconductor memory and a method of manufacturing the nonvolatile semiconductor memory.
2. Related Art
There is a nonvolatile memory of a double gate structure in which there are provided a floating gate electrode and a control gate electrode positioned above the floating gate electrode, a magnetic field is applied by this control gate electrode and a charge is injected into the floating gate electrode or a charge is extracted from the floating gate electrode by Fowler-Nordheim tunneling, thereby permitting electrical writing or erase of data.
In this structure, a polycrystalline silicon layer that becomes the floating gate electrode is sandwiched between a tunnel insulating film and an interpoly insulating film, and a charge is injected into the floating gate electrode by F—N tunneling of electrons from a silicon substrate. As a result of this, the inversion threshold voltage of a channel region is adjusted in association with the charging of the floating gate electrode and the on-off condition of a transistor is determined.
In such a nonvolatile memory, the reliability of an insulating film is important. In this reliability, the effect of a bird's beak becomes great in association with the miniaturization of elements.
In the post-oxidation step after the formation of a tunnel insulating film and a floating gate electrode, an oxidizer enters the interior from a gate end portion of a tunnel insulating film and oxidizes the surface of a silicon substrate where a channel is formed and the surface of a floating gate electrode formed by polycrystalline silicon, whereby this bird's beak is formed.
When a bird's beak has been formed, the film thickness of that place becomes large and a tunnel current does not flow easily any more. As a result of this, a tunnel current concentrates in a flat area of a thin film where no bird's beak has been formed, the film quality of that place deteriorates, and insulating film reliability decreases.
When the channel length and channel width of a transistor are large, the concentration of a tunnel current has a small effect because the flat area of a thin film covers a wide region of the insulating film even when a bird's beak has been formed. However, the effect of a bird's beak increases as miniaturization becomes to a greater extent.
Furthermore, it is difficult to control the amount of a bird's beak. A bird's beak causes variations in the capacitance of a tunnel insulating film, and these variations contribute to the deterioration in the performance of a device.
Because the surface side of a floating gate electrode that is formed by polycrystalline silicon having a high impurity concentration is oxidized thicker than the silicon substrate surface where a channel is formed, it is necessary to suppress the oxidization of the floating gate electrode in order to suppress the formation of a bird's beak.
There has been proposed a method of suppressing the formation of a bird's beak in an interpoly insulating film, though not a tunnel insulating film (refer to Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-249697, for example). This method involves controlling the formation of a bird's beak by using an NONON-film formed by inserting a silicon nitride film each above and below an ONO-film (a stacked film composed of an oxide film-nitride film-oxide film) as an interpoly insulating film.
However, because the side surfaces of the floating gate electrode and the side surfaces of the control gate electrode are not nitrided, in the post-oxidation step after the processing of the transistor gates, the side surfaces of the floating gate electrode and the control gate electrode are oxidized, resulting in diminished sizes.
Because the polycrystalline silicon that forms the gate electrode has various planar direction dependences, the oxidation amount in post-oxidation varies from cell to cell. That is, variations in gate size occur for each cell.
Therefore, variations in the oxidation amount of the side walls of the polycrystalline silicon that forms the floating gate electrode cannot be suppressed simply by inserting silicon nitride films into the interface of the interpoly insulating film even if the formation of a bird's beak can be suppressed thereby.
The variations in cell shape lead to variations in the characteristics of a cell transistor. In order to absorb variations in the characteristics of a transistor, it becomes necessary to sacrifice other performance capabilities of a semiconductor device, for example, it becomes necessary to lower the writing speed. All things considered, this leads to the deterioration of the performance of a semiconductor device. That is, a reduction of variations in cell shape is a very important item of technology development.

Nonvolatile semiconductor memory and method of manufacturing the same


The present invention relates to a fluoroscopy type four-point frame for spine surgery comprising an upper support plate, two pairs of slide seats, a pair of slide rails and two pairs of support cushions. The left and right side defined at the front and rear of the upper support plate are respectively provided with a pair of the slide seats connected through the slide rail, thereby allowing each of the slide seats to slide towards left and right at the corresponding edge of the upper support plate. The front and rear of the pair of the slide rails are respectively provided with a pair of the support cushions, thereby allowing each of the support cushions to forwardly and backwardly slide on the corresponding slide rail; because the frame for spine surgery is made of a non-metal material, no interference of metal component is generated when spine fluoroscopy is processed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a frame for spine surgery, especially to a fluoroscopy type four-point frame for spine surgery.
2. Description of Related Art
A four-point frame for spine surgery is commonly used in the spine surgical operation; when in use, the four-point frame for spine surgery is disposed on an operating table, and the patient lies in the prone position on the frame for spine surgery and supported by two pairs of support cushions correspondingly disposed at two sides.
With the development of surgical technology, many surgeries and diagnosis can be accurately processed through solid photography, so skilled people in the art have invented some fluoroscopy type surgical equipments, e.g. a fluoroscopy type operating table. When in use, the patient lies in the prone position on the fluoroscopy type operating table. The fluoroscopy type operating table allows X-ray to penetrate for providing a full fluoroscopy imaging, but the skeleton of the frame for spine surgery is made of a metal material, such as stainless steel, thereby causing X-ray not being able to penetrate, or even generating interference to the spine imaging, so the full fluoroscopy imaging cannot be carried out.
As such, how to develop a fluoroscopy type four-point frame for spine surgery which can keep the advantages of prior art and allow X-ray to penetrate is an issue to be concerned by skilled people in the art.

Fluoroscopy type four-point frame for spine surgery


The present invention provides pharmaceutical compositions comprising an anti-ErbB3 antibody and an anti-EGFR antibody, and methods of use thereof. The compositions and methods of the present invention are useful for the treatment of various cancers and other diseases and disorders.

ErbB3 (also known as HER3) is a member of the ErbB/HER family of receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs). Other members of this family include EGFR (also known as ErbB1 or HER1), ErbB2 (also known as HER2 or Neu), and HER4. ErbB receptors regulate cell proliferation, survival and differentiation by activating intracellular signaling cascades that lead to alterations in gene expression.
ErbB receptors are activated by the formation of either homo- or heterodimers. For example, when ErbB3 is co-expressed with ErbB2, an active heterodimeric signaling complex is formed. ErbB3 dimer formation is promoted by its ligand binding. Neuregulin 1 (NRG1) is the primary ligand for ErbB3 that promotes homo- or heterodimerization of the receptor.
ErbB3 has been found to be overexpressed in various cancer types, including breast, gastrointestinal, and pancreatic cancers. Anti-ErbB3 antibodies have been shown to inhibit the growth of several human tumor cell lines in mouse xenografts models. Anti-ErbB3 antibodies are mentioned in, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,480,968; 5,968,511; US 2004/0197332; U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,332,580; 7,705,130; and 7,846,440. Nonetheless, there is a need in the art for novel ErbB3 antagonists, such as anti-ErbB3 antibodies, for the treatment of cancer and other related disorders.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Methods and compositions comprising a combination of an anti-ErbB3 antibody and an anti-EGFR antibody


A modular fuel sender including a reservoir in a fuel tank of a motor vehicle, an electric fuel pump in the reservoir, and a jet pump for aspirating fuel into the reservoir. The electric fuel pump includes a regenerative turbine pump having a pump channel around the periphery of an impeller and a bleed orifice between an inlet and a discharge of the pump channel for bleeding a mixture of fuel and vapor from the pump channel. The bleed orifice is connected a nozzle in the jet pump. The mixture of fuel and vapor bled from the pump channel issues as a jet stream from the jet pump nozzle for aspirating fuel into the reservoir.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,218,942, issued Jun. 15, 1993 and assigned to the assignee of this invention, describes a modular fuel sender in a fuel tank of a motor vehicle. The modular fuel sender includes a reservoir mounted inside the fuel tank, an electric fuel pump mounted inside the reservoir pumping fuel from the reservoir to a fuel injection system of the vehicle, and a jet pump for aspirating fuel into the reservoir. In the modular fuel sender described in the aforesaid U.S. Pat. No. 5,218,942, the energy source for the jet pump is a constant fraction of the high pressure discharge of the electric fuel pump diverted directly to the jet pump. In other modular fuel senders, the energy source for the jet pump is a variable flow of return or excess fuel from the fuel injection system. Where the energy source is a fraction of high pressure discharge, low voltage performance of the electric fuel pump may be compromised. Where the energy source is return flow, the reservoir may become depleted. A modular fuel sender according to this invention uses a heretofore untapped energy source for the jet pump and is an improvement relative to the aforesaid modular fuel senders diverting return flow or a fraction of high pressure discharge to the jet pump.


A liquid reservoir with a sump includes at least two outlet ports in fluid communication with a fluid conduit. An anti-vortex device includes a first plate extending across the at least two outlet ports and a second plate coupled to the first plate and extending substantially perpendicular to the first plate. The anti-vortex device is configured to disrupt formation of a vortex formed by liquid passing from the reservoir through said outlet ports.

Launch vehicles, such as rocket engine propelled vehicles intended for space travel, typically use a liquid propellant that is stored in a storage tank and supplied to engines during takeoff and flight. When the liquid propellant is supplied to the engines, vapor or gases cannot be allowed to enter the engines in large amounts. If vapor or gas is introduced into the engines in sufficient quantities, the gas ingestion may cause a stall or other malfunctioning of the engine that may increase the possibility of engine failure. Additionally, it may be desirable to empty the liquid storage tanks as completely as possible through engine combustion to maximize engine operating time, which may allow for increased vehicle payload.
For example, with reference to FIGS. 1-3, a liquid tank 100 is shown containing a liquid 102 therein. The tank 100 of FIGS. 1-3 does not include an anti-vortex device. An outlet port 104 is positioned at the bottom of the tank to facilitate outflow of the liquid 102. As shown in FIG. 2, as liquid 102 flows through the outlet port 104 and conduit 110, a dip 106 forms in the upper surface 108 of the liquid 102. The dip 106 is formed by inertial forces created by the liquid 102 draining from the tank 100. Due to the formation of dip 106, gas or vapor may be ingested into outlet port 104 at sump 112 and moved through conduit 110, where it is subsequently supplied to an engine (not shown). The dip 106 may increase in size due to a vortex motion of the liquid 102 as it exits through outlet port 104, which also increases the likelihood that gas will be ingested through the outlet port 104.
When there is sufficient liquid 102 in tank 100, as illustrated in FIG. 1, dip 106 may not be present. However, as the liquid 102 drains from tank 100, the dip 106 begins to form as illustrated in FIG. 2. The bottom of dip 106 grows ever closer to outlet port 104 as the liquid 102 drains from tank 100. Finally, as shown in FIG. 3, the dip 106 enters outlet port 104 and may even enter conduit 110, which causes gas to be ingested therethrough. As gas is ingested into the engine (rather than liquid 102), the engine may stall or become damaged.
One known attempt to reduce vapor ingestion uses a screen that encompasses the substantially all of the interior area of the liquid storage tank or at least a portion thereof. In this system, fluid is wicked through the screens by capillary action, and vapor or gas bubbles are prevented from flowing through the screens due to the bubble point pressure of the fluid screen system. However, such screen systems are typically only for storage tanks being used in low gravity and are less useful in environments where higher gravity is present. Additionally, the screen systems typically cannot be used with some liquid propellants such as hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) due to material incompatibility between H2O2 and typical screen materials, for example because the increased surface area of the screens adds more area for chemical reactions causing the liquid propellant to decompose.
Other systems may include vanes extending a distance from a sump of the tank towards the walls of the storage tank. These vanes help bring liquid propellants to the outflow area of the storage tank through capillary action. Furthermore, the vanes may reduce the ingestion of gas bubbles into the engine of the vehicle. The vanes used in known vapor-ingestion-suppression systems are for low gravity applications and cannot provide substantial vapor ingestion suppression at the higher gravity conditions typical of launch vehicles.
A need exists for a device for rockets or launch vehicles under normal or high gravity that will allow for anti-vortexing of the liquid propellant as it leaves a multiple-outlet tank, and to maximize the draining of liquid propellant into the sump and outlets, thereby increasing the efficiency of the storage tanks and decreasing the possible ingestion of gases.

Antivortex device for multi-outlet liquid reservoir


A projection display apparatus includes: an illumination optical unit which emits beams; an image display element which modulates the beams according to image information; a spatial-beam changing unit which changes spatial positions of the beams emitted from the illumination optical unit; and a uniform-beam distribution unit, disposed between the spatial-beam changing unit and the image display element, which uniformly distributes the beams. The spatial-beam changing unit includes a moveable prism, a movement of which changes the spatial positions of the beams emitted therefrom.

1. Field of the Invention
Apparatuses and methods consistent with the present invention relate to providing a projection display apparatus an more particularly, to providing a projection display apparatus enhancing image quality.
2. Description of the Related Art
Liquid crystal displays, plasma display panels, projection display apparatuses such as projectors, and the like, are being used as apparatuses for displaying large-sized, high-quality images. Projection display apparatuses enlarge small-sized images and project the images onto large-sized screens. Recently, lamps have been used as light sources of projection display apparatuses.
However, lamps being used as light sources have short life spans and produce a lot of heat. Further, when lamps are used as light sources, the definition of a displayed image is lower, compared to when other types of light sources are used. For these reasons, efforts have been being made to develop alternative light sources capable of being used instead of lamps in projection display apparatuses and the like.
A laser beam has high directionality, making it easy to predict a change in a path of a laser beam due to reflection and/or refraction. For this reason, lasers are being used as alternative light sources for projection display apparatuses and the like. In the case of using a laser as a light source, it is possible to make a wide reproducible color range and to obtain clear images.
However, laser beams maintain the same temporal and spatial phases, resulting in the coherence of laser beams. The coherence of laser beams causes a speckle pattern to be produced on a screen. The speckle pattern appears illuminate spots on the screen. Therefore, the speckle pattern degrades the image quality, contrast, and resolution of images, and particularly of enlarged images.
A method of sequentially irradiating red, green, and blue beams to an image display element, which modulates beams corresponding to image information, has been used. However, the above-mentioned method reduces light utilization efficiency. For this reason, a method of simultaneously irradiating red, green, and blue beams to an image display elements has been developed.

Projection display apparatus comprising a spatial-beam changing unit which changes spatial positions of beams


In a recording disk apparatus, a pickup element and an electric element for at lease one of supplying an electric power to at least one of a recording disk driving motor and the pickup and processing a signal to be recorded into the recording disk and/or the signal read from the recording disk are prevented from overlapping each other as seen in a thickness direction of the recording disk to restrain a thermal conduction between the pickup element and the electric element so that a thermal conduction restraining area extending along an imaginary directional line crossing an imaginary straight line passing the pickup element and the electric element as seen in the thickness direction is formed between the pickup element and the electric element as seen in the thickness direction.

The present invention relates to a recording disk apparatus, for example, an optical recording disk apparatus for recording an information or a signal into and/or reading the information or signal from an optical recording disk such as CD, DVD or the like.
JP-A-2003-249067 discloses an optical recording disk apparatus in which a case is divided by a partition member therein to a first chamber containing therein a tray for holding thereon an optical recording disk, a spindle motor for rotating the optical recording disk, and a pickup movable in a radial direction of the optical recording disk, and a second chamber containing therein an electric substrate on which electronic elements are mounted, so that a heat energy is restrained by the partition member from being transmitted from the electronic elements into the second chamber.

Recording disk apparatus having regions of constrained thermal conduction


This invention is a device for irrigating tree seedlings and other small plants, to ensure that said plants stay moist in the critical few weeks following their planting. The device uses a bag, approximately 1 gallon capacity, constructed of biodegradable plastic, such as cornstarch, which slowly degrades into the soil so as to not leave residue in the planting field. The bag has a top filling opening with an adhesive sealing flap, and contains a multi-layered disk which acts as a passive valve which permits the slow drip-release of water from the bag over a 2-3 week period following planting. The multi-layered disk is made of two layers of thin plastic, a layer of special laboratory filter paper, and a layer of adhesive-sided gasket material which attaches said disk to said biodegradable bag. The design of the hole patterns in the layers of the disk, and the assembly and precise compression of said layers during manufacture, result in a device that produces the desired slow-release flow characteristics.

1. Field of Endeavor
This invention pertains to the field of plant husbandry (Class 047), specifically to the irrigation of newly planted tree seedlings and other small plants.
2. Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 5,896,700 Device for Watering Unattended Houseplants (McGough), describes a device which dispenses a quantity of water (typically 32 or 16 ounces) to a potted houseplant over an extended period of time (typically 1 to 2 weeks or more) without owner intervention. The bottle-type device is completely passive, operates by gravity flow, uses standard tap water, and solves a number of problems not addressed by earlier houseplant watering devices. The −700 device is comprised of three major components, one of which is a disk-shaped sandwich-type wafer constructed of several layers of gasket material, laboratory filter paper, and thin plastic, having through-holes and passages so constructed as to filter impurities from the water and control the rate at which water is released from the reservoir during the desired watering period. The −700 device dispenses the reservoir water over a specified time period, releases its water at a relatively uniform rate during the watering cycle, uses standard tap water, and is simple to manufacture and install. The −700 device has been on the market for several years and has proven to be an effective method for watering a wide variety of unattended houseplants.
Another device, called a Tree Irrigator (U.S. Pat. No. 5,117,582, Cissel, Jr. et.al) utilizes a large flexible plastic bag (typically 20 gallon capacity) which encircles the trunk of a small tree, and which contains small holes in its base to dispense water over a period of time (typically 6-8 hours) to the tree.
Other prior devices have been suggested for irrigating unattended plants, and number of these have received U.S. patents.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,443,544 (Azoulay) describes a device which uses a wick and water-absorbing sponge to transfer water to the plant.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,970,823 (Chen and Parkhurst) describes another wick-type system for dispensing water from a bottle reservoir to the soil.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,578,897 (Pazar and Petrick) describes a system for dispensing water to a water dish located below the plant.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,336,666 (Caso) describes a toroidal-shaped device which requires the operator to punch holes in the "metering nozzles" to obtain the desired flowrate.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,300,309 (Mincy) uses a "porous soil penetrating member" to dispense water from semi-toroid shaped reservoir to the soil.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,089,133 (Duncan), U.S. Pat. No. 2,387,869 (Chatten), U.S. Pat. No. 2,595,783 (Epstein), and U.S. Pat. No. 2,375,860 (Markham) attempt to solve the problem of watering plants with various wicking, porous ceramic absorption, or multiple aperture devices.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,259,142 (Sax) employs a simple filter to restrict the flow of water from a rigid bottle, but provides no means of preventing the filter from becoming clogged by impurities in the water, nor means of sealing its filter disk against peripheral leakage.
All of the above patents describe various methods for automatically dispensing water to growing plants. However, only the first patent cited (U.S. Pat. No. 5,896,700) bears any similarity in design or operating principle to the device disclosed herein. The −700 device uses a multilayered disk made of layers of thin plastic, filter paper, and gasket to filter and regulate the slow drip of the water from a plastic bottle over an extended period of time (typically 1-2 weeks). In the −700 device the disk is compressed between the lip of a plastic bottle and a hard plastic spike which is threaded on to the bottle neck. The device described in this application uses a similar multi-layered disk to dispense 3-4 quarts of water over 2-3 weeks, except such disk is designed to be used with a flexible biodegradable bag, rather than the rigid plastic bottle and cap used in the −700 device.
A number of other patents and applications describe devices which have some slight similarities to features of the device disclosed in this application. For example: U.S. Pat. No. 4,554,761 (Tell) is a flexible cover used to protect a plants' reproductive organs from pollination; U.S. Pat. No. 5,252,302 (Schmidt) is a container with an internal cavity which holds a porous bag containing manure and compost; U.S. Pat. No. 5,564,223 (Takita) describes a quick-peelable protective wrap for fruit on a tree; U.S. Pat. No. 5,809,692 (Kesler) is a plant feeder consisting of a water reservoir and connecting conduit; U.S. Pat. No. 5,992,635 (Walters) discloses a pressure release valve for flexible vacuum packages; U.S. Pat. No. 6,243,986 (Crowley) is a plant care system consisting of a root-feeding spike which is gravity fed through a line from a reservoir or bottle; U.S. Pat. No. 6,251,489 (Weiss) is a sterilizable flexible pouch package used for sterilizing objects by steam; U.S. Pat. No. 6,289,630 (Hetze) is a device used to keep flowers fresh by mixing nutrients with liquids; US 2003/010394 (Cook) is a one-way concealed-valve sterilizing objects by steam; U.S. Pat No. 6,289,630 (Hetze) is a device used to keep flowers fresh by mixing nutrients with liquids; US 2003/010394 (Cook) is a one-way concealed-valve vented storage bag; US 2003/0178066 (Skeens) is an evacuable container having a one-way valve with filter element; US 2005/0178066 (Allen) describes a method for forming a vented bag; U.S. Pat. No. 5,171,439 (Vakharia) discloses a liquid non-leaking gas venting seal for a container holding liquid; US 2006/0037884 (Doyle) is a plastic bag for fine powders; JP405124656A (Yamaguchi) describes an air evacuation feed packaging bag and its valve structure and aeration preventing body. This bag, for vacuum cleaners, uses adhesive tape attached to the opposite walls of its inner surface to mount an air suction valve; JP 403172120A (Nishizawa) describes a device for packaging plants, using water-holding polymer materials in a baglike unit, to keep cut plants fresh for a long period.
None of the fifteen patents or applications described in the previous paragraph anticipate any of the key features of the device described in this application, and none could be used in any way to provide water to seedlings over an extended period, as does this invention.

Biodegradable device for irrigating seedlings and other small plants


A slave station, such as an orbiting satellite, and a master station, such as a ground control station, have their own lists of random pads. The master and slave station lists are identical. When the master station sends a critical command to the slave station, a selected one of the pads is combined with the command and transmitted to the slave station as a data communication message. Each pad is used only once. The slave station evaluates the received pad value using its version of the same selected pad. If the evaluation detects correspondence, then the command is authenticated and the slave station acts upon the command. The random pads are generated by the slave station. They are encrypted using an asymmetric encryption process and transmitted to the master station so that the master and slave stations will operate on common sets of pads.

Many systems require a master station to issue commands for critical control functions to a remotely located slave station. One context in which this occurs is in controlling an orbiting satellite, wherein a ground-based master control station issues commands, such as orbit correction commands, to a slave satellite station. However, critical control functions are also remotely issued in connection with financial and other industrial and governmental endeavors.
The commands are considered critical due to severe harmful consequences which might result from a slave station improperly acting upon such commands. In a satellite, improper action may cause the satellite to leave its orbit or to suffer other consequences which would greatly decrease the life-span or usefulness of the satellite. Due to the great costs involved in constructing and placing a satellite in orbit, potential losses are enormous. In financial situations, money may be credited to improper accounts, again potentially leading to great financial losses. And, in other situations improper action by a slave station may pose severe risks of harm to human life and health or to the environment.
Accordingly, steps are often taken to prevent such severely undesirable results from occurring in systems where critical commands are remotely issued. Such steps are typically directed to at least two different issues. The first issue deals with insuring that a slave station will respond only to commands issued by its assigned master station. In other words, authentication processes are employed so that the slave station may have a high degree of confidence that a command it has received actually came from its assigned master station and not from some other controller. The second issue deals with insuring that a slave station which receives a command from its assigned master station has in fact received the intended command and not some other command. In other words, confirmation processes are employed to insure that no error has occurred in communicating a command.
Numerous efficient, effective, and otherwise satisfactory confirmation processes are known to those skilled in the art. On the other hand, conventional authentication processes fail to provide satisfactory solutions to authentication needs of systems such as those described above. Conventional authentication processes are complicated to implement and to operate. Such conventional processes often include dedicated "secure" hardware for implementing encryption and decryption processes. While such conventional processes do achieve effective levels of authentication security, the secure hardware's weight, cost, and limited reliability, when compared to a process using no additional hardware, are undesirable features of the conventional processes.
In addition, many conventional processes utilize a symmetric encryption process. Symmetric encryption processes use a single key for encryption and decryption. This key is kept secret so that only the master and slave stations know it. However, the system must employ a re-keying scheme in case a breach of security causes the secret key to become known or some failure keeps authorized messages from being authenticated. Such re-keying schemes become extremely complicated and costly in order to maintain a high level of authentication security.
While the above problems plague all conventional authentication processes, the problems become especially troublesome in connection with the control of satellites. In a satellite control system, physical access to a satellite after the satellite is in orbit is extremely impractical. In addition, the penalties paid for increased weight needed for secure hardware and for reduced overall reliability from using secure hardware are amplified.


Information related to a vehicular environment is disseminated in a multi-hop broadcast network of nodes. Vehicles and roadside units are equipped with the nodes. An event is sensed at a location by a source node. In response, zones are associated with respect to the location of the source node. Each zone is logically asymmetric and disjoint from the other zones. An alert message is broadcast, received, and then rebroadcast by other vehicles according to the locations of the vehicles in the zones. The nodes can also disseminate witness information.

Traffic incidents and road conditions impact the safety of drivers, passengers, and vehicles. It is desired to disseminate such road related information to using a multi-hop wireless broadcast network to ensure the safety of the drivers, and passengers and vehicles. This can alleviate traffic congestion, speed up medical rescue and provide real-time data acquisition for law enforcement and insurance purposes.
In traffic incidents, often, multiple vehicles are involved. People may be injured, vehicles damaged, and insurance claims need to be processed. In such situations, evidence and witnesses are necessary to correctly identify fault.
Chen et al., in "Ad Hoc Relay Wireless Networks over moving vehicles on roads," ACM MobiHoc 2001, describe opportunistic and pessimistic forwarding of information. Opportunistic forwarding buffers data messages, and then forwards the messages as soon as possible. Opportunistic forwarding can result in prolonged delays and is more suitable for delay-tolerant applications. Chen et al. do not consider the topology and environment in which the vehicles operate, the content of alert messages, multi-vehicle accidents, and the effectiveness of warning message propagation.
Niculescu et al., in "Trajectory-based Forwarding and its Applications," ACM MobiCom 2003, route messages along a predefined curve. The method is a combination of source routing and Cartesian forwarding. A trajectory for messages is determined by a source node, and other nodes in the network forward messages based on their relationship to the trajectory. Their approach is designed for ad hoc networks, not vehicular networks.
Nekovee et al., in "Reliable & Efficient Information Dissemination in Intermittently Connected Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks," IEEE VTC 2007, describe epidemic protocols for information dissemination. They assume that each vehicle has knowledge of its location using a global positioning system (GPS). Each message contains the location of the source node, i.e., the vehicle, and a direction of propagation. For omni-directional broadcast, a random delay before broadcasting the message is exponentially biased towards vehicles that are further away from the source node. That method improves the speed at which the information is disseminated through the network, but it does not control how much information needs to be disseminated as a function of distance away from the alert source.
Lochert et al., in "Probabilistic Aggregation for Data Dissemination in VANETs," VANET Conference 2007, describe a method for probabilistic aggregation for data dissemination. Their aggregation technique is based on using Flajolet-Martin sketches. The aggregation technique reduces the amount of information required to transmit in the air. However, the accuracy of information is not assured. While their technique can be applied to non-crucial information such as parking space, it cannot be used for safety critical messages.
Eichler et al., in "Strategies for Context-Adaptive Message Dissemination in Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks," IEEE V2VCOM, 2006, describe context-adaptive message dissemination. Each vehicle (node) only forwards a message if it obtains benefits by doing so. Each node considers if it is interest in the information before forwarding the message.
Little et al., in "An Information Propagation Scheme for VANETs," IEEE ITS Conference, 2005, describe a cluster-based method. Clusters are formed continuously regardless of whether accidents have occurred or not. In addition, each cluster designates a cluster head. Data are propagated whenever there is contact of one cluster with another. Cluster headers and trailers are present in each cluster message. Their approach relies on clusters in opposite lane to relay messages. Details on cluster formation, size and membership are not described.

Method and system for disseminating witness information in multi-hop broadcast network

Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Inc.


A support for input and output transducers of a hearing aid is implanted in the middle ear. The support, which is attached to the mastoid bone, can be a single component or comprise two adjustable components. In one embodiment, an arm extends from the proximal end of the support towards an access hole created behind the outer ear, where the arm is attached for further stability. In another embodiment, the arm extends outside the access hole, where it is mounted subcutaneously to the mastoid bone with a mechanical fastener. The support provides positional adjustability, stability, and is invisible externally. The support can be a single bracket. The transducers are connected to an electronics unit. The electronics can be programmed or reprogrammed.

In an implantable hearing aid system, transducers within the middle ear engage an auditory element and transduce between electrical signals and mechanical vibrations. Middle ear hearing aid systems are not as susceptible to mechanical feedback as other types of systems. Such systems are more comfortable for the patient than other types of hearing aids, such as those placed directly in the external auditory canal. Transducers which contact an auditory element, such as one of the elements of the ossicular chain, require precise and reliable disposition within the middle ear. This is further complicated by anatomical variations among patients.


An entity provides a competitive block list for one or more of its objects in a social networking system. The competitive block list identifies advertisers or other entities prevented from targeting advertisements based on connections between users and objects of the entity. If a later received advertisement is targeted based on a connection between a user and an object of the entity, the social networking system determines whether the advertiser associated with the advertisement is included on the competitive block list. If the competitive block list includes the advertiser, the advertisement is determined not to be valid, and not presented to users. Otherwise, the advertisement is determined to be valid, and may be presented to users thereafter.

This invention relates generally to online advertising and in particular to managing advertisement targeting based on user associations with social networking objects.
In recent years, many commercial and private entities (e.g., companies, organizations, etc.) have established online presences over social networking systems for promotional purposes. For example, many commercial entities have created objects maintained by social networking systems (e.g., fan pages) that promote their brands, products, or services using the social networking systems. Social networking system users may interact with the objects, establish connections with, or otherwise associate with the objects. Advertisers can leverage the user connections with the objects to promote various brands, products, or services. For example, an advertiser may target advertisements based on the users having a connection to a company's brand page.
However, some advertisers now target advertisements to users based on the users having connections to objects in social networking systems associated with competing advertisers. For example, an advertiser of a particular brand of shoes may target advertisements at users connected to the brand page of a competing shoe company. Because of such targeting, some entities (e.g., the competing shoe company of the previous example) are becoming less inclined to expend resources developing user connections with objects in social networking systems. As a result, some social networking systems are beginning to experience decreases in the user connections maintained by the systems. Such decreases have adversely impacted the advertising revenue generated by the systems.

Managing targeting of advertisements based on user associations with social networking objects


A tool machine includes an output spindle that moves back and forth and includes a drive motor. The spindle and the motor are coupled to each other via a transmission system. A longitudinal face of the output spindle and a longitudinal face of the drive motor run adjacent to each other such that the drive motor lies next to the output spindle. A very compact configuration is thereby produced.

There are known motor-driven saber saws or handsaws, for example foxtail saws, which are driven by an electric motor and in which the saw blade executes a reciprocating, oscillating working motion.
US 2009/0223071 A1 and US 2010/0162579 A1 disclose power tools having a reciprocating-motion output spindle and a drive motor, which are coupled to each other via a transmission. The longitudinal axes of the drive motor and of the output spindle in this case enclose an obtuse angle. The drive motor, the output spindle and the handle are disposed in a star formation, as a result of which the power tool requires a relatively large amount of space. Accordingly, the upwardly projecting drive motor may obstruct the view of the item being cut.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,818,887 discloses a power tool having a reciprocating-motion output spindle and a drive motor, which are coupled to each other via a transmission, wherein the output spindle has a fastening portion for fastening a tool, wherein the drive motor has drive portion, which is connected to the transmission, and a first end, distant from the transmission. The drive motor is disposed in a handle of the power tool. The power tool is quite compact. However, the grip has to have a minimum circumference, so that it can accommodate the drive motor.
It is also known, for example from the Craftsman 14299 Nextec, that the grip and the longitudinal axis of the spindle are in alignment. The motor connected to the transmission extends at right angles to the grip and the longitudinal axis of the spindle.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,449,851 discloses a similar saber saw having a grip, motor, transmission and a spindle, wherein the longitudinal axes of the motor and of the spindle are disposed at right angles to each other. The grip extends almost at right angles to the motor, but is not in alignment with the spindle.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,134,777 discloses a foxtail having a grip, motor, transmission and spindle, wherein the longitudinal axes of the motor and of the spindle are disposed at right angles to each other. The grip extends almost parallelwise in relation to the longitudinal axis of the motor, but is slightly inclined. When the foxtail is in the horizontal position, the drive motor is oriented upward and may possibly obstruct the view of the item being cut.
A similar foxtail is known from US 2004/237678 A1, wherein the drive motor is oriented downward when the foxtail is in the horizontal position.
It is known, from the Black & Decker CompactSaw LPS7000, that the longitudinal axes of the motor and of the spindle are in alignment with each other, or extend parallelwise in relation to each other. The grip is positioned on the motor in the manner of a pistol.
Known from GB 2234034 and US 2006/0005402 A1 are electric knives in which the battery, motor, transmission and output spindle are disposed in series.
Known from U.S. Pat. No. 6,286,611 B1 and US 2004/143976 A1 are further so-called compact saws, in which the grip contains the motor, which, for its part, is oriented away from the output spindle.
Also known in addition are saber saws having a grip, a motor, a transmission and a spindle, which are all disposed in series, wherein the longitudinal axes of the motor and of the spindle are in alignment, or extend parallelwise in relation to each other.

Tool machine with an output spindle that moves back and forth


Ethylene-vinyl alcohol pellet(s), films, and multi-layer structure formed therefrom, as well as methods for preparing such ethylene-vinyl alcohol pellets are provided herein. The ethylene-vinyl alcohol pellets have at least two melting point temperatures and a light transmittance of greater than 8% for visible light wavelengths. The ethylene-vinyl alcohol pellet may have a haze value of less than 99.8%. One method for producing the EVOH pellet includes: obtaining a first solution comprising a first ethylene-vinyl acetate having a first ethylene content; obtaining a second solution comprising a second ethylene-vinyl acetate having a second ethylene content that is different from the first ethylene content; solution mixing; saponification; pelletizing the mixed solution to form a pellet; contacting the pellet to a boron solution; and drying the pellet.

EVOH resins are widely used in laminates for preserving perishable items. For example, EVOH resins and laminates are commonly used by the food packaging industry, medical device and supplies industry, pharmaceutical industry, electronics industry, and agricultural chemicals industry. EVOH resins are often incorporated as a distinct layer within a laminate to serve as an oxygen-barrier layer.
Laminates having a distinct EVOH layer are typically produced by coextruding EVOH with other types of polymers. EVOH resins exhibit rheological properties similar to other resins allowing it to be coextruded with polyolefins, polyamides, nylons, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, polyesters, and thermoplastic polyurethanes using conventional extrusion equipment. EVOH resins, however, often exhibit poor adhesion to other polymers, including, e.g., some of the above polymers. Thus, adhesive resins, called "tie resins," are used to bond the EVOH layer to an adjacent layer in co-extrusion. Some nylons and thermoplastic polyurethanes, however, will adhere directly to EVOH without the use of tie resin.
Additionally, EVOH resins having a lower ethylene content usually provide a better degree of crystallization and better gas-barrier properties, but typically provide inferior mechanical properties. Conversely, EVOH resins having a higher ethylene content usually provide better mechanical properties, but provide inferior gas-barrier properties.
To produce an EVOH pellet many processes can be used. For example, EVOH pellets are conventionally produced by a strand pelletizing process, which includes extruding a solution of dissolved EVOH copolymer/resin (or a composition thereof) into a coagulating bath through a metal plate outlet having an opening of 1 to 5 mm in diameter, or extruding a molten resin through die, and making the molten resin solidify by cooling to obtain a rod-shaped strand. The rod-shaped strand is subsequently cut at intervals of length to obtain EVOH pellets.

Ethylene-vinyl alcohol resin, film, and multi-layer structure comprising the same, and method for forming the ethylene-vinyl alcohol resin


A steel-bodied shipping container having two lockable doors, and at one of its ends has an insulation pad positioned on its floor. A heat exchanger pad having a hot water/steam hose embodied therein is positioned on top of the insulation pad, with the inlet/outlet ends of the hose positioned near a first of the ends doors. A flexible bladder positioned on top of the heat exchanger pad, is pumped full of a material. The first door is locked and the shipping container shipped. At destination, hot water or steam is pumped through the heat exchanger pad to raise the temperature of the material within the flexible bladder, after which the material is pumped out of the flexible bladder.

Many fluids are pumpable only when heated above normal ambient temperatures. Corn syrup, for example, requires a temperature of approximately 125.degree. F. to be easily pumpable. Also, fluids frequently are shipped to, or through frigid areas which cause the fluids to become solid, or semi-solid, and which as a result of such frigid temperatures cannot be easily pumped out of their containers. The present invention provides a method and apparatus which enables the fluids to be easily pumped out of flexible containers despite having been exposed to reduced temperatures.

Method and apparatus for ensuring the pumpability of fluids exposed to temperatures colder than the pour point of such fluids


This invention relates to methods and apparatus for securely accessing and providing information including the use of a personal security device on a client where the client is subject to compromise.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of cryptography, including user authentication, document authentication, symmetric key cryptography, public key cryptography, secure communications, secret sharing, and key distribution.
2. Description of the Related Art
Cryptography has become increasingly important with the increased presence of the Internet, an inherently insecure transmission medium. Cryptography enables methods of secure user authentication, which is a prerequisite to performing secure electronic commerce on the Internet.
Typical methods of user authentication are insecure and vulnerable to eavesdropping. For example, suppose that a user Alice wishes to log into a computer over the Internet. A typical authentication process requires Alice to enter her password. This password is typically entered and transmitted in the clear and may be easily intercepted by an eavesdropper Eve as it travels across the Internet, providing Eve with the information necessary to gain exactly the same access privileges as Alice. Cryptography provides secure authentication protocols allowing Eve to eavesdrop on the authentication information without providing her with the necessary information to gain the same access privileges as Alice.
Cryptographic methods of secure user authentication require the storage of sensitive information, typically on a medium such as the hard disk drive of a general purpose computer or the flash memory of a personal digital assistant. With the increasing portability and mobility of such hardware comes the increasing ease of its theft. In one illustrative example, a user travels with a laptop computer containing authentication information stored on its hard disk. This authentication information can be used to make a secure network connection, to log in to a remote host, and to sign email. If the laptop were to be stolen, the thief could then use this stolen information to perform further mischief by masquerading as the user.
One type of sensitive authentication information is a user's private key. A private key is a component of public key cryptography, which enables methods of user authentication as well as secure communications over unsecured channels. Public key cryptography employs a key pair comprising a public key and a private key. One key is used to encrypt a file and the other key is used to decrypt it. The key used to encrypt a file is not useful for subsequently decrypting it. In general, public key cryptography enables a user Alice to authenticate herself to another user Bob by encrypting data provided by Bob with her private key, creating a digital signature. Alice then sends the signature to Bob. Bob then uses Alice's public key to decrypt the signature, which he then compares to the plaintext. Alice is authenticated to Bob if the decrypted and plaintext data match. Implementations of public key cryptography include RSA, Diffie-Helman, ElGamal, and Elliptic Curve Cryptography ("ECC").
Another type of sensitive information is the output of an authentication token. In one implementation, an authentication token displays a number that changes periodically. The numbers displayed are elements in a pseudorandom sequence. Before the token is used, it is synchronized with a security server so that the security server subsequently knows what number is displayed on the token at any given time. When a user seeks access to a resource administered by the security server, the user sends the server the number currently displayed on the token. The server then authenticates the user by comparing the sent number with the number that the server expects the authentication token to currently display. If they match, the user is authenticated and granted access to the resource. An authentication token can be implemented in hardware or software. In one software implementation, an authentication token includes program code running on the user's laptop.
Another type of sensitive information is a key to a challenge-response protocol. In one implementation of this protocol, the key comprises a number known by the user and an authentication server. Instead of requesting the number directly, the authentication server sends the user an operand. The user performs a mathematical function using the operand and the key and sends the result back to the authentication server, which compares the user's answer with the expected answer. The mathematical function is designed so that it is impractical to discern the key from the operand and the result. A challenge-response authentication protocol can be implemented in software on the user's a general purpose computer.
Sensitive information for secure user authentication can be stored on a variety of hardware. For example, secure user authentication methods may be implemented on a workstation, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a personal digital assistant, a smartcard, a universal serial bus ("USB") key, or specialized hardware. This specialized hardware can be small and portable, with form factors similar to a credit card, a gumdrop, or a school ring.
There is a need to protect sensitive information stored on a wide range hardware that is subject to several forms of physical compromise.

System and methods for maintaining and distributing personal security devices


According to one embodiment, the switching power supply device comprises a DC-DC converter, an alternating current driver circuit, a smoothing capacitor and control circuitry. The control circuitry operates for adjusting a phase of an oscillation signal from the alternating current driver circuit to coincide start time points of current conducting periods between the output stage of the DC-DC converter and an input stage of the alternating current driver circuit.

1. Field
Embodiments of the present invention relate to a switching device comprising an optional power factor improvement converter, a DC-DC converter, a synchronizing rectifier circuit, and an alternating current driver circuit, and a method of controlling the switching device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, as a switching power supply device comprising a power factor improvement converter and a DC-DC converter, there has been proposed a power supply device in which a switching power supply device is configured by combining a power factor correction (PFC) power supply section for switching a pulse current obtained by rectifying an alternating current (AC) power supply with a DC-DC power supply section for switching a direct current obtained by rectifying and smoothing the alternating current power supply so as to control a switching element of each of the power supply sections to be driven by one servo loop; and pulse width modulating means is provided to differentiate a pulse width of a drive pulse of a first switching element for switching the PFC power supply section and a pulse width of a drive pulse of a second switching element for switching the DC-DC power supply section from each other, thereby achieving high efficiency, downsizing, and restriction of generation of a harmonic current (refer to Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2002-101660, for example).
However, in a conventional switching power supply device as described in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2002-101660, a smoothing capacitor for use in rectification has a high capacitance and a large current flows through the smoothing capacitor. In addition, the ripple voltage and ripple current of the smoothing capacitor are large, and thus, the smoothing capacitor is designed with a large capacitance. This large capacitance accounts for approximately 20% of the entire power supply device cost.

Switching power supply device and method of controlling the switching device


There is provided an iron-based sintered material resistant to the metal fatigue developing from the voids therein functioning as the initial points and improved in the strength and machinability thereof. An iron-based sintered material, including a mixed structure of martensite, bainite, and pearlite and multiple voids formed in the mixed structure, wherein the ratio of martensite and bainite in the mixed structure is 70% or more; the ratio of martensite and/or bainite in the mixed structure forming the void surface is 90% or more; and the density of the iron-based sintered material is 7.4 g/cm3 or more.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an iron-based sintered material obtained by sintering an iron-based powder and a production method thereof, and in particular to an iron-based sintered material favorable for use as a member demanding fatigue strength and rigidity such as connection rod and a production method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Connector ring rod (connection rod) for automobile engine is a member for connecting piston to crank shaft, and, as shown in FIG. 7, a connection rod 70 has an insertion hole 71 for insertion of a piston pin formed at one terminal and another insertion hole 72 for insertion of crank shaft pin at the other terminal.
Because of productivity and others, such a connection rod is often produced from an iron-based sintered material by powder metallurgy. Recently, there are demands for reduction in the weight and also in the thickness of the connection rod, in the trend toward further improvement in environmental resistance and performance of automobiles. However, reduction in thickness of the connection rod is occasionally accompanied by insufficient strength of the connection rod.
Under the circumstances above, for example, proposed as the material for connection rod is an iron-based sintered material in an iron-based metal structure containing nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), molybdenum (Mo), and carbon (C) in amounts in particular ranges and having a void rate of 2 to 8% in the metal structure (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-20847).
The iron-based sintered material described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-20847, which contains the elements at particular rates and is obtained by sintering the iron-based powder to make the iron-based powder have a particular void rate, has improved strength and toughness.

Iron-based sintered material and production method thereof


A syringe includes a needle mounted in a frangible plug at the tip thereof and is equipped with a plunger having a stopper at one end thereof with the end of the plunger having an opening for capturing the end of the needle that projects into the barrel of the syringe to allow the plunger to capture the needle so that when the plunger is retracted the needle will be withdrawn into the barrel of the syringe; the end of the plunger is also equipped with a stopper which is mounted on a section that is connected to the plunger through frangible links whereby when the plunger is withdrawn a selected distance, the links will be severed to retain the plunger and captured needle within the barrel.

The present invention relates to hypodermic syringes having a retractable needle to prevent accidental puncture of patients or medical personnel after use of the syringe. More particularly, the invention provides a fail safe structure for withdrawing the needle into the barrel of the syringe after use in such a way as to prevent subsequent access to the needle except by destruction of the barrel.
The existence of a number of highly infectious viral diseases to which medical personnel in hospitals and clinics are exposed has prompted the development of a number of different types of safety features in medical devices and particularly in hypodermic syringes. The reason for this is that accidental puncture with the needle in the use of a syringes is a frequent cause for transmission of infection and one that can be avoided by proper and careful handling steps that are required. However, such steps often take additional time which medical personnel do not have especially when functioning under emergency circumstances.
To accommodate the frequent emergency situations in which hypodermic syringes are used, the prior art has developed a number of different structures for preventing post use accidents. Several of these techniques have employed shields which are placed over the used needle typically in a non-removable manner. These solutions suffer from the disadvantage that the user must carefully insert the shield while avoiding the puncture and this typically results in additional loss of time. Other techniques employ the retraction principal where the user pulls the needle back into the barrel. While this is useful in terms of safety and requires less time, the prior art structures have been generally impractical to manufacture at low expense and some have not safely maintained the needle in a non-accessible position.
Present manufacturing techniques for mass producing hypodermic syringes of the disposable type must meet a number of strict manufacturing standards to qualify for medical use. Further, the manufacturing steps required should be the minimum necessary to qualify for medical use and still be consistent with the disposable character of the article. Also, it is highly desirable that the retracted needle be inaccessible except through destruction of the barrel to lessen or eliminate subsequent improper use of the syringe.
A number of the hypodermic syringe structures proposed in the prior art unfortunately require unduly complicated manufacturing techniques which materially increase the cost of the syringes. Other procedures require a complete redesign of the existing manufacturing lines and thus discourage their widespread implementation.
The present invention provides an effective retraction structure for hypodermic syringes that positively blocks access to the used needle once retraction has been effected. Moreover, the structure of the present invention will not materially increase the cost of the disposable type syringes while affording added protection to medical workers and patients working in connection with infectious diseases. Additionally, the structure of the hypodermic syringe of the present invention can be easily manufactured with a modest restructure of existing manufacturing facilities.
In a preferred form, the present invention utilizes a needle carrying hub where the needle extends beyond the rear face of the hub a limited distance and which is retained in the hub outlet channel by an easily frangible adhesive. When the plunger of the syringe is pushed into the barrel to discharge the contents of the barrel, a locking member mounted on the forward end of the plunger engages the projecting end of the needle and holds the end of the needle to allow the user to retract the needle by retracting the plunger which action breaks the frangible adhesive. At a point along the barrel, a detent is located which engages a portion of the locking member as the plunger with the needle is retracted. The detent prevents further movement of the locking member and effects breakage of the connection between the plunger end and the locking member thus preventing issuance of the retracted needle by the plunger.


An implantable cardiac stimulation device discriminates between noise and an arrhythmia sensed in a heart. A first sensing circuit generates a first signal representing electrical activity sensed in a first location of the heart and a second sensing circuit generates a second signal representing electrical activity sensed in a second location of the heart. The first and second locations are spaced apart and located in respective different corresponding chambers or the same chambers of the heart. A comparison circuit then compares the first and second signals to provide a comparison factor. A control circuit then determines from the comparison factor if noise is sensed or if an arrhythmia is being sensed.

The present invention generally relates to an implantable cardiac stimulation device. The present invention more particularly relates to such a device and a method, which discriminates between noise sensing and arrhythmia detection.
Implantable cardiac stimulation devices are well known in the art. They include implantable pacemakers which provide stimulation pulses to a heart, which would normally or otherwise beat too slowly or at an irregular rate, to beat at a controlled normal rate. They also include defibrillators which detect when the atria and/or the ventricles of the heart are in fibrillation and apply cardioverting or defibrillating electrical energy to restore the heart to a normal rhythm. Implantable cardiac stimulation devices may also include the combined functionalities of a pacemaker and a defibrillator.
As is well known, implantable cardiac stimulation devices sense cardiac activity for monitoring the cardiac condition of the patient in which the device is implanted. By sensing the cardiac activity of the patient, the device is able to provide cardiac stimulation therapy when it is required.
Unfortunately, noise within the device sensing channel bandwidth can interfere with the sensing function. In a pacemaker, for example, noise can be mistaken by the device for a legitimate cardiac event causing stimulation inhibition. This can lead to long periods of a systole. In an implantable defibrillator, noise can cause mistaken diagnosis of fibrillation resulting in inappropriate therapy delivery.
Unneeded defibrillation therapy to the atria can cause unwarranted discomfort to a patient, and hence should be avoided. However, unneeded defibrillation therapy to the ventricles can be much worse. Generally, patients suffering from an episode of ventricular fibrillation are rendered unconscious before therapy is delivered. Even though the defibrillation shocks are of relatively high energy, to assure defibrillation, they are not felt by the patient. However, if ventricular fibrillation is inappropriately detected and the patient is conscious when the unneeded therapy is delivered, the therapy could be traumatic to the patient. Even worse, inappropriate shocks can induce ventricular fibrillation to create a potentially life threatening situation. As a result, it is most desirable, if not essential, that such unnecessary ventricular defibrillation therapy or shocks be avoided. The present invention provides an implantable cardiac stimulation device and method capable of discriminating between sensed noise and cardiac tachyarrhythmias to avoid the delivery of unnecessary defibrillation therapy.
The present invention provides an implantable cardiac stimulation device and method, which discriminates between sensed noise and cardiac arrhythmias. The noise discrimination contemplated by the present invention is based upon the fact that noise interference, sensed at one location of the heart will be closely correlated to the noise from the same source sensed at another distant location of the heart. However, during an arrhythmia, such as fibrillation, localized cardiac electrical activity sensed at one location of the heart will not find good correlation with localized cardiac electrical activity sensed at the other distant location of the heart.
In accordance with the broader aspects of the present invention, a first sensing circuit senses electrical activity at a first location of the heart to generate a first signal and a second sensing circuit senses electrical activity at a second location of the heart to generate a second signal. The first and second locations are spaced apart and may be in a common chamber or in respective different corresponding chambers such as the right atrium and the left atrium or the right ventricle and the left ventricle. As used herein, the recitation of xe2x80x9cin a chamberxe2x80x9d is meant to include sensing within a given chamber as well as sensing from a location closely adjacent to and in electrical contact with the given chamber. Hence, the sensing of electrical activity in the left ventricle or in the left atrium includes sensing electrical activity with an electrode positioned in the coronary venous system of the heart adjacent the respective chamber.
The first and second signals are compared by a comparison circuit as implemented, for example, in a processor, to provide a comparison factor. A control circuit determines from the comparison factor if noise is being sensed or if an arrhythmia is being sensed.
If it is determined that noise is being sensed, the implantable cardiac stimulation device may be caused to revert to a noise reversion mode. However, if it is determined that an arrhythmia is being sensed, the implantable cardiac stimulation device may be caused to change operating state to enter a therapy mode of applying cardioversion therapy to the subject chambers. The cardioversion therapy may include, for example, high or low energy defibrillation therapy or anti-tachyarrhythmia pacing therapy. The therapy mode may first include arrhythmia confirmation by an arrhythmia detector before defibrillation or cardioversion.

Implantable cardiac stimulation device and method which discriminates between noise and cardiac activity


A positive electrode active material for a nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery is provided, which can establish both high capacity and high output when used for a positive electrode material.

In recent years, the demand of nonaqueous electrolyte secondary batteries as power supplies capable of charging and discharging is sharply increasing as the rapid expansion of the spread of small electronic equipment such as cellular phones and notebook personal computers.
A lithium-cobalt composite oxide represented by a lithium cobalt dioxide (LiCoO2), a lithium-nickel composite oxide represented by a lithium nickel dioxide (LiNiO2), a lithium-manganese composite oxide represented by a lithium manganese dioxide (LiMnO2) and the like are broadly used as positive electrode active materials for the nonaqueous electrolyte secondary batteries.
Meanwhile, the lithium cobalt dioxide is problematic in that it is expensive because of its low reserves, and contains as a main component cobalt the supply of which is unstable and the price fluctuation thereof is large. Accordingly, a lithium-nickel composite oxide or a lithium-manganese composite oxide containing relatively inexpensive nickel or manganese as a main component is attracting attention in view of cost.
However, a lithium manganese dioxide is better than a lithium cobalt dioxide in terms of thermostability, but the lithium manganese dioxide has significantly low charge and discharge capacity compared with other materials, and significantly short life indicated by its charge and discharge cycle characteristic, and thus has many practical problems as batteries. On the other hand, a lithium nickel dioxide exhibits charge and discharge capacity greater than that of the lithium cobalt dioxide, and thus is expected as a positive electrode active material, with which a battery having a high energy density can be produced at low cost.
The lithium nickel dioxide is generally produced by mixing and firing a lithium compound and a nickel compound such as a nickel hydroxide or a nickel oxyhydroxide, in the form of powder of monodispersed primary particles or powder of secondary particles composed by aggregation of primary particles to have voids. However, both forms have a disadvantage such that the thermostability at state-of-charge (SOC) is inferior to that of the lithium cobalt dioxide.
Specifically, a pure lithium nickel dioxide is problematic in thermostability, charge and discharge cycle characteristic, and the like, and cannot be used as a practical battery. This is because the stability of the crystal structure at state-of-charge (SOC) is lower than that of the lithium cobalt dioxide.
Therefore in general, nickel elements in a lithium-nickel composite oxide are partially substituted with other substances in order to stabilize the crystal structure when lithium is absent in a charging process and to obtain a lithium-nickel composite oxide having good thermostability and good charge and discharge cycle characteristic as a positive electrode active material.
For example, Patent Literature 1 proposes a nonaqueous battery in which LiaMbNicCodOe (M is at least one type of metal selected from the group consisting of Al, Mn, Sn, In, Fe, V, Cu, Mg, Ti, Zn, and Mo, and 0<a<1.3, 0.02≤b≤0.5, 0.02≤d/c+d≤0.9, 1.8<e<2.2, and b+c+d=1 are satisfied) is used as a positive electrode active material.
Furthermore, a technique for water washing a lithium nickel dioxide after firing has been developed as a method for improving the thermostability of a lithium-nickel composite oxide.
For example, Patent Literature 2 proposes a method for producing a positive electrode active material for a nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery, which involves roasting a nickel hydroxide or a nickel oxyhydroxide under an air atmosphere at temperatures ranging from 600° C. to 1100° C. so as to prepare a nickel oxide, mixing with a lithium compound, firing the mixture under an oxygen atmosphere at the highest temperature between 650° C. and 850° C., water washing the thus obtained fired powder in water within the time satisfying A≤B/40 (in the formula, A denotes the time for water washing represented in minutes, and B denotes the slurry concentration of fired powder represented in g/L.), filtering and drying.
However, when nickel elements in the lithium-nickel composite oxide are partially substituted with other substances, that is, when a large quantity of the element is substituted (in other words, a state in which the nickel proportion is lowered), the thermostability is enhanced, but the battery capacity is lowered. On the other hand, when a small quantity of the element is substituted (in other words, a state in which the nickel proportion is increased) in order to avoid a decrease in battery capacity, the thermostability is not sufficiently improved. Moreover, there is another problem such that an increased nickel proportion tends to cause cation mixing upon firing, making synthesis difficult.
Furthermore, when a lithium nickel dioxide after firing is subjected to water washing and then the resultant is employed for a nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery, the thus obtained positive electrode active material is supposed to have high capacity, good thermostability and good storage characteristics under a high-temperature environment. However, positive electrode active materials sufficiently satisfying the requirements of increased capacity and increased output are yet to be obtained.
Meanwhile, a method of adding a tungsten compound to a lithium-nickel composite oxide has been studied in order to improve output characteristics.
For example, Patent Literature 3 proposes a positive electrode active material for a nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery, having fine particles containing W and Li on the surface of primary particles of lithium metal composite oxide powder, consisting of the primary particles represented by a general formula LizNi1-x-yCoxMyO2 (where 0.10≤x≤0.35, 0≤y≤0.35, 0.97≤z≤1.20, M is at least one type of element selected from Mn, V, Mg, Mo, Nb, Ti and Al) and secondary particles composed by aggregation of the primary particles. Patent Literature 3 suggests that the presence of the fine particles containing W and Li on the surface of the positive electrode material facilitates the intercalation of Li ions between the surface and an electrolytic solution to reduce positive electrode reaction resistance, so that the output of the battery can be increased.
However, the above positive electrode active material has improved output characteristics because of the presence of the compound containing W and Li in the form of fine particles, but its effect is limited. Moreover, the output characteristics are improved, but the nickel proportion is low, and thus the positive electrode active material is desired to have even higher capacity. In addition, if the nickel proportion is increased, thermostability should also be studied.
Therefore, although various lithium-nickel composite oxides having nickel elements partially substituted with other substances have been developed, currently a positive electrode active material comprising a lithium-nickel composite oxide, capable of sufficiently satisfying the requirements of increased capacity and increased output when employed for a nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery, has not been obtained.

Positive electrode active material for nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery, and nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery using the positive electrode active material

Abstract: A positive electrode active material for a nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery comprises primary particles of a lithium-nickel composite oxide represented by the following general formula (1) and secondary particles composed by aggregation of the primary particles, wherein a 1-nm to 200-nm thick film containing W and Li is present on the surface of the primary particles, and a c-axis length in the LiNi composite oxide crystal ranges from 14.183 to 14.205 angstroms.General formula: LibNi1-x-yCoxMyO2  (1)(In the formula, M is at least one type of element selected from Mg, Al, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Nb, Zr and Mo, and 0.95≤b≤1.03, 0<x≤0.15, 0<y≤0.07, and x+y≤0.16 are satisfied.)


Disclosed is a 2-methyl-2-pentenyl ester represented by the general formula (1) [wherein R represents a hydrogen atom or a hydrocarbon group having 1 to 9 carbon atoms which may have a substituent]. The compound has a new-type, unprecedented aroma and/or flavor, particularly a fruity, greenish or floral aroma and/or flavor. The compound can be added to a flavor or fragrance composition in an amount of 0.001 to 30 wt %. The flavor or fragrance composition can be added to a cosmetic product, a toiletry product, a bath agent, a food, a beverage or a pharmaceutical product in an amount of 0.0001 to 30 wt %. All of the compounds of the general formula (1) are novel, except for those compounds of the general formula (1) wherein R represents a methyl group, an isopropyl group, a phenyl group or a mesityl group.

The fruity, greenish and floral aroma and/or flavor has been widely used as the flavor or fragrance for various kinds of beverage or food products, various kinds of perfume or cosmetic products, aromatics, and other sanitation materials. It is also widely known that among the fruity, greenish or floral flavor or fragrance, carboxylic acid esters of alcohols play a very important role as a top-note flavor that comes up firstly (see, for instance, Non-Patent Reference 1). However, the carboxylic acid esters of alcohols, which play an important role as atop-note odorant of the fruity, greenish or floral flavor or fragrance, are almost standardized. Accordingly, flavorists and perfumers who concoct the flavor or fragrance are always in demand for compounds having new-type aroma and/or flavor different from existing ones, from the viewpoint of featuring the top-note or differentiating from existing flavor compounds or fragrance compounds.
Non-Patent Reference 1: M. Indo, "Synthetic Aromachemicals, Chemistry and Product Knowledge (Enlarged and revised edition)", Kagaku Kogyo Nippo-Sha (Mar. 22, 2005), PP. 461 to 462
The present invention has been made in view of such situations as mentioned above and an object of the invention is to provide a compound having a new-type aroma and/or flavor different from existing ones, and also to provide a flavor composition or a fragrance composition having fruity, greenish or floral aroma and/or flavor, which contain this compound.
Further, another object of the present invention is to provide perfume or cosmetic products, toiletry products, bath agents, beverage or food products, and medicines having the fruity, greenish and floral aroma and/or flavor, which contain the aforementioned flavor composition or fragrance composition.
Under the circumstances described above, as a result of intensive studies and investigations, the present inventors have found that esters of 2-methyl-2-pentenol with a formic acid or a carboxylic acid having 1 to 9 carbon atoms, which may have a substituent, show unprecedented excellent fruity, greenish and floral aroma and/or flavor with high natural feeling and are very useful as a flavor material or a fragrance material.
Herein, 2-methyl-2-pentenol that is a synthesis raw material of the carboxylic acid ester of 2-methyl-2-pentenol is a well-known compound. The 2-methyl-2-pentenol is usually produced according to a known method such as a chemical reduction method in which 2-methyl-2-pentenal that is an aldol dimer of propion aldehyde is reduced with hydrogenated sodium borate or a catalytic hydrogen reduction method in which metal and an organometallic complex are used. Further, a carboxylic acid ester of 2-methyl-2-pentenol with new-type aroma and/or flavor, which is used in the flavor composition or fragrance composition of the invention, is obtained by esterification of 2-methyl-2-pentenol. As a method of the esterification of 2-methyl-2-pentenol, various known methods can be adopted.
Further, the carboxylic acid esters of 2-methyl-2-pentenol found this time and having new-type aroma and/or flavor are novel compounds except for an acetic ester, an isopropionic ester, a benzoic ester, a toluic ester and a mesitylic ester.
Accordingly, another object of the invention is as well to provide carboxylic acid esters of 2-methyl-2-pentenol, which have the new-type aroma and/or flavor.
Thus, the present invention came to completion by finding that an ester of a formic acid or a carboxylic acid, which have 2 to 10 carbon atoms and may have a substituent, with 2-methyl-2-pentenol have unprecedented excellent fruity, greenish or floral flavor and/or fragrance with high natural feeling and is very useful as a flavor material or a fragrance material, and also by providing, in addition to the above, new compounds.

Flavor composition or fragrance composition, product containing the flavor composition or fragrance composition, and novel ester compound


The rodless cylinder includes a cylinder body, a piston, and a slide table connected to the piston. The slide table and the piston are united with each other due to a coupling part which projects through a slit formed in a longitudinal direction of the cylinder body. The slide table includes first and second load transmitters, whereas the cylinder body includes first and second load receivers corresponding to the first and second load transmitters. When a lateral load is applied to the slide table, the load is transmitted via one of the first and second load transmitters to a corresponding one of the first and second load receivers so as to transmit the force in a direction in which the slit of the cylinder body can be widened.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to rodless cylinders, and more particularly to a rodless cylinder in which a slider table and a cylinder body are made as small possible to minimize their occupied space, the cylinder body sufficiently supporting any load applied to the slide table and smoothly displacing the slide table in accordance with piston's reciprocating motion.
2. Prior Art
Many factories have recently used rodless cylinders for various workpiece transfer devices.
The rodless cylinder has an advantage over a roded cylinder in a short stroke length, thus, in a sufficiently small occupied area for a convenient fabrication. In addition, the rodless cylinder has an advantage over the roded cylinder in preventing dust from entering the cylinder, and consequently in positioning an object with high-precision.
Such rodless cylinders can be seen in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,373,427 and German Patent No. 3,124,915. In particular, the rodless cylinder disclosed in the German Patent No. 3,124,915 includes a guide groove, provided between an outer circumferential surface of a cylinder tube and a top surface with a slit of the cylinder, and distinct guide means, provided at a leg member extending from both sides of the slide table to the cylinder tube, which are engaged with the guide groove. According to the German Patent No. 3,124,915, the guide means are engaged with each other so as to prevent the width of the slit from widening when the lateral force is applied.
However, according to the German Patent No. 3,124,915, it is necessary to extend the leg member from the slide table to a part more external than an outer slide surface of the cylinder tube, so as to hold the guide means. Therefore, when the lateral force is applied to the slide table and the guide means are engaged with each other, one end surface of the cylinder tube which defines the slit is compulsively approaches the other end surface of the cylinder tube which defines he other side slit; consequently the bore is wholly reduced so as to compulsively stop the piston. That is, the piston comes to stop in response to the lateral force, and thus the workpiece transfer operation unexpectedly stops, and the device is forced to be reluctantly made large due to the leg member.


Systems, methods, and computer-readable storage media for an event-based photo view in a browser are disclosed. The system can receive a request to display a set of content items associated with a user account. The system can generate a web page based on a size of the set of files, the web page providing a continuous presentation of the set of files at the web page on a device, wherein a visible portion of the web page includes a presentation of files, and wherein the files are mapped to an area in the web page that is associated with a current position within the web page. The web page can include an events-based navigation feature. The system can transmit the web page to device for display at the device.

Media recording capabilities, such as photography and video recording, have become common features available in a score of common, everyday devices. The ubiquity of such media recording capabilities has prompted a growing demand for media applications. In particular users are interested in applications to access media stored on different devices and to share media with other users. The Internet has further fueled the demand for media applications by greatly expanding the amount of media available to users and providing an ever-widening audience for conveniently sharing media.
Consequently, numerous browser-based tools and applications have emerged that allow users to share and access media from any Internet-connected device. For example, image search engines allow users to search the Web for image content and browse the searched photos through a web browser. Other browser-based tools and services, such as social networking sites, similarly allow users to view and share photos through a web browser. Similar functionality also exists in native client applications.
As users generate greater quantities of data, managing the data can become cumbersome, confusing, and difficult. Users often lose track of which files are where, and how to quickly find and display them.


This invention relates to an antiperspirant stick which provides the user with excellent antiperspirant/deodorant efficacy, reduced residue and high temperature stability, which comprises: (a) from about 10 to 70 percent by weight of a volatile silicone oil; (b) from about 1.5 to 30 percent by weight of a water-insoluble liquid emollient, characterized in that the weight ratio of volatile silicone oil to water-insoluble liquid emollient is greater than about 2.5:1.0; (c) from about 12 to 20 percent by weight of a low melting point wax; (d) from about 1.0 to 15 percent by weight of a coupling agent; (e) from about 0.50 to 3.0 percent by weight of a surface active agent; (f) from about 18 to 30 percent by weight of an antiperspirant active material; and (g) from about 0.05 to 30 percent by weight of a deodorant active material.

Antiperspirants combat axillary odors by inhibiting perspiration through the action of astringent salts such as aluminum and zinc salts, but may be irritating to a considerable number of users. On the other hand, deodorants neutralize the objectionable odors resulting from the degradation of the components of sweat due to chemical and microbial attack into malodorous fatty acids. Deodorants do not inhibit sweating but rather neutralize the malodorous degradation products of sweat, either by their own odorous properties, or by the inhibition of the decomposition action of microbial action on the fats in the sweat residues, or by reaction with the malodorous fatty acids or by any combination of these mechanisms.
Numerous stick antiperspirant compositions are known in the art. Those skilled in the art have found that anhydrous antiperspirant stick systems are more advantageous to market and have good consumer acceptance primarily due to the ease of application to the skin, good cosmetic aesthetics and an acceptable degree of effectiveness. Previous to the development of anhydrous stick systems, numerous water based systems were developed in which the active astringent salts were solubilized in a thickened or gelled composition. This is exemplified in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,732,327, 2,857,315, 3,255,082, and 3,928,557. The water based systems are difficult to apply to the skin and their consistency and effectiveness are questionable.
Many anhydrous stick compositions have been described in the literature which attempt to improve the delivery and the effectiveness of their antiperspirant and deodorant characteristics. For example, antiperspirant stick systems consisting of low molecular weight monohydric alcohols in conjunction with polyhydric alcohols, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,137,306 have the advantage of quicker drying rates, but the residue of the polyhydric alcohols in combination with the astringent salts produces a high degree of tack and their effectiveness is limited to the type and amount of astringent salts that could be incorporated therein.
Anhydrous stick compositions that suspend the aluminum salt in a hydrophobic matrix, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,049,792, make use of waxy materials and long chain fatty esters to form a stick that delivers the active astringent salts to the skin. Preparations made by these teachings are rather greasy and they envelop the active astringent salt for long periods of time preventing their maximum performance. To alleviate this inherent negative characteristic, volatile silicone fluids replaced the lesser volatile long chain fatty esters as described by U.S. Pat. No. 4,126,679. This patent teaches the advantage of incorporating a volatile, non-staining liquid such as cyclic dimethylpolysiloxanes, referred to as volatile silicones, in combination with various types of waxes as a carrier for the active astringent salts in an antiperspirant stick composition. Similar antiperspirant stick compositions containing volatile silicones are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,511,554, 4,980,156 and 4,985,238.
Although the volatile silicone based antiperspirant stick compositions are effective and highly aesthetic, they may contain up to 80% by weight of volatile silicone. While the use of such large amounts of volatile silicone make preparations thusly prepared more stable, they may be brittle and hard and, more importantly, they tend to leave an unsightly white chalky residue on the skin after application. This residue is not only aesthetically displeasing to the user, but can also soil clothing. In an effort to alleviate this problem, U.S. Pat. No. 4,985,238 discloses that when certain non-volatile paraffinic hydrocarbon fluids, such as mineral oils or branched chain C.sub.16 -C.sub.68 hydrocarbons, are incorporated into water-free suspensoid antiperspirant stick compositions, these compositions exhibit antiperspirant efficacy and aesthetics, while leaving reduced visible residue on the skin of the user.
The compositions of U.S. Pat. No. 4,985,238 or any of the related art, however, do not contemplate the use of relatively large amounts of a deodorant active material, such as a carbonate or a bicarbonate, in conjunction with the active astringent salts.
Sodium bicarbonate has long been recognized for its deodorant properties, and has commonly been used as a household deodorant. Plain powdered sodium bicarbonate or sodium bicarbonate diluted with talc, cornstarch, rice-flour, or other filler has been used as an underarm deodorant as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,382,079.
However, the development of a practical and effective antiperspirant composition in stick form which is also capable of deodorization and, which is capable of consumer acceptability, presents many considerations which are unique. Because sodium and potassium bicarbonate have only limited solubility in water, alcohol and other solvents, the preparation of a composition suitable for dispensing in stick form has been an exceedingly difficult and perplexing problem. In addition to the problem of limited solubility of the sodium bicarbonate; its incompatibility with the active astringent salts and with other ingredients of conventional stick compositions; the dimensional stability of the stick containing sodium bicarbonate; its aesthetic appearance and its "feel" on the skin, are just a few of the additional problems encountered in the preparation of a low residue antiperspirant/deodorant stick.
While antiperspirant sticks are old, as evidenced by the above patents, none of these publications suggests the criticality of the specific combination of components described by the present invention. This combination of components gives antiperspirant sticks which are both highly efficacious and cosmetically pleasing.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide cosmetic sticks which have excellent cosmetic properties (e.g., ease of application to skin, "glide", a low visible residue) and are easy to manufacture. A further object of the present invention is to provide cosmetic sticks which very effectively deliver water-soluble active materials, particularly deodorant and/or antiperspirant active materials, to the skin. A still further object of the present invention is to provide cosmetic compositions which feel dry; do not feel greasy or gritty; go on cleanly and evenly; remain evenly dispersed with no visible cakey, chalky residue after application; and appear uniformly opaque and non-gritty. An object of the present invention is also to provide methods for treating or preventing malodor associated with human perspiration, especially underarm odor.
It has been surprisingly discovered that the above objectives can be realized by formulating a stick comprising the ingredients described hereinafter.