By reacting a mixture of a halogenoalkyl group-bearing organosilicon compound and sulfur with an aqueous solution or water dispersion of an ammonium or alkali metal sulfide or a hydrate thereof in the presence of a phase transfer catalyst, a sulfide chain-bearing organosilicon compound having the average compositional formula (2):(R1O)(3-p)(R2)pSi—R3—Sm—R3—Si(OR1)(3-p)(R2)p  (2)wherein m has an average value of 2≦m≦6 is obtained in high yields and at a low cost with minimized formation of a monosulfide-bearing organosilicon compound.

In silica-loaded tires, bis-triethoxysilyltetrasulfide is widely used as a coupling agent between rubber and silica. However, when mixed with rubber and silica at elevated temperatures, this compound acts to increase the viscosity of the blend, which is inconvenient to subsequent operation.
To overcome this problem, shorter chain polysulfide compounds such as bis-triethoxysilylpropyldisulfide were proposed. For example, JP-A 9-169774 discloses a method for preparing disulfide silanes using NaCN. This method, however, has the problem of using the toxic compound. It would be desirable to have a substitute safe method of preparing short sulfide chain-bearing organosilicon compounds at low cost.
The inventors proposed in JP-A 11-100388 a method of preparing a short sulfide chain-bearing organosilicon compound by reacting a polysulfide silane of the general formula: (RO)3SiC3H6SxC3H6Si(OR)3 wherein R is methyl or ethyl, and x is a positive number of 3 to 6 on the average, at least one anhydrous sulfur compound: M12S or M2S wherein M1 is an alkali metal or ammonium and M2 is an alkaline earth metal or zinc, and a halogenoalkoxysilane of the general formula: XC3H6Si(OR)3 wherein X is halogen and R is methyl or ethyl. When the short sulfide chain-bearing organosilicon compound is prepared by this method, however, there can also be produced a monosulfide chain-bearing organosilicon compound, that is, an organosilicon compound having a sulfide chain which does not fully participate in the reactions with silica and rubber.
The inventors further proposed in JP-A 2003-261580 (US 2003-0176719 and EP 1342750A) a method for preparing a sulfide chain-bearing organosilicon compound, comprising the steps of:
premixing a sulfide chain-bearing organosilicon compound having the general formula (i):(R1O)(3-p)(R2)pSi—R3—Sm—R3—Si(OR1)(3-p)(R2)p  (i)wherein R1 and R2 each are a monovalent hydrocarbon group of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, R3 is a divalent hydrocarbon group of 1 to 10 carbon atoms, m has an average value of 2<m≦6, and p is 0, 1 or 2, a halogenoalkyl group-bearing organosilicon compound having the general formula (ii):(R1O)(3-p)(R2)pSi—R3—X  (ii)wherein R1 and R2 each are a monovalent hydrocarbon group of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, R3 is a divalent hydrocarbon group of 1 to 10 carbon atoms, X is a halogen atom, and p is 0, 1 or 2, and optionally, sulfur,
adding anhydrous sodium sulfide represented by Na2S to the premix, and
allowing reaction to take place for thereby forming a sulfide chain-bearing organosilicon compound having the general formula (iii):(R1O)(3-p)(R2)pSi—R3—Sn—R3—Si(OR1)(3-p)(R2)p  (iii)wherein R1 and R2 each are a monovalent hydrocarbon group of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, R3 is a divalent hydrocarbon group of 1 to 10 carbon atoms, n has an average value of 2≦n<6, satisfying m>n, and p is 0, 1 or 2, while minimizing formation of a monosulfide-bearing organosilicon compound with n=1.
This method, however, has some drawbacks. While substantially anhydrous sodium sulfide is used, it is time consuming to dry sodium sulfide hydrate. Filtration of the salt is necessary. A reaction medium is generally used and must be distilled off at the end of reaction. There still exists a need for a lower cost preparation method.
It is also known to prepare sulfide chain-bearing organosilicon compounds using phase transfer catalysts. This is taught in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,405,985, 5,468,893, 5,483,245, 6,448,426, JP-A 2004-521945 and JP-A 2004-521946. Although these patents relate to methods for preparing sulfide chain-bearing organosilicon compounds using phase transfer catalysts, no reference is made to the control of formation of a monosulfide chain-bearing organosilicon compound.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Preparation of sulfide chain-bearing organosilicon compounds


A method and apparatus for handling tubulars is provided. In one aspect, the present invention provides a spinner having a first arm having a first roller and a second arm having a second roller, the first arm and the second arm simultaneously adjustable to retain the tubular. The apparatus also includes a third roller capable of urging the tubular against the first and second rollers, wherein at least one of the first, second, and third rollers is actuatable to rotate the tubular. In one embodiment, the spinner further comprises a fluid operated cylinder for adjusting the first arm and the second arm. The arms are adjusted by actuating the cylinder extend or retract the first arm and the second arm.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to apparatus and methods for making or breaking tubular connections. Particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus for rotating one tubular relative to another tubular. More particularly, the present invention relates a spinner for rotating a tubular at a high rate of speed during make up/break out of a tubular connection.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the construction of oil or gas wells it is usually necessary to construct long drill pipes. Due to the length of these pipes, sections of pipe are progressively added to the pipe string as it is lowered into the well from a drilling platform. In particular, when it is desired to add a section of pipe, the pipe string is initially restrained from falling into the well by applying the slips of a spider located in the floor of the drilling platform. The new section of pipe is then moved from a rack to the well center above the spider. The threaded pin of the section of pipe to be connected is then located over the threaded box of the pipe string in the well and the connection is made up by rotation therebetween. Thereafter, the newly extended pipe string is released from the spider. The whole pipe string is then lowered until the top of the pipe section is adjacent the spider whereupon the slips of the spider are re-applied to maintain the pipe string in the wellbore.
It is common practice to use a tong assembly to apply a predetermined torque to make up the connection. The tong assembly is typically located on the platform, either on rails, or hung from a derrick on a chain. In order to make up or break out a threaded connection, the tong assembly has a two tong arrangement. An active (or wrenching) tong supplies torque to the section of pipe above the threaded connection, while a passive (or back up) tong supplies a reaction torque below the threaded connection. Particularly, the back up tong clamps the pipe string below the threaded connection, and prevents it from rotating. The clamping of the pipe string may be performed mechanically, hydraulically, or pneumatically. The wrenching tong clamps the upper part of the connection and is driven so that it supplies torque for a limited angle to rotate the section of pipe relative to the pipe string.
This power tong arrangement may also be used to make up connections between other types of wellbore tubulars, for example, casing and tubing.
In order to make up or break out a drill pipe connection, high torque must be supplied over a large angle. This angle is sometimes six times higher than a conventional wrenching tong can supply. In order to overcome this, the wrenching tong must grip and wrench the pipe section repeatedly to fully tighten or break the threaded connection. Due to the high costs associated with the construction of oil and gas wells, time is critical, and the repeated clamping and unclamping of the wrenching tong increases the time needed to attach each new section of tubular.
Spinners have been used in combination with the power tong assembly to facilitate the tubular connection process. Spinners are typically designed to rapidly rotate the pipe section. Spinners generally include rollers for engaging the pipe section about its periphery. The rollers are rotated to spin the pipe section relative to the pipe string to make up the connection.
The ongoing challenge to reduce operational time necessitates a spinner that is capable of handling a wide range of tubular sizes. Because oil rigs have limited space, it would be desirable to have one spinner for handling the different sized tubulars encountered on a rig. Another benefit of using only one spinner is that time required to adjust the spinner, such as changing the size of the rollers, is eliminated.
There is a need, therefore, for an improved apparatus for making or breaking a tubular connection. There is also a need for an apparatus that will reduce the time it takes to make up or break out a tubular connection. There is a further need to quickly adjust to the size of the tubular to be handled. There is also a need for an apparatus capable of working in combination with a tong assembly to make up or break out a tubular connection.

Apparatus and methods for connecting tubulars


Methods and applications of surface plasmon resonance-enhanced antibacterial, anti-adhere, adhere, catalytic, hydrophilic, hydrophobic, spectral change, biological and chemical decomposition properties of materials with embedded nanoparticles are disclosed. A method of the nonlinear generation of surface plasmon resonance enables the use of light with wavelengths from X-Ray to IR to enhance properties of materials by several orders of magnitude. The nanoparticle size is crucial for the enhancement and their size is considered to be in the proposed methods and applications within a range of 0.1 nm to 200,000 nm. The nanoparticles preferably are made of noble metals and/or semiconductor oxides. The invention describes a very broad spectrum of applications of surface plasmon resonance-enhanced properties of materials with embedded nanoparticles, from environmental cleanup by road pavement and construction materials, self-cleaning processes of surface materials, thermochromic effects on heat blocking materials, corrosion preventing paint, to sanitization by antibacterial textile fabrics, filters, personal clothing, contact lenses and medical devices.

Photoinduced properties of materials embedded with semiconductor oxides were reported in several patents and papers (U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,194,346, 6,074,981, 6,455,465, 6,524,664, Mor, et al., "A room-temperature TiO2-nanotube hydrogen sensor able to self-clean photoactively from environmental contamination", J. Mater. Res., Vol. 19, No. 2, (2004), Benedix, et al., "Application of Titanium Dioxide Photocatalysis to Create Self-Cleaning Building Materials", Lacer, No.5, (2000), Paz, et al., "Photooxidative self-cleaning transparent titanium dioxide films on glass", J. Mater. Res., Vol. 10, No. 11, p. 2842, (1996)). All of these methods and results presented in patents and papers are based on the ultraviolet light photodecomposition of the semiconductor oxides deposited on the material surfaces that change the physical and chemical properties of these materials. These patents and papers do not teach how to use other wavelengths than UV light and how to use surface plasmon resonance-enhanced effects, nanotechnology advances, and other compounds like noble metals to enhance properties of materials. There were also successful attempts of blue light catalytic effects of semiconductor oxides deposited on material surfaces induced (U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,139,803, 5,874,701). In that case, the semiconductor oxides were embedded to materials which they change the semiconductor oxides ultraviolet light absorption band to the blue light band. However, these materials display substantially reduced photocatalytic properties that limit them to be used in many applications. Again, these inventions do not teach how to use surface plasmon resonance-enhanced effects, nanotechnology advances, and other compounds like noble metals to enhance properties of materials.
Researchers from Hanyang University, South Korea incorporate nano-sized silver particles into polypropylene to produce an anti-microbial material that could be used in anything from carpets, to napkins and surgical masks. Silver has been medically proven to kill over 650 disease-causing organisms in the body and is also very safe. By combining silver and polypropylene to produce an organic-inorganic fiber, researchers have produced the first safe, anti-microbial fiber with a wide range of possible applications. The researchers used nano-sized silver particles to maximizing the surface area and give the optimum antibacterial effect. They found that the fibers containing silver in the core part had no antimicrobial activity and the fibers that included silver in the sheath part showed excellent antibacterial effect. However, this research does not show how to use surface plasmon resonance or other types of energy to significantly enhance antibacterial of textile fabrics, how to induce anti-microbial properties of fiber with embedded metal nanoparticles under fiber surface.
There are a few inventions related to antibacterial materials in which silver is embedded to these material fibers (U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,584,668, 6,087,549, 5,985,301, 5,876,489, 4,340,043). However, in these patents there is no mention of enhancing antibacterial properties of materials induced by plasmon resonance or other types of energy, how to use metals other then silver or metal oxides with antibacterial properties of fabrics, what crucial role play the size and shape of embedded metal nanoparticles to fabrics on antibacterial properties of these fabrics.
There is also great need for "smart materials", e.g. materials whose properties would be altered upon changes of physical parameters of environment surrounding these materials (T. Manning and I. Parkin, "Atmospheric pressure chemical vapour deposition of tungsten doped vanadium(IV) oxide from VOCl3, water and WCl6", J. Mater. Chem., 2554-2559 (2004), U. Qureshi et al., "Atmospheric pressure chemical vapour deposition of VO2 and VO2/TiO2 films from the reaction of VOCl3, TiCl4 and water",J. Mater. Chem., 1190-1194, (2004)). Currently, there is a very modem success of applying the method of surface plasmon resonance to "smart materials" (Y. Sun and Y. Xia, "Increased Sensitivity of Surface Plasmon Resonance of Gold Nanoshells Compared to That of Gold Solid Colloids in Response to Environmental Changes", Anal. Chem., 74,5297-5305 (2002); Cao, Y.; Jin, R.; Mirkin, C. A. J. Am. Chem. Soc., 123, 7961 (2001)). The observed, in these reports, surface plasmon resonance-enhanced spectral changes upon changing environment of surrounding materials are within 50 nm. In this method, the environmentally sensitive polymer covering metal nanoparticles alters its own properties upon changes in the environment, which leads to spectral changes of a SPR absorption band. These modest spectral changes are good enough to built biochemical sensors, but not sufficient to apply them in "smart materials", where drastic spectral changes would be desired. For example, there is great need to observe spectral changes by a few hundreds nanometers in glass windows upon sunlight heat, which can cause blocking infrared sunlight by glass window when temperature of the glass is to high. Hence, there is great need for new methods which significantly would change properties of materials. The disclosed below invention shows a novel methodology how to enhance properties of materials by many orders of magnitude, to overcome limitations of conventional methods and provides novel applications of surface plasmon resonance-enhanced photocatalytic and other properties of materials.

Method of plasmon-enhanced properties of materials and applications thereof


An intermediate bearing for a driveline of a commercial vehicle has a housing (7) with a stirrup-shaped cross-section. The housing (7) has a fixing face (12) formed of two straight portions (8, 9) and a first arched portion (10). A bearing member (15) is arranged between the portions (8, 9, 10). The bearing member (15) is rubber and is connected to the fixing face (12) by vulcanization. A locking element (23) bridges the space between the two straight portions (8, 9). The locking member (23) is attached to the bearing member (15). The bearing member (15) encloses a supporting ring (16) which serves to receive a rolling contact bearing. The locking element (23) is adjustable for the purpose of setting a pre-tension of the bearing member (15) towards the longitudinal axis (18) of the bore (17) of the supporting ring (16). The locking element (23) can be connected to the housing (7) after the required pre-tension has been set.

The invention relates to an intermediate bearing for a driveline of a motor vehicle, especially a commercial vehicle.
The driveline that extends from a gearbox positioned in front to the axle differential to drive the wheels of a commercial vehicle is normally of a multi-component nature with portions of universal-jointed shafts. This means that an intermediate bearing is required.
DE 37 01 886 A1 describes an intermediate bearing for a driveline. The intermediate bearing includes a housing where a resilient bearing member is accommodated in a form-fitting way. The bearing member encloses a supporting ring. A rolling contact bearing is arranged in the supporting ring to support the associated driveshaft portions. The bearing member has circumferentially distributed apertures which serve to receive filler members. By inserting the filler members, it is possible to adapt the stiffness and damping properties of the intermediate bearing to different applications. The disadvantage of this design is that such adaptation is complicated and expensive.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,325,230 describes an intermediate bearing with an outer housing, an inner housing and a rubber element arranged therebetween. The outer housing is either in one part in the form of a casting or it is of a U-shaped first plate metal part and a strip-shaped second plate metal part. The two parts are firmly connected to one another by spot welding. The inner housing includes segments and serves to accommodate the outer race of a rolling contact bearing. The individual segments have flange-like radially inwardly extending lips that axially hold the outer race of the rolling contact bearing. The outer bearing race can be fitted by moving the segments radially outwardly. The rubber element or the rubber element portions supporting the respective cup is/are radially pre-tensioned. Thus, the outer bearing race, with its outer diameter, is able to pass the region of the inwardly directed flange-like lips. In the fitted condition, it is possible not to provide any pre-tension at all. However, a pre-tension is preferably provided such that the outer race does not rotate if the shaft received in the inner bearing race rotates. The objective is to avoid any mating rust.


Apparatus and methods for training, initializing, and managing a unidirectional, sink-driven A/V interface of a consumer electronics device. Since camera sensors do not have significant processing capability, the disclosed embodiments couple the camera sensors to a simplified source node as a camera assembly. In the described embodiments, an intelligent receiver (e.g., a master “sink” node) trains, initializes, and manages one or more relatively low complexity camera sensor modules. Various other refinements and simplifications include: (i) where link training is managed by the receiver of the link, not by the transmitter, and (ii) where training multiple links in the network is managed by a single receiver.

1. Technological Field
The disclosure relates generally to the field of audio/visual (A/V) consumer electronics devices, as well as networks thereof. More particularly, in one exemplary aspect, the disclosure is directed to methods and apparatus adapted to train, initialize, and manage a unidirectional, sink-driven A/V interface.
2. Description of Related Technology
DisplayPort® is an exemplary and emerging digital display interface technology specified by the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA). Current incarnations of the standard specify support for simple networking of digital audio/visual (A/V) interconnects, intended to be used primarily between an arbitrary assembly of multimedia "sources" (e.g., computers or CPUs) and "sinks" (e.g. display monitors, home-theater system, etc.). This interconnection is generally unidirectional in nature; i.e., from source to sink, in current implementations.
For reasons described in greater detail hereinafter, incipient research is directed to leveraging portions of DisplayPort technology for internal consumer electronics device operations (e.g., bus interfaces, etc.). Various implementation specific considerations require substantial modifications to the underlying DisplayPort control scheme. For example, certain internal components (e.g., camera modules) lack sufficient processing capabilities to comply with DisplayPort bus protocols including, but not limited to, link training, initialization, and management. Other aspects of the DisplayPort protocol may be "over-designed", or provide capabilities which are unnecessary.
Accordingly, improved methods and apparatus are needed to support internal consumer electronics device operations using DisplayPort technology (such as link training, initialization, and management). More generally, apparatus and methods are needed for calibrating and configuring internal components of a consumer electronics device.

Methods and apparatus for link training, initialization and management via a high speed bus interface


A three-dimensional nano-structure array includes a substrate and a number of three-dimensional nano-structures. Each three-dimensional nano-structure has a first peak and a second peak aligned side by side. A first groove is defined between the first peak and the second peak. A second groove is defined between the two adjacent three-dimensional nano-structures. A depth of the first groove is lower than that of the second groove.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a three-dimensional nano-structure array and a method for making the same.
2. Description of Related Art
Nano materials can be one-dimensional such as carbon nanotube, or two-dimensional such as grapheme. A three-dimensional nano-structure, such as a three-dimensional nano-structure array, is difficult to fabricate. A method for making the three-dimensional nano-structure array usually includes lithographing. However, the cost of lithography is expensive, and the three-dimensional nano-structure fabrication process is complicated.
What is needed, therefore, is to provide a three-dimensional nano-structure array and a low-cost and simple method for making the same.


Systems and methods are disclosed for reducing an interwinding capacitance current in a transformer. In certain embodiments, the transformer includes a coupling winding and a primary winding that encircles a portion of the coupling winding. Additionally, the transformer includes a secondary winding that encircles a portion of the coupling winding. The transformer includes a shield terminal which is electrically coupled to the coupling winding. The shield terminal directs currents, such as interwinding capacitance currents, in the coupling winding to ground.

The subject matter disclosed herein relates to isolation transformers, and more specifically, methods for reducing the interwinding capacitance of an isolation transformer.
In certain applications, a transformer may be utilized to provide power or transmit voltage signals to an electronic circuit or load while maintaining galvanic isolation between the power source and the load. Galvanic isolation involves physically isolating function components of an electrical system to prevent current flow between the components. As an example, a transformer may provide galvanic isolation between a transistor and the control circuitry which provides the signals that may turn the transistor on and off. A transformer providing galvanic isolation could receive the signals from the control circuitry at a pair of input terminals and mirror the voltage on the output terminals. However, internal capacitances may allow currents to flow through the transformer, compromising the isolation provided by the transformer. The currents can potentially disrupt or damage any circuitry attached to the transformer.

Method for reducing interwinding capacitance current in an isolation transformer


Presented is a therapeutic method to treat prostate carcinomas in mammals comprising the administration of cellular PAcP protein. Also presented is a method to diagnose androgen-insensitive prostate carcinomas by determining the expression level of cellular PAcP in the prostate carcinomas, a decrease in expression being indicative of androgen-insensitivity. A promoter region that is specifically expressed in prostate tissue is presented, as is a xenograft animal mode that mimics human prostate carcinomas in the expression of cellular PAcP.

Various scientific and scholarly articles are referred to in brackets throughout the specification.
These articles are incorporated by reference herein to describe the state of the art to which this invention pertains.
Prostate cancer has the highest incidence of male cancers in the U.S. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying prostate carcinogenesis that may lead to new therapeutic treatments remain enigmatic. Tyrosine phosphorylation signaling in prostate cell proliferation is mediated by PTPases. Recently, several lines of evidence have suggested that cellular PAcP represents the major PTPase activity in prostate epitheliums (Lin and Clinton, 1987, Advances in Protein Phosphatases 4:199–228; Li et al., 1984, Eur. J. Biochem. 138:45–51; Lin and Clinton, 1986, Biochem. J., 235:351–357). This notion is further supported by results from crystallographic studies (Schneider et al., 1993, EMBO J. 12:2609–2615) and titration experiments (Ostanin et al. 1994, J. Biol. Chem. 269:8971–8978), indicating that PAcP protein has active "-SH" groups and can function as an authentic "cysteine" PTPase in those cells.
Two forms of PAcP exist in normal human prostate epithelial cells. One form is secreted and the other is intracellular. In normal differentiated prostate epitheliums, the expression of the cellular form of human PAcP is correlated with slow proliferation of those cells (Lin and Clinton, 1987, Advances in Protein Phosphatases 4:199–228; Sakai et al., 1993, J. Urol. 149:1020–1023; Sinha et al., 1998, The Prostate, 13:1–15). Increased cellular PAcP activity is coincident with decreased p-Tyr levels in cellular proteins and a slow growth rate (Lin et al., 1992 Cancer Res., 52:4600–4607; Lin et al., 1993, Biophys. Biochem. Res. Comm. 192:413–419; Lin et al., 1994, Differentiation, 57:143–149).
In prostate carcinomas exhibiting high proliferation rates, cellular PAcP expression is decreased (Lin and Clinton, 1987, Advances in Protein Phosphatases 4:199–228; Sakai et al., 1993, J. Urol. 149:1020–1023; Sinha et al., 1998, The Prostate, 13:1–15). The secreted form of PAcP increases in abundance in prostate cancer patient circulation, which has led to its use as a diagnostic marker. Treatment with growth stimuli, including androgens, on cell from the human prostatic cancer cell line LNCaP results in decreased cellular PAcP activity and increased cellular growth (Lin et al., 1992 Cancer Res., 52:4600–4607). Since PAcP is a classically known androgen-responsive enzyme (Lin and Clinton, 1987, Advances in Protein Phosphatases 4:199–228), the cellular form of PAcP may participate in androgen promotion of cell proliferation via a tyrosine phosphorylation pathway (Lin et al., 1998, J. Biol. Chem. 273:5939–5947).
Development and maintenance of differentiated function of the normal prostate gland require androgen (Tenniswood, 1986, Prostate 9:375–385). Androgen has also been implicated in the carcinogenesis of prostate epithelium (Gyorkey, 1973, Methods Cancer Res. 10:279–368; Gittes, 1991, N. Eng. J. Med. 324;236–245). This is evidenced by observations that, at least in the early phase of prostate carcinogenesis, the growth of carcinoma cells can be stimulated by androgen and arrested by androgen withdrawal (Huggins and Hodges, 1941, Cancer Res. 1:293–297). Thus, hormonal manipulation including anti-androgen and androgen deprivation therapy is the predominant treatment of advanced cancer, being approximately 70% effective (Gittes, 1991, N. Eng. J. Med. 324:236–245; Scott et al., 1980, Cancer 45:1929–1936; Grayhack et al., 1987, Cancer 60:589–601). Hormone therapy, however, is not curative, and disease relapse will inevitably occur, usually within 24 months (Gittes, 1991, N. Eng. J. Med. 324:236–245). The molecular mechanism(s) underlying this transition from androgen-responsive to androgen-unresponsive prostate cancer is not understood, slowing the development of effective treatments.
In the past few years, several new approaches including gene therapy for treating advanced cancer have been proposed. Since the differential expression of a desired product in the target tissue is the central to the concept of gene therapy, several strategies for targeting specific gene expression have been developed. One such approach is to use a tissue-specific promoter to drive therapeutic genes (Pang et al., 1997, Cancer. Res. 57:495–499; Cleutjens et al., 1997, Mol. Endocrinol. 11:1256–1265; Cleutjens et al., 1997, Mol. Endocrinol. 11:148–161). Because a tissue-specific promoter can only be activated in the targeted tissue, the genes driven by the promoter will be expressed differentially in these cells, minimizing systemic toxicity. In regard to prostate cancer, the promoter of the Prostate Specific Antigen gene (PSA) is a possible candidate serving for that approach. However, the expression of the PSA gene is not specific only to the prostate. Its expression was observed in several breast tumors and endometrium (Shan et al., 1997, Endocrinology 138:3764–3770).
PAcP has a long history of serving as a tumor marker of prostate cancer and has been proposed to have a tissue-specific manner of expression (Chu et al., 1982, in Biochemical Markers of Cancer, Chu, Ed., pp. 117–136, Dekker, New York; Lin and Clinton, 1987, Adv. Prot. Phosphatase 4:199–228). Nevertheless, controversial results exist (Yam et al., 1982, Ann. New York Academy Sci. 390:73–88). Although DNA sequences of PAcP promoter have been reported (Virkkunen et al., 1994, Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 202:49–57; Banas et al., 1994, Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1217:188–194; Sharief and Li, 1994, Biochem. Mol. Biol. Int. 33:561–565), no information is yet available on regulation of the promoter activity of PAcP gene in human prostatic cancer cells and other organs and tissues.
In order to develop effective and novel treatments and diagnosis for prostate cancer, novel biochemical targets for manipulation are needed. Of most urgent need are targets that can be used to diagnose and therapeutically treat the later stage androgen-resistant cancers. To further an variety of potential treatment methods, promoters that are specific to prostate cells are needed to allow gene therapy methods. These specific promoters may also be used to enhance diagnosis and research into prostate cancer disease.

Therapeutic and diagnostic applications of prostatic acid phosphatase in prostate cancer

Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska


Contemplated systems for monitoring and analysis of human motion synthesis are disclosed herein that include: at least one garment configured to be worn by a user, at least one inertial sensor, wherein the at least one inertial sensor is integrated with or into the at least one garment, an information system, wherein the information system communicates with the at least one inertial sensor to produce a set of data, at least one musculorientation metric generated by the information system, and at least one performance report that is produced from the analysis of the at least one musculorientation metric.

Movement is a basic feature of human existence and is intimately connected to quality of life. Movement training can prevent injury, improve athletic performance, delay musculoskeletal disease and accelerate rehabilitation. Until now, training has been limited in scope to specialized training facilities and limited in effectiveness to the verbal recommendations of physical trainers. We seek to expand the scope and effectiveness of human movement training to extend health and lifestyle benefits to the general public.
Since the 1970's, running popularity has continuously grown as a professional and recreational sport. It is estimated that 65 million people participated in this activity in United States alone in 2017 [statista.com]. Between 1990 and 2013, road race finishers grew from five million to over 19 million [runningusa.org]. Contributing to its popularity, running was proved to have major health benefits, such as improving cardiovascular endurance and overall quality of life, and decreasing the prevalence of type 2 diabetes, obesity, and hypertension [Kalak et al. 2012]. In the U.S., 10-20% of the population run regularly, with 40-50% injured annually [Jeannie et al., 2010]. Among these injuries, half occur at the knee joint, with patellofemoral pain (PFP) being the most common diagnosis [Taunton et al 2002, Totaro et al 2017]. PFP can lead to severe pain and disability and is a precursor of knee osteoarthritis [Thomas et al 2010]. There lies a huge potential for sports science and physical therapy to use feedback mechanisms as intervention tool [VenBreda et al 2017].
Arthritis is the leading cause of disability among adults in the U.S. Knee osteoarthritis is the most prevalent form of arthritis afflicting 28% of U.S. adults over age 45 and 37% of U.S. adults over age 65. $128 billion in total costs or 1.2% of the U.S. gross domestic product was spent on arthritis in 2003. Reducing the incidence of arthritis by even 1% would cut the total cost by $1.3 billion per year, a savings of more than $3.5 million per day [Lawrence et al 2008, Helmik et al 2008].
Knee joint osteoarthritis (OA) is a significant public health problem causing pain and limiting mobility and is believed to have mechanical etiology. Retraining one's walking gait can alter the loads placed on the knee, reducing the risk of developing OA and halting disease progression. The joint moment applied to the knee in the frontal plane during walking (knee adduction moment) has been linked to the development, progression, and severity of knee joint OA [Schipplein and Andriacchi 1991, Andriacchi 1994]. The knee adduction moment provides an estimate of the load placed on the medial compartment of the joint [Schipplein and Andriacchi 1991] and reducing the knee adduction moment offers a promising metric for preventing and treating medial compartment knee OA. Traditionally, exercise and physical therapy have been used to strengthen muscles surrounding affected joints [Ettinger et al 1997, Kovar et al 1992] in an attempt to reduce loads. Orthopaedic surgery has also focused on reducing the loads on the medial part of the knee. An example of this is a high tibial osteotomy (HTO), which has been shown to reduce the knee adduction moment by 30-35% [Visintin et al 1998, Prodromos et al 1985]. However, HTO is not effective in all cases and patients with large knee adduction moments prior to surgery sometimes maintain these high moments following surgery [Prodromos et al 1985].
Hip OA is correlated with loading patterns in the hip joint during ambulatory motion [Frost 1994, Radin 1991]. Many patients naturally alter gait to reduce hip pain from dysplasia [Schroter 1991] and OA [Hurwitzh 1997, Wall 1981]. It is therefore feasible that a patient's ambulation could be retrained to change biomechanical loads, slowing or halting the onset and progression of hip OA. Hip arthroplasty resulting from musculoskeletal disease often leads to gait asymmetry, which can be corrected through movement retraining. Today, the most effective forms of treating OA in the hip and the knee are through surgery or prolonged rehabilitation. These treatments are invasive, expensive and not guaranteed to work. Thus, hip OA, like knee OA, is in need of a new, inexpensive and effective motion retraining solution.
Many other neurological disorders would benefit from novel and effective movement analysis and retraining strategies. Children with cerebral palsy, for example, benefit from muscle strength training [Dodd 2002], lower limb orthoses [Morris 2002] and functional electrical stimulation [Kerr 2004]. Other movement-impaired neurological disorders which would benefit from a more efficient and effective form of movement retraining include spinal cord injury [Barbeau 1999, Wirz 2005, Behrman 2000], traumatic brain injury [Khan 2003, Gordon 2006] and Parkinson's disease [Morris 2001, Gage 2004].
There has been much research in developing smart wear with integrated sensors, with applications in different areas. Some recent examples that involve soft suits which can be used in daily activities. The commercial product by Athos, which was described in U.S. patent Ser. No. 10/292,652, includes a compression shirt and shorts with integrated inertial measurement unit (IMU) and electromyography (EMG) sensors, both of which are biometric sensors. It provides visual information on muscle efforts using a smartphone app (www.liveathos.com).
There are several deficiencies in the Athos design, however. First, the soft suits are only designed to provide simple muscle-based metrics from the muscle activity of the user. For those wearers who are looking for a more comprehensive feedback and analysis system, the Athos design will not provide that system. Second, the sensors used in the Athos design are biometric sensors, which leads to the relatively superficial nature of the feedback and analysis. Third, the Athos design is not designed to provide real-time feedback and analysis during the activity of the wearer. The feedback provided by the Athos system is after the activity is completed. While this provides some useful information to the wearer, it does not help the wearer retrain his or her movement during the activity itself.
Contemplated objectives should include to develop a cyber-physical system that uses sensed information along with computer models of human locomotion to characterize an individual's running gait and that provides multi-modal feedback signals for gait training to close the loop and improve human motion over time. Analyzing human running through modeling and algorithmic tools from both robotics and biomechanics increases our scientific understanding of gait mechanics and control, and the resulting models also provide a basis for clinicians to quantify characteristics of a subject's gait and to design effective treatments, like gait retraining or muscle strengthening. Improved ability to identify and correct risky running behaviors would have broad impact, as over 10% of Americans run regularly, with over half estimated to suffer running-related injuries annually (Jeannie et al., 2010). On the other hand, knee osteoarthritis is the most prevalent form of arthritis afflicting 28% of U.S. adults over age 45 and 37% of U.S. adults over age 65. Reducing the incidence of arthritis by even 1% would cut the total cost by $1.3 billion per year, a savings of more than $3.5 million per day.

Movement analysis and feedback systems, applications, devices, and methods of production thereof

The Trustees of the California State University


In an automobile having a seat cushion and a seat back that can be stored in a non-use position located in the upper part of a vehicle interior, the seat back can be stored in the non-use position easily even when the seat back stops at any position immediately before the non-use position thereof when the seat back is lifted up to the non-use position. A guide face is formed on a locking member. The guide face brings an engaging concave portion of the locking member into engagement with a striker while being in sliding contact with the striker when a handle arm provided on the seat back is rotated from the use position to the storage position thereof to rotate the locking member from the lock releasing position toward the locking position thereof, in a situation where the seat back stops upon reaching any position immediately before the non-use position thereof.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an automobile, which has a seat member that is disposed within a vehicle interior so as to be movable between a use position where a seated person can be supported and a non-use position in the upper part of the vehicle interior, and a locking member that is engaged with a striker fixed to the vehicle body and thereby locks the seat member to the vehicle body when the seat member is in its non-use position. The locking member is supported on the seat member so as to be rotatable between a locking position where an engaging concave portion of the locking member is engaged with the striker to lock the seat member to its non-use position, and a lock releasing position where the engaging concave portion is removed from the striker to release the lock of the seat member to the vehicle body.
2. Description of the Related Art
An automobile comprising a seat member disposed within a vehicle interior and supported so as to be movable between the use position and the non-use position that is located in the upper part of the vehicle interior is well known. See Laid-open Japanese Patent Application (Publication number 2001-130303). The seat member is constituted in the form of a seat back for supporting the back of a seated person or a seat cushion for supporting the hip of the seated person, for example. This type of automobile is capable of storing the seat member into the non-use position located in the upper part of the vehicle interior to secure a large space below, so that luggage can be stored therein.
Incidentally, the seat member is lifted up from the use position to the non-use position by using the biasing force of biasing means constituted in the form of a gas damper stay or a spiral spring, for example. Sometimes biasing means constituted by a damper stay and a spring is used. In this case, when the seat member is lifted up to the non-use position, sometimes the biasing force of the biasing means is so weak that the seat member stops at a position immediately before the non-use position of the seat member before reaching the non-use position. Especially in the case in which a gas damper stay is used as the biasing means, when the temperature is low, the pressure inside the cylinder of the gas damper stay decreases and thereby the biasing force of the gas damper stay decreases significantly, causing a problem that the seat member stops at a position immediately before the non-use position at the upper part of the vehicle interior. A similar situation occurs even when the seat member is lifted up to its non-use position by the force of an operator only.
At this case, it is not easy to lift up the seat member from the position immediately before the non-use position to the non-use position only by means of the operator's power, because the operator has to stand at an uncomfortable position.


A combination tool for use by painters is disclosed. The tool consists of a putty knife, a retractable dusting brush, a hammer, a lever tool and a nail extractor which are ergonomically positioned and designed into one compact device.

This invention relates generally to multi-purpose tools and more specifically to an improved multiple function painter's tool which incorporates all the tools needed for the various job tasks required to be performed by professional or lay painters.
The work of a painter, commercial or otherwise, requires the use of a number of tools. For example, most painting jobs regularly require the painter to use a putty knife for scraping old paint or spreading putty, spackling compound or caulk; a dusting brush or cloth for removing paint chips, dust particles or debris caused by sanding operations associated with the surface area to be painted; a hammer for countersinking nails or other work surface protrusions and for resealing paint containers; a screw driver or other lever for prying open paint containers; and a nail extractor for removing hanger nails or other protruding hardware. A need exists for a device which combines the functions of all these tools into one, compact, ergonomic hand tool.
While other combination tools have attempted to incorporate some of the general features of the present invention, none of these prior art devices have attempted to combine all of the specific features of applicant's device into one, well designed, useful tool.


A monolithic device comprises a substrate. An array of sensing elements is coupled to the substrate, and each sensing element includes a magnetoresistive sensor. An analog electric drive generator is coupled to the substrate, and the electric drive generator produces a sensor-biasing signal that biases the magnetoresistive sensors of the array. An analog multiplexer is coupled to the substrate, and outputs of the array are coupled to inputs of the multiplexer. An analog signal conditioning circuit is coupled to the substrate, wherein at least one output of the multiplexer is coupled to at least one input of the signal conditioning circuit. The monolithic device is fabricated using both complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (i.e., CMOS) technology and thin film technology. For example, the electric drive generator, the multiplexer, and the signal conditioning circuit may be fabricated with CMOS technology, while the magnetoresistive sensors of the array are fabricated with thin film technology.

The present disclosure relates in general to magnetoresistive sensors and more specifically to sensing magnetic fields, temperature, a presence of a target species in a sample, etc., using magnetoresistive sensors.
Miniaturized instruments using biochips or lab-on-a-chip technologies coupled to high sensitivity signal detectors, powerful signal and control processors, and associated high level software intelligent systems, are likely to envisage handheld microsystems for biological, clinical, or chemical analysis. Applications for such handheld microsystems include DNA sequence detection for genetic disease diagnostics, mutation detection or gene expression quantification, and antibody-antigen interaction detection for disease diagnostics (e.g., cancer, virus, auto-immune diseases, etc.), bacteriological characterization of a sample (e.g., water, food, etc.), analysis of toxins (e.g., water, meat, milk, etc.), etc.
A typical biochip consists of a set of biological probes, a hybridization chamber with a microfluidic channel arrangement, target biomolecules, label molecules (e.g., a fluorescent type of molecule such as fluorophore labels that can be attached to the target), and a hybridization detection mechanism that can be integrated on chip or be placed externally.

Monolithic device combining CMOS with magnetoresistive sensors


This invention comprises recycling and recovery processes for rugs, flooring, carpeting, carpet materials, and all other textiles particularly from waste carpet containing both synthetic and natural fibers and for backing materials, and more particularly for the separation and recovery of various nylon polymers as well as other polymeric fibers and materials for recovery and reuse.

The use of synthetic fibers has increased in many areas of technology. Among those areas which has had a very great and varied increase is carpets, area rugs, carpeting and include all types of floor coverings. The teachings and publications in this and related fields are quite extensive and describe details for separating, reconstituting, recovering, purifying and variously treating and handling used textiles and carpeting and include natural and synthetic fibers in the processing and recovery steps.
More specifically, U.S. Pat. No. 3,006,867 (Simon) discloses a method of reconstituting a synthetic plastic, such as and including nylon from waste and used materials and include textile wastes having nylon fibers. The method consists of dissolving the waste material from the synthetic plastic in formic acid, mixing a hydrocarbon selected from n-hexane, cyclohexene, n-heptane, cyclohexane, hexene, benzene, and toluene with the formic acid-plastic solution in an amount sufficient to form an azeotropic mixture, then heating the azeotropic mixture to a temperature sufficient to vaporize the azeotropic mixture and removing (recovering) the vapors from the distillation zone to leave behind the desired synthetic plastic being recovered.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,003,880; 4,003,881; 4,118,187 and 4,137,393 (Sidebotham et al) variously disclose methods for recovering polyester from dyed polyester fibers as in fabrics, textiles, carpeting and commercial products. Only polyesters are involved in the recovery steps. While the conditions and procedural steps vary in the patent disclosures, there are certain steps which are described in and utilized in all these patent processes. These steps generally include:
It is significant and important to point out that none of these recovery methods disclose or suggest any steps or detailed recovery procedures for nylon. Rather, they are limited to specific dissolution techniques for recovery of the unrelated polymer, polyester. In another U.S. Pat. No. 4,064,079 (Sidebotham et al) a modified polyester recovery method is disclosed which does not include a step for removal of dye from the polyester fibers.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,240,530 and 5,288,349 (Fink) teach a carpet recycling and recovery method in which portions of the carpet are initially ground and melted for a feedstock. Carpets containing different types of materials are ground mechanically so that the contained fiber length is reduced between 1/4" and 1/16". These fibers are then separated in an aqueous bath on the basis of specific gravity. Neither of these patents teach or suggest separating nylon fibers from polyester fibers by subjecting the mixed fibers to water and then heat, that is, there are no extraction steps disclosed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,294,384 (David et al) discloses a method for converting waste carpet material into a thermoplastic composition. As starting material, the carpet samples (waste) may have any pile weight and also may be comprised of non-homogeneous mixtures of components. The samples are melt blended with or without a compatibilizer in a temperature range of from 250 degrees Celsius to about 260 degree Celsius and at a pressure of from about 350 to 450 psi and a shear rate of about 200-400/sec.; most preferably this step is carried out in a twin screw extruder. The blends thus formed may then be palletized or processed into other commercially acceptable forms. Blend compositions which are disclosed include mixtures of nylon, polyolefins, SBR latex, and inorganic fiber. Using the method described in this patent no attempt is made (no steps included) to separate the fiber mixture into their consistent parts or fractions; rather, the mixtures are merely transformed into a different mixture having a different form from the starting components.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,370,757 (Corbin et al) a carpet product is disclosed which has two distinct sections, a top section constructed entirely from nylon (Nylon 6) and a bottom section. The top section is thus easily removable from the bottom section for replacement thereof without any damage to the bottom section. After such removal, the top section can then be recycled to e-Caprolactum for re-use in Nylon 6 carpet or it can be used in other Nylon 6 products.
Further, U.S. Pat. No. 5,342,854 (Serod) describes a method for separating and recovering polyester from polyester/cotton blends. The polyester/cotton materials is cut and chopped into small pieces and then dried. These dried scraps are placed into a vessel containing a sulfone solvent such as an alkyl sulfone having from 1 to 10 carbon atoms and heated to 150 degrees Celsius. This mixture is steeped (with agitation) for about 90 minutes at this temperature. Thereafter, the temperature of the mixture is raised to 190 degrees Celsius and maintained thus for about another 35 minutes. The solvent containing polyester is then separated for further treatment to precipitate the recovered polyester. There are no methods or steps described for separating the polyester from any other polymeric systems or other polymeric fibers.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,198,471 does not teach a process related to this invention. There is no disclosure of nylon fibers, carpet, or any of the solvents. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,696,058 (Tate) a process is disclosed for recovering solid scrap thermoplastic polymers such as polyamides and polyesters. The process comprises the following steps:
In this patent the solvents employed for the polymer are fluoroalcohols. It has been known to use formic acid and sulfuric acid as well as various types of solvents such as for instance ethylene glycol, propylene glycol, meta-cresol and various tri-glycerides and fatty acids to dissolve nylons polymeric materials as a step in producing cast polyamide fibers including nylon fibers.

Carpet recycling process for nylon containing carpeting


A method of multi-spectral opto-acoustic tomography (MSOT) imaging of a target tissue including a target tissue biomarker includes illuminating the target tissue with an illumination device emitting at least one pulsed illumination pattern at several illumination wavelengths, detecting pressure signals from the target tissue biomarker with a detector device, wherein the pressure signals being produced in the target tissue are in response to the illumination, and reconstructing a quantitative tomographic image of a distribution of the target tissue biomarker in the target tissue, wherein the pressure signals are analyzed using a photon propagation model which depends on an illuminating light fluence in the target tissue and on the illumination wavelengths, at least one spectral processing scheme, and an inversion scheme providing the tomographic image.

Non-invasive imaging of functional and molecular biomarkers in vivo is an emerging and important capacity in biological discovery, drug discovery and several clinical applications, which goes beyond anatomical imaging and retarded disease identification. Another important prospect of visualizing tissue biomarkers is the ability to examine and quantify treatment responses in vivo by monitoring specific primary molecules or downstream targets. Therapeutic efficacy could then be probed dynamically on timescales of hours to days. This ability is in contrast to the mainstay of today's healthcare with traditionally late end points of drug efficacy, a practice that often impairs prompt revision and exclusion of ineffective treatment strategies with potentially lethal results.
Similarly, while microscopy gives unprecedented insights into biology, it can only penetrate for a few hundred microns in tissues. Therefore the biological in vivo observation is limited by the microscopy penetration limit. Clearly methodologies that can penetrate deeper in tissue and visualize the microscopic contrast or utilize new contrast mechanisms are of immense importance in dynamic observations of biological phenomena, in developmental studies and in the drug discovery process.
Optical functional and molecular mesoscopic and macroscopic imaging of tissues has opened new pathways for study of many pathological processes in vivo. Indeed, optical wavelengths offer great variety of probing mechanisms that can be used for a variety of interrogations, from intrinsic functional information on blood oxygenation to molecular sensing. The use of extrinsically-administered fluorescent optical agents has further advanced the noninvasive photonic imaging by allowing visualization of otherwise invisible cellular and sub-cellular processes. For instance, the use of contrast agents and fluorescent reporters with specificity to proteins and enzymes has shown a high potential to differentiate several diverse disease biomarkers, such as inflammation and tumor progression.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,641,798 discloses tumor-targeted optical contrast agents useful for diagnostic imaging and therapy. The bioconjugates described include cyanine dyes with a variety of bis- and tetrakis (carboxylic acid) homologes. The compounds may be conjugated to bioactive peptides, carbohydrates, hormones, drugs, or other bioactive agents. The small size of the compounds allows more favorable delivery to tumor cells as compared to larger molecular weight imaging agents. These contrast agents are useful for diagnostic imaging and therapy, in endoscopic applications for the detection of tumors and other abnormalities, for localized therapy, for opto-acoustic tumor imaging, detection and therapy, and for sonofluorescence tumor imaging, detection and therapy. Fluorescence molecular tomography (FMT) is also capable of sensing picomole to femtomole quantities of fluorochromes in deep tissues at macroscopic scale, i.e., in whole animals with millimeter resolution. The technique shares tomographic principles with diffuse optical tomography and utilizes multi-projection illumination, combined with mathematical models that describe photon propagation in tissues, to reconstruct three-dimensional tomographic images of fluorochrome concentration.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,615,063 describes a fluorescence-mediated molecular tomographic imaging system, designed to detect near-infrared fluorescence activation in deep tissues. The system can use targeted fluorescent molecular probes or highly sensitive activable fluorescence molecular probes. Such probes add molecular specificity and yield high fluorescence contrast, to allow early detection and molecular target assessment of diseased tissue, such as cancers, in vivo.
Recently, tomographic imaging of tissues using opto-acoustics (photo-acoustics) has also demonstrated the ability to achieve penetration depths from several millimeters up to centimeters range with ultrasonic resolution. Opto-acoustic imaging relies on ultrasonic detection of opto-acoustically induced signals following absorption of pulsed light. The amplitude of the generated broadband ultrasound waves reflects local optical absorption properties of tissue. Since scattering of ultrasonic waves in biological tissues is extremely weak, as compared to that of light, biomedical opto-acoustic imaging combines high optical absorption contrast with good spatial resolution limited only by ultrasonic diffraction. Photo-acoustic imaging was proven efficient in imaging vascular trees, tumor angiogenesis, blood oxygenation monitoring, as well as sensitive to tissue chromophores, light-absorbing nanoparticles and dyes, and chromogenic assays.
For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 5,840,023 teaches a laser opto-acoustic imaging system, which utilizes time-resolved measurement of profiles of laser-induced transient pressure (acoustic) waves. The pressure waves are emitted by acoustic sources preferentially generated in absorbing tissues of diagnostic interest. This technique allows visualization of absorbed light distribution in turbid, layered and heterogeneous tissues irradiated by laser pulses in vivo. The laser opto-acoustic tomography can be used for the characterization of structure and properties of normal tissue, and for the detection of tissue pathological changes. The optical heterogeneities that can be imaged with the laser opto-acoustic imaging system include abnormal tissues such as tumors, injured tissues, blood vessels and other layered tissues. Further, three dimensional images of organs and portions of organs can be obtained.
Therefore, multi-spectral detection is often applied, as a means to better discriminate spectral signatures of various objects of interest. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,208,749 discloses a system for multi-spectral imaging of skin tissue that enables automatic characterization of the condition of a region of interest of the skin, based on direct digital imaging of that region or the digitization of its color photographic slides, when illuminating by appropriately filtered light. Parameters related to the texture, asymmetry, blotchiness and border irregularities are automatically estimated. The region of interest is automatically characterized by the digital processor, based on those parameters. The region of interest may include a skin lesion, in which case the characterization of the lesion as malignant or benign is enabled.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,760,609, a method for determining an arterial blood oxygen saturation level by measuring the light transmittance through tissue of light of a first wavelength and a second wavelength is suggested. A steady-state component of the measured light transmission is used to select an appropriate calibration curve. A pulsatile component of the measured light transmission is used to determine the arterial blood oxygen saturation level using the selected calibration curves of oxy- and deoxy-hemoglobin spectral signatures. An oximetry system is further provided wherein a plurality of light transmission measurements are used to determine a blood oxygen saturation level.
In opto-acoustic spectroscopy, multi-wavelength methods were previously applied for differentiating blood chromophores (J. Laufer et al., "Phys. Med. Biol." vol. 52, p. 141-168, 2007, U.S. Pat. No. 7,298,869).
U.S. Pat. No. 6,498,942 also discloses an opto-acoustic apparatus which includes a radiation source of pulsed radiation and a probe having a front face to be placed in close proximity to or in contact with a tissue site of an animal body. The probe further includes a plurality of optical fibers terminating at the surface of the front face of the probe and connected at their other end to a pulsed laser. The front face of the probe also has mounted therein or thereon a transducer for detecting an acoustic response from blood in the tissue site to the radiation pulses connected to a processing unit which converts the transducer signal into a measure of venous blood oxygenation. Another method, disclosed in US 2004/0127783, was suggested for imaging of dye markers by generating images with and without dye stimulation using two wavelengths (inside and outside the frequency band of fluorescence of the dye) and combining those for image enhancement.
A limitation of the above illumination techniques is that when operating with optically complex structures, such as tissue, the resulting images are a combined effect of the targeted chromophore and other native tissue chromophores. This complexity is particularly important in molecular imaging applications where molecular marker has to be resolved in the presence of many other non-specific tissue absorbers. In addition, opto-acoustic (or: photo-acoustic) observations so far have been limited to utilizing mono-directional homogenous illuminations, operating on the assumption that a similarly homogeneous illumination will occur as light propagates in tissue.
For example, WO 2007/084771 describes a method that delivers illumination which establishes "a homogeneous distribution of an energy fluence within any given plane or slice inside the body . . . ." Such illumination field is very difficult to achieve in practice, since tissue heterogeneity is not known and can impose significant variations of light intensity at any given plane inside tissue. When cylindrical objects are considered, such as the mouse torso, the conversion of mono-directional illumination in polar co-ordinates results in the utilization of multiple illumination points, arranges so that light is directed towards the center of the object, in the longitudinal sense. In this case, to simplify the illumination and detection arrangements, it is required that the tissue of investigation is surrounded by water or a similar fluid.
It could therefore be helpful to provide an improved imaging method, in particular for clinical and preclinical imaging or laboratory search purposes, which is capable of avoiding disadvantages of conventional techniques. In particular, it could be helpful to provide an imaging method which enables three-dimensional localization in tissues and quantification of molecular probes with increased precision. Furthermore, it could be helpful to provide an improved imaging device, in particular, being adapted for conducting the imaging method. The method and device are to be provided yielding, in particular, practical implementations and highly accurate discrimination of tissue biomarkers in vivo.

Quantitative multi-spectral opto-acoustic tomography (MSOT) of tissue biomarkers

Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen Deutsches Forschungszentrum fur Gesundheit und Umwelt (GMBH)


Disclosed is an ink composition which comprises (1) water; (2) a dye; and (3) a cationic amido amine copolymer. Also disclosed are methods for using the aforementioned ink composition in ink jet printing processes.

The present invention is directed to ink compositions and to processes for the preparation and use thereof. More specifically, the present invention is directed to compositions suitable for use in ink jet printing processes. One embodiment of the present invention is directed to an ink composition which comprises (1) water; (2) a dye; and (3) a cationic amido amine copolymer.
Ink jet printing systems generally are of two types: continuous stream and drop-on-demand. In continuous stream ink jet systems, ink is emitted in a continuous stream under pressure through at least one orifice or nozzle. The stream is perturbed, causing it to break up into droplets at a fixed distance from the orifice. At the break-up point, the droplets are charged in accordance with digital data signals and passed through an electrostatic field which adjusts the trajectory of each droplet in order to direct it to a gutter for recirculation or a specific location on a recording medium. In drop-on-demand systems, a droplet is expelled from an orifice directly to a position on a recording medium in accordance with digital data signals. A droplet is not formed or expelled unless it is to be placed on the recording medium.
Since drop-on-demand systems require no ink recovery, charging, or deflection, the system is much simpler than the continuous stream type. There are two types of drop-on-demand ink jet systems. One type of drop-on-demand system has as its major components an ink filled channel or passageway having a nozzle on one end and a piezoelectric transducer near the other end to produce pressure pulses. The relatively large size of the transducer prevents close spacing of the nozzles, and physical limitations of the transducer result in low ink drop velocity. Low drop velocity seriously diminishes tolerances for drop velocity variation and directionality, thus impacting the system's ability to produce high quality copies. Drop-on-demand systems which use piezoelectric devices to expel the droplets also suffer the disadvantage of a slow printing speed.
The other type of drop-on-demand system is known as thermal ink jet, or bubble jet, and produces high velocity droplets and allows very close spacing of nozzles. The major components of this type of drop-on-demand system are an ink filled channel having a nozzle on one end and a heat generating resistor near the nozzle. Printing signals representing digital information originate an electric current pulse in a resistive layer within each ink passageway near the orifice or nozzle, causing the ink in the immediate vicinity to evaporate almost instantaneously and create a bubble. The ink at the orifice is forced out as a propelled droplet as the bubble expands. When the hydrodynamic motion of the ink stops, the process is ready to start all over again. With the introduction of a droplet ejection system based upon thermally generated bubbles, commonly referred to as the "bubble jet" system, the drop-on-demand ink jet printers provide simpler, lower cost devices than their continuous stream counterparts, and yet have substantially the same high speed printing capability.
The operating sequence of the bubble jet system begins with a current pulse through the resistive layer in the ink filled channel, the resistive layer being in close proximity to the orifice or nozzle for that channel. Heat is transferred from the resistor to the ink. The ink becomes superheated far above its normal boiling point, and for water based ink, finally reaches the critical temperature for bubble formation or nucleation of around 280.degree. C. Once nucleated, the bubble or water vapor thermally isolates the ink from the heater and no further heat can be applied to the ink. This bubble expands until all the heat stored in the ink in excess of the normal boiling point diffuses away or is used to convert liquid to vapor, which removes heat due to heat of vaporization. The expansion of the bubble forces a droplet of ink out of the nozzle, and once the excess heat is removed, the bubble collapses on the resistor. At this point, the resistor is no longer being heated because the current pulse has passed and, concurrently with the bubble collapse, the droplet is propelled at a high rate of speed in a direction towards a recording medium. The resistive layer encounters a severe cavitational force by the collapse of the bubble, which tends to erode it. Subsequently, the ink channel refills by capillary action. This entire bubble formation and collapse sequence occurs in about 10 microseconds. The channel can be refired after 100 to 500 microseconds minimum dwell time to enable the channel to be refilled and to enable the dynamic refilling factors to become somewhat dampened. Thermal ink jet processes are well known and are described in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,601,777, U.S. Pat. No. 4,251,824, U.S. Pat. No. 4,410,899, U.S. Pat. No. 4,412,224, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,532,530, the disclosures of each of which are totally incorporated herein by reference.
Acoustic ink jet printing processes are also known. As is known, an acoustic beam exerts a radiation pressure against objects upon which it impinges. Thus, when an acoustic beam impinges on a free surface (i.e., liquid/air interface) of a pool of liquid from beneath, the radiation pressure which it exerts against the surface of the pool may reach a sufficiently high level to release individual droplets of liquid from the pool, despite the restraining force of surface tension. Focusing the beam on or near the surface of the pool intensifies the radiation pressure it exerts for a given amount of input power. These principles have been applied to prior ink jet and acoustic printing proposals. For example, K. A. Krause, "Focusing Ink Jet Head," IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, Vol 16, No. 4, September 1973, pp. 1168-1170, the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, describes an ink jet in which an acoustic beam emanating from a concave surface and confined by a conical aperture was used to propel ink droplets out through a small ejection orifice. Acoustic ink printers typically comprise one or more acoustic radiators for illuminating the free surface of a pool of liquid ink with respective acoustic beams. Each of these beams usually is brought to focus at or near the surface of the reservoir (i.e., the liquid/air interface). Furthermore, printing conventionally is performed by independently modulating the excitation of the acoustic radiators in accordance with the input data samples for the image that is to be printed. This modulation enables the radiation pressure which each of the beams exerts against the free ink surface to make brief, controlled excursions to a sufficiently high pressure level for overcoming the restraining force of surface tension. That, in turn, causes individual droplets of ink to be ejected from the free ink surface on demand at an adequate velocity to cause them to deposit in an image configuration on a nearby recording medium. The acoustic beam may be intensity modulated or focused/defocused to control the ejection timing, or an external source may be used to extract droplets from the acoustically excited liquid on the surface of the pool on demand. Regardless of the timing mechanism employed, the size of the ejected droplets is determined by the waist diameter of the focused acoustic beam. Acoustic ink printing is attractive because it does not require the nozzles or the small ejection orifices which have caused many of the reliability and pixel placement accuracy problems that conventional drop on demand and continuous stream ink jet printers have suffered. The size of the ejection orifice is a critical design parameter of an ink jet because it determines the size of the droplets of ink that the jet ejects. As a result, the size of the ejection orifice cannot be increased, without sacrificing resolution. Acoustic printing has increased intrinsic reliability because there are no nozzles to clog. As will be appreciated, the elimination of the clogged nozzle failure mode is especially relevant to the reliability of large arrays of ink ejectors, such as page width arrays comprising several thousand separate ejectors. Furthermore, small ejection orifices are avoided, so acoustic printing can be performed with a greater variety of inks than conventional ink jet printing, including inks having higher viscosities and inks containing pigments and other particulate components. It has been found that acoustic ink printers embodying printheads comprising acoustically illuminated spherical focusing lenses can print precisely positioned pixels (i.e., picture elements) at resolutions which are sufficient for high quality printing of relatively complex images. It has also has been discovered that the size of the individual pixels printed by such a printer can be varied over a significant range during operation, thereby accommodating, for example, the printing of variably shaded images. Furthermore, the known droplet ejector technology can be adapted to a variety of printhead configurations, including (1) single ejector embodiments for raster scan printing, (2) matrix configured ejector arrays for matrix printing, and (3) several different types of page width ejector arrays, ranging from single row, sparse arrays for hybrid forms of parallel/serial printing to multiple row staggered arrays with individual ejectors for each of the pixel positions or addresses within a page width image field (i.e., single ejector/pixel/line) for ordinary line printing. Inks suitable for acoustic ink jet printing typically are liquid at ambient temperatures (i.e., about 25.degree. C.), but in other embodiments the ink is in a solid state at ambient temperatures and provision is made for liquefying the ink by heating or any other suitable method prior to introduction of the ink into the printhead. Images of two or more colors can be generated by several methods, including by processes wherein a single printhead launches acoustic waves into pools of different colored inks. Further information regarding acoustic ink jet printing apparatus and processes is disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,308,547, U.S. Pat. No. 4,697,195, U.S. Pat. No. 5,028,937, U.S. Pat. No. 5,041,849, U.S. Pat. No. 4,751,529, U.S. Pat. No. 4,751,530, U.S. Pat. No. 4,751,534, U.S. Pat. No. 4,801,953, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,797,693, the disclosures of each of which are totally incorporated herein by reference. The use of focused acoustic beams to eject droplets of controlled diameter and velocity from a free-liquid surface is also described in J. Appl. Phys., vol. 65, no. 9 (May 1, 1989) and references therein, the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,250,107 (Bares), the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, discloses a water-fast ink composition and method for making the same. A selected chemical dye having at least one functional group with an extractable hydrogen atom thereon (e.g. --COOH, --NH.sub.2, or --OH) is combined with an ammonium zirconium polymer salt (e.g. ammonium zirconium carbonate, ammonium zirconium acetate, ammonium zirconium sulfate, ammonium zirconium phosphate, and ammonium zirconium oxalate). The resulting mixture preferably contains about 0.01-5.0% by weight ammonium zirconium polymer salt and about 0.5-5.0% by weight chemical dye. Upon dehydration of the mixture, the ammonium zirconium polymer salt and chemical dye form a cross-linked dye complex which is stable and water-fast. The mixture may be dispensed onto a variety of substrates (e.g. paper) using thermal ink jet or other printing systems.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,267,088 (Kempf), the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, discloses coatings particularly useful as marking inks in which an epichlorohydrin-modified polyethyleneimine and an ethylene oxide-modified polyethyleneimine cooperate in aqueous solution to form a composition capable of application to form deposits adherent to most materials and resistant to most organic solvents but readily removable by water.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,197,135 (Bailey et al.), the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, discloses an ink for use in ink jet printers containing a water soluble dye and a polyamine containing 7 or more nitrogen atoms per molecule, with the ink composition having a pH of 8 or above, the upper pH limit being dye decomposition dependent. The ink has improved waterfastness over an equivalent ink formulation without the polyamine additive.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,659,382 (Kang), the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, discloses an ink jet ink composition comprising a major amount of water, a hydroxyethylated polyethyleneimine polymer, and a dye component, wherein the polymer has incorporated therein from about 65 to about 80 percent by weight of hydroxyethyl groups.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,019,166 (Schwarz), the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, discloses a thermal ink jet printing composition comprising a dye, a liquid medium, and a surfactant selected from the group consisting of polyoxyalkylated ethers, anionic bitail fluorothio alkyls, alkyl aryl sulfonates, alkyl amine quaternary salts, and mixtures thereof. Also disclosed is a process for generating images which comprises causing the ink compositions to be ejected from a thermal ink jet printer in imagewise fashion onto a substrate.
Japanese Patent publication 57-198768, the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, discloses a type of water-base ink made of acidic dye and/or direct dye, cationic water-soluble resin, water-soluble organic solvent, and water.
Copending application U.S. Ser. No. 09/046,895, filed concurrently herewith, entitled "Ink Compositions and Multicolor Thermal Ink Jet Printing Process for the Production of High Quality Images," with the named inventor John Wei-Ping Lin, the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, discloses a set of inks for printing multicolor images in an ink jet printer, said ink set comprising (A) a first ink having a first color and comprising water and a colorant selected from the group consisting of (1) anionic dyes, (2) dyes having physically or chemically associated therewith a stabilizing agent having anionic groups thereon, (3) pigment particles having anionic groups chemically attached thereto, (4) pigment particles having physically or chemically associated therewith a stabilizing agent having anionic groups thereon, and (5) mixtures thereof; and (B) a second ink comprising water, an optional colorant having a color other than the first color, and an ammonium salt having at least two cationic ammonium functional groups, wherein the colorant in the first ink is capable of being immobilized on a printing substrate by interaction with the ammonium salt having at least two cationic ammonium functional groups in the second ink.
Copending application U.S. Ser. No. 047,097, filed concurrently herewith, entitled "Ink Compositions With Improved Waterfastness and Smear Resistance," with the named inventors Kurt B. Gundlach, Richard L. Colt, Luis A. Sanchez, Maura A. Sweeney, and Edward J. Radigan, Jr., the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, discloses an ink composition which comprises water, an anionic dye, and a polyquatemary amine compound selected from the group consisting of polydiallyl dimethyl ammonium compounds, polyquatemized polyvinylamines, polyquaternized polyallylamines, and mixtures thereof. Also disclosed are methods for using the aforementioned ink composition in ink jet printing processes.
Copending application U.S. Ser. No. 046,852, filed concurrently herewith, entitled "Ink Compositions With Improved Shelf Stability", with the named inventors Kurt B. Gundlach, Luis A. Sanchez, Richard L. Colt, Maura A. Sweeney, and William M. Schwarz, the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, discloses an ink composition which comprises (1) water; (2) a nonpolymeric salt comprising at least one cation and at least one anion; and (3) a colorant comprising an anionic dye complexed with a polyquaternary amine compound. Also disclosed is an ink composition which comprises (1) water; (2) a nonpolymeric salt comprising at least one cation and at least one anion; (3) an anionic dye; and (4) a polyquaternary amine compound. In one embodiment, the polyquaternary amine compound is selected from the group consisting of polydiallyl dimethyl ammonium compounds, polyquaternized polyvinylamines, polyquatemized polyallylamines, epichlorohydrin/amine copolymers, cationic amido amine copolymers, copolymers of vinyl pyrrolidinone and a vinyl imidazolium salt, and mixtures thereof.
Copending application U.S. Ser. No. 09/047,278, filed concurrently herewith, entitled "Ink Compositions Containing Vinyl Pyrrolidinone/Vinyl Imidazolium Copolymers", with the named inventor William M. Schwarz, the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, discloses an ink composition which comprises (1) water; (2) an anionic dye; and (3) a copolymer of vinyl pyrrolidinone and a vinyl imidazolium salt. Also disclosed are methods for using the aforementioned ink compositions in ink jet printing processes.
While known compositions and processes are suitable for their intended purposes, a need remains for improved ink compositions suitable for ink jet printing processes. In addition, a need remains for ink compositions with improved waterfastness. Further, a need remains for ink compositions with improved wet smear resistance. Additionally, a need remains for ink compositions with reduced intercolor bleed when two or more colors are printed adjacent to each other. There is also a need for ink compositions for ink jet printing which contain acid dyes, which enable advantages such as bright colors, low cost, and high waterfastness when complexed with cationic polymers. In addition, there is a need for ink compositions with improved lightfastness. Further, there is a need for ink compositions suitable for use in ink jet printing processes and having relatively low viscosities. Additionally, there is a need for ink compositions which exhibit excellent smear resistance. A need also remains for ink compositions suitable for ink jet printing which exhibit reduced kogation in ink jet printer hardware. In addition, a need remains for ink compositions with desirable surface tension values for ink jet printing. Further, a need remains for ink compositions with good latency in ink jet printing processes. Additionally, a need remains for ink compositions which exhibit shelf stability with respect to hydrolysis.

Ink compositions containing cationic amido amine polymers


Restraint apparatus and methods for securing items are disclosed. The restraint apparatus include a retention element including an elongated arm secured to a body. The elongated arm defines a spiral to secure a fitting. The spiral of the elongated arm at least in part may define a gap to receive a fitting. A tether may be secured to the body of the retention element to extend across an item to be secured.

1. Field of the Invention
The present inventions relate to restraint apparatus and methods, and, more particularly, apparatus and methods for securing items to vehicles or trailers.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various restraints have been developed to secure cargo for transport. These restraints typically include hooks attached to one or more ends of a line. The hook may then secured through a fitting on the trailer, pallet, truck bed or elsewhere. The line is passed over or through the cargo or otherwise cooperates with the cargo to secure the cargo at a desired location. The second end of the line is secured to a second fitting, typically positioned on an opposite side of the cargo from the first fitting. The line is then drawn taut to hold the cargo in place between the two fittings. Depending on the nature of the cargo, a plurality of such restraint devices may be positioned about the cargo to secure the cargo at a desired location.
A hook is commonly configured in a "J" shape or in a "U" shape with the line secured to the top of the long arm of the "J" or to the top of one of the arms of the "U." These shapes are open so that a fitting that is received by such a hook is only partly surrounded by the hook. When a tension is applied to the line, the lower aspect of the "J" or "U" shaped hook is then drawn against the fitting so that the hook and the attached line are secured to the fitting. However, before the line is drawn taut, there is a tendency for the hook to slip out of the fitting through the open end, for example, through open portion of the hook between the short end and the long end of the "J" or the open end of the "U".
This tendency for the hook to slip out of the fitting when the line has slack can make it difficult for a person acting alone to secure the cargo. For example, while the person is passing the line over the cargo or securing the line to a second fitting opposite the first fitting, the hook falls out of the first fitting. The person then must go back and replace the hook through the first fitting and otherwise attempt to keep the line secured to the fittings before the line is drawn tight. Only when the line is actually drawn tight are the traditional hooks secured to the fittings. The wasted effort can be frustrating and time consuming for the users. Further, these tendencies of traditional hooks in the workplace can decrease the productivity in the workplace. Accordingly, a need exists for a hook with a reduced tendency to slip out of the fitting when the line has slack.
In addition, the traditional hooks can potentially unhook from a fitting as the cargo is subjected to various forces during transport. This tendency is exacerbated when the cargo that is compressed or has components which are compressed when secured with a tie-down. For example, motorcycles and ATVs have shocks that typically compress when they are secured to a trailer with a tie-down. The shocks may further compresses when the trailer is pulled over bumps. This compression may loosen the tension on the line and the hooks of the tie-down which can result one or more of the hooks slipping off of the fitting to which they are secured. If one or more of the hooks come off, there is a significant chance the motorcycles and ATVs will come off the trailer. Accordingly, additional needs exist for hooks with a reduced tendency to slip out of the fitting when the line goes slack.
Various carabineers and other spring loaded devices are also available. These mechanisms can freeze up, jam, or otherwise fail. These devices can be awkward to use particularly in cold weather when the user may be wearing mittens or gloves. Also, these devices may require are relatively complex to manufacture with corresponding expense. These costs must then be passed on to the consumer. Accordingly, a need exists for a hook with a reduced tendency to slip out of the fitting that may be manufactured cheaply and efficiently.


A vehicle disc brake unit comprises a rotatable brake rotor and non-rotatable brake pad of caliper. During the vehicle braking, the non-rotatable brake pad presses against the rotating brake rotor, producing friction heat on frictional contact bands where the brake rotor and the brake pad engages with each other. A plurality of longitudinal vortex generators configured in fins is mounted either to a rotatable vehicle component such as hat of a brake rotor, or a non-rotatable vehicle component such as a protective plate, generating longitudinal vortices in the cooling air flows around the brake rotor, especially across the hottest frictional contact bands. The induced longitudinal vortices in the cooling air flows optimize the heat dissipation from brake rotor into atmosphere.

Disc brake unit are employed widely to slow down and stop road and railway vehicles. During braking application, disc brake unit transforms kinetic energy into heat by means of friction between a rotatable brake rotor and a non-rotatable pad of caliper, both coupled to the moving vehicle. When the brake rotor and the brake pad are heated due to braking, it should be cooled down as fast as possible to keep brake rotor and brake pad operating at relatively low temperatures to avoid overheating related brake rotor and brake pad failures, especially on the frictional contact bands where the brake rotor and the brake pad engage with each other.
Convective air cooling contributes to the majority of the heat dissipation from a vehicle disc brake unit during brake application. The efficiency of such air cooling, a kind of forced convective heat transfer, is measured by dissipated heat flux from the brake rotor and the brake pad, depends on their surface temperature differences relative to atmosphere, their surface areas, mass flow rates of the forced cooling air surrounding those surfaces, and forced convective heat transfer coefficient of those surfaces.
Among all the surfaces of brake rotor and brake pad, the frictional contact bands, where brake rotor and brake pad engage with each other, play an important role in such convective air cooling, due to their high surface temperatures and large surface areas, especially for the vehicles that are equipped with only solid brake rotors.
From U.S. Pat. Nos. 10,071,595B2, 9,033,118B2, and 9,587,690B2, efficient cooling of either a road vehicle disc brake unit or a railway vehicle disc brake unit, meanwhile keeping the air resistance and mass of the vehicle low, remains a constant challenge. Improved air cooling can make a significant contribution to good performance of the disc brake unit and prolong its service lives of their components by reducing brake rotor operating temperatures.

Air cooling of disc brake unit by longitudinal vortex generator