There is provided a method for arranging conductive bumps at predetermined positions penetrated through an insulating layer during a press integration stage to ensure electrical and thermal conductivities between a wiring pattern and a conductive metal as well as electrical connections between the wiring patterns. More specifically, the sharp tip of the conductive bump is subjected to plastic deformation to form the interconnections between the wiring patterns or between the wiring pattern and the conductive metal. Also provided is a method of manufacturing a printed wiring board. A synthetic resin sheet is sandwiched by the surface on which conductive bumps are formed into a laminate. The laminate is heated until the resin component of the synthetic resin sheet being is in a plastic state or up to a temperature not lower than the grass transition temperature of that resin. At that time, the conductive bumps are forced against the synthetic resin sheet and are penetrated therethrough. This permits positive connections with a high accuracy without forming a through-hole.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printed wiring board on which high-density wiring or electronic components can be mounted. In addition, the present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a printed wiring board with a high yield while reducing the number of processes.
2. Description of the Related Art
Double-sided and multilayer printed wiring boards comprise various wiring patterns. For example, each face of the double-sided printed wiring board comprises wiring patterns such as double-sided conductive patterns. Likewise, wiring patterns are formed layer by layer of the multilayer printed wiring boards. The wiring patterns of one face or layer are electrically connected to those of the other(s). In this event, the connections between the wiring patterns can be achieved in a following manner.
For the double-sided printed wiring board, a base plate is first laminated with a copper foil on both sides thereof. A number of through-holes are formed through the base plate at predetermined positions thereon. Subsequently, an entire surface, including the inside of the through-holes, is plated by a chemical plating process. A conductor layer is then deposited on the inner walls of the through-holes by an electroplating process to increase a thickness of the conductor (metal) layer. This electrically connects the wiring patterns of one face to those of the other face with a higher reliability.
On the other hand, for the multilayer printed wiring board, a double-sided wiring board is formed by means of patterning copper foils laminated on both sides of a base plate. Copper foils are positioned and disposed on the patterned surfaces through an insulating sheet (e.g., prepreg sheets). The resultant structure is then integrally bonded under heat and pressure. Subsequently, as in the case of the above mentioned double-sided printed wiring board, through-holes are formed and the wiring patterns of the individual layers are electrically connected to each other by a plating process. Further, the copper foils positioned and disposed on the patterned surfaces are patterned to obtain a multilayer wiring board. A multilayer printed wiring board having many patterned layers may be manufactured through a method with an increased number of interposed double-sided printed wiring boards.
Alternatively, printed wiring boards may be manufactured according to a method in which the wiring patterns are connected without using a plating process. In this method, a number of through-holes are formed through the base plate at predetermined positions thereon. A conductive paste having a resin component is embedded in the through-holes, for example, by a printing technique. The resin component of the conductive paste is then solidified or cured in the through-hole to connect the wiring patterns electrically.
For the above mentioned printed wiring board and the method of manufacturing it by using a plating process for the electrical connections between the wiring patterns, the manufacturing process requires steps of forming the through-holes and of plating the inside of the through-holes for the electrical connections. This disadvantageously makes the manufacturing process for the printed wiring board become excessive, resulting in the necessity for complicated process control. The step of forming the through-holes is required even for the case where the electrical connection is achieved by means of embedding the conductive paste in the through-holes, as in the case where it is achieved by the plating. It is difficult to embed the conductive paste uniformly in the through-holes, and there is some question about long-term reliability of the electrical connections. In any case, the need for forming the through-holes to connect the wiring patterns electrically affects cost and yield for the resulting printed wiring board, which may oppose a current cost-saving demand. Further, the through-holes are opened on both sides of the printed wiring board. No wiring pattern can be formed on the opened through-holes. Likewise, no through-hole can mount electronic components thereon. Accordingly, the through-holes limit the possible improvement of a wiring density as well as of a packaging density for the electronic components on the printed wiring board.
The printed wiring board may be imparted with a heat sinking property to stabilize operation of a circuit device formed on the printed wiring board. The printed wiring board may also be imparted with grounding and shielding properties to avoid damage of a circuit and to suppress radio frequency noise, respectively. For this purpose, the printed wiring board comprises a thin metal plate as a base plate (hereinafter, referred to as a metal-base type printed wiring board). Alternatively, the printed wiring board comprises a thin metal plate as a core (hereinafter, referred to as a metal-core type printed wiring board). The thin metal plate serves as a support, a reinforcement and a heat sinking element as well as a ground electrode.
The printed wiring boards of the metal-base and metal-core types still have some disadvantages. As in the above mentioned case, the through-holes are required to be formed by means of drilling a plate for lamination or a laminated plate. The plating layer is deposited on the inside of the through-holes and a conductive metal or a conductive composition is embedded therein. The electrical and thermal conductivities of the printed wiring board are thus provided by the conductive metal or composition as well as the plating layer. Such printed wiring boards can only be manufactured through complicated steps. For the printed wiring board with the interconnections between the wiring patterns achieved by the through-holes, the area available for wiring and packaging on the surface is reduced due to these through-holes. There is thus a limit to the degree of densification of the high-density package circuit with the printed wiring board of the type described.
Some printed wiring boards also have sealing properties. For this purpose, a copper paste or the like is applied to a substrate. The wiring patterns are arranged on a substrate and the copper paste or the like is applied to an area of the wiring patterns through an insulating layer to form a desired shielding layer. The shielding layer is connected to a ground electrode (ground layer) on the substrate and covered with another insulating layer.
The printed wiring board of the type described has problems of insufficient shielding effects and stabilities. Probable reasons for such problems are as follows: the copper paste typically has a high conductor resistance and it is difficult to control the thickness of the coated layer uniformly. In addition, the area to which the shielding properties are imparted projects to a higher position than the remaining portions, so that packaging conditions for a packaging machine should be controlled and modified depending on demand during a subsequent process of forming a package circuit device.
The conventional printed wiring boards are insufficient for complying with the demands on minimizing the circuit devices by the high-density wiring and packaging. There have been strong demands on more effective, cost-saving, and practical printed wiring boards and a method of manufacturing the same.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a printed wiring board having high reliability having a simple structure.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a printed wiring board having a simple structure, on which high-density wiring and electronic components can be mounted.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a printed wiring board capable of being manufactured through a simple process, on which high-density wiring and electronic components can be mounted.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a method of manufacturing printed wiring boards on which high-density wiring and electronic components can be mounted.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a method of manufacturing printed wiring boards of high reliability.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing printed wiring boards of high quality with a high yield.

Method of manufacturing printed wiring boards


Systems and methods are disclosed herein for maintaining data integrity of data in a storage device. An exemplary method comprises determining whether checksums associated with data on the storage device are trusted or untrusted, responsive to determining that the checksums are trusted, retrieving the checksums from a checksum archive, otherwise initializing the checksums as unknown, when a received storage request is a write request, calculating a checksum of the data and updating the checksum in memory, when a received storage request is a read request and an in-memory checksum associated with the identified block is not unknown, calculating the checksum of the data in the identified block and comparing the checksum with an in-memory checksum associated with the identified block, determining that corruption has occurred when the checksums don't match and saving checksums associated with each of the uncorrupted data blocks of the storage device to an archive.

Conventional block devices generally do not support the calculation and storage of checksums. Some standards, such as the SCSI T10 standard device, has a field called the Data Integrity Field (DIF) that regulates disk handling, including the idea of physically extending each data block by 4 or 8 additional bytes to store data checksums. According to the standard, placing 0xFF (all1s) in the checksum sector indicates that this checksum is invalid (i.e., the checksum field should not be trusted). However, disks with checksum support are generally enterprise-grade and often prohibitively expensive for some businesses and consumers.
Some hybrid solutions have been proposed where checksums for a disk are stored on a separate device. However, data coherence is a major concern for these implementations. When data is being written to these disks, the checksums are calculated and stored, but in the event of a failure or power outage, a checksum may be left unsaved. These unsaved checksums give the appearance that corrupted data is written to the disk, while the data may actually be uncorrupted. That is, a false positive is presented where undamaged data is falsely assumed to be corrupted.
Another concern for such hybrid solutions is that when storing the data in one place and the corresponding checksums in another place and updating them coherently, the disk head moves constantly and thus may significantly reduce performance of the disk and the system.

System and method for maintaining data integrity of data on a storage device


The present invention provides three BCAS2 related nucleotide sequences. The present invention also provides a composition comprising a nucleotide sequence of small interfering RNA of BCAS2 gene. The present invention further provides a method for treating p53 containing cancer comprising administrating a subject with an effective amount of the said composition.

RNA interference (also called "RNA-mediated interference", abbreviated RNAi) is a mechanism for RNA-guided regulation of gene expression in which double-stranded ribonucleic acid inhibits the expression of genes with complementary nucleotide sequences. Conserved in most eukaryotic organisms, the RNAi pathway is thought to have evolved as a form of innate immunity against viruses and also plays a major role in regulating development and genome maintenance.
The RNAi pathway is initiated by the enzyme dicer, which cleaves double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) to short double-stranded fragments of 20-25 base pairs. One of the two strands of each fragment, known as the guide strand, is then incorporated into the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC) and base-pairs with complementary sequences. The most well-studied outcome of this recognition event is a form of post-transcriptional gene silencing. This occurs when the guide strand base pairs with a messenger RNA (mRNA) molecule and induces degradation of the mRNA by argonaute, the catalytic component of the RISC complex. The short RNA fragments are known as small interfering RNA (siRNA) which are perfectly complementary to the gene to which they are suppressing as they are derived from long dsRNA of that same gene or MicroRNA (miRNA) which are derived from the intragenic regions or an intron and are thus only partially complementary. The RNAi pathway has been particularly well-studied in certain model organisms such as the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans, the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, and the flowering plant Arabidopsis thaliana.
The selective and robust effect of RNAi on gene expression makes it a valuable research tool, both in cell culture and in living organisms; synthetic dsRNA introduced into cells can induce suppression of specific genes of interest. RNAi may also be used for large-scale screens that systematically shut down each gene in the cell, which can help identify the components necessary for a particular cellular process or an event such as cell division. Exploitation of the pathway is also a promising tool in biotechnology and medicine.
However, applying RNAi via siRNAs to living animals, especially humans, poses many challenges. siRNAs show different effectiveness in different cell types in a manner yet poorly understood: some cells respond well to siRNAs and show a robust knockdown, others show no such knockdown (even despite efficient transfection).
BCAS2 (Breast carcinoma amplified sequence 2) is a gene isolated from breast cancer cell line by differential display technique. (Nagasaki K et al [Amplification of the BCAS2 Gene at Chromosome 1p13.3-21 in Human Primary Breast Cancer, Cancer Lett. 1999 Jun. 1; 140(1-2):219-26]) This family consists of several eukaryotic sequences of unknown function. The mammalian members of this family are annotated as breast carcinoma amplified sequence 2 (BCAS2) proteins. (Neubauer G, King A, Rappsilber J, Calvio C, Watson M, Ajuh P, Sleeman J, Lamond A, Mann M; Nat Genet. 1998; 20:46-50: Mass spectrometry and EST-database searching allows characterization of the multi-protein spliceosome complex.) BCAS2 is a putative spliceosome associated protein. (Neubauer G, King A, Rappsilber J, Calvio C, Watson M, Ajuh P, Sleeman J, Lamond A, Mann M; Nat Genet. 1998; 20:46-50: Mass spectrometry and EST-database searching allows characterization of the multi-protein spliceosome complex.)
p53, also known as protein 53 (TP53), is a transcription factor that regulates the cell cycle and hence functions as a tumor suppressor. It is important in multicellular organisms as it helps to suppress cancer. p53 has been described as "the guardian of the genome", "the guardian angel gene", or the "master watchman", referring to its role in conserving stability by preventing genome mutation.

Treatment tool for cancer: RNA interference of BCAS2


The present invention relates to linear amine-functionalized poly(trimethylene ether) compositions, and processes to produce these compositions.

Poly(trimethylene ether)glycol is widely used as an intermediate in thermoplastic elastomers. Processes for preparing polyoxyalkylene polyamines using polyoxyalkylene glycols with ammonia and hydrogen in the presence of Raney nickel catalysts are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,236,895. Poly(ethylene glycol) derivatives also reported by J. Milton Harris (J. Macromolecular Science Reviews in Macromolecular Chemistry, 1985, vol C-25, No. 3, P325-373).
Poly(trimethylene ether)amines are useful in a variety of applications such as chain extenders for polyurethane urea polymers, curing agents for epoxy resins, polyurethane coatings, components for making polyamides, initiators for the preparation of polyols, or health care product additives.

Linear amine functionalized poly(trimethylene ether) compositions


The present disclosure relates generally to an improved safety device for use in the railroad industry. Specifically, the present disclosure relates to an above ground lock extension for train derails. Train derails are used in the railroad industry for derailing and therefore effectively stopping trains or unattended rolling stocks which rolls over said derail. The lock extension device comprises a locking device allowing an individual to lock said lock extension device to a derail while standing in an upright position, thereby diminishing injuries that may occur with prior art locking devices that are at ground level.

Train derails are safety devices widely used in the railroad industry. A train derail is a device for derailing and therefore effectively stopping trains or unattended rolling stock (a railroad vehicle that is not a locomotive; a railroad car) which runs into the derail. The train derail works by derailing the train or rolling stock as it rolls over or through the derail.
Train derails may be utilized at various locations of the railway network. These locations can be exemplified by (1) where sidings meet main lines or other tracks, (2) at junctions or other crossings to protect the interlocking against unauthorized movement, and (3) at areas wherein railroad personnel are working on a rail line.
Train derails come in different forms. The most common and therefore the most widely used forms are (1) the wedge-shaped piece of steel type, (2) the "spilt rail" type and (3) the portable derail type.
The wedge-shaped piece of steel type of derail fits over the top of the rail. If a locomotive or rolling stock attempts to roll over it, the wheel flange is lifted over the rail to the outside thus derailing it. When the derail is not in use it can be folded away leaving the rail unobstructed. It can be manually operated via a locking device to prevent unauthorized removal of the derail from the rail.
The "split rail" type of derail is a complete or partial railroad switch which directs the "runaway" locomotive or rolling stock away from the main rail line.
The portable derail type is used as the name suggests, in situations where temporary protection is required due to men working or the presence of work equipment.
Train derails both of the permanent or portable type are provided in various sizes and weight to accommodate different sizes of rail.
Train derails whether permanent or portable can be used in conjunction with visible signaling devices such as a flag, which are usually blue in color. A flag is a signal used on a railroad track, usually to protect railroad workers or equipment on or about the track and serves as a warning that the track must not be entered and that equipment on or about the track must not be coupled to or moved. A flag signal is usually displayed above and between or beside the track rail. Since safety is a major concern of the rail industry signaling devices such as flags are usually used in conjunction with a derail so that their conjoint use provides a ultimate level of safety.
Train derails whether permanent or portable and whether used in conjunction with a signaling device or not are known in the art.
The state of the art in portable derails are known from U.S. Pat. No. 6,105,906, U.S. Pat. No. 1,130,433 and U.S. Pat. No. 1,106,155. U.S. Pat. No. 6,105,906 describes lightweight and ultra lightweight portable derails that can be installed and locked on a rail for protection of a certain location. U.S. Pat. No. 1,130,433 describes a portable derail which can be easily mounted or removed from the rail and one which is used in conjunction with a signaling device. U.S. Pat. No. 1,106,155 describes a portable derail which can be easily transported, adapted to be connected to a rail at any desired point.
The state of the art in permanent derail are known from U.S. Pat. No. 3,517,186, U.S. Pat. No. 1,287,214. U.S. Pat. No. 1,420,425 and U.S. Pat. No. 1,190,029. These patents describe various types of permanent derails as well as the use of a signaling device in conjunction with the derail.
Derails, whether permanent or portable, need to be locked in place in order to prevent their unauthorized removal from the rail. While the prior art has describes various improvements in the construction and design of derails, the locking device or mechanism has remained unchanged. The locking device or locking mechanism known in the prior art is positioned on the same plane as the derail itself. Therefore the prior art derail must be locked and unlocked by personnel in a prone, kneeling, bending, or squatting position. FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 illustrate Prior Art devices, and an individual having to lock the derails in a prone, kneeling, bending or squatting position.
The locking or unlocking of the derail's lock from a prone, squatting, kneeling or bending position can result in many medical problems for the personnel engaged in such activity. Additionally, the placement of the derail's lock at ground level makes the lock susceptible to the snow and ice which can result in frozen locks. Also, the frequent thawing of the frozen locks requires additional personnel and time which ultimately results in lost production time. Also, the placement of the lock at ground level usually requires that the person locking or unlocking the lock use both hands.
A need therefore exists for a locking device or locking mechanism which can be operated by personnel from a standing position.

General Electric Railcar Services Corporation


Techniques are described which allow function-defined hierarchies to be registered with a database server. The information provided to the server during the registration process is used by the server to determine how to roll up data that has been aggregated at one level of a function-defined hierarchy to another level of the function-defined hierarchy. Techniques are also provided to perform rollup from one level of a function-defined hierarchy to another level of the function-defined hierarchy on data stored in a materialized view. Further, techniques are provided for rewriting queries that require aggregation at one level of a function-defined hierarchy to cause them to access data from a materialized view that stores data at a different level of the function-defined hierarchy.

The present invention relates to database systems and, more particularly, to techniques for handling function-defined hierarchical dimensions.
In a database management system (DBMS), data is stored in one or more data containers, each container contains records, and the data within each record is organized into one or more fields. In relational database systems, the data containers are referred to as tables, the records are referred to as rows, and the fields are referred to as columns. In object oriented databases, the data containers are referred to as object classes, the records are referred to as objects, and the fields are referred to as attributes. Other database architectures may use other terminology.
Systems that implement the present invention are not limited to any particular type of data container or database architecture. However, for the purpose of explanation, the examples and the terminology used herein shall be that typically associated with relational databases. Thus, the terms xe2x80x9ctablexe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9crowxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9ccolumnxe2x80x9d shall be used herein to refer respectively to the data container, record, and field.
Computer database systems that are used for data warehousing frequently store pre-computed summary information in summary tables in order to speed up query processing. The data from which the summary tables are generated are referred to as base data. The tables that contain the base data are referred to as base tables. Summary tables typically store aggregated information, such as xe2x80x9csum of PRODUCT_SALES, by region, by month.xe2x80x9d Other examples of aggregated information include counts of tally totals, minimum values, maximum values, and average calculations.
In the context of database systems, a xe2x80x9cdimensionxe2x80x9d is a list of values that provide categories for data. A dimension acts as an index for identifying values of a variable. For example, if sales data has a separate sales figure for each month, then the data has a MONTH dimension. That is, the data is organized by month.
Dimensions may have many levels of granularity, where a hierarchical relationship exists between members of the various levels. For example, one dimension may be xe2x80x9cgeographyxe2x80x9d, where geography has the following levels: city, state, region, country. Of these levels, xe2x80x9ccityxe2x80x9d has the finest granularity, while xe2x80x9ccountryxe2x80x9d has the coarsest. Each level of a hierarchical dimension is associated with a set of values. For example, the xe2x80x9ccityxe2x80x9d level of the geography dimension may be associated with values xe2x80x9cNYCxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cLAxe2x80x9d, and xe2x80x9cSFxe2x80x9d, each of which represents a city. The values associated with a given hierarchical level are referred to as the xe2x80x9cgranulesxe2x80x9d of that level. The values associated with the level of finest granularity are referred to as base granules.
In analytical applications, the data stored in tables of a data warehouse is generally aggregated along dimensions and hierarchies. A typical example is the summation of dollar sales by time, where time is a dimension which includes different levels such as day, week, month, quarter, and year. The time granules occur at different levels of data abstraction and form a hierarchy.
Typically, an analytical application asks for an aggregated result up to some level of data abstraction. For example, the application may ask for sum-of-sales by week, where all sale amounts for each week are summed into a single aggregated value. Other examples are sum-of-sales by month, sum-of-sales by year, etc.
Because of the hierarchical relationship, if sum-of-sales by month is already computed, then sum-of-sales by year can be simply computed by summing the monthly sum-of-sales. The technique of deriving values for a coarser level in the hierarchy based on values associated with a finer level in the hierarchy is known as xe2x80x9crolling upxe2x80x9d the values. For example, the monthly sum-of-sales may be rolled up into yearly sum-of-sales.
In a data warehouse, a dimension such as xe2x80x9ctimexe2x80x9d, is usually broken out into different granules, where a different table column is used to store the granules for each of the hierarchical levels. The granules are hierarchically related to each other. For example, cal_day xe2x86x92 cal_month xe2x86x92 cal_quarter xe2x86x92 cal_year represents a calendar hierarchy in a time dimension. Another example, store xe2x86x92 city xe2x86x92 state xe2x86x92 region xe2x86x92 country represents a geographic hierarchy in a store dimension.
A hierarchy, such as the calendar hierarchy, can be declared as follows:
This declaration includes various LEVEL statements that identify the levels of the hierarchy. From the perspective of the database server, the LEVEL statements identify the various columns that should be created for the time_dim dimension table. The declaration further includes a HIERARCHY section that identifies the hierarchical relationships between the various the levels. Once the hierarchy xe2x80x9ccalendar _rollupxe2x80x9d is declared, a database server can use this information to determine which levels can be rolled up to other levels. This information is used by the server when it rewrites queries in terms of materialized views.
A materialized view is a table where the pre-computed data corresponding to a materialized view definition is stored. For example, a materialized view xe2x80x9cmv1xe2x80x9d may be defined as follows:
CREATE MATERIALIZED VIEW mv1
AS
SELECT t.month, t.quarter, t.year,
sum(f.dollar_sales) as month_sales
FROM fact_tab f, time_tab t
WHERE f.time_key=3D t.time_key
GROUP BY t.month, t.quarter, t.year;
Once a materialized view has been created, a database server may answer some queries that are issued against the base table with data from the materialized view. For example, a user may submit the following query (Q1) that asks for sum-of-sales by month:
Query Q1:
SELECT t.month, SUM(f.dollar_sales) as sum_sales
FROM fact_tab f, time_tab t
WHERE f.time_key=3D t.time_key
GROUP BY t.month;
Query Q1 requests a join to be performed between two base tables: fact_tab and time_tab. Scanning the based tables and performing the join operation may involve a significant amount of overhead. To avoid this overhead, the server can rewrite query Q1 to access data from mv1, instead of performing a join of fact_tab and time_tab. In the present example, query Q1 maybe rewritten as:
Rewritten query Q1xe2x80x2:
SELECT mv1.month, mv1.month_sales as sum_sales
FROM mv1;
The rewritten query Q1xe2x80x2 produces the same results as the original query Q1, but requests the retrieval of data from mv1 rather than from a join between fact_tab and time_tab. Consequently, the amount of overhead required to process the rewritten query Q1xe2x80x2 may be several orders of magnitude less than the overhead required to process the original query Q1.
In the example given above, query Q1xe2x80x2 requires sales to be summed by month. Conveniently, materialized view mv1 contains data that has already been summed by month. Consequently, rewritten query Q1xe2x80x2 does not involve any additional aggregation. However, when the hierarchical relationship between the levels of a dimension are known, queries that require aggregation at a relatively coarser level of a dimension can be rewritten to access a materialized view that stores data that has been aggregated at a relatively finer level of that dimension.
For example, suppose the user submits a query (Q2) that asks for sum-of-sales by year. Knowing the calendar _rollup hierarchy declared in time_dim, the server can still rewrite Q2 to access data from mv1 instead of performing a join of fact_tab and time_tab.
Query Q2:
SELECT t.year, SUM(f.dollar_sales) as sum_sales
FROM fact_tab f, time_tab t
WHERE f.time_key=3D t.time_key
GROUP BY t.year;
To access mv1, query Q2 may be rewritten as:
Rewritten query Q2xe2x80x2:
SELECT mv1.year, SUM(mv1.month_sales) as sum_sales
FROM mv1
GROUP BY mv1.year;
In the rewritten query Q2xe2x80x2, the month_sales values stored in mv1 are summed up (rolled up) into yearly sum-of-sales. The server knows that yearly sales can be derived from monthly sum_of_sales because of the hierarchy information stored in the dimension declaration.
As explained above, one mechanism for defining a hierarchical dimension, the various levels thereof, and the relationships between the levels, is through a xe2x80x9cCREATE DIMENSIONxe2x80x9d statement that has the following form:
The above statement, which creates a dimension called time_dim, declares hierarchical relationships between different columns of a dimension table time_tab. Specifically, the levels cal_day, cal_month, cal_quarter, and cal_year are respectively associated with columns time_tab.day, time_tab.month, time_tab.quarter, and time_tab.year of the time_tab dimension table. FIG. 1A illustrates a time_tab dimension table that may be created in response to such a declaration.
The dimension table 102 embeds the hierarchical relationships between granules in the various levels of the dimension. For example, row 108 indicates a mapping between the day granule xe2x80x9c3xe2x80x9d, the month granule xe2x80x9cm5xe2x80x9d, the quarter granule xe2x80x9cq2xe2x80x9d and the year granule xe2x80x9c1988xe2x80x9d. When a hierarchical dimension is represented by a dimension table that has one column for each hierarchical level, rolling up aggregate values from a finer level to a coarser level may merely involve a re-aggregation of aggregated values using the appropriate column at the coarser level, or a join between the materialized view and the dimension table followed by a re-aggregation of aggregated values using the coarser level column.
For example, the materialized view may be created with a column for each level of the hierarchy, and the roll-up may be performed by aggregating based on groups associated with the appropriate column. For example, mv1 was created with a year column, so rolling values in mv1 up to the year level may be performed based on the year column of mv1.
Alternatively, if columns at coarser levels of the hierarchy, such as quarter and year, are not stored in mv1, the database server may join mv1 to time_tab 102 to determine the year value associated with each of the rows in mv1, and aggregate the dollar_sales value of all rows of mv1 that correspond to the same year value.
Another technique for defining a hierarchical dimension involves supplying functions which, when applied to granules at finer levels of a hierarchical dimension, produce the corresponding granules for coarser levels of the hierarchical dimension. For example, rather than have a dimension table (such as time_tab 102) to indicate the hierarchical relationship between granules in the various levels of the time dimension, various user functions may be provided.
For example, a time dimension can be stored in a single column rather than in a set of columns. A base granule in its encoded form is stored in a single column, and a set of user functions are provided to derive coarser granules from the base granule. FIG. 1B illustrates an example of such dimension table (dim_tab2120), where encoded based granules for the time dimension are stored in a single xe2x80x9csale_datexe2x80x9d column. A user function to_day converts the base granule sale_date into the corresponding calendar day, another user function to_month converts sale_date into corresponding calendar month, etc. The relationship between the levels of the time dimension hierarchy may be represented as: to_day(sale_date) xe2x86x92 to_month(sale_date) xe2x86x92 to_quarter(sale_date) xe2x86x92 to_year(sale_date). A hierarchy defined in this fashion is referred to herein as a xe2x80x9cfunction-defined hierarchyxe2x80x9d.
It is possible to derive coarser granules from base granules when the base granules are encoded to store information about the corresponding coarser granules. Example of situations in which coarser granules may be derived from base granules include:
(1) a base granule based on the standard ANSI SQL datetime datatype which encodes information about time-of-day, day, week, month, quarter, year, century, etc.
(2) a base granule that is an object class encapsulating information about all coarser granules with corresponding methods to extract coarser granules from the base class, and
(3) a base granule that is a user-defined datatype with corresponding user-defined functions that retrieve or compute coarser granules from the user-defined base granule.
When a hierarchy level is associated with a function, the hierarchy level does not correspond to a column of a dimension table. In fact, a dimension table need not even exist for a dimension whose hierarchy levels are defined by function. Thus, while columns xe2x80x9cmonthxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cyearxe2x80x9d of time_tab 102 are used to determine which year corresponds to a particular month value for a time dimension without a function-defined hierarchy, the function to_year is used to determine which year corresponds to a particular sale_date value in a time dimension that has a function-defined hierarchy.
Just as with hierarchical dimensions that are not function-defined, it is possible to create summary tables that store pre-computed aggregate data that has been aggregated up to a particular level of a function-defined hierarchy. For example, the following statement defines a materialized view mv2 in terms of the base granule xe2x80x9csale_datexe2x80x9d and user-defined functions:
CREATE MATERIALIZED VIEW mv2
AS
SELECT to_month(t.sale_date) as month,
to_quarter(t.sale_date) as quarter,
to_year(t.sale_date) as year,
sum(f.dollar_sales) as month_sales
FROM fact_tab f, time_tab2 t
WHERE f.time_key=t.time_key
GROUP BY to_month(t.sale_date),
to_quarter(t.sale_date),
to_year(t.sale_date);
FIG. 2 is a block diagram that illustrates a materialized view mv2 that may have been created in response to this statement.
Just as with hierarchical dimensions that are not function-defined, it is desirable to be able to satisfy some queries that are directed to fact_tab and dim_tab2 with data from mv2, rather than by scanning and joining the base tables. For example, a user may submit a query (Q3) that asks for sum-of-sales by month by using the user-defined function to_month, as follows:
Query Q3:
SELECT to_month(t.sale_date) as month,
SUM(f.dollar_sales) as sum_sales
FROM fact_tab f, time_tab2 t
WHERE f.time_key=3D t.time_key
GROUP BY to_month(t.sale_date);
Satisfying query Q3 from the base tables fact_tab and time_tab2 incurs the potentially enormous overhead associated with scanning and joining the two tables. So Q3 can be rewritten in terms of mv2 to cut down the overhead based on the fact that the GROUP BY clause of Q3 is a proper subset of the GROUP BY clause of mv2.
However, if the GROUP BY clause of Q3 was to_year(sale_date) and the GROUP BY clause of mv2 had to_month(sale_date), then the Q3 cannot be rewritten using mv2 unless a function-defined hierarchy declares that it is possible to derive year granules from month granules.
Based on the foregoing, it is desirable to provide a technique that allows queries that are not directed to a materialized view to be answered with data from the materialized view even when the queries require aggregation across a hierarchical dimension that has a function-defined hierarchy.
Techniques are provided to allow function-defined hierarchies to be registered with a database server. The information provided to the server during the registration process is used by the server to determine how to roll up data that has been aggregated at one level of a function-defined hierarchy to another level of the function-defined hierarchy. Techniques are also provided to perform rollup from one level of a function-defined hierarchy to another level of the function-defined hierarchy on data stored in a materialized view. Further, techniques are provided for rewriting queries that require aggregation at one level of a function-defined hierarchy to cause them to access data from a materialized view that stores data at a different level of the function-defined hierarchy.

Techniques for handling function-defined hierarchical dimensions


A method of formulating novel humic material is disclosed comprising mixing one or more portions of Dimethylphenylpiperazinium (DMPP) with one or more portions of N—(N-butyl) thiophosphoric triamide (NBPT) with one or more portions of Isobutylidene-diurea (IBDU) with one or more portions of Polyaspartic Acid with one or more portions of Chitosan and a portion of Mycorrhizae and Rhizobia to form a portion of biostimulant material; obtaining a portion of seaweed harvest and crushing and drying said portion of seaweed to form a portion of seaweed powder; Obtaining a portion of leonardite and crushing said portion of leonardite to form a portion of humic raw material; mixing one or more portion of animal manure with one or more portion of stover with one or more portion of organic waste to form a portion of compositing mix and composting said compositing mix to form a portion of composted product; obtaining a portion of plant waste and subjecting said portion of plant waste through an anaerobic combustion to form a portion of bio char; mixing said portion of bio char with said portion of composted product with said portion of humic product to form a portion of humic processed material; adding a portion of artificial taggant to said humic processed material to form tagged humic product; mixing said tagged humic product with said portion of biostimulant material to form a portion of biostimulant humic product; adding a taggant to said portion of biostimulant humic product to form a portion of tagged biostimulant humic product; mixing one or more portion of phosphorus with a portion of potassium and a portion of nitrogen and a portion of trace minerals to form portion of raw fertilizer; mixing said portion of raw fertilizer with said portion of tagged biostimulant humic product to form a portion of tagged fertilized biostimulant humic product.

The earth's atmosphere is a complex gaseous system that is essential to support life on planet Earth. The atmosphere shields the planet from the harsh conditions that exist in space. The earth's atmosphere largely defines the planet's climate and acts like the glass in a greenhouse. In a greenhouse, energy from the sun passes through the glass and is absorbed by objects in the greenhouse including the plants and soil. Much of the absorbed energy is converted to heat, which warms the greenhouse. The glass helps maintain the greenhouse warmth by trapping this heat. While an estimated 31% of the energy received from the sun as sunlight is reflected back to space by the earth's atmosphere and surface (particularly those portions of the surface that are covered by snow and ice), 20% is absorbed by the atmosphere, and the remaining 39% portion of incoming radiation is absorbed by the earth's oceans and land, where it is converted into heat, warming the surface of the earth and the air above it. On an ongoing basis, the earth's average temperature is determined by the overall balance between the amount of energy that is received from the sun, the amount of radiant heat that is developed because of the atmosphere, and the amount that is reflected back to space. Certain naturally occurring gases in the atmosphere help to establish and maintain this balance. Water vapor is considered to be the largest contributor to the natural greenhouse effect. Other gases that naturally occur in smaller quantities in the atmosphere also contribute to the natural greenhouse effect. These gases include carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. This natural balance, however, can be upset by a variety of factors including the overabundance of one or more of the natural greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
The recent warming of the earth's climate has been largely attributed to human activity, primarily the release of greater amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases (each a "GHG") into the atmosphere. These gases enhance the insulating properties of the atmosphere, reducing heat loss, thereby warming the planet. Continued emission of these gases is the primary cause for concern about climate change now and into the immediate future. Particularly important is the emission of carbon dioxide, which is released through the combustion of carbon-based fossil fuels. In some countries, over 80% of total national greenhouse gas emissions are associated with the production or consumption of fossil fuels for energy purposes. Some examples of GHGs are carbon dioxide, methane, perfluorocarbons, nitrous oxide, sulfur hexafluoride, and hydroflurocarbons. The amount of global warming that a certain GHG can produce is often measured as the "carbon dioxide equivalent", that is, in terms of the amount of warming potential that carbon dioxide would produce.
A variety of strategies and policies have been proposed over the years by which the "carbon footprint"—that is, the amount of greenhouse gas emitted by a specific source—can be identified and reduced.
On a larger scale, governments have taken steps to limit emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. The reduction of the emission of greenhouse gases and global warming was a subject addressed at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development. From this Conference, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change resulted. This Treaty called for protocols to take place from time to time, the most famous of which is the Kyoto Protocol. This Protocol committed countries that became parties to the Treaty to reduce greenhouse gas emission based on the premises that global warming is occurring and the man-made carbon dioxide has caused it. Governments have also implemented a variety of measures to limit emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases and, in some cases, put taxes on carbon emissions and higher taxes on fossil fuels.
A variety of individual and industrial strategies and policies have been proposed over the years to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Individuals and companies are attempting to curb global warming by various conservation measures, recycling programs, driving and flying less, using lower amounts of highly processed products and components, and sourcing product and components locally. Much of these commonly adopted measures focus on reducing transportation and therefore the release of carbon dioxide and other gases from the combustion of fossil fuels to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, reductions in other economic sectors can produce significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
The emissions from the agricultural sector are known to be very substantial. It is estimated that one fifth of all global GHG emissions are currently due to agriculture. Forty percent of this amount comes from direct agricultural production, another forty percent is caused by agriculture's role in driving deforestation and the loss of peat and fires, and twenty percent is caused by the use of fossil fuels along the agricultural supply chain and for on-farm machinery. Direct agricultural production emissions include two important greenhouse gases: nitrous oxide (N.sub.2O) and methane (CH.sub.4). Nitrous oxide is estimated to have a global warming potential that is 310 times that of carbon dioxide. Methane is estimated to have a global warming potential that is 23 times that of carbon dioxide.
The causes of some of these large amounts of GHG emissions are known and therefore may be susceptible to reduction. For example, 15% of direct agricultural emissions are due to the use of synthetic fertilizers. Synthetic fertilizers are problematic because coal is often used in the production of this product, particularly in developing countries, instead of the more efficient natural gas. Also, farmers tend to over apply nitrogen fertilizers to crops as insurance against low yields. However, by applying large amounts of nitrogen fertilizer to crops, the potent GHG nitrous oxide may be emitted similarly in large amounts.
Similarly, irrigation is also known to cause GHG emissions. The need to obtain and distribute water for crops in areas that do not have ready sources of water requires that fossil fuels be used not only to build but also to operate the pumps and other components of the irrigation systems.
The steps that can be taken to change current practices in the agricultural sector and reduce the GHG emissions by this sector are often known. For example, a reduction in the over application of synthetic fertilizers can be realized if farmers adopt better accounting practices by which they know how much fertilizer is needed for a particular crop and when that amount has been applied. To illustrate, it is thought that China—considered, like the U.S., and to a lesser degree, India, and the E.U., to be a "hotspot" for nitrogen fertilizer overuse—could reduce fertilizer application rates by 30 to 60 percent without harming yields. Switching to organic fertilizers can also help simply because lower amounts of fossil fuels are needed to produce them.
Better water management practices and the improvement of agricultural soils can similarly reduce the need for and constant operation of irrigation systems and thereby GHG emissions. The steady growth of GHG emissions may also be curtailed if agricultural output is intensified rather than expanded. Expansion requires the conversion of more land to agricultural purposes. Such conversion can involve the deforestation of land and thereby the destruction of a natural sink for carbon dioxide. Intensification, on the other hand, seeks to produce more with the same amount of land. Intensification practices include changing the varieties and breeds grown on the land, altering the substances used as fertilizers, and improving irrigation practices.
Even though many measures to reduce GHG emissions are known, farmers often fail to adopt many of them. One such reason for the reluctance is that at least some farmers may not appreciate that GHGs are air pollutants and air pollution can interfere with photosynthesis, stunt overall plant growth, and ultimately lessen agricultural yields. Another reason is that the benefits that farmers can realize by changing their practices to produce reductions in GHG emissions are difficult to quantify in economic terms. To illustrate this point, a naturally-occurring substance, humate, will now be discussed.
Humates are considered to be the most widely distributed organic substance resulting from biosynthesis on the planet. These substances—found in soils, peat beds, and coal deposits and in varying concentrations in rivers, lakes, and oceans—result from the decomposition of plant and animal matter. Given their diverse origins, humates are heterogeneous substances that may contain a variety of organic components—including aromatic and heterocyclic structures, carboxyl groups, nitrogen, fragments of DNA and RNA—and inorganic components—such as minerals. Humates may possess active hydrogen bonding sites, making the humate chemically reactive. The varied humate compositions are often considered to be composed of three fractions, commonly termed humic acid, fulvic acid, and humin. Humates are often termed humic substances.
The varied chemical compositions of humates make it possible for them to have varied chemical activities and allow them to achieve various functionalities. Humates, when used as a soil amendment or conditioner, have been shown to produce various localized benefits to soil—including increased soil aeration, decreased soil density, increased soil moisture, and overall promotion of soil health—and to plants—including increased root density, increased root depth, and increased nutrient uptake. Overall, the use of this naturally occurring substance in agricultural production can reduce the need for nitrogen fertilizers—thereby reducing the N.sub.2O emissions and CO.sub.2 emissions associated with the production and application of such materials—and the same amounts of water needed by crops grown on soils on which humates have not been applied. Humates may also be used in efforts to remove toxins from soils and make the solid suitable for other uses. This global benefit of decreasing carbon emission by using humate during agriculture production demonstrates the localized benefit that is derived from crops grown with more natural-occurring levels of humate.
Carbon credits and carbon markets are components of national and international programs to reduce the growth in concentrations of greenhouse gases. One carbon credit is equal to one ton of carbon dioxide, or in some markets, gases that are equivalent to carbon dioxide. By capping greenhouse gas emissions, markets are established by which emissions can be financially transferred. Those who seek to emit more GHGs than they are permitted must purchase credits from those who have carbon credits, for example, by reducing their own carbon emissions.
Because GHG mitigation projects can generate credits, and therefore have financial value, an individual or company may be able to quantify the true cost of a carbon reduction strategy and obtain the financial backing to undertake it. For example, a famer seeking to apply a humic substance may find that the cost of the humic substance is higher than the cost of a synthetic fertilizer. However, the farmer also may determine that, by applying a humic substance instead of the synthetic fertilizer, the GHG emissions from the farming operation will decrease in the short run and in the long run. In the short run, the nitrous oxide emissions from the use of synthetic fertilizers will be eliminated. In the longer run, given that humic substances can improve the water retention capacity of soils, the need for irrigation may be lessened, thereby reducing carbon dioxide emissions. A farmer that can certify the application of such a substance and therefore the reduction in GHG emissions can use the reduction to generate a credit that can be sold. The financial return can aid the farmer to reduce the cost of the taking on the strategy.
A demand therefore exists for a system and methods to certify, quantify, verify, register, track and monetize the use and benefits derived from a naturally-occurring substance. Additionally a demand exists for system and methods through the use of which the benefits produced on agricultural land may be organized, quantified, compared, and managed. The present invention satisfies these demands.
Further, fraud in the greenhouse gas/water quality trading offset markets is pervasive, such that it is desirable now to track and validate such sort of processes, particularly if GHG credits are to be sold or exchanged with 3rd parties who were not part of creating the credits. Additionally, the cost of creating offsets is often higher than the value of current market prices such that more practical cost benefit efforts must be enabled by way of tracking GHG reduction efforts with a greater granularity.
To date, efforts to identify offset potential has mostly focused on fossil fuel CO2 sequestration projects which are in many cases over budget and behind schedule. However, nitrous oxide (N2O), a greenhouse gas (GHG) with approximately 300 times more global warming potential than CO2, accounts for 6% of the GHG emissions in the United States. Seventy five percent of N2O emissions come from synthetic nitrogen (N) fertilizer usage in the agriculture sector primarily due to excess fertilization.
The "lowest hanging fruit" and the least costly carbon credits to create may in fact result from incentivizing the use of readily available, inexpensive, alternative bio-stimulant products, in this case, humus-based substances being applied towards agricultural and reclamation purposes in lieu of currently utilized nitrogen based commercial fertilizers.
The applications of humic substances to soils has many direct and indirect benefits in terms of lowering a farmer's overhead costs while maintaining or even increasing their crop yield. Additionally, humic substances are naturally occurring and do not carry with them the same soil and water table toxicity issues that commercial grade nitrogen-based fertilizers suffer from. As an added benefit, humic substances are typically located above coal and other mining veins and are discarded as waste product by the mining industry. As such, humate is inexpensive, accessible, and a large amount of is already mined and literally going to waste.
Despite the benefit, farming is not unlike most ancient industries, and adaptation and overcoming engrained behaviors is a problem unto itself. Fortunately, money motivates even the most stubborn.
As such, there is a need to create a protocol that incentivizes farmers to change their behavior such that there is a reduction in greenhouse gases, which addresses the much larger concern of climate change.
Traditional carbon credit systems reward participants with credits which operate as a commodity which carries with it ownership and contract rights and may be bought, sold, redeemed and applied towards GHG output as an offset, speculated, and the like.
However, unlike gold, silver, pork bellies, and all the other commodities bought and sold, carbon credits are unique in that they represent a net tonnage of GHG that wasn't created. Carbon credits cannot be packaged, transported, put in a safe, or even observed like traditional commodities, effectively carbon credits only exist on the ledger of whoever issued the carbon credit.
The effect of this is several disparate protocols for issuing carbon credits across a variety of issuers, which brings with it a lack of certainty in the carbon credits themselves. Further, without consensus across issuers, one issuer may have stricter standards for what merits issuance of carbon offsets versus another issuer. One carbon offset may be more trusted than another, whereas the commodities market requires that 1 oz of gold in Texas be the same volume and weight as an oz of gold in New Mexico. As such, not all carbon credits are viewed as equal, which complicates monetization and trading.
Likewise, having several disparate protocols brings with it substantial issues as to records and verification. As currently not all carbon credits are viewed the same, so too are the records and ledgers behind these different protocols differ. Traditional assets carry with them historical data, which are often as important as the asset themselves. Real property and substantial assets such as vehicles or artifacts necessitate tracking the title of the asset; when the home was built, who built the home, the ownership history of the home, and so on. This historical data brings with it assurances and peace of mind for both buyer and seller and creates stability within the asset class.
Current carbon credit models have yet to adequately address this need of tracking and cataloging credit creation, by who, when, how, and all of the various transfers of the credit that may take place long after issuance.
Cumulatively then, it can be said that carbon credits are ethereal and exist on many different systems and ledgers, which necessarily introduces the potential for fraud. There is little stopping a bad actor from simply creating credits from nothing.
Recently blockchain architecture has come to the forefront of the computing industry. Blockchain, a system where a singular ledger exists in many copies across many computers proposes that as communication and CPU speeds are now sufficient, consensus across a threshold amount of those computers can itself propel computer processes and be resistant to the traditional issues a localized server farm would face—downtime, fraud, data loss, and so on. In fact, many of the fledgling blockchain projects have illustrated that with consensus, data can be accessible, public, and even manipulated by participants, and the consensus driven protocol will maintain order and stability, discarding and reverting "bad" data.
As such, it is now possible to create a blockchain that would ground the ethereal carbon credit in reality. It is now possible, using blockchain architecture, to track the soil amendment the farmer would be using on their crops with such granularity that one could track what the specific mixture was, where it was purchased, where it was produced, what precursors were used to produce this particular fertilizer, and the history of the precursors which were mined, harvested, or otherwise.
Similarly, in the opposite direction it may be tracked when the farmer was rewarded, what actions the farmer took to be rewarded, and the subsequent buy, sell, and ultimately redemption and retirement history of the carbon credit.
There is a need to create a "Life Cycle Approach" (LCA) similar to the environmental industry methods for tracking hazardous waste (cradle to grave) and water samples (chain-of-custody) that addresses this particularized need for GHG credit creation, validation, verification, and retirement based upon the use of humic based bio-stimulant products, a LCA will bring the reassurances necessary to finally codify what a carbon credit actually represents, and backing each credit with title history may be the threshold catalyst which finally opens up the carbon credit market and places it on similar if not better basis than traditional well understood commodities.
The protocol disclosed contemplates and addresses all of these issues. Further, this specification will also acknowledge and discusssome of the weaknesses of traditional blockchain architecture, and proffer that many of these weaknesses can be solved by applying a multichain or multichain variant approach whereby, like a traditional blockchain, all data is tracked, and accessible in whole or part.
However, where a traditional blockchain is a single chain whereby all operations occur on that chain, the disclosed protocol contemplates additional embodiments that speak to these multichain or multichain variants which would have the benefit of allowing for subprocesses to occur on parallel sidechains or streams. When these sidechains resolve, the sidechain may be closed out and a final optimized record created, with the main blockchain then pointing to the optimized data. The effect of this is a substantial decrease in overall size of the mainchain, while maintaining the flexibility to have as much granularity as is needed for a side/subprocess. This is particularly important when what may be important as between the mining and fertilizer operations is not necessarily critical to a party downstream who is concerned with chain of title or if the credit is redeemed and retired.
To put it another way, multichain architecture operates similar to a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet file; within that file may be several different pages, each with its own data tracked and formulas and manipulation. The disclosed protocol enables a blockchain, the excel file, to be created and then distributed, but the multichain features would enable different users to access what is relevant to them without cluttering up the pages of other interested parties who are focused on different data.
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is considered the sole culprit for global warming; however, nitrous oxide (N2O), a GHG with approximately 300 times more global warming potential than CO2, accounts for 6% of the GHG emissions in the United States. While most people associate CO2 and GHG emissions with passenger vehicles, this is far from the truth. In fact, transportation as a whole accounts for only 13% of GHG emissions by source. See FIG. 10.
Agriculture activity actually by itself accounts for just slightly more GHG emissions than transportation activity. That said, the public and politicians continue to focus on vehicles as one of the primary solutions to the looming climate change crisis.
When agriculture activity is considered, it is even more surprising to find that roughly seventy five percent of all N2O emissions stem from synthetic nitrogen (N) fertilizer usage in the agriculture sector, and shockingly this is primarily due to excess fertilization. Numerous studies have shown that changes in soil management practices, specifically optimizing N fertilizer use and amending soil with organic and humate materials can reverse soil damage and actually improve a farmer's or land reclamation company's balance sheet. Soil restoration is internationally recognized as one of the lowest cost GHG abatement opportunities available. Profitability improves in two ways: (1) lower operating costs resulting from lower input costs (water and fertilizer); and (2) increased revenue by participation in emerging GHG offsets markets (nitrogen and carbon), and water quality trading markets.


An automatic drug packaging machine and package-less verification system together with methods and apparatus. In embodiments, the system may include an automatic drug packaging machine for packaging one or more drug into ones of separate pouch packages forming a pouch package web. Each pouch package may include information, a machine-readable code, and have a side through which each packaged drug is viewable. An imager adjacent the web is provided to capture an image of each packaged drug within the pouch package. In embodiments, a code reader adjacent the web may read the pouch package machine-readable code. The code reader may be associated with the imager. In an embodiment, the machine-readable code is compared with an expected code for the pouch package and image information of each packaged drug within the pouch package is compared with a reference image corresponding to each packaged drug for a match. In such embodiment, data may be generated for the pouch package responsive to whether the codes match and whether the images match to provide a verification of the pouch package if the comparisons match and, alternatively, a non-verification of the pouch package if at least one of the comparisons do not match.

Prescription order fulfillment and administration of drugs to patients are important tasks which require the exercise of considerable care to ensure that the patient receives the correct drug in accordance with the physician's instructions. Because of the importance that prescription orders be fulfilled correctly, a registered pharmacist is required to review each prescription order and to verify that the prescription order has been fulfilled correctly. This prescription order review and verification process is performed before the prescription order is provided to the patient and before any drugs are administered to the patient to ensure that the patient receives the appropriate medical treatment.
Registered pharmacist prescription order review and verification is a time-consuming and relatively costly process. The registered pharmacist review and verification process can increase the cost of delivering high-quality patient care. The healthcare industry is under constant pressure to control these costs. Moreover, registered pharmacists are highly-skilled professionals whose time is valuable and can be spent, for example, performing other important tasks such as counseling patients.
Pharmacies are increasingly reliant on automation in order to improve the quality of patient care and to control healthcare costs. One highly-effective application of pharmacy automation is the use of automatic drug dispensing and packaging machines, referred to herein simply as automatic drug packaging machines. The automatic drug packaging machines may package the drugs in what are known as "compliance packages." Compliance packages organize the drugs in some useful manner to facilitate compliance with the physician's instructions.
One type of compliance package output by an automatic drug packaging machine is referred to in industry as a "pouch package." Pouch packages are formed serially in a web of pouch packaging material with each pouch package containing a drug "dose" consisting of one or more drugs. The drugs may be in tablet form or in other forms, such as granular or powdered form. The web of pouch packages output from the automatic drug packaging machine is sometimes referred to as a "vine." Each pouch package is a separate, sealed drug-containing package formed in the pouch package web, or vine. The pouch package web can be as long as required by the pharmacy or other automatic drug packaging machine operator. To facilitate compliance, the automatic drug packaging machine prints useful information on each pouch package, such as the patient name, drug information, and instructions for administration of the drug. The automatic drug packaging machine is computer controlled and may be programmed to output any number and sequence of pouch packages. An automatic drug packaging machine can operate for many hours, for example overnight, without human intervention.
Pouch packages are a useful type of compliance package because the packages may be output from the automatic drug packaging machine ordered in any suitable manner, such as by the particular time of day at which the drug in each pouch is to be taken, (e.g., breakfast, lunch, and dinner). The pouch package web may be cut into smaller portions corresponding to each patient's prescription order and then may be provided to the patient. The patient then takes each drug one-after-the-other in the sequence in which the pouch packages are provided.
Pouch-package-type compliance packages are highly effective for drug administration at in-patient facilities, such as hospitals and long-term care facilities (e.g., nursing homes). This is because the pouch packages can be generated for many patients and can be grouped and organized in order of administration, thereby facilitating implementation of the physician's instructions and improving the quality of patient care.
While automatic drug packaging machines are excellent for their intended purpose, any automatic process carries with it the possibility of incorrect operation. For example, there may be a rare circumstance in which the wrong drug is packaged in the pouch package. There may be a rare circumstance in which a mismatch exists between a given pouch and the drug expected to be loaded in that pouch, potentially causing a series of drug and pouch package mismatches. There is also a limited possibility of printer error or malfunction so that the information printed on each package is not legible, or is unusable.
In these rare circumstances, pharmacy personnel must take corrective steps because the drugs cannot be administered unless the pharmacy is confident that the prescription order is correct and that any important printed information is usable. The corrective steps could involve discarding the pouch packages or expending valuable human time to manually remove the drugs from the pouch packages and to restock the drugs.
As valuable as automatic drug packaging machines are, the foregoing infrequent issues illustrate the importance of registered pharmacist prescription order review and verification before the pouch packages comprising a patient prescription order are administered to a patient. This review and verification is routinely performed by manually handling and checking each pouch package against printed or displayed information corresponding to the patient prescription order.
As can be appreciated, manual handling and review and verification of pouch packages is a slow and tedious process. Each pouch package web, or vine, may include many hundreds of look-alike pouch packages. The manual review and verification process is potentially subject to error because of the repetitive nature of the process and the look-alike appearance of the pouch packages. Therefore, while automatic drug packaging machines provide improvements in dispensing and packaging of the drugs, the prescription order fulfillment process is not optimally efficient because of the limitations imposed by the manual review and verification process of the pouch packages output from the automatic drug packaging machine.
Various inspection devices have been proposed to facilitate pouch package inspection. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,330,351 describes a pouch package drug inspection device in which a camera-generated image of the actual pouch package content is compared with a reference image of the content. However, the drug inspection device is disadvantageous at least because it is incapable of detecting pouch package loading errors in real time as the pouch packages are output from the automatic tablet packaging machine.
A further pouch package inspection device is described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,540,222. This patent describes a manual inspection system in which a user manually examines an enlarged camera-generated image of each pouch package for printing errors or for broken tablets. The inspection device is disadvantageous, however, at least because it is limited to manual detection of printing and tablet-damage errors and is not a prescription order verification system.
There is a need for an automatic drug packaging machine and package-less verification system which would address some or all of the foregoing needs, including needs of in-patient facility pharmacies and pharmacies generally, which would facilitate reliable and accurate prescription order review and verification, which would reduce the cost of prescription order review and verification, which would provide automatic "real time" detection of packaging errors thus avoiding creation of incorrectly-packaged pouch package webs, which would permit rapid and accurate verification of each pouch package without the need to physically handle any pouch package, and which would generally improve the quality of patient care.

Automatic drug packaging machine and package-less verification system


A solid-state imaging-device includes a base, frame-shaped ribs provided on the base and forming an internal space, a plurality of wiring members for electrically leading the internal space of a housing formed by the base and the ribs to an external portion, an imaging element fixed to the base inside the internal space, a transparent plate fixed to an upper surface of the ribs, and connecting members electrically connecting electrodes of the imaging element to the wiring members, wherein a plurality of protrusions are provided in a region of the base that faces the imaging element, and the imaging element is fixed by adhesive to the base while being supported by the protrusions. The protrusions enable the imaging element to avoid distortion caused by following the surface of the base, thereby suppressing the effect on electrical properties of the imaging element.

Solid-state imaging devices, which are widely used for video cameras and still cameras or the like, are provided in the form of a package, in which an imaging element, such as a CCD or the like, is mounted on a base made of an insulating material, with the photo-detecting region being covered by a transparent plate. In order to make the device more compact, the imaging element is mounted on the base as a bare chip. FIG. 9 shows the solid-state imaging device disclosed in JP 2001-77277, which is a conventional example of such a solid-state imaging device.
In FIG. 9, numeral 41 denotes a housing, which is made of a base 41a and frame-shaped ribs 41b formed in one piece by resin molding. An internal space 42 is formed on the upper side of the housing 41. A die pad 43 positioned at the center of the base 41a and leads 44 positioned below the ribs 41b are embedded in the housing 41. An imaging element chip 45 disposed at the center of the internal space 42 is fixed to the upper side of the die pad 43. The leads 44 include internal terminal portions 44a that are exposed to the internal space 42 at the upper side of the base 41a on the inner side of the ribs 41b and external terminal portions 44b that are exposed at the bottom side of the base 41a below the ribs 41b. The internal terminal portions 44a and the bonding pads of the imaging element chip 45 are connected by bonding wires 46 made of metal. A transparent sealing glass plate 47 is fixed to the upper surface of the ribs 41b, thus forming a package for protection of the imaging element chip 45.
This solid-state imaging device is mounted on a circuit board with the sealing glass plate 47 facing upward, as shown in FIG. 9, and the external terminal portions 44b are used to connect it to the electrodes on the circuit board. Although not shown in the drawings, a lens barrel incorporating an imaging optical system is mounted on top of the sealing glass plate 47 so that a relative position with respect to the photo-detecting region formed in the imaging element chip 45 is adjusted with a predetermined precision. During the imaging operation, object light that has passed through the imaging optical system incorporated in the lens barrel is focused on the photo-detecting region and photoelectrically converted.
Since a solid-state imaging device with such a configuration is connected at the external terminal portions 44b exposed from the bottom surface of the housing to electrodes on the circuit board, the height and the occupied surface area of the package are smaller than in configurations using a connecting structure with outer leads bent downward from the sides of the housing, thus making it suitable for high-density packaging.
In the configuration of the above-described conventional solid-state imaging device, it is necessary that the base 41a of the housing 41 has a sufficient degree of flatness. When, as conventionally, the imaging element chip 45 is fixed to the surface of the base 41a with adhesive, and the adhesive hardens, a force is caused that tends to made the imaging element chip 45 follow the surface of the base 41a. Thus, if the degree of flatness of the base 41a is not favorable, warping and internal stress are generated in the imaging element chip 45, and the electrical properties and the like of the imaging element chip 45 are adversely affected.
However, when the base 41a is molded, it is difficult to avoid a certain degree of twisting or warping of the cross-directional shape, and the degree of flatness is less than desired.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


Peptides and pharmaceutical compositions of matter useful as cytotoxic compositions particularly for, but not limited to, treatment of cancers, that includes a synthetic peptide whose amino acid sequence is different from an initial loop of cobra cardiotoxin.

Several distinct cytotoxins can be isolated from any given cobra venom sample, and more than 50 variants have been sequenced (Dufton and Hider, 1991). These cobra cytotoxins are polybasic, yet hydrophobic proteins, typically consisting of 60 amino acids, with a molecular weight of 6000–7000 Daltons. Crystallographic and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analysis indicates that these proteins contain no alpha helical structure, but rather consist of three loops of anti-parallel beta strands emanating from a core that is constrained by four disulfide bonds, as shown in FIG. 1. Structural features thought to be responsible for their activity involve rather flat beta sheet regions of hydrophobic residues flanked by cationic amino acids (Kini & Evans, 1989). These toxins induce rapid depolarization of skeletal and cardiac muscle. Some of the toxins are selectively cytotoxic for a variety of human cancer cell lines. Previous comparisons of native toxins indicated that Naja naja atra III cytotoxin (hereinafter abbreviated as CTX) was highly toxic toward human leukemic T-lymphocytes, whereas the toxin from Naja naja oxiana displayed almost no toxicity, even though the two proteins differed at only 4 of their 60 residues. Moreover, two of these differences occurred in the first loop (Stevens-Truss & Hinman, 1997).
Chemical modifications of individual amino acids have contributed toward an elucidation of structural features that may underlie cytotoxicity. After separation of toxins modified by acetylation of individual lysine residues, Lin, Chang & Chang (1993) and Gatineau et al. (1990) reported that the most critical lysine was at position 12 in the first loop of cytotoxin. Earlier, Gatineau et al. (1987) using nitration of tyrosine, indicated that the tyrosine at position 11 in Loop 1 was the most important of the three tyrosines in the molecule. From other studies, it has been suggested that cardiotoxicity, as opposed strictly to cytotoxicity, depends upon amino acid residues in loops 2 and 3.
Previous work by the inventors herein involving synthetic analogs of each of the three loops of cytotoxin III from Naja naja atra has shown than a Loop 2 construct, in which the Cys at position 21 forms an unusual disulfide bond with the Cys at position 38 (FIG. 1), had no activity against either heart cells or against human tumor T-lymphocytes (the CEM line). By contrast, the Loop 1 analog, in which the Cys at position 3 is constrained to form a disulfide bond with the Cys at position 14 (FIG. 1), was highly active in its ability to inhibit thymidine incorporation in CEM tumor cells.
Two prior patents have been found that involve components of cobra venom. The first, Vidal, U.S. Pat. No. 5,232,911 issued in 1993, utilized a whole cardiotoxin reported to have been purified from N. n. atra, but whose indicated sequence has an extra alanine within the first 15 residues and which more closely resembles toxins from Naja haje or from Naja nivea (Dufton and Hider, 1991). This 61-amino acid protein was for use in cancer chemotherapy strictly as an enhancer of the phospholipase activity of a heterodimer isolated from another snake, Crotalus durissus terrificus. The only application of the N. n. atra peptide was when it would be administered in combination with the much larger heterodimer. The Lipps et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,565,431 issued in 1996, involved a toxin isolated from the Thailand cobra, Naja naja Kaouthia, which the inventors termed "Kaotree." Having a reported molecular weight based on gel electrophoresis of approximately 6000 Daltons, the sequence of its first 15 amino acids [using single-letter abbreviations: MECYRMSNIVTCQPW] Seq. ID No. 19, is very much different from the sequence of any of the cardiotoxins from N. n. siamensis (Kaouthia) [or for any of the 50+ cardiotoxins reported by Dufton and Hider (1991)].

Cyclic beta-sheet peptides useful as apoptotic/cytotoxic cancer agents


ZnO structures comprising crystalline ZnO micro or nanorods and methods for making and using these ZnO structures are provided. The side surface of the central portion of each rod may comprise planes of the form {1 0 −1 0}, {0 1 −1 0}, {−1 1 0 0}, {−1 0 1 0}, {0 −1 1 0} and {1 −1 0 0}, with central edge regions including a crystallographic plane of the form {2 −1 −1 0} or {−2 1 1 0}. The tip of the rod may comprise planes of the form {1 0 −1 1} {0 1 −1 1}, {−1 1 0 1}, {−1 0 1 1}, {0 −1 1 1} and {1 −1 0 1} with tip edge regions including a crystallographic plane of the form {2 −1 −1 2} or {−2 1 1 2}. The rods may be joined at or near their bases to form the “flower-like” morphology. In an embodiment, a synthesis mixture is prepared by dissolving a zinc salt in an alcohol solvent, followed by addition of at least two additives. The zinc salt may be zinc nitrate hexahydrate, the first additive may be benzyl alcohol and the second additive may be urea.

A major challenge in materials engineering is the controlled assembly of purposefully designed molecules or ensembles of molecules into meso-, micro-, and nanostructures to provide an increasingly precise control at molecular levels over structure, properties and function of materials (Michal, D. W., Nature 2000, 405, 293 and Dai, Z. F., et al., Adv. Mater. 2001, 13, 1339). The controlled synthesis and characterization of low dimensional crystalline objects is also a major objective in modern materials science, physics and chemistry (Polleux, J., et al., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2006, 45, 261 and Angew. Chem. 2005, 118, 267). Many researchers have focused on the rational ways to control the shape, size, and dimensionality of nanomaterials. Self-assembly of inorganic nano building blocks into one-dimensional, two-dimensional, and three-dimensional ordered hierarchical nanostructures are fascinating because the variation of the arrangements of the building blocks provides a method to tune the property of the material (Niederberger, M., et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2002, 124, 13642; Niederberger, M., et al., Chem. Mater. 2002, 14, 4364; Niederberger, M., et al., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2004, 43, 2270; Niederberger, M., et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2004, 126, 9120; Richards, R., et al., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2006, 45, 7277; Richards, R., et al., J. Phys. Chem. C 2007, 111, 12038 and Richards, R., et al., Adv. Mater. 2008, 20, 267).
ZnO is a particularly interesting oxide as an excellent optoelectronic material because of its wide direct band gap and large exciton binding energy. It has been widely studied as catalyst support for methanol synthesis and decomposition from industrial and experimental processes, because methanol can be used as an alternative energy source to diminish oil and gas resource, as well as a raw material for manmade hydrocarbon and their products (BASF, German Patents, 1923, 415, 686, 441, 443, 462, and 837, US Patents, 1923, U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,558,559 and 1,569,755; Sun, Q. et al., J. Catal. 1997, 167, 92 and Olah, G. A. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2005, 44, 2636). ZnO has been proven to be a quite complex and interesting material with a variety of different structures. Therefore many efforts have been exerted to prepare ZnO possessing controlled shapes and morphologies (Yu, H. et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2005, 127, 2378; Wu, J. J., et al., Adv. Mater. 2002, 14, 215; Tian, Z. R., et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2002, 44, 12954 and Zhang, T., et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2006, 128, 10960). Various ZnO structures, such as nanocrystals, nanoparticles, nanocubes, nanowires, and nanosheets have been fabricated successfully. Each of these structures can be formed by a different growth mechanism under a wide range of different thermodynamic conditions.
For instance, ZnO nanostructures have been grown directly from a solid source, such as a Zn foil, or using a ZnO film as a nucleation center for the Zn atoms (Yu, H. et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2005, 127, 2378). ZnO nanowires have also been grown by vapor deposition methods using metal nanoparticles as a catalyst at high and low temperatures (Wu, J. J., et al., Adv. Mater. 2002, 14, 215). Large arrays of oriented helical ZnO nanorods and columns were formed using simple citrate ions to control the growth behavior of the crystal (Tian, Z. R., et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2002, 44, 12954). Complex and oriented ZnO nanostructures were synthesized by taking advantage of the preferential adsorption of organic structure-directing agents on different facets of hexagonal ZnO crystals (Zhang, T., et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2006, 128, 10960 and Tian Z. R., et al., Nature Mater. 2003, 2, 821). The interests in fabricating new ZnO nanostructures have been steadily growing due largely to the exciting new applications (Huang, M. H., et al., Science 2001, 292, 1897 and Wang, Z. L., et al., Science 2006, 312, 242), which imply the importance of controlling size and shape in ZnO synthesis.
Perfectly ordered oxide surfaces are usually quite inert, so that their chemical and catalytic properties are commonly attributed to the presence of surface defects (Kovacik R., et al., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2007, 46, 4894). ZnO is widely used in catalysis, electrical devices, optoelectronics and pharmaceuticals, which often crucially depend on the defect properties of this versatile material. It is becoming increasingly established that in order to control the functional properties of nanoscale materials, it is necessary to control not only their composition, shape and size, but also their defect structure (Spence J. C. H., Science 2003, 299, 839). To understand and to control the defect content of inorganic nanostructures can be seen as an important goal (lschenko V., et al., Adv. Funct. Mater. 2005, 15, 1945). However, there is little research about the direct fabrication of ZnO structures which has rich defects, though many efforts have been exerted to prepare ZnO possessing controlled shape and size.
Benzyl alcohol has been found to be a successful medium to tailor metal oxides with well-controlled shape, size and crystallinity under anhydrous conditions, for example, TiO2 nanoparticles of anatase phase in the 4-8 nm size range (Niederberger, M., et al., Chem. Mate. 2002, 14, 4364-4370). Vanadium oxide nanorods and tungsten oxide nanoplatelets with identical morphology (Niederberger, M. et al., J. Am. Chem. So. 2002, 124, 13642) were synthesized in this medium by Stucky and co-workers from metal chloride precursors. Bimetallic oxides of Perovskite structured BaTiO3, BaZrO3, LiNbO3 (Niederberger, M., et al., Angew. Chem. In. E. 2004, 43, 2270) and SrTiO3, (Ba, Sr) TiO3 nanoparticles (Niederberger, M., et al., J. Am. Chem. So. 2004, 126, 9120) with controlled particle size and high crystallinity have also been prepared through a suggested C—C bond formation mechanism using metal alkoxides as the starting materials. In all of these studies, no selectivity in surface growth and no nanoscale building rods with rich holes were found. A general drawback of the above sol-gel processes employing benzyl alcohol for tailoring metal oxides with well-controlled shape, size and crystallinity, is the amorphous nature of the derived materials, and the following heat treatment to induce crystallization which usually leads to undesired particle morphology.


A polishing solution, comprising copper ions and chloride ions in Cu/Cl molar ratio of 10−1 to 103 and at pH 0.5 to 10, is suited for polishing a surface composed of a nonferrous metal material such as copper or copper alloy. Thicker metal film can be polished at high removal rate, so that distribution in film thickness becomes uniform.

In polishing thick substrates of nonferrous metal materials, the technical requirements for the polishing are that the uniformity of film thickness distribution can be imparted to the polished surface for a short time (in case of rough surface, similar roughness is needed in the whole surface).
In general, on nonferrous metal substrates, mechanical polishing using lathe or plane machines has been employed. Such a polishing technique results in a rough and non-uniform distribution of film thickness for the surface, although achieving desirabilities of the polished surface for a short time.
On the other hand, in manufactures of semiconductor such as ULSI and others, where surface planarization is of more importance and a high finishing precision is necessary, the key technology is chemical mechanical polishing (CMP). The CMP technique, which combines chemical etching with mechanical polishing, creates formation of wiring line as small as several tens of nanometers on the semiconductor. That is, in the semiconductor fabrication, the CMP is considered to be the basic in order to form circuit construction in a semiconductor surface. In the CMP technology for the semiconductor manufacturing, by physical vapor deposition (PVD), chemical vapor deposition (CVD) or plating, a thin film is formed on the surface of silicon substrate and the global planarization can be accomplished to the thin film in order to remove the excess part of the thin film which is unnecessary for circuit formation. The technology aims at planarizing globally the thin film, and hence the removal rate is about 100 nm/min at the maximum. In many cases, abrasives such a colloidal silica or an alumina, etc., is compounded in a polishing solution to obtain the polishing effect of the abrasives, and then the CMP process proceeds with the interaction between mechanical polishing and chemical etching, as disclosed in JP-A 2001-68437. Thus, removal of the coherent abrasives particles results in complicated operations in a water rinse process. On the other hand, for materials with highly corrosion resistance, e.g., stainless steel, the CMP technology is applied to mirror-processed planaraization to prevent light from reflecting diffusely: convex mirror used as safety confirmation on the road and mirror-finished panel used as construction parts.
However, in the semiconductor fabrication, e.g., ULSI, the deposited metal film of about 100 nm in thickness has to be globally planarized with the surface roughness of 100 nm or less (the 50 nm roughness at the maximum for the semiconductor), and hence the removal rate lower than 500 nm/min enables the CMP to be controlled. The fact that the metal film is about 100 nm in thickness is difficult to control the CMP because the high removal rate promotes the progress in the polishing so that the film may disappear from the surface.
On the other hand, in the case of the polishing for tungsten film, the CMP technology is also applied. As described in JP-A 2000-119638, the removal rate of about 500 nm/min is required, but a removal rate that is required in the technical region of the present invention cannot be achieved.

Polishing solution and method of polishing nonferrous metal materials


During reception of data broadcast, the control information is created by a control information creator for storage into a first storage. During normal reproduction of the data content stored in the first storage, the data content of the data broadcast being reproduced and the control information are stored in a second storage. During special reproduction of the data content stored in the first storage or after the special reproduction is stopped, the control information stored in the second storage is compared with the control information read out from the first storage during the special reproduction or after the special reproduction is stopped. When the control information stored in the second storage and the control information read out from the first storage coincide with each other, the data broadcast continues to be reproduced using the data content stored in the second storage.

In the digital broadcast service, data broadcasting is available along with television or audio broadcasting. A data broadcast reproduction controller for recording and reproducing data broadcast has been developed (JP 2001-257989 A, for example).
The data broadcast reproduction controller has functions of receiving data broadcast and recording data content of the received data broadcast, and also reproducing the recorded data content of the data broadcast.
With such a data broadcast reproduction controller, the data broadcast can be special-reproduced, such as fast-forwarding or fast-rewinding. As a method for the special-reproduction of pictures, a method has been proposed, for example, in which only an I-picture is detected from a video stream for frame advance of still pictures.
In the special reproduction of data broadcast, however, the control information related to data broadcast is missing from a TS (Transport Stream) packet. For this reason, after the special reproduction of data broadcast, it is necessary to reboot the data broadcast in order to reacquire the data content thereof.
One possible approach for this is to control the reproduction of data broadcast, by utilizing the version information of data broadcast described in SIT (Selection Information Table) of a partial TS packet. The cycle of delivering SIT, however, is as long as about three seconds, so that it is insufficient to control the reproduction of the data broadcast after the special reproduction.
As stated above, in the conventional data broadcast reproduction controller, the data broadcast is rebooted for each special reproduction, so that after special reproduction, the data broadcast is reproduced again from its beginning. Therefore, in order for a user to view a continuation of the data broadcast that he or she has been viewing before the special reproduction, he or she needs to perform again, at the end of the special reproduction, operation procedures that have been done before the special reproduction. The user cannot view the data broadcast during the special reproduction of the data broadcast.
It is also necessary to reacquire the data content of data broadcast when the user switches a receiving channel to another one, and then returns the channel to the original one while receiving a particular channel of the data broadcast. Therefore, for the user to view a continuation of the data broadcast that he or she has been viewing before switching a channel, the user is required to perform again the operation procedures done before the switching of the channel.

Data broadcast playback control device, data broadcast playback control method data broadcast playback control program, and recording medium recording program thereon


A portable urinal includes a simulated golf club and a privacy shield, allowing the urinal to be used in a secluded part of a golf course while appearing to practice a golf swing. In one embodiment, the simulated golf club includes an elongated sealed receptacle for holding urine. In another embodiment, the elongated sealed receptacle is formed within a canister attached to the simulated golf club, which may be an actual golf club.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a portable urinal, and, more particularly, to a portable urinal including an object simulating a device useful for another purpose, such as a golf club.
2. Summary of the Background Art
A golf course typically includes a large area remote from a restroom, so that a golfer needing to urinate during a round of golf may be particularly uncomfortable and inconvenienced. A need to travel, by walking or golf cart, to a remote bathroom facility in the middle of a round of golf may result in embarrassment while placing a significant restriction on the progress of the golf game. What is needed is a portable urinal that can be used in a secluded part of a golf course without spilling urine and without attracting undue attention.
While U.S. patent application Pub. No. 2004/0082926 A1 describes a portable urinal device to be worn under the clothing of a person expecting to have inadequate access to bathroom facilities, what is needed is a portable urinal device that can be carried within a golf bag and discretely used when needed.

Urinal apparatus including a simulated golf club