The present disclosure provides prochelators as targeted prodrugs for cancer, such as prostate cancer, and methods of making and using the same.

Metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) is aggressive and often lethal. Although hormonal agents and chemotherapies targeting androgen receptors have improved treatment, there is a clear need to develop prostate cancer therapies that act on targets other than androgen receptors. An exciting and under-developed possibility is to target aspects of biological copper regulation that are linked to disease. Clinical observations that circulating and intratumoral copper levels are elevated in prostate cancer patients inspired a team of Duke researchers to define the mechanisms of Cu uptake in prostate cancer cells and discover molecules that are cytotoxic under such Cu-loaded conditions. That preclinical effort uncovered disulfiram, an FDA-approved drug used since 1948 for alcohol-aversion therapy. However, significant hurdles hinder the possibility that disulfiram itself will be an effective cancer treatment—a phase 1 study of disulfiram in mCRPC patients demonstrated significant toxicity without improvement in efficacy. Indeed, 6 of the 12 patients developed grade 3 adverse events including double vision, hearing loss, increase in liver function testing, ataxia, and diarrhea.
Although Cu has long been recognized as a factor in cancer cell proliferation, approaches to date have not optimally exploited this aspect for clinical effect. A challenge in this area is to discover ways to reallocate Cu selectively to the tumor or pre-tumor site without systemically altering healthy metal status. A clinical trial protocol has already been designed, which tests copper and disulfiram in patients with metastatic CPRC, with an FDA-approved IND. Disulfiram itself has clinical issues, however, that will require innovative solutions to maximize their potential benefit. For its approved use to curb alcohol consumption, disulfiram (DSF, FIG. 1) is itself a prodrug. Upon entering a cell, the disulfide form is readily reduced to a dithiocarbamate (DTC, FIG. 1), which can then react with protein thiols to form mixed disulfide protein adducts. Further metabolism in the liver leads to diethylthiocarbamate-sulfoxide and sulfone metabolites that ultimately inhibit aldehyde dehydrogenase, the desired target for causing an aversive build-up of acetaldehyde in patients who consume ethanol. These reactions and metabolites are counterproductive in terms of cancer therapy. Over the last 2 decades, a significant amount of research has shown that the active anti-cancer agent is the Cu complex of DTC.
Therefore, there remain a need for prodrug compounds that enable targeted delivery of DTC or its equivalents to cancer cells (in particular prostate cancer cells) with reduced toxicity or other side effects and/or improved efficacy in cancer therapy.

Prochelators as targeted prodrugs for prostate cancer and methods of making and using same


A computer-implemented method for eliminating inconsistencies between backing stores and caches may include (1) detecting at least one inconsistency between a backing store and a cache, (2) identifying a synchronization marker that bifurcates write operations queued in the cache into (i) a subset of one or more write operations known to have been successfully performed on the backing store and (ii) an additional subset of one or more additional write operations not yet known to have been successfully performed on the backing store, (3) identifying the additional subset of additional write operations based at least in part on the synchronization marker, (4) performing the additional subset of additional write operations on the backing store, and then (5) updating the synchronization marker based at least in part on performing the additional subset of additional write operations on the backing store. Various other methods, systems, and computer-readable media are also disclosed.

Data storage systems often include multiple devices that serve different purposes. For example, a data storage system may include a backing device (such as a disk drive) that provides relatively slow and inexpensive long-term storage for application data. In this example, the data storage system may also include a cache device (such as a solid-state drive) that provides relatively fast and expensive short-term storage for the application data.
In order to function properly, the data storage system may need to maintain a certain level of consistency across the application data stored in the backing device and the cache device. For example, when an application issues a write operation, the data storage system may perform the write operation on the cache device and then propagate the write operation to the backing device in order to synchronize the application data stored in the backing device and the cache device. By synchronizing the application data stored in the backing device and the cache device, the data storage system may ensure that the application does not experience downtime or input/output errors resulting from inconsistencies between the backing store and the cache device.
Unfortunately, in the event that the data storage system is unable to successfully perform the write operation on the backing store (due, e.g., to one or more system failures), the data storage system may be unable to synchronize the application data stored in the backing store and the cache device. As a result, the application data may develop inconsistencies that ultimately lead to application downtime or input/output errors. What is needed, therefore, are systems and methods for eliminating inconsistencies between backing devices and cache devices in order to avoid application downtime and input/output errors resulting from failed write operations.

Systems and methods for eliminating inconsistencies between backing stores and caches


A structural element for use as a core layer in a sandwich composite element, wherein the structural element (2) is formed from a plurality of mutually welded body segments (4, 5) made from an extrusion foamed thermoplastic, and wherein the structural element (2) has a first face side (1) for bonding to a cover layer, wherein a surface of the first face side (1) that can be loaded with a resin (8) has open pores (6), wherein the surface of the first face side (1) is created by hot-element cutting, in such a manner that the surface is thermally sealed to some extent, wherein a gloss value of the surface of the first face side (1), measured at 60° in accordance with DIN 67530-1982 is between 2 and 10 gloss units.

The invention relates to a structural element for use as a core layer in a sandwich composite element, a sandwich composite element, particularly for producing wind blades for wind power installations and/or for uses in the maritime sector (particularly for the production of boat hulls and boat decks), in the rail-transport sector (train fronts, roofs, floors, wall elements of railway carriages), in mass transport by road (bus roofs, floors, fronts), for structural uses in the building sector (e.g. roofs) and also a method for producing a structural element of this type.
A generic structural element in described in EP 1 536 944 B2, which is suitable and intended for use as a core layer in a sandwich composite element for producing wind blades in wind power installations. The known structural element distinguishes itself by means of a plurality of body segments made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) that are arranged next to one another in one plane and connected to one another, the body segments being welded at the abutting side faces thereof, forming flat weld seams which, in a plan view, interconnect on a face side of the structural element, the flat weld seams forming a low-pore or pore-free plastic intermediate layer made from fused plastic of the body segments in the form of a reticulated web structure, which acts in a reinforcing manner.
The known planiform structural element is obtained by dividing a foam block, comprising the multiplicity of mutually welded body segments, perpendicularly to the planar extent of the intersecting weld seams by sawing the same into a multiplicity of plate-shaped structural elements. The thus-obtained structural element is processed to form a sandwich composite element, in that the face sides formed by sawing from a foam block are each bonded to a cover layer (e.g. aluminium sheet) using adhesive resin or are directly laminated to a fibre-reinforced resin cover layer without a further adhesive layer. The known structural elements have proven themselves as core layers in such sandwich composite elements. However, there are efforts to reduce the resin absorption of the structural element, particularly in the case of equal adhesive force of the cover layer, in order to thus obtain a sandwich composite element with a lower overall thickness and thus, for the same volume, with a lower weight for the same mechanical loadability. In the case of the laminating process in particular, in which the laminating resin is sucked into the layer arrangement with the aid of a vacuum, a reduced resin absorption is particularly interesting, as the laminating resin has the tendency, because of the vacuum loading, to fill all reachable cavities, and thus makes up a comparatively large proportion of the total weight.
It is suggested in WO 2005/047377 A1, which is not concerned with PET foams, to design the foam to have finer pores as a solution for a similar problem. However, this ultimately leads to unsatisfactory adhesion or adhesive action between a structural element and a cover layer.
A further approach for a solution, according to which the foamed material is condensed by applying pressure and temperature, is described in WO 2004/007600 A1, which is likewise not concerned with PET foams. However, this leads to foams with comparatively high density and makes the production method uneconomical, owing to the additionally required work step.
US 2005/0060895 A1 is concerned with the production of surfboards from a plurality of foamed structural elements made from polystyrene, the structural elements being shaped and welded to one another in a common method step. It is known from the published document to use hot-wire cutting for shaping the mutually welded structural elements.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,213,540 A1 describes a method for producing energy absorption products, in which a foam block is run through using a net made up of hot wires, in order to thus generate the weld seams within the block, which strengthen the structure. This published document is also not concerned with reducing the resin absorption.
A method for producing a structural element for use as a core layer in a sandwich composite element is described in GB 2474431 A, plastic layers initially being extruded over one another, and the respectively lower layer being heated by means of an infra-red heater before the subsequent layer is extruded on, so that the layers integrally connect to one another. The layer arrangement is then divided by means of hot-wire cutting into large blocks, which are then in turn divided into plate-shaped structural elements by means of hot-wire cutting. The published document does not consider the problem of reducing the resin absorption of the structural element during the further processing thereof to form a sandwich composite element.

Structural element and method for the production thereof


During the handover, a source base station transmits a handover request message carrying a QoS flow-based QoS parameter and/or a RB-based QoS parameter to a target base station. The target base station performs the admission control in accordance with the QoS flow-based QoS parameter or the RB-based QoS parameter, and transmits back to the source base station a handover request response message including information of a QoS flow or RB admitted successfully or unsuccessfully. The target base station performs, in accordance with the received information of the QoS flow, a convergence operation on the QoS flows which have a same QoS requirement, and generates a convergence mapping relationship from the QoS flows to the RBs and a corresponding RB configuration parameter. In addition, the target base station transmits the information of the QoS flow having been admitted to a core network.

FIG. 1 shows a carrier model for a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system in related art. A core network control plane function entity CN-C (Core Network-Control) in the LTE system generates a QoS parameter for an Evolved Radio Access Bearer (E-RAB). Air-interface Radio Bearers (RBs) are mapped to the E-RABs in a one-to-one correspondence manner, so the QoS parameter for the E-RAB generated by the core network control plane function entity is directly adopted as a QoS parameter for the air-interface RB.
Due to a heterogeneous access technology for a mobile communication network, it is necessary for the core network control plane function entity to support various tunneling protocols. e.g., General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Tunneling Protocol (GTP) and Proxy Mobile Internet Protocol (PMIP), so as to support mobility and guarantee QoS. When the various tunneling protocols are supported by a 5th-Generaton (5G) network with a control function and a forwarding function separated from each other, complex control logics and signaling interaction may be provided, and thereby the system performance may be adversely affected. Hence, for the 5G network, QoS support enhancement at a general forwarding plane, e.g., simplifying a forwarding protocol, optimizing a QoS scheduling policy or enhancing a packet forwarding capability at the forwarding plane, may be taken into consideration. Due to the long-term existence of the LTE network, for a connection management mechanism in the future 5G network, the compatibility with the connection access to an Evolved Packet System (EPS) also needs to be taken into consideration. It is still probably necessary for the connection management mechanism to provide an interoperability management function, so as to process a tunneling management message in the LTE network, and perform a tunneling management procedure.
The control plane function entity of the future 5G core network does not include any bearers. The QoS parameters issued by the core network control plane function entity CN-C to a Next Generation-Node B (NG-NB) are configured at a flow-based granularity level. In addition, the access network NG-NB performs the QoS management at a RB-based granularity level, so it is necessary for the access network to generate the QoS parameter at a RB level for an interaction procedure between the NG-NB and a User Equipment (UE) or between the NG-NB and another radio access entity.
The research of the 5G technology is still at an early stage, and there is currently no scheme for a new QoS mechanism during the handover.

Method and device for processing quality of service parameter in handover scenario

CHINA ACADEMY OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY


Contact-filter block (10) for the construction of trickling filters or rotating disc filters such as those used for the biological treatment of waste waters. The tube sections (11) of which the contact-filter block (10) is made up have an outside surface (12) structured in a net-like manner, the outside surfaces of the tube sections (11) being joined by joints (13) to avoid constrictions in the clear cross section of the tube sections (11).

The invention relates to a contact-filter block in accordance with the preamble of Patent Claim 1.
Such contact-filter blocks are used to construct trickling filters or rotating disc filters for the biological treatment of waste waters or other fluids. For this purpose, the contact-filter blocks are populated with a bio-mass, a so-called biological slime.
It is known to join a multiplicity of mutually adjacent tube sections having an outside surface structured in a net-like manner together to construct contact-filter blocks. The tube sections are joined by means of hot-tool welding by heating the end faces of the tube sections and applying pressure so that contact points of adjacent end faces of the tube sections fuse together and form joints.
As a result of this type of welding, material accumulations which constrict the (clear) internal cross-section of the tube sections are formed at the end faces of the tube sections. These cross-sectional constrictions in turn impede the flow through the contact-filter block in the longitudinal direction of the tube sections, thereby reducing the efficiency of such known contact-filter blocks.

Contact filter block of joined tube sections


An improved prosthetic device with a vacuum system for maintaining a negative pressure seal between the socket and the residual limb. The vacuum system includes a vacuum surge chamber which maintains seal vacuum and increases battery life. The system is small, lightweight, and concealable within the prosthetic device so that it neither impedes use of the device nor detracts from a cosmetically accurate limb.

The history of artificial limbs begins with very remote times. There is some evidence that the Romans and the Greeks improvised some sort of substitute for the limbs lost in battle and the vicissitudes of life. Herodotus tells us of a prisoner who amputated his own foot in order to free himself from the shackle, after which he escaped and returned to his friends, who made a wooden foot.
The treasure trove that turned up at Capua in 1885 in a tufa tomb is probably the most valuable and indisputable evidence that artificial legs were made in early times. The relic is now on exhibition in the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons, London. The official catalogue describes it thus: "Roman artificial leg; the artificial limb accurately represents the form of the leg. It is made with pieces of thin bronze, fastened by bronze nails to a wooden core. Two iron bars, having holes at their free ends, are attached to the upper extremity of the bronze. A quadrilateral piece of iron, found near the position of the foot, is thought to have given strength to it. There was no trace of the foot, and the wooden core had nearly crumbled away."
From those early times to about the beginning of the 20th century, little or no advance was made in the art; and, as no evidence exists to prove to the contrary, it is quite reasonable to suppose that for many centuries the manufacture of artificial limbs was one of the lost arts.
In the early part of the 20th century, the Duke of Anglesea, being in need of an artificial leg, and possessing an inventive faculty, suggested to an English instrument maker, what proved to be a very answerable substitute, a decided improvement on the primitive peg of the doughty Peter. The leg received but little improvement until the venturesome Selpho introduced it into this country with some admirable modifications of his own; here it met with American enterprise and began to thrive.
Typically, artificial limbs are held in place by a series of straps or some type of suspension system. Some are suspended with a silicone sleeve that has a shuttle pin that locks in place and is released by releasing the lock. The present invention creates a vacuum to hold the prosthesis which seems weightless because it is held on so tight.
The earliest use of a vacuum to attach an artificial leg was with above the knee amputees using what is known as the suction socket. This uses the same principle as a suction cup where the maximum strength of the force holding the objects together is a function of the atmospheric pressure at the altitude of use. In artificial leg usage the suction or vacuum is reduced by the vapor pressure of the sweat at the internal temperature of the socket. Use of suction sockets on below knee amputees were not initially practical. The next advance in using vacuum was the introduction of the Harmony system which uses a mechanical vacuum pump operated by the energy of walking. Each step operates the pump.
A mechanical vacuum system improves attachment prevents and eliminates pumping, bruising and increases comfort between the device and the residual limb. A vacuum pump forces out air through a one-way valve, creating negative pressure with every step the patient takes. A tiny tube connects the pump to a weight-bearing socket which is enveloped in a urethane liner or sleeve. By improving attachment, the prosthesis offers better control and equalized pressure on the limb and liner. The pump is powered by the wearer's walking energy. Taking a step compresses the device, which creates the vacuum between the liner and the socket.
The disadvantages of this system are size and weight. There are many amputees that cannot use this system because of size, age, length of the stump and of course children. Replacing the mechanical pump with a small, light, electronically controlled battery driven one, is a solution that is on the market called the Smith system. The Smith system employs a battery driven pump which is electronically controlled. The entire system is in a large box that is strapped to the artificial limb, it lacks a surge chamber and is too large to be cosmetically acceptable. The disadvantages of the Smith system include short battery life because of the constant need to regain an acceptable vacuum level. Other disadvantages are addressed by the advantages described hereinafter which include a surge chamber incorporated as an integral part of the system, and the ability to incorporate the other components in or on the limb and allow it to be made cosmetically acceptable to women, men, and children.
The instant invention provides an improved vacuum system for a prosthetic device using a vacuum source which is connected to the socket cavity thereby drawing the residual limb and liner into firm and total contact with the socket, in which a surge chamber allows the vacuum between the residual limb and the prosthetic device to be sustained for longer periods of time, thus reducing substantially the drain on the battery source and providing longer periods of time between pumping. This system may include a sealable container for a battery, a vacuum pump, and a controller in the form of a circuit board with pressure sensor. The sealable container may be designed to be inserted into the foot of a prosthesis. A leg pipe disposed between the leg cup and the footing can be used as a surge chamber. The surge chamber is disposed inside said leg pipe. Additionally, the battery, vacuum pump, and circuit board may be disposed inside the leg pipe. Sensors and vacuum connections to the socket of the prosthetic device are provided in accordance with the disclosure and pictures provided.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A carbonaceous feedstock to alcohol conversion process in which carbon dioxide and a portion of the hydrogen produced are removed from the syngas stream issuing from a feedstock reformer, to yield a reduced hydrogen, carbon monoxide and methane syngas stream. The hydrogen and the carbon dioxide are passed through a Fischer Tropsch reactor which is catalyzed to favor the production of methanol. The methanol produced in the Fischer-Tropsch reactor is passed with the reduced hydrogen syngas through a second Fischer-Tropsch reactor which is catalyzed to favor the production of ethanol. Also disclosed, without limitation, are a unique catalyst, a method for controlling the content of the syngas formed in the feedstock reformer, and a feedstock handling system.

The present invention relates to the conversion of carbonaceous feedstock into useful products. The term "carbonaceous feedstock" as used herein includes not only organic matter that is part of the stable carbon cycle, but also fossilized organic matter such as coal, petroleum, and natural gas, and products, derivatives and byproducts thereof such as plastics, petroleum coke and the like. The first step in such processes is the gasification of the feedstock in a so-called "reformer" to a stream of hydrogen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and methane. This stream is referred to as syngas, and its generation is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,872,886, and others. The '886 patent includes an oxidation first step, in which air is used to fire a portion of the feedstock. The resulting stream is then combined with a "coal slurry" stream in a second stage of the conversion reaction. U.S. Reissue Pat. No. 35,377 discloses the anaerobic reaction of the feedstock with steam.
The various ingredients in a stream of syngas can then be converted into other compounds in a so-called Fischer-Tropsch reactor. The catalyst used in the reactor, and to some extent the temperatures and pressures used, will determine what products can be obtained.
The Fischer-Tropsch reaction disclosed at the bottom of page 106 in Organic Chemistry, Third Edition, by Brewster and McEwen, .COPYRGT.1961 shows the conversion of carbon monoxide and hydrogen to alkanes over a cobalt-thoria catalyst. U.S. Pat. No. 4,752,622 discloses and claims the use of a three component catalyst comprising molybdenum or tungsten, cobalt or nickel, and an alkali or alkaline earth promoter, to produce methanol from carbon monoxide and hydrogen. U.S. Pat. No. 4,609,679 selectively catalyzes for the production of methane, by using ruthenium combined with tantalum, niobium, vanadium or mixtures thereof. U.S. Pat. No. 4,675,344 (Canadian CA 1,267,160) controls the ratio of methanol to higher alcohols produced by using molybdenum or tungsten sulfide catalysts, and adjusting the concentration of a sulfur releasing substance in the feed.
The conversion of methanol to ethanol and higher alcohols in the presence of carbon monoxide and hydrogen is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,825,013 and its Canadian counterpart CA 1,268,189. The patent claims achieving this conversion through the use of a heterogeneous catalyst comprised of molybdenum or tungsten and an alkali or alkaline earth element.
German Patent Application 32 42 697 A1 is directed towards a process for the concurrent production of methanol and ethanol by catalytically converting synthesis gas into methanol and separating the methanol from the reaction mixture. The separated methanol, along with excess gas remaining, is converted to ethanol at an increased pressure and an increased temperature, using a cobalt catalyst. In this process methanol, as well as ethanol, is produced from a single raw substance in a two-step process, using a heterogeneously catalyzed system with a homogeneously catalyzed system. Fresh synthesis gas is added if the excess gas does not contain enough carbon monoxide prior to homologization.
In European patent application 849,245, natural gas is converted in a reformer to a syngas stream of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, hydrogen and unconverted methane. This entire syngas stream is passed through a Fischer-Tropsch reactor to produce methanol. The unreacted syngas is divided into a CO, CO.sub.2 and CH.sub.4 stream, which is recycled back through the reformer; and a hydrogen rich stream, which is combined with oxygen and combusted to provide heat for the reformer.
PCT patent application WO 82/02547 removes CO.sub.2 from a syngas stream and recycles it through a reformer along with steam and an incoming stream of methane. The reactants produce a syngas stream from which the CO.sub.2 is thus continuously removed and recycled.
European patent application 253,540 is exemplary of art in which higher alcohols are produced in a Fischer-Tropsch reactor from feedstock (coal slurry) syngas, and any methanol produced is recycled through the Fischer-Tropsch reactor.

Process and appartus for the production of useful products from carbonaceous feedstock


An e-commerce based method for requesting information and purchasing products from a dealer through a manufacturer is disclosed. This method and system includes sending a request for detailed dealer information to a manufacturer server system using a client system and displaying real-time detailed dealer information on the client system based on the request, the real-time detailed dealer information received from the manufacturer server system, the manufacturer server system accessing the real-time detailed dealer information from a remote dealer server system via a middleware application system.

The Internet is a convenient medium by which consumers can have immediate access to complete product and service information along with the ability to purchase those products and services. In the past, to provide e-commerce capabilities, many dealers created virtual stores on their own dealer server systems. Consequently, extensive upgrades and complete infrastructure overhauls to their back-end systems were often necessary. In addition, it was very difficult for particular consumers to locate the nearest and most cost-effective dealer. Moreover, because many consumers relate to a particular brand or manufacturer of a product, rather than the name of a specific dealer, some consumers are unable to locate dealers on the Internet selling the desired product, not to mention the nearest or most cost-effective dealer.
Furthermore, some manufacturers solely created and completely operated virtual stores for dealers thereby creating a necessity to separately synchronize the manufacturer's virtual store data with each corresponding dealer. Here, again, many back-end system upgrades and overhauls are required by the manufacturer and dealer. The costs associated with these upgrades and overhauls exponentially increase with each additional dealer the manufacturer connects to its virtual store due to continuous data synchronization requirements as well as maintenance of all manufacturer and dealer back-end systems. Moreover, real-time data regarding a particular dealer may be non-existent, unavailable, or inoperative with this configuration due to synchronizing delays with each dealer.
Consequently, past back-end configurations fail to provide immediate, low-cost, and secure access to virtual stores and electronic commerce systems without complete infrastructure overhauls. Some companies simply cannot afford to go back to the drawing board and completely revise the architecture of critical systems because they greatly depend upon existing infrastructure. What is needed, then, is a method and system for a virtual store which is accessible from a manufacturer's website that defines a configuration and structure allowing use of existing system infrastructure of a dealer while providing real-time dealer specific information (pricing, availability, descriptions) to the consumer without interfacing the consumer directly with the older infrastructure and systems.
Additionally, a front-end presentation of a systemization of machine parts so that consumers may properly and quickly select among various machine parts is absent in the industry. Currently, machine parts are sold in person or over the phone with the aid of considerable cataloging documents requiring significant resources and time. In instances where part numbers or components are unknown, the mere determination of the necessary machine parts may take even longer. This may be much more time than a consumer is willing to spend if he either only needs an individual machine part or group of machine parts. It would be helpful to have a means for consumers to select specific groups or individual parts of machine parts for purchase, or to assemble only the required individual parts within a group of machine parts, without the aid of another human being or physical document. In addition, the number of different kinds of machine parts for a single machine often makes it confusing for consumers to know which specific parts best meet their needs. Consequently, a front-end systemization of machine parts which allow consumers to properly and quickly select among various machine parts having different individual parts, groups, components, and systems is necessary.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above.

E-commerce based method and system for manufacturer hosting of virtual dealer stores


This discloses a memory module adapter card that allows newer dual in-line memory modules (DIMMs) to be used by computer system boards that were built to use older single inline memory modules (SIMMs) thereby permitting computer owners to update and upgrade older machines without modifying or changing their system boards. This memory module adapter card is designed to connect a memory DIMM inserted into a DIMM socket, carried thereon, to a pair of smaller SIMM sockets on a computer system board such that the DIMM appears to the computer as a pair of the smaller SIMMs that the board was originally designed for. This decreases the need for manufacturing and maintaining an inventory of the older SIMMs and provides owners of older computers the means to extend the useful life of their existing computer system even if the SIMMs designed for the computer no longer exist or are prohibitively expensive or very difficult to locate.

Computers use numerous memory units such as Dynamic Random Access Memory units (DRAM)s for the storage of and retrieval of data. Initially computers used individual memory units mounted directly onto the computers main board, i.e., the system or mother board. As computers, and the programs used therein, increased in size and complexity, more and faster memory units were required and the system boards could not accommodate a sufficient number of individual memory units.
The initial solution to this problem was to create a memory module, formed of a plurality of individual memory units. These memory modules are still in use and known as Single In-line Memory Modules, herein after referred to as SIMMS. To accommodate these SIMMs, suitable sized sockets were provided on the system board. The use of these SIMMs and accommodating sockets significantly expanded the memory capacity of the computer. Initially the SIMMs were designed as 30 pin, 8 bit wide devices which mated with a suitable 30 pin female socket. Soon however increasing computer memory demands saw the introduction of a memory module extender which permitted single 30 pin SIMM sockets to receive a plurality of 30 pin SIMMs.
However industry advances saw the introduction of a faster, enlarged memory 72 Pin, 32 bit wide SIMM which required a mating 72 pin socket.
With these changes, the owners of older computers were again faced with either the foregoing of the advantages of these new 72 pin, 32 bit wide SIMMs or buying new computers.
A solution to this problem was the design of a memory module adaptor that was configured to permit a plurality of 30 pin 8 bit SIMMs to function as a single high order 72 pin, 32 bit SIMM.
Although the above solutions proved viable, the appetite of the computer industry for more and faster memory continues unabated.
To meet these further higher memory demands, 168 pin, 64 bit Dual In-line Memory Modules, hereinafter referred to as DIMMs, which require 168 pin sockets are now the industry standard. These DIMMs cannot be accommodated by either the 30 pin 8 bit or the 72 pin 32 bit SIMM sockets.
Accordingly the owners of older computers are faced, once again, with the choice of either foregoing the advantages of the new memory assemblies or buying new computers.
To further complicate the issue, the module manufacturers find that, to accommodate industry demands for the newer DIMMs, the production of the older SIMMs must be curtailed in favor of the newer DIMMs.
Thus there exists a need for a means of permitting older computers having, on their system boards, either 30 pin, 8 bit or 72 pin, 32 bit sockets to accept the newer 168 pin, 64 bit DIMMs thereby permitting the owners of older computers to upgrade these older machines and take advantage of the newer technology and programs.

International Business Machines Corporation


A fluid-actuated level device for use, for instance, in the building trades, discovers points lying on a horizontal plane with a reference point. The level device has a tube with a referenceend and a working-end, and a housing unit attached to the reference-end. Electrodes in the housing unit measure fluid-levels in the reference-end. When the fluid-level in the working-end is positioned in the horizontal plane containing the reference point, then the level device emits a signal; in one embodiment, this signal is a single continuous sound. When the working-end is positioned slightly higher than the reference point, a second signal is emitted; in one embodiment, this signal is an intermittent sound. The second intermittent sound notifies the worker that the fluid-level in the working-end is too high relative to the reference plane, i.e., the worker has xe2x80x9covershotxe2x80x9d the reference plane. Also provided are embodiments having a tube window, an alignment window, and a slidable backing assembly. The tube window provides visual access to the electrodes in the tube. The alignment window enables the reference markers to be in close proximity on adjacent sides of the tube at the reference-end. A slidable backing assembly enables the housing unit to be slidably adjusted along a continuous vertical line after it is affixed to a reference point. Lastly, a method for using a non-transparent tube is provided.

The present disclosure relates generally to devices used in identifying two or more points on a horizontal plane, specifically, a fluid-actuated level device for locating points on a level plane.
Numerous level devices have been used to identify points on a horizontal plane. Level devices are particularly useful in the building industries where positioning a structure on a level plane is critical to the design and implementation of the structure. Such structures include, for example, foundations, decks, counter-tops, suspended ceilings, suspended sprinkler systems, pools, fences, and sewer lines. Two level devices are commonly used in the building industries: bubble levels and fluid-actuated levels. Bubble levels are well-known in the prior art. Two types of fluid-actuated levels are generally known in the prior art. Both types operate according to the same general principle: if fluid is allowed to flow through a tube and the end of the tube are raised above the body of the tube, then gravity pulls the fluid such that the fluid-levels at the tube ends settle on the same horizontal plane. The first type of fluid-actuated level generally consists of a sealed tube with a pressure-sensing device connected to a tube end for measuring air pressure in an air cavity at the tube end. The pressure varies with the displacement in air volume at the tube ends caused by the gravitational pull on the fluid; the sensing device may thus be calibrated to a particular air pressure, typically a pressure corresponding to when the fluid-levels in the two ends lie on a horizontal plane. One drawback of the pressure-sensitive fluid-actuated level is its cost, which is often prohibitive for commonplace construction applications.
The second type of fluid-actuated level (generally less costly than the first type) typically uses a fluid-level sensing device connected to an end of an unsealed tube. A fluid-actuated level of this type is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,434,561 and shown in FIGS. 1-2. In FIG. 1, fluid-actuated level device 10 has a housing unit 17 and a tube 11 for holding an electrically conducting fluid 18, typically tap water. Tube 11 has a reference-end 21, connected to the housing unit 17, and a working-end 20. Working-end 20 is used by a worker for locating level points in a proposed horizontal plane, or reference plane. Housing unit 17 has a base electrode 15 and a reference electrode 14 inserted through the walls of the reference-end 21 for detecting the fluid-level in the tube 11. Electrodes 14, 15 are connected to a power source 12 and a signal generator 13, such as a sound or light generator, and form a circuit when connected. In operation, conducting fluid 18 in reference-end 21 submerges base electrode 15. When a worker lifts the fluid-level in working-end 20 higher, the fluid level in reference-end 21 rises to make contact with reference electrode 14. When conductive fluid 18 contacts reference electrode 14, an electrical circuit is formed which enables current from electrical source 12 to actuate signal generator 13. Signal generator 13 then emits a sound, light or other signal to indicate that the fluid-level in the working-end 20 has contacted the reference plane as defined by the reference electrode 14; this signal will be called the reference signal. In the prior art, housing unit 17 conceals electrodes 14, 15 and reference-end 21; external reference marking 16, which is aligned with the reference electrode 14, is therefore placed on the outside of housing unit 17 to indicate the reference plane to the worker.
FIG. 2 illustrates the general operation of fluid-actuated level device 10. A worker fills tube 11 of fluid-actuated level 10 with fluid and affixes housing unit 17 to, for example, a wall 19. Housing unit 17 is affixed such that external reference marking 16 is aligned with the proposed reference plane 18 (shown as a dotted-line). Working-end 20 (opposite housing unit 17) is shown extended across the wall 19; the water-level in working-end 20 is aligned with reference plane 18. To discover the reference plane, the worker moves working-end 20 upward until the fluid-level in the working-end 20 reaches the same height as the external reference marking 16 on housing unit 17. Due to the action of gravity on the fluid in tube 11 (the body of the tube 11 must be positioned below the tube ends), the fluid within housing unit 17 at this point has submerged base electrode 15 and reference electrode 14; this completes a circuit that activates signal generator 13. The worker hears a reference signal which indicates the level point. In this manner, the working-end 20 may be used to locate a multitude of level points lying on a reference plane roughly defined by a circle centered on housing unit 17 with a radius equal to the tube length. Level points approximately 100 feet from housing unit 17 may be accurately discovered in this manner. The fluid-actuated device of FIGS. 1-2 is especially useful when level points are sought by a worker working alone in rough and un-even terrain, or, for example, where level points need to be discovered around a corner structure. In this case, the worker takes working-end 20 around the corner structure and moves working-end 20 in a vertical manner until a reference signal is heard from housing unit 17.
The fluid-actuated level device of FIGS. 1-2 has a number of limitations. First, the level device 10 does not communicate to the worker whether the fluid-level in the working-end 20 is positioned too high; on the contrary, a single reference signal is given so long as the fluid-level in the working end is either in the reference plane or at any point above the reference plane. This introduces imprecision when a worker, due to, e.g., fatigue or rough terrain, accidentally adjusts the working-end too high after hearing the signal emitted from the device. Second, normal usage of the level device 10 results in dirt and fluid residue accumulation around the electrodes 14, 15 in the tube; this may result in a xe2x80x9cwickingxe2x80x9d effect. Wicking is caused when fluid clings to the dirt and fluid residue around the electrodes to form a conductive bridge between the probes that persists beyond the point at which the fluid-level, under normal conditions, would disconnect the electrodes 14, 15. In the prior art, a worker is unable to efficiently detect a possible wicking condition because visual access to the tube 11 and the electrodes 1415 is not provided. Third, a worker typically affixes the housing unit 17 to a reference plane by aligning a single external reference marking 16 on the outer edge of housing unit 17 to the reference point. Housing unit, however, has a greater width than the tube 11, and therefore any skew or tilt introduced to the housing unit 17 when affixing it (or using it) results in a degree of imprecision equal to the distance between the horizontal planes defined by the reference plane and the external reference marking 16 (the greater the distance, the greater the degree of potential imprecision).
Fourth, housing unit 17 is typically affixed by driving nails or screws for attaching the housing unit 17 into a structure. This often results in imprecision because the nail or screw is driven at an awkward angle due to a lack of care by the worker or by irregularities in the structural medium (e.g., a knot in wood). Because readjustment is typically burdensome (requiring removal and replacement of the nail or screw), such imprecision is typically tolerated. Lastly, the tube ends should generally consist of transparent or otherwise translucent material to enable the worker to view the fluid-levels; as a result, the entire tube is typically constructed of a single molded piece of transparent plastic. Because the tube may be in excess of one-hundred feet long, the cost of transparent tubing may be significant.
A fluid-actuated level device (hereafter, xe2x80x9clevel devicexe2x80x9d) for use, for instance, in the building trades, is disclosed. The level device enables a worker to discover points lying on a horizontal plane defined by a reference point. The level device has a tube with a reference-end and a working-end, and a housing unit attached to the reference-end. Electrodes in the housing unit measure fluid-levels in the reference-end. When the fluid-level in the working-end is positioned in the horizontal plane containing the reference point, then the level device emits a signal; in one embodiment, this signal is a single continuous sound. When the working-end is positioned slightly higher than the reference point, a second signal is emitted; in one embodiment, this signal is an intermittent sound. The second intermittent sound notifies the worker that the fluid-level in the working-end is too high relative to the reference plane, i.e., the worker has xe2x80x9covershotxe2x80x9d the reference plane. Also provided are embodiments having a tube window, an alignment window, and a slidable backing assembly. The tube window provides visual access to the electrodes in the tube. The alignment window enables the reference markers to be in close proximity on adjacent sides of the tube at the reference-end. A slidable backing assembly enables the housing unit to be slidably adjusted along a continuous vertical line after it is affixed to a reference point. Lastly, a method for using a non-transparent tube is provided.


An interconnect structure of an integrated circuit and manufacturing method therefore are provided, relating to an interconnect structure of flexible packaging. The interconnect structure includes a first and a second conductive pads. A plurality of tiny and conductive first pillars is respectively formed on the first and second pads. With different densities and thicknesses of the first and second pillars, a contact strength can be generated when the pillars interconnecting with each other, such that the pillars are connected closely. Furthermore, the interconnect structure can also be used to connect with fibers made of conductive materials. Moreover, the higher the density of the pillars, the stronger the contact strength. And, electronic substrates and active or passive electronic elements can be stuck on the other side of each pad. Therefore, the interconnect structure can maintain flexibility and have high reliability without being enhanced by any thermosetting polymer.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to an interconnect structure and manufacturing method therefor, and more particularly relates to an interconnect structure of an integrated circuit and manufacturing method therefor.
2. Related Art
Recently, with the rapid development of technology, people enjoy a better life due to the active research and hard work of scientists. It is the most urgent subject in the future for scientists to research, develop, and manufacture compact and light in weight devices which are safe, environment friendly, portable, and wearable along with the development of multifunctional electronic products. Therefore, it becomes one of the main development directions to develop flexible semiconductor packaging. However, in recent research of flexible electronic packaging, there is no solution that meets the requirement of flexibility directed to the interconnection between individual devices.
The current interconnect structures presented employ a surface mount process, wherein a solder between the electronic substrates must be employed to accomplish the connection. The process is rather bothersome and cannot provide flexibility, and the contacts cannot bear the thermal stress caused by heat. If the connected substrates need to separate, the solder should be heated to about 220° C. and melted, and then the connected substrates can be separated; Therefore, solder residue may remain on the substrates, affecting the performance. So, it will be a great benefit for the public to develop a flexible interconnect structure that can be interconnected or disconnected easily.

Interconnect structure of an integrated circuit and manufacturing method thereof

Industrial Technology Research Institute


The present invention is banking device that has a slot on the top surface to accept coins and contains therein a locking reservoir for the collection of change. A money sorter is used to count the deposited money. The reservoir is “keyed” and can only be opened by the local bank, where an account is held, or by parents, if the account is held by a minor. At the time of deposit, the electric money sorter, via the computer connection, contacts the local bank's online banking system to process and record the deposits and beings earning interest that is then credited after deposit of money into the bank account. If the reservoir is emptied prior to deposit, credits and interest are lost and can only be resumed after equal deposit is made at the bank.

The collection of change in "piggy banks" and other coin sorting devices is well known in the prior art and an established practice in many cultures. Coin collecting devices range from a simple jar or box, those with ornamental appearances, and even those with multiple compartments, sorting apparatus and counting means. In most cultures a child's first introduction to money and its value is in the form of collecting change or saving loose change either found or given to them so that a purchase can be made at a later time. This practice has evolved and results in several devices being developed to further enhance a child's learning of the value of money and its various uses, saving, spending, donating, etc.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,716,211 issued to Vetter teaches an educational savings bank and toy is provided that includes a plurality of separate monetary input and storage locations that correspond to different budgetary categories, that automatically calculates an appropriate distribution of funds for each budgetary category based on a preselected percentage of money available to invest, and that automatically calculates the future value of funds in each budgetary category based on a user's age and a preselected time-frame and interest rate appropriate for that budgetary category. Written investment instructions are provided to advise the user on appropriate actual investments for the money totals saved in each category based on the budgetary goal of that category. One embodiment includes a base member with a plurality of representative figures selected to represent each discrete budgetary category and includes a microprocessor that calculates and displays the amounts of an investment total to be allocated to each budgetary, account, and their future values.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,454,570 issued to Woods teaches an educational banking apparatus comprising a compartment for storing money, and aperture to allow money to be deposited into apparatus and an outlet to allow money to be withdrawn from the apparatus, balance determination means for determining the amount of money stored in the apparatus and communication means to allow transmission of balance information over a network to a remote location. The apparatus may be in a form that appeals to children such as a piggy bank and allows a child to save and become familiar with the concept of a bank account without out having to physically part with his or her money.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,976,619 issued to Beacham, et al. discloses a compartmented bank for holding money to be used for saving, spending, donating, investing or other budgetary purposes. The bank is shaped like an animal and comprises a hollow body and four feet. Each compartment communicates with one of the feet so that money deposited into each compartment can be dispensed through an opening in a corresponding foot. The external surface of the body bears indicia indicating the budgetary purpose of the money placed in each compartment.
U.S. Patent Application 20030212636 published on Nov. 13, 2003 discloses an educational interactive money management method for use in an arrangement comprising at least one computer network connecting at least one display device to at least one information-provider computer. The method having the steps of: displaying a graphic user interface connected to an electronically accessible financial account having at least one game; establishing a system of authorization governing access and transfer of information to and from the graphic user interface and the financial account; and processing information and transactions to and from the graphic user interface as permitted by the system of authorization.
One shortcoming of the devices known in the prior art is that they provide little or no means for interactive learning to a child using such devices.
Another shortcoming is that the bank devices known in the prior art are static and not interactive to a learning program or connected to an actual bank account. The combination of an interactive learning interface and connection to an actual bank account enables a new user, such as a child to learn more about the banking system and the value of money while providing exposure to other more complex issues such as the concept of interest.
Yet another shortcoming of the saving devices known in the prior art is that they provide no connection to establish banks and offer no access to potential new customers, the children, and families.

Computerized banking device and method of use


With the present invention, the NIR-technique is utilized for a fully automatic on-line analyzing of successive samples, viz. with the use of a test chamber which is built together with the optical unit and is open towards this unit through a restricted side opening. The test chamber has a volume which is much larger than that of the known test cups, whereby the remnant-pollution of the following sample can be kept at an acceptable low level, without the test chamber having to be totally cleaned each time. A particularly critical area, however, is the material area just next to the optical unit, and remnants at this place must by necessity be removed. The present invention provides for a complete avoidance of such remnant deposits, in that between the side opening of the test chamber and the optical unit, there is placed a transparent, thin separation film, which between successive operations is advanced for removal of the last used film area and for delivery of a new and entirely clean film area to the critical area.

NIR stands for Near Infrared Reflection and designates a method of analysis, in which the contents of various components of materials, e.g., water and protein, can be determined by a quite brief infrared irradiation of a sample portion of a few grams of the material. NIR analysis devices for general laboratory applications, e.g., in feedstuff factories or mixing establishments, have already been developed.
In the use of such devices, a homogenized sample of a few cubic centimeters is placed in a particular test cup, which is then mounted against a quartz disc on an analyzer head of the device, from which the surface of the sample is irradiated; the reflected rays are picked up by a particular detector which supplies electrical signals representative of the various components of the material. Before the next analysis, the equipment must be cleaned carefully, usually by washing with an organic solvent, as remnants of the material sample in the test cup or on the quartz disc may cause the next analysis to be inaccurate.

Method of effecting NIR-analyses of successive material samples, and a system for carrying out the method


Malfunctions of a switching device included in a power factor corrector are reduced when an instantaneous voltage drop or an instantaneous power failure occurs. If the instantaneous voltage drop or the instantaneous power failure occurs in an AC power source while the power factor corrector is performing a power factor correction operation by boosting an input voltage, an instantaneous power failure controller turns off the switching device included in the power factor corrector so that the power factor correction operation stops. When the commercial power source recovers, too, the power factor corrector suspends the power factor correction operation.

Compressors in air conditioners are powered by a motor working as a drive source. The motor is driven by alternating-current (AC) power supplied from a power converter.
A typical power converter mainly includes a rectifier, a boost power factor corrector, and an inverter power converter, as disclosed in Patent Document 1. First, the rectifier rectifies an AC commercial voltage output from a commercial power source. The rectified voltage is boosted to a desired voltage and smoothed by the power factor corrector, so that the power factor of the voltage is corrected to improve. The voltage with the power factor corrected is supplied to the power converter. Using the voltage with the power factor corrected, the power converter generates AC power for driving the motor.


Methods and systems for providing illumination of a specimen for a process performed on the specimen are provided. One system configured to provide illumination of a specimen for a process performed on the specimen includes a laser configured to generate excitation light. The system also includes focusing optics configured to focus the excitation light to a plasma in an electrodeless lamp such that the plasma generates light. The system is also configured such that the light illuminates the specimen during the process.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to methods and systems for providing illumination of a specimen for a process performed on the specimen. Certain embodiments relate to methods and systems for providing illumination of a specimen using an electrodeless lamp.
2. Description of the Related Art
The following description and examples are not admitted to be prior art by virtue of their inclusion in this section.
Fabricating semiconductor devices such as logic and memory devices typically includes processing a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer using a large number of semiconductor fabrication processes to form various features and multiple levels of the semiconductor devices. For example, lithography is a semiconductor fabrication process that involves transferring a pattern from a reticle to a resist arranged on a semiconductor wafer. Additional examples of semiconductor fabrication processes include, but are not limited to, chemical-mechanical polishing, etch, deposition, and ion implantation. Multiple semiconductor devices may be fabricated in an arrangement on a single semiconductor wafer and then separated into individual semiconductor devices.
Inspection processes are used at various steps during a semiconductor manufacturing process to detect defects on wafers to promote higher yield in the manufacturing process and thus higher profits. When inspecting specular or quasi-specular surfaces such as semiconductor wafers, bright field (BF) and dark field (DF) modalities are used. In BF inspection systems, collection optics are positioned such that the collection optics capture a substantial portion of the light specularly reflected by the surface under inspection. In contrast, in DF inspection systems, the collection optics are positioned out of the path of the specularly reflected light such that the collection optics capture light scattered by objects on the surface being inspected such as microcircuit patterns or contaminants on the surfaces of wafers.
Many different light sources have been used in inspection systems. For example, electrode based, relatively high intensity discharge arc lamps are used in inspection systems. However, these light sources have a number of disadvantages, For instance, electrode based, relatively high intensity discharge arc lamps have brightness limits and power limits due to electrostatic constraints on current density from the electrodes, the limited emissivity of gases as black body emitters, the relatively rapid erosion of electrodes made from refractory materials due to the presence of relatively large current densities at the cathodes, and the inability to control dopants (which can lower the operating temperature of the refractory cathodes) for relatively long periods of time at the required emission current.
Many different light sources have also been developed for various other applications. For instance, some carbon dioxide laser produced plasma lamps have been developed though not disclosed for use in wafer or reticle inspection applications. Examples of such plasma lamps are described in Smith, Appl. Phys. Lett., 19(10), 405-408 (1971), Cohn et al., Appl. Phys. Lett., 20(6), 225-227 (1972), Franzen, Appl. Phys. Lett., 21(2), 62-64 (1972), and Harilal et al., Appl. Phys. Lett., 72(2), 167-169 (1998), which are incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.
Accordingly, it may be advantageous to develop electrodeless lamps for inspection applications, for example, by optimizing the operation of deep ultraviolet (DUV) electrodeless lamps for use in inspection applications such as semiconductor wafer inspection by optimizing the pressure, gas type, energy deposition, energy deposition profile, or some combination thereof of the lamp while at the same time eliminating the need for electrodes.


A digital image processing method for locating eyes and mouth in a digital face image. The method includes the steps of detecting iris colored pixels in the digital face image; grouping the iris colored pixels into clusters; detecting eye positions using the iris colored pixels; identifying salient pixels relating to a facial feature in the digital face image; generating a signature curve using the salient pixels; and using the signature curve and the eye positions to locate a mouth position. In a preferred embodiment, a summation of squared difference method is used to detect the eye positions. In another preferred embodiment, the eyes and mouth positions are validated using statistics.

In digital image processing it is often useful to find the eye-mouth coordination, that is, to detect/locate an eye and mouth position. This information can be used, for example, to find the pose of a human face in the image. Since human faces may often be distinguished by their features, eye-mouth coordination also can be used as a pre-processor for applications such as face recognition that is further used in image retrieval.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,072,892 (Kim) which issued Jun. 6, 2000 discloses an eye position detecting apparatus and method. The disclosed method for detecting the position of eyes in a facial image uses a thresholding method on an intensity histogram of the image to find three peaks in the histogram representing skin, white of the eye, and pupil.
While this method may have achieved a certain degree of success in its particular application, one of the problems with this method is that it needs to scan the entire image pixel by pixel and position a search window at each pixel. As such, it consumes enormous computing power. Further, it may also produce a high rate of false positives because similar histogram patterns occur in places other than eye regions.
In "Using color and geometric models for extracting facial features", Journal of Imaging Science and Technology, Vol. 42, No. 6, pp. 554–561, 1998, Tomoyuki Ohtsuki of Sony Corporation proposed a region segmentation method to find mouth candidates. However, a region segmentation, in general, is very sensitive to luminance and chromaticity variations, and therefore very unstable.
Accordingly, a need continues to exist for a method of utilizing information embedded in a digital facial image to determine human eye-mouth coordination in a robust, yet computationally efficient manner.

Method for detecting eye and mouth positions in a digital image


Communication information is sent to a device that a user is using rather than a device the user is not using. For example, a backlight of a device can be monitored and if the backlight becomes inactive (turns off) for longer than a predetermined interval, it can be inferred that the user is no longer using the device and communications are no longer sent to the device. If the backlight becomes active (turns on) for longer than a predefined interval it is inferred that the user is active on the device and communications are sent to the device. If intrinsic evidence is of a high confidence level that the user is using the device, such as answering a phone call or sending a communication, the device is declared active without waiting for expiration of the confirmation timer.

Computing devices are commonly utilized by users to communicate almost instantaneously with one or more contacts. Such information exchange can occur by a user entering information (e.g., text, visual, audio, and so on) into a display area of a user device and communicating with the one or more contacts in a back-and-forth manner without using a telephone or other method of communication. This almost instantaneous communication allows a user and various contacts in disparate locations to communicate in a real time fashion.
In various situations, a user may wish to monitor the presence and availability of various contacts (through respective computing devices). However, some users may utilize multiple devices (e.g., desktop, web client, mobile client, and the like), which can make it difficult to determine the device that the user is currently operating and the device to which communication should be sent. Some of the devices in use might not have a platform support, which an application can leverage in order to determine the user's activity of the device. If the user is not active on a particular device and communications are being sent to that device, the user may miss important communications because such user might be utilizing a different device.
Therefore, what is needed is discovery of whether a user of a particular device is actively using the device and if so, communications are sent to that device. Such discovery can mitigate the occurrence of a user receiving a communication (e.g., real-time message) at a device which the user is not currently utilizing and potentially miss an important communication.


Systems and method for reducing the die area occupied by a programmable logic device are provided. The systems and methods relate to a programmable logic device comprising a plurality of multiplexers. A portion of the multiplexers form a multiplexer cone. The cone is characterized in that all but one of the multiplexers in the cone has an output which only feeds data inputs of other multiplexers in the cone. Methods according to the invention preferably include identifying two multiplexers in the cone. The two multiplexers are selected based on the fact that the two multiplexers receive substantially identical data inputs and are not used by the programmable logic device to provide outputs during a single clock cycle. Finally, systems and methods according to the invention merge the functions of the two multiplexers into a single merged multiplexer.

This invention relates to ROMs (Read-Only Memories). More specifically, this invention relates to the use of multiplexers within ROMs.
ROMs typically use multiplexers for implementing the required ROM functions such as basic reading, writing and addressing functions. The multiplexers that are used in ROMs are usually very large binary multiplexers. The very large binary multiplexers are relatively expensive in die area—i.e., they occupy relatively large areas of space on a typical die used in the implementation of semiconductor circuitry of the type used for programmable logic devices (PLDs).
The description herein relates directly to PLDs. Nevertheless, the scope of the description herein should not be considered to be limited to PLDs. Rather, the scope of the descriptions herein extends to any circuitry in which multiplexers are implemented.
FIG. 1 shows an example of a prior art ROM implementation 100. ROM 102 includes 8 addresses 102 of the Read-Only Data that provides 4-bit wide data. The 4-bit wide data is implemented as four 8:1 binary multiplexers 104. Address lines 106 may be used as control lines to dictate the output of multiplexer 104.
In order to implement ROMs using such conventional multiplexer arrangements, commonly-known synthesis tools convert each multiplexer into separate Look-up Tables (LUTs). The following table shows the relative area (as expressed in terms of the estimated number of LUTs that are required to implement the prior art ROM) used by such ROMs.
Number ofArea Estimate inData WidthData Words4-input LUTs 8 bits322416 bits326016 bits6411132 bits128447It can be seen from the foregoing table that the relative area cost depends on the size and type of ROM being implemented. The area estimates were calculated by synthesizing ROMs of the described sizes filled with randomly-generated data. Synthesis was performed using a proprietary software package of Altera Corporation of San Jose, Calif.
In view of the significant area cost associated with ROMs that use large multiplexers, it would be desirable to provide alternative synthesis systems and methods for implementing ROMs that use less multiplexers than conventional ROMs.
It would also be desirable to re-use multiplexers under certain conditions and in certain implementations of ROMs instead of converting each multiplexer into Look-up Tables separately.


A temperature monitoring device and/or method which control the tissue temperature at the end-effector of a therapeutic ultrasonic cutting and coagulating instrument as the tissue is being heated with ultrasonic vibrations from the end-effector. One or more temperature sensors are located at the end-effector, preferably on a clamping member. The temperature sensors measure the temperature of the tissue engaged by the end-effector either directly or indirectly. An alternate method and apparatus provides an electrical tissue impedance measure in combination with an ultrasonic cutting and coagulating instrument to provide active feedback control of an ultrasonic generator.

Ultrasonic instruments, including both hollow core and solid core instruments, are used for the safe and effective treatment of many medical conditions. Ultrasonic instruments, and particularly solid core ultrasonic instruments, are advantageous because they may be used to cut and/or coagulate organic tissue using energy in the form of mechanical vibrations transmitted to a surgical end-effector at ultrasonic frequencies. Ultrasonic vibrations, when transmitted to organic tissue at suitable energy levels and using a suitable end-effector, may be used to cut, dissect, or cauterize tissue. Ultrasonic instruments utilizing solid core technology are particularly advantageous because of the amount of ultrasonic energy that may be transmitted from the ultrasonic transducer through the waveguide to the surgical end-effector. Such instruments are particularly suited for use in minimally invasive procedures, such as endoscopic or laparoscopic procedures, wherein the end-effector is passed through a trocar to reach the surgical site.
Ultrasonic vibration is induced in the surgical end-effector by, for example, electrically exciting a transducer which may be constructed of one or more piezoelectric or magnetostrictive elements in the instrument hand-piece. Vibrations generated by the transducer section are transmitted to the surgical end-effector via an ultrasonic waveguide extending from the transducer section to the surgical end-effector.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,322,055 describes an ultrasonic surgical apparatus that includes a surgical instrument having a transducer for converting an electrical signal into longitudinal vibratory motion. The longitudinal vibratory motion is transmitted to an ultrasonic blade that is connected to the hand-piece. An accessory is releasably connected to the hand-piece to enable clamping of tissue against the vibrating blade to afford improved coagulating and cutting of tissue. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,322,055 scissors-like grips actuate a pivoted clamp jaw along one side of the ultrasonically vibrating blade to compress and bias tissue against the blade in a direction which is substantially normal to the direction of longitudinal vibratory motion.
Hemostatic devices have been described in various instruments for cutting, cauterization, coagulation or tissue welding. Most of the devices used are either monopolar or bipolar, for example, bipolar forceps, monopolar or bipolar scissors, and cutting and coagulating devices. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,707,369 that describes a temperature feedback system for closed loop control of the tissue temperature induced by the surgical instrument wherein a function of the temperature is used to determine when coagulation of tissue has occurred to a desired degree.
Although open loop energy instruments have been used successfully to control bleeding during surgical procedures, when such instruments are used, the primary control is the experience of the surgeon who responds to what is observed to be happening to the tissue as it is treated with energy. Often, particularly for endoscopic procedures, surgeons cannot readily see what is happening to the tissue. In addition, tissue properties may change quickly during energy delivery. A surgeon's reaction time may be insufficient for optimal efficacy. Consequently, the tissue treatment may not be as precisely controlled as may be desirable. Some problems that may occur include tissue charring, sticking of the tissue to the electrodes of the surgical instrument, and over or under treatment of the tissue.
Temperature-measuring devices have been described for use with tissue treating instruments to measure temperature and determine when the absolute temperature has exceeded a desirable temperature. These devices are typically used to signal to a user to turn off energy or to cause a control device to turn off or attenuate energy when the temperature has reached a level at which tissue sticking to the instrument may occur. Other instruments have used temperature feedback to maintain a set temperature to follow a predetermined temperature profile.
Notwithstanding these control arrangements, there is a continuing need for improvement in the control of heat energy delivery to the tissue and/or determination of when tissue treatment has reached an optimal level. In particular there is a need to provide a device and method for ultrasonic instruments that must perform both cutting and coagulating functions, and to provide closed loop feedback for separate cutting and coagulating aspects. This invention fulfills these needs.

Feedback control in an ultrasonic surgical instrument for improved tissue effects


A rotor of a synchronous induction electric motor according to the present invention includes a slot for generating induction torque and a slit for generating reluctance torque. The slot and the slit are filled up with aluminum which is short-circuited by an end-ring at each of both ends of the rotor, and the slit includes a non-filling part penetrating in the direction of the rotational axis and not filled up with the aluminum.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a structure of a gas vent hole formed in a rotor of a synchronous induction electric motor which is started by mainly utilizing induction torque and in which a synchronous operation is performed by utilizing reluctance torque. The synchronous induction electric motor is used for a sealed type compressor etc.
2. Description of Related Art
As described in the document such as Utility Model Gazette No. 64-36581, a gas vent hole is provided in a rotor of an electric motor used for a sealed type compressor in order to enhance the efficiency of the sealed type compressor and reduce a pressure loss by way of making refrigerant gas pass better. In this case, the type of the electric motor is an induction electric motor, or a brushless DC motor in which a permanent magnet is used for the rotor.
Also, as described in Utility Model Gazette No. 64-36581, an oil shielding board is provided at the exit of the gas vent hole of the rotor so that lubricating oil in the sealed type compressor, which is mixed with refrigerant gas and tends to circulate into a refrigerant circuit, may be lessened. This aims at reducing oil lack in the sealed type compressor and enhancing the efficiency of the refrigerating cycle.
As mentioned above, it is necessary to provide a gas vent hole which makes refrigerant gas pass, in the rotor of the electric motor used for a sealed type compressor. It is also necessary to provide a gas vent hole when a synchronous induction electric motor where a rotor slit to generate reluctance torque is filled up with aluminum and both ends of the rotor are short-circuited by end-rings is used for a sealed type compressor. However, since the slit formed in the rotor is filled up with aluminum, it is difficult to provide a hole in the slit part. Furthermore, since the portion without the slit is a place where magnetic bundle passes, if a hole is shaped in such a portion, there will be a problem of increasing magnetic resistance to cause an output fall and efficiency decrease.

Rotor of a synchronous induction electric motor


A system and a method are disclosed for searching and ranking molecules based on specificity. To this end, a processor receives a request to search for molecules that correspond to biological features, and generates a mapping of molecules to the biological features by searching publications for a reference to a biological feature in connection with a molecule, and responsively adding to the mapping any found references. The processor determines a respective specificity score for each respective molecule of the plurality of molecules by determining which of the plurality of biological features are mapped to each respective molecule, and for each such respective biological feature, in response to determining that there is not more than one concrete instance that is mapped to the respective molecule, incrementing the respective specificity score by a unit. The processor generates a ranking based on the respective specificity scores and outputs the ranking.

In some embodiments, the systems and methods disclosed herein seek to aid scientists in a search for therapeutic molecules that are most likely to be applicable for treating issues that exhibit specific biological features. Related art systems that rank biological terms do not allow for a search targeted based on specificity. Rather, related art systems that rank genes will lift genes higher in a ranking if many sources point to that gene as relevant, without reference to whether that gene specifically applies to the scientist's issue. Other related art systems rely on centrality measures to identify the most influential elements in a network, again without regard to aiding a scientist to find a most specific molecule to the scientist's needs.

Systems and methods for providing a specificity-based network analysis algorithm for searching and ranking therapeutic molecules


A method and apparatus for producing direct reduced iron from dry compacts composed of iron oxide and carbonaceous material by feeding compacts no more than two layers deep onto a hearth and removing all the volatiles and metallizing the compacts by exposing said compacts to a radiant heat source at a temperature of from about 2400.degree. to about 2600.degree. F. (1316.degree.-1427.degree. C.) for a total time period of about four to ten minutes and partially cooling the compacts while discharging them from the hearth.

All previous patents and literature covering direct reduction of iron oxide in a rotary hearth (Heat Fast, Inmetco and Zia) have incorporated a low to medium temperature (below 2400.degree. F. or 1316.degree. C.) preheat zone in the rotary hearth furnace (hereinafter also referred to as RHF) to dry and devolatize the pellets in order to avoid pellet exfoliation. The disadvantage of this method is that it decreases productivity due to the long time required for pellets to reach optimum reduction temperature.

Apparatus for rapid reduction of iron oxide in a rotary hearth furnace

Midrex International B.V. Rotterdam, Zurich Branch


Provided is a game performing method for executing a given game by controlling movements of characters in a game space. The generated image of the game space has a set plurality of sample points in the game space; calculated positions of the characters; calculated arrival times of the characters; recognized areas pertaining to power of the character group; and controlled movements of the characters on positions and/or magnitudes of the recognized areas in the game space.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to game performing method for executing a given game by controlling the movements of characters constituting a character group in a game space, and by generating an image of the game space.
2. Description of Related Art
A team competing type soccer game for a player team, which a player operates, and a competitor (hereinafter referred to as "COM") team, which a computer automatically operates, to compete in soccer in a sports ground arranged in a virtual space is known as a genre of a video game.
Eleven athlete characters belonging to the player team are composed of a player character, whose actions are operated on operation inputs by the player, and the other non-player characters, whose actions are automatically controlled by the computer. The player character can be arbitrarily selected by the player during the playing of a game, and the player character can be automatically switched according to the whereabouts of a ball. The player operates the player character at important positions to control the whereabouts of the ball, and freely uses dribbles, shots and passing to a non-player character by the player character. Thereby, the player competes with the COM team to enjoy the soccer game.
It is also known that there are some team competing type soccer games which, for example, make a player have a sense nearer to an actual game and make it possible to be contacted with the other athletes well and further make it possible to output encouraging shouts of the athletes as sounds (see, for example, JP-Tokukai-2002-325964A).
To put it concretely, when an athlete on the own side of the player character, which the player operates, keeps a ball, the positional information of all of the athletes on the competitor side and the own side at the point of time is obtained, and the distances and the directions between the player character and the other athletes are detected on the positional information. Then, an athlete existing within a prescribed area from the player character is identified, and whether the identified athlete is one on the own side or not is judged. When the athlete is one on the own side, a sound of an encouraging shout having a content at a sound level, both corresponding to the direction of the athlete, is output. When the athlete is not the one on the own side, an effective sound is output in place of the sound of the encouraging shout.
As described above, in a soccer game, a player almost freely controls a ball, the hold of which is laid by the player team, by operating an arbitrarily selectable player character, and advances the game.
However, because the athletes who are non-player characters other than the player character are always controlled by the computer, the soccer game, which is a team play, cannot be enjoyed when the actions of the non-player characters are not suitably controlled. Consequently, whether the sense of fulfillment from "having played a soccer game" can be provided or not greatly depends on the degree of the likeness of the control of the non-player characters to actual human behaviors.
However, it cannot necessarily be said that the non-player characters are sufficiently controlled in conventional soccer games.
For example, in actual soccer, as one of attacking tactics patterns from the middle board, there is a tactics pattern such that, when there is a space on the goal side of the competitor's position, an athlete keeping a ball kicks the ball toward the space, and at the same time another athlete runs into the space to receive the ball, and further the athlete sends a pass toward a further other athlete running into the center before the goal in order that the athlete running into the center may receives the pass to shoot a shot.
However, in the conventional soccer games, the control of non-player characters with the consideration of geographical power distribution situations such as spaces in the game space has not been performed. Consequently, even when a player finds a space, no non-player characters run into the space. Hence, there has been the case where the tactics pattern described above cannot be realized in a game.

Method of game character movement control in game space


A fuel control system, battle override valve and a method of controlling bypass fuel in a fuel system are disclosed. A battle override valve 30 for an engine fuel system 10 includes a metering valve 50 having a rate limiting function providing for control of a slew rate during an operation of the battle override valve 30. A transfer valve 70 having a manual fuel control operating position and a normal fuel control operating position permits a flow of fuel between the metering valve 50 and the transfer valve 70. The transfer valve 70 is controlled between the normal fuel control operating position and the manual fuel control operating position in order to regulate a flow of fuel during a manual or bypass fuel system 10 operation.

It is desirable in the background art of fuel systems to provide a manual bypass or override control function in order to provide backup or supplementary control of engine fuel systems during or subsequent to electronic or system failures, particularly in fuel systems for military vehicles.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,154,221 to Melnik et al., the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference, describes a manual bypass mechanism for an electronic fuel injection device on a military vehicle such as a tank. The mechanism described in the Melnik et al. patent is designed for use in an electronically controlled fuel system employing an electronic fuel unit (ECU) for a tank. As described by Melnik et al., the ECU is programmed to initiate several protective modes and reduces fuel flow from the HMU (Hydromechanical Unit) if certain performance irregularities occur in the engine, transmission, or other propulsion system component in order to prevent engine damage.
In one of the protective modes, referred to as "protective mode III", the flow rate of fuel to the engine is reduced to about 120 lbs./hour, so the engine generates only about 72 hp, or 5 percent of its capacity. The tank must move very slowly, e.g., at 1 mph, to a site where the propulsion system's problem can be analyzed. In a battle or emergency scenario, it may be necessary to drive the tank faster than protective mode III permits. Further, it is possible that battle damage could cut off electrical power to the ECU and thereby adversely limit fuel flow to the engine.
The mechanism described by Melnik includes a completely mechanical fuel bypass device which routes additional fuel to the engine during protective mode III or during failure of the ECU. The device was a modular, add-on unit that can be installed on existing tanks without disassembly of the hydromechanical units and which can be used without modifying the logic of the ECUs.
However, the present inventors have determined that systems of the background art, including that described in the Melnik et al. patent, suffer from several shortcomings. Specifically, the Melnik device requires a screw-type metering valve/metering shaft for controlling fuel flow between a zero-flow position to a fully open position. In addition, the systems of the background art fail to include adequate consideration for protecting against engine overspeed and high temperatures when fuel control is shifted to the manual bypass device.


An athletic shoe with a teardrop shaped spring plate in combination with a dynamic fluid heel pad and a viscoelastic midsole, such spring plate being basically symmetrical about its longitudinal axis, and lying forwardly of the fluid pad, having its widest dimension beneath the metatarsal head area and curving gradually up and beneath the phalanges. The spring plate, of multiple layers of parallel fibers embedded in polymer, combines with the heel pad to effect foot control stability, as well as extending useful life to the midsole and footwear.

This invention relates to footwear, and particularly to athletic footwear.
In copending application Ser. No. 510,671, is disclosed footwear incorporating a special propulsion plate extending from the medial portion of the heel through the arch to a position forwardly of the metatarsal heads. This construction has been found highly effective in cooperating with the spring energy of the natural biomechanism of the foot, storing energy and then releasing the energy in response to flexure during each step. This specially configurated plate is formed of layers of oriented fibers, normally carbon (graphite) fiber, embedded in polymer. Each plate is specially formed and configurated to fit the left foot, or formed to fit the right foot, and is formed of the size necessary. The cost of making each unit and the required inventory of units for a variety of shoe sizes is substantial, as can be readily realized.
The midsole for athletic shoes is typically formed of a foam polymer such as expanded ethylene vinyl acetate polymer (EVA). Such midsole materials break down with usage, thereby lessening control by a runner of his/her feet, and also shortening shoe life.


A hybrid module for a motor vehicle for coupling an internal combustion engine includes a disconnect clutch, an electrical machine, a clutch, a dry space and a wet space, and a seal. The disconnect clutch is for transmitting a first torque from the internal combustion engine to the hybrid module, and disconnecting the hybrid module from the internal combustion engine. The electrical machine is for generating a drive torque and includes a rotor. The clutch is for transmitting a second torque from the electrical machine or the disconnect clutch to a drivetrain. The seal is for sealing off the dry space with respect to the wet space. A one of the disconnect clutch or the clutch is a dry clutch in the dry space and the other of the disconnect clutch or the clutch is a wet clutch in the wet space.

A hybrid module usually includes a connection device for the mechanical coupling of an internal combustion engine, a disconnect clutch with which torque can be transmitted from the internal combustion engine to the hybrid module and with which the hybrid module can be separated from the internal combustion engine, an electrical machine for generating a drive torque using a rotor, and also a dual-clutch device with which torque can be transmitted from the electrical machine and/or the disconnect clutch to a drivetrain. The dual-clutch device includes a first partial clutch and a second partial clutch. Each arranged clutch is assigned an actuating system.
The electrical machine allows electrical driving, performance gain for internal combustion engine operation and recuperation. The disconnect clutch and the actuating system thereof perform the coupling or uncoupling of the internal combustion engine.
If a hybrid module with a dual clutch is integrated in a drivetrain in such a manner that the hybrid module is located between the internal combustion engine and the gearbox in the torque transmission direction, the internal combustion engine, the hybrid module, the dual clutch with its actuating systems, and the gearbox must be arranged behind or alongside one another in the vehicle.
A hybrid module positioned in this manner is also referred to as a P2 hybrid module. An assembly of this kind very often leads to installation space problems, however. Current developments are therefore moving towards no longer configuring the so-called P2 hybrid module and the dual clutch as two separate assemblies and arranging them side by side, but developing a hybrid module with an integrated dual clutch. This enables the necessary components to be arranged even more compactly and functionally.
In order to achieve a compact hybrid module with integrated dual clutch, one design principle involves the disconnect clutch and the two partial clutches of the dual clutch being arranged right next to one another. A further design principle involves clutches being arranged completely or partially radially within the electrical machine, as disclosed in DE 10 2010 003 442 A1 and in DE10 2015 223 330 A1, for example, which furthermore teaches that actuating systems are arranged between the disconnect clutch and the main clutch.
If a hybrid module has an integrated dual-clutch device, the internal combustion engine, the hybrid module and the dual-clutch device, with its actuating systems, and the gearbox must be arranged behind or alongside one another in the vehicle. This often leads to installation space problems.
A clutch assembly and a hybrid dual-clutch gearbox, which likewise has a radially interlaced design, are known from DE 10 2011 117 781 A1. In this case, the dual-clutch device is arranged sectionally in the space surrounded by the rotor of the electrical machine. A disconnect clutch for connecting the hybrid module to an internal combustion engine is positioned substantially next to the rotor of the electrical machine, so that the dual-clutch device likewise projects sectionally into the space surrounded by the disconnect clutch. This design produces a compact module in respect of the axial length. However, the disadvantage of this is the large radial extent and the resulting need for a correspondingly stable bearing, in particular of rotating elements of the disconnect clutch.
DE 10 2016 207 104 A1 teaches that a hybrid module for coupling an internal combustion engine, the connection device thereof, disconnect clutch and at least one of the two partial clutches of the dual-clutch device are arranged substantially behind one another. In this case, at least one of the partial clutch clutches, first partial clutch and second partial clutch of the dual-clutch device, is arranged at least sectionally within the space surrounded by the rotor of the electrical machine. An actuating system for actuating the disconnect clutch and also a first actuating system for actuating the first partial clutch of the dual-clutch device are arranged on the side of the electrical machine which is facing the connection device. The hybrid module configured in this way has a small volume overall.
In the case of motor vehicles with hybrid modules, it is demanded that these can be operated in a highly energy-efficient manner. Accordingly, such hybrid drive systems should operate as far as possible without losses. This means that losses resulting from the operation of bearings must also be kept low. Furthermore, there is the requirement for an optimum operating temperature range of the electric machine in order to be able to operate this in an energy-efficient manner. However, the more powerful or more compact a hybrid module is, the more difficult it is to dissipate the heat generated by the electric machine and by the clutches in the hybrid module housing. This can be remedied by means of wet-running clutches and/or wet-running electric machines, in the case of which the heat energy can be dissipated by means of the cooling oil. Wet-running clutches are however always associated with the disadvantage that they are afflicted with greater losses than dry clutches.

Hybrid module and drive assembly for a motor vehicle