A Handheld Motorized Facial Brush Having Specialized Torque Transfer Clip. The heads interface with a conventional handpiece so that the facial brush or other facial treatment head can be removed and replaced with a head chosen from a group of treatment heads. The handpiece has a sealed, washable head portion that can be activated to rotate. Each treatment head or treatment assembly includes a torque transfer clip that provides biasing force between the handpiece and the head, but at the same time results in additional vibration being transferred from the vibration generator in the handpiece to the treatment head. The torque transfer clip also allows for some flex between the treatment head and the handpiece.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to facial skin care appliances and, more specifically, to a Handheld Motorized Facial Brush Having Specialized Torque Transfer Clip.
2. Description of Related Art
Facial massage and skin treatment devices are widely known in the art. One particular functional feature that has not been widely implemented is the device having a face-hugging or "floating" treatment head. The advantage of a floating head is that the face of the treatment head will tend to remain in contact with the user's skin while traversing the irregular topography that tends to define a person's face in particular.
Vigil, U.S. Pat. No. 5,891,063 is a "Skin Rejuvinating System" that includes a rotating bi-level brush. No floating capability. Harris, U.S. Pat. No. D612,612 discloses a design that appears to be a rotating and somewhat pivoting treatment brush. Roth, U.S. Pat. No. D549,964 shows the shape of a motorized facial brush without suggesting any pivoting motion. Akridge, U.S. Pat. No. 7,789,092 and Roth, U.S. Pat. No. 7,386,906 are related to the Roth design patent reference, but fail to suggest any pivoting motion or the light/vibration/microcurrent emissions. Pitcher, U.S. Pat. No. 7,320,691 discloses an "Apparatus and Method for Acoustic/Mechanical Treatment of Early Stage Acne"—while this reference does relate to the field of the instant invention, but it does not disclose any pivoting or floating head design.
Careful review of these prior devices reveals that the following references fails to suggest a device with detachable and interchangeable treatment heads, wherein the attachment mechanism provides a positive connection between the handpiece and the treatment head, while also allowing some axial flexing between the treatment head and the handpiece.

Handheld motorized facial brush having specialized torque transfer clip


The present disclosure generally relates to a sprayer for a fluid delivery system. In one example, a sprayer for a fluid delivery system is provided. The sprayer includes a main body having a handle and a trigger. The sprayer also includes a spray head having a fluid input for receiving fluid material and a fluid output for spraying the fluid material. The spray head is removably couplable to the main body by rotating the spray head with respect to the main body to engage a connection component of the spray head to a corresponding connection component of the main body. The sprayer also includes a spray head locking mechanism on the main body that extends to engage a portion of the spray head.

The present disclosure generally relates to a sprayer for a fluid delivery system, and more specifically, but not by limitation, to a spray gun for a paint spraying system.
One example of a fluid delivery system comprises a spray-coating system having a device configured to spray a fluid material (e.g., paint, ink, varnish, texture, etc.) through the air onto a surface. Such spray-coating systems often include a fluid material source and, depending on the particular configuration or type of system, a motor for providing pressurized fluid material and/or air to an output nozzle or tip that directs the fluid material in a desired spray pattern. For example, some common types of fluid delivery systems employ compressed gas, such as air compressed by an air compressor, to direct and/or atomize fluid material particles onto a surface. Fluid material is provided from the fluid material source using pressure feed, suction feed, and/or gravity feed mechanisms, for example. Other common types of fluid delivery systems include airless systems that employ a pumping unit for pumping fluid material from a source, such as a container.
The discussion above is merely provided for general background information and is not intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.


A liquid crystal composition, a liquid crystal display element and a liquid crystal display comprising the liquid crystal composition belong to the field of liquid crystal display. The liquid crystal composition comprises a compound represented by formula I with a mass content of 1-10% as the first component, a compound represented by formula II with a mass content of 1-20% as the second component, more than two compounds represented by formula III as the third component, more than three compounds represented by formula IV as the fourth component, and one or more polymerizable compounds as the fifth component, the crystal composition has low rotational viscosity and low γ1/K33 on the basis of maintaining appropriate optical anisotropy. When applied to liquid crystal display elements or liquid crystal displays, the liquid crystal display has a fast response speed.

According to the display mode, LCD can be divided into the following modes: twisted nematic (TN) mode, super twisted nematic (STN) mode, coplanar mode (IPS), vertical alignment (VA) mode. The liquid crystal composition is required to have the following characteristics regardless of the display mode:
(1) stable chemical and physical properties; (2) low viscosity; (3) suitable dielectric Δε; (4) suitable refractive index Δn; (5) good miscibility with other liquid crystal compounds.
Early commercial TFT-LCD products basically adopt TN display mode, and its biggest problem is narrow viewing angle. With the increase of product size, especially in the field of TV, IPS display mode and VA display mode with wide view angle are developed and applied in turn.
However, the liquid crystal medium used in the display elements of FFS mode, IPS mode and VA mode is not perfect. For the liquid crystal materials used in the display devices, it is required to have {circle around (1)} low driving voltage: the liquid crystal material has appropriate negative dielectric anisotropy and elastic coefficient K; {circle around (2)} fast response: the liquid crystal material has appropriate rotational viscosity γ1 and elastic coefficient K; {circle around (3)} high reliability: high charge retention, high specific resistance, excellent high temperature stability and strict requirements for the stability of UV light or conventional backlight lighting. With the development of LCD (liquid crystal display) technology, the response speed of LCD products is required to be higher and higher. The response speed of liquid crystal materials in the prior art is limited by the rotational viscosity γ1/elastic constant K of liquid crystals. Therefore, in order to achieve rapid response, it is necessary to try every means to reduce the rotational viscosity γ1 of liquid crystal materials and increase its elastic constant K. However, it is found that the rotational viscosity and the elastic constant are closely related parameters. When the rotational viscosity is reduced, the elastic constant will decrease, so the response time can not be reduced.
At present, the liquid crystal composition with excellent response speed and various poor displays is still expected to be obtained. Especially in VA mode and other modes, the liquid crystal medium used in the display element is negative dielectric anisotropy. Compared with the liquid crystal medium with positive dielectric anisotropy, it has the disadvantages of smaller dielectric, slower response time and higher driving voltage. Therefore, it is desirable to obtain a negative dielectric anisotropy liquid crystal medium with an improved response time.

Liquid crystal composition, liquid crystal display element and liquid crystal display

SHIJIAZHUANG CHENGZHI YONGHUA DISPLAY MATERIAL CO., LTD.


Extracts of various species of the Moraceae family have estrogenic properties. For example, aqueous and ethanolic extracts of Scutellaria barbata D. Don of the Labiatae Family species possess estrogenic properties in both ERα+ and ERβ+ cells. These estrogenic effects include estrogen response element (ERE) stimulation as well as tumor necrosis factor (TNF) repression. Methods are provided for treating climacteric symptoms, breast and/or uterine cancer, and osteoporosis.

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) has been used successfully to treat a variety of conditions, such as osteoporosis, increased risk of cardiovascular disease in post-menopausal women and climacteric symptoms, such as hot flashes, decreased libido and depression. However, HRT with estradiol (E2), either alone or in combination with progestin, can lead to undesirable effects. In fact, a recent Women's Health Initiative (WHI) study was abruptly halted when preliminary results showed that HRT was associated with a 35% increased risk of breast cancer.
Breast cancer can be treated or prevented by using a so-called selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM), such as tamoxifen. (Before the approval of tamoxifen, breast cancer treatment of pre-menopausal women often included removing the ovaries in order to reduce the cancer-stimulating effect of estrogen.) Tamoxifen appears to selectively block the cancer-inducing effects of estrogen in breast tissues of pre-menopausal women. Another SERM, raloxifene, has been approved for treatment of osteoporosis as an alternative to estrogen replacement. In addition to selectively inducing estrogenic effects in bone tissue, long-term administration of raloxifene was also shown to be associated with reduction in the rate of breast cancer in the Multiple Outcomes of Raloxifene Evaluation (MORE) study.
While SERMs such as tamoxifen and raloxifene provide selective reduction in estrogen's cancer-inducing effects in the breast, they are not without their risks. For example both tamoxifen and raloxifene therapy have been associated with increased incidence of hot flushes, and tamoxifen therapy has been shown to increase the risk of uterine (endometrial) cancer.
Various cultivars of Scuttelaria barbata D. Don of the Labiatae Family Ban Zhi Lian (BZL) are grown mainly in areas southeastern of the Yellow River (Huang Po) in the provinces of Sichuan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi and Shaanxi but not exclusively. The plant is harvested in late summer and early autumn after it blooms (May-June). The aerial part is cut from the root. Only the aerial part (leaves and stems) is used for BZL101. The herb is dried in the sun and packed as a whole plant. The herb is received with no separation between leaves and stems.


A heat sink assembly includes a heat sink and a clip for mounting the heat sink to an electronic component of a printed circuit board. The heat sink includes a base and a plurality of fins extending from the base. The clip includes a pressing member and a pair of elongated arms formed on opposite ends of the pressing member. The pressing member has a lower portion protruding toward the base of the heat sink. A middle one of the fins extends upwardly through the pressing member in a manner such that the lower portion of the pressing member resiliently abuts against the heat sink. The two arms are located on opposite lateral sides of the heat sink and bent downwardly to engage with the printed circuit board so that the pressing member exerts a force on the heat sink toward the electronic component.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a heat sink assembly, and more particularly to a heat sink assembly having a heat sink and a clip, wherein the clip can reliably secure the heat sink on an electronic device.
2. Description of Related Art
Advances in microelectronics technology have resulted in electronic devices which process signals and data at unprecedented high speeds. During operation of many contemporary electronic devices such as central processing units (CPUs), solid-state circuits, and light emitting diode (LED) display units, large amounts of heat are produced. This heat must be efficiently removed to prevent the system from becoming unstable or being damaged.
Typically, a heat sink assembly comprises a heat sink attached to an outer surface of the electronic device to facilitate removal of heat therefrom and a pair of clips. The clips are attached to two opposite sides of the heat sink to provide pressure for securing the heat sink on the electronic device. U.S. Pat. No. 7,203,066 shows an example of this kind of heat sink assembly. However, when one of the clips is deformed unexpectedly, the corresponding pressure provided by the clip is changed; a pressure difference is produced between two sides of the heat sink such that the heat sink is prone to be fixed slantwise to the electronic device, whereby the heat sink cannot intimately contact the electronic device, and the efficiency of heat dissipation is thus lowered.
An improved heat sink assembly which overcomes the above problems is desired.

Fu Zhun Precision Industry (Shen Zhen) Co., Ltd.


According to one embodiment, an information processing apparatus includes a temporary storage module configured to extract performer names from a program information corresponding to a video content data, collate a extracted performer names with a names stored in a storage module, collate collation face images corresponding to the names that match the performer names with a plurality of face images, and temporarily store, out of the plurality of face images, coincident face images that match the collation face images, and a display module configured to, when displaying a list of video content data, display the program name and the coincident face images corresponding to each video content data together with the video content data.

1. Field
One embodiment of the present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and a content display method for displaying a face image in recorded video content data together with its program name.
2. Description of the Related Art
An information processing apparatus such as a video recorder or a personal computer can generally record and play back various kinds of video content data such as a TV program data. In this case, a title is added to each video content data stored in the information processing apparatus. However, it is difficult for a user to ascertain details of video content data by only its title. To ascertain details of video content data, the video content data needs to be played back. However, playing back long-playing video content data takes a long time even using, e.g., a fast-forward function.
Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2007-214708 discloses an apparatus which extracts a performer name from received electronic program information, collates the extracted performer name with a face image database stored in advance, and displays a coincident face image in the face image database together with the performer name.
However, when a face image stored in advance is displayed, as in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2007-214708, the user cannot refer to the face image of the person in recorded video content data. The image in the face image database stored in advance is different from the face image of the person in the actually recorded video content data, and this may generate a gap. For example, a daily change in the outer appearance such as the hair style or makeup is not reflected. Additionally, the image in the face image database stored in advance becomes old with the lapse of time. This may produce a gap to the face image of the person in the actually recorded video content data.

Information processing apparatus and content display method


A binding apparatus for binding a wire around one or more objects is provided. The binding apparatus is adapted to bind the wire such that a predetermined tension in the wire is achieved. A method of binding a wire around one or more objects so as to achieve a desired tension of the wire in the binding is also provided.

Binding reinforcement bars in concrete constructions is known to be a costly operation. By manual processes a wire is curled around the reinforcing bars, and by means of a wire cutter, the free ends of the wire are twisted such that the reinforcing bars are tied together.
Resent considerations not only related to the costs of binding the bars but also related to the working environment, has lead to the development of hand-held, portable devices for binding.
EP 0751270 shows a device for binding reinforcement bars for concrete constructions. The device operates by twisting a wire in a loop by a guide arm. A hook thereby binds the reinforcement bars together by twisting the wire loop.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,252,157 shows a device for binding reinforcement bars, comprising a differential gear for transferring torque from a motor to a binding head and a cutting device, respectively.
EP 1 484 249 discloses a reinforcing bar machine comprising three motors: a feeding motor, a twisting motor and a sliding motor. The feeding motor forms part of a feeding mechanism and is used to feed the wire. A binding wire twisting mechanism includes the twisting motor and the sliding motor.
Further examples of known binding apparatuses are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,657,799, EP 0 731 238, EP 0 810 153, EP 0 332 532, EP 0 829 596, U.S. Pat. No. 4,362,192, EP 0 751 270, U.S. Pat. No. 4,252,157, and WO 0194206.
It has been found that the ability of the binding apparatus to provide the desired tension in the bound wire is critical for the quality of the binding. If the wire is tensioned too much, the wire may rupture, whereby the user must repeat the binding action hoping that the second binding does also not rupture. If on the other hand the binding is too loose, the binding will most likely not serve its purpose which in many cases is to ensure that two reinforcing bars are forced into contact with each other.
With regard to the twisting of the wire by the binding apparatus, binding apparatuses normally are based on one of two principles. A first in which the wire is twisted as many times as possible e.g. until wire is pulled out of the binding apparatus or until a predetermined torque is reached during the binding process. In a second principle the wire is twisted a predetermined number of times.
One advantage of twisting the wire a predetermined number of times is that the binding time for each binding is held at a minimum. The reason for this is that in the "as many times as possible" process, an excessive amount of wire is often provided in order to ensure that the wire ends are twisted a sufficient number of times so as to ensure a desired strength of the binding. The effect is that the ends must be twisted a large number of times which is time consuming.
However, when the wire is twisted a predetermined number of times, it is difficult to achieve the same tightness of the binding, as the wire path around the reinforcing bare varies from binding position to binding position. In a grid of vertical and horizontal bars, the bars most often will not define a right angle in each intersection—even when this is intended. These small angular variations between intersecting bars make it difficult to provide the same tension in the wire in each binding. The result is that the bindings are either too loose or breaks because they are too tight. Another reason for loose or breaking bindings is that reinforcing bars on their outer surface often are provided with rips/protrusions for mechanically binding the reinforcing bars to the concrete. The ribs/protrusions are spaced apart along the outer surface of the reinforcing bars and depending on the position of the binding relative to the adjacent ribs/protrusions, the wire path may be longer or shorter.
Accordingly, it is an object of an embodiment of the present invention to provide an apparatus that twists the wire a predetermined number of times while it at the same time provides the desired tension in the bindings irrespective of the number of objects to be bound and/or their thickness and/or the number of ribs and/or the position of the ribs relative to the binding.
Moreover, it is an object of an embodiment of the present invention to provide a binding apparatus which reduces the risk of rupture of the wire during binding.
Furthermore, it is an object of an embodiment of the present invention to provide a binding apparatus with which the risk of loose bindings is reduced or even eliminated.


A mess-free coloring system comprising a coloring medium and optionally one or more coloring utensils is disclosed. The coloring medium can include a substrate with or without decorative effects and one or more coating layers on a surface of the substrate. In various examples, the one or more coating layers include a color-triggering developer, e.g., in the form of a substantially clear resin, and an opaque pigment. Decorative effects integrated with or disposed on the substrate, while initially obscured by the one or more coating layers, can be revealed when the coating layers are mixed with at least one color precursor stored and dispensed from a coloring utensil. The opaque pigment is selected and configured such that, upon receipt of at least one color precursor by the one or more coating layers, a change in the pigment's reflective index occurs as the pigment dissolves into the clear resin developer.

Artwork and the creation of artwork can be an important developmental tool for children. For example, coloring utensils including colored or tinted pigments, such as crayons, paints and markers, are often given to children for painting, drawing or other marking purposes in order to stimulate their creativity and imagination.
A drawback with conventional coloring utensils is that their pigments tend to be messy in use. For this reason, parents and other supervisory figures often limit the use of coloring utensils (e.g., crayons, paints and markers) by children because of the possibility that household objects, such as carpet and furniture, as well as skin and clothing, may be stained by the colored pigments. The inherent messiness of known coloring utensils is exacerbated by the fact that undesirable stains can be, and often are, difficult to remove.


The present invention includes the discovery of a strain of Mycobacterium comprising an expression vector encoding a di-adenylate cyclase enzyme. The Mycobacterium is selected from the group consisting of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Mycobacterium bovis, or a combination thereof and the preferred strain of Mycobacterium is BCG. The preferred expression vector is a mycobacterial expression vector including an hsp60 promoter and a DNA sequence of diadenylate cyclase (disA), or a functional part thereof. The strains of Mycobacterium are used in therapeutic applications including tuberculosis and cancer.

Nucleotides are indispensable components of all living cells, as they make up DNA and RNA, and serve as important energy sources. Nucleotides also have key roles in signaling in eukaryotic, bacterial and archaeal cells. In bacteria, signaling nucleotides such as cyclic AMP and guanosine tetra- or pentaphosphate ((p)ppGpp) have been classically linked to carbon metabolism and the stringent response, which is caused by nutrient limitation. However, it has become clear that signaling nucleotides contribute to the regulation of multiple different pathways; for example, in addition to its involvement in central carbon metabolism, cAMP is also involved in the regulation of both biofilm formation and virulence gene expression in many pathogenic bacteria. One of the latest signaling nucleotides to be identified is cyclic di-AMP (c-di-AMP), which is the second cyclic dinucleotide shown to be produced by bacteria, after cyclic di-GMP (c-di-CiMP). It has been suggested that c-di-AMP and c-di-GMP regulate very different processes.
c-di-AMP is produced from two molecules of ATP by diadenylyl cyclase (DAC) enzymes and is degraded to pApA by phosphodiesterase (PDE) enzymes. The dinucleotide was initially discovered during a structural study on Thermatoga maritinta DNA integrity scanning protein (DisA), which is a homologue of Bacillus subtilis DisA (formerly known as YacK), a bacterial DNA damage checkpoint protein that can delay sporulation in the event of DNA damage. The first report of c-di-AMP production by bacterial cells came in 2010, when the dinucleotide was identified as a molecule secreted into the cytosol of host cells by the intracellular bacterial pathogen Listeria monocytogenes. Since then, c-di-AMP has been detected in cellular extracts from Streptococcus pyogenes, B. subtilis, Chlamylia trachomatis and Staphylococcus aureus, and a DisA-type c-di-AMP-synthesizing enzyme from Mycobacterium tubercaosis has been characterized biochemically.
Although most of the mechanistic details still await molecular characterization, the regulation of cellular pathways by c-di-AMP presumably follows the same general principles as for the other signaling nucleotides. Environmental changes are sensed either directly or indirectly by the nucleotide-synthesizing or nucleotide-degrading enzymes, leading to a change in the cellular nucleotide concentration. At high concentrations, c-di-AMP is expected to bind to a specific set of receptor or target proteins and allosterical by alter their function or the function of downstream effector proteins, thus controlling specific cellular pathways. Although many details of the c-di-AMP signaling network remain to be discovered, this nucleotide has been linked to the regulation of fatty acid synthesis in Mycobacterium smegmatis, to the growth of S. aureus in low-potassium conditions, to the sensing of DNA integrity in B. subtilis and to cell wall homeostasis in multiple species.
The M. tuberculosis genome encodes a di-adenylate cyclase enzyme (disA, also called dacA; encoded by gene Rv3586 (also called MT3692) in the H37Rv genome or MT3692 in the CDC1551 genome) that synthesizes c-di-AMP from ATP or ADP4. Orthologs of disA exist in all mycobacterial genomes with the exception of M. leprae. However, the role of c-di-AMP in M. tuberculosis physiology and mechanism of its interaction with the host immune system is poorly understood. However, the existing model for M. tuberculosis infection is that extracellular mycobacterial DNA is the only ligand for CSP activation within macrophages, which leads to increased autophagy and bacterial clearance in an ESX-1 secretion system-dependent manner, excluding any role for bacterial CDNs in CSP activation.
The mammalian innate immune system is composed of receptors that collectively serve as a pathogen sensor to monitor the extracellular, vacuolar, and cytosolic cellular compartments. Recognition of microbes within these distinct compartments leads to cellular responses that are commensurate with the microbial threat. Although both pathogenic and nonpathogenic microbes interact with extracellular and vacuolar compartments, infectious disease agents often mediate their pathogenesis by directly entering the cytosol or through delivery of virulence factors into the host cell cytosolic compartment. Thus, the innate immune system may distinguish between pathogenic and nonpathogenic microbes by monitoring the cytosol.
Several distinct pathways of innate immunity are present in the host cell cytosol. One, termed the cytosolic surveillance pathway (CSP), detects bacterial, viral, and protozoan pathogens, leading to the activation of interferon regulatory factor 3 (IRF3) and nuclear factor kappalight-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB), resulting in the induction of interferon-β (IFN-β) and co-regulated genes. Some ligands that activate this pathway are known, for example, viral and bacterial nucleic acids. However, the ligands and host receptors that lead to IFN-β production after exposure to nonviral microbes—including L. monocytogenes, M. tuberculosis, F. tularensis, L. pneumophila, B. abortis, and T. cruzi—remain unknown. The mechanisms and role of c-di-AMP signaling in Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection must be identified and treatments that prevent, alleviate, or cure tuberculosis must be developed.
Bacille Calmette Guerin (BCG) is the most widely used vaccination in the world. BCG is made of a live, weakened strain of Mycobacterium bovis, (a cousin of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the TB bacteria). It was developed in the 1930's and it remains the only vaccination available against tuberculosis today. Despite its protection against active TB in children, BCG has failed to protect adults against TB infection and active disease development, especially in developing countries where the disease is endemic. Some of key reasons for failure of BCG is low immunogenicity and its inability to induce maturation of DC efficiently. Among various strategies that have been employed so far to improve the protective potential of BCG involve construction of rBCG, which could confer similar or higher protection along with induction of a better immunological memory than BCG. Most of the methodologies used to achieve greater immunogenicity involve (i) over-expression of promising immuno-dominant antigens either singularly or as fusion with other immuno-dominant antigens, (ii) over-expression and reintroduction of antigens lost during the attenuation process or (iii) over-expression of mammalian cytokines in BCG such as IL-2, IL-12, IL-15, and GM-CSF. New methods of tuberculosis vaccination are needed to prevent the spread of disease.
In addition, more than 60,000 new cases of bladder cancer are diagnosed each year the United States accounting for approximately 13,000 deaths. BCG-based therapy is currently the most effective intravesical therapy for nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) and it represents the only agent known to reduce the progression of invasive bladder cancer into muscle. It is widely accepted that an intact immune system is a prerequisite to a successful therapy. BCG-induced antitumor effects depend on a sequence of events involving a complex interplay of soluble and cellular immune mediators and a cross-talk between innate and adaptive immunity. Limitations of BCG therapy include recurrence of the disease after initiation of BCG therapy. Consequently, new BCG strains enhancing the prevention or cure, and minimizing the recurrence rate, of cancer in patients must be identified.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Methods of treating cancer using bacteria expressing c-di-AMP


A process for the preparation of 245fa is provided, wherein 1233zd is first fluorinated to 1234ze, followed by fluorination of 1234ze to 245fa. 245fa is a known foam blowing agent and refrigerant.

This invention relates to the preparation of 1,1,1,3,3-pentafluoropropane ("245fa") from 1,1,1-trifluoro-3-chloro-2-propene ("1233zd"), particularly to processes wherein said 1233zd is first converted to 1,1,1,3-tetrafluoro-2-propene ("1234ze"), followed by conversion of the 1234ze to 245fa. 1,1,1,3,3-Pentafluoro-propane is known to have utility as a foam blowing agent and refrigerant.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,616,819 discloses the conversion of 1233zd to 245fa in one step via reaction with excess hydrogen fluoride, but separation of the resulting reaction mixture is tedious because 245fa forms azeotropes with the 1233zd and excess HF. Thus, the '819 patent teaches use of organic salts to aid in recovery of the 245fa, all three compounds having similar boiling points. What is desired is a manner of producing readily recoverable 245fa.


The present invention provides an engine assembly including an engine housing, a fan that generates an airflow, a fan housing at least partially covering the engine housing and the fan to direct the airflow over the engine housing, and a fuel tank including a plurality of integrally-formed projections engaging the fan housing to couple the fuel tank to the fan housing.

When used in applications such as walk-behind lawn mowers and snow throwers, small, one or two-cylinder engines often have a fuel tank mounted thereon. Such a fuel tank is often connected to the engine by several fasteners. However, to use the same engine in a riding application, such as a riding lawn mower, it is often desirable to position the fuel tank remote from the engine. As a result, several components of the engine often need to be substantially re-configured to provide for the remote positioning of the fuel tank, which can yield increased costs to the engine manufacturer.


An image sensor module comprises an image sensor chip, at least one lens layer, and at least one bonding layer. The image sensor chip has an image capturing zone manufactured with an image capturing element, and a partition zone surrounding the image capturing zone. The at least one lens layer is stacked on the image sensor chip, having a transparent substrate and a lens mounted on the transparent substrate and adapted to focus the projected image onto the image capturing zone of the image sensor chip. The at least one bonding layer is arranged corresponding to the partition zone of the image sensor chip and bonded between the image sensor chip and the at least one lens layer, mixing of a glue agent and a plurality of spacer elements with which the height of each the spacer elements is determined to be the height of the bonding layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to image sensor modules and more particularly, to an image sensor module having precise image-projection control.
2. Description of the Related Art
An image sensor module applicable to a camera device used in a cell phone, PDA, or any of a variety of portable electronic products is generally comprised of an image sensor chip, which is made through an image-sensor technology of the semiconductor manufacturing, and an optical lens assembly. When the optical lens assembly projects an object onto the image sensor chip, the circuit operation of the image sensor chip accurately picks up the projected image and passes the image signal of the object to the aforementioned portable electronic product. The quality of the image projection of the optical lens assembly determines the quality of the image signal processed by the image sensor chip. If the optical lens assembly manufactured by a module engineering of stacking and joining lenses together cannot focus a projected image onto the image sensor chip precisely, an out-of-focus problem will occur, thereby degrading the image quality.
FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a focus adjustable type image sensor module according to the prior art. According to this design, the image sensor module 1 comprises a screw body 10, a sensor chip 11, and a lens assembly 12. The image sensor chip 11 is fixedly mounted inside the body 10, having an image pick-up element 110 on the position aligned with the direction of a main optical axis. The body 10 has a transparent substrate 101 and a threaded inside wall 102. The transparent substrate 101 and the threaded inside wall 102 define an accommodation chamber for accommodating the lens assembly 12. The lens assembly 12 has an optical lens 120, and a threaded outside wall 121 threaded into the threaded inside wall 102 of the body 10. By means of adjusting the depth of the lens assembly 12 inside the accommodation chamber with rotating along the threading path of the threaded inside wall 102 of the body 10, optical aberrations caused by the lens 120 module engineering of the formation of the lens assembly 12 are controlled, so that the lens 120 accurately focuses the image onto the image pick-up element 110. However, the friction force that is produced during rotation of the lens assembly 12 may cause fine particles to fall from the interface between the threaded inside wall 102 of the body 10 and the threaded outside wall 121 of the lens assembly 12 to the transparent plate 101. As a result, impurities may block the optical path to lower the quality of the image projection of an object. Further, the threaded inside wall 102 of the body 10 must have a certain height so that the lens assembly 12 can be adjusted vertically therein. Thus, the image sensor module 1 cannot fit the requirement for a small-sized portable electronic product.
FIG. 2 shows a stacking type of image sensor module made by semiconductor wafer manufacturing according to the prior art. According to this design, the image sensor module 2 comprises a silicon wafer 21, a first spacer plate 22, a first cover plate 23, a first lens module 24, a second spacer plate 25, a second lens module 26, a third spacer plate 27, and a second cover plate 28, which are stacked in sequence. The spacer plates 22, 25 and 27 are made of transparent glass with grinding and polishing to a predetermined thickness, and respectively provided with openings for passing image forming light rays from the lens modules 24 and 26, to the silicon wafer 21. The stacked structure of the image sensor module 2 is than cut into multiple image sensor elements 20. As shown in FIG. 3, each image sensor elements 20 comprises an image sensor chip 210, a first spacer 220, a first cover 230, a first lens 240, a second spacer 250, a second lens 260, a third spacer 270, and a second cover 280. Also a sticky resin material is provided then hard-baked between each two adjacent layers of the image sensor module 2 thus forming multiple adhesive layers 200 of the image sensor element 20. Therefore, the optical distance of the image forming light rays from the lenses 240 and 260 to the projected image on the image sensor chip 210 is controlled by the thickness of the spacers 220 and 250 and the adhesive layers 200. Practically, there is about 5% error in the grinding process of forming the spacers 220, 250 and 270, and more than 20% error in the film thickness control of the resin material for the adhesive layers 200. Under the factor of multi-layer manufacturing errors, it is difficult to accurately focus the projected image by the lenses 240 and 260 onto the image sensor chip 210, thereby degrading the image forming quality of the image sensor element 20.

Image sensor module having precise image-projection control


A biopsy instrument including a tissue penetrating device including an elongate holder and a cutting member arranged at an end thereof for penetrating tissue and a specimen retaining and retrieval device detachably connected to the holder for receiving and retaining a specimen of tissue cut by the cutting member. The specimen retaining and retrieval device preferably has a handle having a contoured, outer surface substantially corresponding to the shape of a thumb and which is roughened. Also, preferably the tissue penetrating device includes a hand grip section arranged at an end of the holder opposite to the end at which the cutting member is arranged and a middle section arranged between the hand grip section and the cutting member, the middle section being substantially cylindrical and having friction grip enhancing means, i.e., grooves arranged on an outer peripheral surface in a direction substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the tissue penetrating device.

The present invention relates to biopsy instruments used for collecting specimens of tissue from the skin of internal organs for subsequent analysis. The invention particularly relates to skin punch biopsy devices which are conventionally used to bore cylindrical channels in the skin by rotating a tubular cutting sleeve to advance the sleeve into tissue.
A serious problem which has occurred with conventional punch type biopsy instruments is that these instruments are incapable of separating the tissue specimen from the surrounding tissue once the rotational cutting action has been completed. Almost invariably, as the biopsy instrument is withdrawn, the tissue specimen remains attached to the body at the uncut portion of its base and must then be lifted with a needle point or tweezers and the attached base portion excised with a scalpel blade. This secondary operation is not only tedious and time consuming but also requires additional equipment in the form of a scalpel and unnecessarily places medical personnel at risk for such infectious diseases as hepatitis and AIDS through accidental needle punctures, scalpel cuts, or blood splashes. Also, this secondary removal operation is very difficult to perform on agitated human patients or on unwieldy animals.
An additional problem which arises with conventional skin punch biopsy instruments concerns the fact that the collected biopsy specimens are normally placed in a vial containing preservative solution. Thus, specimens which are small in size are often difficult to find and retrieve, especially if the preservative solution has been darkened with blood or other body fluids from the specimen.
One additional problem which has arisen with conventional biopsy punch instruments is that they are difficult to grasp, especially due to longitudinal grooves which are often molded in the handle.
One attempt to solve some of the above-mentioned problems is found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,785,826, issued to Ward. This patent discloses a biopsy needle having a first hollow member with a second elongated hollow member fitted within the first hollow member. The second member has a flexible end portion included pointed segments which are normally opened to receive a tissue specimen, and which can be closed by moving the inner member axially with respect to the outer member (by means of twisting one with respect to the other). The tapered segments are deformed by a shoulder formed on the inner surface of the outer member, thereby being bent inwardly to cut and capture a tissue specimen.
Another attempt to solve some of the above mentioned problems is found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,148,813 and 5,267,572. These patents describe biopsy instruments with tissue specimen retaining and retrieval devices. However, these instruments suffer from the same drawbacks as previous inventions in that they are difficult to grasp during use. These patents also provide a more comprehensive explanation of the use of a biopsy instrument having a tissue penetrating device and a specimen retaining and retrieval device detachably connected to the tissue penetrating device and therefore are incorporated by reference herein.

Biopsy instrument with tissue specimen retaining and retrieval device


An automatic injection device for providing a subcutaneous injection is disclosed. The device includes a syringe movably disposed in a housing and including a barrel portion, a needle and a bung for sealing the barrel portion. The device includes a plunger for moving the syringe towards a first open end of the housing such that the needle projects from the first end, and for subsequently applying pressure to the bung. The plunger includes a rod connected at a first end to the bung, a compressible expanded central portion, and a flange between a second end of the rod and the central portion. The device also includes a biasing mechanism for biasing the plunger towards the first open end of the housing, the biasing mechanism disposed about the second end of the rod between the flange and a second end of the housing.

One of the most common routes of administration for medications is by injection, such as intravenous, subcutaneous or intramuscular injection. A syringe containing the medication is used for the injection, which typically is carried out by trained medical personnel. In certain instances, a patient is trained in the use of the syringe to allow for self-injection. Moreover, certain medications are formulated in pre-filled syringes for patient use, to avoid the need for the patient to fill the syringe. Some patients, however, may be averse to carrying out self-injection, particularly if the patient has a fear of needles.
Automatic injection devices offer an alternative to a syringe for delivering a medication. Automatic injection devices have been used, for example, to deliver medications under emergency conditions, such as to administer epinephrine to counteract the effects of a severe allergic reaction, for example, as caused by a food allergy. Automatic injection devices also have been described for use in administering antiarrhythmic medications and selective thrombolytic agents during a heart attack (see e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,910,260; 4,004,577; 4,689,042; 4,755,169 and 4,795,433). Various types of automatic injection devices also are described in, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,941,130; 4,261,358; 5,085,642; 5,092,843; 5,102,393; 5,267,963; 6,149,626; 6,270,479; and 6,371,939.
In general, prior automatic injection devices, when operated, cause the needle of a syringe to move forward and project from a protective housing prior to actuation of the syringe to eject a dose of liquid through the needle. Movement of the syringe toward the patient's skin such that the needle is exposed before pressurizing a liquid charge inside the syringe helps prevent the liquid from dripping out of the needle before the actual injection takes place.
Such prior automatic injection devices have several disadvantages. For example, prior devices include an exposed needle that a patient is required to inject into him or herself, causing apprehension and anxiety for most patients, particularly those patients that are "needle phobic". Prior devices are also difficult for patients to use, to maintain free of contamination, and/or to provide an accurate dosage of medicine. In addition, patients suffering from chronic autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, as well as the elderly and physically disabled, may lack the dexterity needed to self-administer biologic therapies using existing injection devices. A need therefore exists for such self-medication delivery devices that patients are able to use safely and that foster patient adherence to their biologic therapy regimens.
TNFα inhibitors are effective in the treatment of autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and Crohn's Disease. Such inhibitors, which include biological agents such as antibodies and antibody fusion proteins, typically are delivered by injection. The TNFα inhibitor adalimumab (HUMIRA®; Abbott Laboratories, Lake County, Ill.), for example, has been marketed as a pre-filled syringe for self-administration by patients and therefore presents as an important candidate for use with an improved automatic injection devices and methods.


A connector includes a tube-shaped male member, a female member, an engagement member, and a checking member. The male member has a ring-shaped convexity. The female member has a substantially cylinder-shaped housing. The housing has a pair of widows having a peripheral end and a peripheral edge. The checking member has a letter C-shaped portion, and a pair of engagement convexities. The engagement convexities has a first engaging portion, a leading-end contacting portion, and an inclined second engaging portion. The first engaging portion engages with the peripheral end of the windows of the housing so as to inhibit the checking member from coming off from the housing in a direction perpendicular to an axial direction before the male member is connected with the female member. The leading-end contacting portion is pressed by the ring-shaped convexity to move outwardly in a radial direction so as to diametrically enlarge the letter C-shaped portion when the fitting of the male member is completed. The inclined second engaging portion engages with the peripheral edge of the windows of the housing so as to inhibit the checking member from coming off from the housing in a direction perpendicular to an axial direction by an elastic restoring force of the letter C-shaped portion when the fitting of the male member is completed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector for piping hoses, pipes, and the like. More particularly, the present invention relates to a connector in which the connection between a male member and a female member can be checked.
2. Description of the Related Art
As one of connectors for connecting hoses, a connector as illustrated FIGS. 15 and 16 has been known conventionally. The conventional connector includes a pipe-shaped male member 80, a female member 82, an engagement member 83, and a checking member 84. The male member 80 is provided with a ring-shaped convexity 80a which is disposed at a position away from the leading end by a predetermined distance, and which projects in a centrifugal direction. The female member 82 is provided with a substantially cylinder-shaped housing 81 which has a fitting opening end 81a, and into which the male member 80 is fitted. The engagement member 83 is fitted into the housing 81 and held at an end on the side of the fitting opening 81a of the housing 81, thereby connecting the male member 80, fitted into the housing 81, with the female member 82. The checking member 84 is assembled externally around and held onto an outer periphery of the housing 81 in a direction perpendicularly to an axial direction, and is designed to check whether the male member 81 is connected with the female member 82.
Further, at an end on the side of the fitting opening end 81a of the housing 81, there are formed a pair of windows 81b which penetrate through in a radial direction and face each other in a peripheral direction. Furthermore, the engagement member 83 has a pair of claws 83a which are capable of elastically deforming in a radial direction, and which are disposed at positions corresponding to the windows 81b. Moreover, as illustrated in FIG. 16, the checking member 84 is formed as a letter C-shape which is capable of diametrically enlarging by elastic deformation. The checking member 84 is fitted into a cut-off groove 81c which is formed continuously from an end of the windows 81b of the housing 81, and is thereby assembled externally around and held onto an outer periphery of the housing 81 in a direction perpendicular to an axial direction. In addition, the checking member 84 has a pair of engagement concavities 84a, 84a, and a pair of leading-end contacting portions 84b, 84b. Before the male member 80 is connected with the female member 82, the engagement concavities 84a, 84a engage with a peripheral edge of the windows 81b, 81b so that they inhibit the checking member 84 from coming off from the housing 81 in a direction perpendicularly to an axial direction. The leading-end contacting portions 84b, 84b are brought into contact with an outer periphery of the ring-shaped convexity 80a of the male member 80 when the male member 80 is fitted into the housing 81 of the female member 82.
In the conventional connector, the checking member 84 is assembled from the outside in a direction perpendicular to an axial direction, and is held onto an outer peripheral surface of the housing 81 of the female member 82 before the male member 80 is connected with the female member 82. Thus, the engagement concavities 84a, 84a of the checking member 84 are engaged with the peripheral edge of the windows 81b, 81b. At the same time, the leading-end contacting portions 84b, 84b of the checking member 84 are fitted into the windows 81b, 81b, and are placed at an axially inner position with respect to the claws 83a, 83a of the engagement member 83. Under the circumstances, the ring-shaped convexity 80a of the male member 80 presses and enlarges the claws 83a, 83a of the engagement member 83 outwardly in a radial direction against their elasticity when the male member 80 is fitted into the housing 81 of the female member 82. Eventually, the ring-shaped convexity 80a goes beyond the claws 83a, 83a. Thus, the leading end of the claws 83a, 83a engages with the ring-shaped convexity 80a to put the male member 80 and the female member 81 into the connected state. In the connected state (i.e., the state illustrated in FIGS. 15 and 16), the ring-shaped convexity 80a of the male member 80 presses and enlarges the leading-end contacting portion 84b, 84b of the checking member 84 outwardly in a radial direction. Accordingly, the leading-end contacting portions 84b, 84b of the checking member 84 come off from the peripheral edge of the windows 81b, 81b. As a result, the checking member 84 is projected by the elasticity in a direction perpendicular to an axial direction (i.e., the direction specified by the arrow of FIG. 16) so that it comes off from the housing 81 of the female member 82. Hence, it is possible to check whether the male member 80 is connected with the female member 82.
As described so far, in the conventional connector, the checking member 84 comes off from the housing 81 of the female member 82 by the elastic restoring force in a direction perpendicular to an axial direction when the male member 80 is connected with the female member 82. Thus, the conventional connector enables an operator to check whether the male member 80 is connected with the female member 82.
Note that, in the conventional connector, the following arrangements are devised in order to make the checking member 84 likely to come off from the housing 81 of the female member 82 in a direction perpendicular to an axial direction: the housing 81 is provided with the cut-off groove 81 so as to reduce a peripheral width between side walls of the housing 81 over which the checking member 84 extends; or an intermediate member is disposed independently on an inner-surface side of the leading-end contacting portions 84b, 84b of the checking member 84 so as to press and enlarge the leading-end contacting portions 84b, 84b of the checking member 84 by the ring-shaped convexity 80a via the intermediate member.
However, when the checking member 84 projects and comes off from the housing 81 of the female member 82 by the elastic restoring force simultaneously with the connection of the male member 80 with the female member 82, it is needed to pick up the checking member 84 which has come off from the housing 81 after the connecting operation. Accordingly, depending on the places where the conventional connector is applied, it is extremely difficult to carry out the picking-up operation. Moreover, the conventional connector cannot be applied to the places where the come-off and fallen checking member 84 results in troubles.


Light sensitive materials applied in shipping materials, including security seals and tear tape, for authentication, discrimination and recognition of items.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to systems for authenticating articles, methods for authenticating articles, and processes for marking articles for later authentication. The present invention more particularly relates to the use of light sensitive materials in shipping materials, including security seals and tear tape, for authentication, discrimination and recognition of items.
2. Description of the Related Art
Product diversion and counterfeiting of goods is a major problem. Counterfeiting entails the manufacture of a product that is intended to deceive another as to the true source of the product. Product desertion occurs when a person acquires genuine, non-counterfeit goods that are targeted for one market and sells them in a different market. A diverter typically benefits by selling a product in a limited supply market designed by the product's manufacturer. There may be high pecuniary advantages to counterfeiting and diverting genuine goods. Such monetary gains motivate charlatans to invest large sums of money and resources to defeat counterfeiting and diversion methods.
Numerous methods have been proposed in the art to promote counterfeiting and diversion of products. Typically such methods employ a step of marking the product with a substance not readily observable in visible light. In one type of anti-counterfeit and anti-diversion measure, an ultraviolet (UV) material is used to mark the product with an identifying indicia. Most UV materials are typically not visible when illuminated with light in the visible spectrum (380–770 nm), but are visible when illuminated with light in the UV spectrum (200–380 nm). U.S. Pat. No. 5,569,317 discloses several UV materials that can be used to mark products that become visible when illuminated with UV light having a wavelength of 254 nm.
In another type of anti-counterfeit and anti-diversion measure, an infrared (IR) material is used to mark the product. As with the UV ink, one benefit of using the IR materials is that it is typically not visible when illuminated with light in the visible spectrum. IR materials are visible when illuminated with light in the IR spectrum (800–1600 nm). An additional benefit of using an IR material is that it is more difficult to reproduce or procure the matching IR material by studying a product sample containing the IR security mark. Examples of IR security mark usage are given in U.S. Pat. No. 5,611,958 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,766,324.
Security may be improved by making authentication marks more difficult to detect and interpret, by incorporating greater complexity into the markings, and by making replication of the mark by a counterfeiter more difficult. Combining multiple kinds of marking indicia can further increase the complexity of detection, interpretation and replication.
For example, the use of security marks containing IR and UV materials has seen increased use. However, as this use has increased, counterfeiters have become correspondingly knowledgeable about their application on products. It is common practice for counterfeiters to examine products for UV and IR marks and to reproduce or procure the same materials, and apply the materials on the counterfeit products in the same position. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,360,628 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,599,578, the disclosures of both of which are incorporated by reference herein, a security mark comprising a visible component and an invisible component made up of a combination of a UV dye and a biologic marker, or a combination of an IR dye and a biologic marker is proposed.
The use of fluorescent and phosphorescent materials have also been proposed for marking materials. U.S. Pat. No. 5,698,397 discloses a security mark containing two different types of up-converting phosphors. U.S. Pat. No. 4,146,792 to Stenzel et al. discloses authentication methods that may include use of fluorescing rare-earth elements in marking the goods. Other authentication methods use substances which fluoresce in the infrared portion of the electromagnetic spectrum when illuminated in the visible spectrum range (See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,373,965).
Non-chemical methods for authenticating items and preventing diversion of items are also known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,162,550 discloses a method for detecting the presence of articles comprising applying a tagging material in the form of a pressure sensitive tape having a first surface coated with pressure sensitive adhesive composition and a second surface opposite the first surface coated with a release agent, the tape including a continuous substrate of synthetic plastics material and a continuous electromagnetic sensor material capable of being detected by detection equipment. The tagging material can be detected by an interrogation field directed to determining magnetic changes.
Authentication marks comprising tagging material are typically applied to the article of commerce itself. However, authentication marks on the article of commerce are not useful when the article is covered by packaging material and a quick determination of counterfeiting or diversion is desired to be made. It is known, therefore, in the art to also provide tags on the packaging of a product (See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,162,550).
Authentication marks may be applied by any of the methods currently used in manufacturing and distribution plants to code product for identification, to date code product for freshness, to produce batch markings, which allow product to be traced, to sequentially number products such as newspapers caring lottery-style games, and to code product, such as mail, for ultimate destination. A leader in such coding technology is Domino Printing Sciences PLC (Bar Hill Cambridge CB3 8TU UK). Predominant methods for coding include: continuous ink jet printing, binary printing and laser printing.
Continuous ink jet printing is a non-contact method of printing variable information that works by spraying an ink onto a surface as it travels underneath a printhead. Ink in the print head is typically supplied under pressure to a drop generator which contains a drive rod which creates hypersonic pressure waves in the ink, making the jet break up into a stream of separate drops shortly after it exits through a small nozzle. Each drop is given an electrostatic charge, by putting a voltage onto a charge electrode as the drop breaks off. As the drop drops it conventionally passes through an electrostatic field set up between two high voltage deflector plates.
Binary printing is similar to that of ink jet printing in that tiny drops of ink are deflected in flight by an electrostatic field. It differs, however, from ink jet printing in the use of the voltage on the print drop and the subsequent deflection of that drop. The ink drops that are not used for printing are charged and are deflected into the gutter. The uncharged drops which are not deflected by the high voltage field are used to print on the substrate. Because uncharged drops are used for printing optimum print quality and speed can be achieved.
Laser printing typically involves either vaporization of the surface material at which it is directed (e.g., removal of ink from paper), distinct surface changes (e.g., deformations in glass and PET), or thermal decomposition causing a material in the product to change color. Lasers produce incoherent, monochromatic radiation that is capable of delivering large amounts of energy in a small area. Most conventional lasers work by exciting gas with RF energy, the gas being contained in a sealed tube mounted with mirrors at each end. When the gas molecules are excited sufficiently, a photon is spontaneously emitted. The photon is amplified as it stimulates more photon emissions while it moves along the tube. The photons bounce along the tube between one mirror which is fully reflective and the other which is partially transmissive. When a critical mass is reached, a pulse of heat radiation is emitted to the form of a laser beam which is focused via lenses to produce precise marking energy.
Security and anti-counterfeit coding on relatively expensive items, in particular luxury perfume, cosmetics, tobacco products, and pharmaceutical products, is known. Such coding is useful for the traceability of products and identification of the same.
However, such coding is typically not unique to the particular item within the general product class. The latter is probably largely due to the slow speed at which a production line would have to operate to mark in a unique fashion each item in particular given the current technologies for marking. As such coding is typically not unique to the item, and as experience has shown that generic invisible marks are often detected by counterfeiters and diverters and are easily duplicated on other items within the general product class, there is a great need for an improved method of identifying goods that are either counterfeit or diverted.

Product packaging including digital data


A portable tester for testing mutual effects of multiple services received via a shared network access link includes service signaling means for simulating user premises devices. In one embodiment, the tester is a triple play services tester supporting three IP addresses at the same time.

The telecommunication networks provide a growing number of packet-based services, such as Voice over IP (VoIP), gaming, video conferencing, IP Radio (RoIP), IP Television (IPTV), including Broadcast TV (BTV), pay per view (PPV), video-on-demand (VOD), and interactive TV. These services all share parts of the same distribution network, and in the access portion of the network touching the residence, typically share that same last mile network. In this shared environment, they may interact with each other in a negative manner. Each service has unique quality-of-service (QoS) needs. Various class-of-service (CoS) mechanisms are implemented in the networks to manage these needs. Available assessment tools typically monitor and analyze network-level service performance in terms of Quality of Service (QoS) or compliance such as with service level agreements (SLAs), using packet-based measurements such as jitter, loss, and delay for a single service.
Triple Play services deployed by service providers include services of three different service types: voice, video, and data, wherein the voice service is usually a VoIP service, the data services include email, internet browsing, FTP, etc., and the video services, also called IP Video or IPTV, include BTV, VOD, PPV. Services of the different types are typically provided to a subscriber simultaneously over various distribution networks. In those deployments where the technology used in the "last mile" of the access link has limited band width, for example ADSL or VDSL copper based access links, the demand for band width by the individual services could impact another service or can exceed the available band width. As an example, a subscriber is using a PC to access the public internet with the Data service, one or more VoIP calls are present, and a TV is turned on to access the IP Video service.
As the three different services travel across the distribution networks and, in particular, the access portion to the subscriber's premise and end point equipment, it is critical that the voice and video services meet the QoS parameters specific to each service in order to deliver the proper Quality-of-Experience (QoE) to the subscriber.
In today's telco test environment, the three components of the triple play services are tested individually. Known in the art are devices and methods for measuring QoS parameters for a single service, such as U.S. Pat. No. 6,888,801 issued May 3, 2005 to Hock and U.S. Pat. No. 6,985,945 issued Jan. 10, 2006 to Farhat et al. for voice, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,880,115 issued Apr. 12, 2005 to Abraham et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 7,010,598 issued Mar. 7, 2006 to. Sitaraman et al. for video. However, the interaction between services is not tested and validation of the Class-of-Service (CoS) mechanisms is not accomplished, therefore new service installations and troubleshooting procedures may miss important interactions effecting the QoE.
Passive monitoring of more than one service received together is disclosed in U.S. Patent Applications Nos. 20060198634 published Sep. 7, 2006 in the name of Ofalt et al. and 20060062216 published Mar. 23, 2006 in the name of Li et al.
The Ofalt reference teaches a multi-frequency tap apparatus for testing passive optical networks, which taps off a small amount of power without interrupting transmission to measure loss of optical power on the physical layer. In one embodiment the apparatus is a Triple Play Power Meter (TPPM), testing only power levels for the optical frequencies associated with components of the triple play service.
The Li reference discloses an apparatus consisting of a splitter and a switching fabric between an ingress and egress, so that at least some packets are copied to a QoS measuring block. The ingress receives packets of different types and QoS parameters are measured among one or more groups of packets.
The apparatuses disclosed in the aforementioned two applications provide passive monitoring only, since they measure through traffic destined to a user; however, they are not designed to perform active testing, wherein QoS parameters are evaluated for any predetermined configuration of services, therefore, there is the need to perform active testing of multiple services. Additionally, the presence of a receiving client rendering the service may affect the measurements, for example: in case of the receiver malfunctioning when multiple packets are lost at the receiver and requested to be retransmitted, i.e. the service performance is measured as affected by the client equipment.
When video flows are mixed with data and voice flows, network planning and engineering become even more challenging in terms of meeting the demands for the increase in bandwidth required to transport triple-play services. Complexity increases as new signaling protocols, such as Internet group management protocol (IGMP) for broadcast video and real-time streaming protocol (RTSP) for video on demand (VOD) services, are introduced. The dynamic nature of video flows is affected by viewing habits, channel changing loads, and dynamic VOD media requests. All of these factors add to the demands and complexity of delivering the required CoS.
U.S. Patent Applications 20030223376 published Dec. 4, 2003 in the name of Elliott et al. and 20040208129 published Oct. 21, 2004 in the name of Old et al. represent conventional systems for active testing of a network. In such systems, a test data generator generates traffic containing multiple streams associated with different services. Transmitted over the network, the traffic is then received by another apparatus and the quality of transmission is evaluated based on knowledge of the generated traffic. A variant of such systems is a single device, acting as the traffic generator and the receiver, accompanied by a loop cable within the network for reversing the traffic disclosed in.
While useful for pre-production testing, such systems would disrupt functionality of a network in production with their bulk traffic. Also, such systems do not perform testing of real life services provided by servers on the network, since there is a difference between testing a network capacity and a service. Of course, service performance depends on network capacity and is negatively affected by network bottlenecks. However, the service performance additionally depends on a service provider, its work load and configuration, and on the actual routes the flows take when the real service is tested. A traffic generator can not emulate the real service and actual routes taken by the real service flows.
It is known in the art of telecommunication to use apparatus that simulate client premises equipment. For example, U.S. Patent Application 20060067237 published Mar. 30, 2006 in the name of Burns et al. teaches a test apparatus that mimics a customer device and tests network connections between the service provider and the device.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,111,204 issued Sep. 19, 2006 in the name of Couturier et al. teaches a system for creating a plurality of 'synthetic users', each 'synthetic user' implementing a plurality of 'synthetic transactions' for cost and resource-effective load testing of a network server and the associated application services provided thereby and generate statistically-sufficient data. The system disclosed in the Couturier reference provides service testing, i.e. testing a capacity of the service provider; however, the Couturier system disrupts network traffic and does not test a service received by one particular user in real-life conditions of a deployed server in a production network.
It is an object of the present invention to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art and provide a device and a method for simultaneous testing multiple services received via a shared network access link.


A method and apparatus for thermal processing of semiconductor substrates is disclosed. Each lamp of a lamp assembly is immersed in a thermally conductive atmosphere comprising oxygen. As the lamps are operated, the oxygen reacts with carbon containing species. Consumed oxygen is replaced over time until the thermal conductivity of the atmosphere falls below a tolerance threshold. The atmosphere is then evacuated and replaced.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments described herein relate to thermal processing in semiconductor manufacturing. More specifically, a lamp assembly, and methods of operating the lamp assembly, are described.
2. Description of the Related Art
Rapid thermal processing (RTP) systems are employed in semiconductor chip fabrication to create, chemically alter or etch surface structures on semiconductor wafers. One such RTP system, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,376,804, includes a lamp assembly located on the semiconductor processing chamber. The lamps are disposed in recesses of the assembly and covered with a window to isolate the lamps from the processing environment of the chamber.
As the lamps are operated, trace carbon compounds adventitiously introduced into the space around the lamps may deposit and/or decompose on the lamps, leaving a carbon residue that darkens the lamps over time. Moreover, as the lamps heat and cool during process cycles, the carbon residue may accumulate on lamp walls causing overheating which ultimately cause early failure of the lamps. It is not uncommon for lamps to become unusable less than 24 hours after being put in service.
As semiconductor processes continually aspire to higher efficiency and lower cost, there is a need to improve the longevity and cost-effectiveness of thermal lamp assemblies.


A sound pickup apparatus and method form a bidirectionality and a unidirectionality based on sound signals picked up by microphones arranged at vertices of a triangle. A target sound is extracted by performing a spectral subtraction operation and, with respect to each frequency, a ratio of amplitude spectra of beamformer outputs between outputs is calculated for each microphone array of a directionality forming unit. A mode or median of the calculated ratio of amplitude spectra is set as a correction coefficient which corrects power of beamformer outputs for each of the microphone arrays and a target area sound is extracted.

The present invention relates to a sound source separating apparatus, a sound source separating program, a sound pickup apparatus, and a sound pickup program, and can be applied to a sound source separating apparatus, a sound source separating program, a sound pickup apparatus, and a sound pickup program that separate and pick up a sound source only in a specific direction in an environment in which a plurality of sound sources are present, for example.
As a technique to separate and pick up a sound (hereinafter, things including a voice and a sound, for example, are expressed as a sound) only in a specific direction in an environment in which a plurality of sound sources are present, there is a beamformer (hereinafter also referred to as a BF) employing a microphone array. The beamformer is a technique to form directionality by use of a temporal difference between signals which reach respective microphones (see Futoshi Asano, "Acoustical Technology Series 16: Array signal processing for acoustics: localization, tracking and separation of sound sources, edited by the Acoustical Society of Japan, Corona Publishing Co., Ltd, Feb. 25, 2011). Beamformers are broadly classified into two kinds: an addition type and a subtraction type. In particular, the subtraction type BF has an advantage in that the subtraction type BF can form directionality with a smaller number of microphones than the addition type BF.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the subtraction type BF in which the number of microphones is two. In the subtraction type BF, first, a sound present in a target direction (hereinafter referred to as a target sound) reaches each of microphones 1 and 2, and a delayer 91 calculates a temporal difference between signals that have reached the microphones 1 and 2. Then, by adding a delay to a signal from any one of the microphones, a phase of the target sound is adjusted.
The temporal difference is calculated using the following formula (1). Here, d represents a distance between the microphones, c represents the sound speed, and τL represents a delay. Further, θL represents an angle between the target direction and a perpendicular direction with respect to a straight line connecting the microphones 1 and 2.τL=(d sin θL)/c  (1)
Here, in a case where a dead angle direction is present in the direction of the microphone 1 with respect to the intermediate point between the microphones 1 and 2, a delay process is performed on an input signal x1(t) of the microphone 1. Then, a subtracter 92 performs a process in accordance with a formula (2).α(t)=x2(t)−x1(t−τL)  (2)
The subtraction process can be performed similarly in a frequency region, in which case the formula (2) is changed as follows.A(ω)=X2(ω)−e−jωτLX1(ω)  (3)
Here, in a case where θL=±π/2, the formed directionality becomes a cardioid unidirectionality as shown in FIG. 3A, and in a case where θL=0 or π, the formed directionality becomes an eight-shaped bidirectionality as shown in FIG. 3B. Here, a filter that forms the unidirectionality from the input signal is referred to as a unidirectional filter and a filter that forms the bidirectionality is referred to as a bidirectional filter.
Further, by use of a spectral subtraction (hereinafter also referred to as an SS), a strong directionality can be formed in the dead angle direction of the bidirectionality. The directionality is formed by use of the SS in accordance with the following formula (4).|Y(ω)|=|X1(ω)|−β|A(ω)|  (4)
Although the input signal X1 of the microphone 1 is used in the formula (4), the same effects can be obtained by using an input signal X2 of the microphone 2. Here, β is a coefficient for adjusting the intensity of the SS. When the value becomes negative in subtraction, a flooring process is performed to replace the value by 0 or a value that is smaller than the original value. This technique makes it possible to emphasize the target sound by extracting a sound that is present in directions other than the target direction (hereinafter referred to as a non-target sound) through the bidirectional filter and by subtracting an amplitude spectrum of the extracted non-target sound from an amplitude spectrum of the input signal.

Sound pickup apparatus and method for picking up sound


The present invention provides methods and apparatus for inexpensively and accurately sensing with the use of a fiber optic guide the presence or absence of a particular substance ("analyte"). The preferred embodiment of the sensor of the present invention comprises a light source, a photodetector, and a loop shaped plastic fiber that is exposed to the environment and that acts as a sensing element. In the preferred embodiment, the fiber optic guide comprises a core and a cladding, either of which are coated with a coating that is selected to at least partially degrade in the presence of the analyte. The coating is selected to have an index of refraction below that of the core but sufficiently large to allow at least some light to escape from the core even in the absence of the analyte. A decrease in the amount of light is detected when the analyte is present. Alternatively, the coating is selected to have an index of refraction just above or greater than the core, causing an increase in the amount of light that is detected when the analyte is present.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to sensors, and more particularly, to fiber optic sensors for detecting the presence or absence of a particular substance.
2. Art Background
Sensors that can detect the presence or absence of a selected substance ("analyte") are widely used in many different fields. For example, environmental sensors are used to detect pollutants and have become increasingly important as environmental standards have become stricter. Medicine is another field where the use of sensors is growing, especially in the area of medical diagnostics. As yet another example, sensors also control various industrial processes. Indeed, sensors perform important functions in many other fields and will undoubtedly find many new applications in the future.
There are many different types of prior art sensors. Fiber optic sensors have increased in popularity due to the ability of a fiber optic cable to inexpensively and accurately carry a signal over long distances.
Prior art fiber optic sensors, however, are not optimal. Prior art fiber optic sensors are either very expensive, inaccurate, or limited in the distance over which they may be used. For example, according to one of the more effective prior art fiber optic sensors, a U shaped fiber is employed for the detection of liquid levels in tanks. See FIG. 1. The U bend is exposed to a liquid, and a light source provides light which is guided to the U bend, where some of it escapes to the environment. Light that does not escape passes through the U bend and is detected by a detector. Because different liquids have different indices of refraction, the amount of leakage through the U bend, and therefore the strength of the signal through the fiber, depends upon the type and/or amount of liquid in contact with the U bend. Thus, continuous monitoring of the variation of the light intensity is used to measure the liquid level in the tank and may also be used to detect the presence of a different liquid in the tank.
However, in practice, prior art U bend sensors do not provide a very strong signal and generally require a relatively high powered, and therefore expensive, light source, especially where the detector must be located far from the U bend portion.
Another scheme to improve the effectiveness of the sensor involves coating the sensor with a substance that dissolves in the presence of a liquid to be detected. When the liquid to be detected is present, it dissolves, thus bringing the sensor directly into contact with its environment and increasing the light loss from the sensor, thus creating a signal. Other schemes include coating a fiber's core with porous soluble materials which change their optical properties based upon the presence/absence of a liquid to be detected.
Again, however, in practice, these mechanisms do not prove particularly effective. In particular, when used in conjunction with present sensor geometries (eg. the U bend described above or a straight line), these schemes generate weak signals per unit area of the fiber and therefore a substantial segment of the fiber must be used as a sensing element and very sensitive, and therefore expensive, detectors are required. Furthermore, because of the fragility of the fibers, it is difficult to package such long sensors or use them in small fluid samples where access to the sample is restricted. Still further, the prior art dissolution mechanisms rely on the presence of a liquid and do not provide for the detection of a solute in a solvent.
The present invention improves the state of the art by, among other things, optimizing the geometrical configuration of the sensor, thus providing a very compact, sensitive mechanism for producing a strong signal. Consequently, the sensors' response to different fluids and chemicals can be accurately monitored from remote locations with off-the-shelf compact light source/detector pairs.

Coated fiber optic sensor for the detection of substances


A system for load balancing allocation of flows to egress links in a link aggregation is provided. The system includes an input port to receive a packet corresponding to a flow, a plurality of egress ports, a frame distributor coupled to the egress ports, a processor, and a memory coupled to the processor and configured to store bandwidth requirements of the flow. The system also includes a packet parsing unit configured to receive the packet from the input port, receive a first signal from the processor that programs an association of the flow the packet belongs to with an egress port based on bandwidth requirements of the flow stored in the memory, and send a second signal to the frame distributor to direct the packet to the egress port based on the association of the flow with the corresponding egress port.

Field of the Disclosure
This application generally related to load balancing and more specifically to load balancing in a link aggregation (LAG).
Background Art
Link aggregation (LAG) is a method of logically bundling two or more physical links to form one logical link. The "logical link" or "aggregated link" formed by a LAG can be considered to have the sum bandwidth or a bandwidth close to the sum bandwidth of the individual links that are bundled together into a link aggregation.
Link aggregations (LAGs) are also typically deployed in Ethernet switches in Information Technology (IT) networks. LAGs allow a set of Ethernet links to be aggregated into a single logical bundle such that the aggregate (i.e. the LAG) appears as a single logical port at each end of the LAG. Link aggregations offer advantages such as high capacity, since the LAG offers a single link of much greater bandwidth capacity than each individual link. Link aggregations allows for redundancy since if a physical member link fails then traffic can be automatically be moved to active links while remaining on the same logical link.
Ethernet is increasingly deployed in non-traditional networking scenarios. One such example is in Automotive Infotainment in which a small Ethernet network is used to carry content such as radio, Digital Video Disk (DVD) data, audio data, and output of a rear-facing camera. The network traffic of such networks is characterized as consisting of a relatively small number of high-bandwidth flows (unlike a typical IT network, which is more likely to consist of a large number of lower-bandwidth flows). Further, for electrical reasons, in-car networks tend to be built with lower-bandwidth connections, such that bandwidth is a more scarce and valuable resource. In such an environment, standard methods of allocating flows to LAG member links can result in an inefficient and unbalanced distribution of bandwidth amongst LAG members.
The embodiments of the disclosure will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, like reference numbers may indicate identical or functionally similar elements. Additionally, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number may identify the drawing in which the reference number first appears


Disclosed is a core drilling machine, comprising a stand part for fixing the core drilling machine to a component, and comprising, on the stand part, a guide along which a core drilling unit is carried in a movable manner, the stand part having a stand housing, on an outside face of which the guide is carried, and the core drilling unit having an elongate machine housing, which is carried so as to be movable along the guide by means of a slide, and comprising a cable, which, together with a protective sleeve, is routed from the stand part to the core drilling unit, the cable being routed from the stand housing to the core drilling unit via a flexible protective sleeve and being carried on the core drilling unit by means of a swivelling rotary joint.

The invention relates to a core drilling machine, comprising a stand part for fixing the core drilling machine to a component, and comprising, on the stand part, a guide along which a core drilling unit is carried in a movable manner, the stand part having a stand housing, on an outside face of which the guide is carried, and the core drilling unit having an elongate machine housing, which is carried so as to be movable along the guide by means of a slide, and comprising a cable, which is routed from the stand part to the core drilling unit.
Such a core drilling machine is known, for example, from EP 0 554 017 A1. In that case, the cable runs from the stand part to an end of the slide, on which the core drilling unit is carried, in a relatively extensive loop.
A disadvantage in that case is the cable routing, which is liable to damage and/or is subject to a very high kinking load.


An adjustable spray wand is disclosed. The spray wand comprises a spray head body, a swiveling member, a locking mechanism, and a handle. The spray head body is rotatably coupled to the swiveling member. The spray head further has a locking mechanism having a contact arm having a first position allowing the swiveling member to rotate relative to the spray head body and an engagement position engaging the swiveling member and locking the swiveling member in one position. The swiveling member is coupled to a handle with a conduit, which may be coupled to a water source. In operation, water flows from the water source, through the handle, through the swiveling member, through the spray head body, and out of the outlets in a variably selected spray pattern.

Various spray wands have been used in the past. A typical spray wand has a handle with a water passage leading to a spray head body which discharges water through a plurality of spray nozzles. The spray head body of many prior art spray wands cannot be angularly adjusted, which results in operational inflexibility. However, several prior art spray wands have included spray head bodies that may be angularly adjusted by means of flexible tubes, slide blocks, or locating pins. However, such spray wands lack a locking mechanism to fix the position of the adjustable spray head body. As a result, the user may be inconvenienced if the angle of the spray head body is altered by hitting an object or as a result of the pressure of the water passing through the spray wand.
Another problem with some prior art adjustable spray wands is that they require the use of extra pieces, such as bellows, to conduct the flow of water through the spray wand and prevent leaking. However, such extra pieces add to the bulk and manufacturing cost of the spray wand.
Another problem with some prior art spray wands is that the water passage leading to the spray head is offset from the middle of the handle and spray head body. Accordingly, such a spray wand is more difficult to handle and is less visually pleasing than a spray wand having a water passage down the middle of the handle and spray head body. Furthermore, such spray wands may experience an offset force caused by the internal water pressure in the water passage.
Thus, there is a need for an improved pivoting spray wand with an adjustable spray head with a locking mechanism. There is a further need for a spray wand with an adjustable spray head with a locking mechanism that does not require the use of extra pieces to conduct the flow of water through the spray wand to prevent leaking. There is a further need for a spray wand with an adjustable spray head with a locking mechanism that has a water passage down the middle of the handle and spray head body.


An optical recording method of recording information to a phase change optical recording medium with alternate application of peak power and bias power in a pulse manner and with changing a pulse application. interval continuously from an inner part through an outer part of the recording medium with an interval proportional to a window width Tw and a fixed interval, comprising the step of starting a top peak power application interval with a delay from a data input pulse signal starting time for a target mark length nTw, where n denotes an integer in a range between 3 and 14, with changing the delay in proportion to the window width Tw with changing a proportionality factor discretely with respect each linear velocity.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a recording method for a phase change optical recording medium, and, in particular, to a recording method for a rewritable DVD medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, a large size of image data is handled, and, therefore, a recording medium therefor thus having a larger storage capacity is demanded. Further, it is also demanded to record such a large size of image data in the recording medium and reproduce the same therefrom at high speed. A technique of phase change optical recording medium is applied to a CD or DVD rewritable recording medium, and has been wide used since it has characteristics of having a large storage capacity and has a high compatibility with a ROM. Especially, high speed recording/playback has been achieved with CD-ROM or CD-R, and, as a result, a phase change optical recording medium is also demanded to have a performance such that high speed recording/playback can be achieved therewith. Furthermore, it is preferable that a disk which has a performance of high speed recording/playback should also have a capability of recording thereto also with a low-speed disk drive which is originally designed for a disk for a low recording linear velocity. In fact, a CD-R in the market has such a performance, thus covering a wide range of recording linear velocity.
On the other hand, in order to achieve high speed recording, a high-power laser which can provide a higher peak power is needed. However, in general, an optical output of a laser mounted in a low-speed disk drive is lower than the output of a high-speed disk drive. Therefore, it is difficult to achieve recording on a disk designed for a high linear velocity with a low linear velocity and with a lower power in case a phase change optical recording medium is applied.
In case of applying a phase change optical recording medium, a medium configuration is optimized so that recording at a high linear velocity is achieved. However, as a result, an optimum peak power increases even in a case of recording at a low linear velocity same as in a case of recording at a high linear velocity. In order to achieve recording at a lower linear velocity on a recording medium which is designed for recording at a high linear velocity, it is necessary to improve sensitivity. For this purpose, there is a method in which the reflectance of a recording medium is decreased. However, in a case of DVD, in order to provide a compatibility with a DVD-ROM, it is not possible to lower the reflectance more than necessary. In a case of a rewritable DVD, the maximum linear velocity is 2.4 time speed (2.4×) in the market within recent several years, and, there is no backward compatible phase change optical recording medium such that recording can be achieved thereon at a linear velocity higher than the above-mentioned maximum linear velocity, and also, recording can be achieved thereon also with a conventional disk drive designed merely for low linear velocity recording.
In order to satisfy this requirement, it is necessary to find out a recording material and a medium configuration for a phase change optical recording medium on which recording can be achieved with a low power and also having a wide margin of peak power, and to create an optimum recording method therefor. As such a recording method, Japanese Patent No. 2941703 discloses a method for forming a record mark in which a tail pulse bias power application ending time is determined without regard to a recording linear velocity. However, in this method, it may be difficult to obtain satisfactory recording characteristics for a wide range of recording linear velocity.
Japanese laid-open patent application No. 2001-060319 discloses a method in which a peak pulse power application interval and a subsequent multi-pulse peak power application interval are changed according to a recording linear velocity, a bias power application interval is provided at the pulse tail, these intervals are optimized, and, thus, satisfactory recording characteristics can be obtained. However, this method does not include a method applicable for a CAV manner.
Further, Japanese laid-open patent application No. 2001-118245 discloses a method based on the above-mentioned method which is applicable to a CAV (constant angular velocity) manner in which a recording linear velocity changes continuously from a low linear velocity through a high linear velocity as a recording radial position on the disk optical recording medium changes from an inner circumferential part through an outer circumferential part. In this method, a top peak power application starting time is fixed, the peak power application interval is changed, and further a subsequent multi-pulse peak power application interval is changed for each linear velocity in CAV recording. However, in this method, since a recording manner in which both the top pulse starting time and the power application interval are changed is not applied, it may not be possible to precisely control a starting position of a top of a mark actually recorded.
Other than the above, the applicant of the present application proposed by Japanese patent application No. 2002-261281, a method applicable to CAV recording on a recording medium which is compatible in recording/playback with a disk drive with a maximum linear velocity of 2.4 time speed (2.4×).
However, in this method, control of a top peak power application starting time may not be sufficient and thus there may occur a case where a satisfactory performance is not obtained for a certain item in recording characteristics.