A technique for increasing the number of physical segment registers by renaming logical segment registers into a larger register space. The remapping of the segment registers allows for instructions accessing the segment registers to be executed non-serially. The renaming of segment registers is achieved by assigning a shadow register to a segment register name. Thus, a pair of registers are physically available for a specified logical register in an instruction set to be renamed. Two bits, designated as the PSEG and SPEC bits, are used to control the remapping.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of processor architecture and, more particularly, to a technique for renaming segment registers, so that segmentation instructions which use or modify segment registers can be processed by a processor non-serially.
2. Background of the Related Art
The concepts of a processor, such as the processors utilized in the current generation of desktop and laptop computers and workstations, are known in the art. The term microprocessor has been generally attributed to these types of processors. These processors typically operate implementing one of several processor architectures known in the computer industry. One of the more well-known processor family is the x86 processor family. The x86 processor family employs a processor architecture commonly referred to as the Intel Architecture and processors manufactured by Intel Corporation implement this architecture.
A processor operates by responding to program instructions, which are written by a programmer and coded for a particular protocol. These program instructions are generally compiled, assembled, translated, decoded, etc., before being placed in a form for execution by the processor's execution unit. Thus, a processor receives a given program instruction and responds to it based on the particular processor architecture. Once a given program instruction is received and decoded by the processor, micro-operation instructions are generated by the utilization of the processor microcode. The micro-operations (known as uops) perform the necessary internal operations so that execution signals are generated for executing the program instruction by the processor's execution unit(s).
The instructions take many forms, including operations to manipulate data, as well as operating on the data. For example, load, store and move instructions manipulate data, while add and multiply instructions operate on data. In order to access and move the data, the locations of the data must be identified. The data can reside in a number of locations as well. Accordingly, an addressing scheme is utilized to address and identify the resident location of the information (which can be data, instructions or other information) being sought.
A variety of addressing schemes are known in the art and one particular addressing scheme employs the use of segments to address memory. For example, processors based on the Intel Architecture utilize segmentation. Segmentation is a technique of dividing memory into a number of partitions (segments), so that a segment addressing scheme can be used as a form of logical addressing. The processor then generates a linear address, based on the segment address provided. Segmentation is distinct from the generation of the actual physical address. Techniques for segmenting the physical memory space are known in the art and one scheme is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,972,338.
With the Intel Architecture, a set of general purpose registers are available to the execution unit for temporary storage of information. The program instructions identify architectural registers, commonly known as registers EAX, EBX, etc., for use in the temporary storage of information when performing the instructions. When the uops are completed, the final result is available as the instruction is retired. Then, this result (which is regarded as a valid architectural or committed value) can be utilized by subsequent instruction(s). Where instructions are actually executed in a sequential order as the program order, providing a one-for-one physical register structure for each of the required architectural registers is sufficient for the proper operation of the processor.
However, current generation superscalar processors operate on more than one instruction at a time and the instruction processing cycle implements a considerably deep pipeline. Furthermore, many of these superscalar processors also perform instruction operations out of order from the program order, so that the data dependencies become critical for many of the operations.
The data dependencies can be actual (true) dependencies or false dependencies. A true dependency occurs when a sequence of register operations must occur in order. For example, one operation may move a data into a register and a second operation may add a value to a stored value in the register and then store the final sum in that same register. In this instance, order in which this sequence is executed is critical. An example of a false dependency is the case when two separate operations attempt to utilize a given register, but where the operations are not inter-related. For example, one instruction may place a first value in the architectural register ECX, while a second instruction may also place a second value into ECX. The two operations do not depend on one another, but present a conflict when both instructions are being processed simultaneously. In this instance, the order of the operation is not critical, but the dependency still exists.
The earlier processors implementing the Intel Architecture were severely constrained in the availability of general purpose registers, causing compilers to reuse these registers heavily as temporary storage spaces. The dependencies limited the efficiency of the processors to perform superscalar operations. In order to alleviate this problem and to improve the processing efficiency, a technique has been developed to increase the availability of the general purpose architectural registers. One such technique is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,548,776. The technique of renaming integer and floating point registers allows for the logical architectural registers to be mapped into a larger physical register space. The mapping is done at the execution time and the reverse mapping is done at retirement time.
A newer generation of processors have now implemented the renaming of general purpose registers to enhance performance and efficiency. However, the newer processors did not extend the renaming technique to the segment registers that are used for memory operations. Typically, programmers view the memory space as one large unsegmented space and generally with today's processors operating at 32-bits or higher, the amount of memory space available for access is sufficiently large. For a 32-bit system, 4 G of memory space is available for addressing. Thus, programmers tend to load the segment registers once and rarely reload them. However, if the instruction requires the segment registers to be reloaded, a significant performance loss is experienced due to the constraints placed on superscalar operations.
The more recent program codes designed within the 32-bit operating system can take into account the sizable memory space available. However, processors operating on the Intel Architecture are still capable of executing earlier 16-bit codes. In 16-bit code, segment registers are reloaded much more frequently, since the available memory space in 16 bits for addressing is 64 K. The segment registers are reloaded due to this limited size and also due to the practice of using segments as pointers to execute far control transfers. Thus, the 32-bit superscalar processors are significantly constrained when executing the older 16-bit programs.
The present invention improves the superscalar efficiency of executing older instructions which require more frequent reloading of segment registers. The efficiency is improved by making available more internal segment registers and providing a scheme of renaming to map into these physical registers. The invention is applicable to instructions which use or modify segment registers.

System for allowing multiple instructions to use the same logical registers by remapping them to separate physical segment registers when the first is being utilized


Improvements to a layered modulation (LM) implementation are disclosed. The present invention discloses two implementations of LM, using single and multiple transponders per signal frequency, respectively. Layered hierarchical 8PSK (H-8PSK) is a special case of LM. By re-encoding the high-priority (HP) portion of an H-8PSK signal, LM can improve carrier-to-noise ratio (CNR) of a H-8PSK signal. LM can be computer-simulated and a two-layered signal can be sequentially demodulated with a predicted CNR performance. An LM signal can be simulated using live signals for off-line processing. In addition, a signal processing apparatus can process in real time LM signals emulated from live satellite signals.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to systems and methods for transmitting and receiving digital signals, and in particular, to systems and methods for broadcasting and receiving digital signals using layered modulation techniques.
2. Description of the Related Art
Digital signal communication systems have been used in various fields, including digital TV signal transmission, either terrestrial or satellite.
As the various digital signal communication systems and services evolve, there is a burgeoning demand for increased data throughput and added services. However, it is more difficult to implement either improvement in old systems and new services when it is necessary to replace existing legacy hardware, such as transmitters and receivers. New systems and services are advantaged when they can utilize existing legacy hardware. In the realm of wireless communications, this principle is further highlighted by the limited availability of electromagnetic spectrum. Thus, it is not possible (or at least not practical) to merely transmit enhanced or additional data at a new frequency.
The conventional method of increasing spectral capacity is to move to a higher-order modulation, such as from quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) to eight phase shift keying (8 PSK) or sixteen quadrature amplitude modulation (16 QAM). Unfortunately, QPSK receivers cannot demodulate conventional 8 PSK or 16 QAM signals. As a result, legacy customers with QPSK receivers must upgrade their receivers in order to continue to receive any signals transmitted with an 8 PSK or 16 QAM modulation.
Layered modulation techniques have been identified and developed to increase capacity, both in backwards compatible and non-backwards compatible implementations. Hierarchical modulation, particularly hierarchical 8 PSK (H-8 PSK), is also a special type of layer modulation that has been developed directed to a backwards compatible layered modulation implementation.
What is needed are systems and methods that improve layered modulation implementation, including hierarchical modulation implementations. Further, there is need for systems and methods that simulate the performance of layered modulation systems. The present invention satisfies these and other needs.

Method and apparatus for layered modulation


Methods and devices are disclosed herein that generally involve a sterile catheter-dressing system that allows for integrated injection of fluids, e.g., a saline flush, during the process of catheter insertion and sterile dressing placement. Such methods and devices can be used as a fully integrated catheter insertion system, or to convert existing catheter insertion devices and methods into integrated flush and sterile sealing catheter-dressing systems. Such methods and devices can greatly simplify the catheter insertion process, and can allow the reproducible placement of a fully sterile and flushed vascular catheter, as well as the placement of a durably sterile circumferentially sealing and securing dressing.

During placement of an intravascular catheter, the current standard of care technique includes flushing of the newly inserted catheter with sterile saline solution to clear the hub and catheter of blood that would otherwise coagulate and result in loss of catheter function. Present standard catheter placement and flush methodology involves several separate, often one-handed, sequential steps using non-sterile gloves.
First, the insertion site is prepped with sterilizing solution (e.g., chlorhexidine). Second, using non-sterile gloves, the vascular catheter is inserted through the skin and into the blood vessel, taking care not to touch the actual insertion site or catheter with the non-sterile gloves. Third, with one hand, the insertion needle is withdrawn from the catheter and put aside (e.g., on a bed or side table). During this time, the other hand stabilizes the catheter hub and applies pressure to the blood vessel upstream from the insertion site to prevent back-bleeding. Care must be taken not to touch the insertion site (either the catheter or the surrounding skin) with the non-sterile gloved hand. Fourth, the hand that withdrew the needle then reaches for and obtains from the local area (e.g., bed or side table) an IV hub cap device (e.g., a Luer Lock® connector, a Clave® connector, or extension tubing with attached Clave®), which is placed both to prevent backflow of blood into the catheter and to allow for mechanical connection to, and use of, the catheter. The hub cap device packaging has been pre-opened and set aside within reach to allow one-handed pick up and manipulation of the hub cap during this process.
Fifth, the free hand then reaches for and obtains from the local area (e.g., bed or side table) a syringe that has been pre-filled with sterile saline. Sixth, the syringe is attached to the hub cap device, and the saline solution is injected/flushed into the connection device-catheter complex to displace blood from the catheter into the blood vessel, leaving the catheter filled with saline solution. Seventh, the syringe is detached and put aside. Eighth, and finally, a "sterile" dressing is then placed over the catheter hub and skin insertion site (although often at this point neither the catheter or dressing is sterile, as during the process they have been touched repeatedly by non-sterile gloved fingers). Additional adhesive tape is then applied to further secure and position the catheter.
Wide variations in this process occur, leading consequently to highly-variable results. One common variation is to flush the catheter with saline prior to placing the hub cap device. In other instances, an IV line is attached directly to the hub and IV fluid administration initiated (thereby negating the need for saline flush). In all instances, the technique is awkward, requires the use of multiple complex one-handed maneuvers at multiple time points, and requires use of an often unprepared working area beyond the actual insertion site (e.g., bed or side table)—an area that is usually not sterile/clean.
Looming over this standard vascular catheter insertion process is the desire for sterility and the prevention of outside organisms (e.g., hospital environment bacteria) from reaching the catheter insertion site. While this is the goal, in reality it is extremely difficult to achieve. The complexity of the catheter insertion and flush procedure, combined with the fact that it is done over such a broad and varied working area with non-sterile gloves, leaves multiple points for loss of sterile technique. All too often, the end result of this highly complex and variable process is a non-sterile catheter and catheter insertion site. This lack of sterility is compounded over time by the placement of a non-sealing dressing that cannot maintain sterility even if it is able to be achieved initially. The result is the increased loss of catheters from site infection, and the need to change catheters and dressings at relatively frequent intervals in hopes of preventing clinical expression of catheter infection. One very clear marker of the inadequacy of existing catheter insertion-dressing placement technique is the increasing reliance on compensatory measures such as antimicrobial adjuncts and supplementary securement devices.
Accordingly, a need exists for improved methods and devices for sterile placement and maintenance of catheters.

Catheter-dressing systems with integrated flushing mechanisms


The invention provides a drug which inhibits BCRP.

Serious problems associated with cancer chemotherapy include intrinsic resistance to an anticancer drug, which invalidates the effect of the anticancer drug from the beginning of cancer therapy, and development of acquired resistance to an anticancer drug (i.e., reduction of the effect of the drug, which is caused by long-term continuous administration thereof). Overcoming such anticancer drug resistance has been envisaged to lead to improvement of the performance of cancer chemotherapy, and thus attempts have been made to elucidate various resistance mechanisms. Particularly, expression of a drug transporter, which actively transports an anticancer drug out of cancer cells, thereby reducing the amount of intracellular accumulation of the drug, is considered to play an important role in such a resistance mechanism.
Particularly, P-glycoprotein, which is a drug transporter discovered in the 1970s, and is encoded by an MDR1 gene, has been considered a potent target molecule of a multidrug-resistance-overcoming agent, since this protein causes cross-resistance to a plurality of anticancer drugs having different chemical structures and action mechanisms. However, it has been gradually elucidated that a drug transporter other than P-glycoprotein is also associated with an anticancer drug resistance mechanism, and demand has arisen for development of a resistance-overcoming agent which targets such a drug transporter.
Under such circumstances, there was discovered, in 1998, breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP), which is a drug transporter belonging to a group which is called "ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter superfamily" to which P-glycoprotein also belongs (see Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 95, 15665-15670 (1998)). BCRP has a structure including only one ATP-binding cassette, which differs from that of P-glycoprotein or another drug transporter, which has two ATP-binding cassettes. BCRP is intimately involved in the mechanism of resistance to a topoisomerase I inhibitor (e.g., irinotecan hydrochloride (CPT-11) or topotecan) or to a topoisomerase II inhibitor (e.g., mitoxantrone). Meanwhile, BCRP has been elucidated to exhibit substrate specificity different from that of P-glycoprotein, since BCRP does not act on, for example, paclitaxel or vincristine, which is excreted by P-glycoprotein, and BCRP is involved in excretion of a camptothecin derivative (e.g., CPT-11 or 7-ethyl-10-hydroxycamptothecin (SN-38: active metabolite of CPT-11)), which is rarely excreted extracellularly by P-glycoprotein (see Cancer Res. 59, 5938-5946 (1999)). In addition, BCRP has been suggested to be involved in the limitation of the bioavailability of an orally administered anticancer drug (see J. Clin. Oncol. 20, 2943-2950 (2002)). In view of the foregoing, demand has arisen for development of a BCRP inhibitor, which is envisaged to exhibit the effect of overcoming anticancer drug resistance that is not overcome by a conventional resistance-overcoming agent, and to improve the bioavailability of an anticancer drug.
Hitherto, a variety of P-glycoprotein inhibitors have been developed for the purpose of overcoming anticancer drug resistance. However, since few BCRP-specific inhibitors have been reported, and such inhibitors have been considered to exhibit unsatisfactory BCRP-inhibiting effect, demand has arisen for a drug which exhibits more potent BCRP-inhibiting effect (see Mol. Cancer. Ther. 1, 427-434 (2002)). Incidentally, some diphenylacrylonitrile derivatives have been reported to exhibit anticancer effect (see J. Med. Chem. 41, 3022-3032 (1998). However, a diphenylacrylonitrile derivative exhibiting anticancer-drug-resistance-overcoming effect or BCRP-inhibiting effect has not yet been known.
An object of the present invention is to provide a BCRP inhibitor.

Abstract: A breast cancer resistance protein inhibitor containing, as an active ingredient, a diphenylacrylonitrile derivative represented by the following formula (1):

Abstract: [wherein, each of 8 R's, which are the same or different from one another, represents a hydrogen atom, a hydroxyl group, a nitro group, an amino group, an acetylamino group (—NHCOCH3 group); a cyano group (—CN group); a formyl group (—CHO group), —COOR1 (R1 is hydrogen or C1-C4 alkyl), —O(CH2)nCOOR2 (n=1−7: R2 is hydrogen or C1-C4 alkyl), —OOCCH2CH2COOR3 (R3 is hydrogen, C1-C4 alkyl, (Z)-2-(3,4-dimethoxy-phenyl)-3-(4-hydroxy-phenyl)-acrylonitrile, or glycopyranosyl), a C1-C8 alkoxy group, a C1-C4 alkyl group, a halogen atom, a C1-C4 alkoxy C1-C4 alkoxy C1-C4 alkoxy group, a C2-C8 acyloxy group, a C2-C8 halogenoacyloxy group, a methylenedioxy group, a trifluoromethyl group, a phosphate group (i.e., —OP(O) (OH)2) or a salt thereof, a sulfate group (i.e., —OSO3H) or a salt thereof, a glycopyranosyl group or a salt thereof, a phosphate ester of a glycopyranosyl group or a salt of the ester, a sulfate ester of a glycopyranosyl group or a salt of the ester, or a piperidinopiperidinocarbonyloxy group], an ester thereof, or a salt thereof.


A file system created in a flash EEPROM memory array for an embedded system having a plurality of blocks of flash memory cells, each block being divided into identical-sized areas capable of being addressed, the file system including a data structure positioned at a predetermined one of the areas on each block of a flash EEPROM memory array, the data structure storing a logical identification of data stored in each of the areas, the logical identifications of data being stored sequentially in the physical order of the areas on the block, a controller implemented process for searching the predetermined ones of the areas on each block to detect a logical identification of data, and means for accessing the physical area associated with any logical identification of data which is detected.

1. Field Of The Invention
This invention relates to electronic storage systems utilizing flash EEPROM memory and, more particularly, to methods and apparatus for managing files in flash EEPROM systems.
2. History Of The Prior Art
Recently, flash EEPROM storage devices have been used to provide a new form of memory array. A flash EEPROM memory array is constructed of a large plurality of floating-gate metal-oxide-silicon field effect transistor devices arranged as memory cells in typical row and column fashion with circuitry for accessing individual cells and placing the memory transistors of those cells in different memory conditions. Such memory transistors may be programmed by storing a charge on the floating gate. This charge remains when power is removed from the array. This charge (typically called a "zero" or programmed condition) or its absence (a "one" or erased condition) may be detected when the device is read.
These flash memory arrays may be designed to accomplish many of the operations previously accomplished by other forms of memory in digital systems and especially in computer and control systems. For example, flash memory is being used to replace various read-only memories such as the basic input/output startup (BIOS) memory of a computer system. The ability to program flash memory in place offers substantial advantages for BIOS and similar read only memories over more conventional EPROM memory. Because of this ability, its great insensibility to mechanical shock, and its very high reliability, flash memory is also being used in embedded systems to store data generated by operations of associated systems. More recently, flash memory has been used to provide a smaller lighter functional equivalent of an electro-mechanical hard disk drive. Flash memory is useful for this purpose because it may be read more rapidly and is not as sensitive to physical damage as an electro-mechanical hard disk drive. Flash drive memories are especially useful in portable devices where space is at a premium and weight is extremely important.
In general, a flash EEPROM memory array is divided into blocks which are connected so that each entire block of memory cells are erased simultaneously. An erasure places all of the memory cells in the block into the erased or one condition. Thereafter, a memory cell may be individually programmed to store data. Since all of the memory transistors of a block of the array are joined so that they are erased together, a cell in a programmed condition cannot be switched to the erased state until the entire block of the array is erased. Thus, out-of-date information cannot be erased without erasing all of the valid information that remains in the block along with the invalid information. The result of this is that, unlike other memories in which changed data is written (essentially instantaneously) directly in place of the data it replaces, a flash EEPROM memory array requires a time consuming erasure process before it may be rewritten. Consequently, when the information at a data entry changes in flash memory used to store changing information, the new information is written to a new memory area rather than written over the old data; and the old data is marked as invalid. Then, after a block has filled and a sufficient portion of that block has been marked invalid, all valid information remaining in the block is written to a clean memory area; and the entire block is erased, typically using a background process.
It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the use of these complicated processes by which data is written to and erased from a flash memory array means that data once stored in the array at a particular physical position is very likely to move to other physical positions, either as the data is changed or as the erasure process is implemented. Since data in memory is only useful if it may be retrieved and utilized, it is very important that a flash memory management system be provided for tracking the data stored in any flash memory array which stores changing data.
There have been a number of flash memory management systems designed to work with different flash EEPROM memory arrays which handle changing data. However, those memory management systems known to the prior art typically attempt to implement all of the functions of an electro-mechanical hard disk drive which such a flash drive typically emulates. This tends to eliminate the use of flash EEPROM arrays in small embedded systems. Embedded systems which utilize flash memory arrays typically are portable and utilize a microprocessor or controller to run a limited number of processes which monitor conditions of the system and possibly vary the system operation in response to the monitoring. Embedded systems typically provide limited storage for either data or processes. On the other hand, such systems do not require all of the features of a comprehensive memory management system. Because of the limited storage available, a typical prior art flash memory management system would waste storage assets and place significant overhead requirements if used with most embedded systems.
For this reason, it is desirable to provide a new flash memory management system for an embedded system using a flash EEPROM array to store changing data which file system requires significantly less storage for its overhead data and processes while accurately tracking the position of the data stored by such a system.

Virtual small block file manager for flash memory array


In an amplifier design for a wide memory architecture, a staging buffer can be integrated with the final stage of a multi-stage sense amplifier. The staging buffer includes a memory latch for storing at least one bit of data. The data is transferred into the staging buffer from memory upon strobing at least one read enable line, and transferred from the staging buffer to a data bus upon strobing at least one write enable line. The data signal is transferred from the memory to the staging buffer at a voltage level lower than the full swing voltage level. The memory architecture produced using this design technique allows for a much lower voltage swing on all of the data lines, thus lowering the power requirements of the circuit.

1. Technical Field
This invention generally relates to an amplifier design. More particularly, the present invention relates to a split sense amplifier and a staging buffer suitable for use with high speed memory architectures.
2. Discussion
The application of sense amplifiers and staging buffers in highly integrated memory architectures is generally known within the electronics art. As the requirement for larger and significantly faster memory architectures increases, circuit designers are forced to produce memory chips with ever increasing numbers of transistors which form these memory locations. Furthermore, integrated memory circuits require additional transistor based circuitry to support the larger memory architectures. The performance of this supporting circuitry becomes even more important when the memory chips are switched or clocked at the increased speeds associated with high throughput microprocessors. As such, these memory architectures require larger amounts of power, which in turn creates additional problems for integrated circuit designers. Examples of these problems are increased noise propagation and higher capacitive loading placed upon the data bus channels.
To overcome the problems with the capacitive loads associated with the data bus channels, sense amplifiers were incorporated within the integrated memory circuit to drive the digital logic voltage signals between the two logic states, typically between 0 volts and 5.0 volts. The sense amplifier was designed to determine the logic state of a particular low voltage data signal stored in memory by comparing the voltage levels of the data signal against preset threshold parameters, and then driving the particular data signal to the appropriate 0 volt or 5.0 volt signal level, also referred to as the full swing voltage level. However, the technique of transferring the data signals from memory to other circuits at the full swing voltage level provided by the sense amplifiers required additional power. This power was not always available, or if available, created excess heat which had to be dissipated from the chip. One way of reducing power was to reduce the voltage swing level from 5.0 volts to 3.3 volts. However, the power reduction achieved by this change was soon lost through the addition of more transistors.
Additionally, as the demand for more complex signal processors increases, so does the demand for wider memory architectures. For example, FFT processors and vector processors are typically based upon highly parallel computer architectures. This means that the conventional 32 and 64 bit data bus channels associated with current high performance microprocessors will be replaced with a data bus including from 500 to 4,000 data channels. This increase in the number of data channels, or strip transmission lines formed on the silicon chip, also significantly increases the total load placed on the circuit.
To assist these highly parallel processors in operating more efficiently, staging buffers were added to the memory architectures supporting these processors. While the addition of staging buffers achieved the goal of increasing processor throughput and efficiency, the staging buffers coupled to the sense amplifiers will potentially increase the loading placed upon the memory circuit, and accordingly increase the total power consumed by the memory circuit. Thus, it is desirable to provide a high density memory architecture which can implement staging buffers integrated within a conventional sense amplifier for reducing the power consumed by the memory circuit. Such a reduction could be achieved by transferring the data signal from the sense amplifier to the staging buffer at voltage levels significantly lower than the typical full swing voltage level. This technique would serve to significantly reduce the amount of power consumed by the memory circuit and accordingly allows more transistors to be integrated into a single integrated circuit package.
The conventional approach to designing the interface between a wide memory architecture and its high speed staging buffers is to have a separate multi-stage sense amplifier provide a full swing voltage signal onto the data bus, and transfer the full swing voltage signal across the data bus to the staging buffers which act as a register to store these data values. Since the wide memory architecture associated with parallel processors requires a large number of data bus channels, and therefore staging buffers (typically between 500 and 4,000), and because the capacitive loading of each of these channels is relatively high, the switching power of these data bus channels becomes a significant portion of the total power consumed by the memory circuit. This level of power consumption only increases when the switching frequency of the memory circuit is increased. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a sense amplifier and staging buffer design which is capable of reducing this power by at least one order of magnitude without paying a significant penalty in performance or heat and noise generation.

Split sense amplifier and staging buffer for wide memory architecture


The invention presents a gas sensor low in cost and easy to form a terminal member, a gas sensor cap connected to the gas sensor for sending an output signal to an external device, and a gas sensor unit capable of holding a stable electrically connected state between the terminal member of the gas sensor and the gas sensor cap. The gas sensor 100 of the invention includes a gas detecting element 120 and a terminal member 150. The terminal member 150 is made of a plate material bent and processed into a predetermined shape, and includes a tubular output-side terminal portion 151 electrically connected to a cap terminal 211 for sending an output signal of the gas detecting element 120, which is the output-side terminal portion 151 expanding elastically in diameter when connected to the cap terminal 211, and a tubular element-side terminal portion 153 connected electrically to an inside electrode 112, which is the element-side terminal portion 153 inserted into the gas detecting element 120 while contracting elastically in diameter.

Hitherto, various devices have been proposed as gas sensors having ceramic gas detecting elements. These gas sensors have gas detecting elements made of zirconia ceramics of oxygen ion conductivity, for example, and are installed in exhaust pipes of an internal-combustion engine for detecting the oxygen concentration in the emission (see, for example, patent document 1 and patent document 2).
[Patent document 1] Unexamined utility model application publication No. S53 (1978)-95884
[Patent document 2] Unexamined utility model application publication No. S53 (1978)-95886

Gas sensor, gas sensor cap, and gas sensor unit


A welding system for welding small precious metal firing tips to spark plug electrodes, such as ground and/or center electrodes. According to one embodiment, the welding system includes a firing tip storage assembly and a firing tip welding assembly, where the firing tip storage assembly uses pressurized gas introduced at the bottom of a part container to float or lift the firing tips so that the firing tip welding assembly can more easily acquire them with a vacuum-driven nozzle that also doubles as a welding electrode. The firing tip welding assembly is mounted to a robotic apparatus that can index or move the firing tip welding assembly between the firing tip storage assembly, a welding station and/or any other suitable positions.

It is common practice to affix small firing tips, such as those made from precious metals, to spark plug electrodes. Such firing tips are often in a ball or spherical form, prior to attachment, and are stored in some type of ball feeder or other part storage device. During manufacturing, the small precious metal balls are provided by the ball feeder and are positioned on a spark plug electrode, after which a welding device moves into place to weld the ball to the electrode. Most ball welding systems of this type utilize gravity to position and/or locate the small precious metal balls on the spark plug electrode.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that conventional ball welding systems, like that described above, can face certain challenges in high-precision, high-volume manufacturing environments. For instance, due to the small size of the precious metal balls and the spark gaps involved, extremely accurate positioning is usually required. Such accuracy can sometimes be difficult to achieve at a high-volume manufacturing pace, particularly when using ball welding systems that rely on gravity to position and/or locate the precious metal balls on the spark plug electrodes.

Welding system for attaching firing tips to spark plug electrodes


The present invention relates to a low pass filter incorporating coupled inductors to enhance stop band attenuation. In one embodiment, the coupled inductors are provided along with various capacitors to provide for superior performance within a smaller surface area of a semiconductor or ceramic integrated device. In a further specific embodiment, the capacitors are formed on an integrated device within an area on which entirely intertwined inductors are formed. In another embodiment, at least one further pair of coupled inductors is included to create additional frequency attenuation notches, as well as a wide stop-band.

Filter circuits that provide stop band attenuation are well-known. On such type of circuit is a notch circuit, that filters frequencies from a certain portion of the frequency spectrum (corresponding to the notch), and allows other frequencies to pass. FIGS. 1(a) 1-2 and 1(b) 1-2 illustrate a conventional prior art C-R-C and C-L-C low pass filtering circuits, respectively, as well as their respective performance characteristics. As shown, they provide a stop band at about 800 MHz to 6 GHz, which covers the radio frequency range used for wireless communication. A steep roll off from pass band to stop band frequency is highly desired, especially when high speed signals are incorporated in these devices.
The present invention a circuit that provides desired stop-band performance in smaller areas, as well as less attenuation of the lower frequencies that are desired.

Low pass filter incorporating coupled inductors to enhance stop band attenuation


A sports glove that improves a wearer's ability to grasp an object having a generally cylindrical handle while maximizing the amount of handling force the wearer's hand applies to the object. The sports glove includes any conventional glove having a palm portion and a resilient and compressible pad that is attachable to the palm portion of the glove. The compressible pad includes a generally planar glove attachment surface and a generally convex palm engaging surface opposite the glove attachment surface. The glove attachment surface of the pad is attached to the inner surface of the palm portion of the glove so that the palm engaging surface faces the palm of the hand. The pad has a generally tear drop shape that allows the pad to fit into the mid-palmer space of the hand within the palmer limit of the first web space of the hand, the palmer limit of the finger pads over the second, third, and fourth metacarpals of hand, the palmer limit of the hypothenar pad and the palmer limit of the thenar pad.

The human hand includes metacarpals that are associated with the fingers of the hand, and each metacarpal varies from the other metacarpals in length. This variance in the lengths of the metacarpals creates a void in a mid-palmer space of the hand when the hand is cupped or closed. Thus, the structure of a human hand is well suited for gripping a spherical shaped object, such as an orange or a baseball, because spherical shaped objects tend to fill the void. However, when a person attempts to grab an object having a generally cylindrical shaped handle, such as a baseball bat or a golf club, the third and fourth metacarpals, respectively associated with the middle and ring fingers, are in a position that minimizes the amount of direct pressure the third and fourth metacarpals may exert on the handle. Consequently, the third and fourth metacarpals minimally contribute to the force exerted by the hand on the object having a generally cylindrical shaped handle. The person's control over objects having a generally cylindrical shaped handle is limited to the amount of direct surface contact between the metacarpals of the hand and the handle.
Various types of gloves have been developed to provide a wearer with better handling of non-spherical shaped objects while also providing some protection to the wearer's hand. One example is a cycling glove having a thinly padded palm surface between the cyclist's palm and a handle grip of a bicycle. The cycling gloves provide the cyclist with a firm grasp of the handle grip for long periods of time when moisture tends to develop and accumulate on the cyclist's palm. Another example is a batter's glove having very thin padding, if any padding at all, along a palm surface and a tactile surface also along the palm surface for providing a batter with "tacky" hands. The batter's glove provides the batter with minimal hindrance to grasping and holding a bat while providing a protective barrier between the hand and the bat to minimize callous development. Additionally, the tactile surface of the batter's glove acts to increase the frictional force between the batter's hand and the bat to enhance the batter's ability to maintain a firm grip on the bat. Another example is a weight-lifter's glove having a moderately padded palm surface similar to the previously described cycling glove. The weight-lifter's glove provides padding between a weight-lifter's hand and a weight bar.
Although standard gloves, such as those described above, provide protection to the wearer's hand and assist the wearer with grasping objects, the wearer's control of the grasped object is sacrificed to an extent because the objects are non-spherically shaped. For example, when grasping the handle grip of the bicycle, the padding in the cycling gloves tend to gather together to impede the cyclist's ability to grasp the handle grip. Likewise, when grasping the weight bar, the padding in the weight-lifter's gloves also tends to gather as the weight-lifter grabs the bar. The batter's glove depends on the "tackiness" of the tactile palm surface to assist the batter with holding the bat, but the maximum amount of control and handling force the hand may apply on the bat is reduced by the void that remains in the mid-palmer space of the hand. The term "mid-palmer space" is defined herein to mean the space formed in the palm of the hand between the object and the hand.
Thus, a need exists for a sports glove that enables a wearer to firmly and comfortably grasp objects having a generally cylindrical shape. Further needed is a glove that improves the wearer's ability to grasp and wield an object having a generally cylindrical shape while maximizing the amount of handling force the wearer's hand applies to the object.


The invention provides methods and polymer compositions for treating retinal detachment and other ocular disorders, where the methods employ polymer compositions that can form a hydrogel in the eye of a subject. The hydrogel is formed by reaction of (i) a nucleo-functional polymer that is a biocompatible polymer containing a plurality of thio-functional groups —R1—SH wherein R1 is an ester-containing linker, such as a thiolated poly(vinyl alcohol) polymer and (ii) an electro-functional polymer that is a biocompatible polymer containing at least one thiol-reactive group, such as a poly(ethylene glycol) polymer containing alpha-beta unsaturated ester groups.

Disorders of the retina are a common cause of debilitating vision loss. Surgery can be required as part of a treatment regimen for various disorders of the retina, such as retinal detachments, retinal tears, and macular holes. The first step in such surgeries is removal of the vitreous gel that fills the eye (i.e., a vitrectomy), thereby permitting surgical access to the retinal tissue. At the end of these vitrectomies, an agent (i.e., a tamponade agent) is placed in the eye to apply force to the retina and desirably seal any retinal breaks, thereby keeping retinal tissue in its desired location while the retina heals. Tamponade agents commonly used in current medical practice include an expansive gas and silicone oil.
The currently available expansive gas and silicone oil tamponade agents have multiple features that are undesirable. For example, patients treated with an expansive gas tamponade agent must remain in a face-down position for several weeks after surgery, the patients' post-operative vision quality is typically poor, and patients are generally not permitted to travel by airplane or to high altitudes for several months. In addition, the expansive gas tamponade agent is often poorly effective in supporting retinal tissue in the bottom half of the retina, which poses a problem when the retinal pathology is located in the bottom half of the retina. A silicone oil tamponade agent suffers the disadvantages that it substantially distorts the patient's vision, the patient must undergo a second surgery to remove the silicone oil from the eye after the retinal tissue has healed, and oil applies a weaker tamponade force relative to gas.
The foregoing and other limitations of tamponade agents commonly used in current medical practice have prompted investigations into using other materials as a tamponade agent. Exemplary alternative materials investigated for use as tamponade agents include, for example, various polymer materials such as described in, for example, Baino in Polymers (2010) vol. 2, pages 286-322; Crafoord et al. in Graefes Arch. Cln. Exp. Ophthalmol. (2011) vol. 249, pages 1167-1174; and U.S. Pat. No. 9,072,809. However, it is difficult to achieve a polymer composition that can be easily administered to the eye, that once in eye provides sufficient support/pressure on the entire retina, is not toxic to the patient, is optically clear, and undergoes biodegradation at an appropriate rate so that the retinal tissue is supported for an appropriate amount of time to facilitate healing of retinal tissue following a vitrectomy without having to perform a second surgery to remove the tamponade agent.
Accordingly, the need exists for new retinal tamponade agents and methods for installing a retinal tamponade and/or treating retinal detachment and other ocular disorders. The present invention addresses this need and provides other related advantages.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Methods and polymer compositions for treating retinal detachment and other ocular disorders


A process for removing ions of dissolved heavy metals and complex heavy metals comprises provides a treatment zone in which is contained an extraction material having an activated surface that has an affinity for heavy metal ions and complex heavy metal ions. The activated surface is the reaction product of a polyamine with a covalently anchored trifunctional hydrocarbyl silyl that yields non-crosslinked amino groups to which functional chelator groups can be covalently attached. The activated surface of the extraction material is formed by first hydrating the extraction material surface and then silanizing the hydrated surface with a short chain trifunctional silane having a hydrocarbon substituent containing 1-6 carbon atoms and a terminal leaving group, and then reacting a polyamine with the hydrocarbylsilyl from the silanization of the hydrated surface so as to form an aminohydrocarbyl polymer covalently bound to the extraction material surface.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to systems for treating liquid solutions to remove dissolved heavy metals. More particularly, the invention relates to removing heavy metal ions and complex heavy metal ions from potable and municipal, commercial and industrial waters as well as from commercial and industrial non-aqueous waste solutions, especially in the presence of lighter metal ions commonly found in water such as calcium, magnesium and sodium ions.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
The initial motivation to develop such a system resulted from publicity on the adverse effect of lead in drinking water. By the late 1980's, the scientific date documented the diminished IQ performance in children with sub-clinical (asymptomatic) lead intoxication levels. This resulted in passage by the U.S. congress of the Lead Contamination Control Act of 1988. This Act targeted water supplies in the nation's schools, followed by public water systems. The Act is consistent with the national effort to remove lead from gasoline, and paint, and now water. In recent years, this effort has been extended to the control of levels of other metal contaminants, such as cadmium, mercury and other metals often found in drinking water. On the other end of the water-use spectrum, government regulations are closing in on the concentration and total amount of heavy metals allowed in municipal, commercial and industrial waste streams which reenter the environment. The tendency in regulation of industrial waste water is toward a goal of "drinking water in, drinking water out".
Workers in the field of high performance affinity liquid chromatography (HPLC) have, in recent years, developed silica packing materials for purifying mixtures produced in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical sciences. These silica packing materials exhibited high physical integrity and low non-specific binding of dissolved organic material when used for the purposes intended in high performance affinity liquid chromatography. Therefore, it seemed that use of such material for purifying potable and waste water streams might be possible. However, upon further inspection, it was realized that such chromatographic silica packing materials were susceptible to permitting the leaching of solid compounds containing the heavy metals that were bound, resulting in fouling or plugging the packing materials and release of the metals to the environment. Consequently, the leaching effects made such silica packing materials unsuitable for potable or waste water treatment applications.

System for extracting soluble heavy metals from liquid solutions


This invention provides a tire (10) equipped with a sensor (14), attached to a rubber member (15) in the surface of the tire (10), for detecting deformation of the tire (10). The sensor (14) is adhered to the rubber member (15) with the aid of an elastic adhesive formed of a room-temperature moisture cure adhesive agent composed mainly of an acryl modified silicone resin or the like. The adhesive between the sensor (14) and the rubber member (15) is cured to form an elastic adhesive layer (16). According to the above constitution, the deformation of the rubber member (15) in the tire surface can be transmitted to the sensor (14) with high accuracy, and, at the same time, the durability of the sensor (14) can be improved.

Conventionally, it has been well known to measure deformation of a tire by sticking or burring a piezoelectric sensor, which is composed of a piezoelectric element such as a PZT provided with an electrode, to a surface of the tire or convert stress or pressure, which are applied to the piezoelectric element, to electric energy so as to utilize such energy as a power supply for driving other sensor such as an acceleration sensor attached to an inner side of the tire. The sensor such as the piezoelectric element or the strain gauge is mounted on a substrate on which an amplifier for amplifying output of sensor and a power supply are mounted and is protected by a housing. A deformation part of the sensor is adhered to the rubber member by an adhesive so as to closely contact with the rubber member of the surface of the tire. (for example, make reference to reference 1 to 3 as follows)
Reference 1:
    Japanese Unexamination Patent Application Publication No. H09-237398Reference 2:    Japanese Unexamination Patent Application Publication No. 2002-240520Reference 3:    Japanese Unexamination Patent Application Publication No. 2006-193119

Tire equipped with a sensor and a method of measuring strain amount of the tire


Current manual vacuum sanders do not adequately capture dust from around the edges of the sander. The present invention provides a back-up pad for a vacuum hand sanding device for sanding a working surface, where the device is of the type comprising a tailpiece for connecting a source of vacuum, a base for attaching a back-up pad and screw clamps for releasably attaching an abrasive, air-permeable sheet. The back-up pad comprises an inner recessed lower surface, apertures formed in the inner recessed lower surface for communicating with the vacuum source, a raised perimeter having an outer edge and extending downwardly from the inner recessed lower surface thereby forming a chamber communicating with said apertures between a working surface and the inner recessed lower surface when the sander is placed on the working surface, wherein the raised perimeter is provided with a plurality of grooves extending from the outer edge to the inner chamber, and a plurality of support surfaces extending downwardly from the inner surface a distance equal to the height of the raised perimeter. The tailpiece provides for adjustment of the vacuum pressure to the working surface by varying the size of an opening to the sander handle interior.

The invention relates to tools for manual sanding and more particularly to sanding devices provided with a vacuum connection for drawing off the dust created by the sanding action.
The sanding of wood or plaster is typically accomplished using a sanding block which is hand-held and to which sheets of sand paper can be removably attached. The dust generated by the sanding action falls freely in the work area and therefore requires subsequent cleanup.
Various devices have been designed to provide a vacuum connection to the sander head to pick up the dust generated by the sanding action in the vicinity of the sander head. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,062,152, issued Dec. 13, 1977 to Mehrer discloses a sander which is connected to a vacuum source by a hollow tubular handle. A porous abrasive sheet is mounted on the front surface of a backing plate which has a number of bores which provide an air passageway from the abrasive sheet to a manifold which in turn communicates with the tubular handle by a hollow sleeve universally mounted on the sander body. This device is suited for use on the end of a long handle, but not for holding in the user's hand. Further, the design of the backing plate is not conducive to picking up dust around the edges of the sander, and the vacuum is lost when one end of the device is lifted.
Another vacuum sanding device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,184,291, issued Jan. 22, 1980 to Marton. Marton discloses a sander with a circular backup pad having a number of apertures. The sanding disc has matching apertures. A relief valve is provided to allow the worker to release the suction from the sanding pad. However again the arrangement of apertures in the backing pad is such that dust generated near the edges of the pad is not picked up. The shape of this sander is also not well adapted for reaching corners, as is necessary in most home renovation situations.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,680,895 issued Jul. 21, 1987 to Roestenberg discloses a rectangular hand-held vacuum sanding block in which the vacuum suction is provided along either vertical edge of the device, with skirts being provided to direct the suction along either edge. This design is not effective to sand into a corner, and the suction does not assist in holding the sander to the wall.
Finally, in a more recent Marton U.S. Pat. No. 4,616,449 issued Oct. 14, 1986, the problem of gathering dust around the periphery of the sanding device is addressed. Again, the proposed solution is the provision of a peripheral opening formed between a chamfered edge of the base and a peripheral rim. Such an arrangement is still not completely effective to pick up dust around the edges of the sanding surface.
Other prior art sanding devices are shown in Shaw U.S. Pat. No. 4,759,155 and Reiter U.S. Pat. No. 4,779,385. Such devices provide a vacuum chamber behind the support pad which adds to the cost of manufacture and reduces the effectiveness of the vacuum suction around the periphery of the pad.


A connector assembly (1000) comprises a cable end connector (100) soldered with a number of wires (3) and a header connector (200) which is mounted on a motherboard to mate with the cable end connector. The cable end connector comprises a housing (1) receiving a number of contacts (2) therein. The housing defines a first receiving space ( 110a) for receiving the header connector and a second space (110b) for receiving front ends of the wires. The contacts are located between the first and second spaces, and each having a soldering portion (21) and a contacting portion (22). The soldering portion of each contact has a soldering surface (211) which faces the second space to be electrically connected with corresponding wires and an inner surface (212) which opposite to the soldering surface faces the first space.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a connector assembly, and more particularly to a micro coaxial connector assembly.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Micro coaxial connector assembly is usually used for connecting a motherboard and a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD). U.S. Pat. No. 6,830,478 B1 discloses a micro coaxial connector assembly comprising a cable end connector and a header connector mounted on the motherboard. The cable end connector includes a first housing receiving a plurality of first contacts, a plurality of wires electrically connecting with the first contacts and a first shield enclosing the first housing. The header connector includes a second housing receiving a plurality of second contacts, a second shield enclosing the second housing. The first contacts respectively electrically connect with the second contacts to form electrical connection between the cable end connector and the head connector.
It is current trend to make connectors with low profile, minimized size and low cost. Therefore, in order to increase production efficiency and facilitate assembly of the micro coaxial connector assembly mentioned above, it is tried by manufacturers to design simpler structure within a limited space and manufacture the connector at lower cost while achieving more precisely electric connection.


Mutant Proteus vulgaris strains are provided that, when grown in the absence of an exogenous chondroitinase I and II inducer, produce P. vulgans chondroitinase I and chondroitinase II proteins. The mutants typically produce chondroitinase I and II proteins in the absence of exogenous inducers and in amounts in excess of those produced by wild-type P. vulgaris strains induced with such inducers. Two classes of such mutants, Classes 1 and 2, are disclosed. Class 1 and class 2 mutants differ in the relative amounts of chondroitinases I and II produced when cells are grown in casamino acids--supplemented minimal medium. Additional phenotypic variants that release chondroitinase I protein into the culture medium are provided as well. Also contemplated is a method for producing P. vulgaris chondroitinase I and II proteins. The mutant cells described above are cultured in the absence of a conventional exogenous chondroitinase I and II inducer, after which the cells are harvested and chondroitinase I and II are recovered from the harvested cells. A method for in situ detection of chondroitinase I and II production by bacterial colonies is also provided.

Chondroitinases are enzymes of bacterial origin that act on chondroitin sulfate, a component of the proteoglycans that mediate the attachment between the retina and the vitreous body of the human eye. Examples of chondroitinase enzymes are chondroitinase ABC, which is produced by the bacterium Proteus vulgaris (P. vulgaris), and chondroitinase AC, which is produced by A. aurescens. Chondroitinases ABC and AC function by degrading polysaccharide side chains in protein-polysaccharide complexes, without degrading the protein core.
Yamagata et al. (J. Biol. Chem. 243:1523-1535, 1968) describe the purification of the chondroitinase ABC from extracts of P. vulgaris. This enzyme selectively degrades the glycosaminoglycans chondroitin-4-sulfate, dermatan sulfate, and chondroitin-6-sulfate (also referred to respectively as chondroitin sulfates A, B, and C which are side chains of proteoglycans) at pH 8 at higher rates than it degrades chondroitin or hyaluronic acid. The products of the degradation are high molecular weight unsaturated oligosaccharides and an unsaturated disaccharide. However, chondroitinase ABC does not act on keratosulfate, heparin or heparitin sulfate.
Uses of chondroitinases include rapid, specific and non-surgical disruption of the attachment of the vitreous body to the neural retina of the eye, thereby facilitating removal of the vitreous body. See, for example, Hageman, U.S. Pat. No. 5,292,509.
Chondroitinase ABC is designated as chondroitinase I in the present invention. P. vulgatis chondroitinase I migrates with an apparent molecular mass of about 110 kDa when resolved by SDS-PAGE. The appearance of a doublet in SDS-PAGE resolution of chondroitinase I has been reported (Sato et al., Agric. Biol. Chem. 50:4,1057-1059, 1986). However, this doublet represents intact chondroitinase I and a 90 kDa degradation product (U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 08/431,068; 08/428,949; 08/428,946; 08/428,948; 08/428,945; and 08/428,947, filed Apr. 24, 1995, (Atty Dock. Nos. 0646/1B017US1-0646/1B017US6) now pending). Commercial chondroitinase I protein preparations contain variable amounts of this 90 kDa degradation product and an additional 18 kDa degradation product also derived from chondroitinase I.
Another chondroitinase, chondroitinase II, has also been isolated and purified from P. vulgaris. Chondroitinase II is a polypeptide of 990 amino acids with an apparent molecular mass by SDS-PAGE of about 112 kDa. Its molecular mass as determined by electrospray and laser desorption mass spectrometry is 111,772.+-.27 and 111,725.+-.20 daltons, respectively. Chondroitinase II has an isoelectric point of 8.4-8.45. Its enzymatic activity is distinct from, but complementary to, that of chondroitinase I. Chondroitinase I endolytically cleaves proteoglycans to produce end-product disaccharides, as well as at least two other products which are thought to be tetrasaccharides. Chondroitinase II digests at least one of these tetrasaccharide products of chondroitinase I digestion of proteoglycan.
Native or wild-type P. vulgaris bacterial strains typically do not produce significant amounts of chondroitinases I and II under ordinary growth conditions. Wild-type strains of P. vulgaris can be induced to produce detectable levels of chondroitinase by providing an inducing substrate, such as chondroitin sulfate, as the sole carbon source. However, chondroitin sulfate, which is obtained from shark cartilage, is expensive and available only in limited quantities. Alternatively, cloned chondroitinase I and II genes in E. coli can be expressed using a heterologous expression system with an artificial inducer, which also increases the cost of chondroitinase I and II production.
Thus, there is a need in the art for P. vulgaris chondroitinase I and II production that does not require exogenous inducers.

Chondroitinase I and chondroitinase II producing mutants of P. vulgaris


A chemical anchoring adhesive includes a first part having a viscosity of about 200,000 to about 4,000,000 centipoise and a second part having a viscosity of about 200,000 to about 4,000,000 centipoise. The chemical anchoring adhesive can be in the form of a slug or rope. The first and second parts are directly joined along an interface, which may extend the length of the slug or rope. The first part includes a resin and a particulate filler of a type and amount required to achieve the desired viscosity. The second part includes a curing agent and a particulate filler of a type and amount required to achieve the desired viscosity.

High viscosity chemical anchoring adhesives are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,291,555; 6,402,434; 6,403,678, 6,416,256 and 6,420,458. The adhesives may be in the form of a rope or cylindrical slugs, and include a first part A and a second part B joined along an interface. The adhesive slugs are each inserted into a borehole. A driving tool having rotational and, possibly, axial motion is used to drive an anchor pin into the borehole. The rotational motion of the anchor pin, effected by the driving tool, causes mixing of the first and second adhesive parts, resulting in a chemical reaction which cures the adhesive and firmly binds the anchor pin to the inner surface of the borehole.
The first and second parts of the above-described adhesives have viscosities of about 5 million to about 50 million centipoise, and are essentially solid yet pliable at room temperature. The above-described adhesives differ from other known two-part chemical anchoring adhesives in which one or both parts are liquid, and require separate encapsulation prior to use. While the above-described highly viscous adhesives perform well, there is always a need or desire for a chemical anchoring adhesive having improved adhesive performance which maintains the advantages of the highly viscous two-part adhesives.


A new Stroller Standing Platform for transporting two children with a stroller wherein one child is in a standing position. The inventive device includes a platform member including a lip portion wherein the platform member is positionable over a cross member of the stroller such that the lip portion couples the platform member to the cross member. A pair of spaced support members are each joined at one end to the platform member and at another end to the handle assembly of the stroller. As such, a child may stand on the platform member and hold onto each of the support members.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to stroller accessories and more particularly pertains to a new Stroller Standing Platform for transporting two children with a stroller wherein one child is in a standing position.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of stroller accessories is known in the prior art. More specifically, stroller accessories heretofore devised and utilized are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
Known prior art stroller accessories include U.S. Pat. No. 4,657,269; U.S. Pat. No. 4,725,071; U.S. Pat. No. D270,951; U.S. Pat. No. 4,741,056; U.S. Pat. No. 5,234,077; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,090,724.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not disclose a new Stroller Standing Platform. The inventive device includes a platform member including a lip portion wherein the platform member is positionable over a cross member of the stroller such that the lip portion couples the platform member to the cross member. A pair of spaced support members are each joined at one end to the platform member and at another end to the handle assembly of the stroller. As such, a child may stand on the platform member and hold onto each of the support members.
In these respects, the Stroller Standing Platform according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of transporting two children with a stroller wherein one child is in a standing position.


A method of determining the behavior of an electronic system comprising electronic components under variability is disclosed. In one aspect, the method comprises for at least one parameter of at least one of the electronic components, showing variability defining a range and a population of possible values within the range, each possible value having a probability of occurrence, thereby defining an input domain. The method further comprises selecting inputs randomly from the input domain, wherein the probability to sample (PTS) is obtained from the probability of occurrence (PTOIR). The method further comprises performing simulation to obtain the performance parameters of the electronic system, thereby defining an output domain sample. The method further comprises aggregating results of the individual computations into the parameter/variability of the electronic system and assigning a frequency of occurrence (FoO) to the resulting sample, the parameter variability and the frequency of occurrence defining the behavior.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to method for simulating behavior of electronic systems under variability and deriving there from adaptations for the production process and/or measures to be taken within the electronic systems for guaranteeing proper performance irrespective of such variability. The method further relates to production processes capable of receiving and using information from the simulation method, electronic systems equipped with such performance guaranteeing methods, accepting and using information obtained with such simulation method.
2. Description of the Related Technology
Technology scaling into the deep sub-micron era is disrupting well-established design practices and flows. Process and material variability introduces functional problems and parametric uncertainty.
New tools enter the design flow to counter its impact, such as design for manufacturing (DFM), a collection of measures aiming to improve functional yield by correctly modeling and providing solutions for systematic manufacturing errors, and statistical static timing analysis (SSTA), and are used for the estimation of the impact of variability on parametric specifications, timing and leakage (see X.-W. Lin, B. Nikolic, P. Habitz, R. Radojcic, "Practical Aspects of Coping with Variability: An Electrical View", Tutorial at ACM/IEEE Design Automation Conf. 2006; Y. Chen, A. Kahng, G. Robins, A. Zelikovsky, "Area Fill Synthesis for Uniform Layout Synthesis", IEEE Trans. on CAD of Integrated Circuits and Systems, vol. 21, no. 10, pp. 1132-1147, 2002; P. Gupta, F-L. Heng, "Toward a systematic-variation aware timing methodology", Proc. ACM/IEEE Design Automation Conference, pp. 321-326, 2004; L. Stok, J. Koehl, "Structured CAD: technology closure for modern ASICs", Tutorial at IEEE Design Automation & Test in Europe (DATE), 2004; E. Jacobs, M. Berkelaar, "Gate sizing using a statistical delay model", Proc. IEEE Design Automation & Test in Europe (DATE), pp. 283-290, 2000; C. Visweswariah, K. Ranvindran, K. Kalafala, S. G. Walker, S. Narayan, "First-Order Incremental Block-Based Statistical Timing Analysis", Proc. ACM/IEEE Design Automation Conf., pp. 331-336, 2004.)
There exists not a sole type of variability. Variability exhibits geometrical or spatial correlation: it may be local (as what is commonly known as "mismatch") or global ("die to die", "across wafer", "wafer to wafer"), random e.g. due to Random Dopant Fluctuations, versus systematic, or non-reproducible versus reproducible.
Moreover, technology, device and circuit variability parameters exhibit complex correlations, which are not easily represented in a generic fashion. Variation of underlying technology parameters may affect devices and circuits in a correlated fashion.
State of the Art EDA tools that handle variability are in the domains of DFM and SSTA. The advent of sub-wavelength lithography has provoked inaccuracies and shape perturbations that influence the properties of the printed devices. Modeling approaches and solution techniques for these problems have been developed. This broad class of tools is known as Design-For-Manufacturing (DFM). It aims to provide models of systematic effects in geometrical imperfections, and solutions that are applied during mask generation and manufacturing (see W. Grobman, R. Tian, E. Demircan, R. Wang, C. Yuan, M. Thompson, "Reticle Enhancement Technology: Implications and Challenges for Physical Design", ACM/IEEE Proc. Design Automation Conf., pp. 72-78, 2001; [ ] D. Sylvester, P. Gupta, A. B. Kahng, J. Yang, "Toward performance-driven reduction of the cost of RET-based lithography control", Proc. SPIE, pp. 123-133, 2003.) Examples are Optical Proximity Correction, CMP compensation. DFM tackles predictable, reproducible ("systematic") effects and impacts functional yield. In recent years, DFM approaches that compensate for the impact of physical distortions on the parametric properties of the device have emerged. They are called electrical DFM. A comprehensive overview of DFM is presented in P. Gupta, A. B. Kahng, "Manufacturing-Aware Physical Design", Proc. IEEE/ACM Intl. Conference on Computer-Aided Design, pp. 681-687, 2003.
Scaling further into the deep-deep sub micron regime has aggravated problems due to "random variability". RDF (random dopant fluctuations) and LER (line edge roughness) are representative problems of this class. They are stochastic effects impacting the performance of the transistors.
SSTA (statistical static timing analysis) handles random variability by modeling statistically the impact of random effects on the timing of the circuit. SSTA emerged as a response to the difficulty to achieve timing closure under random variability. It is also used to obtain better estimates for required design margins and guard-bands. Recently commercial SSTA tools also incorporate a statistical estimation of the leakage power consumption of the chip under variability (see R. Rao, A. Devgan, D. Blaauw, D. Sylvester, "Parametric yield estimation considering leakage Variability", Proc. ACM/IEEE Design Automation Conference, pp. 442-447, 2004; M. Ashouei, A. Chatterjee, A. Singh, V. De, T. Mak, "Statistical estimation of correlated leakage power variation and its application to leakage-aware design", Proc. Intl. Conf. on VLSI Design, 2006.) This provides the designer a partial view on the power consumption of the chip.
Various DFM techniques have found widespread use, SSTA is still gaining acceptance. One observes that further acceptance of today's variability modeling techniques is hampered by leaving inaccuracy gaps, which preclude the techniques from reaching a comprehensive predictive capability. Challenges are                A systematic treatment of local versus global, systematic (reproducible) versus random (stochastic).        Models need more detail than normal (Gaussian) distributions or linear sensitivities to small signals perturbation can offer. This is more true as perturbations become "large signal", and distributions can have uncommon shapes.        maintaining correlations of common underlying physical variability sources.        The need to maintain a correlated view between speed performance and static/dynamic power, hence modeling the correlated variability of dynamic energy, static power and speed performance.

Simulation method for efficient characterization of electronic systems under variability effects


A belt comprises a strap (10) extending between a first end portion (10a) and a second end portion (10b) along a respective principal direction of extension (A) and comprising a plurality of through locking holes (11) arranged one after another and at least one through fastening opening (15). The belt also comprises a buckle (2), which can be removably coupled with the strap (10), comprising a main body (3) and at least one tongue (4) connected to an inner face (3b) of the main body (3) and projecting from it to form a free end (4b) which can engage in at least one of the through locking holes (11) in the strap (10) The buckle (2) also comprises a fastening element (5) protruding from the inner face (3b) of the main body (3) and configured for removably coupling with each other the buckle (2) and the strap (10) The fastening element (5) comprises a portion of maximum width (5a) having a predetermined shape and sized to match the fastening opening (15) in the strap (10).

Known in the prior art are belts which comprise a strap and a buckle connected removably to each other so that one or the other can be changed to obtain multiple shape and colour combinations.
In particular, document AU4749693 describes a belt buckle comprising a main body and a pair of protrusions or tongues arranged in line one after the other. A first protrusion is permanently attached to a perforated end of a strap, while a second protrusion can be removably fastened to the opposite end of the strap.
The free end of each protrusion is bulbous and slightly larger in size than the holes in the strap.
Also, the first protrusion is inclined at an angle to the second protrusion so it can be attached more securely to the respective end of the strap.
Another prior art technical solution is described in patent document U.S. Pat. No. 3,913,147.
This solution comprises a belt with a strap and a buckle which are removably attached to each other.
The strap has a first and a second end. The first end has a hole running through it and the second end may have a plurality of holes running through it.
The buckle allows the first end to be attached to the second end.
More specifically, the buckle comprises a tongue or locking means protruding from one side of the buckle and having at a free end of it a hook portion designed to connect the second end of the strap.
The locking means also has at an intermediate region of it, an enlarged portion extending radially and adapted to make the connection with the first end of the strap more secure.
Disadvantageously, in the solutions provided by the prior art, detaching the buckle from the strap is awkward.
In effect, in both the solutions described, the buckle tongue has a bulbous or enlarged portion which is larger in size than the corresponding hole in the strap.
Moreover, continual stresses applied by the bulbous portion on the hole when the buckle and strap are unfastened may eventually cause the hole to go out of shape, making connection between the buckle and the strap less secure.

Belt, buckle coupled with a strap to form the belt and strap coupled with the buckle to form the belt


A tension member of a power transmission belt is formed of a braided cord composed of four aramid fiber strands having the same yarn number. The yarn number of the aramid fiber strands is 700 denier to 1300 denier. A ratio p/d of a braiding pitch p of the braided cord to a diameter d thereof is 3.7.ltoreq.p/d.ltoreq.5.5. Thereby increasing the flex fatigue resistance of the power transmission belt.

This invention relates to a tension member for belt used in various kinds of belts and a power transmission belt using the same.
A power transmission belt such as a synchronous belt, a V-belt, a flat belt and a ribbed belt requires a high strength, a high modulus of elasticity and a high dimensional stability. To satisfy these required properties, reinforcements such as a reinforcing cord made of fibers and a reinforcing fabric are embedded in a body of the power transmission belt. Such reinforcements are generally formed with the use of a twist yarn formed in a way of twisting a plurality of fiber strands. Twist yarns are classified, by twisting manner, under several types such as a piled yarn, a single twist yarn and a Lang's twist yarn.
Such a power transmission belt using the twist yarn as a tension member may not sufficiently respond to the demands of the market for higher durability, dimensional stability and the like. To cope with this, there is proposed a technique in which a tension member is formed of a braided cord instead of a twist yarn (See Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Gazettes Nos. 3-211041, 3-213747 and 3-244848).
However, the demands of the market on a power transmission belt have extended to an increasingly higher level in recent years and the power transmission belt is used under the hostile conditions of a high load, a high temperature and the like. In consideration of this, it is desired to improve the tension member formed of the above-mentioned braided cord.
An object of the present invention is to improve a braided cord as a tension member for power transmission belt thereby increasing the flex fatigue resistance of the belt.

Tension member for a power transmission belt having a braiding pitch to diameter ratio within a specific range to increase the flex fatigue resistance of the belt


An improved suture anchor is formed from body tissue. The body tissue is shaped to a desired configuration for the anchor and defines a passage through the anchor. A suture is inserted into the passage in the body tissue of the anchor. The anchor is then positioned in a patient's body with a suture extending into the passage in the anchor. The anchor may be formed of osseous body tissue, hard compact bone, dense connective body tissue, or other body tissue. The body tissue may be dried so that it absorbs fluid and expands upon being inserted into a patient's body.

The present invention relates to a new and improved suture anchor and more specifically to a suture anchor which is formed of body tissue.
Anchors are commonly utilized to retain sutures in a patient's body. The anchors have previously been formed of metal, such as stainless steel or titanium. In addition, anchors have been formed of biodegradable materials. While being generally satisfactory, these known anchors have the drawback that they are material which is not body tissue and are inserted into a patient's body. It has previously been suggested to construct anchors in the manner disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,405,359; 5,403,348; 5,203,787; 5,046,513; and 5,041,129.


Provided are methods, servers, and computer-readable media for sharing an effect for an image. An effect sharing method may include: receiving, from a first electronic device, a sharing request for an effect set that is applied to an image by an image editing logic of the first electronic device, wherein the sharing request includes an identifier of the effect set; generating a link for sharing the effect set; and sending the link in response to the sharing request.

Some computing scenarios may include applying various effects to an image. For example, a service may permit virtually displaying effects applied to a picture or a video containing an appearance of a user as if an actual product, such as cosmetics, is used and allowing the user to preview a result of using the actual product without purchasing the actual product.

Methods, devices, and computer-readable media for sharing image effects


In one embodiment, a hot swap inrush current limiter circuit includes a pair of paths connecting an input and a load, a first capacitor connected in series with a switch between the paths, a first resistor connected to one of the paths and to a junction between the switch and the first capacitor, a second capacitor connected in series with a second resistor between the paths, with a gate of the switch connected to a junction between the second capacitor and the second resistor, a first diode connected in parallel with the second capacitor, and a second diode connected in parallel with the second resistor to allow for discharge of the second capacitor when input power is off. A method is also disclosed herein.

Modular electronic systems are designed to provide flexibility to configure systems as per user needs. These systems typically have multiple slots to accommodate a variety of modules. Most of these modules can be replaced with the latest product upgrades without disturbing normal operation of the system (i.e., hot swappable). This feature allows modules to be plugged in and removed from the system while the system is powered and in service. System reconfiguration, maintenance, and trouble-shooting can therefore be performed without shutting down the entire system. However, inrush currents when making these changes may be relatively high.
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.


The invention includes compositions, methods and kits for the in vivo identification of an enzyme that binds to a substrate. The invention comprises, in part, a photoreactive moiety to aid in identification of such an enzyme.

Enzyme-substrate interactions play a critical role in a variety of biochemical processes. For example, these interactions play a role in the extracellular and intracellular signaling events and in the transcriptional and translational control of gene expression. Abnormal or disease states can be the direct result of abnormal enzyme-substrate interactions. Identification of specific enzyme-substrate complexes will enable the development of tools useful in the regulation of cell signaling and gene expression. This in turn will enable the biological manipulation of cell signaling and gene expression in the laboratory, as well as the development of therapeutic tools for manipulating cellular processes.
Enzyme-substrate interactions have been studied using both biochemical and genetic methods to gain understanding about enzyme-substrate binding activity and to identify unknown enzyme binding partners. These methods include coimmunoprecipitation, pull-down, chemical crosslinking, label transfer, tandem affinity purification (TAP), and two-hybrid assays (see Golemis, 2002, Protein-protein Interactions: A Molecular Cloning Manual, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and Fu, 2004, Protein-protein Interactions: Methods and Applications, Humana Press). The utility and applicability of the results obtained using these standard methods is limited with respect to obtaining a detailed understanding of enzyme-substrate binding activity, since the methods reveal which binding interactions occur in vitro or in an otherwise artificial environment. To truly understand the dynamics of enzyme-substrate interactions, it is first necessary to possess the ability to identify the interactions in vivo.
What is needed is a methodology that provides for the identification of enzymes that interact in vivo with a target substrate. Therefore, there exists a long felt need to provide a way to identify enzymes that interact with a pre-selected substrate in vivo. The present invention addresses and meets this need.

Methods and compositions for in-vivo enzyme capture

The Trustees of the University of Pennslyvania


Communication traffic is allocated through a network of interconnected nodes. A communication path may be established between terminals via a plurality of routes. Processors are provided for processing parameters for portions of a set of potential routes to determine a notional cost of using each of these routes. An optimal level of traffic is identified for each route portion and a parameter (such as notional route length) is adjusted to make use of the route more costly if the traffic for that portion exceeds the notional value and, in addition, if the traffic for the portion falls below the optimum value, a route is then selected with reference to route cost comparisons.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to allocating communication traffic through a network of interconnected nodes.
2. Related Art
In data communications and telecommunications environments, greater demands are being made for dedicated data links. Communication paths may be established between remote sites by a dedicated physical communications channel although, in the majority of circumstances, the provision of such a channel would be prohibitively expensive.
Dedicated communication channels are also provided by effectively sharing resources within a networked environment. A service provider will establish a network of this type and, for each customer, the provider will guarantee a communication path of a specified bandwidth through the network. As new customers subscribe to the service, the number of paths required through the network will increase and further demands may be placed on the network as customer traffic demands also increase. It is therefore to the advantage of the network provider to configure a network which will satisfy all customer demands while at the same time optimise the allocation of hardware within the network itself.
Systems are known in which route selection is made on the basis of notional costs incurred for implementing a particular route from a plurality of possible routes. Costing of this type tends to be made on the basis that it is undesirable for a particular route portion to become saturated, particularly if other regions within the network are being under-utilized. It is therefore known to increase the notional costs of using a particular route (possibly increasing a notional parameter relating to the portion length) as the amount of traffic using the particular portion increases.
However, such an approach assumes that the cost of using a particular route will only increase as traffic usage increases. Thus, an analysis of this type tends to suggest that the most efficient route is one in which no actual traffic is being conveyed at all. This is clearly inconsistent with the practical reality, therefore it can be appreciated that existing models for modifying notional route costs are somewhat flawed.

British Telecommunications public limited company


An automatic inserting apparatus is provided whereby a primary document and selectively collated secondary documents are assembled and inserted into a mailing envelope. Preferably, the mailing envelope is concurrently imprinted with the name and address of the recipient as shown on the primary document. Each primary document bears a preselected name and mailing address and optionally also a secondary document selecting code. In operation, each primary document is read by an intelligent optical character recognition system, and the information so obtained is used to (a) select all secondary documents designated by the primary document code, after which the primary and secondary documents are combined and folded, and preferably (b) concurrently imprint a mailing envelope using the so-read address.

Various automatic document selective collation and envelope inserting apparatus are known to the prior art. Such an apparatus includes an optical sensor subassembly that detects a collation code which is imprinted in a name and address field appearing on each one of a plurality of serially advanced prime documents, such as, for example, a form letter which has been previously imprinted with an individual name and address of each one of a class of intended recipients.
The collation code, which is typically in the form of a mark sense code or a bar code, incorporates machine readable instructions which, after sensor detection, and conversion into electric signals, direct the selective collation subassembly to associate secondary documents of a preset plurality stored in the selective collator subassembly with each individual prime document. Each resulting document bundle is inserted into a mailing envelope that has a window through which the name and address of the recipient as shown in the field of the prime document is readable. Usually such apparatus is also equipped with a cooperating document folding subassembly.
Recipients of mail which has been so processed have objected to the presence of a collation code in association with their name and address. In fact, recipients of such mail are believed to often regard the presence of a collation code in association with their name and address when seen through an envelope window as evidence that the contents of the envelope constitute mass mailing advertising material which the recipients sometimes discard without review. From the standpoint of, for example, financial institutions which make periodic reports to customers, stockholders and employees, this is an undesirable result.
In addition, the use of windowed envelopes is presently commonplace for mailing of financial statements and the like. Confidential information, such as the account number, balance, etc., may be unwittingly revealed by minor displacement of the document set within the envelope. Such information would be more secure if mailed in a non-windowed envelope.
There is a need for an automatic document selective collation and envelope inserting apparatus which does not require the use of a (non-human) machine readable collation code in association with the name and address of the recipient. The present invention is directed to this need.

Selective collating and inserting apparatus