A device is provided for actuation of a parking lock of a vehicle transmission that is automatically operated in particular, whereby the parking lock can be brought into a locked position by means of a spring mechanism and can be brought out of the locked position and into an unlocked position by means of an actuator, and an electrically operated actuator is provided, acting upon a locking latch arranged in the unlocked position of the parking lock with a locking slide in an engaged position so that the engaged position can be released such that the spring mechanism brings the parking lock into the locked position.

In addition to automatic transmissions having a planetary design, other automatic vehicle transmissions are known, e.g., so-called automatic shift transmissions or, for example, double clutch transmissions. These transmissions are usually operated with an electrically operated actuator which performs the gear shifting operations triggered by a corresponding transmission controller. If a vehicle equipped with such a transmission is parked and the driver leaves the vehicle, a parking lock of the transmission is usually activated to block an output shaft and thus prevent the vehicle from rolling away.
To this end, such transmissions often have a park by wire function which ensures that the parking lock is activated via a switch operated by means of the selective lever, for example. Such a system is disclosed in German Patent DE 102 59 893 A1, for example, which discloses a device for operating a parking lock of an automatically operated transmission having a mechanical spring mechanism which activates the parking lock automatically by interrupting the power supply to a holding actuator which holds the parking lock in a deactivated, i.e., unlocked, state and, after the power supply to the holding magnet is interrupted, the parking lock is automatically activated, i.e., falls into the locked position. To this end, the interruption in power supply must be induced by the transmission controller so that, after a failure of the control pulse, triggering the transmission control accordingly, it may happen that the transmission controller does not interrupt the power supply to the holding magnet and thus the parking lock does not automatically engage.
Against this background, there is a long felt need for a device for operating a parking lock of a transmission, especially an automatic transmission, which will avoid these disadvantages.

LuK Lamellen und Kupplungsbau Beteiligungs KG


An optical analog to digital converter including a light source, a driver, an array of single photon avalanche diodes, and control circuitry. The light source emits photons. The driver receives an analog input signal and to drive the light source on the basis of the analog input signal. The array of single photon avalanche diodes detects the photons provided by the light source. The control circuitry is coupled to the array of single photon avalanche diodes and activates the array of single photon avalanche diodes for a predetermined time interval such that the array of single photon avalanche diodes detects the photons provided by the light source during the predetermined time interval. The control circuitry further determines the number of single photon avalanche diodes of the array of single photon avalanche diodes which detected a photon during the predetermined time interval.

Generally, analog to digital converters are known which convert an analog input signal to a digital output signal. Known analog to digital converters can be built as flash converts which have an array of comparators which simultaneously compares the analog input signal against an array of thresholds and outputs a bit string. The bit string can be encoded into a "number" by an encoder circuit, thereby obtaining a digital output signal. The resolution, i.e. the bit depth, can be increased by increasing the number of comparators. The speed of this type of analog to digital converter basically depends on the speed of the comparators used.
For increasing the speed and resolution it is known to implement such analog to digital flash converters in parallel, to interleave the acquisition process and to use fast, analog sample-and-hold circuits in order to sample the analog input signal faster than it is the case for a single analog to digital converter. For such parallel analog to digital converter implementations performances of 12 bit at 2 Giga-samples per second are known.
Although there exist analog to digital converters, it is generally desirable to improve the conversion of analog signals to digital signals and respective analog to digital converters.

Optical analog to digital converter and method


A quick release bit socket assembly includes a socket and a screw bit is removably inserted in a first recess in a first end of the socket. A second recess is defined in a second end of the socket and a passage is in communication between the first and second recesses. A push rod includes a head and a shank which extends through the first recess, the passage and is inserted in the second recess. A spring is mounted to the shank and biased between the head and an inside of the first recess. The screw bit can be quickly pushed out from the second passage by pushing the push rod toward the screw bit.

A conventional screw bit socket assembly is disclosed in FIG. 17, and generally includes a cruciform tube 30 and a positioning bead 31 extends inward from an inner periphery of the passage of the tube 30. A screw bit 40 has one end inserted into the passage and includes a notch defined in an outer periphery thereof so that the bead 31 is engaged with the notch to position the screw bit 40 in the passage. Nevertheless, when the screw bit 40 is to be removed from the passage. The user has to hold the screw bit 40 outside the tube 30 and pull the screw bit 40 in its longitudinal direction out from the tube 30. The screw bit 40 has a small diameter and the bead 31 is securely engaged with the notch, so that it is difficult to easily pull the screw bit 40 out from the passage. It could be worse when the user's hand is attached with grease.
The present invention intends to provide a quick release device which includes a push rod located at an end of the socket or tube opposite to the end with the screw bit being inserted. The screw bit is easily pushed out from the socket by pushing the push rod toward the screw bit.

Quick release device for releasing screw bit from socket


The characteristics of the phosphor ZnS:Ag,Cl which has a considerably high fluorescence yield in response to incident particles thus allowing for their easy detection are used as such and combined with the finding that the fluorescence components in the range of shorter wavelengths are short-lived, which led to an improvement of counting characteristics, hence allowing for high-rate measurements of particles. When B370 was used as an optical filter to pick up fluorescence components shorter than 450 nm, the decay time of short-lived fluorescence components could be reduced from 370 ns to 200 ns.

The present invention relates to an improvement in the counting characteristics of a particle detector and a neutron detector that use ZnS phosphors.
Conventional detectors of particles such as alpha particles or conventional neutron detectors which detect neutrons indirectly by detecting the particles emitted from the neutron converter 6Li or 10B have in most cases used ZnS phosphors since they have considerably high fluorescence yields in response to incident particles and the short-lived components of fluorescence have decay times of only 200-300 ns.
However, the fluorescence from ZnS phosphors contains the long-lived components that contribute "afterglow" effects as shown in FIG. 12. Hence, the mean life of fluorescence from ZnS phosphors is said to range from 70 to 100 μs. On account of those long-lived components, the incidence of high-rate particles or neutrons can cause a "pile-up" of pulses, making it difficult to measure accurate counting rates (see Hoshasen Handbook, 2nd Ed.)
As the operation of the high-intensity pulsed neutron source using a high-intensity proton accelerator has made a progress in recent years, the ranges of the intensity of pulsed neutrons and the neutron energy produced have both expanded and it is now essential to develop a detector that is capable of convenient neutron detection and two-dimensional neutron imaging without being saturated even if neutrons are incident at high rates. Measurement of particles at high counting rates is also essential in experiments using an accelerator or a nuclear reactor. In the measurement of neutrons or particles, they must be detected with reduced effects of gamma rays as the background. Detection of particles with the least possible quantities of gamma rays as the background is also indispensable to observations of dark matter or cosmic rays.

Particle detector and neutron detector that use zinc sulfide phosphors


A pedal thickness supplementary device is provided. The pedal thickness supplementary device includes two supplementary assemblies and a plurality of fasteners. The two supplementary assemblies disposed on two corresponding sides of the pedal respectively, in which the two supplementary assemblies clamp and couple to the pedal, so that the thickness of the two supplementary assemblies clamping to the pedal is thicker than the thickness of the pedal. Further, each of the two supplementary assemblies includes two anti-slip portions, a plurality of first fasten grooves, a plurality of second fasten grooves and a through hole.

Bicycle is a kind of sports and fitness equipment that is very suitable for all ages. The bike size would be different for each age category. It is impossible for everyone to ride the same size of bicycle due to the differences of height and leg lengths in each person. Therefore, the general solution is to adjust the height of the saddle, so that the rider can step firmly on the pedal. However, when the rider is a growing child, the adjustment to the height of the saddle may not be able to let the child at every age category steady and fully step on the pedal with the ball of the foot. Specifically, when the saddle is too low, it will interfere with the control of the handlebars; when the saddle is too high, the rider can only reach the pedal with the toe. The above problems are likely to cause danger and unbalance while riding.
Accordingly, in the technical field of the present disclosure, there is a need to improve the use of bicycle for growing young children, so that young children can step on the pedals steadily, and ride smoothly.


The method of no fail searching may include receiving a set of keywords from an input set of search fields within a GUI, retrieving a set of search results based on the set of keywords from the input set of search fields, organizing the set of search results according to a set of content types, ranking each search field according to the set of content types, removing the lowest ranked search field from the set of keywords to create a broadened set of search fields when at least one content type has zero results, repeating the retrieving, organizing, ranking, and removing steps until either each content type contains a threshold amount of search results or all search fields have been removed, wherein the broadened set of search fields is used as the input set of search fields in subsequent retrieving steps.

When performing a search for electronic documents using a search engine, the user has to determine the set of keywords to provide the search engine to define the basis as to what documents the search engine retrieves. If the user provides too narrow of a set of keywords, then the search engine may return few or no results. If the user provides too broad of a set of keywords, then the search engine may return too many or irrelevant results. The user, therefore, must strike a balance in keywords selection such that the search engine may return a numerous yet relevant set of results.
Current systems typically require the user to manually modify the keywords and perform the search again if a search does not yield the quantity or quality of results the user hoped to achieve. For instance, when users search for documents, they generally have an idea of the type of documents they want to find, and thus may err on the side of a narrower set of keywords to perform the search. If the user's keywords turn out to be too narrow, the search has failed. The user must remove some of the keywords to broaden the search and then re-run the search. This process may be repeated until the user receives a satisfactory set of results. This issue is worsened when the user must perform the search across multiple levels of content types. For instance, if the user is a legal researcher, what was already a narrow set of keywords becomes even narrower when the researcher wants to search for these keywords in a plurality of content types such as regulations, case law, verdicts, and settlements.
Therefore, improved methods for searching for electronic documents are desired.

Methods and systems for no fail searching


In a method for producing a molded article having a resin part, the resin part is injection-molded to an opening of a main body part and the molded article has an excellent air-tightness between the resin part and the main body part. A foam sealant is attached to a peripheral portion around the opening of the main body part. Attached to the main body part is a retainer made of the same kind of resin as injected resin and adapted to keep the foam sealant compressed in its thickness direction. The main body part is placed within a mold so that the retainer is exposed inside a cavity of the mold. A molten resin is injected into the cavity of the mold. The injected resin and the retainer are integrated into the resin part.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for producing a molded article in which a resin part is injection-molded to an opening of a main body part. The invention is also directed to a molded article of the type having a resin part injection-molded to an opening of a main body part.
2. Description of the Related Art
A connector case used in, for example, electric components or automobile parts, has a main body made of metal or the like and a cable connecting part that is frequently molded from a resin. Such a connector case is produced by molding the connecting part in such a way that the resin is injection-molded to an opening provided on the main body part. Apart from the connector case exemplified above, widespread use is made of a method for molding a resin part by injection-molding a resin to an opening of a main body part.
In order to prevent water or the like from entering the main body part, the junction area (hereinbelow, often referred to as a "surface boundary") between the main body part and the resin part must be airtight. Conventionally, to achieve the required air-tightness, a sealant such as an O-ring or the like is first adhesively attached to the peripheral portion around the opening of the main body part, after which the resin part is injection-molded. However, since conventionally used sealants such as the O-ring exhibit high repulsion and low compressibility, it is impossible to perform the injection molding of the resin part with the sealants sufficiently compressed. Thus, due to the shrinkage occurring during cooling and solidification of the molten resin, a gap may be created at the surface boundary between the resin part and the sealant or between the sealant and the main body part, thus detrimentally affecting the air-tightness between the resin part and the main body part.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. JP-A-10-15985 describes a technique for injection-molding a resin part to a main body part, wherein a thermally expandable material is attached beforehand around the target portion of the main body part to which the resin part is to be injection-molded, so that the air-tightness is attained between the main body part and the resin part due to the expansion of the thermally expanded material by the heat of the molten resin during the injection molding.
In the described technique, the sealant containing a thermally expandable material is secured around the target portion of the main body part to which the resin part is to be injection-molded. The main body part is placed within a mold and, subsequently, the hot molten resin is injection-molded into the mold. The heat of the molten resin causes the thermally expandable material to expand.
The expansion of the thermally expandable material fills minute gaps existing between the main body part and the resin part, thereby assuring an increased air-tightness. Even if the molten resin is cooled down and shrinks, the sealant expands proportional to the shrinkage, thus providing an advantage in ensuring the required air-tightness at the surface boundary between the main body part and the resin part.
However, in the described technique, the expansion of the thermally expandable material may sometimes be insufficiently in the case where the thermally expandable sealant is attached around the target portion of the main body part to which the resin part is to be injection-molded and then the thermally expandable sealant is expanded by the heat of the molten resin in the injection molding process. For example, if the resin part to be molded has a relatively small volume, the molten resin may fail to carry enough heat to sufficiently expand the sealant. Insufficient expansion of the sealant makes it impossible to attain the required air-tightness.
To resolve this problem, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. JP-A-10-15985 suggests reheating the molded article after the injection molding process, which allows the sealant to expand after the molding process of the resin part is completed, thereby ensuring the required air-tightness. However, this technique requires an additional processing step of reheating the molded article.
Demand exists for an injection molding technique that ensures the required air-tightness at the surface boundary between the main body part and the resin part without requiring an additional step of, e.g., reheating the molded article.

Molded article production method and molded article


The present invention describes a novel process for the preparation of levocetirizine and pharmaceutically acceptable acid addition salts thereof using diglycolic acid or derivatives thereof and new intermediates used in that process.

Levorotatory [2-[4-[(4-chlorophenyl)phenylmethyl]-1-piperazinyl]ethoxy]acetic acid, also known by the generic name of levocetirizine, has proven useful as a therapeutic agent for the treatment of allergic disease.
Levocetirizine and its salts including its dihydrochloride are known and are effective in the treatment of allergies, including but not limited to, chronic and acute allergic rhinitis, allergic conjunctivitis, pruritus, urticaria and the like. Levocetirizine belongs to the second generation of H1 histamine receptor antagonists, which are believed to offer significant advantages over first generation compounds. Studies have shown that levocetirizine provides safe and effective symptomatic relief of seasonal allergies. Levocetirizine is used also for treating chronic idiopathic urticaria.
GB 2,225,321 describes a process for the preparation of cetirizine in the levorotatory form, dextrorotatory form or a mixture thereof comprising the hydrolysis of enantiomerically pure [2-[4-[(4-chlorophenyl)phenylmethyl]-1-piperazinyl]ethoxy]acetonitrile. Hydrolysis takes place in aqueous, alcoholic or aqueous-alcoholic medium by a base or by an acid; the acid thus obtained is converted to its dihydrochloride. Optically active starting material 1-[(4-chlorophenyl)phenylmethyl]piperazine is obtained by resolution of the corresponding racemic compound, preferably by conversion to its diastereoisomeric salt with tartaric acid. The yield of resolution is rather low, namely only 12.7%. The obtained optically active intermediate is further converted with chloroethoxyacetonitrile in 69% yield.
EP 0 617 028 and EP 0 955 295 disclose a process for the preparation of optically active 1-[(4-chlorophenyl)phenylmethyl]piperazine and its conversion to cetirizine in the levorotatory form or dextrorotatory form or to derivative thereof. The process for the preparation is shown in the following scheme:

The drawback of the disclosed reaction is that it requires protection of N,N-bis(2-haloethyl)amine, and consequently deprotection of the intermediate obtained.
Preparation of Cetirizine in its Levorotatory Form Proceeds in most known syntheses from enantiomerically pure 1-[(4-chlorophenyl)phenylmethyl]piperazine. Consequently it appears to be very desirable to provide new routes to prepare the enantiomers thereof with improved optical purity and good yields.
Polymorphic form I of crystalline levorotatory dihydrochloride salt of cetirizine and amorphous form thereof are disclosed in WO 2004/050647 and WO 2004/065360. Crystalline form is prepared by crystallization from ketone-containing solvent, such as acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, dimethylketone, 2-pentanone and mixtures thereof. Amorphous form was prepared by solvent evaporation.
There still exists a need for an efficient synthesis of levocetirizine, new intermediates used in the process, suitable for large-scale production.

Process for the preparation of levocetirizine and intermediates thereof


An apparatus for forming an image according to the present invention includes a coverage rate finder, a developing unit, and a control unit. The coverage rate finder finds the coverage rate of the image. The developing unit holds developer in it and includes a stirring means for stirring the held developer at a stirring speed. The developing unit supplies the stirred developer to a surface of an image carrier. When the apparatus forms the image consecutively on sheets of paper, the control unit changes the stirring speed in proportion to the coverage rate. When the apparatus forms an image with a higher coverage rate consecutively on sheets of paper, the control unit makes the stirring speed higher.

The present technology relates to an image forming apparatus including a developing unit that supplies developer so as to develop an electrostatic latent image based on image information. This technology also relates to an image forming method including the step of supplying developer from a developing unit so as to develop an electrostatic latent image based on image information.
Some electrophotographically image-forming apparatus such as copying machines and printers use two-component developer, which consists of carrier and toner.
An image forming apparatus using two-component developer includes a photoreceptor drum and a developing unit, which includes a developing sleeve fitted with a magnet in it. The developing unit stirs and mixes the carrier and toner of the developer in it, so that the toner is charged electrostatically. The charged toner sticks to the particles of the carrier, which are then attracted magnetically to the circumferential surface of the developing sleeve. A magnetic brush consisting of carrier and toner is formed on the sleeve surface. The rotation of the developing sleeve moves the carrier and the toner out of the developing unit to the position where the magnetic brush is close to or in contact with the circumferential surface of the photoreceptor drum on which an electrostatic latent image has been formed. This causes the toner in the magnetic brush to be attracted electrostatically to the latent image, so that a toner image is developed on the drum surface.
When the apparatus forms an image with a high coverage rate consecutively on sheets of paper, the apparatus consumes a large amount of toner, so that toner needs to be supplied to the developing unit. Immediately after toner is supplied to the developing unit, the toner is not yet charged electrically. This makes it necessary to stir the supplied toner before the toner is supplied to the photoreceptor drum.
Therefore, the apparatus needs to interrupt its image forming operation so that toner can be supplied to the developing unit and stirred.
Immediately after toner is supplied to the developing unit, the toner and the carrier are stirred and mixed insufficiently. Accordingly, even though the image forming operation is restarted soon after toner is supplied to the developing unit and stirred, a large part of the toner is charged insufficiently, so that the formed image is low in quality. This makes a difference in image quality between the sheets on which the image is formed before and after the image forming operation is interrupted.
In particular, because recent image forming apparatus form images at high speed, the foregoing problem arises remarkably. There are demands for image forming apparatus that can keep forming images at high speed without lowering the quality of the images and interrupting the image forming operation.
For example, JP-H07-121018A discloses a recent image forming apparatus, which includes a developing unit fitted with a sensor for sensing the toner concentration in the unit. Until the sensed concentration reaches a predetermined value after toner starts to be supplied to the developing unit, the amount of toner supplied per unit time to the unit is smaller than when the apparatus is in a steady state. This prevents the amount of toner in the developing unit from increasing in comparison with the amount of carrier in this unit suddenly after toner starts to be supplied to the unit. The sudden increase would vary the toner concentration in the two-component developer.
As stated above, until the toner concentration reaches the predetermined value after toner starts to be supplied to the developing unit, the amount of toner supplied per unit time to the unit is smaller than when the apparatus is in its steady state. As a result, when the apparatus forms an image with a high coverage rate consecutively on sheets of paper, the apparatus needs to interrupt its image forming operation so that toner can be supplied in time to the developing unit. The smaller amount of toner supplied to the developing unit makes the interrupting time longer, so that it is impossible to form the image at a higher speed.
The object of the present technology is to provide an apparatus and a method that can form an image with a high coverage rate consecutively on sheets of paper at a high speed without lowering the quality of the image and interrupting the image forming operation of the apparatus.

Apparatus and method for forming an image with variable processing speed or variable developer mixing speed


Golf equipment having at least one portion formed from amine-adduct modified polyurea compositions, including epoxy-silicone modified polyurea compositions, epoxy modified polyurea compositions, silicone modified polyurea compositions, and polyurea compositions including polyamine/carbonyl adducts and/or amine-modified adducts having backbones based on polyfunctional acrylates or methacrylates or caprolactone monomers or oligomers.

Golf ball manufacturers are constantly trying to achieve the perfect balance between feel and performance. The physical characteristics of a golf ball are determined by the combined properties of the core, any intermediate layers, and the cover. These, in turn, are determined by the chemical compositions of each layer. The composition of some balls will provide for increased distance. Other compositions provide for improved spin.
For example, golf ball covers formed from balata allow players to achieve spin rates sufficient to control ball direction and distance, particularly on shorter shots, but balata covers are easily damaged. In contrast, golf balls covers formed from ionomer resins provide higher durability and overall distance, but the spin and feel are inferior compared to balata covered balls. And, unlike ionomer-covered golf balls, polyurethane covered golf balls can be formulated to possess the soft "feel" of balata covered golf balls, however, golf ball covers made from polyurethane have not, to date, fully matched ionomer-covered golf balls with respect to resilience or the rebound of the golf ball cover. In addition, polyurethane-covered golf balls are generally susceptible to yellowing (due to the aromatic nature of the material) and moisture absorption. While paints and moisture barrier layers may be used to counteract against the yellowing and moisture absorption in polyurethane-covered balls, the resilience and rebound are more difficult to design around.
Polyurea materials have recently come onto the scene for golf ball layer materials due to the improved resilience and adherence to layers formed of different materials. In addition, because polyurea-based compositions may be formed from aliphatic materials, the yellowing of aromatic polyurethane-covered golf balls is typically not an issue for aliphatic polyurea-covered golf balls. Similar to polyurethane, however, because a polyurea golf ball cover is generally softer than a thermoplastic ionomer golf ball cover, the shear (cut) resistance does not compare to an ionomer-covered golf ball.
Conventional polyurea compositions have several characteristics that are undesirable for golf equipment applications including uncontrollable reaction rates, non-homogenous mixtures, poor adhesion, shrinkage, and non-optimal chemical resistance. For example, the reaction times for conventional polyurea compositions are very fast, i.e., an aliphatic isocyanate and an aliphatic amine may react and gel in about 5 seconds, which make it difficult to control the formation of the composition. In addition, several reactions may take place in a polyurea composition, which result in a non-homogenous mixture. For instance, a first reaction may take place between the highly reactive components followed by subsequent reactions between the less reactive components. The non-homogenous nature may affect the finish, properties, and consistency of the resultant composition.
The adhesion properties of a conventional polyurea composition are also less than desirable. In fact, fast reactions between the amine and isocyanate do not allow adequate time for the polyurea to penetrate and adhere to a substrate. Furthermore, conventional polyurea compositions have a shrinkage rate of higher than 1 percent when cured. As such, when a golf ball layer is formed from a conventional polyurea composition, the desired dimensions may not be realized. Finally, conventional polyurea compositions are susceptible to strong solvents, e.g., acetone, toluene, xylene, low pH acids, and high pH caustics.
Various additives have been used in an attempt to overcome the deficiencies of conventional polyureas formulations. However, no additive or component has yet been shown to overcome all of the above-referenced deficiencies.
Silicone materials have also been used in golf balls to purportedly increase the coefficient of restitution and/or durability based on their innate ability to provide materials having fairly high ultimate elongation. The use of such materials, however, has been primarily limited to interior layers of a golf ball. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,159,110 discloses the use of silicone polymers, silicone fluids, silicone elastomers, and silicone resins in interior golf ball layers. In addition, like conventional polyurea materials, conventional silicone materials have several characteristics that are undesirable, including low-moderate tensile strengths. Furthermore, to use silicone elastomers in the manufacture of golf balls requires covalent crosslinking because linear or branched silicone (polydimethylsiloxane) (PSX) homopolymers are viscous liquids or millable gums at room temperature.
Regardless of how the cross vulcanization is effected, the resulting thermoset silicone cannot be re-dissolved or re-melted, which severely reduces the number of options for post-fabrication operations For example, thermal forming, radio frequency welding, heat sealing and solvent bonding are essentially unavailable when working with conventional silicone elastomers. Once formed, however, the infinite network provides the polymer its rubber elasticity and characteristic physical-mechanical properties.
Epoxy resins have also been used in the production of golf balls. Generally, epoxy resins are good adhesives and can be formulated with different materials or other epoxy resins to achieve specific performance features. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,908,358 discloses polyurethane compositions cured with epoxy-based curing agents for improved shear resistance. Typical epoxy resin formulas do not have particularly good UV resistance. In addition, since the viscosity of epoxy is much higher than most polyester resins, typical epoxy resin formulas are slow to cure and require a post-cure (elevated temperature). Furthermore, brittleness and decreased flexibility can occur once cured.
It would be advantageous to incorporate the favorable properties of each individual material into a composition for use in golf balls so that the strengths of each material can be maximized and the weaknesses minimized. For example, there is a need in the art for a polyurea composition with a controllable reaction rate, homogenous properties, decreased shrinkage, and increased chemical resistance. In addition, there is a need in the art for a golf ball with at least one layer formed from a thermoplastic silicone-urethane. The present invention seeks to address these needs.

Golf equipment formed from amine-adduct modified polyurea compositions


A method and apparatus is provided for handling parity errors within a data processing system. Each occurrence of a parity error is attributed to an addressable memory location or a block of memory locations that was being accessed when the error occurred. A memory location or a memory block is marked as unusable after a predetermined number of errors is attributed to that location or block, respectively. The predetermined number of errors that is allowed to occur prior to degradation could be two, or more. In one embodiment, the predetermined number of errors resulting in memory degradation is programmable.

Most general-purpose digital computers provide a system for detecting and handling single-bit or multiple-bit parity errors. The occurrence of parity errors is not uncommon when data signals are being read from storage devices such as static random access memories (SRAMs) and dynamic random access memories (DRAMs). This is especially true when high-density memories are employed, as is generally the case in large data processing systems.
Many factors contribute to the occurrence of parity errors. Sources of contamination such as dust are proportionately increased in size relative to the dimensions of individual transistors employed within high density SRAMs and DRAMs, and are therefore more likely to cause latent defects resulting in parity errors. The presence of alpha particles can also cause parity errors. Alpha particles are randomly generated, positively charged nuclear particles originating from several sources, including cosmic rays that come from outer space and constantly bombard the earth, and from the decay of natural occurring radioisotopes like Radon, Thorium, and Uranium. Concrete buildings, lead based products such as solder, paint, ceramics, and some plastics are all well known alpha emitters. Smaller geometry storage devices can be adversely affected by the emission of alpha particles, causing a higher occurrence of parity errors.
In addition to the problems associated with alpha particles and other environmental contaminants, shrinking technology sizes contribute to the occurrence of parity errors. Manufacturing tolerances decrease as geometries decrease, making latent defects more likely to occur. This is particularly true when minimum feature sizes decrease below 0.5 microns.
Because of the potential for parity errors, common data processing systems must be able to efficiently detect and correct these errors. To minimize the impact on system performance, the recovery mechanism must be able to operate without system software intervention. If system software intervention is necessary, performance may suffer because additional references to memory may be required.
One approach to detecting and correcting parity errors relates to storing data signals with additional signals called "check bits". The check bits and associated data signals form a code that can be used to detect and subsequently correct a parity error so that corrected data is returned to a requester. However, this method can add latency since an additional clock cycle may be required to generate the check bits, and another cycle may be required to perform the error detection and, if necessary, data correction.
Another mechanism for handling parity errors involves detecting the error using one or more parity bits. When a parity error is detected, an uncorrupted copy of the data is read from another memory and the corrupted data is discarded. For example, when corrupted data is obtained from a cache memory, an uncorrupted copy may be retrieved from the main memory. This type of approach does not require the use of error correction logic. However, the latency associated with retrieving data from the main memory following the occurrence of a parity error may delay processing activities and decrease system throughput.
The foregoing approaches address the problem of providing corrected data to a requester, but do not necessarily address the root cause of the error. In some cases, an error may occur because a transient, or "soft", error occurred within memory. In this case, the memory location associated with the error may still be used, and is not any more likely than any other memory location to cause a future error. In this case, the system may continue to use the memory location. In other cases, a permanent, or "hard" error is present such that it is likely that any data stored to that memory location will be corrupted. In this latter case, it is desirable to discontinue use of the failing memory location.
Soft errors may generally be distinguished from hard errors by running simple memory tests. However, it is impractical to halt normal system operations and initiate memory tests following the occurrence of any parity error. Therefore, in some prior art systems, the occurrence of any parity error is handled by "degrading" the failing memory location. In other words, the failing location is marked as unusable and is no longer employed to store data signals. Some systems even degrade an entire block of memory locations when a parity error occurs to a location included within that block of memory. Once a memory location, or an entire memory block, is degraded, the degraded memory is no longer used to store data. This effectively reduces the size of the memory.
One mechanism for handling degraded memory involves tracking the number of degraded memory locations or blocks within a physical memory chip. If a large percentage of a particular memory chip has become degraded, the physical chip may be replaced. While this is viable for systems having discrete components, this solution is not workable in highly integrated systems.
Many systems integrate small, fast cache memories with instruction processor logic on a single Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC). As memory locations or memory blocks are degraded, the memory size of a smaller cache can be reduced to the point where system performance will suffer. This problem cannot readily be addressed by replacing components, since doing so would require replacing both cache and processor logic. This option is not economically feasible.
The above-described dilemma is becoming increasingly common as systems employ higher levels of integration, and as the decreasing technology sizes result in memory devices that are even more susceptible to parity errors. What is needed, therefore, is an improved system and method for handling parity errors in a manner that addresses the foregoing challenges.

System and method for handling parity errors in a data processing system


A mounting structure is provided which improves the reliability of the connection between the bumps at the four corners of a flip-chip mounted semiconductor chip which is subject to stress concentrations caused by board warping or a difference in thermal coefficient of expansion when subjecting the mounted chip to thermal cycling tests. In this structure, a sealing resin is caused to flow into a space between the semiconductor chip and the board at the four corners of the semiconductor chip, thereby forming large resin fillets at the four corners, these fillets relieving the above-noted stress at the bump connection parts of the four corners of the semiconductor chip, thereby causing an improvement in reliability of the connection. The flowing distance is shortened and simultaneous flowing resin is performed, thereby shortening the time required for sealing.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a bare chip mounting structure and manufacturing method therefor, and more particularly it relates to resin sealing technology for a flip-chip.
2. Description of Related Art
FIG. 3 shows the prior art in bare semiconductor chip resin sealing technology, in which (a) shows the process of manufacturing a flip-chip mounting, and (b) shows a plan view thereof.
First, in the manufacturing process, as shown in (a), liquid sealing resin 5 is applied in the region of one side of a flip-chip mounted semiconductor chip 1, making use of capillary action in the space between the semiconductor chip 1 and a board 2. After this inflow application is completed, the sealing resin 5 is heat cured.
Additionally, as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publications (KOKAI) No. 63-241955 and 1-191457, technology exists by which a through hole is provided in the chip-mounting part of the board, sealing resin being caused to flow from this through hole.
The first problem existing with the prior art is that of requiring a lot of time for sealing when the semiconductor chip is large. The reason for this is that, in causing sealing resin to flow in from one side of the semiconductor chip or a center portion thereof, the distance that the resin must flow is large.
Additionally, because it is not possible to make just a single supply of sealing resin, the resin is supplied in a number of steps over a period of time.
The second problem with the prior art is that if there occurs a warping on a substrate or there is stress caused by a difference in the coefficient of thermal expansion of the semiconductor chip and the substrate, such stress concentrates at bump connections at the corners of the semiconductor chip, and thus the chip and the substrate would be separated from each other leading the connection reliability thereof to be low.
The reason for this is that an amount of the sealing resin fillets in the corners of the flip-chip mounted semiconductor chip are small, so that there is only a small degree of relief for stress caused by either board warp or by the stress caused by such difference in coefficient of thermal expansion.
On the other hand, the sealing resin usually contains fillers made of glass or the like, for example, therein, so as to reduce the coefficient of thermal expansion of the resin.
However, when the distance that the resin must flow is large, the filler cannot be distributed in the sealing resin, creating unevenness in the coefficient of thermal expansion of the overall the resin.
This fact also causes the above-mentioned drawbacks in the semiconductor chip so as to reduce the reliability therefore.
In view of the above-noted drawbacks in the prior art, an object of the present invention is to provide a bare chip mounting method which shortens the amount of time for sealing by pouring resin from a plurality of corners of a semiconductor chip when performing resin sealing for flip-chip mounting, thereby increasing productivity.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a bare chip mounting structure which, by using a structure having a large resin fillet at the corner part the semiconductor chip, relieves stress concentration at the bump connection part of at a corner of the chip when warping or thermal cycling occurs, thereby enabling an improvement in connection reliability.

Bare chip mounting structure and manufacturing method therefor


The bio-expression system comprising: a process system used to process data and a three-dimension image generating module embedded in the computing system, wherein while input of a set of two-dimensional individual model sections is fed into the process system, the three-dimension image generating module is responsive to the input of the two-dimension individual model sections and is capable of processing an individual model construction and model-averaging procedure, thereby generating an average model for each individual dataset. A database includes a bio-expression sub-database, cellular network sub-database and fine structure sub-database, wherein the database is coupled to the process system to store at least the average model. A stereoscopic projecting system is coupled to the process system to display stereoscopic images for active or passive virtual reality applications, thereby presenting the bio-expressions, cellular networks or bio-fine structures under the input instruction of the process system.

Genetic and behavioral analysis has been developed for identifying the function of genes. For example, numerous methods are developed in effort for disease modeling, such as the production of germ-line transgenic animal models (e.g. transgenic mice and other animals with specific genetic characters). However, practically, a major obstacle in performing gene/disease analysis on transgenic mammals is the long life span of animals. It takes too long (a few years at least) in the laboratory to trace diseases evolving from abnormal genes in one animal. Many researches on disease treatments could be delayed because scientists had not a swift and easy access to the source of pathogenesis at the molecular level for accurate identification. One remedy for the situation is to utilize some relevant systems in short life-spanned (only days from birth to mature) insects as models. For example, the brain of fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) has been used to investigate the pathogenesis of Alzheimer disease. Please refer to the article "A Drosophila model of Alzheimer's disease: dissecting the pathological roles of Aβ42 and Aβ40", to K. Iijima, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, vol. 101, 6623-6628, 2004. Likewise, studies on early detection and treatment of numerous diseases may become more efficient in the future if a good correlation among genes, cellular structures and diseases can be established successfully in a fly model. The benefit resulted will be not only on science but also on public health that many new treatments with better accuracy can be found for diseases, especially for those are gene related.
Up to now, no research or application employs the computer-assisted system to inspect the real environment at the cellular level in biotechnology, although some applications relate to computerized medical diagnostic systems are available. New technology is needed to help observing the wholeness of the article at its finest level that cannot be detected by the conventional optical technology. Recently, three-dimension reconstruction technology has been developed that allows rebuilding the three dimensional image of cells, thereby providing the tool to understand the fine structure of them. However, such technology focuses on a single cell or only few cells cultured in an artificial environment (in vitro) instead of in the real body (in vivo). The difference between the two environments is more significant in the field of neural science. The distribution of neurons is really three-dimensional in the body, but they are plated in a two-dimensional situation in cell cultures. It is unlikely that a two-dimensional environment simulates the three-dimensional neural networks in the body. Currently, some approaches struggle to observe the neural system in three-dimensional environment. However, the approaches are restricted by the penetration depth of the optical system that is hardly capable of looking through the depth deeper than 50-micron meter by using visible light. One attempt for reconstruction of individual wild type Drosophila larval and adult brains was described in Karlheinz Rein, Peter Robin Hiesinger, Malte Zöckler, Jan Kirsten, Karl-Friedrich Fischbach, and Martin Heisenberg. (2000), "Three-dimensional Reconstruction of the Drosophila Larval and Adult Brain", FLYBRAIN. acc. AB00120-AB00127, available from University of Arizona, identified as "neurobio.arizona.edu" (2000 Flybrain, compiled by Hiesinger, Peter Robin). In similar studies, the fruit fly has become one of the prime model systems in brain research. Its brain (about 600.times.250.times.150 micrometers) consists of about 200,000 neurons. Given this relatively small brain, the fly shows a surprisingly complex repertoire of behaviors, e.g. orientation, courtship, learning and memory. The whole brains were dissected from heads, sliced and labeled fluorescently for inspections. However, in this way and in all prior methods, the whole neural circuitry in the fly brain is impossible to be reconstructed reasonably due to its physical damages from tissue slicing and the limited depth of view in each observation. Our invention provides a complete and novel resolution to overcome this barrier.
Virtual reality technology has progressed into practical and useful applications. These applications have found utility in a wide variety of fields and industries. One application is known as training and researching applications. Virtual reality training applications allow users to develop important skills and experience without subjecting them to the hazards or costs of training. Virtual reality is a computer-generated environment in which a user is immersed. Actions of the user are translated by a computer into inputs that effect the virtual environment (VE). Virtual reality systems may stimulate naturally occurring senses, so that a user can navigate through a virtual environment as if in the real world. However, never a virtual reality system has been used to explore the cellular networks in a biological tissue at high resolution (in the range of few micrometers).
Although images of biological cells at high resolution have been available for a long time but hardly any cellular network (such as neural networks in an intact brain) has been revealed anatomically, let along interactions among different networks. Current technology for medical imaging is capable of generating series of images for database construction, however not only the revelation of cellular structures are not intended but also the genetic information is hardly associated with the anatomy. Therefore, our purpose is to provide a way of combining high resolution biological structural database (such as neural networks), system of gene (protein) expression in biological tissues and a visual demonstration in virtual reality. Such a system should be modular to allow expansion for multiple types of gene (protein) expression to correlate the anatomy and the function (or dysfunction) to the molecular level. In this way, the correlations among genes, cellular networks and biological functions can be examined and manipulated in the most realistic environment. Biological function simulation may be achieved when detailed cellular networks and genetic information are realistically available.

Bio-expression system and the method of the same


A diversity receiver system includes a plurality of radio receivers that each provide a uniquely associated receiver output signal and a uniquely associated receiver control signal indicative of the amount of gain applied by the associated radio receiver to create the uniquely associated receiver output signal. A selection mechanism receives the receiver control signals, and determines which of the radio receivers has applied the smallest gain correction to its associated receiver output signal, and provides a diversity receiver output signal indicative of the receiver output signal associated with the receiver that applied the smallest gain correction.

The invention relates to diversity receivers, and in particular to selecting a receiver among a plurality of receivers in a diversity receiver system based upon automatic gain correction.
Diversity receiving systems with several receivers are used, for example, in vehicles. The receivers can be for example audio and video receivers.
Reception and reproduction of video pictures in stationary receiving stations poses no difficulties, because the reception conditions remain largely constant. On the other hand, the reception conditions for a mobile receiving station can vary considerably, depending on the nature of the terrain. For instance, if the mobile receiving station is situated in mountainous terrain, echoes can cause considerable interference with reception. In the radio shadow of mountains or hills, the radio connection can even break down completely, so that, in place of a video picture, only noise is visible on the screen.
In the meantime, motor vehicles such as, for example, passenger cars, long-distance buses, and railroad cars, are being equipped with television receivers and screens, so that messages can be displayed, for example traffic reports sent by video text, or, the travelers can be entertained with television programs. The receiving conditions in a moving receiving station vary considerably in some circumstances, due to the terrain through which the receiving station is currently passing. Consequently, this will subject the travelers who are watching television to unpleasant and considerable eye strain, because the picture quality can vary to a great extent. For example, if the vehicle is passing through a radio shadow, the viewers will see only noise on the screen. Looking at a television program with such interference subjects the viewers to fatigue rather than entertainment.
It is known that the reception of radio signals in mobile receiving stations can be improved by multi-path reception, also referred to as "diversity." By antenna diversity is understood a receiver which can be connected to one of several antennas, generally spatially separated from one another, while by frequency diversity is understood a system consisting of several receivers which receive the same signals or the same programs on different frequencies. The signals delivered by the antennas in the case of antenna diversity and by the receivers in the case of frequency diversity are tested for their quality so as to forward and process the best quality signal.

Apparatus for selecting a receiver among a plurality of receivers in a diversity receiver system based upon automatic gain correction


The system and method of attitude determination by pulse beacon and extremely low cost inertial measuring unit. A pulse beacon is used to generate a plurality of pulses detected by a detector or receiver located on the rear of a projectile such that direction of arrival can be determined. A synchronized clock proved for velocity and range information. Altitude can also be determined and may use an altimeter or the like. The use of a low cost IMU is possible with internal calibration by the system. Real-time attitude information provides for correction for crosswind and other drift enabling the system to have less down range dispersion.

Today's projectile navigation systems use expensive inertial measurement units (IMUs) to measure a projectile's attitude. Attitude is the orientation of an object (e.g., a projectile) relative to its direction of travel. The necessary cost, weight, and power for the expensive IMUs overwhelm the system's performance metrics and the system's ability to produce a low cost, small, and effective projectile.
Wherefore it is an object of the present disclosure to overcome the above-mentioned shortcomings and drawbacks associated with the conventional precision navigation systems.

Attitude determination by pulse beacon and low cost inertial measuring unit

BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration Inc.


A medical device is disclosed. The medical device may include an elongate member having a proximal end and a distal end an expandable end effector assembly extending distally from the distal end of the elongate member. The end effector assembly may include a plurality of end effector units each having an injector for simultaneously delivering material into tissue.

Overactive Bladder (OAB) is a urological condition that affects approximately 50 million patients worldwide. A patient suffering from OAB typically experiences sudden yet frequent and unstoppable urges to urinate, even though the bladder may contain only a small amount of urine. This condition is usually associated with frequent and spontaneous contractions of the detrusor muscle, which is located in the bladder wall and surrounds the bladder.
The etiology of OAB is unclear, and indeed there may be multiple possible causes. OAB, however, is most often associated with detrusor muscle overactivity (i.e., frequent and spontaneous contractions of the detrusor muscle). These frequent contractions may fuse into a global and sustained contraction resulting in an urge to urinate. A malfunctioning detrusor muscle may cause overactive bladder. Indeed, there is a body of evidence suggesting that, in comparison with healthy bladders, overactive bladders exhibit localized changes in detrusor muscle morphology. These changes likely originate from defects on cellular and multi-cellular levels and changes in the nervous system. Such nervous system changes have been correlated to the observed local pathological changes in the muscle (e.g., patchy denervation, increased amount of connective tissue between muscle bundles) which may contribute to the abnormal function of the detrusor muscle.
Identifiable underlying causes include the following: nerve damage caused by abdominal or pelvic trauma or surgery, bladder stones, drug side effects, and neurological disease (e.g., multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, stroke, and spinal cord lesions).
Recent evidence suggests that the detrusor muscle may be triggered by chemicals released from the bladder wall when the wall experiences stimulation, including, but not limited to, stretching of the bladder wall or the presence of potassium or a composite/fluid having a specific pH level, all of which may be associated with increasing accumulation of urine. The released chemicals may include adenosine triphosphate, prostaglandins, nitric oxide, and acetylcholine. The release of these chemicals has been linked to over expression of multiple receptors (muscarinic and cholinergic receptors, TRPV, etc.).
Current therapies for OAB include a variety of approaches. Non-invasive procedures include first-line behavioral and medical therapies employing a class of systemic drugs called anticholinergics. For patients who do not react well to drugs, invasive procedures such as neural stimulation or surgery can be more effective. Both invasive and non-invasive treatments target overall bladder function and do not address local or anatomical abnormalities. Recent studies, however, suggest that abnormal activity may originate from one or more distinct anatomical areas of the bladder such as the dome, internal sphincter, or trigone. Therefore, there exists a need for medical devices and methods of treatment capable of identifying and providing therapy to specific areas of the bladder.

Methods and systems for treatment of a bladder


Methods of treating a hepatitis delta virus (HDV) infection in a human patient are provided. In some embodiments, the method comprising administering to the patient a therapeutically effective amount of interferon lambda for at least four weeks.

Hepatitis delta virus (HDV) causes the most severe form of chronic viral hepatitis, and there is no effective medical therapy. HDV always presents as a co-infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV). Chronic HDV and HBV co-infection worsens preexisting HBV-related liver damage and leads to liver cirrhosis, hepatic decompensation, and hepatocellular carcinoma. See, Negro, Cold Spring Harb Perspect Med, 2014, 4:a021550; Höner zu Siederdissen, Visc Med, 2016, 32:86-94; Lau, Hepotology, 1999, 30:546-549. Patients who are co-infected with both HDV and HBV are more likely to die of complications from liver disease compared to patients infected with HBV alone. See, Alavian et al., J Res Med Sci, 2012, 17:967-974.
Interferon alfa therapy has been described for the treatment of HDV. However, a sustained virological response with interferon alfa therapy is achieved in only about 30% of patients, and only a minority of patients clear HDV infection. Giersch and Dandri, Journal of Clinical and Translational Hepatology, 2015, 3:220-229; Bahcecioglu et al., Hepat Mon., 2015, 15(e):e24366. Interferon alpha mediates its effects by signaling through interferon alpha receptors that are widely expressed by many different cell types. In contrast to interferon alpha, interferon lambda signals through a different class of receptors, the interferon lambda receptors, that have a restricted cellular expression pattern. Interferon lambda also exhibits distinct antiviral activities from interferon alpha, due in part to the differences in expression of the interferon receptors. In a comparative study of pegylated interferon alfa and a pegylated interferon lambda for the treatment of HBV (Chan et al., J. Hepatology, 2016, 64:1011-1019), it was found that although pegylated interferon lambda produced more pronounced declines in viremia as compared to pegylated interferon alfa at the midpoint of treatment (24 weeks), by the end of the treatment period there was no difference between pegylated interferon alfa and pegylated interferon lambda treatment, and post-treatment there was a greater virologic rebound in the pegylated interferon lambda treatment group. HBV/HDV co-infected mice receiving pegylated interferon alfa for four weeks exhibited a 2.2 log reduction in HDV-RNA levels, while mice receiving pegylated interferon lambda for four weeks exhibited a 1.5 log reduction in HDV-RNA levels (Giersch et al., 2013). To date, the efficacy of long-term pegylated interferon lambda therapy for the treatment of HDV has not been described. There continues to be an ongoing need for agents to treat HDV infection.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Treatment of hepatitis delta virus infection with interferon lambda


The invention provides a solid golf ball having a solid core, a cover layer that encloses the core, and a plurality of dimples formed on an outside surface of an outermost layer of the cover. The solid core is formed of a rubber composition composed of 100 parts by weight of a base rubber that includes 60 to 100 parts by weight of a polybutadiene rubber having a cis-1,4 bond content of at least 60% and synthesized using a rare-earth catalyst, 0.1 to 5 parts by weight of an organosulfur compound, and an unsaturated carboxylic acid or a metal salt thereof, an organic peroxide and an inorganic filler. The solid core has a deformation, when subjected to loading from an initial load of 10 kgf to a final load of 130 kg, of 2.0 to 3.5 mm, and has a specific hardness distribution. The cover layer, which is formed by injection-molding a single resin composition of primarily (A) a thermoplastic polyurethane and (B) a polyisocyanate compound, and at least some polyisocyanate compound in which all the isocyanate groups on the molecule remain in an unreacted state is present in the resin composition, and has a thickness of 0.5 to 2.5 mm, a Shore D hardness at the surface of 50 to 70. The core has a surface hardness which is from 1 to 15 Shore D hardness units lower than the surface hardness of the core. The golf ball has a deformation, when subjected to loading from an initial load of 10 kgf to a final load of 130 kgf, of 2.0 to 2.9 mm. The solid golf ball is advantageous overall in competitive use.

The present invention relates to a solid golf ball having a solid core and a cover layer which encloses the core. More particularly, the invention relates to a solid golf ball which is conferred with a high rebound on full shots with a driver so as to increase carry, which also has a good performance on approach shots and a good feel on impact, and which moreover has an excellent scuff resistance.
Golf balls designed to satisfy the overall characteristics desired in a golf ball, such as good flight properties, feel on impact and controllability on approach shots, have hitherto been improved in various ways. One example is the golf ball described in JP-A 6-98949.
However, because this golf ball has a hard cover, there are problems with its spin performance.
In addition, JP-A 9-308708, JP-A 2003-70936 and JP-A 2003-180879, for example, disclose solid golf balls in which the feel and controllability have been improved without a loss of rebound or cut resistance by setting the thickness, flexural rigidity and Shore D hardness of the cover within specific ranges.
Yet, because this golf ball has an inadequate core resilience and the core hardness distribution has not been optimized, properties such as the carry and the spin performance leave something to be desired.
JP-A 9-215778 and JP-A 9-271538 disclose solid golf balls in which a polyurethane material is used as the cover material. However, in these golf balls, the core lacks an adequate resilience and the resin from which the cover is formed has an inadequate scuff resistance. Hence, there remains room for improvement in the carry of the ball and the scuff resistance of the cover.
The golf balls described in JP-A 2002-355338 and JP-A 2004-180793 do have a good core resilience, but because these balls have a large deflection hardness and are soft, the rebound by the ball decreases, resulting in a less that satisfactory carry.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a solid golf ball which is conferred with a high rebound on full shots with a driver so as to increase carry, which has a good spin performance on approach shots and a good feel on impact, and which moreover has an excellent scuff resistance.


An ink jet print head includes first terminals 22 and 22', which are located at the side ends of a cover member 2 as a vibrating plate, and are connected to discrete electrodes 6 and 6' for selectively applying signals to piezoelectric vibrators 5 and 5'. A semiconductor integrated circuit 30 includes second terminals 31 and 31' that are arrayed corresponding in position to the first terminals 22 and 22' and generates a drive signal in response to an external signal. The first terminals 22 and 22' are connected to the second terminals 31 and 31' such that a gap of H in height is formed between the semiconductor integrated circuit 30 and the piezoelectric vibrators 5 and 5'.

The present invention relates to an ink jet print head of the type in which a nozzle plate, a fluid path forming member and an elastically deformable cover member are layered, and pressure generating means are attached to the cover member.
An ink jet print head of the type in which a nozzle plate, a fluid path forming member and an elastically deformable cover member are layered, and pressure generating means, for example, piezoelectric vibrators of a flexure vibration mode, are attached to the surface of the cover member, is known. In the print head, most of the members or constituent elements of the print head are made of ceramics. Accordingly, it is possible to layer the green sheets of those elements and to sinter the layered ones. In other words, these elements may be jointed together without adhesive, and hence there is eliminated a bonding step by adhesive in the manufacturing process of the print head, and the manufacturing process is simplified.
In the print head, as shown in FIG. 32(a), discrete electrodes B, B, . . . , B of piezoelectric vibrators A, A, . . . , A are connected to an external device by a flexible cable C.
To improve the print quality and the printing speed, some type of the print head has an increased number of nozzle holes. In this type of the print head, the discrete electrodes are extremely narrow in width, and the number of them is large. Connection work of these discrete electrodes to a flexible cable C is very difficult. Further, the conductive patterns of the flexible cable C as signal paths connecting an external device to the print head are also considerably narrow. The narrow conductive patterns have high electrical resistance. To feed signals of satisfactorily high level from the external device to the print head through the conductive patterns, a drive circuit of high drive voltage and high power is required.
To solve the problem, there is a proposal as shown in FIG. 32(b). In the proposal, a semiconductor chip D with a drive signal generating function is fastened to the surface of an actuator unit E of the print head and sealed by resin F. The semiconductor chip D must be mounted at a place on the actuator unit E where no piezoelectric vibrators are present. This increases the size of the print head, and requires additional work to connect the signal output terminals of the semiconductor chip D to the discrete electrodes B, B, . . . , B by wires G and G'.
The flexible cable that connects electric signals from the external device to the print head is mounted on the actuator unit in such a way that the cable extends over the arrays of piezoelectric vibrators on the rear side of the actuator unit, and are secured at both the ends in width direction to the terminals connecting to the discrete electrodes on both sides of the actuator unit. Such a mounting of the flexible cable creates some problems. For example, in the case of the loosely mounted flexible cable, if an external force acts on the flexible cable, the flexible cable will come in contact with the piezoelectric vibrators. In this state, the cable suppressively acts on the vibration of the piezoelectric vibrators.


In order to balance out a field inhomogeneity, a value for a coil current is determined by a controller as a function of an item of information relating to the field inhomogeneity and an item of information relating to a position of at least one balancing or shim coil arranged in the magnetic field. The value is to be supplied to the at least one shim coil in order to generate a magnetic balancing field to balance out the field inhomogeneity. A control signal for at least one shim current source and for at least one switching matrix coupling the at least one shim current source to the at least one shim coil is generated as a function of the at least one value.

The present embodiments relate to a magnetic resonance tomography (MRT) system, in which a current for a balancing or shim coil may be generated as a function of an item of information relating to a field inhomogeneity in a magnetic field of the MRT system.
Imaging in magnetic resonance tomography (e.g., magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)) is based on an alignment of spins of atomic nuclei through a magnetic base field or B0 field of the MRT system. Attempts are made to provide as homogenous a base field as possible that has a constant field strength (e.g., both with respect to amount and direction) in a relatively large area.
The homogeneity of the base field is important for many applications for the image quality and also for the spatial registration of the images (e.g., the assignment of image regions that correspond to one another in two or more images). In order, for example, to improve the diagnostic useability of a magnetic resonance image (MR image), the fat saturation enables the relatively strong signals from fat tissue to be filtered out. With the spectral fat saturation and the techniques used, the fact that fat and water have slightly different resonant frequencies is utilized. The deviation is however minimal. The deviation may amount to 3.1 ppm (parts per million), which provides that with a Lamor or resonant frequency of 10 MHz, there is only a difference of 31 Hz. With this weak deviation, the signal of the fat may be suppressed through a strong transmit pulse at the fat frequency without influencing the imaging of the protons belonging to the water molecules. The functionality of all techniques that are based on the spectral separation of fat and water also depends on the homogeneity of the base field. If the base field varies in a similar order of magnitude to the spectral separation of fat and water (e.g., approximately 3 ppm), then the fat and water resonances may be at the same frequency. As a result, the fat and water resonances may no longer be spectrally separated.
With current superconducting magnets, a structurally-specific magnetic field inhomogeneity may be reduced to approximately 1 ppm and less in a volume of approximately 30×40×50 cm. Problems with fat saturation results, for example, in border areas of these regions if a patient to be examined has wide shoulders, for example, that protrude from the volume with a homogenous field. In order to enlarge the volume with the homogenous magnetic field, in addition to the base field generated by the superconducting magnetic coil, this base field may be overlaid with a balancing field using balancing or shim coils. The inhomogeneities may be compensated for at the borders of the volume using the balancing or shim coils. Such shim coils may be fastened to the superconducting magnets. The shim coils are supplied with an electrical current by a shim current source in each instance, the current strength of which is set within the scope of adjusting the MRT system by the service personnel.
The inhomogeneities introduced by the tissue of a patient are more critical than the deterministic B0 inhomogeneities that may be measured in advance. For example, discontinuities of air and tissue result in significant B0 distortions. The inhomogenous distribution of water, air, bones and fat in the human body also result, on account of the spatial susceptibility distribution, in a distortion of the B0 base field that differs for each patient.

Balancing out a field inhomogeneity in a magnetic resonance tomography system and shim coil arrangement


Blood sugar levels are non-invasively measured based on temperature measurements. Blood sugar levels obtained by non-invasive measurements of temperatures are corrected by blood oxygen saturation and the volume of blood flow so that the measurement data can be stabilized.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for non-invasively measuring glucose concentration in a living body without blood sampling.
2. Background Art
Hilson et al. report facial and sublingual temperature changes in diabetics following intravenous glucose injection (non-patent literature 1). Scott et al. discuss the issue of diabetes mellitus and thermoregulation (non-patent literature 2). Based on such researches, Cho et al. suggests a method and apparatus for determining blood glucose concentration by temperature measurement without requiring the collection of a blood sample (patent literature 1 and 2).
Various other attempts have been made to determine glucose concentration without blood sampling. For example, a method has been suggested (patent literature 3) whereby a measurement site is irradiated with near-infrared light of three wavelengths, and the intensity of transmitted light as well as the temperature of the living body is detected. Then, representative values of the second-order differentiated values of absorbance are calculated, and the representative values are corrected in accordance with the difference of the living body temperature from a predetermined reference temperature. The blood sugar level corresponding to the thus corrected representative values is then determined. An apparatus is also provided (patent literature 4) whereby a measurement site is heated or cooled while monitoring the living body temperature. The degree of attenuation of light based on light irradiation is measured at the moment of temperature change so that the glucose concentration responsible for the temperature-dependency of the degree of light attenuation can be measured. Further, an apparatus is reported (patent literature 5) whereby an output ratio between reference light and the light transmitted by an irradiated sample is taken, and then the glucose concentration is calculated by a linear expression of the logarithm of the output ratio and the living body temperature.
(Non-patent literature 1)
R. M. Hilson and T. D. R. Hockaday, "Facial and sublingual temperature changes following intravenous glucose injection in diabetics," Diabete & Metabolisme, 8, pp.15-19: 1982
(Non-patent literature 2)
A. R. Scott, T. Bennett, I. A. MacDonald, "Diabetes mellitus and thermoregulation," Can. J. Physiol. Pharmacol., 65, pp. 1365-1376: 1987
(Patent Literature 1)
U.S. Pat. No. 5,924,996
(Patent Literature 2)
U.S. Pat. No. 5,795,305
(Patent Literature 3)
JP Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2000-258343 A
(Patent Literature 4)
JP Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 10-33512 A (1998)
(Patent Literature 5)
JP Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 10-108857 A (1998)
Glucose (blood sugar) in the blood is used for glucose oxidation reaction in cells to produce necessary energy for the maintenance of living bodies. In the basal metabolism state, in particular, most of the produced energy is converted into heat energy for the maintenance of body temperature. Thus, it can be expected that there is some relationship between blood glucose concentration and body temperature. However, as is evident from the way sicknesses cause fever, the body temperature also varies due to factors other than blood glucose concentration. While methods have been proposed to determine blood glucose concentration by temperature measurement without blood sampling, they lack sufficient accuracy.


An underwater device intended to be deployed in the water, the device includes a set of arms articulated to a support body having a reference axis r, the arms being able to be kept in a furled configuration and able to deploy into a deployed configuration wherein the arms extend about the reference axis r, the arms deploying by distal ends of the arms moving away from the axis r, a set of at least one bending spring stressed elastically in bending when the arms are kept in a furled configuration and able to relax when the arms are released from the furled configuration, the set of at least one bending spring being configured and arranged in such a way as to exert, on at least one of the arms, when the arms are released from the furled configuration, a thrust that instigates the deploying of the arms.

The springs are installed at the distal ends of the arms, namely at their opposite ends to the articulations of the arms to the support body. When the arms are in the furled configuration, the distal ends are angularly distributed about the reference axis. Each torsion spring is interposed between the reference axis and the arm with which it is associated and the axes of winding, which are parallel to the reference axis, are angularly distributed about the reference axis. Each torsion spring comprises a lever resting against the arm. When the arms are released, the lever pivots about the axis of winding of the torsion spring, and exerts a thrust that is radial with respect to the reference axis on the distal end of the arm so as to instigate the deployment thereof.
This solution presents problems with reliability. The arms do not always deploy or may deploy too slowly or insufficiently for the guy lines to be able to take over. The buoy may then become unserviceable or exhibit diminished performance.


An engine thermal management system for a vehicle having an exhaust gas system and an engine with an integrated exhaust manifold and a method for controlling the same are provided. The engine thermal management system may include a coolant pump, an engine water jacket, and a controller. The engine water jacket expels coolant from an IEM coolant outlet, which is directly cast into the integrated exhaust manifold. The coolant flowing through the engine water jacket and expelled from the IEM coolant outlet is in heat exchange relation with a heated exhaust gas flowing through the exhaust gas system, via an engine cylinder head and an exhaust gas septum, to thereby extract heat therefrom, resulting in a heated coolant, which is expelled from the IEM coolant outlet and selectively routed, by the controller, to one of a heater core, an engine oil heat exchanger, a transmission heat exchanger, and a radiator.

In a conventional thermal management system for an automotive engine, a cooling circuit circulates a coolant liquid, generally of water and antifreeze. The cooling circuit generally includes a coolant pump powered by the engine crankshaft or electronic control module. The coolant pump propels the coolant liquid through the cooling circuit.
Engine thermal management systems are generally designed to promote engine and coolant liquid warm-up after cold start and to promote engine cooling during normal vehicle operation. The coolant may follow a path through cooling passages in the engine block, through cooling passages in the engine head, and then directly through hoses to a radiator or heater core.

System and method of thermal management for an engine


Apparatus for analysis of a sample includes a radiation source, which is configured to direct a beam of radiation along a beam axis to impinge on a target area on a surface of the sample. A detector assembly is configured to sense the radiation scattered from the sample. A beam control assembly includes a beam blocker, which has a lower side adjoining the surface of the sample, and which contains front and rear slits perpendicular to the lower side that together define a beam plane that contains the beam axis and passes through the target area. The front slit is located between the radiation source and the target area, and the rear slit is located between the target area and the detector assembly.

X-ray reflectometry (XRR) is a well-known technique for measuring the thickness, density and surface quality of thin film layers deposited on a substrate. X-ray reflectometers typically operate by irradiating a sample with a beam of X-rays at grazing incidence, i.e., at a small angle relative to the surface of the sample, in the vicinity of the total external reflection angle of the sample material. An X-ray detector, which may comprise a detector array, senses the reflected X-rays. Measurement of X-ray intensity reflected from the sample as a function of angle gives a pattern of interference fringes, which is analyzed to determine the properties of the film layers responsible for creating the fringe pattern. Exemplary systems and methods for XRR are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,619,548, 5,923,720, 6,512,814, 6,639,968, and 6,771,735, whose disclosures are incorporated herein by reference.
The spot size and angular extent of the X-ray beam that is incident on the sample surface affect the spatial and angular resolution of XRR measurement results. In order to control these factors, U.S. Pat. No. 6,639,968, for example, provides a dynamic knife edge and shutter interposed in the X-ray beam. For measurements at low incidence angles, the knife edge is lowered very near to the surface, intercepting the incident X-ray beam and thus shortening the lateral dimension of the spot on the surface. (In the context of the present patent application and in the claims, the dimension of the spot in the direction along the surface that is parallel to the projection of the beam axis on the surface is referred to in the conventional manner as the lateral dimension, while the dimension in the direction perpendicular to the beam axis is referred to as the transverse dimension.) For high-angle measurements, at which the dynamic shutter is used, the knife edge may be raised out of the way, to allow the full intensity of the X-ray beam to be used. As another example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,771,735 uses two "gates" for blocking certain parts of the X-ray beam.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,895,075, whose disclosure is incorporated herein by reference, describes a system that combines XRR with small-angle X-ray scattering measurement (SAXS). The system uses the dynamic knife edge and shutter of U.S. Pat. No. 6,639,968 for controlling the incident beam in the vertical direction (perpendicular to the surface of the sample), together with a slit for limiting the transverse dimension of the beam in the horizontal direction. The minimum slit width is said to be about 100 μm.
U.S. Patent Application Publication 2006/0062351, whose disclosure is incorporated herein by reference, describes another multifunction X-ray analysis system, which combines XRR with SAXS and X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurement. In one embodiment, shown in FIG. 5 of this publication, a knife edge is made of a cylindrical, X-ray absorbing material, such as a metal wire. This arrangement is said to permit the lower edge of the knife to be placed very close to the surface of the sample, on the order of 3 μm above the surface, without risk of damaging the sample. The wire can be aligned with the surface accurately and thus provides a small gap above the surface whose effective height is uniform over the entire angular range of interest, typically 0-4°. Based on this example, it will be understood that in the context of the present patent application and in the claims, the term "knife edge" refers to any type of straight edge (not necessarily very sharp) that is positioned near the surface of a sample in order to create this a gap between the knife edge and the surface and to block X-rays outside the gap.


An object of the invention is to provide an industrially advantageous process capable of remarkably suppressing the generation of an undesirable by-product cepham compound to thereby efficiently produce a desired 2α-methyl-2β-[(1,2,3-triazol-1-yl)methyl]penam-3α-carboxylic acid ester. In the present invention, a diphenylmethyl 2β-bromomethyl-2α-methylpenam-3α-carboxylate (BMPB) is reacted with 1,2,3-triazole in a halogenated hydrocarbon solvent at −5° C. or lower. The reaction in a halogenated hydrocarbon solvent at −5° C. or less can remarkably suppress the generation of an undesirable by-product cepham compound, so that the desired diphenylmethyl 2α-methyl-2β-[(1,2,3-triazol-1-yl)methyl]penam-3α-carboxylate (TMPB) can be efficiently produced.

The 2α-methyl-2β-[(1,2,3-triazol-1-yl)methyl]penam-3α-carboxylic acid ester represented by formula (2)
wherein R is a penicillin carboxyl protecting group, is a compound that is useful, for example, as an intermediate for producing a β-lactamase inhibitor.
The compound that is represented by formula (2) can be produced, for example, by reacting a 2′-halogenated penam compound represented by formula (1)
wherein X represents chlorine or bromine and R is as defined above, with 1,2,3-triazole (see Patent Document 1).
According to the Patent Document 1, a 2′-halogenated penam compound of formula (1) is reacted with 1,2,3-triazole in a solvent such as dimethylformamide, acetonitrile, acetone, tetrahydrofuran, dioxane, methanol, ethanol, etc., under temperature conditions in the range of 0° C. to 60° C.
However, when the 2′-halogenated penam compound of formula (1) is reacted with 1,2,3-triazole as described in Patent Document 1, a large amount of the by-product cepham compound represented by formula (3) is unavoidably generated as an isomer, with the result that the desired 2α-methyl-2β-[(1,2,3-triazol-1-yl)methyl]penam-3α-carboxylic acid ester represented by formula (2) cannot be obtained with a high yield.
wherein R is as defined above.
Therefore, the development of an industrially advantageous process is desired that is capable of remarkably suppressing the generation of the by-product cepham compound of formula (3) to efficiently produce the 2α-methyl-2β-[(1,2,3-triazol-1-yl)methyl]penam-3α-carboxylic acid ester of formula (2). Patent Document 1: Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 1995-121949

Process for producing penam compound useful for preparing tazobactam


A slim cylindrical coreless motor for mounting in a device without using an additional mounting element. The slim cylindrical coreless motor has a cylindrical case having a bearing holder at a first end and an end bracket fitted to the second end of the cylindrical case. The slim cylindrical coreless motor has first mounting portions extending outward from the first end of the cylindrical case and second mounting portions extending outward from the end bracket. The first and second mounting portions do not extend beyond the circumference of the case, and at least one of the first and second mounting portions is a power supply terminal. In addition, a weight is eccentrically mounted on a shaft extending out of the case, which enables the motor to be used as a vibrator motor. The weight has a recess near the first mounting portions. The slim cylindrical coreless motor does not require a holder for attachment to a device, which decreases the circumference of the motor, so that the motor can be mounted within a smaller area.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improved slim tubular coreless motor applicable to a soundless alarming means for a mobile wireless communications device, and, more particularly, to a slim tubular coreless motor which requires only a small mounting area.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to FIG. 7, a conventional cylindrical direct current motor M has a semi-circular weight W eccentrically mounted on an output shaft S, the motor vibrates by centrifugal force produced with rotation of the eccentric weight W to the shaft S, and thus it can be utilized as a soundless alarming means by the vibration.
As shown in FIG. 8, the conventional motor M is mounted on, for example, a common printed circuit board (P) by soldering. For the mounting of the motor M on the board, a holder F is needed, which increases the mounting area.
An object of the present invention is to provide a slim cylindrical coreless motor, which only requires a small mounting area, so that a holder, which increases the diameter of a motor, is not required for mounting.
The above object is achieved by a slim tube-type coreless motor comprising: a tube-type case having a bearing holder at one end portion thereof; an end bracket fitted to the other end of the tube-type case; one or more first fixing portions extending from a part of the one end portion of the tube-type case; and second fixing portions formed at the end bracket, wherein the slim-type coreless motor is horizontally mounted in a device without an additional fixing means.
In one embodiment, the one or more first fixing portions may extend from a part of the bearing holder. Preferably, the first and second fixing portions are formed so as not to extend beyond the circumference of the case. Preferably, at least part of the first and second fixing portions is used as a power supply terminal.
For using the motor as a vibrator motor, it is preferable that an eccentric weight is mounted around a shaft extending out of the case, and the eccentric weight has a recessed portion near the first fixing portions.
The slim tube-type coreless motor according to the present invention, having the above-described configuration, can reduce the mounting area and can be mounted on a PCB by soldering without increasing the circumference thereof.

Coreless motor having tubular housing with end mounting portions


An audio/video distribution system for a multiple dwelling unit such as an apartment building provides programming which is selectable by a subscriber through the interactive use of on-screen menus. Programming and services are supplied from a headend over a distribution network to individual apartments. The distribution network includes an interdiction field unit associated with each of a group of apartments. The interdiction field unit normally interdicts those channels capable of carrying video on demand movies, interactive video games, and interactive services. When a subscriber wishes to order a movie, video game, or other service through interactive on-screen menus provided from the headend to the apartment, the headend instructs the interdiction field unit associated with the subscriber's apartment to de-interdict a channel. Selections made through a remote control to a subscriber terminal in the apartment are supplied to the headend over the distribution system. The channel remains deinterdicted during the playing of a movie, video game, or interactive service selected by the subscriber, based upon the signals received from the subscriber terminal during the interactive on-screen menu session.

The present invention relates to a cable television system for delivery of television programming, on demand movies, and interactive services, (such as Internet, e-mail, video shopping and video games) to a subscriber's residence.
Over the past decade, video on demand systems have found widespread use in the lodging industry to provide movies, interactive guest services, and (more recently) interactive video games to a hotel guest. These systems allow the hotel guest to view a movie, or play a video game, when the guest wants to, rather than at a regularly scheduled time.
Providing video on demand (VOD) services as part of a residential cable television system has been proposed for more than two decades. Beginning in the late 1970s, experimental cable television systems with VOD services have been operated in Japan, France, the United Kingdom, Canada, the Netherlands and the United States. VOD systems have been the subject of hundreds of technical articles, newspaper reports and patents. Despite this extensive activity, VOD technology has not, as yet, found significant commercial application outside the lodging industry.

Multiple dwelling unit interactive audio/video distribution system


A query-focused faceted structure generation method, system, and computer program product for generating a query-focused faceted structure from a taxonomy for searching a document corpus, including augmenting taxonomy types with new instances where the instances comprise entities within a proximity of existing instances of taxonomy types in a local embedding of entities parsed from the document corpus, ranking each instance in the augmented taxonomy with respect to its type as a function of both a distance from an instance to a query in a global embedding vector space of the entities trained from the document corpus and a distance of an instance to a type in the local embedding, and ranking the taxonomy types using expanded instances in the document corpus for each type.

The present invention relates generally to a query-focused faceted structure generation method, and more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to a system, method, and computer program product for generating a query-focused faceted structure from a taxonomy for searching a document collection.
With an enormous amount of unstructured data available in documents, it is important for customers to rapidly narrow down the search over a large corpus in a structured manner and find relevant information quickly.
The growing amount of data that customers experience requires more efficient and accessible ways to organize and find specialized information using their own terminology.
Faceted search involves augmenting a document retrieval system with a faceted navigation system to allow users to narrow down search results by filtering based on a faceted structure.
Conventional facet generating approaches in this space have drawbacks such as that the documents must be tagged with an existing hierarchy which needs to be consistent, adding overhead in content curation and management and these static facets are not based on the matching documents or query. Using other conventional approaches, large numbers of facets are generated which can be overwhelming to the users and make it difficult to navigate and facets based on standard approaches such as corpus-term frequency may produce facets that are not related to the important information in the query. Also, there is no provision for management of the facets generated without adding/editing the original documents, etc.

Dynamic faceted search on a document corpus

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


The present invention relates to crystals of the ERK2 polypeptide and complexes thereof which are useful, inter alia, for structure assisted drug design.

The protein kinases that constitute mitogen activated protein kinases (MAPK) pathways are currently studied by the pharmaceutical industry because of the central role MAPK modules play in mediating cellular responses to stimuli such as growth factors and cytokines. The MAPK kinases, ERK1 and ERK2, are activated by a phosphorylation signaling cascade in response to hormones and growth factors. Specifically, ERK1 and ERK2 are activated by the kinase MEK1 and MEK2 through dual phosphorylation on conserved threonine and tyrosine residues in the ERK's activation loop. Known oncogenes such as Ras and Raf are upstream activators of ERKs 1 and 2. ERK2 is aberrantly activated in multiple common tumor types, and its inhibition reverses cellular transformation. Hence, there is considerable interest in the role ERK1,2 signaling plays in oncogenic transformation and in targeting ERK1,2 for cancer therapies using small molecules. Structure assisted drug design is a tool used to optimize the success of identifying such therapeutic compounds. However, use of this powerful methodology requires three-dimensional structural information (e.g., as obtained via X-ray diffraction of the target protein). The crystal structure of unphosphorylated ERK2 (Zhang et al., J. Mol. Bio. 233:550-552 (1993); Zhang et al., Nature 367:704-711 (1994); Wang et al., Structure 6(9): 1117-1128 (1998)) and of diphosphorylated ERK2 (Canagarajah et al., Cell 90:859-869 (1997)) was determined. The crystal structure of ERK2 complexed with olomoucine was also determined (Wang et al., Structure 6(9): 1117-1128 (1998)). Nevertheless, there is a need in the art for crystals with which high resolution structural determination can be performed. The present invention addresses this need by providing such crystals.

Methods for crystallizing ERK2 polypeptides