The dielectric thickness of a photoreceptor is determined in a variety of ways, including using a relationship between threshold voltage and dielectric thickness, using a relationship between dielectric thickness and the difference between biased transfer roller (BTR) voltage and photoreceptor surface potential, using a relationship between dielectric thickness and biased charging roller (BCR) impedance, using a relationship between dielectric thickness and the slope of the DC current vs. voltage curve for the BTR or the BCR, and using a relationship between dielectric thickness and the BTR voltage at zero current. The threshold voltage can be found by using the slope of the BCR DC current vs. voltage curve, measuring photoreceptor surface potential for a plurality of target values below the charging knee to obtain the intercept value, or finding the actual value of the charging knee. A method of using the BCR as an electrodynamic voltmeter is also disclosed.

Xerographic reproduction apparatus use a photoreceptor in the form of a drum or a belt in the creation of electrostatic images upon which toner is deposited and then transferred to another electrostatically charged belt or drum, or to paper or other media. Once the toner image is transferred, most xerographic apparatus clean the photoreceptor in ways that can abrade the surface, changing the thickness of the photoreceptor over time. Even without such abrasion, the thickness of the photoreceptor will decrease through use over time. Because of the nature of the photoreceptor, a change in thickness will result in a change in its electrostatic performance, which can be measured by the "dielectric thickness" of the photoreceptor. To ensure consistent output from xerographic apparatus, an assessment of the state of the photoreceptor is very useful.
In addition to the dielectric thickness, the thickness and surface potential of a photoreceptor can be used to assess its state. Thus, measurements of the photoreceptor thickness and surface potential can be used to evaluate and/or stabilize performance in a xerographic marking engine. Robust and more consistent performance can be achieved by varying xerographic control factors based on these measurements. Surface potential and thickness can be measured using electrostatic voltmeters (ESVs) and actual thickness sensors. However, ESVs would be costly to implement, particularly in color xerographic apparatus including multiple photoreceptors and/or marking engines. Instead, such xerographic apparatus typically estimate the condition and thickness of the photoreceptor indirectly by tracking the photoreceptor cycle count and assuming that the photoreceptor wears at a constant rate as a function of cycle count. This assumption tends to be inaccurate, leading to inconsistent performance over the life of a photoreceptor and potentially premature disposal of the photoreceptor. Thus, there is a need for an accurate method of measuring the thickness and/or surface potential of a photoreceptor without using electrostatic voltmeters, actual thickness sensors, or assumptions of wear rate as a function of photoreceptor cycles.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,611,665 to DiRubio et al., incorporated by reference above, discloses a method and apparatus using a biased transfer roll as a dynamic electrostatic voltmeter for system diagnostics and closed loop process controls. While the techniques disclosed in the '665 patent are useful, they can suffer inaccuracies due to unpredictable aging effects of the elastomers used in the BTR, as well as other factors.
Embodiments provide much more accurate measurements by using the biased charging roller to measure both the photoreceptor surface potential (VOPC) and the photoreceptor dielectric thickness (DOPC). Other current marking engines employ costly Electrostatic Voltmeters (ESVs) to measure the photoreceptor surface potential (VOPC) to measure surface potential. In the case of tandem marking engines, which use four photoreceptors as seen, for example, in FIG. 1, at least four ESVs would be required, which increases the cost of the marking engine significantly. Thus, embodiments, by using existing subsystem components to measure photoreceptor surface potential with only minor modifications to the power supply, allow measurement, control, and adjustment with little increased cost.
The measurement routine of embodiments can be run periodically, such as during cycle-up or cycle-down, to ensure consistent output of the xerographic apparatus in which it is used. VOPC is measured in embodiments by operating the biased charging roller in a constant DC current mode and measuring the DC voltage applied to the shaft by the power supply, which will shift in response to VOPC. DOPC is measured in embodiments by first charging the photoreceptor with the biased charging roller operated in a DC biased AC mode, then measuring VOPC with the biased charging roller. Preferably, the charging and measuring is repeated for multiple values of AC biased charging roller peak-to-peak voltage (VP-P) above and below the bipolar VP-P charging knee. The location of the knee, which is a measure of DOPC, can then be calculated. Xerographic process stability is achieved by subsequently adjusting ROS, charging, development, erase, transfer, and other xerographic control factors based on the results of the measurements of DOPC and VOPC.
Employing embodiments to directly measure photoreceptor surface potential VOPC using existing hardware in the engine thus enables more advanced process controls and machine self-diagnoses, yet does not significantly increase manufacturing costs and requires only minor modifications to the biased charging roller power supply to add this functionality. The performance of any subsystem that impacts the photoreceptor charge (erase, pre-transfer, transfer, discharge, development etc.) can be evaluated and/or adjusted using subsystem actuators. Likewise, the performance of any subsystem that is impacted by the photoreceptor charge, such as erase, pre-transfer, transfer, discharge, development, and other components, can be evaluated and/or adjusted using subsystem actuators. Additionally, subsystem failures can be detected, allowing the controller to generate an error message or initiate a service call through remote diagnostics. Additionally, automated Photo-Induced Discharge Curves can be generated using embodiments.
Embodiments enable direct measurement of the photoreceptor dielectric thickness, DOPC, and therefore the photoreceptor thickness, using existing hardware in the engine. Since many xerographic machines currently use a prediction equation that is based on the number of photoreceptor cycles to estimate OPC dielectric thickness, employing embodiments provides much more accurate thickness determination, which allows more advanced process controls and machine self-diagnoses. Thus, marking system performance can be optimized by adjusting subsystem actuators (development, charge, discharge, transfer, erase, etc.) based on DOPC. Further, because photoreceptor/CRUs are currently replaced after a fixed number of cycles, the more accurate measure of DOPC enables a better estimate of photoreceptor age and performance, reducing run cost by potentially reducing the frequency at which the unit is replaced. Other benefits of employing embodiments include improved marking stability and image consistency. Embodiments can be employed cheaply by any engine that uses BCRs. BCRs are widely used in color and black and white office products by all major manufacturers of xerographic engines.

Method of using biased charging/transfer roller as in-situ voltmeter and photoreceptor thickness detector and method of adjusting xerographic process with results


A composition for buffing metal parts comprising from 2% to 12% by weight of a fatty acid or fatty ester, 0.5% to 10% by weight of a nonionic water soluble surfactant, 10% to 50% by weight of an abrasive grit, 40% to 70% by weight of water, a sufficient amount of an alkaline to provide the composition with a pH in the range of 6.5 to 9.0, and 0.3% to 3.0% by weight of an acrylic copolymer which provides a paste-like consistency for the composition. The composition is water washable from the metal part after buffing.

Metal parts are buffed either manually or through mechanical buffing equipment using a buffing composition of paste like consistency. In the past, the buffing compositions have consisted of a water emulsion of abrasive grit and a oleophillic material such as tallow, myristic acid, petrolatum or a combination of these ingredients. The oleophillic material provides the buffing composition with a thick paste like consistency to suspend the grit and provides lubricity for the composition.
It has been found that the conventional buffing compositions are very difficult to remove by water washing from the buffed metal part. Even when the metal part has been subjected to several water washes, the buffing composition may not be completely removed. This is of a particular problem when the buffed part is to be subsequently plated in which case the metal requires a completely clean surface. Because of this, the common practice has been to remove the residual buffing composition from the metal parts through use of a chlorinated solvent. However, chlorinated solvents are hazardous to use and provide environmental problems.
Therefore, there has been a need for a buffing composition which can be readily and completely removed from the buffered parts by a water wash.


A memory bandwidth control device for improving efficiency of data transfer between an external device and a memory. A memory is used for temporarily storing and outputting data to be communicated with external devices being connected via input/output ports, and an I/O buffer dynamically assigns memory bandwidth to external devices requesting data transfer when receiving the data transfer requests from the external devices to the memory. When compared to assigning fixed memory bandwidth, efficiency of data transfer to the memory can be significantly improved without wasting memory bandwidth.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a memory bandwidth control device and, more particularly, is suitably applied to a memory bandwidth control device for temporarily storing in a memory material data such as video and audio, which is externally entered to a video editing apparatus, and then processing the material data via the memory or performing memory bandwidth control for a burst transfer to a hard disk drive.
2. Description of the Related Art
To store material data received from an external device via an input/output port in a hard disk drive, a video editing apparatus temporarily stores the material data by a prescribed amount or more in a memory and then performs a burst transfer of the data to the hard disk drive, so as to transfer data in a short time with improved transfer efficiency.
Further, to edit material data, the video editing apparatus gives material data being stored in the hard disk drive, to an external device such as an effector via the memory, to edit the data, and then performs the burst transfer of the edited material data via the memory, thereby storing it in the hard disk again or outputting them to the outside.
As described above, the video editing apparatus communicates material data with the hard disk drive via the memory. Therefore, memory bandwidth should be controlled between the memory and a plurality of external devices being connected to the video editing apparatus via input/output ports.
In a case where memory bandwidth (bit width×clock number) is 100 Mbps and there are 10 external devices, the video editing apparatus equally divides the memory bandwidth by the number of the external devices simply, resulting in assigning 0.1 second to the devices with time division (10 Mbps).
By the way, such a video editing apparatus assigns fixed memory bandwidth to each external device being connected thereto via an input/output port, by means of time division. Therefore, the number of external devices to be connected is limited according to the memory bandwidth. In addition, bandwidth assigned external devices which do not receive and output material data is useless, resulting in deteriorated data transfer efficiency.


Systems, apparatuses and methods may a performance-enhanced computing system comprising a sensor for measuring luminance values corresponding to light focused onto the sensor at a plurality of pixel locations, a memory including a set of instructions, and a processor. The processor executes a set of instructions causing the system to generate a multi-segment tone mapping curve, generate a set of tone mapping values corresponding to the multi-segment tone mapping curve for equally spaced input values between zero and one for storage into a look up table, and process the luminance values using the look up table to apply the tone mapping curve to the luminance values of the pixels.

In computer display settings, a source platform (e.g., game console, computer, camera, video recording device) may encode (e.g., compress) a video signal such as a movie or three-dimensional (3D) game for wireless transmission to a display. Each frame of the video signal may contain high dynamic range (HDR) content generated dynamically as each frame of the video is created. The video containing a sequence of HDR images typically requires a significant amount of processing resources to generate real time video streams using conventional processing. The difficulties associated with the generation of real time HDR video streams may be reduced if each HDR image is generated using an HDR enhancement with temporal multiplexing as disclosed herein with respect to the present invention.


An article of swim wear with a retaining device for swim goggles having a pair of lens frames separated by a nose piece, where the article of swim wear includes a loop of flexible material affixed to an exterior portion of a swimsuit. The loop possesses a inner periphery related to either the lens frame or the nose piece of the pair of swim goggles. The swim goggles are retained by the loop about their nose piece by either the insertion of one of the lens frames of the swim goggles through the inner periphery of the loop or the formation of the loop itself.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to swim wear and more particularly to an article of swim wear with a retaining device for swim goggles.
2. Background of the Invention
Since the advent of the swimsuit, swim wear usage has increased dramatically where its present use ranges from that of competitive sporting events to simple recreational activities. During this evolutionary period, swim goggles have emerged as a technique for protecting the eyes of the swimmer from exposure to water. Accordingly, swim goggles have become a common piece of equipment for any swimmer. In response to this broad range of use, swim wear designers have developed numerous design variations to the basic swimsuit to accommodate swim goggles. However, these variations have failed to devise an uncomplicated technique for retaining a pair of swim goggles in their periods of non-use.
Although there presently exist devices for retaining eye wear to an article of clothing, the procedures and configurations of these devices are incompatible for the retention of swim goggles to a swimsuit. The techniques currently used for eye wear retention are cumbersome and complex to manipulate and, therefore, impractical for normal use. For example, one such eye wear retention device, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,119,979, requires that the position of the eye wear holder be limited to the pocket or waistband of an article of clothing. This same device also requires the manipulation of multiple strips prior to the retention of the eye wear. Further, this device, and other eye wear retention devices, limit their application to eyeglasses having a pair of eyeglass frames adapted to hold the eye wear along the temples of the wearer. The temple frames are required elements as the eye wear holder retains the eyeglasses to the article of clothing by the temple frames. Because of these considerations, the devices currently available for eye wear retention are impractical for retaining a pair of swim goggles to an article of swim wear. As such, swim goggles are typically removed and held by the user during their periods of non-use.
In view of the limitations and complexity of existing eye wear holders, a need has arisen, particularly among children, for retaining a pair of swim goggles on a swimsuit which is simple in its application and construction.

Swim google retaining device for swim wear


A perforating tool including a body, a first lid and a second lid, the first lid attachable to one end of the body and the second lid attachable to an opposite end of the body, to define an interior cavity of the body. The interior cavity has an air-tight seal with an exterior environment surrounding the body. In some aspects, one or more plates are disposable within the interior cavity such that the one or more plates are situated apart from an explosive charge when the explosive charge is disposed in the interior cavity, the one or more plates occupying part of a total interior volume of the interior cavity and thereby reducing a free interior volume inside the body. In some aspects, two or more plates are disposable within the interior cavity such that the two or more plates are situated apart from an explosive charge when the explosive charge is disposed in the interior cavity, the two or more plates occupying part of a total interior volume of the interior cavity and thereby reducing a free interior volume inside the body.

A perforating tool is commonly used to maximize the potential recovery of hydrocarbons, such as oil and gas obtained from subterranean formations that may be located onshore or offshore. However, for a given recovery operation, the perforating tool may be selected based on limited knowledge of the likely downhole explosive charge performance A selection of in-field perforating tool parameters may be based in part on tests performed using laboratory tools designed to evaluate explosive charge performance, e.g., by measuring depth of penetration.

Perforation tool and laboratory testing system with an adjustable free interior volume


The apparatus and methods calculate a plurality of sum of differences for a power distribution system quantity with a sum of difference filter, provide a set of predetermined blocking conditions, provide a trending and memory with an output, generate a set threshold with an adaptive tuning algorithm; establish a reference based upon the plurality of power distribution quantities differences from the one-cycle difference filter and the set threshold, calculate a ratio of the difference between the plurality of sum of differences from the sum of difference filter and the reference, memorize a time and form a trend output if the ratio of the difference exceeds the set threshold, and determine the existence of a high-impedance fault with decision logic based on the trend output and the set of predetermined blocking conditions.

High-impedance faults (HIFs) are difficult to detect on multi-grounded electrical power distribution systems. One reason for this difficulty is that many of the loads on the system are single-phase in nature. The system can therefore be quite unbalanced when a major single-phase lateral is out of service. The conventional ground fault protection has to be set above the maximum foreseeable unbalance to avoid false tripping. Conventional ground fault protection is thus not effective for HIF protection.
The second reason that HIFs are difficult to detect is that the HIF current level is typically small. For example, the HIF current level may range anywhere from about zero amperes to less than 100 amperes depending upon the ground surfaces that a power conductor contacts.
Many untraditional algorithms have been developed to detect HIF at the substation level in the power distribution system. Most of these algorithms use off-fundamental frequency components of phase or residual currents, and use complicated methods such as expert systems, neural networks, wavelets and higher-order statistics.
An algorithm that detects certain HIFs is relatively easy to design. However, it is a greater challenge to also design a secure algorithm. Electrical utilities desire to have secure HIF protection. The objective of HIF protection is not to protect the power system and apparatus from damage resulting from an HIF. Rather, the objective of implementing secure HIF protection is to remove an unsafe public condition, which may also avoid or minimize any attendant legal issues relating to the condition. When a detection device indicates the occurrence of an HIF, a utility has to make a decision based upon the circumstances. For example, it may be more dangerous to trip the electrical power to a traffic light at a busy traffic intersection or to a hospital. For such reasons, utilities cannot tolerate false alarms from HIF detection devices.
Moreover, when an HIF is detected, a number of factors or circumstances may need to be considered before a tripping decision is made. For example, it may be more dangerous to trip the power to traffic lights at a busy intersection, or to a hospital. For reasons such as these, a utility cannot normally tolerate any false HIF detection.
A general object of the present invention is to therefore provide improved systems and methods for detecting an HIF in a multi-grounded distribution system.
Another object of the present invention is to provide improved systems and methods for detecting an HIF that is secure from false detections.
A further object of the present invention is to provide improved systems and methods for detecting an HIF that may be easily incorporated into existing distribution relays and related equipment.

Systems and methods for detecting high-impedance faults in a multi-grounded power distribution system

Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc.


Embodiments of the present invention improve methods of performing speech recognition using sensory inputs of human position. In one embodiment, the present invention includes a speech recognition method comprising sensing a change in position of at least one part of a human body, selecting a recognition set based on the change of position, receiving a speech input signal, and recognizing the speech input signal in the context of the first recognition set.

The present invention relates to speech recognition, and more particularly, to systems and methods of performing speech recognition using sensory inputs of human position.
Electronic devices have become more readily available to the public and people find themselves interfacing with many different electronic devices during their daily lives. Historically, the adoption of an electronic device required the user to spend considerable time learning to interface with the device. The advent of menu driven interfaces helped to alleviate some of the tedium of learning to interface with an electronic device, but this method of interfacing with an electronic device still required a person to learn where the menus were and how to use them. More recently, the tactile and motion interfaces have attempted to make the experience of using an electronic device more intuitive. Although the advancements in tactile and motion devices have improved the experience of interfacing with an electronic device, the user is still constrained by the use of visual cues to maneuver through the options and functions of the electronic device. Due to this limitation, the user may still be required to spend a great deal of time learning to interface with the electronic device. Speech recognition would help improve the interface immensely by allowing the user to tell the device what task was desired. Historically however, effective speech recognition requires large amounts of memory and uses a considerable time to "recognize" a given utterance. In this way, the historical speech recognition methods may simply add to the frustration of interfacing with an electronic device rather than facilitate its use. These factors, as well as many others, have prevented the use of speech recognition in electronic devices.
The present invention solves these and other problems with systems and methods of performing speech recognition using sensory inputs of human position.

Systems and methods of performing speech recognition using sensory inputs of human position


A method for producing a spot-size convertor includes the steps of preparing a substrate; forming a stacked semiconductor layer including first and second core layers on the substrate; forming a mesa structure by etching the stacked semiconductor layer using a first mask, the mesa structure including a side surface and a bottom portion of the first core layer; forming a protective mask covering the side surface; etching the bottom portion using the protective mask to form a top mesa; and forming a bottom mesa by etching the second core layer using a second mask. The top mesa includes the first core layer and a portion having a mesa width gradually reduced in a first direction of a waveguide axis. The bottom mesa includes the second core layer and a portion having a mesa width gradually reduced in a second direction opposite to the first direction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for producing a spot-size convertor.
2. Description of the Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 6,229,947 discloses a semiconductor optical device and a spot-size convertor of a monolithically integrated tapered rib waveguide type.
The spot-size convertor disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,229,947 includes a top waveguide and a bottom waveguide. The top waveguide and the bottom waveguide are produced by etching of a stacked semiconductor layer. The stacked semiconductor layer includes an upper cladding layer, a first core layer, a separation layer, and a second core layer. The first core layer is included in the top waveguide. The second core layer is included in the bottom waveguide. The separation layer is provided between the first core layer and the second core layer. The spot-size convertor has a region where light transfers from the top waveguide to the bottom waveguide.

Method for producing spot-size convertor


A driving circuit of a direct current brushless motor is provided. The circuit includes a sensing portion, arranged around a rotor, for generating sensing signals according to a position of the rotor, and a stator coil controller for supplying current to each stator coil using the sensing signals, wherein when the rotor is sensed, the sensing portion generates a first sensing signal having a predetermined high-state interval longer than a half rotating period, and a second sensing signal having the predetermined high state interval starting before the high-state of the first sensing signal is finished, and wherein the stator coil controller supplies current to the stator coil during the time when one of the first and second sensing signals is low. Accordingly, since it is not necessary to control phases of rotor sensing signals, the circuit is simplified and consumption power is reduced.

The present invention relates to a driving circuit of a direct current brushless motor.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a driving circuit of a conventional direct current brushless motor. As shown in FIG. 1, the driving circuit of the conventional direct current brushless motor is provided with sensing parts S1, S2, S3, . . . , and SN arranged around a rotor for generating sensing signals Qs1, Qs2, Qs3, . . . , and QsN according to a position of the rotor, a phase controller 11 for controlling phases of the sensing signal Qs1, Qs2, Qs3, . . . , QsN, stator coil controllers 121, 122, 123, . . . , and 12N for controlling current passing through a stator coil according to output signals Qs11, Qs12, Qs21, Qs22, Qs31, Qs32, . . . , QsN1, and QsN2 of the phase controller 11 and a voltage regulator RE for controlling DC source voltage Vs and supplying predetermined voltage Vc to the sensing parts S1, S2, S3, . . . , Sn and the phase controller 11.
Referring to FIG. 1, rated voltage of the sensing parts S1, S2, S3, . . . , SN and the phase controller 11 is lower than that of the stator coil controllers 121, 122, 123, . . . , and 12N. Accordingly, a resistor R1 for voltage drop is connected to an input terminal of the voltage regulator RE. That is, input voltage of the voltage regulator RE can be obtained by subtracting dropped voltage I.cndot.R1 from the DC source voltage Vs, where I is current passing through the resistor R1. Current I.sub.1 flowing from the voltage regulator RE toward ground is for supplying the predetermined voltage (Vc). Also, total current I.sub.2 of the sensing parts S1, S2, S3, . . . , SN can be obtained by summing current I.sub.21, I.sub.22, I.sub.23, . . . , and I.sub.2N passing through a first sensor S1, a second sensor S2, a third sensor S3, . . . , an Nth sensor SN.
FIG. 2 is a timing diagram for illustrating an operation state of the driving circuit of FIG. 1.
Referring to FIG. 2, QsN denotes a sensing signal from the Nth sensor SN of FIG. 1, QsN1 and QsN2 denote signals from the phase controller 11 of FIG. 1 input into an Nth phase stator coil controller 12N of FIG. 1, and V.quadrature.N denotes voltage applied to the Nth phase stator coil. As shown in FIG. 2, a pulse width of the sensing signal QsN from an nth sensor SN of FIG. 1 is larger by 2.theta. than a half period .pi.. However, the voltage V.quadrature.N applied to the stator coil should be less by 2.theta. than the half period .pi.. Accordingly, the driving circuit of the conventional direct current brushless motor converts output signals S1, S2, S3, . . . , and SN from each sensor into the two signals Qs11, Qs12, Qs21, Qs22, Qs31, Qs32, . . . , QsN1, and QsN2 which are less by 2.theta. than the half period .pi., using the phase controller 11 of FIG. 1. Accordingly, the voltage V.quadrature.N applied to the stator coil of each phase shows a waveform as shown in FIG. 2, to thereby drive the direct current brushless motor.
FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram of the Nth phase stator coil controller of FIG. 1. As shown in FIG, 3, transistors Q1 and Q2 and power transistors Q4 and Q6 are a NPN type, and power transistors Q3 and Q5 are a PNP type, respectively. Accordingly, when the signal QsN1 received from the phase controller 11 of FIG. 1 is high, the transistor Q1 and the power transistors Q3 and Q6 are turned on, so that current of the source voltage Vs passes toward the ground via the power transistor Q3, the Nth phase stator coil .quadrature.N and the transistor Q6. Also, the signal QsN2 received from the phase controller 11 of FIG. 1 is high, the transistor Q2 and the power transistors Q5 and Q4 are turned on, so that current of the source voltage Vs passes toward the ground via the power transistor Q5, the Nth phase stator coil .quadrature.N and the power transistor Q4. That is, the voltage V.quadrature.N applied to the stator coil of each phase shows a waveform as shown in FIG. 2, to thereby drive the direct current brushless motor.
According to the driving circuit of the conventional direct current brushless motor, since the voltage regulator RE and the phase controller 11 are required, the circuit is complicated and much power is consumed.

Driving circuit of direct current brushless motor


Compositions and methods for treating, detecting, and diagnosing cancer are disclosed.

Several publications and patent documents are cited throughout the specification in order to describe the state of the art to which this invention pertains. Full citations of these references can be found throughout the specification. Each of these citations is incorporated herein by reference as though set forth in full.
Stem cells having cancerous properties are widely known as cancer stem cells (CSCs) or fraction of the cancer cell population having stem like property are called CSC. These CSCs constitute a small proportion of tumor mass which are found to exist within many human tumors including colon (O'Brien et al. (2007) Nature 445:106-110), brain (Singh et al. (2004) Nature 432:396-401), breast (Al-Hajj et al. (2003) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 100:3983-3988), prostate (Collins et al. (2005) Cancer Res., 65:10946-10951), pancreatic (Li et al. (2007) Cancer Res., 67:1030-1037) and ovarian cancers (Szotek et al. (2006) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 103:11154-11159). Typically, CSCs possess the distinctive properties of regenerating tumors, promoting metastasis, causing aggressive cancers and most importantly they must be capable of self-renewal (Reya et al. (2001) Nature 414:105-111). Additionally, CSCs through their drug efflux mechanisms can make the tumor drug resistant. Hence failure to target this particular cell population has made the current therapeutic strategies inefficient and tumor recurrence is observed in most patients with advanced stage cancers even after treatment. Therefore, considerable research efforts have been directed towards the identification of specific cancer stem cell markers in different cancers for therapeutic targeting.
To date, only a few cancer stem cell markers like CD24, CD34, CD44, CD117, ESA and CD133 have been identified (Al-Hajj et al. (2003) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 100:3983-3988; Ferrandina et al. (2008) Int. J. Gynecol. Cancer 18:506-514; Ma et al. (2007) Gastroenterology 132:2542-2556; O'Brien et al. (2007) Nature 445:106-110; Szotek et al. (2006) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 103:11154-11159). CSCs have characteristic activation of self-renewal pathways such as Wnt, Shh and Notch signaling (Ivanova et al. (2006) Nature 442:533-538; Ponnusamy et al. (2008) J. Ovarian Res., 1:4; Reya et al. (2001) Nature 414:105-111). Cancer stem/initiating cells propagate the tumor and can account for cancer development, progression, metastasis and tumor relapse (Szotek et al. (2006) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 103:11154-9). Identification of specific molecules that maintain CSCs and targeting these molecules provide an important tool to fight cancer.

Compositions and methods for the treatment of cancer

BOARD OF REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA


The present invention relates to the protected intermediates and the deprotected products of P6A, related to the protected pseudopeptides introducing the protected intermediateds of P6A to 3S-(2-Boc)-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-β-carboline-3-carboxylic acid and the deprotected pseudopeptides, related to the protected pseudopeptides introducing the protected intermediateds of P6A to 3S-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-β-carboline-3-carboxylic acid benzyl ester, related to the methods for their preparation, and related to their use as the thrombolytic agents.

P6A (H-Ala-Arg-Pro-Ala-Lys-OH) (SEQ ID NO: 1), one of the products obtained from the degradation of fibrinogen, was used as the lead compound in our previous studies on thrombolysis agents (Zhao, M.; Peng, S. Q. J Prakt. Chem. 1999, 341, 668; Zhao, M.; Lin, N.; Wang, C.; Peng, S. Q. Bioorg Med Chem Lett. 2003, 13, 961). As essential part of the researches the metabolism of P6A arouses our interest. In the identification of the in vivo metabolites the solution of P6A in normal saline was injected into the tail vein of the mice. After 20 min the plasma was isolated from the whole blood of the mice. To the plasma perchloric acid was added in order to free all of the metabolites of P6A from the plasma protein, centrifuged to separate the upper layer as a clear solution, and injected into the HPLC column of the HPLC/ESI/MS. In the HPLC/ESI/MS analysis all the possible ions of the metabolites from P6A in vivo were monitored by ESI/MS. According to the trapped ions the corresponding sequences were H-Ala-Arg-Pro-Ala-OH (SEQ ID NO: 2) (FAB/MS, 414), H-Ala-Arg-Pro-OH (FAB/MS, 343), H-Arg-Pro-Ala-Lys-OH (SEQ ID NO: 3) (FAB/MS, 471), and H-Pro-Ala-Lys-OH (FAB/MS, 315). In the isolation of the in vitro metabolite P6A was added to the mice blood directly, incubated at 37° C. for 20 min, and centrifuged at 0° C. to isolate the plasma. To the plasma perchloric acid was added to free all of the metabolites of P6A from the plasma protein, and centrifuged to separate the upper layer which was frozen and lyophilized. The resulted crystals were dissolved in water and injected into the column. The fractions corresponding to the main peaks were collected, frozen and lyophilized. The FAB/MS tests of the resulted 4 crystals gave the same sequences as that as mentioned above.
The euglobulin clot lysis activity of the isolated metabolites resulted from the in vitro assay indicated that for development of thrombolytic peptides the corresponding modifications may be interesting. In the previous modification of oligopeptides we demonstrated that the introduction of 3S-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-β-carboline-3-carboxylic acid may result in enhancement of bioactivity (Lin, N.; Zhao, M.; Wang, C.; Peng, S. Q. Bioorg Med Chem Lett. 2002, 12, 585; WU, Y. F.; Zhao, M.; Wang, C.; Peng, S. Q. Bioorg Med Chem Lett. 2002, 12, 2331).
In the present invention the pseudopeptides consisted of 3S-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-β-carboline-3-carboxylic acid, which was prepared according to Scheme 1, H-Ala-Arg-Pro-Ala-Lys-OH (SEQ ID NO: 1), H-Gln-Arg-Pro-Ala-Lys-OH (SEQ ID NO: 4), H-Lys-Arg-Pro-Ala-Lys-OH (SEQ ID NO: 5), H-Asn-Arg-Pro-Ala-Lys-OH (SEQ ID NO: 6), H-Ala-Arg-Pro-Ala-Lys-OH (SEQ ID NO: 1), H-Ala-Arg-Pro-Ala-OH (SEQ ID NO: 2), H-Ala-Arg-Pro-OH, H-Arg-Pro-Ala-Lys-OH (SEQ ID NO: 3) and H-Pro-Ala-Lys-OH, which were prepared according to Scheme 2, were prepared. The thrombolitic activities of the pseudopeptides were observed in vitro and in vivo.

Scheme 1. Synthesis, esterification and acylation of 3S-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-β-carboline-3-carboxylic acid, 3S-(2-Boc)-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-β-carboline-3-carboxylic acid and 3S-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-β-carboline-3-carboxylic acid benzyl ester. (a) sulfuric acid; (b) (BOC)2O; (c) Cs2CO3, C6H5CH2Br.

Scheme 3. Synthetic route for Boc-Ala-Arg(Tos)-Pro-Ala-OBzl (SEQ ID NO: 7), Boc-Ala-Arg(Tos)-Pro-OBzl, H-Ala-Arg-Pro-Ala-OH (SEQ ID NO: 2) and H-Ala-Arc,-Pro-OH. (Sequences shown above are SEQ ID NOS 7, 2, 7 and 7, respectively in order of appearance).

Carboline-3-carboxylic acid modified related sequences of Ala-Arg-Pro-Ala-Lys, their synthesis and use as thromobolytic agent

Guangzhou Bai Yun Shan Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.


A method and system provides a human machine interface configured to provide a vehicle driver with an appropriate easy to understand information to perform driving maneuvers safely. The human machine interface provides the driver with safety information for performing a driving maneuver. The human machine interface is further configured to provide a visualization of an environment of the vehicle and a color scheme configured to convey a criticality of an execution of a vehicle maneuver.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to vehicle driver assistance systems and more particularly to a method and system for assisting a vehicle driver during driving maneuvers using a human machine interface.
2. Description of the Background Art
The driving maneuver of merging onto freeways and highways in the United States is a fairly difficult and stressful task. Many decisions must be made by the driver in a relatively small time window to estimate an appropriate speed and gap between the vehicles on the road to merge safely onto a freeway or highway. Additionally, the on-ramp size in most areas is not sufficient and further reduces the time for decision making.
Even though the amount of accidents is not as high as on other road segments, the severity of incidents is proportionally higher. This is mainly caused by the difference in speeds of the merging vehicles and the highway traffic.
Another difficult factor in merging situations is the metering lights used on on-ramps to freeways and highways. Drivers must come to a complete stop directly before an upcoming merge and, therefore, the speed of the merging vehicles is even lower as compared to an unrestricted merge situation. On-ramps using metering lights often have multiple lanes, which must merge immediately after the merging lights with a relatively small time-gap, which adds another difficult factor to the merge scenario.
Current driver assistance systems inform the driver if there is a vehicle in the driver's blind spot, but do not provide recommendations or assistance to perform a specific maneuver. The conventional systems typically use visual lighting elements in the wing mirrors (mostly LED) on both sides of the vehicle, which light up if there is a vehicle detected by the radar sensors in the blind-spot area. There is currently no system, however, that detects an upcoming driving situation (e.g., on-ramp merge, lane change, etc.) automatically and supports the driver with additional assistance systems.


A radiographic apparatus includes a radiation irradiating unit for applying radiation; a radiation imaging unit, including a plurality of imagers, for converting the radiation to image data; a determining unit for determining whether noise caused by residual charge is produced, from the distribution of the residual charge in the radiation imaging unit based on the image data; and a controlling unit for changing a driving state of the radiation imaging unit based on the determination result.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a radiographic apparatus including a radiation imaging unit and, more particularly, to a radiographic apparatus and a radiographic method for controlling a radiographic process based on a state of the radiation imaging unit.
2. Description of the Related Art
Radiation imaging sensors have been suggested in recent years, which are capable of converting radiographic images into digital data in real time. For example, it has become possible to manufacture solid-state photodetectors in which solid-state photodetector elements are arranged in a matrix. This leads to the introduction of radiation imaging sensors each having the solid-state photodetectors and phosphors for converting radiation into visible light, the solid-state photodetectors and the phosphors being alternately layered. Each of the solid-state photodetector elements has a transparent conductive film and a conductive film with an amorphous semiconductor sandwiched therebetween on a substrate made of quartz. With such a radiation imaging sensor, image data can be acquired in the following manner. That is, the radiation imaging sensor that is irradiated with radiation transmitted through an object converts the radiation into visible light with the phosphors. The visible light is detected as electrical signals by photoelectric converters in the solid-state photodetector elements. The electrical signals are read out from the solid-state photodetector elements by a predetermined reading method and undergo analog-to-digital conversion for providing image signals. Such a solid-state photodetector is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-116044. Furthermore, radiation imaging sensors have also been suggested which directly acquire radiation by using solid-state photodetectors without using phosphors.
The radiation imaging sensors described above detect the radiation intensity as the amount of electric charge. Hence, it is necessary to drive the radiation imaging sensor in a stable state in order to accurately accumulate radiation signals. For this purpose, a driving operation, such as discharge of dark current or discharge of stored charge, is performed.
However, applying radiation having a high intensity causes stored signal charge in the solid-state photodetector element to be saturated. After the signal charge is saturated, it is impossible to fully discharge the electric charge by the driving operation in an ordinal radiographic process, thus superimposing noise on the image data. The noise produced based on the storage state of the electric charge or the discharge state of the electric charge in the radiation imaging sensor is called a residual image. Such a problem is also pointed out in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-023968. A countermeasure is suggested for eliminating the residual image caused by residual charge with optical reset in this publication. However, with such a method, the radiographic imaging sensor must have a reset device, thus undesirably requiring the space and cost of the reset device. In addition, adding a driving operation for fully discharging the residual charge between radiographic processes in preparation for the application of high-intensity radiation disadvantageously lengthens the radiographic cycle and thus lowers the turnover of radiography in a hospital or the like.
Applying high-intensity radiation sometimes superimposes the noise caused by the residual charge on the image data. Hitherto, various countermeasures against the superimposition of the noise have been expected.

Radiographic apparatus and radiographic method


In a telephone set, a voiced and silent section detecting device detects whether the voice message stored in a storage device by an automatic answering function is a voiced section or a silent section, and the detected voiced or silent section information is stored in a storage device, corresponding to the voice message. Therefore, by pressing a skip operation button while reproducing a voice message, reproduction is started from the start position of the next voiced section.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a telephone set possessing an automatic answering function known as an automatic answering telephone set.
2. Description of the Related Art
An automatic answering telephone set is an apparatus for sending out an answering message automatically when no one is not available at the telephone at the called side, and recording the message of the caller in a magnetic tape, a voice memory or other storage device, and playing back the message later.
Hitherto, in a general automatic answering telephone set, when reproducing the recorded message, all data are reproduced. The recorded data may sometimes include already known information or information of no interest, and that is a waste of time to hear all message if not necessary for the user. Even if the message is necessary, when a silent section is long, the reproduction time becomes larger for that duration.
The telephone sets saving waste of reproduction time in such conventional automatic answering telephone sets have been disclosed in the following publications. A first telephone set is a telephone set disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication JPA 3-186045 (1991). In this telephone set, a clearing signal portion present between a message and the next message is stored when recording, and the clearing signal is skipped when reproducing, thereby shortening the reproduction time.
A second telephone set is a telephone set disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication JPA 3-192946 (1991). In this telephone set, a set of ID number and pointer value showing the stored position is stored in every case of messages to be recorded, and a specific recorded message can be selected and reproduced by manipulating a button corresponding to a desired ID number.
In the first telephone, since the clearing signal portion is skipped, and the reproduction time is shortened, but the silent portion in the recorded message is normally reproduced, and the useless time is spent. In the second telephone set, by selecting a desired recorded message to reproduce, undesired messages are not, and the reproduction time is shortened, but the silent portion in the selected message is normally reproduced, which is also a waste of time.
A telephone set capable of saving waste of reproduction time by reproducing the silent portion in such telephone sets is disclosed as a third telephone set in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication JPA 2-246655 (1990). In this telephone set, digitized voice signal data are not directly recorded, but they are recorded in a storage device after being stored once in a buffer memory. When the data are below a predetermined silence level, the data stored in the buffer memory are discarded, and the silent portion is cut off.
In the third telephone set, since the silent portions of the message are cut off by force, and it may be hard to hear the message.


A high voltage connector between the elongated electrode assembly of a corona treater and a high voltage source include a receptacle disposed at one end of the electrode assembly and having an insulated connector in contact with the electrode. The insulation extends out from the electrode assembly to define a cavity that accepts a plug-in that establishes electrical contact between the high voltage source and the electrode. The cavity has a cross-sectional area only slightly larger than a portion of the high voltage wire disposed within it.

The present invention relates to corona treaters and more specifically to the electrical connection between the electrode of the corona treater and a high voltage source. A corona treater utilizes an electrode magazine or cassette that must be periodically removed from the corona treater. In the past, the electrical connection between the high voltage source and the electrode magazine was a permanently soldered connection that made removal of the electrode magazine from its station a time consuming and somewhat difficult job.
The purpose of the present invention is to provide a simple high voltage plug-in connection between the electrode and the high voltage source so that the connection can be easily disconnected to facilitate the removal of the electrode magazine from its station.


Formulations containing an organometallic activator, a filler, a solvent and an aqueous dispersion of a polyurethane polymer are outstandingly suitable for activation of surfaces of plastics for currentless metallisation thereof.. The components of plastic activated in this way are preferably employed, after metallisation has been carried out, for shielding from electromagnetic waves.

It is generally known that polymeric materials have to be pretreated, for example by etching of the polymer surface with chromic/sulphuric acids, before chemical metallisation. However, this process can be applied only to those polymers, the surface of which can be modified oxidatively with the formation of caverns and vacuoles.
It is furthermore known that working with chromic/sulphuric acid, SO.sub.3 vapour or other oxidising agents is accompanied by a deterioration in the physical properties, such as the notched impact strength and the electrical surface resistance, of the polymeric material. Moreover, traces of hexavalent chromium, which rapidly lead to poisoning of the metal baths, often cause interference.
The known processes for the currentless metallisation of materials moreover comprise several process stages and have the disadvantage that they cannot be applied directly to all polymers. Chemical or physical roughening often has to be carried out.
It has therefore already been proposed to activate the polymer surfaces very gently using organometallic catalysts (compare, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,560,257 and EP-A 81,129). Nevertheless, this method, which is very elegant per se, is likewise not universally applicable. The use of solvents furthermore often leads to stress corrosion cracking being caused in the polymer injection moulding which is under tensile or compressive stress.
Other processes, such as are described in U.S. Pat Nos. 3,560,257 and 4,017,265 as well as DE-A 3,627,256, have the disadvantage that they require relatively larger quantities of expensive noble metal activators.

Formulation for the activation of substrate surfaces for currentless metallization thereof


An electronic device includes a device main frame portion, a display portion supported by the device main frame portion, a keyboard, and a casing on which the keyboard is disposed. The keyboard includes a plurality of operating keys, a placement base in which the plurality of operating keys are disposed, and a plurality of retaining portions disposed on at least portions of the placement base of the keyboard other than an outer circumferential portion. The keyboard is disposed on a casing. A plurality of connection retaining portions are provided on the casing, on which connection retaining portions the plurality of retaining portions of the placement base are retained, respectively.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to keyboard connection configurations and electronic devices. One example of the present invention relates to ensuring a strong connection of a keyboard to a casing by providing multiple retaining portions at predetermined positions on the keyboard.
2. Description of the Related Art
In electronic devices such as personal computers, cellular phones, and PDAs (Personal Digital Assistant), etc., there is typically a keyboard (keyboard unit) having multiple operating keys. The keyboard is typically connected to a casing (see Japanese Patent No. 3218819).
With the electronic device described in Japanese Patent No. 3218819, an engagement pawl portion is provided on both edge portions of the keyboard, a hole portion and a pawl portion are formed in a casing, one of the pawl portions of the keyboard is inserted in the hole portion of the casing to engage this with the opening edge of the hole portion, and the other pawl portion of the keyboard is engaged with the pawl portion of the casing to connect the keyboard to the casing. With this arrangement, a backing plate for receiving the operating key at the time of an operating key being pressed is typically provided on the casing.
Note however, with the electronic device provided in Japanese Patent No. 3218819, only the pawl portions provided on both edge portions of the keyboard are engaged with the casing, whereby the keyboard is connected to the casing. Thus, if the backing plate is bent due to aging, temperature environment, or the like, the center of the keyboard floats upwards from the casing, and the sense of operation when pressing an operating key deteriorates, in some cases.
Particularly, in a case in which the backing plate is formed of a thin metal material such as aluminum or the like to reduce weight and thickness of the electronic device, bending of the backing plate readily occurs.
In order to prevent bending of the backing plate, for example, there is a method for fixing the center portion of the keyboard to the casing using screw-thread members, but this arrangement can create difficulties upon disassembly of the keyboard from the casing, and thus can lead to difficulty in maintenance.
Accordingly, there has been recognized a need to provide a keyboard connection configuration with a strong connection to the casing.

Keyboard connection configuration and electronic device


A vehicle engine 2 comprises an exhaust system having an exhaust manifold 12 and an exhaust purification device 18. The exhaust manifold 12 is disposed at a predetermined distance from a dash panel 106 constituting a body of the vehicle 100, the exhaust purification device 18 is disposed in a position overlapping a floor tunnel region 114, formed by a floor tunnel of the body, and is disposed below the exhaust manifold 12 and to one side of the center of the engine 2 in the cylinder-array direction, as viewed from the longitudinal direction of the vehicle 100. An exhaust purification device introduction passage 17 connecting the exhaust manifold 12 and the exhaust purification device 18 is disposed on the other side of the center of the exhaust manifold 12 in the cylinder-array direction, and extends below the exhaust manifold 12 to be connected to the exhaust purification device 18.

The exhaust purification catalyst has an appropriate activation temperature range and exerts purification performance by allowing passage of an exhaust gas with a temperature within the activation temperature range. Although the activation temperature range for the catalyst needs to be set in accordance with a specification of a vehicle, when a temperature range for a possible exhaust gas is wide, for example as in the case of an engine using both a compression ignition operation and a spark ignition operation, it may be difficult to set an activation temperature range corresponding to the temperature range for the exhaust gas, and it may be difficult to purify the exhaust gas with the exhaust purification catalysis in every temperature range.
For solving such a problem, it is conceivable that, for example, the upper limit of the activation temperature range is set in association with the highest exhaust gas temperature expected for the engine, and as for processing on an exhaust gas on the lowest exhaust gas temperature side, the exhaust purification system is disposed as close to the engine as possible. An example of the placement of the exhaust purification system located close to the engine described in Patent Document 1. When the exhaust purification system is disposed close to the engine as thus described, the exhaust gas can pass through the exhaust purification catalysis before the temperature of the exhaust gas decreases, so that the exhaust gas can be purified even when the temperature of the exhaust gas is relatively low.


A method and corresponding system upgrades a live computer system. The method begins with migrating a copy of data from a first system to a communicatively coupled second system at a first time. Next, at one or more subsequent times, a copy of changed data is migrated from the first system to the second system until a threshold is reached. Finally, in response to reaching the threshold, a copy of the remaining changed data is migrated from the first system to the second system. A further embodiment of the method comprises: disabling access to the first system during the migration of data at the first time, enabling and maintaining access to the first system at the one or more subsequent times during the migration of the copy of changed data, and disabling access to the first system during the migration of the copy of the remaining changed data. In this manner, the system being upgraded is still highly available throughout the upgrade process.

The invention generally relates to the field of computer programs and systems, and specifically to the field of performing system upgrades.
The advent of computer programs and systems has greatly changed the manner in which business is conducted. Many sophisticated and complex computer systems have been developed to assist businesses and consumers. These systems however do not remain stagnant, and such systems typically require upgrades.


A semiconductor device that enables a test for individual IC chips mounted on an interposer is provided. In the semiconductor device having the interposer on which a first IC chip and a second IC chip are mounted, the first IC chip and the second IC chip are connected to outside the interposer by input wring and output wiring, respectively, and a transistor element serving as a switch is inserted in series into the wiring connecting between the first IC chip and the second IC chip.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device, more specifically, to a semiconductor device in which a plurality of IC chips are disposed on a substrate and connected each other by wiring.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the related art, as part of an inspection for an interposer on which a plurality IC chips is mounted, a method for testing whether or not the interposer satisfies a required condition by measuring a current flow in the interposer is employed. (See, for example, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. Hei 7-49366, Page 2 to 3, FIG. 1). Specifically, an interposer 103 shown in FIG. 3 is tested in the following manner. The interposer 103 has an IC chip (1) 101 connected to outside the interposer 103 with a Pin11, Pin12, Pin13, . . . , Pin1n and an IC chip (2) 102 connected to outside the interposer 103 with a Pin21, Pin22, Pin23, . . . , Pin2m and to the IC chip (1) by internal wiring. The test of the interposer 103 is carried out by inputting signals into the Pin11, Pin12, Pin13, . . . , Pin1n and measuring signals outputted from the Pin21, Pin22, Pin23, . . . , Pin2m.

Semiconductor device for testing semiconductors


A controller area network employs a CAN bus for facilitating CAN communications among a plurality of communication controllers switched to an active state. The controller area network further employs a CAN wake-up controller for switching one or more communication controllers to the active state in response to an application of a non-interfering communication biasing signal to said CAN bus. Upon a termination of the application of a non-interfering communication biasing signal to said CAN bus, the CAN wake-up controller switches the communication controller(s) to an inactive state for impeding CAN communications by communication controller(s) via the CAN bus.

A CAN bus as known in the art facilitates communications among various communication controllers of a CAN network. FIG. 1 illustrates exemplary conventional CAN communications involving an electrical communication of an operational signal VOS (e.g., a brake pedal signal) from a master device 20 (e.g., a brake pedal sensor) to a master communication controller 30, which in turn electrically communicates a master communication VMC (e.g., desired brake force) to a CAN bus 40. The master communication VMC is addressed to a slave communication controller 50, which receives the master communication VMC via CAN bus 40 and in turn electrically communicates an actuation signal (e.g., brake force signal) to a slave device 60 (e.g., a brake). Slave device 60 electrically communicates a brake feedback signal VFB to slave communication controller 50, which in turn electrically communicates a slave communication VSC (e.g., a brake feedback signal) to CAN bus 40. The slave communication VSC is addressed to master communication controller 30, which receives the slave communication VSC via CAN bus 40.
In FIG. 1, communication controllers 30 and 50 are operating in an active state that enables communication controllers 30 and 50 to participate in CAN communications VMC and VSC via CAN bus 40. Communication controllers 30 and 50 are typically switched to the active state whenever there is a need to conduct CAN communications VMC and VSC via CAN bus 40 (e.g., a vehicle is operating in a condition other than "key off" condition). Conversely, an inactive state prohibits communication controllers 30 and 50 from participating in CAN communications VMC and VSC via CAN bus 40. Communication controllers 30 and 50 are typically switched to the inactive state whenever there is a lack of need to conduct CAN communications VMC and VSC via CAN bus 40 (e.g., a vehicle is operating in the "key off" condition).
It is known in the art to require slave communication controller 50 to remain continuously connected to a battery during an inactive state to thereby draw a quiescent current whereby slave communication controller 50 can wake-up (i.e., switch to the active state) on its own initiative to receive the master communication VMC from master communication controller 30. In one known implementation, the quiescent current enables slave communication controller 50 to periodically wake-up to thereby check for the master communication VMC from master communication controller 30. In another known implementation, the quiescent current enables slave communication controller 50 to incorporate a special CAN transceiver integrated circuit for continuously monitoring CAN bus 40 for the master communication VMC from master communication controller 30.

Controller area network wake-up system and method


Apparatus and method for respiratory drug delivery using cartridge containing drug and propellant. User inserts cartridge into body of apparatus and activates a mechanism for opening drug compartment and propellant compartment, resulting in mixing and de-agglomeration of drug for respiratory delivery.

For many drugs and treatment needs respiratory drug delivery represents an attractive or unique solution. Delivery of drugs by inhalation, however, is often challenging for a number of reasons. Especially for solid drugs, one challenge is often the design of an appropriate system used for drug delivery. Powdered drugs generally need to be aerosolized before inhalation, a process often requiring systems with high operation reliability and reproducibility for consistent and effective drug delivery.
Several respiratory drug delivery systems have been employed, but they usually have one or more undesirable features. Some delivery systems are bulky, making their transportation inconvenient and thus potentially compromising treatment compliance. Some delivery systems are very expensive to produce, making their adoption unlikely even for routine use for chronic conditions. Some devices contain a pump to pressurize air, which could require a large number of parts and moving parts, with the associated high cost of production, expected wear and tear, as well as challenges for young or old users, or patients suffering from conditions such as clubbed fingers. Inconsistency of the delivered dose is a common shortcoming of present delivery devices, as might be the need of forceful inspiratory flow rate. Time dependent dose variability is most often due to either device reliability (wear and tear) or, for some devices, progressive decrease of drug canister pressure. Furthermore, the percentage of the aerosolized drug that reaches the lung for deposition is often variable, and some systems cannot be easily scaled for child or adult use.
Accordingly, there is a need for improved respiratory drug delivery devices and methods. Ideally, new devices should be compact for portability and to ensure good treatment compliance by patients. Devices should also be inexpensive to the point where they are disposable or routinely replaceable, or contain disposable parts that ensure inexpensive long-term operation. Respiratory drug delivery systems should be easy to use by any group of patients, and should reproducibly generate the required dose of aerosolized drug. Operation of drug delivery devices should not require forceful inspiration. Furthermore, devices are needed that are easily adaptable for the needs of adult or pediatric patients.


A buffer includes a plurality of serial inputs, a plurality of de-serializers, each coupled to a respective input, a plurality n of buffers and a media access controller having inputs coupled to the plurality of de-serializers, data outputs coupled to the buffers, and two control outputs coupled to respective buffers for buffering input data at a clock rate one-nth that of the input data. Preferably the buffer is a bifurcate buffer. In operation, serial packets are received on a port. They must be converted to parallel data for processing by conventional CMOS logic, however there are limits serial to parallel conversion ratio. This buffer describe circumvents theses limits.

Peripheral Component Interconnect Express, PCIe 2.0 specifies 5.0 Gigbit/s symbol rate per lane. Multiple lanes can be used to fabricate larger port bandwidths. For example, x4 port would have an aggregate symbol rate of 20 G, and a bit rate of 16 G, 8b10b coding is used. A x8 port would have an aggregate symbol rate of 40 G, and a bit rate of 32 G. There are other serial interconnect protocols, for example serial rapid IO and Ethernet that have similar properties. This disclosure will focus on PICe, but is not limited to that protocol.
Referring to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a PCIe packet. The diagram is copied from PCIe specification. The PCIe packet 10 includes a framing byte 12, a two-byte sequence number 14, a header 16, data 18, a 4-byte ECRC 20, a 4-byte LCRC 22 and a final framing byte 24, all of which form a physical layer 26. The two-byte sequence number 14, the header 16, data 18, the 4-byte ECRC 20, and the 4-byte LCRC 22 form a data link layer 27. The header 16, data 18 and the 4-byte ECRC 20 form a transaction layer 28. The data 18 and the 4-byte ECRC 20 are optional, hence are shown in dashed line.
The numbers of bytes (actually a 10 bit symbol on the serial link) is shown in FIG. 1. The framing bytes, start 12 and stop 24 can be discarded by the internal logic as they are only useful for synchronizing the link to the symbol time at the receiver. The sequence number 14 only exists on the link. This is only useful to the data link layer 27, to assure that all packets are received, and in order. Although the LCRC 22 (link CRC) is valid for the link, it can be useful to monitor data integrity through a switch, or other such device.
The simplest way to convert this serial packet to a parallel bus for on chip processing is shown in FIG. 2. The 10-bit symbols at 5 G/s are converted to 8-bit data at 500 Mbits/s by SERDES (serialize/de-serialize) 30. Note that the start of packet (SOP) must always occur on lane 0. The parallel data is written 32 into a data buffer, running at the same clock rate as the 500M byte rate. It may be feasible to implement the MAC at a clock rate of 500 MHz in 90 nm The read side of the buffer, connecting to a large internal switch fabric (ISF), will not be feasible to implement at 500 MHz clock rate. Two minimum size packets are shown 32 to consume six clock ticks, and only take four ticks to write into the data buffer 36, 38.
It is possible to have a serialize/de-serialize (SERDES) 30 that creates 16-bit wide data lanes running at half the speed. The issue then is that two packets may exist at the same time on the same clock tick. Memory management would required that different packets occupy different memory locations.
When a port bifurcates, prior art methods typically instantiate another buffer for that port. This buffer is wasted when a single 1×8 port is used.


An electrical connector assembly which controls cross talk and signal radiation. Signal pathways are provided on modules in a first connector housing, with the signal pathways being arranged in differential pairs. Second ground pathways are positioned between side surfaces of the modules and respective signal pathways of the signal pathways. Signal contacts are positioned in the second connector housing. Second ground contacts are positioned in the second connector housing. The second ground contacts are positioned between side surfaces of the second modules and respective signal contacts of the signal contacts. The second ground pathways engage the second ground contacts of the second modules to balance the differential pairs of signal pathways to optimize impedance and shielding of the signal pathways.

Due to the increasing complexity of electronic components, it is desirable to fit more components in less space on a circuit board or other substrate. Consequently, the spacing between electrical terminals within connectors has been reduced, while the number of electrical terminals housed in the connectors has increased, thereby increasing the need in the electrical arts for electrical connectors that are capable of handling higher and higher speeds and to do so with greater and greater pin densities. It is desirable for such connectors to have not only reasonably constant impedance levels, but also acceptable levels of impedance and cross-talk, as well as other acceptable electrical and mechanical characteristics. Therefore, there remains a need to provide appropriate impedance and shielding to preserve signal integrity and to minimize crosstalk as speeds of signals increase and the footprint of the connector remains the same or decreases.
It would, therefore, be beneficial to provide a connector with enhanced grounding to optimize impedance and shielding between signal pairs and reduce crosstalk between the signal pairs. It would also be beneficial to provide connector assemblies which are backward compatible with existing connectors.

Modular electrical connector with additional grounding


Oral compositions containing phytic acid or a physiologically acceptable salt thereof, a cationic antimicrobial compound and a compatibilizing agent are disclosed for controlling dental calculus, dental plaque, gingivitis, periodontitis and/or oral malodor.

The present invention relates to oral compositions containing an anticalculus or an antiplaque/antigingivitis agent.
"Oral composition" means a composition for topical applications to the oral cavity to clean and care for the teeth as well as the oral cavity surfaces. Representatives of such compositions are oral hygiene products and dentifrices such as mouthwashes or rinses, toothpaste, dental gels, tooth powder, chewing gum, lozenges, and similar products. In addition to cleaning teeth to remove dental plaque, the function of oral hygiene preparations is to stop the formation of dental calculus, to prevent dental disorders such as caries, periodontitis and gingivitis, and also to eliminate halitosis.
Dental calculus, or tartar as it is sometimes called, is a hard mineralized material which forms on teeth that consists of inorganic and organic components. The inorganic portion is largely calcium and orthophosphate arranged in a crystal lattice called hydroxyapatite (HAP). The organic portion is derived mainly from microorganisms (i.e., bacteria, yeast, etc.) as well as epithelial cells, white blood cells and food debris.
Formation of dental calculus occurs in two steps. In the first step, plaque is deposited on the teeth. "Plaque" consists of inorganic and organic components derived from saliva, food and bacteria which are present in the oral cavity. Most of the plaque consists of dead and living bacteria surrounded by a gel-like matrix derived from the bacteria and saliva. In the second phase, plaque undergoes calcification to form dental calculus. Initially, amorphous deposits of calcium phosphate begins to appear on and within the matrix of the dental plaque. As the aggregates of calcium phosphate become sufficiently closely packed together, they crystalize to form HAP. The amorphous calcium phosphate, although related to hydroxyapatite, differs from it in crystal structure, particle morphology and stoichiometry.
In addition to being an integral step for the formation of calculus, consequences of the presence of plaque include gingivitis, periodontitis, tooth decay (dental caries) and denture associated problems. Inhibition of oral bacteria involved in the formation of plaque by antimicrobials or antiseptic agents is one means to retard the formation of plaque, thus aiding in preventing or controlling the formation of calculus and other plaque related diseases; see, for example, P. S. Hull, J. Clinical Periodontology, 7, 431-442 (1980). Examples of antiseptic agents include bisbiguanides, such as chlorhexidine and alexidine, and numerous antibacterially active quaternary ammonium compounds, such as cetylpyridinium chloride or the quaternary ammonium compounds described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,369,046 and 4,820,507; and quaternary ammonium organosiloxane compounds described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,161,518.
Although the quaternary ammonium compounds are rapidly adsorbed to the tooth surfaces, they exhibit only a moderate degree of efficacy as antiplaque and antigingivitis agents as they are rapidly released from the tooth surface and thus retained in the oral cavity for only a short period of time. Chlorhexidine has been the most successful antiplaque agent as it is believed to bind to the oral mucosa and is thus retained in the oral cavity for a longer period of time than quaternary ammonium compounds. The use of chlorhexidine in oral preparations however, suffers from the following disadvantages: (1) a prolonged bitter after taste lasting up to several hours; (2) after prolonged use stains are produced on the teeth, tongue, gums, oral mucosa and dental restorations; and (3) production of local irritation of the oral mucosa and tongue.
Inhibition of crystalline HAP formation is usually achieved by compounds which sorb onto a growing crystal and disrupt crystal growth. It is well known in the prior art that water soluble hexametaphosphates, tripolyphosphates and pyrophosphates and the like, are effective calcium and magnesium ion sequestrants and/or chelating agents. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,488,419 which discloses oral compositions containing polyphosphate and U.S. Pat. No. 4,215,105 which discloses oral compositions containing phosphonoacetic acid. However, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,627,977, the effectiveness of polyphosphates as anticalculus agents has been limited because they are significantly hydrolyzed by salivary enzymes (phosphatases) to orthophosphates which are ineffective as inhibitors of HAP formation. The amount of enzymatic hydrolysis of the polyphosphate has been reduced by the use of a linear molecularly dehydrated polyphosphate salt combined with fluoride as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,808,410.
Compounds containing a carbon atom covalently bonded to oxygen, the oxygen being covalently bonded to a phosphorous, herein referred to as C-O-P bonds, particularly six C-O-P bonds, such as phytic acid [myo-inositol 1,2,3,4,5,6-hexakis(dihydrogen phosphate)], have been recommended for various purposes in oral compositions. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,259,316 and 4,335,102 disclose oral anticaries compositions containing a phytate compound and a stannous compound. Due to complex formation between polyvalent cations and phytate anion, the art teaches the presence of stannous compounds in an oral composition containing a phytate compound would not be desirable for inhibition of calculus formation.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,934,002 phytic acid is disclosed as one of the anticalculus compounds in oral compositions used together with a bisbiguanide antiplaque and anticaries agent. These two agents react with one another so that neither the anticalculus or antiplaque agent would be homogeneously distributed throughout the oral compositions. Since both agents are present, if a mouthrinse is prepared, it contains two visibly distinct phases, one being solid phase reaction product of bis-biguanide and anticalculus agent. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,263,276 and 4,305,928 also describe visually clear oral compositions containing phytic acid in the presence of an alkali metal fluoride, monofluorophosphate or alkali metal monofluorophosphate, where a cationic material, such as a bisbiguanide or cationic surface active agent can be present. However, effective inhibition of HAP or plaque formation with compositions including compounds containing C-O-P bonds with an antimicrobial have not been known beyond such recommendations or speculation.
It would therefore be desirable to have an oral composition containing an effective antiplaque or anticalculus agent to aid in the prevention of dental caries and gingivitis as well as aid in the control of mouth malodor which does not stain the teeth and does not have a bitter taste. It would also be desirable to provide an antiplaque and anticalculus oral composition in which phytic acid is homogeneously distributed in the oral composition along with a cationic antimicrobial compound.
Furthermore, it would be desirable to provide an oral composition having enhanced retention of cationic antimicrobial compounds on the tooth surfaces useful in the prevention of dental plaque and gingivitis.

Phytate antimicrobial compositions in oral care products


The present invention refers to a dosing screw unit for an automatic dosing device The purpose of the automatic dosing device is to control the dosing of stored material, kept inside (29) a container (27), out of the storage. The object of the dosing screw unit according to the invention is to achieve a dosing, closing and cleaning arrangement for the automatic dosing device. The screw unit therefore comprises parts that interact with the thread of the dosing screw (1), which parts constitutes an attacher (14) that interacts with the thread and scratches of material clogged on the screw, closer that closes the outlet of the dosing unit and a director that prevents the parts from rotating around the dosing screw (1).

Automatic dosing devices for different yes of machines have since long been a target for manufactures. These devices shall be able to dose powder, liquid or other kinds of material from a container into a process. Therefore a various amount of dosing devices have been developed. Mostly these devices are developed for industrial use. They are therefore often quite expensive and/or complex constructions.
Recently there has been more focus on designing automatic dosing devices for household or at least cheaper appliances. Especially for laundry washing machines there is a large interest in achieving simple and reliable devices. Conventionally, such automatic dosing devices for dispensing a detergent into a washing tub has been proposed. The detergent is stored in a container and dispensed from a discharge at the outlet of the container. In order to avoid that vibrations causes detergent to fall out from the container at other occasions than when the detergent is to be dispensed, several proposed dosing devices have a discharge mechanism which is able to both dose and close the outlet.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,063,757 proposes a detergent dispenser with this kind of dosing and closing mechanism. The dispenser includes a detergent container with a lower discharge outlet from which stored detergent is discharged and a detergent fall preventing member displaced in the outlet in order to close the outlet when detergent is not dosed. The dosing is achieved by a helical coil/screw arranged is a discharge passageway. An agitating member is disposed in the detergent container in order to avoid clogging of the detergent. The helical coil or screw and the agitating member are rotated by an electric motor mounted together with the container. The container, with an outer and inner casing, is detachably mounted to the machine by claws.
Although the construction is developed to be detachably mounted inside a machine it has drawbacks. The detaching mechanism demands a careful handling by the user. The container and other parts also have to be clean to co-operate with the machine and in order to be fixed by the claws. Since the motor is placed with the container it is more expensive to have more than one dispenser for a machine. The container is also designed such that it makes it is difficult to fit in a space inside a washing machine in a proper way. Finally it is also important to create a construction as simple and cheap as possible, which means fewer and simpler parts than in this construction.
The present invention has been made with a view toward overcoming the above drawbacks of the prior art. A first-object of the present invention is therefore to provide a dosing screw unit for an automatic dosing device that avoids humidity leaking in through the passageway in which is the screw is arranged. In order to achieve that the unit has a closer that closes the passageway outlet when the screw is not dosing. A second object of the present invention is to provide a unit that avoids clogging of material inside the passageway and on the screw. In order to avoid that the unit has a cleaner that scratches of the clogged material. A third object of the present invention is to provide a unit that is easy for the user to switch and clean. In order to achieve that the unit is detachably attached to the automatic dosing unit. A fourth object of the present invention is to achieve a cheap unit that is simple to manufacture. In order to achieve that the unit has few simple parts of cheap, reliable materials. The dosing screw unit shall mainly be designed for an automatic dosing device for a laundry washing machine, but the principle idea shall be applicable for any kind of machine that requires an automatic dosing unit. The solution of this present invention is achieved according to the features disclosed in claim 1.
According to the present invention a screw unit for dosing (dispensing) material from a container into an outlet is provided. The unit is operated by an electric motor and comprises a dosing screw, a channel interacting with the screw, a sealing with a directer, a closer and an attacher which also works as a cleaner. All these parts will be described more thoroughly in the preferred embodiment. According to the above mentioned objects of the present invention all sealing parts are formed to achieve a cheap, reliable and effective unit for cleaning and sealing in an automatic dosing unit. Accordingly the sealing unit interacts with the dosing screw for best results.

Automatic dosing device with a dosing screw and the use of such an automatic dosing device

Electrolux Home Products Corporation N.V.


A circuit arrangement for igniting and operating a discharge lamp is provided with input terminals for connecting a supply source and a commutator having output terminals for connecting a lamp to be operated, the commutator including at least two switches which are alternately in a conducting and a non-conducting state. The commutator is suitable for pulse width modulation (PWM) operation of the switches. The switches and an output terminal are connected to one another by coupled inductors for this purpose.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a circuit arrangement for igniting and operating a discharge lamp, provided with
input terminals for connecting a supply source, PA1 commutator means provided with output terminals for connecting a lamp PA1 to be operated,
which commutator means comprises at least two (2) switching means which are alternately in a conducting and a non-conducting state, each of the two switching means being connected to a connection point which is connected to one of the output terminals.
2. Description of the Related Art
A circuit arrangement of the kind mentioned in the opening paragraph is known from EP-A-0398432=U.S. Pat. No. 5,087,859. The known circuit arrangement is particularly suitable for operating a high-pressure discharge lamp of a projection TV installation (PTV). An important property of a high-pressure discharge lamp is that acoustic resonances will occur under certain conditions. Such resonances give rise to instabilities in the discharge arc of the lamp, and thus in the light output. In extreme cases, said resonances will lead to instabilities of such an intensity that the lamp extinguishes. The resonances may also give rise to attacks on the discharge vessel of the lamp such that the end of lamp life is reached prematurely. The risk of acoustic resonances occurring is avoided in the known circuit arrangement in that the commutator means are operated at a fixed frequency, which frequency lies within a resonance-free band of the lamp.
The commutator means in the known circuit arrangement is formed by a bridge circuit with four switching means which are interconnected in pairs via respective connection points and which are switched alternately into a conducting and a non-conducting state. The bridge circuit comprises a bridge branch between connection points in which the output terminals for connecting a lamp to be operated are incorporated. To control the power consumed by the lamp, the known circuit arrangement comprises a controlled power stage which supplies a DC voltage to the commutator means. A disadvantage of this is that an additional power stage is required. An alternative mode of power control is a control of the switching frequency of each of the switching means of the commutator means. This is practically impossible in the operation of high-pressure discharge lamps on account of the problem of acoustic resonances as described above. In practice, bridge circuits with two switching means are widely used for operating low-pressure mercury discharge lamps. It is proposed to control the power consumed by the lamp, and thus the luminous flux of the lamp, through a control of the switching frequency of the switching means. It is found to be necessary to increase the switching frequency very strongly compared with that obtaining in nominal operation of the low-pressure mercury discharge lamp if the luminous flux is to be controlled over a wide range in this manner. An important disadvantage of this is that the use of such high switching frequencies leads not only to a quick variation in light intensity (flickering) which is unpleasant to the human eye, but also to a strongly increased intensity of the radio frequency interference (RFI). Although it is possible to counteract the occurrence of radio frequency interference by means of additional, specific interference suppression circuits in addition to usual filter circuit means, the use of such interference suppression circuits leads on the one hand to a considerable power loss and on the other hand to a disadvantageous rise in the cost price owing to a strongly increased complexity of the circuit arrangement.
It is an object of the invention to provide a circuit arrangement of the kind described in the opening paragraph with a control of the power consumed by the lamp in which the above disadvantages are avoided.

Commutator for a discharge lamp having mutually coupled inductors


A surgical rotary reamer including a shaft and a cutting head connected to the shaft. The cutting head has a plurality of cutting teeth. At least one cutting tooth has a forward portion, a rearward portion and a mid-portion therebetween. The forward portion has a first cutting edge that cuts in a first rotary direction. The rearward portion has a second cutting edge that cuts in the first rotary direction and/or a second rotary direction. The mid-portion interconnects the forward portion and the rearward portion and includes a recessed portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a surgical cutting device, and, more particularly, to a rotary surgical cutting device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Cutters and reamers are used in surgical procedures to prepare canals in bone material to receive implants. The cutters and reamers generally have a hemispherical or cylindrical cutting head. This head is often fixed to the end of a shaft for rotatably driving the cutting head.
An orthopaedic reamer is used to cut a bone and thereby form the interior of the bone into a predetermined shape for receiving an orthopaedic implant. For example, an intramedullary (IM) reamer may be placed into the intramedullary canal of the bone and used to ream the interior of the bone to receive the stem of an orthopaedic implant. Such a reamer includes a radial, peripheral surface which generally includes a plurality of radially extending teeth for cutting the bone in a radial direction as the reamer proceeds in an axial direction into the bone. The size of the opening formed in the bone is determined by the outside diameter of the reamer.
An orthopaedic reamer may also include a cutting head with a distal face which has a plurality of cutting teeth formed therein. The distal face has a shape which corresponds to the shape of an orthopaedic implant to be received within the bone, and includes a plurality of cutting teeth extending from the distal face. The reamer is placed against the bone surface to be cut, such as an acetabulum or glenoid, and is plunge cut into the bone. Such reamers are effective for removing a portion of the bone so that the bone is shaped to receive the implant.
An orthopaedic reamer including a distal face as described above may include cutting teeth which are formed by a punching operation for each individual tooth. Each cutting tooth typically includes a hole and a raised portion which extends from the distal face. The raised portion includes a humped or center portion which results in the bone being cut with an annular groove as the cutting head is rotated about its rotational axis. In other words, each cutting tooth includes a raised portion resembling half of a cone split longitudinally, with the base edge of the cone defining the cutting edge. Although such a cutting tooth configuration is effective to remove the bone for receiving an implant, the rough surface resulting from the cutting teeth may not be desirable for certain applications.
IM reamers typically include an axial cutting face and peripheral fluted cutting teeth. Such reamers can be cylindrical or bullet shaped with multiple cutting flutes along the surface extending from the leading tip. The cutting flutes are oriented with the long axis at a low angle or a helix. Flutes are generally shallow and can become clogged with cutting debris. The cutting work in the bone wall has the affect of forming bone chips, which mixes with other matter in the bone. The rotation of the reamer along with the bone chips and debris may cause heating in the bone that can lead to thermalnecrosis of the bone.
What is needed in the art is a reamer that leaves a smooth cut surface with minimal impact on the bone structure.